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Looking for a specific type of Border Collie mix


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Hi,

 

 

My wife and I recently lost our beloved "Angel" (Border Collie mix) after 15 years to a sudden unexpected onset of rapidly recurring severe and damaging cluster seizures the vet believed was due to a brain tumor and the vet gave us no real hope because of her age and the severity of the seizures and we were so extremely heartbroken.

 

 

 

No dog could ever replace "Angel", but we so need to again hear the sound of happy paws prancing thru our empty feeling home.

 

 

 

Not intending to sound picky, but we take choosing our new family member very seriously, and need to find just what we are looking for so she would be the best fit for our family.

 

 

 

Here is what we are looking for in our new dog - (some things are more of a must, some things are "preferred")

 

 

 

Border Collie mix with traditional black/white markings (example pictures further below)

 

 

 

Size - we prefer from a medium to small size, but definitely not a mix that would grow too large

 

 

 

Female - preferrably spayed - but will consider non-spayed

 

 

 

Age - preferrably from 5 months to one year - but will consider younger as well as older up to about 2 years old

 

 

 

Temperment - preferred mild mannered and one that is not an excessive barker

 

 

 

Hair length - medium-short, but not long and would prefer a somewhat smoother coat instead of rough coat

 

 

 

We do have a fairly specific type of general "look" that is VERY important to us to find.......

 

 

 

Included with this post are a couple pictures of one that we recently saw online and wanted so VERY VERY much to adopt - one that has the specific "look" we are looking for - but someone else had just beat us to applying for adoption -

 

If you find one looking like the included pictures PLEASE let us know asap, thanks !

 

 

 

(we live in Winnsboro, SC 29180)

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Good luck in your search...

 

If I could be a little blunt, I think you would be best served by focusing your criteria on the personality you desire and look for a dog that you connect with, rather than having so many requirements about color, markings, etc.

 

I actually get how you feel. I lost my once-in-a-lifetime dog of another breed and there was a huge part of me that really wanted my next dog to be black and white like he was. I am so drawn to the black and white and really couldn't imagine getting a dog of another color.

 

But then I met Jasper, who is a light sable, and hes really been a perfect fit for my family. We are just thrilled with him and it really only took about 3 days to stop seeing him as not being black and white.

 

Just some food for thought.

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as said, don't get too caught up in specifics, you may miss your perfect match. do keep your eyes on www.cbcr.org and www.prbc.org , both

are very reputable border collie rescues in your area. also get an application in with your "wish list' as i know for sure that they have dogs not yet listed on the web page that might be a good match for you.

that said, when i went looking in rescue for my new companion, i was looking for a male smoothie, either b/w or r/w with prick ears, 1 to 3 yrs old. i fell in love with a semi-rough tri colored female who was heartworm positive and unspayed! she did have prick ears tho and was about 1 yr old, i had to wait for what seemed like forever for her to complete her heartworm treatment and then be strong enought to go thru the spay surgery. extremely glad i broke my own "rules", as i have the dog i needed (as perhaps contrary to the dog i wanted).

 

keep the faith.

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We have a little female here that was an owner surrender to my vet for euthanasia because she killed some chickens. We have an application. But I will be more than happy to send you some pics once I am on my computer.

She fits almost all your criteria but age (maybe 2-3). She is very sweet, mild mannered (as long as you are not a chicken - and here I must say, she may look at a cat and gets no unsupervised time with them despite her being good so far).

But, since distance is a fact, I would strongly recommend looking close to home as temperament is so important.

 

And I will also join the previous posters in cautioning you to get too stuck on looks.

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I would also suggest that you ditch all the physical criteria and focus on the temperament/personality you are looking for. I totally get why you want a dog of a certain "look" because of your tremendous love for your previous dog. But, by focusing on a look, you may end up with a dog that isn't really the dog that is best for you. I've seen it time and time again where someone will fall in love with a dog because of how it looks, but will "excuse" many of the personality traits because they are just convinced that the dog they are seeing must be perfect.

 

Many years ago, I lost my much beloved dog unexpectedly and I was crushed. It took me a couple of years to even consider getting another dog. When I finally did start looking, I had a very specific picture in my mind of what I was looking for. I looked and looked for that "perfect" dog. But, one day, I was at an animal shelter to look at a dog. They brought the dog into the room with me and I just didn't feel any connection to it. Finally, I realized that I was looking for a dog that didn't exist because that dog, the one I lost, was one of a kind. So, I asked the shelter staff if I could see another dog, a puppy, that they had. I picked that puppy because it was nothing like what I was looking for (breed-wise), and I figured that maybe I was better off getting a dog that was completely different than what I thought I wanted. I ended up adopting that puppy and it was the best decision I ever made. I got the BEST DOG EVER, and he changed the course of my life in so many ways.

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as said, don't get too caught up in specifics, you may miss your perfect match. do keep your eyes on www.cbcr.org and www.prbc.org , both

are very reputable border collie rescues in your area. also get an application in with your "wish list' as i know for sure that they have dogs not yet listed on the web page that might be a good match for you.

that said, when i went looking in rescue for my new companion, i was looking for a male smoothie, either b/w or r/w with prick ears, 1 to 3 yrs old. i fell in love with a semi-rough tri colored female who was heartworm positive and unspayed! she did have prick ears tho and was about 1 yr old, i had to wait for what seemed like forever for her to complete her heartworm treatment and then be strong enought to go thru the spay surgery. extremely glad i broke my own "rules", as i have the dog i needed (as perhaps contrary to the dog i wanted).

 

keep the faith.

 

Thanks for all the replies from everyone, and I understand and can appreciate what you all are saying, but I have to at least try first to find my preference and see what happens. We so wanted the one in the pictures I posted but we just barely got beat out by someone who applied right before we asked about her.

 

Distance indeed might be somewhat of a limiting factor for us, we are hoping to find one within a 2 hour drive, even though I was ready to drive 5 hours for the one we just missed (and 5 hours there and 5 hours back would have been rough for us). I had heard something about volunteers who transport pets but I am not familiar with that yet, is that a reputable way of getting pets from neighbouring states and is it expensive ?

 

I have been checking with local rescues/shelters with no success so far, we have only started seriously looking about a week ago, but our house seems so empty without some happy paws puttering around that it feels more like a few months. I am trying to be patient and not make a hasty choice because our new dog will be part of our family and we must be sure she will be the right fit for our family, but each day that goes by without a dog in our house seems like such a long day with a such very noticable void.

 

I know there are a lot of variables that can affect how long, but how long does it usually take most people to find their new dog once they start seriously looking ?

 

I heard that there are usually new dogs becoming available every week in most areas so hopefully the one we are looking for will become available soon.

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Not to sound insensitive (I too lost my heart dog about a year ago) but I think that this new dog will be under a good deal of pressure to replace your beloved dog. I imagine that the dog you lost was one of a kind and replacing it with a very similar dog (visually at least) will only highlight the many ways in which the new dog does not match up. By getting a dog that looks different, you might not expect him/her to be like the one you just lost and allow him/her to be themsleves. You may even find that the new dog has great/interesting/different qualities that your first dog did not.

 

Just my thoughts.

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Not to sound insensitive (I too lost my heart dog about a year ago) but I think that this new dog will be under a good deal of pressure to replace your beloved dog. I imagine that the dog you lost was one of a kind and replacing it with a very similar dog (visually at least) will only highlight the many ways in which the new dog does not match up. By getting a dog that looks different, you might not expect him/her to be like the one you just lost and allow him/her to be themsleves. You may even find that the new dog has great/interesting/different qualities that your first dog did not.

 

Just my thoughts.

 

No offense taken, I genuinely appreciate your concerns, but I would definitely keep in mind that we could not expect her to be another "Angel" and that she would be a unique individual in her own way (as it should be). Having said that I simply like that traditional black/white look and have gotten so used to it after 15 years but would definitely allow our new dog to simply be her own unique self in personality and love her for who she is.

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Thanks for all the replies from everyone, and I understand and can appreciate what you all are saying, but I have to at least try first to find my preference and see what happens. We so wanted the one in the pictures I posted but we just barely got beat out by someone who applied right before we asked about her.

 

I would suggest completing your application with the all rescues in your area even if they do not have a dog that you are currently interested in. Remember that rescues are staffed with volunteers and time will be needed to process your application.

 

Also, you posted seeking advice and so far I agree with the advice that you have been given. Replacing Angel with another dog that looks the same is going to place an enormous amount of pressure on your new dog to fill her shoes. I am sorry, I don't mean to seem insensitive, but I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment and the new dog for failure - at least on some level.

 

Distance indeed might be somewhat of a limiting factor for us, we are hoping to find one within a 2 hour drive, even though I was ready to drive 5 hours for the one we just missed (and 5 hours there and 5 hours back would have been rough for us). I had heard something about volunteers who transport pets but I am not familiar with that yet, is that a reputable way of getting pets from neighbouring states and is it expensive ?

 

I am not sure if a reputable rescue would "ship" a dog to a person that they have not met??? Again, you would be taking in a dog that you have never met? How would you know if there was a connection? How would you know if you liked the new dog's personality? This sounds like a really bad plan in my book.

 

 

I grew up with a fabulous BC named Casey. No other dog will ever replace her. I now have 3 BCs and I love them all. I love them all differently. They all look different, act different, excel at different things, and provide me with a different type of companionship. No dog with ever replace one of them when they are gone.

 

I know that you loved Angel. It's so very clear from all of your posts. But replacing her in the true sense of the word isn't going to happen. Opening your hearts and home to a new dog to share your life with can happen. New adventures with a new dog can happen.

 

Very best wishes,

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Heart dogs happen. They aren't chosen.

 

I lost my heart dog last year. My other two dogs are quite different than she was in many ways. Looks, temperament,are quite a bit different. In fact one of my current dogs if much goofier than I prefer. But I've come to love them for who they are. They are happy, active dogs that want to do things with me and put a smile on my face every day.

 

Keep your options open and you find the dog you need. At first it may be quite a bit different than the dog you wanted, but it will click with you and you will be ever so grateful you found each other.

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Willow

 

I just did a quick Petfinder search in my zip code and there are A LOT of border collies and border collie mixes, in shelters and rescues in NC. Probably the same in SC.

 

ETA: Blue Ridge Border Collie rescue has a couple of smooth-coated females, less than 2 years old, but would require travel to VA.

 

J.

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I would suggest completing your application with the all rescues in your area even if they do not have a dog that you are currently interested in. Remember that rescues are staffed with volunteers and time will be needed to process your application.

 

Also, you posted seeking advice and so far I agree with the advice that you have been given. Replacing Angel with another dog that looks the same is going to place an enormous amount of pressure on your new dog to fill her shoes. I am sorry, I don't mean to seem insensitive, but I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment and the new dog for failure - at least on some level.

 

 

 

I am not sure if a reputable rescue would "ship" a dog to a person that they have not met??? Again, you would be taking in a dog that you have never met? How would you know if there was a connection? How would you know if you liked the new dog's personality? This sounds like a really bad plan in my book.

 

 

I grew up with a fabulous BC named Casey. No other dog will ever replace her. I now have 3 BCs and I love them all. I love them all differently. They all look different, act different, excel at different things, and provide me with a different type of companionship. No dog with ever replace one of them when they are gone.

 

I know that you loved Angel. It's so very clear from all of your posts. But replacing her in the true sense of the word isn't going to happen. Opening your hearts and home to a new dog to share your life with can happen. New adventures with a new dog can happen.

 

Very best wishes,

 

Thanks Vicki, I really do appreciate the concerns and will be sure to not expect our new dog to be anything but her own unique self.

 

As far as the transport thing, I do agree it would be extremely better to meet the dog first and only use transport as a last resort if nothing else works out, but transporting must not be too highly unusual since there are pinned threads on this forum with the topic - "Database by state of those who can transport" - I have not really researched it yet, but is that basically for transporting between distant rescue/shelter places to other rescue places or is it more for transport to individual adopters from far away resuce/shelter places ?

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Heart dogs happen. They aren't chosen.

 

I lost my heart dog last year. My other two dogs are quite different than she was in many ways. Looks, temperament,are quite a bit different. In fact one of my current dogs if much goofier than I prefer. But I've come to love them for who they are. They are happy, active dogs that want to do things with me and put a smile on my face every day.

 

Keep your options open and you find the dog you need. At first it may be quite a bit different than the dog you wanted, but it will click with you and you will be ever so grateful you found each other.

 

I do understand what your saying, and whatever dog we finally find, she will be loved for who she is as her own individual self. I just hope we find her much sooner rather than later, but I still don't want to make a hasty choice either.

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"Database by state of those who can transport" - I have not really researched it yet, but is that basically for transporting between distant rescue/shelter places to other rescue places or is it more for transport to individual adopters from far away resuce/shelter places ?

Teansports are usually set up to move dogs from shelters, etc., to rescues, not from rescues to adopters. Most rescues would want to meet YOU in person before placing one of their dogs with you.

 

J.

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A note about volunteer transporters. I use them a lot. But, most volunteers are transporting dogs from shelters to rescues. They don't typically volunteer their time to transport dogs from shelters/rescues to adoptive homes. Not that I don't see that on occasion. But, it's really not the purpose of most volunteer transport groups. In my personal opinion, if you are adopting a dog for yourself, you should be responsible for getting the dog (your time, your gas money). Of course, if volunteers are willing to help with that, it's none of my business. I do think, unless it's a young puppy, that it's not good to adopt a dog long distance sight unseen. Not good for the adopter and not good for the shelter/rescue. Though, again, I know this does go on. It just depends on the individual policies of the shelter/rescue.

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Willow

 

I just did a quick Petfinder search in my zip code and there are A LOT of border collies and border collie mixes, in shelters and rescues in NC. Probably the same in SC.

 

ETA: Blue Ridge Border Collie rescue has a couple of smooth-coated females, less than 2 years old, but would require travel to VA.

 

J.

 

Thanks for the info, I have been checking out available dogs but nothing has worked out yet.

 

Virginia would be too far for us to travel right now, about 10 hours each way and perhaps longer depending on traffic.

 

We hope to find one within a 2 hour drive, but can go somewhat farther if it seems pretty likely it would be the right dog for us. We live about 25 miles north of Columbia South Carolina.

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A note about volunteer transporters. I use them a lot. But, most volunteers are transporting dogs from shelters to rescues. They don't typically volunteer their time to transport dogs from shelters/rescues to adoptive homes. Not that I don't see that on occasion. But, it's really not the purpose of most volunteer transport groups. In my personal opinion, if you are adopting a dog for yourself, you should be responsible for getting the dog (your time, your gas money). Of course, if volunteers are willing to help with that, it's none of my business. I do think, unless it's a young puppy, that it's not good to adopt a dog long distance sight unseen. Not good for the adopter and not good for the shelter/rescue. Though, again, I know this does go on. It just depends on the individual policies of the shelter/rescue.

 

From what little I read it seems they transport them from neighbouring states and possibly further.

 

I agree it is absolutely best to meet the dog first and otherwise would be an extreme last resort.

 

Do rescues only have them transported to get them out of a shelter, or do they also have them transported if they know someone in their local area is looking for a specific type and believe they are likely to have a home for them soon ?

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Do rescues only have them transported to get them out of a shelter, or do they also have them transported if they know someone in their local area is looking for a specific type and believe they are likely to have a home for them soon ?

 

Speaking from personal experience, I mostly use volunteer transports to get dogs from shelters without anyone in mind for the dog. I'm just looking to help find nice, adoptable dogs find good homes. If I know someone (usually someone I know personally) is looking for a dog, and I see a dog in a shelter somewhere that I think might fit what they are looking for, I will often specifically take that dog for that reason. I have one right now, a bc mix puppy, that I specifically took from a shelter in AL because I know someone (my boss at work) who is looking for a bc mix and he asked me to keep an eye out for one. The dog seemed to be what he was looking for. He didn't really have any criteria other than the dog would have to be good with their young daughter, and he wanted another bc mix (though I believe this puppy is more likely an Aussie mix). But, if I do that, I don't automatically assume that the dog will be going to the person that I had in mind when I pulled it. It still has to be the right match for both dog and adopter. But, again, I really only do this for people that I know personally.

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Speaking from personal experience, I mostly use volunteer transports to get dogs from shelters without anyone in mind for the dog. I'm just looking to help find nice, adoptable dogs find good homes. If I know someone (usually someone I know personally) is looking for a dog, and I see a dog in a shelter somewhere that I think might fit what they are looking for, I will often specifically take that dog for that reason. I have one right now, a bc mix puppy, that I specifically took from a shelter in AL because I know someone (my boss at work) who is looking for a bc mix and he asked me to keep an eye out for one. The dog seemed to be what he was looking for. He didn't really have any criteria other than the dog would have to be good with their young daughter, and he wanted another bc mix (though I believe this puppy is more likely an Aussie mix). But, if I do that, I don't automatically assume that the dog will be going to the person that I had in mind when I pulled it. It still has to be the right match for both dog and adopter. But, again, I really only do this for people that I know personally.

 

Thanks, I can understand and appreciate that rescues can't as a general rule transport dogs in for the general public based on merely the possibility it might be a fit for an adopter without knowing the adopter personally.

 

I'm learning - that's why the questions so I can learn from those with experience in these areas :-)

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The last time I adopted a dog it was in the neighborhood of 3-6 months before I had the dog. I can't remember exactly how long, but it seems like something like that.

 

At risk of repeating that which has already been said here, my advice would simply be this: be patient and don't limit yourself. When you're patient and open to the possibilities you wind up with the dog that you need - though it may not be precisely what you were looking for.

 

Take a deep breath, and beat down that burning in your gut. I know how very hard it is to be missing the dog that you loved so much. They're each so special, and they're never around long enough. I know you guys will find the right dog at the right time. :) I know it doesn't seem like it, but if you can set that desperate feeling aside, you have a tremendous gift right now. You have the gift of being able to take your time, and save a life. You get to choose - or maybe the dog will choose you. You'll find each other.

 

J, can I just say that Willow wants to come live with her brother from a different mother?!?! WANT.

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The last time I adopted a dog it was in the neighborhood of 3-6 months before I had the dog. I can't remember exactly how long, but it seems like something like that.

 

At risk of repeating that which has already been said here, my advice would simply be this: be patient and don't limit yourself. When you're patient and open to the possibilities you wind up with the dog that you need - though it may not be precisely what you were looking for.

 

Take a deep breath, and beat down that burning in your gut. I know how very hard it is to be missing the dog that you loved so much. They're each so special, and they're never around long enough. I know you guys will find the right dog at the right time. :) I know it doesn't seem like it, but if you can set that desperate feeling aside, you have a tremendous gift right now. You have the gift of being able to take your time, and save a life. You get to choose - or maybe the dog will choose you. You'll find each other.

 

J, can I just say that Willow wants to come live with her brother from a different mother?!?! WANT.

 

 

Thanks for the encouragement, I want to be patient long enough to make the right choice - I just hope I don't have to stretch that patience out too long :-)

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Oh, man. I've had my eye on Willow for months! If she was male...

 

Gary, I agree with what everyone said already, and I think you should be open minded about your next dog. However, I can tell you have your mind made up right now. :) So, my advice would be to put in applications with CBCR and especially PRBCR (which gets in a lot more dogs and mixes, it seems). Do that now, even if it may be a while before the right dog comes along. Be specific about what you're looking for and then, the hard part, be patient.

 

Of course Petfinder, Petharbor, Petango, etc, are all great resources, and maybe you can save a shelter dog instead.

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Oh, man. I've had my eye on Willow for months! If she was male...

 

Gary, I agree with what everyone said already, and I think you should be open minded about your next dog. However, I can tell you have your mind made up right now. :) So, my advice would be to put in applications with CBCR and especially PRBCR (which gets in a lot more dogs and mixes, it seems). Do that now, even if it may be a while before the right dog comes along. Be specific about what you're looking for and then, the hard part, be patient.

 

Of course Petfinder, Petharbor, Petango, etc, are all great resources, and maybe you can save a shelter dog instead.

 

Thanks for the ideas Paula !

 

I know about CBCR and PRBCR, as well as Petfinder, but don't remember hearing about Petharbor and Petango.

 

Yep, after 15 years of being so used to having a happy furry face around the house, being patient is indeed the hard part :-)

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J, can I just say that Willow wants to come live with her brother from a different mother?!?! WANT.

I'm sure it could be arranged. You could use a matched pair of stilts. And I bet she's fostered not too far from you. ;)

 

Gary,

I seriously would not hurt for you to check your local shelters. Border collies and mixes thereof land in shelters all the time (such dogs regularly show up in my local shelters), and you might just find a little gem waiting for you. It means going to the shelters (I'd suggest checking all the shelters in neighboring counties within an easy drive--you could make a day of it), but you could pretty much instantly save a life if you find a dog that appeals to you. Some of these shelters are always at capacity and dogs may never make it on to Petfinder or other sites (this is especially true of rural shelters where volunteer help is limited and there just are no real advocates for the dogs).

 

J.

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