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Meet Rufus

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

Updated: 11/24/2007 11:44 am

Meet, Rufus...Ru for short.

This week I was fortunate to be invited to an English farm where Ru lives with his family Chris & Colin Gibbins. Ru is a 2 year old Kelpie working dog. It was a wonderful experience to meet him in his own environment and I was anxious to see exactly what he could do with a herd.

After an introduction to Ru we began our interview with quite a few dog treats...no better way to break the ice with a new canine friend. Ru was all energy. He would jump up to lick my face and continued to run back to Chris just to make sure she was still there. Their bond was unmistakable.

The original assessment, made from a photograph, was that a Kelpie resembled a cross between a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler and it certainly held true with Ru, except that he was smaller. However in speaking with Chris I learned that Kelpies may be white, red, or mottled and in some cases are blue in their coats.

Kelpies are very intelligent but may take longer to training since they have a short attention span due to their high energy level and keen senses. I watched Ru exploring his domain. Every noise and every scent seemed to pull his attention in a different direction. This amazing pup wasn't missing a thing that was going on around him.

I was now ready to see Ru in action... bring on the herd! But what I now learned about Ru was that he was not a very good herding dog. Chris and Colin had rescued Ru from an animal shelter. It seems that Ru had been adopted as a puppy to a family in the city.

A Kelpie is not meant to be a city dog. Ru's original family had tried to train him to be a family house pet, which didn't work out very well, so he ended up at a shelter. Unfortunately that very training had also diminished Ru's instincts and training as a herding dog. Ru has a tendency to nip at the herd rather than simply directing them, so Ru now has the best of both worlds... he is a house pet, but on a farm where he can run and get the kind of exercise that a working breed needs.

I wish I could say that Ru's story is unusual, but sadly, too many families adopt a pet for the wrong reasons. Whether it was an irresistible puppy, or the same breed as a friend or it is the right color or the right size, these are not the factors that should determine which pet you adopt. Learn about the breed of the animal. Know what its needs and tendencies will be when you take them home. Make sure it is a good match for both of you and that your new family member will not end up at a shelter due to a poor decision on your part.

It is very traumatic for a pet to lose their home and find themselves in a shelter environment. No matter how good the shelter may be, it is not their home and they do not understand where their family has gone. Ru was definitely one of the lucky ones. The right family came along to give him the home he needed and deserved. I wish every animal surrendered to a shelter was as fortunate.

Ru was an excellent host and I enjoyed our time together. I hope to visit him at the farm again someday.

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