When you're a shy/fearful, mostly black cross breed dog who finds yourself in a limited time kill shelter in the United States, what on earth do you do?

Well, hopefully you end up catching the eye of a rescuer in your state, who sends you up to Canada to hang out in the TDBCR fostering program. And then if you are REALLY lucky, a gal name Kelly sees your sad, scared face on the internetz and gives TDBCR a call. Then before you know it you move to Australia, learn to jump and swim, and become the Australian and UK dock diving champion!

Easy as that :)

When Joey (formerly Jolie) came into our fostering program we were initially delighted with her cute face and athletic physique. We hoped her shyness would bloom into confidence - and it did. But with her new confidence came some challenges - Joey was jealous of her foster human, she was bossy with strangers and she had a love affair with carpeting which she marked endlessly with urine, a frustrating habit for her foster home to work on. Joey was a bundle of contradictions - she would run away in terror from other dogs, and nip at loud teenage boys. She'd snuggle with her foster mum and go to her happy place then snark when disturbed. She just couldn't seem to find a comfortable spot between Good Dog and Problem Dog.

For potential adopters, Joey was no great prize - she was mostly black, with an intense stare and big aggressive looking ears. Black dogs are overlooked and killed in shelters more than any other colour of dog, because people find them both bland and scary looking. And Joey wasn't even a border collie - she was a kelpie X cattle dog, and who the heck has heard of those breeds? Then you'd get her home and she'd nip at your neighbours and scream at your friends' dogs, then head inside and pee on your carpet. No Thank You, applicants said.

But not Kelly. Kelly looked Joey in the eye and thought "I see you, and I know what you are. You're coming with me, kid." And she bundled her off in her car, stopping at home for a few months ... just long enough to get to know her before she moved to Australia and took Joey with her. More proof that you can, in fact, move WITH your pets, even around the world!

Joey and Kelly fell off our radar for a while, but the next time we heard from them, it was with some pretty impressive news.

Pretty impressive stuff for a little no-tailed pee monster, we thought. Good on Kelly. Way to go Joey! Another happy ending.

Oh, but this was just the beginning.

A month later, we got another update from Kelly.

Super cool. It doesn't get much better than that. We were so happy to see that Joey had found her place in the world, and even got her elusive 15 minutes of fame. That's why we do what we do - every successful placement is a little version of the Perfect Match between Kelly and Joey, and it's always great to witness. Excellent stuff.

Of course, Joey is an individual, never one to make a little splash when she can make a big one - literally.

Holy cow.

From death row doggie to international champion, all in the space of just 2 short years. Wow.

We like to say AT TDBCR, EVERY DOG IS A STAR. And we mean it too! But Joey is a SUPERSTAR. She is proof positive that your dog can be anything you want him or her to be ...you just need to have faith, perseverance and a lotta love for your little buddy. Kelly is a gifted trainer, it's true, but Kelly isn't the one who broke the UK dock diving championship is she? Nope - that was Joey :) The next time you are loking for a new frisbee dog, agility partner or flyball speed demon, think about Joey and look at your local rescue to see what treasure awaits you there, ready to catapult both of you to stardom.

If you're reading this in Australia and looking for a trainer to help make your dog a champ, give Kelly a call at Sit Happens:

Just thought you might like to check this out.... Joey made the front page of our local newspaper at the beginning of October. Here is the link to the online version of the story:

There are also some cool pics of Joey in her photo gallery. There is a link to it in the middle of the article. Thought you would appreciate them!

Also, Joey made it into the evening news a couple weeks ago on one of Australia's major news stations. The story was focused on the dock diving and there was some footage of Joey in action. They also did a brief interview with me and I managed to get in a plug about rescue. It was pretty cool seeing her and I on TV! Joey is now a superstar!

Anyway, just another quick update on the adventures of Little Miss Joey in the Land Down Under.