Joy, the latest addition to our full and loving life, continues to amaze us with her sweetness and unlimited amount of love and willingness to experience new things. This was certainly a concern for us as we split our time between two states and since she was adopted spent an entire 6 months in Western, Pennsylvania and then she was off on a long road trip adventure to the South. I wondered how she would react. Would she think we are moving from the first forever home she has known? Would she miss it or would she adapt, as my friend Patty says dogs so when they are truly loved, like Joy.
Safari, the cat love of our life, is used to the drill. He has been travelling with us for years and he is a sunshine guy without a doubt. Four day in and so is Joy. She loves it here and I knew one thing for sure. She would love Angel and Zoe, my neighbor Kevin’s and his sister Pat’s dogs. I love their dogs so much and I could not wait for Joy to meet them because I knew she would love them. Angel, a beautiful Golden play so sweetly together. One catches the ball and then gives it to the other, over and over and over. Adorable, if you love dogs like us.
This is Kevin’s golf cart and he lets us use it. Her first ride on it was a few days ago. Today I borrowed it while Kevin was in school for a quick ride, later we all rode on it together before dinner – that will be the next picture.
I do not think a day goes by when I don’t think about Joy’s early life in a horrible puppy mill. Thankfully when she was rescued by Indian Summers Border Collie Rescue, she was loved too, not just rescued. This is an amazing place filled with love, hope and care and as Dr. Summers says, a shelter is not a home; it is a temporary one, but not a real home – but I like to think it was really a great start for Joy. It was akin to a jailbreak, that puppy mill. Some do not survive, some are tortured mentally for the rest of their lives and some are tough like Joy and determined (Yes, that is THE WAY of a Border Collie) to find their way.
Joy is very young, still a puppy herself. She had just turned 3 in May when we adopted her. She is first getting to experience the world. She now has travelled through 7 states! She went to her first doggy park yesterday and met two new boy friends that she loved, Willy and Sandy, a Westie and Sheltie, respectively. Her future days include many fun activities which I will continue to write about as they transpire.
Joy, you are no longer leading a “sheltered life” you have a piece of the world pie and it’s our privilege to give it to you, with love and kisses, everyday.
Joy's Tale 
November 16, 2012 at 5:38 am
Very sweet. My Sasha and I traveled many times to Florida and back; we lived there for a couple years and continue to have family down there. So yes I know the drill! Fortunately she was the most wonderful traveller and we always said “she must have been a truck driver’s dog in another life!”
As for adjusting: for a dog, YOU are their home. They’d live with you just as happily in a castle as in a cardboard box under the freeway, and frankly, wouldn’t even know the difference. They live to love us.
I will say my dog AND my 3 cats loved Florida; all the strange critters, the little naole lizards they could chase, the frogs and snakes….we had a huge yard there, and Sasha could run herself ragged every day, which was wonderful — she was a youngster then, even younger than Joy. A constant buzzsaw of border collie energy!
I did wonder if you are taking Joy to the ocean — if you ask around, most spots in Florida have “dog friendly beaches”, sometimes away from the tourists or off-season. We usually had little trouble finding places we could take her to — and though she was not a swimmer, she did LOVE to chase waves, dig in the sand and splash along in the surf with me. I have many happy and beautiful memories of her there — our last trip to Florida was only this February. She had such a wonderful time; nobody could have told me that my happy, joyous, active dog was going to die in 4 months; I would have never believed it.
Please cherish these wonderful times with Joy; I know you do of course. You can never take too many photos or videos!
I only want to add: I would not worry too much about her time in the puppy mill. It seems it was a very short time, and dogs live “in the now”. Joy is so young, the memories she is forming for life are coming NOW and from you. What a lucky girl!