HOW TO BE GOOD

The story of Wisp

Here's the phone call I hate to get the most of any of the phone calls I get: "We have a dog in the shelter, and if rescue won't take him, we'll have to euthanize him. Can you help?"

I hate this phone call because it means so many things; it means taking a dog that may not be adoptable in the end, depending on why the shelter feels he needs to be euthanized in the first place. It means scrambling to find a foster home to take a dog the shelter feels should be euthanized, which is no easy task. It means a dog who is probably going to stay in rescue an awfully long time while we try to fix his issues and find an adopter who is savvy enough and dedicated enough to take a dog with an issue or two, and that long stay means that some future dogs won't be helped because we don't have room.

Sometimes, doing rescue is just plain hard. It can be awfully tough to make these decisions.

So why do we take these dogs? Because sometimes, the dog's "issue" is magnified by the scary shelter environment. Because sometimes, we make a success out of what might have been a failure.

Because sometimes, these almost-dead-in-the-shelter dogs are dogs like Wisp.

A more handsome border collie you would never meet. A simply gorgeous black and white rough coated virile male purebred border collie, with a mane like a lion and the heart of one too, Wisp was sitting placidly in the kennel run looking like a King. He was alert and aware, and he was probably afraid, but damned if he'd show it. He was Border Collie, and he was better than the circumstances he found himself in, and he would maintain his dignity to whatever end the fates handed to him. But when he locked eyes with our volunteer, and his soon to be foster home, his fate changed in a heartbeat. Inside that tense dog was more soul than Motown, and the bravest, smartest, most dignified dog in the shelter that day. Wisp was what we typically call "a real find."

In short order this handsome boy walked out of the crowded shelter without a second glance. But it took no time at all to find out why Wisp almost didn't make it out of the shelter - Wisp Did Not Like Other Dogs. In a big way.

Fortunately for Wisp, his foster dad doesn't take No for an answer. And even more fortunately, his foster dad is a very good dog trainer, and he immediately set out to change the way Wisp saw the world. Because in Wisp he saw a thousand wonderful things that outshone the bad thing so powerfully that the bad thing was nothing more than a roadbump in the path of greatness.

Wisp is so bright. He is the epitome of The Border Collie; intense, scary-smart, a natural athlete and a work ethic so strong it can't be ignored. Someone had put a lot of work into this beautiful dog at some point - he knew several commands, he was in beautiful condition and he was full of self assurance. But whoever lost him - and never came to get him - didn't do two things that would have made all the difference: They didn't neuter him, and they didn't give him a reason to make his person the Whole World, and the Word.

His foster dad changed those two things with a quick trip to the vet, patience, training and perseverance. He worked tirelessly to put solid commands on Wisp, who soon learned that the world revolved around his dad, and that if he put his faith and trust in this human, he didn't need to control his environment anymore. He learned that if he trusted his human to take care of him, everything would be okay. He integrated into the pack of border collies in his foster home with grace and was soon part of the family. Puppies could hang off his ears and he would roll over and sigh. His "sisters" could use him as a big hairy pillow and all he did was blink and stretch out to make them more comfortable. Wisp learned that his human knew what was right, and that if he only listened to him, it would be alright for him too.

And so the Miracle of Wisp came to be. In time he could be trusted to ignore other, strange dogs and keep his focus on his foster dad. But years of bad habits are not eradicated overnight. Wisp was still a confident, even a little arrogant, and he was still reactive to other dogs in the wrong setting. Although he could go to the dog park and play ball without challenging other male dogs, and even learned to resist their challenges too, he presented a challenge all of his own ... how to find someone who could keep up his training, keep up with his smarts, keep his focus, his faith and his trust.

Months came and went. Other foster dogs came and went. Applicants came and went too. As one applicant told us "I really need a dog who can just walk past other dogs." Well, Wisp could do that, but only in the right hands. And those hands were proving exceedingly difficult to find. Yes, Wisp was gorgeous and yes, Wisp was a devoted companion, but no ... experienced handlers are not easy to find. Two months turned into four months and then six months and still Wisp stayed in foster care - deeply loved and admired by his foster dad, who just could not keep One More Dog, and hoped every day that Wisp would find a home, and yet dreaded it too.

A Most Stunning Animal

 

The year before we found very wonderful adopters in two special people named Evan and Katie. They opened their hearts and their home to the always happy red dog Frisco, spared death in a US kill shelter thanks to one of our ever-dedicated foster homes, Sarah and David. Evan and Katie were the kind of adoptive home that every rescue wishes they could clone and adopt dogs to endlessly. They are patient and kind, comitted and devoted and instinctively good handlers for a border collie. "Frizzy" could not have found a better home if he had offered to pay handsomely for the priviledge. We were all sad when we learned that Evan and Katie were being transferred to Ontario for their jobs and would no longer be part of our rescue family. But we wished them well, and hoped they and Frisco would be happy in their new homes.

They kept us updated and sent us stories about how great Frisco was, and then one day they send us an email and said "We are ready to adopt a second dog, and we wouldn't feel right getting one from anyone but you. We've talked about it, and we've decided that Wisp is the dog for us. Would you do us the honour of letting us adopt him?"

Would we? Oh boy, we were over the moon and squawking like hens about this happy news for Wisp. He couldn't have found a better home, he was going to be so happy with them, happy endings are so wonderful, etc. etc. ... and then the reality hit us; we were going to send Wisp halfway across the country, to people who hadn't met him, to live with another dog that might not like Wisp, and that Wisp might not like in return. Would it work? Would Evan and Katie be dissapointed in their decision? How could we support them, and Wisp, through this transition when we were several provinces away? We usually won't adopt dogs to people out of the area for all of these reasons and more, and yet we think so highly of Evan and Katie, and we wanted Wisp to find his own home so badly.

So we made another hard decision.

We swallowed our worries, we put Wisp on an airplane, we crossed our fingers, squeezed our eyes shut and we waited to see what would happen. At the very least, Wisp would always be welcomed back to his foster home. But we didn't want the very least for the wonderful Wisp, we wanted the very best.

Did we make the right decision? We'll let Evan and Katie, and Wisp, tell you if we did.

 

Wisp Is A Gift

Hello Everyone!

Just thought I'd drop a line and let you know how Wisp is doing. So far he has been nothing but a real ladies man! He has taken to Katie like a fish to
water. He follows her everywhere and never misses an opportunity to get her
attention. We can't believe how affectionate this little guy is.

As for getting along with Frisco - he did famously. It took these guys about a week to sort out their issues - but now they behave like brothers. After all was
said and done, it seems like Frisco came out on top (to our surprise!) and
Wisp is content to toe the line for now. Both are behaving really well on and off leash - and both are really keen on playing fetch. I've formed the opinion that these two would chase the ball all day if only they had someone to throw it! Wisp has settled into the daily routine around here like a real champ - we can't believe it!

We would really like to thank you for giving us this opportunity to bring Wisp into our house. Once again you have given us a gift that has exceeded our expectations. We can't say enough about your kindness, generosity and
support. You truly are running a top notch organization.

Evan & Katie

 

Rescue isn't always easy; sometimes we try, and sometimes we fail. But sometimes, we manage to get it right. Sometimes it's our hard work, often it's the dog and always it's the wonderful and devoted folks who give a rescue dog a second chance at being the dog we all knew he could be, if only someone showed him how.

Our thanks to the Surrey SPCA, for calling us and letting us give Wisp that one last chance at being A Good Dog.

Thanks to Ritchie, who is a tireless supporter of rescue, a wonderful and talented foster home who takes on the tough cases and commits himself to seeing them through. Lots of wonderful dogs would not be where they were today if it weren't for his hard work. There are several of us who are honoured to call Ritchie our friend.

Thanks to Wisp, for putting his faith in us and for trying so hard to be a good dog.

And most of all, thanks to Katie and Evan for just being plain old wonderful! We could not express to them how grateful we are that they took a chance on a dog they hadn't even met; that they trust us to do the right thing by them, and by the dog, and for being one of the very best homes available out there. We hope that this tribute to them, and to Wisp, will at least begin to tell them how much we appreciate them and all they've done for two very lucky dogs.

 

watch this space for photos of Frisco and his new brother Wisp, coming soon!

 

That'll do Border Collie Rescue
(formerly IBCRforBC)
is now on Petfinder.