| Cesaly |
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Gender: Female
Age: Adult
Foster Home: Mindy
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Cesaly was an extreme example of one of the more challenging aspects of rescue. She was seven-years-old, grossly under-socialized, and had never been off-leash. Her only outdoor experiences took place in a 10’ x 10’ pen. She weighed twice as much as she should have, had an untreated ACL tear, and an undiagnosed thyroid condition. Her owners were moving out of state, and couldn’t take her.
Could we? 
The volunteer who first evaluated her was met with wariness and bared teeth. Cesaly was bonded to her owner, and wanted nothing to do with this stranger. It took almost an hour of patience and gentle coaxing just for her to dart in and take a treat. But the volunteer sensed there was more to this dog. Something behind the fear, something more. Something that said Cesaly didn’t know how to be a Border Collie, or even be a dog. 
A foster home agreed to work with her, and arrangements were made to pick her up. It took an hour to get her into the car, and another to get her out again. Her foster home was also a working dairy farm, so the three volunteers took Cesaly on the tour of her new surroundings. As they walked around the farm, Cesaly visibly relaxed. Her eyes lost their wary look, her ears perked, and her head came up. At the end of the tour, they sat down in the grass to talk. Cesaly, the dog who couldn’t be touched, began working her way between the three volunteers, tentatively requesting affection.
“Hmmmm,” she seemed to be thinking. “This is where I’m supposed to be.” 
And it was. GLBCR had her fully vetted. Her ACL tear was repaired and her thyroid condition was brought under control. Life on the farm brought her down to a healthy, normal weight for a dog her size, and her foster home became her forever home. She spent three wonderful years, living the life of a Border Collie, and crossed the Bridge in Fall, 2010.
When GLBCR volunteers get together and tell stories, Cesaly’s tale invariably comes up. Her transformation was nothing short of remarkable, and the dog “couldn’t be touched” touched us all.
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