NorCal Collie Rescue

A Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization

Serving Northern California
and Surrounding Areas

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Happy Tails -- 2024 - 2025

Stories of Adopted Collies

* NorCal Collie Rescue is California non-profit public benefit 501(c)(3) corporation C2798651 EIN 20-3381549.
Your donations are fully tax deductible.

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Other Years -- 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 & 2003

Chacha
Posted: February 2024

This is a long story made short. We have had NorCal Collie Rescue dogs for over 25

years. Jack, our 97-pound male, died about 8 months ago. This was the first time, over

45 years ago we were without a collie and NorCal Collie Rescue simply had no

candidates for us. About a month ago, NCR let us know of a young rescue collie available

in Lindsay, CA, south of Visalia.

We contacted Central California Rescue Railroad (CCRR) and rushed down to meet this

wonderful dog. Thanks to NCR and CCRR we adopted the female rough collie and

couldn’t be happier.

We've only had Chacha for a month, so I don't have a lot to relate to except that Chacha

loves to climb into laps and sleeps on our beds. She rarely "speaks" and likes human

contact. One can see from the pictures that she is gorgeous and gentle.

Bill and Laurie L. and Cousin Janie B.

This is Reno Shadow and the Wynns adopted him officially as of March 27th. He is doing

great and loves his Nor Cal Sheltie Rescue brother !

Reno Shadow
Posted: April 2024

Blue was adopted by the Ephraims in 2023 after they lost their beloved Collie, Wiley. Blue had

suffered a loss of his beloved owner as well. He was a “foster fail” within minutes of meeting

them – they just knew he was the special soul they needed to mend their broken hearts. He is a

unique Sable Merle with one blue eye and one eye that is half blue and half brown, but his greatest

quality is his endless capacity to love. He greets everyone with a big Collie “smile” and a “hug,”

and he absolutely loves cuddles in bed and on the couch. He will happily curl up with you for hours

and has never met a couch, pillow, or blanket he didn’t love! Blue is a happy, confident, playful guy

who likes to explore San Francisco and bark at seagulls with his “butler” Jason, but is equally

happy playing with toys on the lawn in the suburbs or chasing squirrels and deer in Sonoma. The

Ephraims are so happy that Blue the Love Bug is in their lives. Blue saved them as much as they

saved him.

Blue
Posted: April 2024

Scout was picked up as a stray just a month ago. His intake paperwork describes a stinky,

feces-encrusted, unkempt old dog with oozing eyes and a fever. He was considered an

unlikely candidate for adoption and slated to be euthanized at the end of five days.

Usually, shelter personnel will call relevant breed specific rescues but maybe they were

overwhelmed, or he was simply unrecognizable as a purebred collie? Either way, we're happy

that someone else took the time to let us know about Scout's plight.

Scout is a Gentleman Collie. He has no phobias, anxieties, or bad habits. He's a love with

people, dogs, and cats. We'll never know his human back-story, but my guess is he was

owned by a shut-in person who fed him a lot but never took him out. He weighed in at ninety

pounds, at least twenty pounds overweight, and was not used to walking much. Scout was

one tired puppy as we put him on a strict diet and increased his mobility with several short

walks each day.

Scout Pays It Forward
Posted: May 2024

Scout has come a long way in a few short weeks. He loves his ride to work in the car every day. His beautiful face attracts admirers when we stop

at a red light. We have a new Forever Home lined up for Scout starting this weekend.

Yesterday evening, Scout was able to "Pay it Forward" in a big way. We went out to help in the search for another dog who has been missing for

several days in a very busy and built-up neighborhood. Shilah is a young collie mix who was adopted from a litter born after her mother, Willow,

was rescued. Shilah's family adored her and had called our group for advice when she was lost. The family had taken Shilah to a pet-sitter who

was to take care of her while they went to Disneyland, in Southern California. They had barely arrived when they got the call that Shilah had run

away. (The pet-sitter had thought the dog looked so well behaved that she didn't need a leash for a walk with a stranger in a strange landscape!).

Shilah's family turned around and drove 400 miles back home to search for their dog. Posters went up all over the place, reports were made to

animal control etc. but there were no immediate results. Shilah is a shy dog who won't go easily to strangers. On the plus side she is micro-

chipped and was wearing a collar with ID tags. On the negative side, traffic, traffic, traffic.

We advised the family to park one of their cars nearby so that the familiar scent would anchor Shilah to that area. Shilah was sighted a couple of

times over the last few days, by kind folks who called it in, but she always ran away.

I took Scout to meet up with, Shilah's owner, at the last spot she'd been seen. We started knocking on doors, asking to visit people's back yards.

It's been my experience that dogs will hide somewhere quiet when given the option. I've also seen that a panicked dog will more easily approach

when a sane and happy companion dog is brought into the mix. We took almost an hour just in one cul-de-sac. Shilah’s adopter told me he'd

driven up down and around calling his dog's name from the car. There was so much territory to cover and so many directions to choose from.

As we were almost finished on that street, Scout turned to look behind us. We were being followed by a tired and grubby collie mix named Shilah.

Human and Dog collapsed to the ground together, in tears and licks and hugs. Sheilah sat on her adopter’s chest and was so very relieved to be

FOUND. Shilah's feet were very sore, so her Dad went to get the car. She stuck to Scout for comfort, while he was gone.

I usually see dogs at the other end of the lost/found journey. It was very special to have been a part of bringing one home to her family

Samantha & Ginger
Posted: June 2024

Arf, arf everyone,

We have had to keep our adventure quiet for a few weeks and I am now thrilled to be able to

say Samantha and Ginger made the electronic version of the “Pets and Petals Design

Contest” of the Floral Review Magazine.

Most of you will remember Samantha as one of the Demodex sisters. Now at 11 and

completely blind she is absolutely amazing, still hasn’t fully grown into those ears, loves

outings, and makes new friends every day. She is so resilient and such a lovebug, she is a

true inspiration!

Ginger was turned down by several people because she was extremely shy and emotionally

shut down after her human passed away. Thanks to Mary and Lauren we got the call and

now, Ginger is deservedly known as the Pebble Beach Princess!

The girls were chosen by the florist out of a bunch of local dogs (they are fairly well known

around Carmel) so when the photographer asked if we could try a photo shoot we of course

immediately said yes and the girls being soo wonderful knew just what to do after a few

minutes and those smiles say it all.

Wags and extra cookies to all,

Kristan

Samantha

Ginger

Samantha & Ginger

Gabby
Posted: November 2024

Gabby, now named Abby, was adopted by this young couple this month. Gabby lived with a

young family and was afraid of the young children, choosing to spend all her time outside to

avoid them. She may have been an outside dog previously, but she is quickly learning to love

hanging out in the house with her new family. They couldn't be happier with this sweet little

girl! Now she just wants to sit on your feet and get lots and lots of love.

Thank you to Area Coordinator, Wendy Graves, for making this success story possible.

Levi
Posted: January 2025

Levi is living it up with so much joy in his new home on a ranch in Pleasanton! This was the

Smooth Collie mix we posted earlier as a referral. Originally he was up in rural Westwood in a

horrible situation where he spent his life in a cluttered outdoor pen with no shelter in the cold.

Thankfully a Good Samaritan neighbor was able to convince the owner to relinquish him to

rescuer Ronnie Chandler of Critter Keepers in Janesville. In spite of his circumstances, she

could see immediately he was a lovely boy. Ronnie got him groomed, vaccinated, neutered

and housetrained and ready for adoption. Turns out his adopter found him through our

Facebook page!

CHECK OUT HIS VIDEO ON FACEBOOK [CLICK HERE]

We are thrilled with this happy tail!

Many thanks to our President, Karen Cavallo for coordinating.

Levi already guarding the henhouse at his ranch that has horses and barn cats as well as the chickens. And it has a brook and a pond. He is one lucky boy!

Dan Gerson wrote this song for his 13 year old rescue Collie, Buddy. When I first

heard it I started crying immediately and knew it had to be shared. Dan adopted

him at 7 and says Buddy rescued HIM. As we know, Collies can do that! Dan has

adopted 2 dogs from NCR and both older ones. He is one of our most treasured

adopters. Buddy is deaf and a little weak in the hind end, but still doing well and

enjoying walks on the beach with his 5 year old Collie sister Lilly.

CHECK OUT HIS VIDEO ON FACEBOOK [CLICK HERE]

Buddy
Posted: January 2025

We never thought we would see a collie puppy in rescue. And, then came Willow with her brother and sister. She is our fifth collie from this wonderful rescue.

Our pack of two collies and one golden have been great with her although there are times when she is crazy that they give me that “what were you thinking” look. I am so proud of them.

My granddaughters adore her and “torture” her on a daily basis.

Looking forward to more memories with our wonderful pack.

Willow
Posted: March 27, 2025

HAPPY TAILS: MYRA AND HER PUPS
By Andrea Moss

Posted March 27, 2025

The day after Christmas, Linda Renaud received an email from a woman who’d said her elderly parents could no longer take care of their three adult Collies, (3,5 and 9 years) and three newborn Collie puppies. The puppies were born on 12-20-24, so they were only a week old – yikes! Linda went out to meet with the owners and gather more information on the situation to present to our group. I agreed to help look for foster homes and my search started immediately. But where would we find someone with the expertise to handle a nursing mother and her three puppies?

Enter longtime Collie and Sheltie rescue volunteer, Donna Shade, who also happens to be a veterinarian! She and her partner Liz agreed to take the momma and puppies on January 7. Thankfully, by that time, the owners decided to keep the other two adult Collies but still wanted to relinquish Myra and her puppies. Linda and our wonderful past President, Lauren Caudill decided to meet up with the owners to handle the NCR paperwork and transport mom and pups to Donna in Monterey.

We cannot thank Donna and Liz enough for their tremendous 24-7 efforts in raising three wonderful Collie puppies. And to seasoned NCR adopters, Hal and Mary Jo Feeney, for stepping up without hesitation to “foster-to-adopt Myra” when the puppies were weaned. It was a huge team effort, but we found fantastic homes for all three puppies, who were adopted on Valentines’ weekend at 8 weeks.

These are their Happy Tails stories…

Willow with Birdie, Baylor, Lyla,

Dixie & Poppy

Willow with Nancy & Audra

Willow with Birdie

Willow sunning on the deck

with Baylor & Lyla

Willow with Baylor, Poppy, & Lyla

Willow at her first softball game

Myra with her pups at 2.5 week

Pups at 1 week

Pups at 7 weeks

My son has been asking for another collie for 2 years. As much as we had wanted to add another dog to our home, but with transitioning to new jobs and new schools, it just wasn’t the right time, until now. When I saw that NorCal Collie Rescue had 3 puppies available Valentine’s weekend, we jumped on it - but kept it as a surprise for our son’s 11th birthday.

He decided to name his dog Isaac, Izzy for short. They have been inseparable. Izzy is now 3 months old, and has been nicknamed “land piranha” and “porch pirate”, as he loves to grab onto our senior collie’s mane to engage her in play - and his love for stealing socks.

His big “sister” and Izzy are bonding and love playing together. Izzy especially loves playing catch. He’s even made friends with our grumpy cat. He is such a precious addition to our home!

Izzy, formerly known as Skylar
Posted: March 27, 2025

Mason & Izzy

Izzy's Portrait

Izzy with new sister, Riley

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always dreamed of having a collie. Their gentle nature, striking beauty, and intelligence always captivated me. They are so elegant and regal! However, I’ve also been a strong believer in adopting and rescuing dogs, knowing that countless animals in shelters and rescues need loving homes. That’s when I discovered NorCal Collie Rescue, and it felt like the perfect solution, merging my love for the breed and my passion for helping animals in need.

When I first learned about the rescue, I was overjoyed. I placed my name on the waitlist, eager to find the right dog. I had anticipated adopting a young adult collie, perhaps one or two years old. But to my surprise, a litter of puppies became available for adoption, which was an unexpected but delightful twist. It was a golden opportunity to raise a collie from a young age, giving me the chance to shape her early experiences and ensure a strong bond.

Enter Lua, my playful and energetic little girl. She has been such a joy to watch grow and evolve in the month since I brought her home. Initially, she was a shy, reserved pup, unsure of her new surroundings. But over time, her personality has blossomed into a boisterous and sassy little bundle of energy. Lua is always up for a game with her toys, and she adores meeting new people, be it adults or children. Her social nature has made her a hit with everyone she meets, and it’s been a joy to watch her confidence grow each day.

As an RVT at a veterinary hospital, I’ve had the privilege of bringing Lua to work with me. She has become quite the office mascot, interacting with my coworkers and the employee dogs at the clinic, soaking up all the love and attention she can. I’ve been dreaming of finding a hiking buddy, and Lua fits the bill perfectly. I can already envision us on outdoor adventures together, and maybe one day, she’ll even take part in herding trials. I feel so lucky to have found her through NorCal Collie Rescue, and I’m excited for all the memories we’ll create together in the future.

Lua, formerly known as Laci
Posted: March 27, 2025

Lua, Max & Katherine on

Adoption Day!

Lua & Max

Lua's new pack at work

Kinda hard to get work done

Lua & Katherine

Going shopping to pick out her

favorite toy

Lua loves her toy

Finally time to take a nap

Taking a break by the fountain

Izzy's new family on Adoption Day

Bedtime story for Izzy:
Mason reading Donna Shade's children's book inspired by her Collie, Laddie.

Wow! Willow, Izzy, and Lua are incredibly cute. Well, what would you expect from a beautiful mother like me? I am the one who made this adoption frenzy happen. I am Myra. They were afraid to change my name – something about new tricks for a 7.5-year-old.

Everyone loves the pups, but they do not know everything that I went through to reach this point. I had this litter of pups on December 20th and then turmoil. The pups were demanding and challenging. Then we all moved from my comfortable home in Saratoga to another home in Monterey. This was strange, since I had never lived anywhere else, but I eventually settled in and was, I think, a good mom. That’s what they said anyways. That is… until the puppies’ teeth grew in and nursing them started to hurt! The pups were calling out for me, but I just couldn’t bear it and told them so. But they wouldn’t back off. I guess the puppies’ screaming and my calling back to them was a bit much for the household. So, in a couple of weeks, I moved again—this time to Los Altos. From that point, every time I saw a car, I thought it was off to another home. I tried to bark the cars away, and it must have worked, because they didn’t take me away again! The whole experience was a lot for me to handle, and it had me very worried. To make matters worse, this new home brought several feline furballs with it—another problem. The first two nights I barked like a watchdog, but that activity brought on too much attention, so I decided to stay quiet.

In addition to learning my way around a new home and yard, I had vet checks and a required surgery—that meant that I needed to wear an e-collar—crashing into everything in the house that was kneecap height. I was SO HAPPY when they took that thing off!

Traveling in the car, I curl up on the floor and try to have my body touching something on all sides—inside the house, I sleep under a chair—that is my safe zone and I only go outside for a few minutes at a time. They say that I am a Velcro dog.

During my final week as a “foster dog,” I began acting like a “real” collie and not upsetting the household. At last, I felt like “me” again and could relax. I still spend most of the time indoors, but I now follow my people, Hal and Mary Jo, all around the yard.

I guess I did okay—on Friday, they adopted me and said that this is my forever home! When they took off the leash on Saturday morning, I dashed in each direction as fast as I could and then quickly returned.

Thanks to NorCal Collie Rescue. I hope I can see the pups as they grow up.

Love and licks from Myra.

Happy Tails by Myra
Posted: March 31, 2025