Intro from NC

[JDawg]

Mornin' everybody. JDawg checkin' in. Guess by now you've figured out that I'm a southern boy...Lexington, NC or thereabouts...and I use the term loosely, since it's been more years than I care to remember since I've been young enough to be called "boy." Partial to Collies, but not discriminating.
All breeds and mixes thereof are targets of my affections and attentions.
Dogs are just plain good folks.:)

50somethin'...Former Marine E7...Vietnam Vet...Armorer/Pistolsmith and competitive shooter, though not as active as I once was since my eyes have started to betray me...and hardcore, Dyed-in-the Fur dog lover.

I have 14 dogs on-site, situated in Central Davidson County on 2 acres, with a good half-acre fenced in for my hairy children to enjoy. About half of my dogs are rescued. All but one of the saves were found starving stray and/or abandoned...and I just couldn't turn my back on'em...so they're now part of the family. When I buy dog food...I buy it by the pickup load. :rolleyes:

I have 5 Collies...three of which are brothers from the same litter and their mother. One is a rescue that I pulled from a kill shelter less than 18 hours before he was scheduled to take the last walk. Details later...a real tear-jerker with a happy ending, and one of those where God probably intervened to help this little guy. He's now one of my favorites...if there is such a thing. They're all special in their own way.

2 Black Labs...male and female...Names are Polly and Jake. Both abandoned.
They've become so bonded that I call'em PollyJake. Polly came first and is older. Had a few inquiries on Jake, and would have let'em go to a good home at one time...but my criteria was: "Take one...Take both, or no deal. They're still here...

A Pit that was so starved that he didn't have the strength to run from me any more. Probably 6 months old when I finally got my hands on him after tryin' for 3 weeks. 6 months later, he was healthy, happy, spring-loaded, and lives in the lower lot with PollyJake. A complete sissy that squatted to pee until he was almost 2 years old...he's completely stupid over children, and the smaller they are, the goofier he gets. PollyJake and Littleman are my only full-time outside dogs, so their "doghouse" is a 10X10 utility building situated underneath a big shade tree for summer heat and a large sleeping box for cold weather.

A Shetland Sheepdog with a pedigree who was the runt of the litter and...typical of runts...the prettiest of the bunch. Her title is: "Her Ladyship
Dixi Grace of Rotha." Dixi after her mother. Grace because she was so clumsy that she fell down every flight of steps that she tried to negotiate...up OR down...until she was almost a year old. We thought she was afflicted, but she eventually grew out of it, and is now as agile and as graceful as an Olympic athlete.

Beau...Abandoned in a Food Lion parking lot when he was only about 4 weeks old...less than 2 months after we moved into the area from King, NC. Beau is a wiggle-waggle clown that's a Husky/Berner/German Shepherd/God-only-knows mix with huge eyes and a crook in his tail that's so tight, you could hang him on a wire with it.

Sukey. A Redtick Coonhound that was a champion field trial dog and 'Coon hunter extraordinaire'. Now retired, and adopted by me for her smile and personality. She went lame, and her owner/handler was about to put her down...because she couldn't generate revenue for him any more...and I intervened. Literally intervened. His plan was to shoot her the next day when I got word of it. I considered takin' a stick to him, but self-control got the better of me. A little proper care, and she's no longer lame. Her theme is "Catch me if you can!" A real beauty, and a genuine lover-girl, but a bit...
hyper...if you get my drift. Outside dog most of the time, but I bring her in when the temps are extreme.

Pepper and Bobby aka "Little Bob". My only two little critters, besides the cat. They make dog noises, but I'm not convinced they're dogs just yet. Neither are they, for that matter. Pepper is a Yorkie/Peke and Bobby is a
Chihuahua/Toy Poodle/Scottie mix. The stories I could tell about those two...

Roxy. My latest. My "Thief of Hearts." Rox is...by expert analysis...3/4 Siberian and 1/4 Red Wolf. The product of a few enterprising locals in the northwestern end of the Uwharries who have been breeding these animals for a few years. Roxy was running stray with every bone in her body visible from a distance when she decided that this would be a good place to live. Apparently abused, judging by her reaction whenever any of the dogs are scolded...which is seldom. So badly infested with worms that my vet said she probably wouldn't have made it through the winter. 33 pounds when I took her in...and I'd been feeding her for 3 weeks when I got her weighed.
Every canine worm except for heartworm...including a 2-foot tapeworm.
54 pounds now, she's a thoroughbred sweetie that'll steal your heart in 10 minutes flat. Her only problem these days is deciding who she sleeps with...so she alternates between us...my 14 year-old stepdaughter...my stepson...one of the other dogs...the cat...or the spare bed on the sun porch.
Everybody who comes here tries to take my Roxy...

Well...That's about it. Stories from the heart available if anybody wants to read'em. Real "Dog Interest" tales that I've borne witness to with my pack.


Take care, all. Woof!

[blueboys]

hi and a very big big warm welcome to you and your huge family of babes,just finished reading about them all and wow i will have to say you are so amazing to have taken in all these babes and what sad storys for there start of life how can people be so cruel to neglect an animal,but wow what a fantastic life they all have now and all the love,care and attention you can give them,you are one in a million well done to you.

I also am a collie owner i have two blue merle litter brothers shiloh and cheyanneanne who were 3yrs old last friday
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y193/21213/Picture010-1.jpg

I hope you enjoy your time with us all on here everyone is fantastic :)

[JDawg]

AH! Collies are amazing. My three big boys will be 7 October the 11th. We delivered a litter of six males in our bathroom on a Wednesday afternoon. We cut and tied the cords for our poor girl, who had labored hard and was so tired that she couldn't keep up.
Her whelping box was a playpen that we bought her for the occasion.

We kept two because we just couldn't decide..and a third was returned in August of '05 after a family in Boone, NC had him for nearly 5 years and couldn't keep him any more. That was always SOP for my dogs. Don't want him? Can't keep him? For whatever reason that you want rid of him...bring him back...even if he's 10 years old. Since he was a gift to their little girl, there was no refund in the offing. He's home now, and we're glad to have him.

Anybody who says that dogs can't think or reason...or feels like they only function on sight, smell, and sound, and instinct...has never lived with a Collie...and to get the full effect, you really need to have'em in multiples.

I don't breed any more. Too heartbreaking for the mother and for me. I've only let my girl have the one litter, and spayed her. We love her too much to put her through it again.

Take care of those pups! You'll never be sorry.

[blueboys]

aww it must be full of so much joy in your house with all the babes,i love collies have always had collies my last one was a black and white called nerys she sadly passed away having perinitus of the womb she was 17yrs old beautiful girl.
I can never understand anyone wanting to own a dog then a few years down the line they decide they dont want the dog anymore i mean to say every animal has feelings i could never give mine up there here to stay.

[Tammylyn]

Hi there! A big warm welcom to you and your wonderfuly huge family! I wish there were more people like you in the world! I have quite the crew myself since hubby and I moved from AZ to KY....we came with a 12 yr old male Ridgeback named Bruno, an 11 yr old blue merle Australian Shepherd named Digger (yes because it was his favorite past time, never did find a fence he didn't go under or over...LOL), and 12 yr old Ridgeback, missing her front left leg, Sasha. Sadly, the first year here we lost Bruno and Digger both, absolutely horrible...have little shrines to both on the mantle...they were both very large dogs and Dr Glass says we were lucky to have them both into the 12th year.

We still have ole Sash...in fact she was 13 in July...still unstoppable! She definitely rules the roost...scares me to think of the chaos that will ensue with the remaining bozo's for her alpha spot...love the rest but the just are not as ??? well...noble and civilized as ole Sash...will be interesting! LOL

Then there is Moose, 2 yr old black lab mix, found him loose on the highway with a badly embedded collar...he was 6 months old then and 45 pounds..now he weighs in at 90 - 95 lbs...he is a big bum! I recently started letting him run loose in the am...we live in the country with no real roads...he spends 3-5 hours chasing deer and turkey with his brother, then they come home and he comes in and lounges on the couch or follows me around inside and out....even more mellow and civilized since he has run loose...He also runs with the other neighborhood dogs (every one lets their dogs run loose here 24/7...I am torn on how I feel about that...Moose is always in at night, but does raom during the day...I think he was out on his own for so long that he is just not happy behind a fence, on a tie out, or in a kennel...he wants loose or snoring on the couch..LOL)

Then there are the 2 shepherd/cattle dog mixes that are about 1 yr now, Chloe is my little swamp thing, loves to be inside or out, loves people and the other dogs, her brother Cowboy never has completely come around..lets us pet him and rub his belly for about 5 minutes, then jumps out of touch range...I have to tranq him to get meds down him or tx him for fleas and ticks...I found Chloe first way far away, only to have Cowboy come accross from the farm across the way....no doubt they were littermates!

The latest edition is Socrates, a little black and tan coonhound...feels soooo good to have a male hound around again! A guy down the road (well, a KY road anyway...lol) got him for his kids....problem @ 6 weeks old they let him run free and chained him up under the trees at night...then soon he was staying 24/7 with us, bad storms so I let him in....plus we have coyotes bad...surprised he made it...anyway we had a talk with they guy and have had Socrates now for...about 3-4 months....HE IS FABULOUS...goofy, camping, fishing, bellaring love! He has come out of his shell and is very protective of me and his siblings....I think he will probably be the one to rule the roost when Sasha is gone...him or Chloe.

I miss Bruno sooo badly, had him when he was 6 months old...good to hear that male hound dog bellar again in Socrates...I will never forget ole BOONE...but looking in Socrates hound dog eyes, I know Bruno would approve of Socrates...I swear in the mornings when the mist is out, I see Bruno down the hill and the edge of the property by the pond...watching his home, land, and people...he will always be with me....it was strange, I never said that to my folks, but when they were down, both my parents on seperate occasions said the same thing...swore they saw him down there...okay, sorry to bable guys!!

Take care and keep us posted on the crew...hope you will post pictures!
Tammy

[toni]

Welcome to the Forum, JDawg! Sounds like you have quite a 'full' 2 acres.

Its so great to hear about dogs being saved and given a happy life. I just don't understand people who don't realize the responsibilty of taking in a dog...it's for life...not until it doesn't suit your needs anymore. But I guess those people would also be the type to have a child and when the novelty wears off or it become difficult.........dump them on social services to raise.

I have 2 Pyrenees/Anatolian litter mates.......a handful and maybe not the smartest breed choice to have in a city but we consider them our family now and they're here to stay. We are even locating to an acreage as we realize they need more room. As we make life choices for our kids....we also make them for our dogs.....we just want the best for them.

Do you have original collies....? When I was young there used to be so many around and I have not seen one for years.............they were always such well tempered, smart and beautiful dogs.

[JDawg]

Hi Toni,

So true. Dogs are aware of more than we can understand. They know when they've been abandoned, and they know when they've been rescued and adopted. Rescue dogs tend to be a bit different than the ones raised from pups. Abused dogs, too. They're more attentive and tend to be more doting. One of my Collies lived with a family in Boone, as you've already read. When they brought him back, I nearly cried at the sight of him...and it was apparent after about a week that he'd been abused. If I hadn't had a houseful of company the Sunday they brought him, I'd have probably been abusive myself.

But, he's thriving now...all 90 pounds of him, and he's more of all the above than his two brothers...who were hand-raised and spoiled from day one. A better dog would be hard to come by, and I can't understand how they could have done it to him. They all have such different personalities...but he's just a little more special in how he relates to us.
His name, by the way, is Elvis J. Dawg. I took my username from him...and he's self-named, as all the boys are. I tend to let'em name themselves. Elvis J named himself the day after he was born, with his one-sided lip curl.