Charlie and Callie…..A Love Story as told by Patti Stephenson

Every good love story deserves a ballad or at least a story on the website!  So here is the Ballad of Chico and Mrs. Paws (now renamed Charlie and Callie.)

"We first heard about Mrs. Paws in November of 2010 when a New Mexico shelter asked if we could possibly help a Collie that was about to give birth.  She had been a stray, and luckily a kind person caught her and got her to a shelter to be safe.  She had a litter of eight puppies at her first refuge, a barn.  She and the babies were driven to us in Pueblo West three weeks later.  Because we were headed into the holiday season, we decided to name them Mrs. Paws and her Eight Tiny ReinPups.  The puppies were all plump and happy and as darling as any puppies have ever been.  And they all found great homes.

Mrs. Paws came to us as a quiet and guarded dog.  There was not a mean bone in her body but she clearly had not been shown much love or attention.  She would curl up in a corner to stay away from all the visitors who came to coo and cuddle with her babies.

One day in December we got a call about a Sheltie mix in Pueblo county whose owners wanted to relinquish him because he kept running away.  Chico had to be chained up all the time and in the process he learned to stand on his back legs and "dance."  So Chico came to live at our Director's house while Mrs. Paws and the ReinPups stayed warm and cozy in Doggie Central (a remodeled garage just for rescue dogs.)

Chico and Mrs. Paws soon met though.  Whenever Hope left the house to go check on the pups, Chico would go over the 6-foot-wooden fence in search of her.  Hope would look out the door and see Chico waiting to be let in.  Day after day, Chico hopped the fence but never ran off.  And day after day, he went into Doggie Central.  Mrs. Paws came alive whenever Chico was around and the two soon became closely bonded.  When the pups no longer needed to nurse, Mrs. Paws went to live in the house.  She and Chico became inseparable.

People came to meet the darling puppies plus all the beautiful Collies and Shelties living at Hope's.  One after another, they were each adopted.  Until one day we received an application from a Centennial couple Patti and Matt.  But they were not asking about the purebred dogs or even the darling puppies.  They were asking about Chico.  Hope told them on the phone about how Chico and Mrs. Paws might not be related but they were as "in love" as any tow dogs could be and suggested a formal wedding.  Patti and Matt soon saw this for themselves.  and because they were such caring and intuitive humans, they adopted both dogs---helping to guarantee that Chico and Mrs. Paws could forget about their sad and neglected pasts and move forward into a happy future together."

So now you know what all of us with RMCSR know.....and why Chico and Mrs. Paws were so special to us.  But there is more to their story.  Patti, who was one of the loveliest of God's creatures, died very recently.  No one in her circle of friends or family could take in these two darling dogs and so, as per our contractual agreement, Callie and Charlie came back to RMCSR.  They are bunking at our director's house while they have their dentals done and are now ready to find their final forever home, together, of course.

Please only contact us if you are committed to taking both of these wonderful dogs for their lifetimes.  A completed application is the first step toward any adoption.  You will find the application on our website at www.colliesheltierescue.org.

Please begin the process for adoption by reading our Adoption Policies and, if we sound like the right group for you, fill out our online Adoption Application. From there, our receipt of your completed application will be confirmed by email. You then will receive a follow-up phone call if we feel you are a good potential applicant for the dog. Lots of good conversation with the foster family, a reference from your veterinarian, and a home visit round out the screening process. We take dog adoption very seriously.  Please put a lot of thought into why you want to adopt a dog, and help us make a good match for your family. We appreciate your taking the time to visit with us. We will look forward to hearing from you as well.

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