Every Dog Has His Day - Thanks Gracie

After Gracie went to chase squirrels in the great beyond, our sweet friend, Ann Flower, told me that when the time was right Gracie would lead us to another dog.

Recently, the boys and Kelly went to the Humane Society and found a dog. She had kennel cough, so was quarantined until her medications had run their course. Almost daily, the boys asked about the dog. And on the day after she popped her last pill, Kelly and I went to bring her home.

"Prancer," proved to be a whole lotta dog. Apparently having cheated on her "Good With Cats" test, she sent Athena and Apollo fleeing. At seeing the chickens, she immediately concocted various ways of busting in the coop. But it was on her second day with us, when she took off out of the door, saw an innocent Thalia and snapped the poor bird's neck, that we said enough is enough. (And yes, that Thalia, my favorite.) "Prancer" had to go.

Good bye, Thalia

While returning Prancer to the Human Society - and providing them with some heretofore unknown information about her behavior and personality - we decided to take a look at some of the other dogs waiting to be adopted.

That's when I saw him: a young border collie mix, with soulful eyes and a mellow temperament. We took him for a walk - no aggression toward other dogs - well mannered, docile (maybe a bit too docile), sweet. We sat in on his "Good With Cats" test. He was totally uninterested in the poor test subject, and when she hissed at him, he fled.  He felt right.

So we've brought him home, named him "Skeelo" (which means "Dog" in Greek) in homage to the border collie we had in California, and he's been nothing but a good boy.

Athena and Apollo, the cats, scare him. The coop certainly interests him but more in a, "I bed I could get those chickens to go anywhere the humans want them" way. Like all border collies, he's needy and has to show us how much he loves us already.

 

His last humans had brought him to the Human Society just the day before we adopted him. They said they didn't have the time to dedicate to him (border collies need lots and lots of exercise and stimulation.) From the way he cowers at brooms, anything raised about a head, and harsh voices, we think those humans may not have been so kind to him.

How could anyone not be kind to this furry guy?

I admit that I'm always going to miss Gracie. She was a great dog. But I'm grateful that she led me to another canine friend.

Even if I really only want to be his friend!