I was attracted to the border collie personality as I was currently competing in agility with my shar pei mix (‘Lucy’) and was looking for a new strong trial partner. I needed a dog that would get along with all types of dogs, so I could continue in my foster work. I needed a border collie that would be okay with my husband and future children. Since we were planning on a family at some point.
Buzz caught my eye because he was the most gorgeous border collie I had ever seen (then again I am kind of biased now).
I contacted his foster mom and we chatted for a bit about him. Buzz was a stray from Everett, WA who had shown extreme kennel stress at the shelter. His foster mommy had only had him a short while but was patient enough to send me regular updates on his personality as it began to evolve in the process of recovering from the stress of the shelter.
We made the decision to drive over to the west side of the state Thanksgiving weekend to meet him and see how he and Lucy got along. As expected Lucy and Buzz got along fine right from the start so we all piled in our car and drove home.
I was SOOO excited to finally have a ‘forever’ dog again. Many a times I had brought new dogs into our home but this time he was for ‘keeps’. I didn’t have to say goodbye to him.
Buzz has the perfect personality for doing all the things I love to do with my dogs. He is a snuggler, loves to chase balls and Frisbees
Buzz is especially happy if I throw a stick in the river.
Buzz’s first agility action shot – hope this makes you chuckle as much as me.
Buzz is not quite ready to compete in agility yet but his focus has come such a long way since he came to live with us and I began working with him. He loves to work for me and is learning more and more how to ‘learn’. When he first came to live with us he would shut down right away if he didn’t understand something but now he is learning it is okay to try things in order to get my praise.
Now, almost a year later, I so adore our new boy. Our little family is continuing to grow and we are expecting our first baby shortly. Buzz is my prized border collie, the dog who will someday win ribbons and accolades, my prodigy dog, my agility partner and apparently a dog who will always be a source of humor, amusement and joy as I continue to work with him.
I cannot thank the shelter and rescue folks enough for getting him out of the shelter and into a home environment. I know the work done by his foster mommy in the beginning was helping to lay the groundwork for him to become the great boy he is today.
