Summer 2015

Summer 2015
www.collie.org
Southland Collie Rescue has saved more than 2515
collies throughout Southern California (and beyond)
since 1993.
Southland
Collie
TM
News
Waiting For A Dog
By Michael Harper
Two years ago, I had to say
goodbye to my beloved Rose,
who had battled a stomach
disease for over a year, finally
passing in May. I was on the
waiting list, hoping to adopt
another young Collie, but at the
time almost all SCR’s collies
were seniors – and Little Jack, my
only remaining collie, was almost
14. So I settled down to wait for
a dog.
Seven months later, Sue
Baldwin called me about a
youngish collie in Temecula. I
called the family, then Jack and I
drove down to see “Leon”, a fouryear-old rough sable. The owners
said that their other male dog was
“not getting along” with him and
he’d been in the household just a
few months. Their decision?
Keep the other dog and get rid of
Leon.
So Jack and I spent the
afternoon getting to know Leon,
seeing if we’d all get along.
Well, no surprise – he came home
with us. And I renamed him
Connor.
He was too thin and his coat
was a mess. He hadn’t been
neutered, nor even kept current
on his shots. But a few weeks
later, after spending a day with
the groomer, being neutered and
getting his teeth cleaned, Conner
was at last a beautiful collie boy.
A year later, Conner’s a healthy
weight and has become a major
velcro dog. He’s taken to
traveling and camping in my
Airstream trailer, and acts as my
copilot on our road adventures.
He was always sweet and
attentive to Little Jack and has
helped fill the void left by Jack’s
recent passing. His tail never
stops wagging. He adores people
and gets along with every dog he
meets. In short, he has the classic
Collie temperament.
So many people who have met
him have said he’s so much like
Rose, both in looks and
personality, that I’ve nicknamed
him “Son of Rose”. With the way
all this came about, I truly believe
that God had a hand in bringing
Conner into my life -- and maybe
Rose had a part to play as well.
Jack, Mike, and Rose
Connor
SCR Area Coordinators
Riverside County:
Rhonda Anderson
(909) 795-3450
Orange County:
Dana Kungl
(949) 285-1218
Ventura County:
Karen Laramay
(818) 887-9703
Santa Barbara County:
Mitch Telson
(805) 563-3514
LA-San Gabriel Valley:
Dolores Ellis
(562) 697-5815
San Bernardino County:
Diane duPlessis
(909) 622-3354
San Diego County:
Linda Kratz
(760) 943-8483
LA-San Fernando Valley:
Karen Laramay
(818) 887-9703
LA-South Bay Area:
Theresa Sanford
(310) 366-5573
Kern County - Lancaster/
Palmdale:
Stephen Colley
(626) 791-3967
Mike and Rose at Yosemite
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Summer 2015
Bella
by Stephen Colley
In last spring’s newsletter, I
wrote about Bella, our ten-yearold, big-brown-eyed, floppyeared, foster collie-from-theneck-down that SCR pulled from
the Lancaster shelter just before
Thanksgiving 2013.
Today, 15 months after that
newsletter, she’s still with Linda
and me -- what with age and
cancer, she hasn’t been the most
adoptable girl around. And now
there’s good news and bad news.
The good news is that Bella’s
been off chemo for six months
and the veterinary oncologist
expects that she’ll stay off it.
Meanwhile, she’s doing quite
well. Her energy level’s up and
she’s a happier dog than the one
who came to us 20 months ago.
She dances around when it’s time
for one of her several daily
walks, a far cry from the dog
who at first wouldn’t poke her
nose outside.
Bad news #1 is that, having
gone from 138 pounds in the
shelter down to a normal 65-70
pounds, she’s actually gone
underweight. Possibly it’s from
her thyroid pill dosage, or from a
(minor, we’re told) liver problem.
But in large part it’s because
she’s such a finicky eater of the
vegetarian diet I’ve tried to keep
Donations Address:
Southland Collie Rescue
P.O. Box #1596
Brea, California 92822-1596
her on (I’m a vegan). If she
goes to someone who feeds her
fish and chicken, getting her to
eat should be easy.
Bad news #2 is that Bella, like
our better-known ShinBi, has
been one of our most expensive
dogs ever, well over $10,000
(donations welcomed!). It looks
as if the major expense is over,
but if there were any further
special expense (chemo or
related treatment), we would of
course pay for it, even if it
happened after she’d been
adopted.
If only we CAN find an
adopter for her! Now that her
major medical problems are
over, we’ve got to find her the
loving home she deserves.
America's Family Pet Expo
We had three fun and educational
days of sharing about our collies and
rescue with the public at the Orange
County Fairgrounds in April.
Thanks to the 17 SCR volunteers
who donated their time and brought
their beautiful collies. This year,
Regina and Nita decided to try some
fundraising and designed a raffle
basket which brought in some great
donations! Madison won the prize
and it was presented to her the
following week. Congratulations
Madison! Cindy and Rey, two of
our available collies, showed the
public how wonderful our breed is.
Rescuers, rescue supporters,
and volunteers do not walk on
water. We don’t wear capes and
tights or leap tall buildings. We
aren’t better than anyone else, but
we do pursue a cause that we
believe makes us better than we
were before we started. We make
mistakes; we feel we can’t do
enough; we go broke; we have
too many dogs at home; we rant
out of frustration; we lose our
tempers and get snappy; we have
to reject people sometimes for the
good of the dog. We are not
always likable. What we do is
draining, emotionally, financially,
and physically. Please bear with
us and forgive us our flaws,
because we are doing work that’s
bigger than we are.
- Author Unknown
Collie Haven Wish List
The following items are in need at O’Neil’s Collie Haven to help with the
care and comfort of the Collies residing there:
Avery mailing labels 1” by 2 5/8”
Frontline Plus Large Breed … Roundup … Thunder Shirts size L and XL
We’re also asking for foster homes for our sweet seniors for the coming year. We
love our seniors and will continue to be there for them.
All donations are greatly appreciated.
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Summer 2015
Happy Adoptions
"Saving one dog will not change the world,
but surely for that one dog, the world will
change forever." - Unknown
Riley was adopted by Gale and
Steve Abram in Carpinteria
Cupid (left-now Dawn) #1991
Adopted by Mitch and Jeffyne Telson
Santa Barbara - Journey on the right
Laddie #1293 was adopted by
Kathryn and Cres in San Diego
Precious (now Lucy) #1974
Adopted by Xochitl
NavaMoreno & Tim Peters
in Valencia
Snoop (now Snoopy) #1858
Adopted by the Matsuda Family
Rancho Santa Margarita
Laddie #1950 was adopted
by Joan Baggaley in
Pacific Palisades
SEND US YOUR COLLIE’S
STORY!
We all know our collies are the
cleverest, coolest, cutest
canines in creation. So email a
story or idea, or a picture of
your collie, to
[email protected].
Please keep stories to a
maximum 500 words.
Newsletter design and editing
by Mark Allen
([email protected])
Elvira was adopted by the Cote Family
in Laguna Niguel
Bella #1933
Adopted by Bruce and Roseanne
in Escondido
Luke was adopted by Linda and
Bob Newell in Solana Beach
A big thanks to Robert W.
Marcus for his donation of a
vehicle through Cars4Causes.
Leia was adopted by Linda and Bob Newell
in Solana Beach
The Southland Collie
Newsletter was first published in
2001. It is published in the
Spring, Summer and Winter of
each year.
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Southland Collie Rescue, Inc.
P.O. Box #1596
Brea, CA 92822-1596
Nonprofit Org.
US Postage
PAID
San Bernardino, CA
Permit #2914
"Address Service Requested"
Summer 2015
Cars 4 Causes
Extra Vehicles at Your House?
Please Donate Your Car, Truck,
RV or Boat to SCR!
Attention RALPHS Shoppers: Help Southland
Collie Rescue for FREE!
Did you know that every time you use your Ralph's Club
card, you could help SCR save the lives of many more
They handle all the paper-work, title change, free pick up, and
collies? Ralph’s Markets will donate to Southland Collie
sale of the car. SCR receives
Rescue a percentage of your total grocery bill without
a donation, and you receive a tax deduction*!
costing you a penny! To sign up, visit the Ralph’s
*Tax deduction under federal law operative 1/1/05
Community Contribution website at http://www.ralphs.com
is actual selling price of vehicle.
to enroll (or re-enroll) for the new term; it’s that simple! For
questions or enrollment assistance please email
[email protected]
1-800-766-2273
The Southland Collie News is made possible thanks to a
team of SCR volunteers, who do the computer graphic
design, writing, editing, photography, envelope stuffing,
transportation, label printing, envelope labeling, bulk
mailing; and Dennis and Bryan Hauge, of Stacey Hauge
Printing, 28486 Westinghouse Place, Bldg. 10, Valencia,
CA 91355-0929, (661) 294- 6545. For each issue, Stacey
Hauge Printing generously donates printing of 1500
copies, and charges SCR only for the paper’s price.
Food 4 Less shoppers can also use their Ralph’s card to help
SCR.
*Your information is for Ralph’s verification purposes only, and
will not be sold or used in any other way. Ralph's shoppers need
to RE-ENROLL ANNUALLY in order to continue
supporting SCR through the Community Contribution
Program. Thank you for your continued support!
Please note that there has been a change in the
enrollment procedure. Go to the Ralph’s site and login/
register and follow the instructions there.
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