Leo

As a NCR area coordinator, I received a call to go check out an older collie who had been left at a local shelter. I found an older male collie whose owner had died and the family had surrendered him to the shelter, which is unfortunately a very common scenario. He was abandoned there along with his chocolate lab companion. I took him out of his kennel and we had to walk past his old friend. I will never forget the lab’s sad expression and I am haunted by my decision to only rescue Leo. I tell myself all the time that we can’t save them all, but it doesn’t ever get easy.  Leo was in the worst condition I’ve ever personally witnessed. I had to wash him five times to remove the filth and cut most of his heavily matted coat off. He loved the warm water and being groomed. Leo’s age was reported to be 12 years which meant he would be hard to adopt out. My beloved collie Belle had passed away and I was looking for another older collie, so I adopted him myself.

He is the most energetic older dog I’ve ever seen. He can run hard and fast, and has tremendous stamina. Cosmetically he has many flaws and wouldn’t win any dog shows but he’s very cute and his personality is pure collie. He is really sweet, loving, protective, and loyal. He has also become best friends with my other collie Sky, who needed a friend, which is great. Old timers have such a calm, grateful nature and in my opinion they are well worth adopting. We definitely count the love, not the years.  We love Leo very much and we’re glad he’s a part of our family. 01.2008.