Tatum came to us on September 1, 2007. She was flown in on a private jet with three other smooth sable collies from Houston, Texas. Since they have so many collies needing homes in Texas, we are fortunate enough to get four of them to place into homes here in Utah. He pretend birthday is May 1, 2006.
Tatum’s Titles:
AKC: NAP NJP RN
I fell in love with Tatum within the first week of having her at our house, and I just could not give her up. Three of the four collies that came to stay with us were taken from a hoarder, or collector, in Houston, Texas. Tatum was from the bust in May of 2007. She was one of fifty collies that were seized. Fortunately, she didn’t have too bad of care. She came to us very shy of new situations, and wary of people. And she is very small, only about 40 pounds. That is one of the things I just loved about her.
Tatum came with me to a training seminar back in October of 2007. She was very skittish, would not approach people, and just wanted to be around the other dogs. As time has gone by, and as I write this it’s now April of 2008, Tatum is transforming into an amazing, wonderful, brave girl. New places still make her nervous a little bit, but for the most part she jumps out of the car looking for fun things to do.
This girl has more energy than the rest of our dogs put together. Most definitely more than our border collie and our border collie mix. She loves to bite people on the butt to get attention, which can be quite a surprise! But I cannot, and will not, use any corrections on her. She needs to build her confidence, and she loves to clicker train.
She is a gorgeous smooth sable collie girl with a lot of spunk, enthusiasm, and curiosity. When I got to know her, I couldn’t help but see all her potential, and how good she would be at agility, obedience, and maybe even flyball. I adore her. She gripped my heart quickly, and has held onto it. 🙂
I thoroughly enjoyed all the stories & pics of your pack, especially
our little Houston girl TatorTotTatum. What a gorgeous little
collie girl. Laura C – Houston Collie Rescue
Hi Laura, thanks for your comment! Did you know Tatum or the other collies from the busts? I’d love to talk to you if you do. 🙂 Tatum is doing super! She’s becoming a confident brat and I just love her, I love my dogs with spunk and confidence and sass, and she has all that and more. She’s not afraid anymore, and she’s trained with all positives!
I just loved reading about Tatum! I adopted Foxy, Tatum’s sister and had a wonderful year with her. She was the apple of our eye and we loved her so very much. Unfortunately, she died a few weeks ago from complications from surgery for intersusseption, a genetic disorder which causes the intestines to wrap up into themselves. We will never forget her, and look forward to seeing all of the great things you accomplish with her sister!
Hi Tina thanks for your comment! I’d love to talk to you more about these girls. That sounds awful and I’m so sorry you lost Foxy. I would be devastated if we lost Tatum… she has taken a big part of my heart in her paw… I hope she does not have the same disorder. I am so sorry for your loss. I’d love to see pictures of Foxy.
Dear Cynthia and Miss Tatum,
What a beautiful girl you have turned out to be! Miss Tatum, I am the human of your sister, Maggie Tara (we call her Tara). We are so happy to see that you are having such fun and have turned out to be such a beautiful girl. Maggie Tara has done pretty well also, although she was very shy too at the beginning and did not like petting at all. She would duck her head and turn away but now she is getting to where she likes to be petted but most of all she loves to be scratched on her back, tail, sides – and well just about anywhere. We got Maggie Tara last year and fostered her for awhile and then decided we could not let her go! She has an ornery, bossy brother, Alex. He is a rough tri-headed white collie. Tara is such the peacemaker – if Alex even gives her that bossy look, she play bows to him and tries very hard to get him to forget his bossiness and play with her. She is the dearest and sweetest little dog and has also gotten to the point of being very excited when we come home from work – she just yips and yips and runs and plays and is so happy to see us. She is also a very smart little girl like you Tatum and someday I hope we can take little Tara to at least a basic behavior class because she does not know how to sit. Tara’s health has been great as far as we know and we were very upset to hear of sister Foxy’s problems and passing. We were hoping for the sisters Foxy and Maggie Tara to get to see each other once again at the Houston Collie Rescue picnic in a couple of weeks. We are so happy to know that sweet Tatum is doing well and is healthy! I don’t have a lot of photos of Tara because she is still camera shy, but I do have a few I would be happy to send. Tara has the white chest and all the same physical makeup as her sisters, but she does not have even a hint of blaze on her little face. She also has the tip of an ear missing from before the dogs’ seizure last July and so we do not know the cause of that but it does not bother her at all. She is as swift as the wind and we love to see her run and play, and we love her very, very much. Maggie Tara did not leave Texas – she lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Hi Lisa Maggie Tara’s Mum! You sound wonderful! I love my home here, too, and I wish I could come and visit you! Maybe sometime the Mum and Dad will take me for a long drive, i would like that! I am also the peace maker. I love other dogs and will play bow to them and make everyone happy if they are unhappy!
From Cynthia the Mum…
Hi Lisa thanks so much for your comment! I went right over to the NM Collie Rescue site to look at Quinn and Major… and asked my Husband if he wanted a couple more dogs… LOL he said yes but we are maxed out already! I am glad they are in a good foster home. They look like cuties. Tatum was very shy too, but I brought her to every dog event I could and she is not shy anymore. 🙂 She has a lot of spunk!
Hi Tatum – this is Maggie Tara’s mom. I forgot to tell you that you also have probably two brothers who are at Southwest Collie Rescue. Their names are Major and Quinn. Here is the link for you to see their pictures. They are still pretty shy too and have not been as lucky to find homes yet, but they are in a good and loving foster home.
http://www.nmcollierescue.com/homes.html
Hi Lisa would you email me some pictures of Tara? I LOVE the name Tara, btw. 🙂 And can Tatum put her pictures up on her blog… http://tatumtot.com ?
Thanks!
Great to hear from you and your gang! Its such a small world, having commented to you on Twitter about Tatum, before we knew we both have rescue collies from Houston Collie Rescue. Your blog is wonderful! I’m still really new at it – this gives me something to strive for! Ha! Love all your pictures!
Did the ASPCA get her from the hoarder?
Hi Sara… nope she was pulled from the hoarder by Houston Collie Rescue. Well, I think the law actually busted the woman and then HCR got most of the collies. I don’t think the ASPCA was involved but I could be wrong.
My friend sent a link to your site because when she saw Tatum, she thought is was a picture of my girl Bronte. The picture of her demonstrating the sit is a mirror image, apart from her collar being a different colour. Btw Tatum’s doppleganger Bronte, lives with me in Australia!
Hi! I also got a rescue Collie. She is half Husky and half Collie. I am her 5th or 6th owner. She is my service dog. She learns things in three training sessions. Her name is Annie, I guess because of her red coat, but if I had named her, her name would be Sandy or Dusty because she loves to run. She reminds me of the wild horses when she runs… the dust cloud is everywhere!