Kirby - ADOPTED!!!

***CONGRATULATIONS TO PAULINE ON THE ADOPTION OF KIRBY!!! HE IS A VERY LUCKY DOG TO HAVE YOU FOR A NEW MOM!!! KEEP ME UPDATED ON EVERYTHING YOU DO WITH HIM***

***UPDATE FROM PAULINE AT BOTTOM OF POST***

3/22/09 I just got Kirby tonight from Border Collie Rescue of MN. He is a 6 year old, Black and White, Border Collie with one Brown eye and one Blue eye.

**Kirby is great with people, kids,other dogs, and dog savvy cats only. He is a Border Collie and they are quick to react to fast movement. A scared kitty running away will trigger him to chase down the prey**

3/24/09 Kirby is a really nice playful boy. He is fully house trained and crate trained although he doesn't need the crate. I had him sleep in the crate the first night, he was really good. Goes right in when you say "Kennel" and laid down to go to sleep. Never said a word all night.

Yesterday I was out of the house all day so the guys had him. They let him have the run of the house all day, when they couldn't find him and looked for him, he was sitting at the back door waiting to go out. He was so good all day that we decided to let him sleep outside of the kennel last night. He came in the bedroom with us and laid down on the floor at the end of the bed. He stayed there all night.

Kirby LOVES to play ball and FRISBEE!!! He will fetch the ball, run back to you, spit the ball out and tap dance on his front paws until you throw it again. Tail waggin' the entire time and having a blast. I haven't played frisbee with him yet, it's raining cats and dogs over here, but the other BCRMN volunteer that picked him up played with him and took this picture.

As you can see he is really over weight, probably close to 3 Border Collies in 1 right now. But he is so full of energy and excitement when the toys come out. He can even jump up and catch the disc!!! Way to go Kirby!!!

He's on a diet and excersize program here at my house. I'm feeding him 1/2 a can of Green Beens and a small handful of dry kibble, 2 times a day. He eats it right up then askes to go outside.

I don't know what he weighs right now, I'll let you know as soon as I do. But keep in mind he is going to lose the excess weight and be a healthy dog in no time =)

Once Kirby is groomed and the weather clears up I will have new pictures and video of him. We have a play date this Saturday with our Disc Dog club so I'll make sure to take plenty of pics and video of him catchin the disc for you all to see.

3/25/09 Kirby is going great here at my house. He has fit right in and abides by all the house rules beautifully. He even waits to get his paws wiped off when he comes in from going potty (if the grass is wet, which it has been). He likes his diet of green beans and pea's, he's turned into quite the vegetarian =) I am giving him 2 milk bones a day to help with the tarter on his teeth too which he LOVES!!!

I managed to take a few pictures today of him playing with the tennis balls. I just love the 2 tennis balls at once, what a goof ball.

Keep in mind I am only holding his head up for the picture. He wants to tuck his nose down and spit the balls out right away so you will throw them again immediately =)

He is such a ham!

Even with the 2 balls in his mouth you can still see he is smiling from ear to ear =) How can you not fall in love with guy!

3/29/09 Ok, where do I start...Friday I took Kirby to the vet for his rabies and an overall check up. He weighs in at 67 pounds!!! the vet said he should ideally be at or around 45 pounds. I have him on a green bean/mixed veggie diet which he LOVES!!! and we are playing in the house and yard every day. Other then being over weight, Kirby is in great health =) and has many more years of frisbee catchin' left in him!

Saturday we met up with our disc dog club at the park and played frisbee. My dog was a total butt head and had to spend most of the time in the car, but Kirby did great. He loves to play frisbee and will "fetch" 3 discs at once...he gets one, goes to the next disc, stacks those two, and goes to the last disc, stacks all three and then brings them back to me. He's so cute! One toy at time isn't enough for this guy LOL.

Here is a video of him playin' Disc with me http://blip.tv/file/1937621

Today we took both dogs to another park and went for a hick alone the trails. Kirby would run about 25 feet ahead of us, stop and wait for us to catch up, then take off again. He was awesome. After the walk we played some frisbee and fetch with tennis balls and relaxed in the shade for a little while. I also took some time to work with him on some basic obedience. Kirby is starting to understand that I want him to walk WITH me not AHEAD of me. He has a great "stay", both sit and down as long as he see's me. His "come" is really good too, you call him and he trots over and sits down in front of you like he's suppose to.

Here is a pic of Kirby catchin' some air after a disc =)

After the park we went home for about an hour and relaxed before our Disc Dog Class. Kirby was able to participate in the Distance and Accuracy (D/A) game we played. He did really good, even caught a few discs! Sometimes I think this guy was a frisbee dog in his previous life =)

3/30/09 Today was cleaning day here at home. I was doing dishes and when I started the garbage disposal Kirby jumped up a little scared of the noise. He's not a big fan of loud noises and prefers you to use the broom instead of the vacuum. For this reason I have sent him and Cache down stairs while I vacuum upstairs. He's also afraid of thunder and the air compressor. All pretty common for dogs so please don't let this discourage you from meeting this great guy.

Today I noticed that Kirby's breath and teeth are getting better. I think between the frisbee's and the tarter control milk bones it's been helping. I would also have to guess that he is losing some weight, he doesn't look quite as round as he did when he first came to us.

Kirby is now listed on BCRMN.org under available dogs.

Please don't let his age and diet concern you with this guy, he is such a sweet heart and really loves his people. I can promise that he will give you 110% of everything he has everyday!

4/2/09 Kirby and I will be at the Petco in Minnetonka (next to Best Buy on 394 & Plymouth Rd) with our friends from BCRMN for an adoption day on the 11th. He would love to meet you and show you how sweet he is!

4/4/09 I've been working on making Bandana's for the dogs to wear at Petco's Adoption Day and I thought I would take a picture of Kirby the Super Model in his new gear and a close up of the Bandana =) I'm pretty proud of my work.

4/9/09 Just a quick update. I took Kirby to my vet this morning (Cache had an appointment) and weighed him. I'm very happy to say that we have been making progress on his weight loss. He is now 64 pounds. He is eating Green Beans, Peas, and a small handful of Dry Kibble in the morning, and his evening meal is the same plus 1/8 of a cup of Non Fat Cottage Cheese, and 4 Baby Carrots cut into small pieces (prescribed by the vet). He also gets his afternoon Milk Bone for a treat everyday.

We take daily walks and play frisbee in the back yard at least once a day, plus fetch the tennis balls up and down the stairs throughout the night. He's really getting his exercise in my house. Just looking at Kirby and petting him I feel like he has lost more weight then what the scale says, but at the same time with all the activity he's got to be gaining muscle.

Hope to see you at Petco on Saturday!

4/15/09 I'm sad to say that the adoption of Kirby has fallen through. Unfortunately the gentleman that was considering adopting him has decided that his life is to hectic to bring a dog into at this time.

On the bright side, Kirby is still with me and still losing weight. We will be competing in D/A at the Oak Grove Comp this Saturday if any one wants to come see him =) He's a great guy who is just waiting patiently for his forever family to come along and fall completely head over heals for him!

4/22/09 Just a quick note. We had a great time at the comp this last weekend. Kirby tried his heart out to catch the discs but it was windy and I had a hard time throwing the discs just right so he could get to them. Cache and Kirby both tied for 10th place with ZERO points (LOL), but they had fun and that's really what it's all about =)

4/25/09 Today I met a potential adoptor at PetsMart in Plymouth. She was pre-approved so all she had to do was decide if she wanted to adopt Kirby or not. I came with everything ready for him to go just incase she liked him and I'm glad I did! Kirby was adopted today =) I'll post an update on him as soon as I hear from her.

4/28/09 Update from Kirby's new Mom!!!

Hi Jessica and Melissa,

Kirby is just the greatest! He is so sweet, easy going and well behaved. The first couple of days we had a lot going on and he met a lot of extended family members including the dogs and even a couple of cats. He took it all so well. I think he may have wondered where he was going to be staying for sure and who was staying with him. He really liked my grandaughter and was maybe a little disapointed she didn't come home with him. Now that we have been alone for a couple of days he's settled in really well. He seems to be comfortable here. He sleeps next to the bed and isn't shy about hanging around wherever I happen to be. He's had a lot of play time - as you know he doesn't want to quit - I've learned it's really hard to hide a ball or disc from him. He's been out walking several times - of course he always grabs a ball to take with! I think it's so funny how his laid back personality changes the minute he sees a ball or disc. I left him alone for the first time yesterday. He looked disapointed when I left but he was good while I was gone. He was very excited when I got home - play time!

He has exceeded my expectations and I don't think I could ask for a better companion. Thanks to you both for helping me find my new best friend!

Pauline