Odo’s Rescue By Joanne Stock It all started in February 1999, when I received the call from my friend, Aneita, the rescue contact for the Shetland Sheepdog Club of Northern New Jersey. She wanted to know if I knew of anyone who'd be interested in a rescue, but it had to be someone with patience and good dog sense, because the dog had been mishandled by his previous owners. They turned him in to the rescue group because they claimed he was untrainable. Aneita mentioned that the dog was half-brother to my other Sheltie, Kayla. My husband at the time, Nat, and I decided to check him out. We were not prepared for the pitiful sight before us. Here was a gorgeous nine-month old puppy, who was so frightened that he collapsed on the floor when we walked into the room. He was shaking uncontrollably, and I could tell that this was a dog that was going to take a lot of rehabilitative work. I was already training two dogs, but Nat said that he wanted the dog. Despite my protests he insisted, and Odo came home with the condition that this was going to be HIS dog. I wasn't going to feed him, walk him, do anything with him. Well, while Nat knew what the rules were, it seems that neither one of us explained them to Odo -- he picked me to be his special person, and would follow me everywhere I went. Odo would wedge himself behind me on the couch; he'd try to sleep between the two pillows on my side of the bed, and would howl so sadly if I went out without him. Odo slowly but surely won me over and became my dog. Through patience and a lot of hard work, Odo gained confidence and learned how to relate to other people. When my husband and I broke up, it was only natural for Odo to stay with me. He definitely was a challenge to train, but working through his issues taught me patience, ingenuity, and determination. I wound up very interested in sheep herding because of Odo, and he was the first dog in our club to earn the Herding Tested, Pre-Trial, and Herding Started titles. He was ranked #8 in Shetland Sheepdogs in AKC herding trials in 1999. Odo didn't really take to obedience, although he did earn his U-CD and CD titles. He likes agility and has done very well, earning his AX and AXJ titles. In 2000, I met my future husband, Scott. I could tell he was a special guy, and so did all of the dogs. Odo was always most fearful of men, but liked Scott immediately. Scott became interested in agility, and started competing with my first dog Sable. He also competed with Odo at several trials, and they did very well together. Odo is now 10-1/2 years old, and most people would never know that he was ever anything but a normal, happy dog. His initial registration paperwork contained the name and address of his previous owners. I compiled a video tape of Odo competing in agility, sheep herding, and just being a happy boy. I sent that tape to them, along with a short note letting them know that their loss was definitely a blessing to us. Odo’s most recent accomplishments involve his new junior agility handler, my step-daughter, Stephanie. Together they have earned all of their Novice and Open preferred agility titles, and now require one more qualifying score at the Excellent level to earn their AXP and AJP titles. Odo adores Stephanie, and he has been an excellent dog for her to begin learning this sport with. The experiences I have had with Odo have helped me so much. The skills that I needed to learn because of him have been so important in the training of our younger dogs, Jagger and Storm. I know that Odo gave me a special gift when he chose me to be his special person. |
