Collie Rescue of South Louisiana Inc.

Happy Collie Days

It's that time of year again. As we gather with our families to give thanks, it is also a time of reflection on the past year. The year 2007 has been one of great change and trials for us in collie rescue. Our year started off in January with Patsy Cline and her six puppies coming into rescue. What a joyful experience that was! From the very first day we brought those collie-aussie pups and their mother home from the vet, our lives were forever changed for the better. True to their aussie heritage (certainly no thanks to the collie side), the pups immediately started climbing out of their puppy pen. What a shock. We had never seen collie puppies at that age as agile as these little guys. As they grew, their personalities began to shine. What beautiful sweet temperaments all these puppies had. As they began to be adopted by some wonderful families, we were sorry to see them go but overjoyed that they and their mother were getting great homes. There have also been some sad moments for collie rescue. Dear sweet Harley, the old sable-headed white collie who had been cruelly dumped by his owners, was with us for a brief 3 months, but he brought many smiles to our faces as we saw him enjoy being part of a collie family again. Most recently we were called upon to rescue a collie boy who had been hit by a car on a busy country highway in south Louisiana. Sadly there was little we and our vet could do for him. Cooper must have been a stray for some time as he was very emaciated and suffered from a bad skin infection. Cooper's injuries were severe - a fractured hip and pelvis plus internal injuries. Although his rehabilitation would have been lengthy, we were committed to do whatever we could. Sadly Cooper's injuries were so severe that he lived only 24 hours.

People often ask us how we can continue do what we do in the face of experiences like those with Harley and Cooper. There's no easy answer to this question. It is difficult to see dogs like Harley and Cooper. How could an owner dump a poor old and largely immobile collie in a strange neighborhood. How could someone let a dog like Cooper get so emaciated and stray on a busy highway? Although the two experiences were difficult for us as collie lovers, they represent a fact of life for us in rescue. There are both good and bad times for us in rescue. Harley and Cooper were the bad times, but Harley and Cooper also show us once again what a noble breed the collie is. It was touching to see Harley begin to blossom even for a brief time as he came to enjoy being part of a family again. And Cooper displayed such grace as he was lifted into our van and then taken to the vet. Although he must have been in extreme pain when the vet examined him, Cooper never snapped at the vet, the rescuer or the vet tech. It's a responsibility we feel for our breed to endure those bad times with the Harleys and Coopers. Thankfully there are other moments like those with Patsy Cline and her pups that give us such enormous and enduring pleasure.

As 2007 ends, we are thankful that we can continue to do what we love and what we feel is our mission in life - to help as many collies as we can to find their way either to loving human homes on earth or to an eternal home at the Rainbow Bridge. We at Collie Rescue of South Louisiana would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our friends and supporters a very happy holiday season.

Little Dolly is looking for her forever home

Miss Dolly - one of our collie-aussie pups- is still waiting for her forever home. What a sweet and loving little girl she is. She loves to cuddle with each of her foster moms (yes, we all consider ourselves to be her foster mom). She is also a very active pup running and playing with all of the collies. Mostly though, Little Dolly would like her very own family like all of her brothers and sisters now have. Dolly has lots of love to give her new family.