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Lacey has been tentatively accepted as a canine candidate into the program for National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. She will go through 2 weeks of initial evaluation and training (boot camp) to see if she has the "right stuff" to save lives during a natural disaster. There are several levels of evaluation and training, and we will keep you posted of her progress on the BCIN website.
If Lacey does not pass any of her level training, she will be returned to BCIN and re-enter the BCIN rescue program. At that point, she would be available for adoption. Should this happen, whoever adopted her will be getting a dog that has advanced training worth thousands of dollars.
Border Collies is one of the breeds that NDSDF actively recruits into their program--talk about giving a BC the ultimate job to do! Please click below to learn more about NDSDF and the work that they do that is so vital in saving lives during a natural disaster or terrorist attack.
Search Dog Foundation
Congratulations and way to go, Lacey! We are rooting for you!
UPDATE ONE:Lacey has been reluctantly returned into our program due to fence-jumping. Due to this we are recommending an apartment home where she is only outside supervised with her person or or a home with minimum 7-foot fencing all around, including gates. Lacey was spending "23.5 hours inside" in her first adoptive home, so has acclimated to this lifestyle. She yearns to be with people.
Lacey is a striking 3 year-old black & mottled, split-face purebred female Border Collie. Lacey is very much looking for her forever home and to forge a close bond with her human. She bonded very quickly with her foster mom after she was rescued, and is extremely affectionate. Lacey is a "velcro dog", as she wants to be with her person all the time. She responds well to voice commands and is very eager to please. Lacey gets along well with other dogs. She rides wonderfully in the truck, preferring to ride shotgun. Lacey is housebroken and she uses the doggie door when available. She enjoys sleeping on the bed, if allowed, and is a good cuddler. She will need a yard with a high fence, not because she is an escape artist, but because she will jump to try to be with you.
A home without cats is recommended, unless her family understands and is willing to continue with her "leave the cats alone" training. She is very interested in cats and she will call off of them, but it will take continued supervision and correction. The dog-savvy cats in her foster home love to terrorize her, but they know their safety zones. Once Lacey is no longer interested in them, they will come over and tease her as if to say "neener, neener, you can't get me". Due to her exuberance, she should be placed in a family with children 8 years and older. If you work part time from home and/or have another dog, Lacey would be the ideal canine companion for you. Lacey has a very sweet personality and is looking for that special person that she can call her very own. In turn, she will be a most loving and devoted companion to you for years to come.
UPDATE TWO: As noted above, Lacey did not make it with the National Search Dog Foundation and has been returned to BCIN. In speaking with the head of the training facility we learned it was not that Lacey would not be an excellent candidate, so much as it being a "handler error". The handlers are young firefighters and none have any previous Border Collie experience. Labs and retrievers are much easier to train, but a BC thinks independently, adding complexity to the equation. Basically, Lacey outthought her handler, and that person did not have the knowledge to correct it. She was fine focusing on her human target until a bird landed on the training field. She took it upon herself to herd the bird into flight, getting it off the field, before resuming her target. Such a shame, as the head of the facility really liked Lacey and felt that in the correct hands that she would make a great S&R dog.
Lacey would still be an excellent candidate for S&R if taken through a private course with a knowledgeable handler that she respects as an alpha. I feel she would qualify with ease. If ridding an area of birds is desired, she would excel! While in NSDF foster care she showed aptitude at herding, as she has here with my livestock. This is another of her potential jobs.
Lacey loves to fetch balls and is excelling at frisbee. Yet another job potential for her. She has two draw backs, however. She still will chase cats if not supervised, and she is an extremely talented jumper. She can hit the top of the 6' chain link and pull herself over. In my patio, which has an 8' enclosure, she used the bottom rock work to climb out. I feel 7' block walls are a minimum requirement as she could not gain a foot hold to get over. Again, she is not an escape artist that wants to run the neighborhood. She only wants to be with her humans 24/7 and will stay within 4' fencing if you are there. She is incredibly loyal and devoted to her people. A really special girl in the right hands.
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