Turtle the Bernese Collie Puppy ~ Adopted

 

Turtle is one of a litter of seven puppies rescued toward the end of July; Taffy, Toffee, TicTac, Twinkie, Twister, Tootsie Pop and Turtle. Born in mid-April, they are a great mix of breeds: Border Collie, Australian Shepherd and Bernese Mountain Dog.

These angels started their rescue journey at the public shelter in Mobile, Alabama.  Melissa rescued them (she only pulls dogs that are about to be euthanized), but before she did, she asked for assurance that they had no health issues.  The shelter vet assured her that they only had ear infections.  Imagine her shock when they arrived with sores and bare spots, obviously suffering from mange!  A very experienced rescuer, she knew exactly how to treat them and had them restored to health in just a couple of weeks.  But then, just when they were about ready to be adopted, Melissa found out her grandmother was dying and had to fly to Montana.  What to do with the seven puppies?

Fortunately, our wonderful Amy found out about them.  Within a matter of hours, Amy picked up the puppies, then Sarah got them from her and drove them to Val-U-Vet of Deltona.  There we confirmed that they were cleared of mange, and completed their vet needs: spay/neuter, shots and exam.  The next day, I got them!  And what a joy they are!

Turtle has markings influenced by the Bernese but her size is moderated by the Collie.  She is smack in the middle of her litter, 14 pounds at 14 weeks.  You can see more photos in her photo album.

I am fostering these precious pups in Winter Park.  If you think that you might want to give Turtle her forever home, please first read our Dog Tips, then review our Adoption Process and e-mail me at holly.thedogliberator@gmail.com

July 29th Update:

The puppies are doing wonderfully.  They are fully crate trained, with no “accidents” even at night!  The first night they were a bit restless but since then have slept until I’ve woken them at about 6:30 am.  What a blessing!

August 1st Update:

It’s off to camp they go! The puppies are spending the week at University of Doglando as part of their kids’ summer camp program. There the campers will work with them on basic commands, socialization skills and even introduce them to swimming! This is a fantastic opportunity. Already lovely puppies, I can just imagine how they will be after a week of one-on-one attention and training! I’ll be updating the campers experiences on our webpage, Bernese Collie Puppies Go To University of Doglando.

August 2nd Update:

Today I stopped by University of Doglando to take a peek at how things were going.  Very impressive.  Turtle was already walking on a leash, and knew sit, stay and come.  And that was after just one day!  I stayed long enough to watch the litter be introduced to the swimming pool.  I stood on the side of the above ground pool like a proud mother!  Turtle was swimming past me,  her little head just above the water, when she saw me and turned, making a bee line for me!  Poor pumpkin, I think she thought I was going to rescue her.  🙂  Gosh I love these puppies!!!

August 4th Camper Update:

I just received this fun update from Anna, Turtle’s foster.  She calls our girl “Yoshi”:

Yesterday was graduation at University of Doglando camp.  It was so much fun to see the puppies, campers and their families!  Five of the puppies were adopted with their campers standing right there ~ what a terrific thing.  But also very sad for the two campers whose puppies did not get adopted.  Already sad about leaving their puppy, it was made that much harder by them not being the ones picked.  Anna was especially tearful, not understanding why her Yoshi was not considered.  We talked about it for a while, and I tried to help her understand that all of my puppies find wonderful homes, just not all at the same time.  It is painful to see some passed over time and again, yet when they finally do find their homes, I’m always glad we waited.  The match is always perfect and the puppy is loved forever.

I knew that Anna would be sad this morning so I made this video for her so that she can see how her girl is doing.  I’m hoping that when Turtle/Yoshi is adopted, that her new family will talk with Anna so that she can share with them everything that she has learned and everything that she has taught “Yoshi”.  That way, she can have that same sense of completeness, that same joy that I have as I watch my puppies leave with their forever home.

August 7th Update:

New puppies arrived last night and Turtle took it in that easy going manner that she handles everything.  This is such a laid back girl.  Nothing gets under her skin!

August 8th Update:

All the puppies were outside playing this morning and I, of course, had my camera in my hand.  Here they are enjoy the morning together.  Adorable!

August 12th Update:

My sweet little Turtle.  She is the last of her litter left.  It’s always hard with the last of a litter.  People want to know why.  No fault of hers.  She is wonderful.  It’s just that her family hasn’t met her yet!  These last couple of days people have come to meet the puppies and she has greeted each enthusiastically, jumping in their laps, giving kisses, climbing up in the chair behind them and sneaking around to lick their chins.  But each time she wasn’t chosen.  Again, not her fault.  They were just more connected with another puppy.  After people leave we take extra time with Turtle and tell her it’s okay ~ at this point, she knows what’s up when people come.  And she’s okay.  She knows her family will eventually find her.  And boy, are they going to be happy!

Ha!  It is so hot out today that I put a big block of ice out for the puppies.  Sure, it melted fast, but they had fun with it in the meantime!

August 13th Update:

Turtle has gone home. She fell immediately in love with little Alivia and Anna, and no wonder, since they look so much like Anna who trained her at University of Doglando. But wait! There’s more…. Bill grew up with Collies, and when he saw Bimmer, his heart melted. They took their time to make sure this was a decision of the head and not just the heart, but came to that wonderful decision to adopt both Turtle and Bimmer! How fabulous!!! Now Turtle has a big, wonderful family: Laura and Bill, their children Alexis, Austin, Anna and Alivia, AND Bimmer!  So, St. Augustine, you get to welcome TWO Dog Liberator puppies! Happy Day