Oh my gosh ~ "cute-o-meter" on overload !!! Jessie was six years old and a tiny guy at 12" / 20-ish pounds. His original owners were in the military and couldn't take him when they moved. He was given to a friend, but that person moved also ~ leaving Jessie with an ex-girlfriend. She didn't have dog experience and wasn't in a situation to care for a new pet, let alone a sheltie that was basically dumped on her. We are very grateful that she contacted Sheltie Rescue.
We knew he was coming with "baggage".... Only marginally housebroken, "afraid of men, loud noises, aggressive on leash, and a potential fear biter" according to the description from his short-term owner. We actually weren't sure he'd be adoptable [based on her e-mails] and planned to have him professionally evaluated.
Well, he turned out to be one of the easiest fosters we've had !!! Full of life & that wonderful sheltie sense of humor, oodles of energy as he'd bound from floor to back of the sofa [42" high] and then take a flying leap off the arm, run laps around the sofa/up-down the stairs in games of sheltie tag with Uncle Buddy..... LOVED toys ~ would toss them back to you..... not to mention the most adorable snugglebug you could ever imagine.
With the exception of one sprinkle on the carpet his 3rd day, no accidents.... perhaps it had been "territorial marking" that stopped when we had him altered. Having 2 other dogs in the house also helps in the training process because the newcomer can follow their example.
Jessie was posted on PetFinder [usual procedure] and also on SheltieNation.com ..... 1st time we've tried a wider audience. My goodness ~ the response was amazing. Within 3 days of being posted on SheltieNation, we had at least 15 responses .... including folks as far away as Michigan, Maine and Virginia ~ thought Jessie was going to need a personal secretary, PDA or Blackberry to keep track of his admirers.
More pictures will be posted when film and video developed :)
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