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Rescue Success Stories |
Alfie
April 2006
One day, we had a call from Ann Dixon. Someone
had informed her there was a beardie in Scarborough Animal Services
shelter and he was scheduled to be put down. Bruce and I traveled
the short distance to the shelter, wondering if he would really be a
Beardie. We had been told that it was an “awful place” and that they
weren't very nice to the dogs and were resistant to rescue members.
When we arrived, we were told to go into Room 1. We looked and saw
nothing but pit bulls – I kid you not. It is very depressing to go
to a shelter and find a room full of pit bulls that you know have a
very short time to live. We had to go back to the receptionist and
tell her there was no Beardie in Room 1. Where was he? She then did
a few phone calls and we found out he was in the lost and found
room. (We later found out he had been found tied to a bus shelter
bench – abandoned). When we went into the lost and found room, there
he was – definitely a Beardie – but what a mess! The shelter had a
policy of releasing dogs to rescue groups for a minimal amount of
money, so we paid the small fee and he was ours! On the way home, we
decided to call him Buster for the time being. He was a very
friendly, but filthy, dog and ingratiated himself right into our
hearts.
The first hurdle when we got home was to introduce him to Bella and
Beau. No problem – he was very dog-friendly and had no problems
integrating himself with the other two. Next came our biggest
problem – he was a dirty mess. When you touched him, your hand came
back black. We started trying to shave him – no way – our clippers
wouldn’t go through the mats and it was obviously quite painful for
him. As there was no way we could bring him in the house, we started
phoning around to see if we could get him groomed. It was Saturday
and absolutely no one would see him that day. We finally decided to
take him to the emergency vet clinic. He would need a surgical shave
and sedation to get it done. Since the mats were so close to the
skin and so huge it was painful for him, a medical route was the
only way he was going to let it happen.
So, we were off to the emergency vet clinic. We left him with the
vet to be sedated and shaved. When we came back to retrieve him,
what a different dog! First of all he was structurally beautiful . Secondly there was a huge scar from his withers to his tail that we
will never know how he got. But he was happy! He had a jaunty scarf
around his neck and did he feel good! He was strutting around like a
king.
After such a traumatic day, we went home and he was exhausted.
However, he wasn’t too sure of his new surroundings and felt that he
had to crawl into bed in between Bruce and me. He spent the night in
the middle of the bed. Alfie is not a small Beardie – he took up a
lot of room that night and for several nights to follow.
After another traumatic evening – a neuter and a round of shots – he
was ready to go to his forever home. Ann suggested we call the
Charlesworths. They were at our place very quickly. They were about
to go to the Humane Society to get a dog because they had waited so
long for a Beardie. When they came over, it was love at first sight.
We felt they were a great home for Buster, now named Alfie, and they
had fallen in love with him. They took him home and the rest of the
story is told by Ian…..
Joan Wright, Past Rescue Coordinator |

Alfie before shaving

Alfie after shaving

Alfie's scar
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Rags, Pistache, Fanny
We have placed three dogs since the beginning of May.
"Rags" and "Pistache" came from the SPCA, and "Fanny" came
from a family that had bought her at a local pet shop and decided they couldn't keep her.This sweet pup had lived in the pet shop for three months and
then in her new home for only two.
All three of these Beardies are in wonderful new homes
now and doing very well!
Ann Dixon, Past Rescue Coordinator

Pistache, now in New Brunswick Rags |

Fanny, now in Lac St-Jean |
Fletcher
I'm pleased to be able to let you know that "Fletcher, the 3 year old Beardie
boy in Vancouver, now has a wonderful home in Maine ... yes Maine! Special thanks to
Jacquie Byrnes in B.C. who fostered Fletcher for several weeks. Through the internet we
were able to find him a perfect home where he is truly loved. Air Canada was very generous
to fly Fletcher from Vancouver to Halifax at no charge. He spent a few weeks with Chris
Neilson, who did some "clicker" training with him, then Fletcher, now called Clipper, went to live with
Chris' Mum in Maine. What you'd call a happy ending. .. or more appropriately a happy
beginning!
Ann Dixon, Past Rescue Coordinator |
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Toby
Summer 1996
Note: Toby was a pet shop Beardie rescue who went to his new home in July
1996. His first owners decided to place him with us in hopes of finding a good home for
him. I think we were successful!!
My family has always been fairly
tranquil, even boring at times, which has always been reflected in the personality of our
dog. Daisy, our Beardie of 15 years, was often approaching comatose. She slept constantly,
both in the house and on the front lawn, and never had to be on a leash. If anyone passed
by she would never think of moving off the property, but she would bark sometimes. After her death we were lucky enough to find Toby and Ann Dixon's rescue
outside of Montreal. We drove to pick him up, loved his nature and talked about him
throughout our long drive to Toronto while the dog slept all the way home. What a
wonderful guy!That was it. Toby woke up the next morning full of energy. he had eaten the
telephone, which had to be replaced, chewed the remote control for the car alarm,
resulting in the car locks consistently going up and down for three days non-stop, and on
numerous occasions he has taken the dishes out of the dishwasher and into the living room.
What a guy! He barks at everyone, especially those on bicycles, and on at least one
occasion he tore the leash from my hand and ran 3 blocks after a 7 year old cyclist who
was terrified of Toby's kisses. He jumps on everyone he sees and at 6:00am jumps on my bed
because he wants to go for a walk. What a guy!Toby has added spunk and life to my family of 3 children which I am sure you
can appreciate was about the last thing we really needed. He is comical, lovable and truly
loved. Last week he was neutered which was very traumatic for us all. My daughter's job
was to take Toby to the vet early in the morning. The two boys went off to school, but
called home 4 times to check his condition. I went out of town because I guess the pain
was too much to handle. I did make several phone calls to the vet though. Is he ok? Out of
surgery? Crying? Thirsty? In pain? At 4:00pm he was picked up by a friend while we waited
at home for the patient. At 4:30 the car drove up. Toby came running in the house,
bounding up the stairs, on the couch, on the bed, jumping over chairs. You would never
know that he was the patient as he was full of the usual energy, eating my tennis shoes.
The family on the other hand was in bed by 9:00pm, exhausted from the stress of the
surgery.
To be serious for a moment, we have found Toby to be a wonderful and loving dog
that has become a very integral, yet active part of our family. Everyone in the
neighbourhood knows him by name, although they don't know me or my wife who have lived
here for 25 years. Although he is truly a character, we love him so much that we don't
even care that he has us wrapped around his finger (paw).
Michael Appleby and Family |

Toby and his new dad |
Harry
Spring 1996
Harry, an 8 month old blue boy, was sold here in Montreal by a local pet shop
that imports a wide variety of breeds from the USA. He came originally from a puppy farm
in Missouri. He ended up in our care after his owner decided that he was just too much for
her. She had been told by the pet shop that Bearded Collies were 'low maintenance dogs
requiring very little exercise'! She thought he'd be perfect for her lifestyle.
Harry
lived with us for about 6 weeks and was quite a handful, but also a real sweetie. He has
now been placed with a wonderful family in Rochester, N.Y. They had owned a rescue Beardie
before for 15 years and Harry has proven to be just what they were looking for! They have
the patience, time and love to give him the life he deserves. Special thanks to Kelly
Canham-Tonkin who put us in touch with the adopting family by responding to the post we
sent to the 'Beardies-l' mailing list on the internet.
Technology came through for Harry! Harry's story has a happy ending. We wish it
could be the same for all.
Ann Dixon, Past Rescue Coordinator |

Harry |
Sophie
Fall 1995
Sofie has been with us for just over two weeks now. In that short time we have
seen a shy, neglected dog turn into a sweet, bouncy, devilish Beardie. Her story began
three weeks ago with a phone call to Diane Newman from a woman living near Lachute,
Quebec. She thought that Diane might be interested in buying her six year old bitch for
her 'breeding program'. She'd had the dog about a year and couldn't cope with her. This
was already her third home! Sofie was originally from Germany, and the woman had her
pedigree and registration papers. She had never been shown or bred and was not CKC
registered. She basically lived outside, tied up to a doghouse, and had not been groomed
nor seen a vet in the time she'd had her. The woman wanted several hundred dollars for her
and was determined to sell her. One of our fears was that an individual we know of in the
area that breeds unregistered Beardies with no health checks might get a hold of her. We
did not want Sofie to get into his hands!
That's when Pierre Chevrier,
a new BCCC member, stepped in. Being able to reason with the woman in the French language,
he convinced her that breeding Sofie was not a good idea and that the BCCC would be more
than happy to help her out by finding a good home for Sofie. A donation of $100 from a
very kind 'non-Beardie owner, but Beardie lover' had been offered to the Club to help
spring Sofie. Pierre was able to talk the woman down to $100 and Sofie was ours! He then
drove a considerable distance to pick her up. She was a mess ... a matted, sad, skinny mess,
but through all of the tangled, dirty unkempt coat he could see those beautiful, soulful
Beardie eyes. On his return, as I looked into the crate in the back of Pierre's van and
whispered 'Sofie' the tail started to twitch. Well that twitch has now turned into an all
out Beardie bum wiggle!! In fact, this morning she wagged her tail so enthusiastically
that she whacked herself in the eye! Sofie was bathed and clipped (unfortunately the only option) then, a few days
later was spayed, had her teeth cleaned and an umbilical hernia repaired. She's in great
shape now, has gained a few pounds and her hair is slowly growing back. She's fitting
right in at our house too...she assisted Abby in the theft of a lemon cake off the counter
last week (her sticky lemon beard gave her away!). It has been a wonderful experience having Sofie with us but it also shows, once
again, that there is a long way to go towards educating the public on responsible pet
ownership. We will miss her, but today she starts her new life with her new family not too
far away. It just happens to be Thanksgiving day! Sofie enjoy your turkey but please try
to stay away from the pumpkin pie!
Special thanks to Diane Newman for alerting us to Sofie's predicament, to
Pierre Chevrier for everything he did to make this rescue a success, and to our anonymous
rescue donor!
Ann Dixon, Past Rescue Coordinator |

Sophie and her new mom |
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