One month ago, I reached out to a wonderful organization www.rescueme.org. I had no idea what to expect but it turned out to be a very impressive. We have used several resources such as; Good Dog, Puppy Finder, etc..but we were unsuccessful.
The reason we felt it best to rehome, Duff was he needed a family, not a home with other pets. Just a couple that had love to share and to give Duff undivided attention.
A quick back story regarding Duff. We got him when he was 15 weeks old, he had been abused and didn't demonstrate the mental acuity for herding. I initially thought he would always have issues, none that were extreme but nevertheless emotional hurdles he would need to overcome. With love, kindness and a lot of patience, he gradually came out of his shell. It took a little over a year, and our veterinarian did say he might NEVER fully recover, and unfortunately this was true. Having been abused early in his development, I knew he would have scars but Duff proved that he was a fighter and his heart was full of love for our family. We never raised a voice or hand to him in anger, (nor do we with any of our other dogs), and by creating a loving environment for Duff, he did overcome many obstacles but some were there to stay.
So this leads me to my decision to rehome him, this was not an easy decision to make but I felt that he needed undivided attention which we couldn't offer him. He was given the opportunity to breed with our females and he helped to produce lovely puppies. He never displayed aggression towards any stranger but his behaviors were quirky (i.e., shy away from us, rush at younger dogs). He was not the Alpha of our pack and realized his place as second in command (sometimes). There can only be one or possibly two Alphas where there are multiple dogs, but again, Duff would never be the leader.
Duff didn't have a happy beginning but from the wonderful people we met today, he's destined for an extremely bright, and happy future. Duff will call South Carolina and Virginia his home. Ron and Valerie are accustomed to Border Collies and have rescued 3 (including Duff)! .
Through it all Duff was a joy to have around, and we will miss him greatly.
