Gibson - Not Yet Available
	Gender: Male Age: 1 Year Height: Weight: 31 lbs House-trained: Fenced yard required: Location: Mid-Michigan Foster Home: Tammy	Crate-trained: Treat-motivated: Toy-motivated: BC Experience Required: Yes Good with dogs: Good with cats: No Good with kids: 10+ Commands:

If you would like to donate toward Gibson's vet care, please CLICK HERE. Or you can send a check payable to GLBCR to Great Lakes Border Collie Rescue, P. O. Box 113 Eagle, MI 48822

Meet Gibson – a sweet young dog whose life has gotten off to a less-than-sweet start.

GLBCR was contacted on Wednesday, October 26 by a mid-Michigan animal countrol officer about an injured dog that had just been brought in. The unlucky stray had been shot in the left hind leg by someone who claimed the stray had “charged at him.” This behavior didn’t at all match what the AC staff experienced. In their words: “We have not seen any aggression from him. He is very receptive to pets and all other contact. He wags his tail every time someone walks in the room. If he is not reclaimed, his stray hold is up Monday, October 31 at 5:00pm.”

No one claimed him. So GLBCR did.

While we were waiting for the shelter to release him, we sent the x-rays to a specialist who has worked with us before. There was not enough bone/joint structure left to salvage, so the leg would have to be amputated. Arrangements were made, and the shelter staff delivered the injured stray – now named Gibson – to veterinary hospital for surgery. After a night in the hospital, he was delivered to one of our foster homes to recover.

Long story short – we love him. A lot. And his foster mom loves him the most. Here are some of her notes:

November 8

Gibson has arrived! He is quite uncomfortable and out of sorts, but he is settling in nicely. He was willing to eat a little food and take his medications. He has done his business outside several times since he arrived a couple hours ago. He even pooped. (Probably too much information, but I was very excited to see him go after his surgery paperwork said not to be surprised if he did not go for 4 days!)

He is currently in an x-pen in my living room and he wants out something terrible. Sorry buddy, you are on lock-down for the next 2 weeks. He wants to have a good chew on a Nyla bone, but he just can’t get a good hold on it to be able to chew with his cone on. Poor boy.

From what the shelter staff, as well as the clinic staff, he is a sweet dog. I have only known him for a few hours, but from what I have seen so far, he is a lovely little guy. And he IS small. Paperwork gives him a weight of 31 pounds. I think he is a very young dog. He does not have any sort of undercoat, his feathers and pants are not very developed. He has the softest eyes…

November 11

Gibson continues on his path to full steam. He is very tired of being cooped up in a kennel for most of his day, but he is such a trooper and has such a great attitude! I have been trying to provide him enrichment toys with his meals and some treats to not only keep him busy, but to use that overactive little mind of his. This boy is a smart one. He knows to sit on command and that is just about all he has in his tool box at this point.

He pulls like a Mac Truck on a leash… Missing a leg is not slowing him down. It is all I can do to settle him down on the leash and keep him from pulling my arm off, or worse yet, ripping the leash from my hand. Soooo, taking short walks take forever waiting for him to stop pulling on the leash. We get nowhere quickly!

I am going to start doing some obedience work with him in the house tonight with his dinner. I am hoping that a little more mind/body work will help him feel more content too. I think he really wants to work with his people. He just loves to be with me. I have set up a kennel for him in my living room so he can be right with me.

The cone of shame is still a daily requirement for him, much to the pain of my legs. He is doing pretty good about leaving the incision area alone, but I only take his cone off if I am directly supervising him until his incision is well healed. For the most part, he is doing good at leaving it alone. He is more interested in the itchy skin on his back by his tail. I just scratch his back for him. Somehow, I think he thinks that is just fine!

He LOVES belly rubs. He loves a good chew on a chewy bone. He is startled and afraid of squeaky toy (super funny to watch), He likes the two different treat puzzle toys I have tried with him. He has figured out how to get water from his Lixit water bottle. AND, he has been introduced to the squirt bottle. Not such a fan of that, but it is a great attitude adjuster. I call it the “long arm of the law”.

His coat is going to be gorgeous when he sheds out the dry flaky stuff and grows in a new coat. It is already glossy and soft. He has some gross dry flaky skin shedding off, but the more I brush him, the better he looks. I am so impressed with his healing progress. The suture line looks beautiful. He is handling the recovery phase very gracefully.

November 12

Gibson loves to watch the television. I try to keep shows on that may catch his interest with animal noises. He is funny when a noise catches his attention.

He is doing well leaving his incision alone when directly supervised. I don’t trust him to his own supervision without the cone of shame though!

It has been very interesting to me watching him learn to navigate his new world as a tri-pod. He has already adapted to stand strongly on his right front and rear legs in order to use his left front paw to push/grab things. At first he just fell over. He has found his balance by leaning heavily to one side to equalize. It amazes me how quickly animals adapt. Humans take months, sometimes years to make these physical modifications/adaptations.

Every day I am with Gibson, I have less and less idea what could have ever provoked anyone to hurt him like they did. I am so very blessed to have the honor of helping him back to health and happiness.

He has settled in so nicely since I have been home all weekend. He does not seem as nervous and anxious as he first was. He sleeps peacefully now, not just exhausted passing out after barking himself to sleep.

He is nothing but love…

I made it a point to spend quite a bit of hands-on attention with him this weekend. The difference from the first session yesterday to the most recent session is impressive. His trust in me is building and he relaxes right into me. More work to do with him and I look forward to the opportunity!

"I bet I could still clear that..."

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