The Gathering at Sunnybank

For those of you who are Albert Payson Terhune fans, the annual Gathering at Sunnybank, sponsored by the Collie Health Foundation is being held on August 15th & 16th. You can get more information at: http://www.sunnybankcollies.us/gathering.htm. If you are planning on going, please e-mail and let us know, so that we will look for you! CRI is not going to have a booth, but we will be there having fun!

Meet Our Volunteers!

A special "thank you" goes out to Kelly Khair who has greatly helped Collie Rescue, Inc both from an administrative and collie care perspective. Kelly is a graduate of West Virginia University. Born and raised in the NoVA area, she returned here after graduation. She volunteers for various rescue organizations, and we were lucky when she found us through volunteermatch.org!

In the months since Kelly has been a volunteer, she has mastered nearly all aspects of the rescue including:

• Adoption screening & coordinating
• Transport and logistics planning
• Event coordination
• Volunteer coordination

Kelly has a big heart and it has shown through her dedication to each and every animal she works with. Kelly has truly managed to keep CRI running this past year, and we are pleased to have her on board!

Kudos To Robbie & Nan

We love to get e-mails from CRI adopters! Following is an excerpt on an update from Nan Marks who adopted a sweet collie named Robbie:

Robbie reminds me so frequently that people who pass by an older dog because they want to "do things" with their dogs are making a great mistake. As you know Robbie (my Thanksgiving collie) was 6 and 1/2 when I got him and is now almost 10. He arrived untrained (and pretty worried about the world) and now he does agility, has two rally obedience titles along with a CD title in obedience and now a freestyle title (several with first place ribbons). He continues these activities and is also a registered therapy dog who is great with everyone from the oldest to the smallest. Far more important than the titles and activities though is the joy he takes in learning and doing things with me and the joy he gives me as we do these things together. His pride in himself as he learns sets his eyes aglow and it does the same for my heart.

Donation Request

Battery-Operated Digital Photo Frame: If you have this type of photo frame, and you don't want it anymore, please consider giving it to CRI. We could really use one for when we are at adoption and community events to showcase the collies in our care.

What A Wonderful World!

Kobe came to CRI from a rural shelter in VA. He was a complete mess when he arrived... he was severely matted, terrified, and full of ticks. We cleaned him up and upon his initial exam with the veterinarian, it was found that he had a severe heart murmur, so we took him to a cardiologist. The cardiologist diagnosed him with a condition known as a Tetralogy of Fallot, a congenital cardiac anomaly that consists of four defects and is a very serious problem. In Kobe's case, surgery was not an option.

Kobe's foster family, Beth and John, welcomed him right into their home. From all accounts, we were not hopeful for finding an adopter for Kobe given his medical condition. Further, we were concerned that Kobe would take up a much needed slot in our foster home. However, we did make a promise to take care of Kobe until a forever home could be found and Beth and John set out to provide him with the best love and care.

Who would be the perfect adopter for a pup like Kobe? Obviously this would need to be someone who understood his condition and was willing to care for him. How about a veterinary technician living above an animal hospital? Seem far fetched? Well - that is exactly how it worked out!

We did not receive any applications on Kobe for a couple of months. Then, in late June we received an application from Kim, a veterinary technician, who was looking to help and truly rescue a collie whom no one else wanted.

Our excitement for Kobe was tempered with the knowledge that Kim still had to go through our adoption process - a process designed to validate an applicant's submitted information and also one that helps us ensure (to the best of our ability) that a good dog/human match is made. With each step of the process, our excitement grew. Kim and Kobe seemed like a great match for each other! In mid-July, Kobe went to his forever home. He is adjusting wonderfully and could not be more loved.

Thank you Kim for truly rescuing a Collie in need!

Help Collect Info on Collie Health

The Collie Health Foundation has a Health Incident Report on their website at: http://www.colliehealth.org/incident.html. If you collie has any odd health problems, please do go to this site and submit a report. This information will be used to help keep other collie owners informed of possible health problems and help the Foundation seek and select researchers to find causes or solutions to problems that effect the entire collie population.

Beware of Snakes!

For those of you with pets and kids wandering around outside, here is an excerpt from an email that was received by someone in the area. This information should be considered informal as there are no supporting statistics to back up the frequency of venomous snakes in the metropolitan DC area.

"...[our dog] got bit by a copperhead last week. She was in the ER for 2 days and $4,000 later but she is still alive and that is all I care about. I was prepared to sell my car if I had to. She was in bad shape. But she is doing better now... she walked by a copperhead when I was letting her and my other pup run around a playground. I did not see the snake until I walked by it. I don't think [our dog] knew she got bit, she never even made a noise. I didn't realize she was bitten until we got home from the walk and her back legs were giving out and she was crying. The veterinarian said he expects to see a lot of snake bites this summer."

The fact is that there are poisonous snakes in the metropolitan DC area. The best advice is to treat all snakes with respect. Leave them alone as they belong where you found them just like the birds and butterflies living in your backyard. Experts sometimes have trouble identifying snakes as all animals can be born all black (melanistic), patternless, or albino.