Andre - Adopted11/18/02
and now he even has his own webpage!
"Extremely sensitive, intuitive, tall, dark and handsome male. Like's short walks at dusk, frolicking in the woods, hunting (mostly squirrels and chipmunks), playing games with friends (especially soft touch basketball), curling up by the fireplace or your bed, dancing when the spirit moves you and just spending time with loved ones. Looking for a nice, quiet, soft-spoken family with similar interests, pets OK, older/quieter children OK. I don't need a lot of room to roam, I like to stay close and feel secure. Serious inquiries only, I'm sensitive and my heart breaks easily."
Andre is a beautiful black-tipped sable collie who will be 4 years old in November. He stands 26 inches at the shoulder and is at least 3 ft tall when sitting with his head held high by your side. He is approximately 36 inches from the tip of his nose to his rump (add another foot and a half for his tail). Although he has been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease, he has been weaned off his medications in the past two weeks with no ill effects. His weight is holding steady at 73 lbs, but he can be a picky eater especially when feeling stressed. So, if you're late for work at breakfast time, expect Dre to spend more time pacing back and forth to see how you are doing instead of cleaning his plate! He LOVES milk bones and rawhide chews and learned "sit" immediately in order to get them. He does not chew the furniture, but instead loves to play with his stuffed chew toys and rope toys regularly.
Andre has fit into his foster home easily. He plays
with his 4 foster collie siblings (3 boys, 1 girl)
and often initiates the play sessions. If the play
gets too rough, Dre will snap his teeth like
castanets. Dre NEVER fights with the other dogs, but
rather he will turn his back and walk away to his
"safe place" when things get heated. He loves to
play tug-of-war with the toys and his voice trills
when he growls so he almost sounds like a great big
cat purring. Dre joins in the greeting ceremony when
his foster mom returns from work, but can sometimes
get carried away with his collie love-bites because
he is so happy to see her. He will do well with a
little guidance and very gentle training. Dre can
stay in the house for hours, waiting patiently for
his family to return. He and his foster family have
been left up to 14 hours without any accidents in
the house! He does not have a thick undercoat, so
grooming Dre is not overwhelming. He tolerates
grooming well but will move away to his "safe place"
when he's had enough. He does get anxious and cries
over pedicures, and that sad cry is almost enough to
break your heart. Dre gets lots of hugs from his
foster mom; for grooming, for pedicures, for eating
all his food and sometimes just because he needs one
and/or so does she!
Because of his extreme sensitivity, a quiet home is a must for Dre. He does very well around children, but gets nervous around too much noise and activity and that, in turn, aggravates his inflammatory bowel disease. Therefore, a home with older children is recommended. Dre is also very intuitive and can sense his owner's moods. He is a great comfort during the down times and lots of fun during the good times. His foster mom is hesitant to part with Dre, but knows that there is a perfect forever home waiting just for him.
Maybe your home is the one?
Latest Updates:
05/19/03
Hi Linda and Joni
It's been awhile since we wrote. Things have been hectic these last couple of months. We've had two family funerals to attend in Iowa....our son visited us from Baltimore.....we've been helping our daughter look for her first home.
Dre has been doing great! At his last vet appointment, he weighed in at 73.4 pounds. The dog food he's on has been keeping his stomach issues well in check. He and I go almost everywhere together. He usually goes with me in the van when I run errands. We've got a bed we made for him in the van and he just hops in and settles down. The weather has been cool enough to leave him in the locked car while I'm in a store but I haven't figured out what I'll do when the weather gets too hot. I probably won't be able to take him. I hate it when I see dogs left in a car when it's super hot outside.
We've not taken him on a ride in our deckboat yet. We're anxious to see if he likes it. He'll go out on the dock with me if I have him on a leash but when I'm out on the dock fishing or something and try to call him out to me, he prefers to wait for me on the lawn. He's really been good about staying around when we're outside working but we don't leave him outside alone. We bought one of those 50 foot wire leashes that string between two trees and then has a 10 foot leash that runs on a pulley device. It gives him that 50 feet to roam. I've not used it that much since he really doesn't like to be outside alone for very long. He'll find some shad and lay down for awhile but soon wants to come in to be with us. He really is a great companion dog. As a matter of fact, he's sleeping at my feet as I write this.
Joni, we thought maybe we see you on Easter. Guess you didn't visit your family here in Forest Lake. Please come by if you get a chance. How's Riley doing?
Linda, you mentioned bringing Asa over to see how Dre reacted and to discuss possibly fostering a collie in the future. We'd like to do that when you have some time.
Take care,
Larry and Jane
02/13/03
I finally think we have come full circle with Andre'. For the last 2 weeks he has been eating 2 meals/day. One in the morning 7 AM or so, and one in the evening, also around 7 (PM). He is now a whooping' 71 lbs. What a bruiser.
We have tried just about every dog food brand and type on the market. He was eating the Science Diet ZD, but that was very costly @ $45 per 20 lb/bag. It wasn't just the cost. Andre' ate it, but mostly he ate around it. We are (and have ever since the vet. Recommendation) putting lean hamburger and rice in with his food. Andre' would get all the ZD down eventually, but mostly by accidentally getting some while fishing for the burger mixture. We then went with Pets Mart's OvenBake brand. It is chicken and when we were in our early stages of trying everything under the sun, Dre' seemed to eat more of that than any other brand. He no eats every little bit at each meal and it is gone within 10 minutes. FINALLY!!
On 1/18/03, Andre' traveled with us to Iowa. A 4 hour car trip. On the way there he was very insecure. We took his big couch bed with us to help him with the adjustment. Once we arrived at Larry's mom's house, he was just fine. He settled in and seemed very much at home. The return trip, he was far more relaxed. He settled into his bed for most of the trip.
He and Larry run their errands together. Andre' just climbs right into the car with no hesitation. Also a relatively new response from having to be physically lifted into the vehicle in the past.
Andre' continues to be a source of great joy to both Larry and me. He is still the most perfect dog I have ever known. He now brings us the big, white, furry basketball, the one Joni gave him, to play with and initiates play time. This too is only since the past 2 weeks. He did not like the snow at all at first. All his marking and scenting was gone. He was so lost for the first 3-4 days of his walks with the new snow. One could sense he was not at all pleased with his new environment.
He now is fine with it. He has re-marked his territory and he takes big bites of snow all along our walks. The other morning on my walk with him (around 6:15 AM or so daily, he became very defensive and protective. A man was just standing in the middle of the road. He did not move, just stayed there and Dre' began a low growl from the moment he spotted him. It turned into a pretty fierce barking that he would not stop. He has never done this, he usually warms up as he approaches people, and even goes up to sniff their hands if they allow. Not this time. He continued his barking and protective mode until we got way passed the man. He still continued to look back at him periodically from a long distance. It was rather comforting to see this gentle giant in this mode. The man either had a bad aura or something set Dre' off. At any rate, he was my hero for the day. I am not sure that protection was necessarily warranted, but it was dear of him to be ready to do so.
He is just beautiful, still. And still ever so gentle and loving. We are occasionally joined on our morning walks by a renegade female of unknown breed. I spoke to her owner briefly one morning and discovered her name and age, but failed to get the breed. She is a 3 year old female who's body type is somewhat of a pit bull, and who's head appears somewhat like a yellow Lab. She has a collar and an electric fence, but every time she sees us, she bolts through and takes the hit. She is such a little hellion. She and Andre' romp around (as best as Dre' can on a leash). She follows us the entire time. Dre' seems to really like her. She is incredibly friendly if not disciplined in any way. Dre' and I go in the house and she hangs around outside a while and then goes home.
Well, this has turned out to be rather long. You can certainly mark Andre's adoption as a definite success. We absolutely love everything about him. He too, seems to be very well adjusted here. Incidentally, he is also the first dog we have ever owned that will not drink out of the toilet. Is that not a gentleman?
01/17/03
Hi! Long time from the last time
we wrote.
Andre is doing better all the time. He is so comical
in the morning --it breaks me up every time. He
seems to be in the best mood then. Anxious to go on
his walk, he communicates with his castanet teeth
clacking, his little love bites, his sneezing, and
his low growls and excitement level is just a great
start to my day.
He goes easily and happily into the car now. He eats
at least once a day, most of the time 2 times. He is
on the Science Diet ZD. He is not any crazier about
that food than the countless others we tried. We
need to add meat to it to get him to eat it. Lean
hamburger and rice and often chicken is what we add
to it. Not much, just enough so that as he tries to
pick at the meat, he can't help but ingest the dog
food too.
Larry took him in to be weighed today and he was at
66.2 pounds, so he is slowly gaining weight. He
looks very good. We got him a new bed for Christmas.
If you use the same internet link for his web page
and replace the 15 at the end with a 16, you can see
his new BIG bed. It could fit a Great Dane or St.
Bernard.
We still think he is an absolute joy. I still can't
believe anyone gave him up. He is just a perfect
dog. What amazes me the most is how mellow he is. He
is not nearly as fearful as he was. He is no longer
on Flagyl. The vet. weaned him off that over the
course of the remainder of the pills that you gave
us, Joni. He is on 2 Pesid AC tabs daily, which he
gets with peanut butter. Whenever I take out the
peanut butter for myself, he comes up to me as if it
is for him.
He still gets 2 to 3 walks a day. It is harder now
with the weather colder, but he enjoys them and once
we are all bundled up, it isn't too bad so far.
Andre is never bothered by the cold. He actually
seems to enjoy it. I am anxious to see his reaction
to a big snow fall. We have lowered the temperature
in the house some, because he would try to find a
bare floor to lay on due to the heat. It is great to
do anyway, as prices for gas are going up 20%. It is
suppose to be healthier to have a home cooler. I am
getting used to it.
I won't bore you anymore, but I just wanted you to
know how well he is doing and how very much we love
and appreciate him.
How is the wild one, Riley doing? Joni, you sure are
a devoted foster mom. He is quite the handful.
We'll keep you updated with any further progress in
his weight, but he seems to be well over the hump.
God bless you all.