*ANNIVERSARY ISSUE 2004* volume 4
|
What’s in this issue: MKBCR Experiences Amazing
Growth! ~~~ The 1st Annual MKBCR Rescue ~~~ Updates ~~~ Pet Sense Adoptathon ~~~ MKBCR Goes Intl’ ~~~ Foster Homes turn Adopters ~~~ Hypothyroidism in Border Collies ~~~ A Tribute to Transporters ~~~ As always more wonderful Poems by Bridget
Byrne! |
MKBCR’S 1ST ANNIVERSARY ISSUE!! Eleanor Roosevelt
once said “It is
better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” Jennifer Fitzwater
and Kathy Hallberg saw a lot of darkness when they decided to start MO-KAN
Border Collie Rescue There were few families able to foster. There was very
little money and it seemed that the shelters in We are dedicating this issue to all those people who have
made the flame bright and enduring.
Seventeen families have offered temporary or long term foster care for
our dogs. Offers to transport our dogs and to do home studies for us have
amazing. People have written articles for our newsletter, offered free
grooming for our dogs donated supplies, offered discounted or free veterinary
care provided expert computer and photography advice and the list goes on.
One woman who is an artist auctioned off a work of art to help pay the
medical care of a dog that had to have a leg amputated. Other rescue groups
have helped us also. Groups such as the All breed rescue group, the Sheltie
rescue group as well as the Pitbull and Lab rescue have transported, listed
our dogs on their website etc.
|
Border collie
rescue in other states have adopted some of our dogs as well as fostered them
while we have been growing. And our group of potential adopters has grown.
The number of dogs we can help has increased and we are keeping them in
foster care for a much shorter period of time thus keeping dogs out of
shelters.
Meanwhile, Jennifer, Kathy, and Barbie continue to tirelessly
work for the benefit of Border collies. Much advice has been provided to both
to adopters of our dogs and to other Border collie owners thus increasing the
odds of a successful placement and again keeping dogs out of shelters. Kathy
Hallberg, often working behind the scenes manages much of the financial and
business aspect of rescue and participates in dog events by organizing and
running booths at local dog events.
Jennifer spends hours daily on the computer and phone
dealing with the nitty gritty of arranging dog evaluations, home evaluations,
transportation etc. This she does in addition to providing advice and
connecting people with the best resources to deal with their Border collies.
Not to mention that she usually is fostering one or more dogs, is the Captain
of our flyball team and assists in
getting dogs evaluated for herding, as companion dogs, as flyball dogs, or
agility dogs or therapy dogs. Barbie continues her work in We thank all of you for the light burns bright now for our
Border collies and this issue celebrates that light and you! |
|
The 1st Annual Mo-Kan Border Collie Rescue
The reunion was a smashing success! Stacey McVey
and her family are organizational wonders! The day started out with the
threat of continuing showers but it cleared and was near perfect. For those
of you who couldn’t attend you missed the amazing sight of well over twenty
Border collies running free together, swimming in the pond, and of course
catching balls and Frisbees. We had a flyball demonstration, an agility demo,
and the opportunity to have our dogs photographed by Joni Godsy, a
professional dog photographer and her assistant (and husband) Alan Godsy
(adopters of Trace now know as Kip). All this and not one, I repeat not one dog fight! (Whew!) We ate,
visited, shared stories, and for the first time some adopters met foster
parents and all in all it was a glorious day. The most special part was
seeing the joy in our dogs and remembering
each of their stories and how
far they have come though the love and dedication of all of you!
where all the ham went to!!! |
BEAUTIFUL property with us!!
Sales for lunch, t-shirts and other goodies tipped the scale at just over $400 |
|
UPDATES We have now rescued and placed over 60 dogs
including two tri-pods! We have fostered one mother (Jubal) and her five
“Fourth of July surprise” pups
and the McVey’s are fostering a second (Freckles
and her six puppies.)
Frank McCarthy and Jack (adopted in 2003) placed
in the top ten in the two mile race at the annual Dog n Jog
|
Rescues are a HIT at Pet Sense Adoptathon! The “Flexible Flyers “ flyball team were a hit
at the Pet Sense adoption event this summer and shared the stage with Gary
Lezak and have been asked back for this October 9 being billed as “See Dogs
Fly!” Jess, Kate, Charly, and Fynn all
performed. Kathy Hallberg and family attending with Abby practicing as our
next box loader…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mo-Kan Stars! Katie
adopted by John and Rachel Bishop posed for an ad for Sprint and was a true professional!
Fynn,
adopted by Jennifer Fitzwater came in third at a Frisbee competition in
Fynn Flyin High! |
Mo-Kan
Goes INTERNATIONAL!
Mo-Kan goes international. Diamond a three
legged Border collie from Wichita fostered by Kathy Daly and Annie a Border
collie relinquished after her owner died and fostered by Stacey McVey found
new homes in Canada. They were adopted by Tia Arden and Sheri & Matt
Cormie who have made both dogs very happy by involving them in Agility, Flyball,
and herding. And if that weren’t wonderful enough Joe our dog who had been
shot in the face and was fostered by Linda and Dan Ramirez went to live in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “The one absolutely unselfish
friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him
the one that proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog… He will kiss the
hand that has no food to offer; he will lick the wounds and sores that come
in encounters with the roughness of the world… When all other friends desert, he
remains. -George G. Vest |
|
SOLO “THE SEARCH DOG” UPDATE You might remember Solo from the Winter 2003-2004
Newsletter. Vicki and Solo have become
a wonderful SAR team in training! At
10 mos old, Solo passed the 20-acre wilderness search evaluation. Currently, they are preparing for our
40-acre wilderness night search evaluation. Vicki and Solo hope to tackle
their final 160-acre evaluation by Spring 2005, so they can become Wilderness
Certified. After that, they will start
working on their disaster and cadaver specialties. But it looked as though Solo’s career would be cut
short. All of a sudden, he wasn’t his
happy, bold, curious self anymore. He
started getting very anxious and nervous, especially in close quarters or
around lots of other dogs. Also, for
no known reason, Solo started being aggressive towards his Solo is now taking medicine and my thyroid hormone is back
to normal. His level of anxiety and
nervousness has almost returned to normal. They are working hard to get him
back to the happy, well-adjusted fellow he was before the onset of his
disease and the symptoms that took over his life in such a negative way.
|
SOLO THE SEARCH DOG UPDATE -cont- Here is an important excerpt from an article entitled
“Thyroid Dysfunction as a Cause of Aggression in Dogs and Cats,” by L.P.
Aronson DVM & N.H. Dodman RVMS, presented in 1997: At
Tufts we have seriously considered obtaining a thyroid panel on all dogs
presented for evaluation, and we feel that it is a very good screen for a
condition which may underlie a wide variety of behavioral problems, and one
which is relatively easily and cheaply treated. It is our recommendation that
hypothyroidism be considered as a rule out for dogs … showing inappropriate aggression.
It should also be a rule out for dogs which show an inability to learn or concentrate
on the owner, or for older dogs which have developed a personality change
either rapidly or more gradually. It is probably a good rule out for dogs
which exhibit fears or anxieties and possibly for some dogs with compulsive
disorders. So, if you
have a dog that has shown a sudden change in behavior or who has been labeled
as a dog with problem behavior, please remember Solo’s story and have the
thyroid test. It might just save a
dog’s life. In Solo’s case, it even
saved his career as Solo The Search Dog!!! Solo passed his 40-acre night evaluation
tonight. He and I are now considered an operational K-9 SAR team.
He is now qualified as a second dog in to verify results of a fully
operational team. We have one more test - 160 acres, 4 hour time limit
and multiple victims to become fully operational. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our condolences go out to Rachel, John and Robert for
their recent loss of their Jack Russell Terrier puppy, Dickens. Dickens was an amazing little dog, not the
least intimidated by all the Border collies on our flyball team. He was our up and coming height dog for the
Flexible Flyers as well as a treasured family member. Both brothers Bob and Truman, a Mo-Kan
alumni, were Dickens best buddies and sister Katie, also a Mo-Kan alumni, was
his racing companion. He will be much
missed by everyone.
|
A Tribute to Transporters A simple
call for help And a
yes is given As these
quiet angels and their charges Embark
on the forever journey It may be flight from the hell only An
abandoned dog knows Or a
stop on the path to a new start Or best
of all going home for good. They
often travel at night alone With
their fellow travelers Offering
comfort and soothing Their
touch however brief Leaves
an imprint everlasting As they
pass their charges on They
exchange a glance and a pat And a
cold nose or a sweet kiss Is all
the payment they ask We
salute these quiet angels Who
carry our dogs from pain And
sadness to a happy new life And for the
joy that they bring To the
new family who awaits -Bridget Byrne & Jennifer
Fitzwater Mo-Kan Transporters: Linda French
& Larry Mason Carl
Nylund Mark McVey Linda
& Paul Yoos Marilyn
Dawson-McCarthy & Frank
McCarthy Alexa
Peters Phil
(Golden Rescue) …and all
the others that had assisted us in transport
|
|
Contacts: Jennifer Fitzwater fitzh20@ mokanbcrescue.org 816.833.3801 Kathy Hallberg K2bcdogs@ mokanbcrescue.org 816.478.3756 Barbie Ernst barbieernst@ mokanbcrescue.org Editor in Chief Bridget Byrne bridgetbyrne@ mokanbcrescue.org Website: mokanbcrescue.org How you can help MKBCR There are
four ways to help: Transport Foster!! Volunteer Donate (includes becoming a Border Collie Angel) For more information on the suggestions above, please
visit our website ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As we move to the end
of the year and you are thinking of charitable donations please remember
Mo-Kan Border Rescue! From all
of us and the Border collies you have saved THANK YOU!! |
Foster Homes turn Adopters… Jill and Also joining the ranks of foster turned adopter are the Jim and Courtney are our third foster home to turn
adopter. They started out fostering
with Rook of “Rook and Jubal”. When
Jubal gave birth to her surprise litter, Rook needed to find a new temporary
home! After Rook was adopted, Jim and
Courtney took in Josie, a stray from All of these families have been wonderful foster homes and
they have taken new rolls as forever homes (welcome to the club guys! J). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (This is for
all those new Mo-Kan puppy owners out there!!! :) Poem
for New Puppy Owner Don’t smell crotches, don’t eat plants, Don’t steal food or underpants. Don’t
chew my shoes, what IS this mush?!
Those rugrats are funny, but also quite crazy. Don’t despair through the toil and strife. Cause after three years you’ll get back your life! So lets go for walkies, so you can do your “thing” And maybe I”ll get back my diamond ring!! -Author
Unknown |
The New Foster Dog (This
poem was inspired by “Quinn” and dedicated to all our beloved rescues) A
black and white whirlwind you were Racing
from door to door and atop the Couches,
chairs and beds, grabbing newspapers And
shoes as you sped by me No
counter was safe, no object sacred Captured
at last, your heart was beating And
your tongue lolling outside your mouth And
you eyes were unreadable wild and untamed And
that old doubt that always came, returned Will
this be the one we can’t help? Two
steps forward, one back, learning the way The
first sit, learning to walk at my side, Mastering
the car rides, returning the ball Taking
a bath and making your crate a home Learning
a new name for we never knew yours All,
successes greater to us than world peace Then
the doubts, the testing, the challenging, The
regressions, the chewed shoes, a new accident We
remind ourselves this is normal That
we have been this way before Then
one day you offer a paw And
the look in your eyes is focused and clear As
though you are saying, “I understand now” Your
kisses are gentle, you delight in our praise And
showing your lessons, ignoring the forbidden And,
yes with a tear, we know the time is near For
you to leave us, now a partner and friend To
meet your new family and begin on the forever journey That
will be the rest of your life -Bridget Byrne
Quinn’s made quite a
journey, not only in the miles from southern Missouri shelter to a loving
home in central Kansas, but also from a sweet, yet frantic hungry, wandering
young dog to a well-mannered companion. Rusty has honored us by giving Quinn
the registered name of “MO-Kan Quentin call name Quinn.” It took no less than
the commitment of ten people to make this small miracle occur. The story of
Quinn is a celebration of those people whose dedication to the welfare of
Border Collies has saved countless dogs since MKBCR began. |
MO-KAN
BORDER COLLIE RESCUE
C/O
JENNIFER FITZWATER