History Lesson

When I adopted Iris, the shelter actually had her registration papers, so I knew her breeder's name.  I was able to track her down years ago and talked with her briefly, but then contact after moving a couple of times.  She recently got in touch with me again through Facebook, and I've learned some really interesting things about Iris' past.

First, here are Iris' parents - Shamrock (black tri) and Joli (red merle).

Sadly, Iris is one of three puppies from the litter with epilepsy.  The breeder had kept two girls from the litter but spayed them both after the first male started having seizures.  Neither of the parents ever had seizures, and spaying the two girls from Iris' litter basically ended the breeder's line.

But on a lighter note, Iris' breeder also sent me one of my favorite photos ever - the baby red dog!!!  Can you guess which one is her?

If you guessed the one on the right with her mouth open, you're right!  Isn't she the cutest thing ever???  I knew which one was her immediately.  Her ears stick up more now, but her face and expression are exactly the same.

I've also learned a little bit more about the first four years of Iris' life.  Her first owner was actually the breeder's sister.  Sadly, her first owner passed away from cancer, so the breeder placed Iris in a new home with the friend of someone who had one of her dogs from another litter.

Iris' second home was with a woman who kept her for about 9 months.  When that woman got married, her new husband didn't want any dogs in the house so they kept Iris outside in the yard.  The young, bored Aussie barked all day and drove the neighbors crazy, so they couldn't keep her any more.  She contacted the breeder who began searching for a new home for Iris.  When the breeder contacted owner #2 a week later, the woman said she'd already found a new home for Iris.  That's when the breeder lost track of her.

After that she ended with family at some point (not sure if they were home #3 or #4).  They kept her for about 6 months, but she was chasing and nipping their children.  After she got out and killed a few of their neighbor's ducks, they surrendered her to the NHSPCA.  And that's where I found her!  She had just turned 4 years old.