Reunion

One year ago Bill Foundation found homes for five Blue heeler puppies – Victoria, Bethany, Catherine, Margaret and the only boy, Melbourne. They had been rescued with their mom from the Bakersfield Shelter. Now, one year later, they decided to have a reunion. A friend of Bill Foundation, Joy, offered her lovely home as party central, the invitations went out and on Sunday, September 14^th all five puppies were reunited.

As you can see from their photo, the puppies had distinctive markings that made it easy to identify them even though they were all grown up. Most of them were adopted when they were only 3 months old. The mom couldn't attend because she now lives in Palm Springs. I'm sure she would be proud.

We asked each family to tell us a little bit about the fabulous dog their puppy had become. 

Melbourne:  First we talked to Mel, short for Melbourne. He had decided to keep his puppy name, just shorten it. Mel was three months old when he went to live with his forever family. He joined Bobbie, a three year old shepherd-sheltie mix and they formed an inseparable bond. The family told us his herding instinct was fairly strong and would often herd them around the house and yard by nipping at their heels. When that got old, he would take the huge ice bucket, using it as a substitute hockey puck, pushing it around the yard and stopping for nothing that may get in his way. Pedestrian beware! As expected, he loved to chase a ball. He is also extremely affectionate loves to give kisses, and can lick faces indefinitely. Now a handsome boy, he had definitely grown into the largest of the dogs.

Aggie was adopted by the family who had fostered the mom. Aggie (then Bethany) was the spitting image of her mother. She was the runt of the litter but had grown to be the second largest of the group. Her family tells us she is full of energy and is very curious and friendly. In fact, she was the most submissive of the group and only wanted to play with her brother and sisters. She openly approached them all to get things started. Like the others, she also has a strong herding instinct. Her family says she loves to "herd" them and will occasionally nip at their heels to move them along. Her favorite toy is a deflated soccer ball and her best bud is Roscoe, who is twice her size.

Blu, formerly Catherine, was the first to arrive at the reunion. This friendly little heeler had distinct brown, black and white markings that were unique in the group. Everyone joked that even though she grew up to be the most petit of the siblings, she had the biggest bark. She was also very people and dog friendly. She was happy to greet her brother and sisters as well as the human party guests. She loved being petted and to have her tummy rubbed.  Another herder, she preferred to hang with the people and craved attention. Her owner tells us Blu loves to run, is very affectionate, friendly and smart!  Her best friend is Chloe, who is almost twice her size.

Blossom, formerly Margaret, loves all small dogs, especially Chihuahuas.  She can play ball for hours, and prefers it. As with the rest, the herding instinct is very strong in Blossom, however, unlike the others, she actually has some active participants – the family cats. Her family tells us they put on quite a show trying to fake each other out. They suspect the cats consider it some kind of game that involves a lot of staring. Her second herding choice of course is her humans. She also enjoys a good game of Frisbee and ball bounce. Blossom has the pleasure of accompanying her mom to work everyday where she plays with her friends, Sasha and Potter. She was very smartly dressed for the party with a red harness and leash set. The ensemble looked very chic against her gray and white coat.

Sheila, another gray and white spotted dog, and formerly Victoria now lives with a 14 year old Jack Russell named Byron and they are inseparable. They love to go to the beach where Byron will chase the tossed ball into the water while Sheila runs in the surf waiting for him to retrieve it. As well as herding her family about, she is also a great watch dog and babysitter. At any given time, Sheila is completely aware of the children's whereabouts and helps their mom keep track of them. She also has an uncanny ability to find lost things and has been known to help Byron find his ball on many occasions.

It was a grand union and so great to see how happy and healthy the pups were with their new families. As you can see from this group shot, this story had a very happy ending. (More reunion photos)