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(AKC Pending)
born 5/19/1996 :|: pedigree
Gizmo, or “Uncle Gizzer” is truly a special boy. He lived his first six years with a family, and toward the end of that time,
he was hit by a car and had to have surgery to pin his hip. He got pretty sick and his family was unable to keep him. They
did not contact his breeder, but they did contact Cardigan rescue. The family was going to take Giz to a shelter if rescue
couldn’t take him. By asking some questions, Cardigan rescue figured out who Gizmo’s breeder was and contacted her. She coordinated
Gizmo’s transport and vet care. Because his breeder was so far away, I agreed to meet the family and keep Gizmo until he could be
evaluated by the vet, and then arrange transport back to his breeder. Gizmo came to me a very smelly dog, with long nails, raw skin,
severe anxiety, and terrible bowel disease. I offered to keep him for a while since I had the time to try and work on his health
and anxiety issues. He and Kane really hit it off, and Kane’s nurturing personality seemed to help Gizmo’s anxiety. After a short
time and one failed adoption to a wonderful family, it was evident that Gizmo needed Kane, and Gizmo joined our family. I’m happy
to report that Gizmo has overcome all of his health problems, and his anxiety is almost completely manageable.
I’m so proud of this silver-faced little man. He has blossomed into a silly old man since his arrival late in 2002.
And don’t let his innocent grin fool you, this dog is the master of finding trouble, especially if it involves food! Gizmo’s keen
nose and his never-ending quest for food made him a natural at tracking, and perhaps some day he’ll be able to add a TD to his name.
But since Gizmo is always full of surprises, just before his ELEVENTH birthday, he went on an adventure to have a herding instinct
evaluation. When he went in the pen with the sheep to see if he had any interest, Gizmo was amazing. It gave me goosebumps as we
all watched this dog, formerly crippled and sickly, naturally gathering the sheep, taking this job very seriously. Once the evaluation
was over, Gizmo had such a smile on his face, and a sense of fulfillment about him, I told him he could come back. True to my word,
Gizmo has been taking herding lessons as often as we can get to the farm, and he did get to celebrate his eleventh birthday with an
early morning herding lesson.
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What a face! |
Who says 11 year olds can't herd? |
Showing off his CARDIGAN bunny butt! (Tail lost to injury) |
Such a happy leprechaun...
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