Big decision on rescues
So of course, my wife looks in the local Craig's List and what is there? TWO OES in my area needing new homes. We call the owners of both: ______ Female, 5 years old. Sweet disposition, no health problems but "bossy" toward other females. Owner was careful to make sure I didn't have another female in the home. From a breeder of "sheepadoodles" (I'll try not to comment here on designer dogs. No personal experience there anyway. My wife thinks they are cute but knows I am a purist. This is an OES, not a "sheepadoodle" anyway.) She has had 5 litters (yes 5 litters in 5 years) and her owner "…doesn't believe in breeding after 5 years old". Offered without cost to the right home (apparently I passed that test). [Note: I once rescued an 8 year old female who had been bred repeatedly by a back yard breeder until she became severely arthritic. She lived for another 4 years and actually was a wonderful companion to my male OES I had at that time.] ________ Male, 7 months old. The dog has lived with a 7 year old pit bull and a 4 year old child since 8 weeks old. Said to be "his wife's dog" he bought her for Christmas. Has papers from a breeder in the Bay Area where they got him. Both (the dogs, not the kid) are considered "playful and goofy" by their current owner. Owner has to move so he is giving away the pit bull and wants $500 for the OES but "my wife says we will take less to go to someone who understands the breed". I apparently passed the wife test also. He called me back after talking to her today. ________ My wife suggested we go see BOTH dogs to my utter surprise. She is well aware I can't resist a sheepdog if I see one up for adoption so she knows well what that means. 7 months old is a pup still. I haven't had a dog that young in years. But he does sound socialized and well behaved. The female is an alpha female apparently but I know female OES can be bossy. What might she do in a new home with a 7 month old male, also adapting to a new circumstance? Please help me understand what I am about to get myself into. I know I am still grieving for my dogs but I have been down this road many times before and know how another sheepie always helps to fill that void in his/her own way. But if you think I'm nuts for even thinking of this, please say so. Those of you who know me by my posts know I have more OES rescue experience over more years than most, but I could still use a reality check. |
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| Here is the 5 yo female from the Craig's List ad: https://adobe.ly/2IE8E6q And the 7 month old male: https://adobe.ly/2s73QLT Yes, his tail seems to be undocked by his photo. That would be a first for me. I didn't ask but I suspect that both dogs are unaltered. (Not sure if I linked these images correctly.These were uploaded to my secure Adobe business account and set for public viewing. I can't seem to upload photos directly to my OES.org account or even view my older uploaded photos anymore.) |
I love them both!  We just got a 7 month puppy a year ago. Oh my.... he was our first puppy. I have 0 and I mean 0 advice on two dogs together, I can only hope that having an older dog will relieve some of the pressure that the young one puts on their humans! I'm sure two is more work than one, and you're used to that. Funny thing is... Ours was a Christmas puppy and we adopted at 7 months and he has a very long "nub". He's from the southeast so they're not from the same breeder. Just curious, do you know the puppy's birth date? |
| Thanks Ron for your thoughts. Not sure what to do since I know I am still in the throes of shock from Toby– and even from Charlie back in January. Toby's going just made it worse since he has been a comfort for the past few months. Now both of them gone… I've actually had two dogs together more than one. All kinds of pairs. But the few times I tried three it proved to be a pack of dogs that was too much for me. Two was perfect, One is OK too, but none is just plain empty feeling. It's just that twice in a row with my last four sheepdogs I lost both pair within a short time of each other after long lives together. The young male was born probably in November. His owner said he wanted the dog for is wife for Christmas but "…he was not ready yet" so they picked I'm up from a breeder in Berkeley CA in January. Not someone who sounds like they had any OES experience. Which is a pretty common story and not so unusual in my experience either since many of the dogs I have adopted were about a year old when their owners found out that a clean, mat-free coat doesn't take care of itself and they hadn't discovered that a clipped down one is a whole lot easier for dogs and people in my hot California central valley climate. The female is another story that I am grappling with. Sounds like her sheepadoodle/breeder owner is mostly in it for the money and this dog is getting too old to have more litters. Although to be fair, she said it was because this girl bosses her other pair of younger, breeding females to distraction and she is tired of the commotion. Both dogs look kind of sad to me in the pictures and that only adds to my instinctive feeling to take in these unwanted sheepies. Frankly, one of my thoughts is that I turn 70 next month and this young male may outlive me leaving his care to my wife who is 68 herself. 7 sheepdogs have been something we have shared together for 35 years as part of our lives even though I had others before. For the past few days we keep saying how empty the house is suddenly. And it was her that looked at Craig's list the other day and found these two. The northern California OES rescue hasn't had a dog in rescue for over a year and they seem uncommonly rare these days— unlike designer dogs apparently. |
| Do you have to walk the dogs on leash or do you have a fenced area? |
Ron wrote: Do you have to walk the dogs on leash or do you have a fenced area? Well, both, I guess. We have about 1/3 acre lot with a big back yard that is fenced and includes a flat grassy area and also a hillside with a lot of trees. Lived here for 30 years and 7 sheepdogs. But I also was in the habit of taking them out for a short walk in the neighborhood on leashes on most days. We all needed the exercise since we were a bunch of couch potatoes otherwise. I have never had a chained up dog and all of my sheepdogs spend most of their time in the house like they own it. Couldn't walk Charlie in his last year so we all kind of got out of the habit for some time. Toby and I were just getting back into it after we lost Charlie. Just noticed I became "Fluffy" in the side bar. Must be because I hit 300 posts. Not a lot in 13 years I suppose but I often read the new posts without adding any comment. Sure wish you still had the level of activity this board used to see. |
Me too, Richard.  It's over at fb now, for better or for worse. If you're familiar with fb I would post your questions there; you'll get more responses. Just be sure to remember they don't have the old "cup of tea" mantra. Tale the good advice and let the jerks roll off your back. Back to you now: As long as you have someplace like your backyard so puppy can frolic and tire himself out I think you can manage. I got a mobility scooter and took my dog for longer "walks" up to slightly faster than normal human walking speed, about 4 1/2 MPH. Tiring him out helped him sleep more consecutive hours. Maybe make a deal with oes rescue out there if worse comes to worst to place your dogs? Just thinking out loud. https://www.facebook.com/groups/SHEEPIES/ |
| I've never had had a Facebook app and never will. I thought from the start that it was a wolf in sheep clothing that didn't make sense— something given free that supposedly facilitated open communities but was underpinned by big commercial interests. I think now that the recent revelations of massive, intrusive data collection and mining of users personal data for even nefarious political reasons proves that it is far worse. Don't see why everyone doesn't immediately get the app and anything connected to Facebook out of their homes and devices. We're going to see the female today and will probably come back with her if everything checks out. The owner hasn't been completely forthcoming. Apparently the sole photo in the ad "…is not a recent one" she admitted when we set up the appointment. The area she is located in is known for red-necked zealots and meth labs so I don't know what I will find. She said she "… used to be a groomer", and obviously has these female sheepdogs only to be bred for profit and this one is not making her any money anymore. She also told me she doesn't believe in vaccinating after the puppy booster stage (just stupid IMHO) but had this dog brought up to date since she was adopting her out. I bet she hasn't been on heartworm meds either. At this point I just need to check things out for myself. "Sheepadoodles" in California are getting $1500 apparently. The whole operation sounds more and more like a designer dog puppy mill to me. But I will see it for myself and know more today. Makes me want to get that poor sheepie out of what might be a bad environment even more. I called the owner with the young male but he didn't return the call this time. Maybe he found someone to meet his desire to get $500 out of it. |
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| So— meet Bindi: https://adobe.ly/2xeCGs6 She is a total sweetheart though quite a bit underweight. Her environment was about what I expected but it was clear that her owner did care of her. Poor single woman trying to support herself and both her unemployed adult son and daughter in law by breeding sheepadoodles in a small old home in a rural area. Poor Bindi had never seen a patch of grass nor stairs in her life. Just a life of constant litters. She hasn't had a litter in a year (because it wouldn't "take") but you can feel that her nipples are distended from all the ones she bore when you rub her stomach. Not used to that after so many males. As we said goodbye, her owner leaned over her and whispered to her, "At least now you won't have to live with all the pain." Which told me we were doing the right thing. So it's kind a sad story with a happy ending and Bindi is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Doesn't jump on people nor get into things, and comes when she is called. Once she overcame her terror of stairs, she snuggled up all night on the foot of our bed right where Toby used to lay. She won't leave our side. I heard her first bark when she called for my wife who was late in coming upstairs. |
rfloch wrote: So— meet Bindi: https://adobe.ly/2xeCGs6 She is a total sweetheart though quite a bit underweight. Her environment was about what I expected but it was clear that her owner did care of her. Poor single woman trying to support herself and both her unemployed adult son and daughter in law by breeding sheepadoodles in a small old home in a rural area. Poor Bindi had never seen a patch of grass nor stairs in her life. Just a life of constant litters. She hasn't had a litter in a year (because it wouldn't "take") but you can feel that her nipples are distended from all the ones she bore when you rub her stomach. Not used to that after so many males. As we said goodbye, her owner leaned over her and whispered to her, "At least now you won't have to live with all the pain." Which told me we were doing the right thing. So it's kind a sad story with a happy ending and Bindi is just the sweetest thing I have ever seen. Doesn't jump on people nor get into things, and comes when she is called. Once she overcame her terror of stairs, she snuggled up all night on the foot of our bed right where Toby used to lay. She won't leave our side. I heard her first bark when she called for my wife who was late in coming upstairs.  |
| How is everything going after another day? |
| Never had a new dog settle in so fast. So glad I found her. Such a total sweetheart. https://adobe.ly/2skqP6o Will leave my avatar of Charlie and Toby up for awhile. They are still fresh in my memory and I haven't got a decent picture of Bindi yet. Changed my signature though. |
| Awwwwe what a sweetie!!! |
| It makes me mad. Little of the story I got from Bindi's former owner checked out. While she has obviously been recently spayed, when my vet contacted the vet she told me had Bindi's records, all they could find was a recent one-year rabies shot on this dog. The cheap route since rabies immunizations are usually given at a dose for 3 years at least. She probably just told me that she had had "…all their immunizations brought up to date" because she thought that's what I wanted to hear after she said she "…didn't believe" in immunizations and I said I did. She also blamed AKC as the reason most pure-bred dogs had all of "…those problems". Although she said she was also on heartworm preventative, I have my doubts that was true either. I made and appointment for Bindy with my vet to have her looked over and we will start from scratch. How Bindi came out of that life as such a well mannered, totally sweet dog is a miracle. The woman now has a pair of 2 year old sheepie sisters that are her new breeding stock that she said she had shipped to her. I hate to think of what might happen to them and the puppies they will be producing for years to come. |
| Maybe they will bite her |
Congratulations to you and especially Bindy!!  She reminds me of my first rescued OES. She had been a 'replacement' for a dog the breeder originally sold to the owner and didn't disclose the dog was deaf. Both dogs were treated very badly by the owner. They went from crate to kennel, outside, with no protection from the elements. Than goodness both dogs were surrendered to Rescue. The little deaf girl went to a wonderful home and was taught sign language and had a great life. I was fortunate to adopt the other girl. She was 3, wasn't house broken and I had to treat her as a new puppy. She was so well behaved and was immediately my Velcro girl. We went to 'school' and she was so darn smart and got everything the first time. Smartest girl in class.  This was a number of years ago and she crossed the Rainbow a long time ago. I have my fourth rescue now. I firmly believe RESCUES KNOW they are getting another chance, are grateful, try harder and their love is even stronger. And I believe as many do, when our beloved pets pass, they are the ones that send us the dog that needs us the most. I am SO VERY HAPPY for all of you!!!!   |
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