Sheltie Haven
Success
Stories
Stories of Triumph
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This is a tribute to a
special little Sheltie After someone has coordinated a rescue
program for a number of years, and hundreds of dogs have made
their way from sad case to adjusted, loved pet, individual
rescues tend to blend together. But there are always those few
dogs which, for some reason or another, stand out in your
heart. Sophie is one of those for me. She is a beacon that
keeps me going during hard times and tragic times. She reminds
me just how worthwhile this rescue work that we do is. She’s
what it’s all about.
- Sigrid
Mureen
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One day in July, 1993, I received a call from Ginger of
the Garland Animal Control shelter - Garland is a small city
adjoining Dallas to the northeast. She had just received a
small sheltie into her shelter. The owner, a woman who spoke
broken English, made her understand that her veterinarian had
diagnosed the dog with kidney failure. So, the woman was
leaving this 1 1/2-year-old sable and white darling to be euthanized.
Thus, here was Ginger, with this cute, fine-boned little
thing trotting around in the office -looking amazingly well
for a dog on death’s door.
“How does a dog with kidney failure act?” she asked me.
“Well, she wouldn’t be very happy,” was my response. “She’d
likely be very depressed, vomiting, not eating.” This
obviously wasn’t the case.
“So, what do I do, Sigrid?” she asked. “Should I euthanize
this poor animal?” Ginger was a loving grandmother herself. I never
could understand how she could euthanize so many animals and
be so able to handle it - and remain so kind and caring.
“Can I take her today?” I asked. “I’d like our vet to
evaluate her right away.”
Ginger agreed. At that time, I was coordinator of
Dallas/Ft. Worth Sheltie Rescue, a rescue program I had
founded in 1991. One of our volunteers picked the dog up, and
she had a complete work-up done by Dr. Nelson McKinney that
afternoon. His conclusion?
“Sigrid, I think we can control this with diet.” Her blood
work was all normal, except for an elevated BUN (a
kidney-related figure which can be altered by controlling
diet) reading. So Precious - the name she came with - went to
a foster home supplied with a prescription diet.
It was at the same time that I received a call from a
single woman who wanted a little Sheltie to train for agility
competition. Dianne was working a little 5 year-old female
mix, but she really wanted a sheltie to add to her family. In
the course of our chat, I brought up the case of Precious. Dianne was immediately intrigued. She heard the entire story,
and then she wanted to see the dog. It was love at first
sight.
Precious was safely spayed, and, only
two-and-a-half weeks after she came into our program, she was
placed in her new home. From the start, Precious, renamed
Sophie, showed her talent. She was a rather timid dog, and
probably had never been away from home, because strange sounds
and places frightened her. But, boy could she do weave poles!
(Weave poles are a series of flexible poles mounted on a base.
In agility competition, a dog will weave in and out of this
row of poles) Where most dogs lost time doing weave poles,
Sophie picked up time. It was poetry in motion! But timidity
was her weak point.
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September 1993, I chose Sophie as the Sheltie representative
for the Dallas Coalition of Animal Owners rescue parade during
the Texas Kennel Club dog show . I remember how spooky the
poor dog was. We had several practice sessions. During the
first session, the woman who was in charge privately expressed
concern that Sophie would not make a good showing for us - and
for the coalition. I asked her to be patient. I had been
watching the dog. Sophie was showing that after she had
experienced the strangeness of a situation, she would relax
and adjust. Sure enough, Sophie was a trooper by the time the
parade rolled around. In the years since that time, I have
watched Sophie develop into a well-adjusted dog, happy, even
mischievous, at agility trials. She barks for joy. And loves
those weave poles! Dianne says about her,
“Sophie is a very sweet dog and loves attention.
 She will
often use her nose to push your hand up if she thinks you
stopped petting her too soon. We call her a pushy broad! She’s
quick to learn and has learned a variety of tricks. She’s very
food motivated and will start her repertoire if she thinks it
will get her a cookie! Agility training has helped Sophie
overcome some of her shyness and insecurity. She absolutely
loves it."
Today, Sophie holds a USDAA Master Agility Dog title
(that’s MAD dog among the "in" crowd), earned in April 1997. She had been waiting a year for that final qualification - in
Gamblers, an agility game. It just so happened that Rescue was
stewarding that particular trial as a fund raiser, and I was
privileged to be in Sophie’s ring. Feeling like I was watching
a child of my own, I witnessed her completion of this
long-awaited leg. MAD dog! I am so thankful I was able to
share in her triumph - the little dog with kidney failure had
done it!
In 1998, she completed her AKC Masters Agility Excellent
title. She currently lacks three qualifying rounds in Gamblers
to be a Gamble Master and one Super Q qualifying round to be a
Snooker Master (in Super Q she has to score in the top 15% of
the class in this most strategic of all the games). When she
has accomplished these two levels, she will have won her USDAA
Agility Dog Championship.
At 7 1/2, Sophie has a lot of living ahead of her. She also
has a loving family to share her life with. Dianne is now
happily married, with additional canine kids in her family. But Sophie will never be displaced.
“I feel so lucky that Sophie has become a part of my life,
“ says Dianne. “I’m so glad we found each other, and I’m very
grateful to the animal control officer who made the phone call
that saved her life.”
I hope Ginger sees this. What better tribute to a person
who cares and tries to make a difference, than to have one of
her charges live, and love and excel. Indeed, I hope all
rescue volunteers take heart in Sophie. It is worth it, this
rescue work - it is worth it!
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