Bolt, the herding Border Collie

We have yet to be able to confirm his age, but we believe he may be about 2 years old. Transporters described him as a perfect gentleman, and he loves to go for car rides! He can sit, shake, and high-five!

Paperwork indicates that Bolt is 44 pounds, but Jesse disagrees. “Maybe it’s fluff, but he looks a lot bigger than that… I guess 50-55 pounds.” Maybe it is fluff!

Jesse did not perform his usual graduation into the pack last night, instead, he said he did a crash course, and introduced the dogs quickly. Everyone did just fine.

Bolt is well-mannered with other dogs, and is not guarding toys, but very competitive with the ball and the frisbee. He is not aggressive, but definitely the dominant one. This is typical in the Border Collie breed, because of their high intelligence (sorry to be such a snob).

(Photo of Bolt, Noodle and Khaz) Bolt has the herding eye and the herding stance. I bet it’s a sight to see. Bolt will need a home that not only exercises his body, but his mind. He’ll need a full time job to keep him out of trouble.

His original name is Rex, too common for our rescue, so I named him Bolt, not because he’s an escape artist, but because I felt he would be adopted quickly!

His photos can be viewed on Facebook.

Here’s Bolt’s history (formerly known as Rex) as written by his rescuer:

Rex is such a smart and loving boy. He was found roaming stray in a rural neighborhood. Friendly to all the neighbors fed him and hoped he would find his way home. After all, how could a dog this beautiful and smart be forgotten about ? But he didn’t go home and seemed very worried about it. A local vet who lived in the surrounding area was called and she took him. She tried to find the owners assuming he must be lost and that someone was frantically looking for him, but not the case. Rex was again a victim of owners who didn’t know what to do with a smart dog and we assume he was dumped. You could tell that Rex felt so badly, that he had let his family down. The vet became attached to this amazing boy and felt he had such a sweet soul. She considered keeping him but felt she did not have the right amount of time to devote to him and that it wouldn’t be fair. So she called me and asked for help. Rex came out into the lobby area to greet everyone with his calm and loving manner. Giving high fives to all. He walked out of the vets office with ease and then his eyes lit up…”A Truck!” He hopped right into the truck and seemed to smile! Obviously Rex had ridden in a truck before, it was familiar.. This time, rather than being dumped, he was on the ride of his life to a proper home and a life he dreamed of. Rex may never know all those who cared enough to help him on his way to a better life. The vet who loved him enough to let him go. A boy who was dumped by someone heartless, to a boy loved by hundreds who have never even met him. Those of us who have had the privilege to know him and love him will beam with pride when his forever home is found. Thank you Gisele for caring about this wonderful boy!

Vicki Truelove
Purple Paws

Here’s a photo of an example of the Border Collie Stare, known as “the eye”.

February 16, 2011 Update:
It’s only been a few days, but I am so happy about our decision concerning adopting Rex. He has such great characteristics and qualities for a border collie. I have come to the conclusion that my previous dog was really high energy and a difficult dog to handle. Rex is so much calmer. I give him plenty of activities during the day including three training sessions at 15 minutes, a 10 to 15 minute walk a day, play time with me 3 times a day, a visit to the neighbors house to play with her dogs once during the day and at night, and then he has plenty of toys to amuse himself also. I do plan on taking him to a dog park also starting next week. I do notice that he does sleep alot in between though. He is not in my face all day long like my past dog Riley(I am really surprised about that!). I just gave him his first shower and he did great at that too. He is a wonderful addition to our family.

Thank you … Jon