You must complete an adoption application with WBCR before we will consider you for one of our Border Collies (under the “adoption” link). Then go to our PayPal link to pay the $15.00 application fee. One of our volunteers will check your references, and then another will come to your home to meet you & your family in person before the board will vote on your application. If you are approved, we will arrange a time for you to meet the dog(s) you are interested in. If you decide he/she is perfect for you and the board agrees, we will schedule a day for you to pick up your Border Collie, sign adoption paperwork, and pay the $350 minimum adoption donation. This whole process may take a month or more, as all WBCR members are volunteers and we’re committed to making a perfect match for our border collies. Thanks for your patience!
5-Year Old Female in Mt Horeb, WI – Adopted!
January 7
Hi all! Abby here. My foster parents have been so bad at writing updates for me that I decided to write one for myself. Here are some highlights from the last three weeks!
The biggest thing that happened was on December 30th. Foster mom took me to this scary building. We’ve only gone a couple places other than home (more on this later) and I didn’t want to get out of my kennel in this scary parking lot with lots of other cars. I did follow foster mom into the building and stood nicely on the scale. She was proud of me that I’ve lost 3 pounds! And still thinks I have another 5 pounds to lose. After that, a different lady carried me in the back room and I don’t remember much after that. I wore my muzzle in case I decided to make a poor decision, but they ended up taking it off part way through the day and didn’t feel like they needed it since I was such a good girl. Since I’ve been home, I haven’t been allowed to run around or chase frisbees. It’s super lame. My tummy has itched some where the incision is, but hasn’t bothered me much and I’ve left it alone for the most part. I’ve gotten very good at relaxing in my x-pen during the day when foster parents are working. When I first come out of my kennel in the morning or out of the x-pen after work, I get the zoomies and want to jump and bounce and run all around the house! Foster mom says I’m not allowed to, so I stop quickly, but I look forward to the day I can run around again! In the evening, I happily lay next to the couch or in the office as foster mom watches TV or pushes buttons on her computer.
I’ve always been pretty well behaved. I rarely jump on people and when I do, I’m very gentle and just want you to pet me. I also like to gently set my paw on people’s laps to remind them that they should be petting me. Foster mom says I’m not allowed on furniture, so I’ve stayed off and have only had to be reminded of that a couple times. My foster parents lay on the floor sometimes and I like to cuddle next to them and flip over for belly rubs. I know that I have to sit before my kennel door or the front door will be opened. And then once it’s open, I have to wait to be told I can go through the door. Every once in a while I get too excited and can’t contain myself, but the door always gets closed before I make it through and then I remember how to control myself. I sit nicely for my leash and collar to be put on and don’t pull much when we go on walks. I do like to walk at the very end of my leash, but I only put enough pressure on it so that I know I’m at the end. Foster mom holds my leash with a single finger sometimes. Also, other than the one night when I had diarrhea, I haven’t had an accident since the first week I got here! I do like to chew on things. Not so much furniture, but toys and bones. Especially those soft fabric toys with fluff inside. Those are great to shred and spread everywhere! Foster mom doesn’t think that’s so great… She gives me lots of bones and other things that I’m meant to chew on and will most of the time choose those over the toys I’m not supposed to chew on, but sometimes I make a poor decision.
Before the awful day last week, we would go out and play frisbee once or twice a day. I even started playing with my foster sister (a 4 year old BC) outside! Initially, I didn’t want anything to do with her and would ask her to leave me alone when she sniffed me. But I’ve warmed up to her and we play together outside now! We run back and forth in the big yard chasing each other. She’s kind of weird and does these quick circles sometimes, but it’s fun to run around with her. I never used to think I wanted to live with other dogs, but now I’m thinking it could be nice. I would be happy as an only dog that got all of my people’s attention and could also live with another dog. If the other dog ignores me, that’s perfectly fine with me. If they want to play, it’ll take me a while to warm up to them and then maybe I’ll play with them as well. Also, snow is awesome. It’s fun to run around in and eat! Foster mom gets frustrated when I would rather eat snow than go potty. I can’t help myself! She does seem to think it’s cute when we’re walking along and I take bites of snow as we go.
I’ve gone to two new fun and exciting places as well. There’s this really long trail not too far from my foster home. This was my first time in a car since arriving at my foster home. I rode in a kennel in the back and wasn’t very comfortable. I whined a lot and couldn’t sit still. Thankfully, it only took a couple minutes to get there. A week later we went to a friends house that has a big fenced in yard. My foster sister and I got to sniff so many things and run around with each other. We had a great time! This was a much longer car ride, especially since we delivered a bunch of Christmas cookies after playing in the big yard. This drive wasn’t too bad. I was a little restless initially, but then settled down. The only other time I’ve been in a car was going to the bad place, and by that point I was perfectly comfortable hanging out in my kennel in the back.
Foster mom says I’ll be available to meet families the weekend of January 16th! I’m so excited to meet my forever family! Here is my list of what I want in a family:
*Willing to play frisbee or throw a ball at least once a day.
*Lots of pets. I LOVE pets! And belly rubs. Those are great as well!
*Good bones and chewies to chew on!
*New places are still a little scary, so preferably not too many new places and lots of patience when we do go somewhere new.
*I didn’t mention this earlier, but I’ve gotten better with meeting new people. So it’s OK if people come over to our house. Just give me some time to warm up to them.
That’s it! I’m easy to live with and super sweet. Just pet me and throw a ball or frisbee for me and my life will be complete.
December 16
Abby continues to gain more confidence and learn the routine of her foster home. She’s relaxing more during the day when in a kennel or x-pen, but still pretty restless when loose in the house. We’ve started working on place training. This is where we pick a dog bed that will be her place and she’ll learn to relax there. Right now, we’re building value for laying down on her bed. We’ll add duration (laying on the bed longer between rewards) and distance (human moving away from the bed) over time and hopefully she’ll start choosing to lay in her bed during the day instead of continually walking around. Potty training is going better. She’s pottying on leash faster and hasn’t had an accident in a couple days. We got a muzzle and some new chews yesterday. We’re aware there’s a stigma attached to muzzle use, but we are working with Abby on wearing one because if she ever needs it. We don’t feel she would bite, but we want her to think it’s no big deal… and treats often come when it’s on! She’s enjoying new bones to chew on and did well in her first muzzle training session. Since she’s so nervous around new people, we’re going to teach her that wearing a muzzle is fun and then have her wear one when she gets spayed. We don’t think she would bite, but it’ll help the vet staff feel safe and Abby won’t mind wearing with all the work we’ll put into it. She’s scheduled to be spayed on December 30th. Abby is such a sweet girl. She love tummy rubs and attention from people she trusts. She’s also super cute when we go out to potty. She will scoop up snow in her mouth, chew on it multiple times, and repeat. A lot of times she does it as she’s walking around looking for a place to potty. She is definitely a character!
December 13
Abby came into foster care on December 9th. She was very scared of all the changes, but has been adjusting quickly. She quickly picked her foster mom as her “safe place” and has done a great job learning that the world isn’t as scary as she thinks. Her first day was very quiet. She had time alone in her crate with chews and a kong and her foster mom hung out with her without any expectations.
Day 2 we worked on crate games and being handled. She’s very hand shy and likes to flip on her back when someone tries to grab her collar or harness. We’ve been working on learning that hands are fun and accompanied by snacks! She may duck her head some, but she no longer tries to flip over or run away. She didn’t want to go in a crate when she first arrived and will now happily walk in whenever asked. She’s been great on our first couple walks. She will get to the end of the leash at times, but doesn’t pull very much. This may change as she continues to gain confidence.
So far, she’s been pretty restless around the house during the day. When loose, she tends to move around instead of relaxing. In the evening, she happily lays down and snoozes with her foster family while they watch tv. We’re working on relaxing when nothing is happening during the day. She met the other border collie in her foster home and prefers that they ignore each other. She did chase her foster sister a couple times outside and gave a little growl and lip lift in the house when being sniffed. She can get along with other dogs, but would probably prefer to be an only dog. There is a cat in her foster home as well. Initially, she ignored the cat completely. She’s now starting to gain some interest and will start staring. She stops if someone says her name, but the interest is growing. She’s had some potty training issues. I don’t believe she was pottied on a leash at her previous home. She’s starting to potty faster on a leash, which is good because winter finally arrived.
She LOVES frisbee. Frisbee is her happy place. Which is good, because she has some weight she needs to lose and frisbee is great exercise. We tried playing frisbee with both dogs at the same time, each with their own frisbee. Abby did get distracted and wanted to chase the other dog instead of bringing her frisbee back, so we’re playing frisbee individually for now.
She took longer to warm up to her foster dad than her foster mom. She’s still not 100% sure about him, but will go up to solicit pets. A friend came over for games and she was asking him for pets as well very quickly. She may always be shy around new people, but she’s doing a great job of warming up to all these strange people she’s met over the past week.
Abby is such a sweet girl. She loves belly rubs and will melt into you for pets (or put a paw on you to remind you that you should be petting her). She would love a home that will play frisbee with her and give lots of pets. She is not spayed yet so she will stay in foster care until she has recovered from her spay. Here’s a video of her first couple days in foster care: (CLICK HERE TO WATCH!)
