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Bailey was a stray taken in by a family in New York.
A young, rambunctious, unneutered male, Bailey came to us in March
1997 through NABCRN, after the family had spent a month looking
for his owners.
Bailey had no medical history and all of the common worms, and was not housebroken. Separation anxiety was a problem for several weeks, as was his tendency to grasp people's legs and arms in play. Bailey was also a barker and major leash-puller, and he quite enjoyed playing keep-away with toys.
Bailey's personality was wonderful -- easygoing, adaptable, playful, and very curious. His favorite game was herding a large, indestructible red ball. On sheep, he had moderate instinct ... when he wasn't playing with them. Bailey also loved to try to bring back two tennis balls at once, carrying one in his mouth and nudging the other with his feet. He enjoyed splashing in water so much that we built a small pond for him.
We cleared up Bailey's medical problems, got him neutered, gave him basic training, eased his separation anxiety, and thoroughly enjoyed our time with him. He taught our dog Zak how to play with the indestructible ball, and that game remains Zak's favorite to this day (overtaking his extra appendage, the Frisbee).
In May 1997, we drove down to a park in Pennsylvania to meet Bailey's new family: a Maryland couple and their teenage son. They also had (but not with them!) a few horses and two other Border Collies. Bailey liked them right away, and so did we. Saying farewell was bittersweet, but we knew Bailey had found a wonderful home. He has since added plastic horse barrels to his herding repertoire.
We extend special thanks to NABCRN for helping with Bailey's medical bill, to Nick Carter for hosting Bailey's description on the Border Collie Rescue, Inc.'s Web site, and to Sue Honig for testing Bailey on sheep.
Send
questions and comments to Tavi@bcrescue.org or call 607 275-0282.Updated September 3, 1998. TBCR is registered with Tompkins County, Ithaca, NY. All material ©1997, 1998 by Beth and Chuck Goelzer Lyons, Tavi@bcrescue.org. All text and photographs are copyrighted. All rights reserved.