Lakeston
	Gender: Male Age: 10 Months Height/Weight: 23" / 52 lbs Housebroken: learning Fenced yard required: Yes Location: Mid-Michigan Foster Home: Tammy	Crate-trained: Yes Treat-motivated: Yes Toy-motivated: Yes Likes Car Rides:Yes Good with cats: Yes Good with kids: No (due to special needs) Commands: hand signals for "no, come, sit, and his name"

In August, 2014, Tammy once again met up with Grier, Lakeston, and their family. She writes: "I had the wonderful opportunity to visit with Kyle, Anise, Grier and Lakeston after leaving the Highland Games on Saturday. Thought I would share a couple of the pics we took. Most amazing thing to see my lovely Mama (Grier) not only accepting Lakeston as her own, but welcoming Little Boy Blue right back into her ranks as well. She always did well with Roxy so I really did not worry about that meeting so much. I was so touched by seeing the pair of them again. Lakeston has grown taller, if that is even possible, and boy is he a lanky teen-ager! He is so skinny from his perpetual motion. He is one happy boy and it shows.

When I first got to the house Grier greeted me as she always does with strangers, a quiet and friendly meeting. Until I spoke to her. All bets were all then and she was climbing all over me smooching me and wiggling all over. I sat down on the floor with her and she hopped right into my lap and plopped down!

Then Kyle let Laker in. He was soooo funny! He took one look and me and lost his fool head! Wiggles, giggles and smoochies all over the place! This is a boy that knows how to show affection. Haha! Oh, but I have missed him. I could not be more pleased with his placement. Love that he has two very level-headed and capable people to love and support him. LOve that he has him mama dog to teach and guide him. (and she is doing a wonderful job of it!) Love that he has a nice yard to run safely in, a big lake to swim in at the lake house and my cup has runneth over!

Here we have Blue standing by me checking out the horses, Grier Chilling in the front of the screen, Roxy milling around with her tongue hanging low... And my Laker taking a much needed rest after cruising laps for an hour! Boy, he is skinny! Grier's coat is exactly as soft and supple as Blue's. Same length and texture. When he grows into his feathers, he will be a black version of his mama.

June, 2014:

Lakeston was adopted in May, 2014. Not long after, he sent us some pictures from his road trip with his new dad.

"Let's go!"

"What's a road trip without a stop for ice cream?"

"Are we there yet?"

"It was worth the wait."

"And so was this!"

Lakeston doesn’t know he’s a special needs dog. So when you meet him, please don’t tell him.

Lakeston knows he’s a good boy, and a happy boy, and a boy who likes to wrassle with his brother, Blue. He knows the hand signals for “sit,” and “come,” and his name. He knows how to have a good time. He knows car rides are awesome and new people are even more awesome and that learning new things is FUN. He knows the best and fastest way to empty a toy basket. Best of all, he knows how to snuggle like a champion.

What he doesn’t know is why he hasn’t been adopted yet.

Lakeston is the last of our “surprise” litter. Mama dog, Grier, came to us to be treated for heartworms. Little did we know, she was going to treat us (and her surprised foster mom) to a litter of puppies. We don’t know who the puppy-daddy was, but Grier was a gorgeous purebred Border Collie. She may not have passed her beauty on to her pups, but by all accounts, they did inherit her brains.

The puppies all grew up and Lakeston’s siblings were all placed in loving homes. It was evident from the start that there was something special about Lakeston. The vet wasn’t able to give us a specific diagnosis, but he is hearing-impaired (but not completely deaf) and has some minor balance issues. The older he gets, the less noticeable it is, and the less it seems to matter. It certainly doesn’t matter to him. Maybe it’s just part of growing up, or maybe it’s just the Border Collie in him that’s helping him compensate. There’s certainly nothing stopping him from being an All-Star Companion Dog.

Here at Great Lakes Border Collie Rescue, we’re all about the underdog, and we think Lakeston has a lot more going for him than meets the eye.

What does Great Lakes want for Lakeston? We’d like a loving owner who is committed to taking him to an obedience class. An adult home is strongly preferred, as is a fenced yard, both because of his hearing-issues. Little ones can surprise deaf dogs, and while Lakeston hasn’t shown any motion-sensitivity, Border Collies are known to chase cars (and kids) due to their herding instincts, and if he can’t hear you, you wouldn’t be able to call him off.

And just imagine how much fun it will be to take him to obedience class? Here you are, walking in with what appears to be a run-of-the-mill Lab mix, when what you really have is a Border Collie in Lab’s clothing. A Stealth Border Collie, if you will. You will be the envy of your classmates when you and your buddy Lakeston top the honor roll every week. We’ll leave it up to you, whether or not to tell people what’s “under the hood.” Plus, it will be fun. And there’s a car ride. Laker is always up for a car ride. Maybe you can stop at Dairy Queen on the way home and buy him a small ice cream cone, just for making you look good.

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