My name is Callie!

It is hard for me to sit down in front of a computer and try to convey in mere words all the wonderful and funny things about Callie that have made her come to mean so much to me. One reason it's difficult is that, like so many dogs, Callie is a rounded individual with so many endearing qualities that I can't possibly do justice to them all. And the other reason is simply that it saddens me to know that Callie may soon be moving on to a new life and will no longer be a delightful part of mine. But here goes . . . .

We aren't really sure what breed Callie is, but her markings are almost identical to a brittany spaniel. We once met some dog owners at the regional park who had a dog that looked just like Callie and they said that they believed their dog was part golden retriever and part brittany, so that's the story we're sticking to. Callie weighs about 50 lbs and is 8 years old. She is confident, well-behaved, very tolerant, and completely housetrained. She's lived with dogs and cats and is fine with children and strangers.

Callie's life could have ended in tragedy before it really had a chance to blossom if not for the kindness of strangers. As a young puppy, she was witnessed being tossed out of a car and abandoned. Luckily, some good samaritans stepped in and rescued her. A neighbor of one of those kind-hearted people decided to adopt her. And for 8 years, she has had a loving home and a comfortable life.

Last year, as the economy continued to decline, Callie's dad lost his job. He was ultimately able to find a new job as a trucker but it required that he be away from home almost constantly. One of his neighbors, who happens to be a volunteer with our rescue, offered to take care of Callie while he was out of town, in the hopes that he might eventually be able to find a local job. This arrangement went on for several months until it became apparent that circumstances weren't going to change any time soon. Callie's dad made the very tough decision to surrender her to our rescue in the hopes that we could find her a wonderful new home.

Although she is friendly and polite to everybody she meets, she is also fairly aloof with people who aren't "her" people. I took over the foster care of Callie a few months ago and I remember questioning how deeply I would bond to her and vice versa because while she was fine with me, I didn't get the impression that she thought I was anything special (which most dogs do!). Lo and behold, not only have I bonded to her more deeply than any other dog I've fostered in at least 4 years but she has become my consummate shadow, my side-kick.

Wherever I am, she wants to be. If I go out the back door, she wants to follow. If I come back in but don't let her in right away, she just quietly lays down in front of the door until I do. When she's sleeping in one room and I go into the garage just for a few seconds to grab something, she is waiting in front of the garage door when I come out. When I step out to get the mail, she tags along and follows me back in the house. Sometimes, if I just stand up, she'll immediately stand up too and look to me as if to say, "Where are we going? Oh, you're just stretching? You're sitting back down? Ok, I'll lay back down too then."

Despite her desire to be close to me, Callie does not suffer from any kind of separation anxiety. She is totally fine with being left alone. She does not bark or whine, nor is she ever destructive. In fact, she does not really have any bad habits at all and is quite an easy dog to care for. Callie is housetrained, walks well on leash, enjoys car rides, and is great off-leash. She is also extremely tolerant and does not mind being groomed, having her nails dremeled, or even going to the vet. (She's not crazy about the last but is always well-behaved and a great sport.) And she is amazingly docile and responsive. Almost 100% of the time, if you just say her name, she will come to you. The exception is if she sees a rabbit or another dog on the trail that she wants to meet, then you might have to call her name a few times.

Callie loves playing fetch. And yes, she does bring it back! She'll drop it at your feet and if you're taking too long to throw or kick it, then she'll start to howl. She also likes to play tug and if you won't tug, she's happy to just push the toy against your leg (or even your face if you happen to be laying down).

We take the dogs off-leash to the regional park twice a day, and Callie has always been great about sticking close. She likes to walk ahead but will always stop and turn around to watch for us to make sure we're still following. If we start to walk in the opposite direction, she immediately rushes back towards us. She also, of course, loves for you to throw her favorite ball so she can chase it and keep it in her mouth during most of the walk.

Callie isn't a super cuddler but she can be surprisingly affectionate. She almost never gives kisses (which works for me because I don't particularly enjoy doggie slobber) but every once in a blue moon her tongue will dart out to give me a quick soft lick. Sometimes when I'm laying in bed, she'll jump up (she generally never jumps on furniture--even though she can) and nuzzle her face into my neck. And when she's done, she jumps off the bed and lays on the floor.

There are so many funny little things that Callie does. She flops on her back and does a little dance (she's really trying to give herself a nice scratch on the back). She tries to scratch her back by leaning up against my other dogs. Sometimes she'll even walk right under my biggest dog.