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| Name: |
Barney
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Age: |
Six years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Border Collie
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| Home: |
Worcestershire, UK |
Barney
is very special to me! He's a "second hand" dog - in the first
fifteen months of his life, he had three homes... ours being the last.
Barney's previous owners had given up on him as he was aggressive with
strangers, reactive with other dogs, fearful in new situations and with
new objects too. The local rescue centres were all full, with waiting
lists, so the owners decided to have Barney put down. Thankfully, my dad
agreed to take Barney on as a "foster" literally hours before he was
scheduled for euthanasia! On hearing about the rescue border collie we
had at home, I rushed back from uni and promptly fell in love with the
confused, hyper, untrained, timid but very sweet natured pup, we sort of
adopted each other ... There was no way Barney was going anywhere.
Barney had a lot of problems when I took him on and we spent a long time
getting him over his fears. Everything spooked him - people looking at
him, people with beards, or walking sticks, or wearing fluorescent
jackets, traffic cones, statues, cardboard boxes, to name a few... His
first instinct was to lunge forward, barking, snarling, snapping, to get
the "scary" person or object away from him. Slowly though, with a lot of
gentle persuasion and treats Barney learned that people are generally
nice and that traffic cones aren't actually all that scary! He is still
timid at times (and doesn't like certain noises - like gunshot - we live
near farmland, so hear shots) but he's a lot braver and much more
friendly too. With people he knows, Barney is very cuddly!
He was also completely untrained when I first met him. Barney knew his
name and sort of knew "sit" but nothing else - he didn't even know how
to play fetch! If there's one thing collies need, it is to use their
brains. Barney was bored senseless and causing trouble, chewing
furniture, bouncing all the time, nipping when excited, chasing joggers
and so on, when let off lead. These days, Barney knows lots of tricks
and commands (over 50) and loves to show off! He's still not great at
fetching but is totally obsessed with catching and chasing balls etc.
His other "work" is posing for me - I love taking photographs and Barney
takes modeling very seriously! I can direct him left and right, back and
forth and he'll happily stand still for ten minutes at a time - he knows
he'll get a reward for doing his job well and loves the camera almost as
much as I do.
In the summer of 2011, the year after I'd graduated from university, I
was diagnosed with cancer. I was only 22 at the time and it came as a
real shock. Barney has been an incredible help since then, I really
don't know how I'd have coped without him. He kept me distracted while
waiting for treatment, got me in a wheelchair and out of hospital for
the first time after my ten hour operation, and then looked after me for
many long months while I underwent radiotherapy, then started recovery.
I was sleeping twenty hours a day for several weeks and he patiently
curled up at my bedside and quietly kept me company, without pestering
for my attention or walks. I'm now a year cancer free and am much
better. Having Barney's encouraged me to get out and about - taking
photographs and going for long walks in the countryside with him.
When people hear about his difficult start in life, they often say how
lucky Barney was to have been rescued in the nick of time. I think I'm
the lucky one - he's hard work and keeps me on my toes but for the past
five years he's been a wonderful, loyal friend and I really don't know
how I'd have got through the past eighteen months without Barney by
side. He's a good dog!
See more images of Barney!
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