Evie Haskell is an author and long-time rescue-dog lover living in the Pacific Northwest. You can find her on Facebook here.
I thought I knew about dogs. I mean, really I did. After all I grew up with dogs.
Some of my earliest memories involve a cantankerous black Labrador retriever named Sparky who ruled the household and taught many a puppy good manners. (As in: Do NOT disturb Sparky while she’s napping.)
Sparky was the first of many Labs who came our way from Kurt and Evie Unkelbach (parents to Cary, the proprietor of this blog). In addition to Labs, we shared our lives with various Siberian huskies, one Samoyed, a west highland white terrier or two and, oh yeah, several strays who came for dinner and stayed for life.
So anyway. I thought I was dog savvy. But then the day came—well into my adult years—that I came upon rescue dogs. Rescues are often mixes, but they can be purebred and the reasons they need to be “rescued” are various and heartbreaking. Sometimes the rescue is needed because the owner can no longer care for the dog. That’s sad. Even sadder are the many, many dogs who are tossed out due to owner whim. Like maybe the dog peed in the house. Why bother with training when you can just dispose of the pet?
Or the dog became surplus baggage after a child goes to college. (We had one absolutely gorgeous “European sheltie” born in Belgium, registered as Brigadier General of the Golden Fir, and then abandoned for this “surplus baggage” reason). Or the dog resulted from indiscriminate breeding and was thus deemed without worth.
The reasons that dogs go into rescue can be horrible, but the experience of taking them in and watching them change and grow is wonderful.
Thanks to the fabulous people at the Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue (https://www.colliesheltierescue.org/info/contact), my family has lived with an incredible array of collie and sheltie mixes. But along the way we’ve learned a lot about mistreated dogs.
We learned even more when my friend and cousin, Cary, wrote a book—Heartbreak Kennel: The True Story of Max and His Breeder—about a Lab breeder gone very wrong. (It’s an excellent read, highly recommended.) Anyway, that got me thinking about breeders and the many things that can go wrong. Then I met Snorri.
Snorri is an absolutely beautiful border collie. She’s copper colored, has big golden-brown eyes and the long, long legs of a born model. In other words, perfect. And I guess her original owners thought so too as they planned to breed her in order to sell puppies. Lots and lots of puppies.
But before she could have her first litter, Snorri got sick. The diagnosis was Addison’s disease, a hormonal imbalance that requires medication. It’s not life threatening (so long as you give her the medication) but it was enough for the people who had planned to make money off of Snorri to ditch her.
They took her to the Larimer County Humane Society which, in turn, decided to put her down. That’s when my friend Hope, major domo of the Rocky Mountain Collie and Sheltie Rescue, heard about Snorri. Her band of dog-rescuing volunteers rescued our beautiful dog before the Humane Society could dispose of her. Hope then proceeded to convince me that Snorri was THE dog for our household. (Hope can be very persuasive; just a heads-up, folks.)
So now we had the beautiful Snorri. But – oddly given her designation as a purebred animal based on the representation of her original owners – she had no registration papers from any dog registry. This made us a tad suspicious. We got even more suspicious when Snorri promptly proved herself to be an excellent retrieving dog – with, near as we can tell, no herding instincts of any kind whatsoever. She retrieves everything: balls, frisbees, sticks etc. She always wants to carry something in her mouth. And she’ll swim to retrieve a ball or stick out of the water.
Suspicion turned to curiosity and curiosity turned to . . . DNA testing. Yep, it’s silly but we went for it. Swabbed Snorri’s cheek, sent in the sample with the $85 fee, and waited.
Two weeks later a note arrived in my email inbox. Snorri had been tested and . . .
Yes! She IS a border collie. Or almost a border collie. To be precise: 87.5% border collie. (We suspect the missing 12.5% came from something called a little red duck dog AKA Novia Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, but that’s another story.) We tried to find out what breed or breeds made up that missing 12.5% but the company declined to tell us anything other than Snorri was 87.5% border collie.
However, as I’m sure you noted, Snorri is not “purebred.” Thus, anyone purchasing a puppy from her litters would have been getting shortchanged to the tune of about $2,600. (Really. That’s what we found online for a purebred border collie puppy.)
Does this matter to us? No. After all, our Snorri is a rescue and a truly wonderful dog. But for anyone interested in a “purebred”. . . Well, that 12.5% could spell disaster.
Is this anywhere near as bad as the tale Cary tells in her Heartbreak Kennel? Not at all. But it is a word of warning: If you want a purebred dog, do your due-diligence on the breeder or you may end up with a part little red duck dog retrieving every ball you throw while ignoring that whole herding thing.
Now, on a sort-of unrelated subject, a word of warning for those of you looking to adopt a dog during this time of coronavirus: If you want to adopt, wonderful! But be sure you’re getting the dog from a reputable source (that is, one who has had the animal checked by a vet and who has made sure they’re up-to-date on shots). Also, take some time to think about whether you can provide a long-term home. Dogs require care and companionship and so if your regular job is of the 24/7 variety, this is probably not a good match for you or the canine. Just a heads up but believe me: If the fit is right, a rescue dog can bring great joy to your family.
PHOTO CREDITS: Cody Maxwell.
See more photos: https://www.instagram.com/snorripup/
RELATED POSTS: https://www.caryunkelbach.com/safe-harbor-lab-rescue-a-new-life-for-so-many/ and https://www.caryunkelbach.com/the-flip-side-of-christmas-puppies/
Definitely good advice but a cute story too. Snorri seems like a wonderful companion.
Thanks so much! She is wonderful … although quite a handful!
I thought “Toller” immediately after seeing the photo at the top of this article! Just FYI, there are different companies the do dog DNA tests. The last one I used was through Cornell University and I think the results were more conclusive than those from the first company I used.
Good to know about the DNA testing. Also good for you in picking out Toller right away. We did a lot of research trying to figure Snorri out and that’s what we ended up with.
Funny story. My friend, Susan, and I have both been showing and breeding Labrador Retrievers for 38 years. We were at her kennel in Northern Colorado when a customer came in with her pet. She was a yellow lab….I suppose she could have had a little golden retriever in her or more than likely just a pet quality lab of common looking ancestry. No judgement – just painting a picture. The customer then proceeded to tell us that she had the dog’s DNA tested. The test came back that the dog was primarily bloodhound.
Picture this skinny-headed yellow lab mix. Picture a bloodhound.
She was surprised at first, she said, but now embraced that she owned a bloodhound mix.
Susan and I just looked at each other and tried not to laugh. I think someone stole her money.
Hilarious! You were thinking poor quality yellow Lab and owner believed bloodhound! I picture a bloodhound with huge drop ears, long snoot, skinny tail and often tan and black markings! It’s a miracle that you and Susan didn’t burst out laughing!! So glad the dog’s owner embraced the fact she owned a bloodhound mix. Thanks for sharing the story, Dorsey. Sounds like one really needs to check out a canine DNA testing company’s reputation before submitting a sample. Good to know!
Good grief! Suppose the testing folks mixed up the results and a bloodhound owner discovered they have a lab? At any rate, you and your friend Susan probably deserve a medal for not collapsing in laughter.
Okay, loved this story about Snorri and I love talking DNA testing as my Bella tested an F1 cross between Staffordshire Terrier and Rhodesian Ridgeback and I can relate to Evie’s comments regarding adopting in these times BUT what I really really want to know is when do I get to get my hands on this book Cary has written!!!
Looking to have it published this month! The book’s cover is being designed and a proofreader is checking my manuscript for all those typos that I’ve missed even though I’ve looked for those nasty devils a zillion times! I recognize how patient you’ve been but the answer to your question is soon!! Thanks for asking!
Loved the story and like Patty-when does the book come out? 👏😀
Thanks Franci! Hoping to publish later this month or early June!
Great story! I enjoyed reading it. A word to the wise, thoroughly check out a breeder’s credentials before purchasing a “purebred” pup. Rescues need homes too. Great feel good story.
Glad you enjoyed the story, Sandi! Yes, always thoroughly check out a breeder before you buy a pup!!
Um … very good point on the breeder’s credentials. And I’m so glad you liked the story!
Evie
Snorri is a great example of how lucky you can get adopting a rescue. Thank you for sharing.
Yes, you really can get great rescue dogs! We’ve now had four rescue dogs from Hope’s operation and they have all been fabulous.