Ivy – from shelter to starting line

Written and photographed by Yvonne Jansen from BlissfulTails  

The beautiful female Kelpie cross had been kept on a chain from a small puppy until about nine months of age. On the 2^nd of November 2023, Ingrid Liberté, the founder of the Australian Shepherd South Africa Rescue Organisation (ASSARO), asked me if I could assist her to collect this nameless dog. She had to go to the parking lot at a rescue organisation close to my home.

An angel lady had rescued her from the chain – unable to keep her, she contacted Ingrid. Because she lived close to the rescue organisation, they agreed to hand over the dog in the parking lot.

She’d never been on grass

We collected her – a tiny, reserved puppy that lay quietly on the back seat. Whilst driving, Ingrid mentioned that she needed a name. I like the name Ivy, and Ingrid liked it too, so Ivy it was.

The vet was scheduled to come to my place to vaccinate horses, so I phoned him and asked if he could bring vaccinations for Ivy.

We kept her in a crate in my guest room, because we didn’t know how she or my dogs would react. She was dead quiet, lying in the corner of the crate, slowly coming outside when I gave her food. The vet administered the necessary vaccinations and we let her outside in the backyard where she could stroll alone, although we did walk with her.

Ivy walked on the edge of the tiles and the sand between the tiles and grass, but she didn’t go on the grass. I don’t think she’d ever been on grass, and it was so sad to see her like that, calm but so timid.

Ivy’s world grows bigger

Later that day, Ingrid took her home to ASSARO and she was put up for adoption. After some days, she came out of her shell. She was the sweetest girl, and she began playing with the others, having zoomies and enjoying life.

After about two weeks, Ingrid asked me if I could take photos of her for rehoming, which I did – I’m a pet photographer. At home, I had her photos on my screen for editing. I’d taken some of her running towards me and thought, well, having always agility in mind, she might be a good candidate: she’s young, fast, and maybe she loves agility.

I gave it a thought… That didn’t last long and I decided to adopt her. On the 8^th of December, Ivy came home.

She was around 10 months old; I needed to give her a date of birth. Calculating back, she must have been born around March, so I gave her the 2^nd of March – my late parents’ wedding anniversary, a date I’ll always remember. A special date for a special girl.

Zoomies galore (and a few hiccoughs)

She did well with the other dogs; she kept chasing Balou, one of our cats, but couldn’t be bothered with the other two. That lasted about three months and the chasing occurred less frequently. Sometimes she does, especially in the morning coming down the stairs, but not as hectic as it was.

In the mornings, she has the zoomies, going around and around together with Collie-cross brother Bailey – another ASSARO adoptee. They run like crazy in the garden (fortunately, it’s a big space), but they also run inside over the sofa and back outside; she’s totally crazy when that happens – mainly every day. She loves running and playing.

She does have issues – probably an effect from being on a chain. She’s quite neurotic. When I’m in the kitchen, she drinks frantically from the bowl for minutes and only stops when I say it’s enough – then she stops and goes to Luca and licks her ears. Luca – adopted from Border Collie Rescue South Africa – is very sweet and tolerates it, but it isn’t nice as she goes on interminably. Every evening when we go to bed, she lies next to me, and after a while she changes position or gets in a dog bed on the floor.

Sometimes she wets my bed. I can’t explain when or why – there’s no pattern. When she does, the next evening I put a diaper on her and she’s fine. At first, I consulted the vet, and we tried a veterinarian product, but it had to be given for a while. It didn’t work, and also, she’s so young to get medication, so we just keep going.

A talent for agility – and making friends

Besides this, she’s wonderful – an active little lady who wants to run and is super sweet. She fits very well in the family.

When I had her about a month, I took her to the dog school for elementary obedience classes. Unfortunately, my job called me back on duty overseas, but I could follow every class until graduation day. In case I had to go earlier, I was at the class together with my helper, who continued during my absence – he’s the best handler as he’s involved and does all the training and shows with Ivy’s brother Sam.

Ivy learns fast and passed obedience training with stars. At the same school, right after the obedience class, she was enrolled in agility classes. She loves it and, even better, she wants to greet everybody – it’s the sweetest thing. Initially she was in the beginner’s class, but soon she stepped up to the advance class where her brother, Sam, had trained for quite some time already.

With her brother she went into the competition agility shows in Kyalami. She does well, especially when a toy is involved, but soon she’ll need to do it on her own without a toy. The only obstacles are the weaves, but she’s getting there. She does, of course, want to say hello to the judges too, which isn’t the idea at a show, but we’re working on it.

It’s been a wonderful journey so far and I can’t wait to see her thrive even more.