I only met Nina the other day, but she’s another one of those rescues who helps to explain why people rescue dogs.
Nina is about four years old. Her owners, who were looking for a Collie/Border Collie mix, drove from Pittsburgh to a shelter in West Virginia as soon as she came up on PetFinder and, as you can see, from looks alone she is a great catch. I cannot say whether shepherding was specifically on their mind; if so, they got their wish. Nina might be the purest herding dog I have ever seen. She sticks to her family like a sock burr except to corral one small kid or another back to the pack. A game of hide-and-seek would drive her to distraction. Nina picked up the major commands in a day, of course, and any time she has a job she beams like sunshine, even if it’s just to sit and wait for a treat. Watch her posture as she goes all Lassie on Blue and a big mean Doberman.
I wish I could explain why someone would give up such a gorgeous and affectionate dog. Whatever the reason, she has a forever family now and the match is working well on both sides.
stuckinred
What a beauty!
stuckinred
Another Ryan love-fest on Mornin Joe and the two head weenies aren’t even there!
Jebediah
Wotta great dog! Perfectly timed post after a day of freaking out over my doctor getting all concerned about a mole that he wants removed like yesterday… I wonder too about who gives up such great dogs, but when they end up with folk who appreciate them so much, I guess its OK.
alwhite
Given all the attention the Wisc Court race had and all the effort of the unions and liberal groups can we assume the results are the death knell for public service unions across the country?
There was intense focus on this race. We were told there was a wave of anger that would flood the polls. Certainly the unions must have had a ground game in place to get people out to vote. All that heat from the protests didn’t appear to produce any light.
It was a good run we had as a country I guess.
stuckinred
@alwhite: For her to come from nowhere to a runoff is meaningful.
TheMightyTrowel
Thank you, alwhite, for giving us such a perfect example of Common Wisdom. I guess a long-shot candidacy getting 50% of the vote, a turn out of 1.5 mil in a spring special election and a whole lot of national (and international – some of this has made the news over here in the UK!) coverage doesn’t produce light.
You don’t win every election, but every election campaign with this sort of unprecedented turn out turns non-voters into party activists. This is how you win the ground game.
It’s nearly noon here but it’s still too early for this kind of Moaning-Myrtle post. Go take a shower and go back to bed.
bemused
@stuckinred:
At least Barnacle mentioned (after bemoaning that Americans don’t seem to know how to sacrifice anymore) the top individual/corp tax issue.
It was hilarious and not surprising to hear Pat Buchanan talk about the 1950’s while conveniently neglecting the mention the over 90% tax rate for wealthy at the time.
stuckinred
@bemused: He is such a punk.
shortstop
We’ve always had rescues and I’ve never understood why any of them have been given up. I put it down to divorce, serious illness, an elderly person suddenly being widowed, new allergies, etc. Sometimes people just don’t have it in them to take care of a dog.
Kristine
Lovely Nina. Thanks for the morning brightener.
bemused
@stuckinred:
Which one or both?
RedKitten
What a lovely dog! A lot of times, I think that dogs being given up are because people just don’t do their damn homework. You’ll have a sedentary person buying a beagle, because they grew up thinking Snoopy was cute. And then of course, the poor hound is tearing the hell out of the house because he’s not getting enough exercise.
I wish people put even half as much thought into getting a dog as they do into buying lunch.
dsc
me, I think people who throw dogs away, more often than not, are NOT dog people. All six of our dogs are rescues, they all have quirks that could have driven us to distraction. But love, consistancy, discipline, and patience have rendered them all indispensable to our lives. It’s a real commitment.
You HAVE GOT TO exercise them, give them time, energy, and attention every single day. People treat dogs (and trophy children) like they don’t have needs, and no doubt, this leads to frustration.
TaMara (BHF)
@RedKitten: Yes! Every Great Dane I’ve rescued came with the comment, “I didn’t know they’d get so big.” What part of Great confused you??? Assholes.
This was a great post and loved those running (or being herded). Thanks Tim!
RedKitten
@TaMara (BHF): Yeah, or “I didn’t know that Border Collies needed so much exercise!”
Fuck me. You can find that out in 3 seconds on Google, and realize that a Border Collie will happily herd your flock, shingle your roof, and make cupcakes for 40 Girl Scout troops, all before breakfast.
TaMara (BHF)
@RedKitten: Okay, you owe me a keyboard. Spit coffee all over it.
You know I fell in love with an Otterhound once, then I researched what that love would actually mean. Let’s just say they are cute at a distance.
RedKitten
Yeah, my husband has a love for the Otterhound as well. He grew up with Airedales, so he’s used to dogs that aren’t super-biddable, but even then, I think an Otterhound would be a bit too much of a handful for us.
shortstop
Yeah, you guys are right about people not doing their homework on breeds, but we’ve had a couple of really laid-back, naturally well-behaved (little training needed) pooches who were rescues. I can’t help but think there was some family or financial trauma leading to someone giving them up. Or maybe their previous people really wanted hyper, high-energy, destructive dogs and could not deal with the lassitude. ;)
The people I cannot understand at all are the ones (and we’ve all met them) who can casually and comfortably give up a dog like taking a sweater to the Goodwill. For us, the bond to our dogs is so immediate and so strong that we would do almost anything to avoid severing it. I don’t get the mindset that allows someone to offhandedly give one up, minus significant life changes that render that person incapable of caring for one, or dog behavior issues that seem unresolvable.
We fostered a middle-aged pug last year who was wildly aggressive toward our sweet and timid hound mix. After several weeks it became apparent that our efforts to get the two comfortable would never work, and the hound was terrified at all times. So the pug went back to the rescue organization, which had a waiting list for her (because pugs are great city dogs and she would be perfect in a one-dog house), and even though there was no doubt we had to do it, I cried copiously over it.
RedKitten
A lot of people view a pet as a possession, not as a living being with thoughts and feelings of its own. They are just as comfortable giving away a pet as they are giving away a table lamp that they no longer like.
gogol's wife
Thanks for video of Nina. I needed that.
bemused
I took a silly quiz to find out the best fit dog breed for me. We have two 65# Sammies and the quiz said a Bichon was my breed. What the hell. I took it a 2nd time changing half the answers keeping the large dog answer and it still came up Bichon. Fail.
Mnemosyne
That dog was born for agility training. I can already see her on Animal Planet winning every round.
(Well, okay, technically she was born for sheepherding, but agility training would be a decent substitute activity.)
cckids
What a darling! She reminds me of my daughter when she was young; neverending energy. Too true what you say about doing your doggie research; I’ve always wanted a Border Collie–had one as my first pet from ages 1-4. But my family lived on a small farm then. Now we live in the ‘burbs, with our postage stamp lot & a lifestyle that doesn’t lend itself to major time out & about with a dog. So we have a sweetheart Pomeranian who is thrilled with our postage stamp & short walks. Gotta face reality, folks!
josefina
A friend used to volunteer at the ASPCA. They put her on intake first because she’s chatty and friendly. After about three sessions, she switched over to dog-walking because she was afraid she was going to leap over the desk and strangle the next person who brought in an animal because “we got a new couch” or “he’s too much trouble” or “she’s pregnant.”
Nina is lovely. It’s hard to say who’s luckier, her or her family.
Katie
We’ve always had samoyeds, but about half of them have been rescues. All of our rescues have been great dogs, and I can’t really figure out how they ended up in rescue.
We’re getting our first non-samoyed dog next week. A four year old medium size male mixed breed from a guy that’s entering hospice. I hope it makes his end easier knowing someone will love and care for his dog.
asiangrrlMN
Nina is beautiful. And, look at how happy she is just doing her dingdang job.
Me, I love GSD, American Eskies, Rotties, and Chows, and I will never ever get one because I couldn’t do any of them justice.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: That and the boys would freak out massively if you brought a big furry stranger home like that.
Hi hon. Decided to spoil myself and drive to work all this week so I can leave later. But gotta get here in a couple.
Oh and A) obligatory PUPPEH!! and B) ME. WANT!!