Once upon a time I was looking for a Collie for my fost/adopt children and spread the word in Southern California. Many of the show dogs had health problems, and I wanted one like I found in a shelter, years ago, a farm Collie, who was good with children. One day I went to a pet store. The owner said he did not get many requests for Collies. I tried Collie Rescue, but no luck. Six months later, the pet store owner called me saying he had a Collie, ordered by a family, but they decided they did not want her. I exclaimed, "I will take her!" However, he said, "Wait. She is large now. I can't sell her. She is on her way out of here. No one wants her." I rushed to the store. She was no longer a baby, long, big feet. The show dog folks told me I would have nothing but health problems with her. She did have Kennel Cough. She had no undercoat, very little hair -- not the normal fur ball. A year later I tracked down her baby brother. An elderly couple in the Midwest bred Collies as a hobby. Last year she met her mother. She was already named Lassie; we called her MaLassie. She had been there so long, she was afraid to go out of the store. What a wild horsie! At 6 months, she brought in all the sheep and the strays. MaLassie will be seven in June. In a way, I rescued her, because she was on her way to the pound when I got her. A problem child as sweet as she can be; talks a lot! Grabbed a lot when I got her; she had been in a cage so long. She transformed my life.

C. Weismantel
Southern, CA