Zoreta

Last Saturday we adopted a new dog- a bearded collie named Maddie. Maddie is our first dog that has has never been in a pound- although she is, technically, a rescue.

What happened was that a young man in the East Coast had adopted her as a show dog. She did well, got some ribbons for it- became a champion. However, his interest waned- when he went to college, the parents didn't know what to do with her. So they gave her to some person in Kansas who had no business having dogs. If her teeth are anything to go by, she spent her days trying to gnaw out of a container, likely plastic. She had skin infections from lack of brushing or bathing, and you could see her ribs. Anyone who has seen a beardie knows how thick their fur is, so seeing her ribs meant that she was extremely malnourished.

The person in Kansas eventually figured out that the dog was having a terrible time. They offered to return the dog to the breeder, but the breeder had just had a litter and didn't have the time to try and foster another dog. So, Maddie instead went to another breeder, this one in California, who is friends with the original breeder. When Maddie went through airport security to get flown over, she AND the port-a-pooch crate weighed 51 lbs.
After four months of care, her weight had become normal.
That is where we came in- we had been asking around for any beardies open for adoption, as we had lost our own a month prior. Jake, our other dog, was listless without another dog to play with. We got the California breeder's number, and asked her if she knew of any beardies in need of homes- and she mentioned Maddie.

With her ribbon history in mind, after getting her used to her new home, they had tried to breed her. Her time in Kansas meant that she could no longer be shown, but she still had good genes. However, it didn't take. We called a couple days after the sonogram came up negative, and the timing could not have worked better. After exchanging info and a rather exhaustive interview, it was agreed that we would be a good family for her.

She's still getting used to the house- we live in the mountains, and she had stayed in the big valley for the past four and a half months and Kansas before that, so there are lots of new smells and sounds. She and our other dog, Jake, are getting acclimated to each other- Jake is an old dog (a 15 year old terrier mix who's a repeat pound dog), so he needs his time to get used to new dogs.
Right now we can let them both be in the house on leashes, and Jake can be loose with her in her crate (she refuses to eat outside her port-a-pooch crate, so we brought it with us). However, we don't trust them to be loose together, in case a dominance scrimmage happens and we aren't there to intervene.

She is, at the moment, intact- the breeder wants to try a litter one more time before she gets spayed and legally becomes a pet. Then she'll be ours forever. When she goes in to heat, we'll drive her back to the breeder to get bred. Then bring her back home. A month later, we'll go and get a sonogram done- if it took, she'll stay with us until it's a week before her due date, then we'll drive her to the breeder. She'll stay at the breeder's until the puppies are six weeks old and can be weened, then come home to us. If it doesn't take, then we spay her then and there.

Here is a picture of Miss Maddie:
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/672...iepictures.jpg

Isn't she cute? She's like a bouncing ball of fluff. Poor Jake hasn't come in to contact with an intact girl before, but he was fixed fourteen years ago. So he's not quite sure what to make of it XD

charzar-g

thats such a unique story with a ending what hasn't happened yet!!
Would you personally rather her be spayed or have a litter? If it was up to you i mean.

agabr123

wow...that poor dog has been through quite a lot hasn't she! she's such a cutie though, congrats on getting her

Zoreta

I'm not sure. While I love the idea of there being more beardies, seeing as they are as rare as they are, there are still so many pets that need homes. I know the puppies would go to good homes, as there is a big demand for beardies and the breeder could choose the best homes, but still. Every puppy could mean one less dog that gets adopted out of the pound.

Plus, I have no clue how Jake will deal with it. Her leaving for almost two months would be hard on him, especially if he bonds with her. I just don't want him to become depressed and listless, like he was when Hallie had to be put down.

EDIT: Yeah, Maddie's been through a lot. We hope to make her life enjoyable- she's seven, so her life is about half over. Beardies usually live to be between 12 and 15- Hallie was unfortunate to die as young as she did (8). She got an inoperable tumor in her upper chest cavity, and it grew to the point that she could no longer swallow. So, we had to let her go.

charzar-g

beardies are uncommon where you live?
Thats a weird thing to get used too! ^^
I suppose i understand what you're saying about dogs being adopted from the pound, but if a family has their heart set on a beardie, surley that would make their life easier?
And I hope you give her a happy rest of her life, She desirves it ^^
i'm sorry to hear about your last beardie

Zoreta

Very rare- we had to drive for about two hours to reach the breeder we got Maddie from. The last one to go through a local pound was two years ago.

If they have their heart set on a Beardie, then they'd get a beardie. It's the undecided I'd worry about, though.

She and Jake are getting along well- slight squabble yesterday, but it would have happened eventually. They have to sort out who is the top dog in the household. Otherwise, they're fine together.

charzar-g

i'm sure they'll both settle themselves down together soon zoreta
And i think there are quite a lot of beardies around here in england. You wouldn't have to travel far to find a breeder, but they're mostly up north and down south i believe :P

Zoreta

Update:

Maddie's pretty used to the house, although she still does 'patrols'. I'm convinced she was turned small animal aggressive while in Kansas, because we had a rat problem a couple years ago, and she watches the holes that the rats used like a hawk.
I have to keep her out of my room, because the minute she sees Sir Elton, she won't budge for anything. The first time she saw him, she tried to climb up and get to him from the top- he was flaring like nobody's business.

Saturday, two weeks ago, we had an adventure- in our backyard, on one side, there's a five-six foot tall brick wall, with a dirt slope above it. Maddie figured out how to get up from the corner (there is a boulder over there, and she's our first dog able to jump high enough to use it to get up on to the slope), and walked along the slope- straight in to a bugenvilia bush. A forty-year-old bugenvilia bush with thorns an inch long and a trunk with the circumference of a basketball.

We thought she'd gotten lost, so we went around the neighborhood yelling, "Maddie!" Eventually, we heard a single, quiet bark from the bush. Now 11 PM, we shined a flashlight up an, sure enough, Maddie was about ten feet in east-west and three feet deep north-south. With hedge clippers, on a less-than-sturdy ladder, we had to go up and cut off the branches, the forcefully drag her off the slope.

Now she knows that the slope is not a good place to be adventuring.

joy1125

good luck with Maddie ! It's great that you're giving her a good home, after all she's been thru.

poor thing, got stuck in the bougenvila ! She's learned her lesson there, that's for sure !!

Zoreta

I figure I ought to update!

We've discovered a few things about Maddie.
1) She hates cameras. We have no clue why, but the minute she sees a camera, she'll bark for all she's worth and try to knock the camera out of your hands. The only time we can take a picture is if she isn't expecting it, which makes for sub par pictures.

2) She is afraid of thunder. We had our first sizable lightning storm this week, and when she hears thunder she'll run to the nearest human and crouch around them. Kind of cute, but also a bit annoying if I'm trying to do something and I'm suddenly crowded by 50 lb of fuzz.

She has hit heat, and is not allowed off of the property. Backyard only for a while!
However, after the original breeder and the breeder we got her from discussed it, they don't want to put that much mental and physical stress on a 7 and a half year old rescue dog. So, June 12th, she has an appointment to be spayed (neutered? I can never remember which for what gender.) After that we send the certificate saying that she has been spayed to the original breeder, and they will mail over a contract they have already signed that will allow ownership to go to us permanently.

Beth1965

Spayed for a female and neutered for a male (took me a long time to remember which is which).
Frankly, I'm happy for Maddie that she won't have to go through the breeding process, seems like she's been through so much as it is.
Congradulations on your doggie!!
Beth

ABCDemily

I had a bearded collie. 100% pedigree, she lived for eighteen years! I still miss her, she was my best mate pretty much.

What out Maddie doesn't hide in the bath, when we had thunderstorms, ours was stright up into there! It was very cute.

They are such loving and caring dogs

Zoreta

I've caught her sleeping in the bath tub- the bathroom I share with my mom has become her favorite snooze spot. I'll come in to change in the morning and have to shoo her out XD
If she's outside and a crow or something flies over, she'll bark until it leaves her line of sight. Silly thing.

Tomorrow's the big day! The operation is in the morning (~10:00 AM) The vet says that, if there are no complications, we should be able to take her home that afternoon or evening. She's going to have to wear the Victorian collar thing, until her stitches are either absorbed or taken out (I'm not sure which kind she is getting.)

She is a such a clown, but then again, all Beardies are.