Meet Dixie, our Adopted Border Collie

Well, Shaun and I are now proud parents of the cutest little girl. She’s furry, spotted, and has the most innocent brown eyes. Her name is Dixie and she’s the prettiest little 3 (or 4) year old Border Collie.

Here’s our story:

For years we have talked about the day we could adopt a puppy but never had a place to keep her. This didn’t stop us from looking on sites like DogProductPicker.com and planning for the day we would get our dog, though! When Shaun moved into his apartment, the idea quickly became more real. We went almost every weekend to the shelters, just for fun. We would fall in love with dogs but they were always either too loud, misbehaved, or were already adopted. Once, we found a beautiful, short haired golden retriever (we originally named Dixie, even though she was no where near being ours) just to come back the next day to find that her owners had found her. It was a bitter sweet moment! We walked away without a dog, but with a dog name… it was a start.

On the 10th of February, my sister came over. She, Shaun and I had nothing good to do. That is, until Shaun suggested we go to the dog shelter. It was always one of our favorite weekend activities, so of course we agreed! We went to a few around Shaun’s apartment and ended up falling in love with a puppy, Jax. Unfortunately, he wasn’t available until the end of the month. We asked about putting in an application for him and were planning on going back to visit him again when it was closer to the date he’d be available. We got back into the car and I was like, “…so now what?!” All of a sudden, the puppy didn’t seem like such a good idea. I wasn’t done looking. I had a good feeling we would find our dog that day, so I begged to go to another shelter.

That’s when Shaun mentioned the Inland Valley Humane Society and we headed that way. When we got there, they had quite a few dogs and we spent a good amount of time walking up and down each aisle of the kennels. My sister and I broke off and did our own thing (aka go to the puppy section, duh) just to come back to Shaun asking to see a border collie. He brought us to her and I fell in love! We always loved border collies and they’re the type of dog that would fit our lifestyle well.

We went up to the adoption center and asked about her, if she was available, and if we could have some time with her out front. At first, another family was looking at her, deciding between her and another dog. Luckily, they picked the other dog and we got some time together. When we took her out front, she was skittish and shy, but very sweet. The woman working the shelter said she was one of her favorite dogs and was very loving and independent. She also warned us that being a border collie, she would likely herd small children and animals (which I found hilarious). We all loved her! After that, my sister and I made a quick trip to the restroom and came back inside to see Shaun signing papers. We were both like, “wait… is this for real?!” To be honest, it made me stop in my tracks a bit, a little nervous but also extremely excited!! And just like that, she was ours.

We left the shelter and got her into the car (eventually… this was a major struggle). She didn’t like the car then and still doesn’t, but I think she’s getting a bit better with this… fingers crossed.

After that, we took her over to a friend’s house, that’s when we realized she really would herd small children, ha! We took her home, bought her a nice bed and yummy food (p.s. did you know if you bring your adoption certificate into PetSmart they give you a coupon book full of free stuff and awesome discounts?!) and she made herself at home.

She seemed so perfectly behaved that a few days later, we left her at the apartment by herself for a few hours to have lunch with my mom, sisters, and Shaun’s parents. When we arrived back home we found the curtain rod pulled out of the wall and the curtains and blinds chewed. We were in shock. Not only did we think she totally deceived us, we had to think up a plan for what to do with her while we were both away by the next day. We went back to PetSmart and bought a crate that she could sleep in at nights while Shaun worked and I wasn’t there. We tested it out but came back to a surprise when we found her OUTSIDE of the crate when we got home. On the plus side, nothing else in the house was destroyed so we figured, “maybe she isn’t that bad!” We gave her a few more attempts to prove to us that she wasn’t the Tasmanian Devil. She passed with flying colors and we haven’t had any problems since! Needless to say, the crate now lives folded under the bed.

Ever since, she’s warmed up to us quite nicely. She greets us with hugs and loves to be pet. If you stop petting her, she will nudge you until you do. She’s visited my childhood dogs (2 small rat terrier mixes) and had a blast herding them around, although I’m not sure they appreciated it much. She loves to walk but definitely needs to get better at being on a leash. We’re waiting to get her a harness until her belly heals up (she was fixed the day before we adopted her). She has been really good at going potty outside, she was basically house broken when we got her! She knows “sit” & “shake” and if I break out the treats, she instantly sits and sticks her paw out for me to grab… haha! Shaun and I plan to take her to a farm where she can herd sheep soon, I will definitely share how that goes with you guys!

If you want to see more of Dixie, follow along on Instagram here. I share highlights of our day-to-day in my story as well as some pictures in my feed.

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(jacket linked here)

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See how I also styled the most comfortable Express leggings here.

Until next time!

xx, Amanda