Riley

Female, approximately 4 years old
31 pounds, 21″ tall
Red and White
Excellent Health
Reason in Rescue: Owner relinquished to a neighbor and neighbor contacted the rescue.

Riley is being fostered in Caledonia, WI. For more details, CLICK HERE to contact Riley’s foster home.

If you are interested in meeting Riley to see if you are a match, complete an adoption application with WBCR. This must be done before we can consider you to be matched with one of our Border Collies. Click the Adoption link and read the full application instructions.

April 21, 2024

It’s me Riley! I am still looking for my forever home. Just living a fun, relaxing life here with my foster brothers and sisters. I know I am unique looking for a Border Collie. I hope you will look my way because I am one of a kind.

November 27, 2023

Riley has settled back into her foster home as if she never left.  The folks who briefly adopted her, really liked her a lot and said she was the best dog they ever had in the house.  She was calm, loving and very well behaved in the house. Unfortunately, she was not a great fit for the outdoor setting in her new home.  She obsessed about squirrels and bunnies outside the windows and would run away when she chased them into the unfenced yard. She always came back but obviously there was real concern about her safety being loose. In her foster home she is enclosed in a large, fenced yard and has an excellent recall when called inside the fence.  Although she gets along with her foster brothers and sisters (even likes to play with some of them) and has learned to carry a toy when playing with them in high stress situations like ball games, we do know that she can be selective about which dogs she gets along with. Riley’s ideal forever home has no cats and if there is another dog, it is a dog that is easy going with other dogs. It should have a fence and exercise should be provided in the form of training, playing, and walks.  She should not go to dog parks or doggie daycare. Riley is a wonderful dog and will be a great family member in the right home.  Is it yours?   

November 22, 2023

Riley was temporarily placed in a home for a few weeks in October. They took her to the dog park early on and she was not successful in that setting. When Riley was returned to her original foster home, she quickly settled back with the household dogs plus a new dog without any issues. She has trust and respect for the dogs in her household but she will be best in a home that can exercise and socialize her outside of a crowded dog park. We also feel she will do better in a home with a fenced-in yard. She is lovely in a fenced yard and comes when called every time.

August 20, 2023

Riley made a match with a great family but unfortunately before they could come and pick her up, they experienced a personal situation that caused them to be unable to add a dog to their home. Her almost family had a 4-year-old grandson who came along to meet Riley. While we were sad that the home didn’t work out, we were glad to gain the information that Riley seems to behave quite well with a young child. She has been excellent with the group of teenagers that frequent our home too. Riley is animated and excited to meet visitors, sometimes even (gently) jumping up but otherwise she is an easy-going house dog. It is rare to see her without something in her mouth. She loves to check the toy box for something to carry with her. Besides ball games and chewing on a nylon bone, Riley’s other favorite pastime is “cat watch”. She lays on one side of the baby gate and the cat sits on the other. She is still and silent, making no effort to jump or run through the gate but she is VERY FOCUSED! Riley enjoys her people and would love a family to call her own.

July 6, 2023

We have had Miss Riley for a month today and she is officially available for adoption. She has been and continues to be an easy dog to live with. Riley is loving without being clingy and fun without being wild. She has shown too much interest in our cats, though she is able to be called off unless she is in full chase mode. She respects the gates that are leaned on the doorways and does not charge them and will wait when told for us to go through them into “cat land”. Riley has shown some interest in our goats and will “herd” them through the fence but is not wild or crazy about trying to get to them through the fence. She is not a barky dog and it is rare to hear her bark. Riley happily trots into her crate when told to “kennel” and is quiet even if other dogs are out of their crates or people are active around her. I think she would be fine as an only dog but I think she would be okay with other dog(s) that respect her boundaries.

She is not interested in wrestling but does definitely enjoy and will instigate “catch me if you can” or “I have the ball/toy/kong and you can’t have it” with Ken the Corgi. They have found their rhythm and seem to delight in getting the other engaged in a game. If they get a bit intense, she is easy to remind to leave it. Her recall seems to be getting better and better and today when I called her in from the back of our very large, fenced yard, she came flying to the door. (Maybe something to do with the treats they get when they go into the kennel). This sweet loving girl is looking for a forever home to call her own with people who will throw her ball, take her for walks, and stroke her sweet head and silky ears.

June 17, 2023
Riley has been with us for a week now. Here’s an overview of what we have discovered about her.
– Housebroken – absolutely
–Good in a crate – absolutely
–Good with new people – absolutely
–Knows basic commands (sit, down, kennel) – absolutely
–Recall – work in progress (great when she isn’t doing something distracting like watching a cat)
–Rides well in car – absolutely
–Walks on a leash – okay but will pull a bit and change sides (working on this)
–Current on veterinary care – yes, including vaccinations, negative for intestinal parasites, negative for heartworm, negative for tickborne diseases, microchipped, spayed, healthy on physical examination
–Cat relationships – chases & VERY intensely watches (recommend a home with no cats)
–Toys & balls – huge fan! Loves to retrieve and to carry toys/balls in her mouth
–Other dogs – growls at first but fits into our pack pretty well. Can be possessive of toys/balls with other dogs (fine with people)

Riley is a sweet girl who enjoys spending time with her people. I think she would be a fine only dog but could live with other dogs. She adapted to our home and rules very quickly and is pretty low maintenance Border Collie. She learns quickly and enjoys playing and interacting with people so I could see her being a fun dog in a dog sport.

June 14, 2023
Riley is a friendly, sweet girl. She is well housebroken and sleeps quietly through the night in a crate.
Riley LOVES attention and will politely solicit it. She is a HUGE fan of balls, nylon bones, rope throws and anything else she can find in the dog toy box.

She generally gets along with the other dogs in the house and enjoys playing chase games but so far doesn’t seem interested in wrestling. She will give a small warning growl if another dog comes near her when she has a ball or bone but this seems to be diminishing as the dogs figure out their relationships.

Riley is quite interested in my cats and would probably do better in a home with no cats or with cats that will not run from dogs.

Miss Riley rides great in the car and definitely enjoys going places with her people. She would retrieve a ball all day long if you let her but she seems content with a couple of games each day in addition to exploring time in the yard, a bit of training time and a good leash walk.

Riley currently knows sit, down, come (though is reportedly not reliable loose off leash), and kennel.
Riley is looking for a forever home with someone who will appreciate what an incredible dog she is. She loves nothing better than to be adored and have her silky ears stroked.

June 8, 2023
Riley arrived in rescue today. Riley met several staff members at the vet clinic where she was surrendered. She showed us a sit and a down to earn her treats. She was sweet and happy for the snacks. We headed home to her new foster home and she rode very nicely.

At home we put a long line her on even though it is a fenced in area. At her temporary home before coming into foster care, she didn’t always come back when she was called. We let her in the yard and she immediately pooped. We called her back a few times by name and she came back each time. She spotted our barn cat and was immediately “at attention”. It gave me a chance to introduce a “leave it” command. She didn’t have much interest in the goats compared to the cat. We threw the ball for her and she showed us how much she loves to retrieve. She growled when the other dogs came near her when she had the ball but she and one of my male Border Collies parallel played pretty well with a ball each. At one point she had both balls and when the other dog approached her, she growled and he backed off. None of my dogs seemed particularly offended by her growls. She’s a pretty cool little girl.