BC puppies for sale sign

[Meg's mum]

On the way home from a day of chores we passed a hand written sign that said "Border Collie". DH screeched to a halt and backed up until we could read the sign. "What if Meg got out of the house and someone found her!" The sign said "Border Collie Puppies for Sale".

 

The property is gated, 5 acres. You can barely see the house and there is an Xmas tree grower next door. We looked at the sign for long time and then drove on home in silence.

 

That last half a mile I recalled my pet store owner pleading with me to consider the six month olds that had just hit the rescue the day before I was to pick Meg up, long ago paid for. I recalled one of you here saying that you 'once almost bought a dog from my breeder...". I thought about the recent strong reaction of any of you to seeing a BC on screen. I thought about half a dozen new little BC's needing a home and how few people from Western Washington are on these boards. None of Meg's siblings are represented here let alone those possible siblings of the new puppies down the road.

 

If I'm going to take this sorry feeling of culpability and impotence and whip it into something that actuates the engine of positive change I really need to do something conrete and proactive now. Meg's getting spayed on the 31st doesn't seem enough. Short of fostering or adoption (too much on our plates just now), any suggestions?

[Cheri McDonald]

Plenty!

 

Contact your local BC rescue and volunteer to help talk to potential adopters about the breed and your experience with Meg at any of their adoption days.

 

Volunteer to do shelter pulls and transports for them.

 

Volunteer to do home checks of potential adopters.

 

If they are having a rescue event, collect donations of bags of dog food from friends, family, coworkers, or anyone to help foster homes feed their fosters.

 

Just calling your local BC rescue and by volunteering for anything they need help with will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for the support Heidi!!

[Susan M. & Skipper, Annie and Ben]

Meg's Mum,

Thanks for asking and caring.

There's plenty you can do around here without fostering (although there's a great need for that, too.)

Eileen (colley dogge) runs Ravensgate Border Collie rescue and places a huge number of dogs every year. She operates on a shoestring budget and her fosters can always use donations and assistance, from dog food to blankets, pre-paid vet expenses, etc. For example, when I had Ben neutered (at the vet Eileen uses, too) I pre-paid for one of her fosters to be spayed.

Her foster dogs all get spayed/neutered and, in addition, some come with expensive medical care; for example one working dog had a broken jaw after being kicked by a cow. The dog couldn't work any more so it was given up- at least they didn't shoot it I guess.

Ravensgate is a blessing to many fantastic border collies.

Most arrive there because they were purchased as a pet and the owners didn't understand the committment needed to raise a healthy bc. Some arrive because their owner(s) became ill or some other circumstance beyond their control occured in their life. Some are pulled from shelters before being PTS, something that happens to healthy dogs all too often when the shelters get full.

Here is the link: http://www.ravensgate.net/

Scroll down to the bottom of the page for her contact info.

Here is another helpful link: http://www.pnwbcrescue.org/

 

As an FYI, I met Eileen about 5 years ago when I adopted Skipper from her. A couple of years later I adopted Annie, also from Eileen. I wish I could do more for the dogs I can't bring home, but I guess every little bit helps, so I try to pitch in when I can. I have washed fosters, walked fosters, started some on clicker training to learn basic manners. Again, it hasn't been much, but every little bit helps so I do what I can and hope others can, too.

 

Thanks again!

[Kitch]

I remember when I was first looking into helping out a rescue, I kept thinking to myself - I can't foster, so what help can I be? The answer is A LOT! Yes, rescues can never have enough foster homes but as was said in the previous posts, every little bit helps and really adds up - and helps to keep the foster homes from getting "burned out". Here is a list of tasks volunteers perform at NEBCR:

 

 

* evaluate adoptive homes before placement

 

* evaluate dogs coming into rescue

 

* do post adoption followups

 

* provide education to the public (demos at dog/herding events, passing out literature, etc.)

 

* help local rescue workers with services at his/her home (for example, dog walking, kennel cleaning, dog sitting, etc.)

 

* provide transportation of dogs

 

* provide "office" services such as photocopying, mailing, computer services, editing, fielding telephone calls, and so on.

 

* Serving on committees to determine group policies, outreach events, etc.

[Meg's mum]

Thanks all of you. These are great suggestions. I'll give our two rescues here a call and find out what they need the most.

[smileyzookie]

Reading this makes me want to be involved. Who would I contact for Southern Idaho? It wouldnt be anything like fostering, or anything very physical, but I'd like to know who to contact around here to find out about helping. Thanks Megs Mum for inspiring me