| Sota is a black and white border collie whose approximate birth date is 1/1/1991.
When I was staying in Syracuse for a dog obedience trial, I was told there was a
purebred border collie in a local shelter. I went to take a look. Sota,
previously known as "Queenie," was 5 years old at the time. I was hesitant
about adopting a dog that old - I had been hoping to find a dog around 1 year old.
Sota's previous owners had tried to turn her into the shelter, because
their neighbors complained about her barking. The previous owners had her
tied up outside, so she was probably barking out of boredom and frustration.
The shelter was full at the time, so they could not take her in.
A week later, she was picked up on the streets by
animal control, and brought to the shelter. She had been at the shelter for 3
weeks - beyond her scheduled euthanasia date. I decided to adopt her.
Before I owned Sota, I had the notion that all border collies were high drive
dogs and extremely quick learners. Sota did not fall into either of these
categories. It took a lot of time for her to "learn how to learn." She was
also always very distracted by other dogs and her environment. I started training
Sota in obedience and agility as soon as I adopted her. She was successful
in obedience, with all of her scores in the 190's. She also earned a few
agility titles. Many people were impressed by her beautiful heeling and high
scores in the obedience ring. I had many people offer to adopt her from me.
I've had one person say - "She's too beautiful to be a rescue." Public perception
is often that rescues have been beaten, that they all come with behavior
problems, and that they aren't as pretty as "show" dogs. Sota proves this is
not true. She actually came with impeccable house manners. She hadn't been
trained, but even at 5 years old, she was obviously not beyond learning new
"tricks."
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