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I adopted Andre on May 25, 2001.
Two years prior to adopting Andre, I lost a beautiful little sheltie
named Megan to cancer. I still had my other sheltie Maisie, who
at the time was approximately 8 years old, and I decided that she
deserved to live out the rest of her life as an “only child.”
She seemed fine after the loss of Megan, but I still missed her
tremendously and missed not having two shelties. So after almost
two years, I started thinking about getting a second sheltie again.
The first time I saw the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue was at the Badger
Kennel Club dog show in Madison. I remember stopping at the booth
and seeing this adorable blue merle sheltie (Cody) sitting on the
table top taking in all the attention he was receiving from people
stopping by the booth. I took a pamphlet, but I was there in search
of a sheltie breeder. So on I went. There was a sheltie breeder
there, so I talked to them quite a while and got their business
card. After months of consideration, I decided to call the breeder
and put my name on a waiting list for a puppy.
But the more I thought about it, I wondered if a puppy was a good
choice considering the fact that Maisie was older (now approaching
10 years old), and probably wouldn’t appreciate a puppy romping
around the house. So I started thinking about rescue, and remembered
the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue. I had long ago lost the pamphlet I
had gotten that day months earlier, so how was I going to find them
again. The internet! So I searched the web for rescues and low and
behold there was the Wisconsin Sheltie Rescue site. I found out
that the rescue was going to be at Three Dog Bakery in Madison in
the upcoming months, so when that day came I took a trip out there.
When I got there, there were several people asking questions about
adoption. So I listened to all the questions, and the answers Lisa
was giving them. As I stood there, I met another couple that had
lost their sheltie as well, and were trying to make the same decision
I was in whether or not to adopt. They must have been as impressed
with the rescue as I was, because the next time I saw Judy &
Fred they had adopted Buddy.
My adoption papers stated the following: Female, Sable, under 3
years old. So as you can see, Lisa came up with a perfect match
with Andre, Male, Blue Merle, 6 years old. Actually, I changed my
mind once I saw Andre on the website, and Lisa said that he was
a lot like Cody. Well, since I fell in love with Cody the first
time I saw him, I knew Andre had to be mine.
The day I went out to meet Andre, I took my sister with me. When
we drove in the driveway, we were greeted by shelties of all sizes
and colors in the fenced in yard. I told my sister, we’re in
sheltie heaven!
We went into the house and Lisa went to the patio door where there
were all these wet noses and wagging tails there to greet her. She
opened the door, holding back the pack of anxiously waiting shelties.
She called Andre, and my sister and I still laugh at this, he came
from the very back row of shelties and just pushed his way through
the door. So proud of himself, he came prancing across the room.
I took one look at his face, and fell in love. He was so happy to
be chosen to join us, as I watched him prance around. I remember
stooping down to pet him, and he just snuggled into my arms. So
he was mine and we both knew it.
It was hard waiting for the day I would meet Lisa to pick him up.
When I got him in the car, I put his seat belt on him. That was
a first for him, but he let me put it on him and he sat still all
the way home. When I got him home, he acted as though he had always
lived there. He settled right in, and has followed me around ever
since. People laugh at him and call him my little shadow.
I thought there would be an adjustment period to go through, but
he’s been so easy and so good I can hardly believe it. Even
the adjustment with Maisie was fairly easy. She wasn’t sure
the first day or two whether she liked having him here, but has
adjusted easily. In fact, he has been great for her. She’s
more active and energetic now. It’s so funny to watch her play
with him. She loves to make him do laps around the house, so when
she wants him to start running, she’ll go up to him and paw
at him and push him with her nose. Eventually, he gets the idea
and starts running in circles around the living room. She’ll
jump at him as he runs by her. That’s being active for her!
He has also allowed her to be the alpha dog, which is great for
her because Megan was the alpha dog all her life, so now it’s
Maisie’s turn. Although, I noticed that he allows her to take
food away from him. So I have to watch them, so he doesn’t
let her take everything away from him.
Another favorite game we play is what I call “fighter-biter.”
I’ll get on the floor and Andre starts wrestling around and
gently biting me, it’s funny because he makes sure he doesn’t
bite too hard. He could do that for hours if I let him. Andre also
loves to sleep in my bed with me, which is something Maisie never
liked to do because she gets too warm. He doesn’t care how
warm it is, he’ll snuggle right next to me. I love how snuggly
he is, so I call him my little bed-buddy.
Andre obviously was in a loving home before he came here, because
he’s such a loving little guy. I feel very grateful that he
was loved and not in an abusive home.
So Andre, Maisie & I have adjusted well. I feel very lucky to
have found him and I’m looking forward to many, many years
ahead with him in my life.
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