Sabrina

 2 year old female

Sabrina has been in shelter since January where she was brought in having been found running on a VERY busy highway in Minneapolis.  A state trooper picked her up from the road and brought her to a vet since she appeared to have blood by her mouth.  Fortunately, it did not seem that she had been hit by any cars during her travels. 

Her coat wasn't quite so fortunate.  Her matted fur had to be shaved to the skin around her neck and by her hips/rear-end.  There is evidence that there were sores under the matted area since it is dry/scabby now.  The rest of her tri-colored coat is quite lush and gorgeous, but her unique hair-do makes her appear to be a rebellious teenage punked-out backwards lion, ie. bald neck and Mohawk butt/tail.  Quite undignified for a Collie girl!  On top of it, she looks very "concerned" with her tri- colored spectacles coloring as well.  I think it is something to do with the set of the eyes and light brown coloring right around those beautiful dark button eyes.  She is very cute.

Sabrina is a gangly and long legged 24 inches at the shoulder (at the top of the normal height for collie girls) and quite thin at 45 lbs. She was spayed and microchipped at the shelter and is up to date on vaccines.

Very sweet temperament.  Knows sit - automatically gives paw.  Is not too much of a barker - so far.  Crates up very nicely too.   Loves to run and needs a fenced yard.  Is doing very well with coming to me when called, but not to be trusted off-leash outside a fenced area.  Walks well with a gentle leader.  Not so great without.  Very cuddly and loves attention.  A bit shy of people at first, but warms up quickly.  Very mouthy and will jump on strangers.  Likes to herd and chase.  Gently mouths hands and ankles when she is excited.

Sabrina is like a young pup in the body of an adult which makes me think that she hasn't been living inside a house.  She will taste anything and everything to try it out.  Toilet paper seems to be very fun.  Vacuum cleaner attachments, bottles of lotion, dryer sheets all seem very tasty.  She is crated when I cannot be right there to watch her.  She had no problem navigating the stairs.  (Learning how to do stairs is one of the most difficult things for dogs who have never lived inside a house and most of the foster Collies who have been through my home have needed to learn stairs).   We are on a crash course for Potty 101.  She is doing very well with housetraining.

It was said that Sabrina was cat aggressive, but since she was cleaning out Ramon's ears this morning, I would say that is not the case.  If a cat runs, she is happy to give chase, but has not shown any aggression to my 3 cats in her week in my home.

Sabrina is an extremely smart and sweet girl.  She needs someone who will take her to obedience and teach her how to be a polite girl.  She is picking up on things so very quickly and wants so much to please.  What a great dog!  She is full of joy and makes me laugh every day with her puppyish antics.  If you tell her "no", she immediately stops what she is doing, sits and offers her paw.   She did this with my alpha female who was tired of playing. Tasha growled at Sabrina and so Sabrina immediately sat and offered her paw to Tasha! 

Sabrina likes children, but will herd, chase and nip them when they run.  She wags her tail often and has been know to thwap a toddler in the face with it.

Sabrina has a huge problem with getting car sick.  Poor baby drools like mad and then vomits, even on very short trips.  I've tried ginger snaps, peppermint oil and even blind-folding her.  Nothing seems to help.  I've been told that she may out-grow this, but it is a big concern of mine with her.

Sabrina likes other dogs and loves to run and chase.  She will try to goad other dogs into play by nipping at them in hopes that they will chase her.  She runs like the wind and never seems to tire out!  I would hope that she would go to a home where she can run with other dogs every day.  She loves to chase at the park.   Very affectionate and loves to be with people.

Sabrina is a fabulous and beautiful Collie girl and has the potential to be a wonderful companion to the right family who will work with her.  She is one that I would keep if I didn't already have so many dogs in my home.

She is being fostered in Minnesota.