Merlin the Collie Puppy ~ Adopted
Merlin is a four-month-old puppy, my guess a Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. His coat is much like a Lassie-collie, but those ears and pink nose speaks to Aussie. What he is more than anything else is pure puppy joy. He came to us through Vicki, a volunteer who helps us rescue dogs from Hall County in Georgia. She also teaches dog training at the local Petsmart. I could go on and on about this wonderful puppy, but instead, I’ve asked Vicki to share with us her history and insights about Merlin:
I first saw Merlin in the puppy room at the shelter. His whole litter was there and so afraid. He huddled at the back of his cage and watched. I opened the door to his cell and instead of the exuberance of a puppy 6 weeks old he stared at me, unsure of what would happen to him if he came out of that cage. At least in the cage he felt safe, outside of it he had lost his mom and his family, abandoned and alone and frightened. He wanted to cuddle with his brothers and sisters to stay warm in this cold place. His nose picked up smells he didn’t understand, sickness, death, and fear. I talked sweetly to him and slowly he moved toward me. Merlin was a ball of fur and I stroked him gently, before i knew it he was in my arms and his tiny legs were holding on to me for dear life.
As I walked toward the door with him his brothers and sisters watched me and came to the front of their cage, please take us too! When I reached the outdoor area with him I wanted to keep walking and not look back. It was time to go so I tried to put him back in his cage but he held on tightly. “I’ll be back for you, I promise I will get you and your siblings out of here, don’t worry!”
Debi and Merlin signed up for my puppy class. He is such a smart, smart boy. In class, he watched me intently as if he understood every word I said. He learned every command quickly and seem to beg for more! Debi was an awesome mom, practicing and working with him, taking him to dog parks and walking him. She did everything I suggested and I was sooo happy Merlin had found such a loving family. He graduated Puppy Class with honors, but didn’t care for the cap and gown routine! They planned on taking intermediate class and I was glad because I always looked forward to Saturdays when I got to see them.
I considered keeping him myself because I love him so much. But my schedule is quite hectic right now so i had to make a tpugh decision. Sent his pics to Gisele to see if there was any interest and the answer was, YES!
Merlin learned basic commands in puppy class, Sit, Stay, Come, Down, Leave it, Drop it, walk on a leash beside you, worked on jumping, chewing, puppy biting behaviors. He will need further training to complete what he has learned. He is crate trained and potty trained!
He was loved so much, there is a reason for everything, so there must be the perfect family out there that needs him. ~Vicki
It is safe to say that I simply adore this puppy. He was very sad when he left his family, as would be expected, but he has rediscovered his joy and is taking on everything as if it were one great adventure! Virtually impossible to get a good photo of him, you can see those that I have in his photo album.
Merlin is being fostered in Winter Park. If you are interested in adopting him, please review our adoption process, then e-mail holly.thedogliberator@gmail.com
April 16th Updated:
Merlin has been adopted by Jen and Ariel! I’m so excited for this little boy. He is going to have such fun on the polo horse farm on which they live! Can you imagine what his days will be like, “going to work” with them? I can’t wait to get photos of him with them. Oh, and they’ve renamed him River. I like it!