Pip, a really good border collie

I can't believe that he's gone, really. My friend Tara got pip almost exactly one month before I got Buttercup. Pip came from Cape Breton. He was part of a cruelty case - he had been thrown out of the back of a truck and left for dead - his back left hip was pretty much broken and had just been operated on, it had 3 pins in it and was immobilized so he was on 3 legs. It was one of those immediate fosters - he needed a home that night because he couldn't be in a shelter and he was on his way to Halifax. So Tara took him in. His fur was all matted and brown, he looked gross. He was food aggressive, cranky, dog aggressive, pulled on the leash, was iffy around children, but was such a lover - with beautiful eyes.
And I think he changed Tara's life - she went on to start Border Collie rescue for Nova Scotia, and has saved tons of border collie's lives because of him. And really, Pip was a perfect border collie. He was made for sheep - it's just too bad he lived in the middle of Dartmouth. I think that Tara did find him some sheeep though - so Pip was a happy dog because of her, and he also became healthy because of her. She also worked with all his issues, and did so well that she's now a dog trainer. Isn't it amazing what dogs can do for us because of what we've done for our dogs?
This is Pip with his brother Karma - Karma was another "project" - but somehow, when Pip came along, Karma started to calm down, even out - and within a couple years - I saw Tara and Karma at an SPCA dog jog - and if Karma didn't have such an individual look - I wouldn't have recognized him - his mannerisms were so different. Pip's smooth, calm, soulful personality had rubbed off on Karma and transformed him into a canine good citizen - something I never thought he'd be. I was amazed.
But in 2008 Pip got cancer - it was awful. I remember when it happened. Tara searched everywhere for ways to treat it. He had most of his thyroid removed and they thought they'd caught it all.
In June, 2009 it came back though - and they removed the rest of his thyroid, and they thought that with thyroid replacement therapy he'd be better than he was before - but I guess that didn't happen, and he got worse
It is so unfair that dogs have such short lives - and dogs that have had horrible lives before we've gotten them have even shorter ones. Pip had a great life with Tara - he blossomed under her, and her life was transformed because of him.

Today she let him go with dignity and grace. If only we could all go that way. The rescue world will miss you Pip. There is a group called "Atlantic Canada Rescue" - and the header at the top of the page has paws at the top of the page - those paws are Pip's and Karma's paws - great examples of the cause. Tonight we are all in mourning.