Little Miss Phoebe, Our Wonderful Border Collie
I temporarily moved to Baltimore in July, 2017. My husband, dog, and three cats remained in Boston, given that I'm only here for a year. I missed my pets very much, and Doug suggested I get a dog to keep me company (our dog Chester exceeded the apartment weight limit). A good friend recommended A Tail to Tell, and on 09/11/2017, Toni and Jeffrey – A Tail to Tell volunteers, who were Phoebe's foster parents - brought Phoebe into my life.
Phoebe was very skittish at first; she wouldn't eat in front of me, shook a lot, and while she would never refuse to let me pet her, she never sought it out. She was also very afraid of everyone else, including my husband, Doug, which made him sad, although he completely understood, given her background.
I found a wonderful vet who meets her on her terms, and we began the slow process of helping her realize she will never be harmed or hurt again. She's a smart pup - she figured out pretty quickly that she really likes attention and loves to be rubbed. She "talks," and we have conversations (in which I'm sure I sound like a Charlie Brown adult). We walk to the pet store regularly to expose her to other loving humans, and we work with everyone to help give her gentle, loving affection.
She spends about half her time in Boston, and totally loves it. We have a large fenced-in backyard, and she loves Chester (our old, gentle lab/hound mix), and Brady, Cocoa, and MacDuff (Brady and Cocoa are Siamese cats, MacDuff is a mixed-breed cat). She is true to her breed, and loves to herd animals and people. I am not so fond of her herding rats in Baltimore, but she does a good job. It's really funny to watch her trying to herd the wild turkeys that live up in Boston, and she nearly caught a squirrel one morning. She adores Doug, and follows him around the house. She sees both of us as alpha dogs, and her favorite time is morning, when she loves to jump into bed and snuggle. She's still shy with folks she doesn't know, but she's already come a long way.
She is completely and totally adored, and Doug and I consider ourselves blessed to have met up with A Tail to Tell, Toni and Jeffrey, and our little Phoebe.
Cory and Doug
It took some time for her to trust hands and laps, but she is now a loving, happy little lady and a very important part of our family. Believe it or not, she has inspired us to persevere through tough times. It may seem crazy that this fluffy little chihuahua taught us about strength and grit, but we learned that if this little dog could hang in there until she got a chance to live her best life, surely we can make it through a tough day or two.
