Near the end of March of this year, one of our favorite
dogs, Peyton, came to visit for nearly two weeks while her owners went on
vacation with their kids in Florida.
When the reservation was made, the owner said she may want to breed
Peyton once again before she was spayed, but we would talk about it at another time.
A little background to this, two years ago, I was contacted
by an owner of a Border Collie that wanted to breed their dog with Clancy that
lived some distance from us. After many
discussions and getting health and ABCA records, everything was set. Peyton was brought to our house and “lived”
with us for nearly two weeks. We fell in
love with Peyton and cherished her visit.
She was a wonderful dog and fit right into our pack. When Peyton went home, she was carrying a
little of the farm home with her. Sixty
three days later, Peyton delivered a litter of beautiful pups that also
belonged to our Clancy. We were so proud
and so was the owner of Peyton.
Everything went well for the pups and they were loved and hand raised by
the owner and her children. The hardest
part was turning them loose to good homes as I know so well. Many times the owner stated that she would
love to keep them all, this too I know so well…
As fate would have it, when Peyton came to visit during the family vacation this
spring Peyton was in season. I asked the
owner, “What do you want me to do, keep her penned”? I was told just to let nature take its
course…Well as most of you know; nature will always take its course here at the
“fertility farm”, especially with Clancy.
As things often occur, Peyton went home again with a little bit of the farm
with her and the owner was thrilled to have puppies again. She stated it would be wonderful to keep one,
but they just didn’t know if it would “work out” but she always wanted another Border Collie which I can understand.
The first of June, Peyton gave birth to a beautiful litter, Peyton
was doing well and so were the pups or so we thought…The second week, the owner
noticed something just wasn't right with one of the pups. One of the little girls was smaller and had a hard
time holding her head up. She said it appeared that she was about a week
behind the others, but she was a fighter…
A series of emails between us…
Their eyes started opening yesterday. I am worried about a girl pup born last #7...she is behind the others with her head control...Her eyes are opening...She seems off. I am wondering if she didn’t get oxygen. I am also worried if she isn't getting enough milk? A vet visit may be in order...I just noticed the last couple of days...the vet came by last weekend and thought they looked great. I am worried… My little girl pup is still struggling but she is a fighter and a lover.
The vet didn't
or wasn't able to confirm ANYTHING. He said her ear canals look ok...Her
eyes appear to respond to light?? But yet he witnessed her unable to
locate food or respond to calls or claps...or something dropping in front of
her...Never looked that way or followed it. He thinks she might have
cerebral palsy?? He said he is going to do some research and get back
with me
.
As long as “Saige” was with the other pups, she was fine and
did great. Clancy and I went up to see
Peyton and the pups the last week of July.
Saige was a beautiful little girl and the owner had mentioned that there
were other things that were just not “right”.
Her head was smaller, her tail was shorter and it was not on center,
just a little to the side, something I had never seen before. Saige played with Clancy, jumping on his back
and pulling "his" tail and Clancy just let her. I wondered if he sensed something
was wrong?
All of the pups were
gone except “Tex” and Saige. Tex was scheduled to go to his new home and
Saige was going to be on her own. A Vet
trip was scheduled and tough decisions needed to be made, a real tough
decision…
Well I made the
tough decision to sell Tex to a family that lost their dog. It was tough,
many tears but sometimes the hardest decisions are the right ones. So we are
left with Saige. I still would like a home for her, but will be looking
out for her best interests. It has been a tough day at our house. I
admire your ability to do this...I am pathetic...Here I am handing off a pup
and crying like a baby!! She started crying too, I knew she was the
one! But I told myself, I’ve got a bad feeling…
The Vet trip several days later…
I took Saige to
the vet and we did the "Whistle" test...Blowing a whistle while she was sleeping
and she didn't budge...She is deaf...
News I didn't want to hear, who would want a “special”
pup? One with a short tail that’s off to
the side and deaf. This is the hard part
about having pups and being responsible and your heart breaks.
How can you find someone who has no connection to her and possibly love her like we
do? At one time, the Vet talked of
putting her to sleep something we did not want to do but if it was inevitable, I would go and get her and bury her here with my little ones, where she would always have a home.
The last email from the owner…
We are keeping her!! I made the executive decision...From this day
forward we have no more puppies available!! Peyton loves her and we do
too...she slept with me last night!!
I wept with Joy…It did work out…but only because someone made the hard decision to make a special little girl the center of their life and do the right thing...Thank you Patricia...from all of us...Give her a hug from all the Border Collie lovers everywhere...Saige now has her forever home and Patricia now has her second dog which she always wanted...
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