Miss Mickey is a female Australian Cattle Dog. She is small for the breed — just under 25 lbs. She is 6 years old, and, over the past few months, she has been through quite an ordeal.
On March 13, Miss Mickey was a stray who ran into a busy street and was hit by a car. The accident was witnessed by a good Samaritan who, along with the help of 3 Philadelphia Police officers, took her to a local SPCA where she was stabilized and treated for a week. Miss Mickey’s owner never came forward to claim her; instead hundreds of supporters rushed to her aid, donating over $4000 to fund her care. Those donations paid for 2 surgeries to repair her pelvis with plates and screws on each side, plus physical therapy to help her build her overall strength. Today she is healthy and full of life; so Miss Mickey is ready for the next chapter of her journey — finding her forever family.
Miss Mickey has very few impairments from her accident. She walks, trots, runs, goes up and down stairs, even jumps up onto furniture. She can even catch a Frisbee. She loves to play with her foster brothers. Her foster sister... not so much — she is an alpha female. We think Miss Mickey would like to have a doggie brother in her forever home. Because of her previous injuries, we would like her brother to be around her size or smaller.
Miss Mickey is up-to-date on all her shots and has been spayed. She is being fostered in Langhorne, PA — just outside Philadelphia. If you would like to see video of Miss Mickey in action, check out her Dogster page at http://www.dogster.com/dogs/1004251. For more information, please contact Miss Mickey’s foster mom at missmickey@acdra.org.
you can read more about Mickey and those who helped here: http://www.ohmidog.com/2009/08/19/helping-mans-best-phriend-in-philly/
or find other Austalian Cattle dogs in need of a home, closer to your area, here: http://www.cattledog.com/rescue/contacts.html
Before adopting an ACD one should make sure their lifestyle is suited to ACD ownership. Australian Cattle Dogs (ACDs) are intense, very loyal and intelligent companions. They tend to be very wary and reserved with strangers and can be very protective and territorial if they feel that their person or family is being threatened. Along with their intelligence, they can also certainly be described as hardheaded and stubborn. They are one of the most intelligent breeds around and when a Cattle Dog puts his/her mind to doing something, you’d better bet that they will do it to the very best of their ability. Most will want to be active and busy most, if not all, of the time. When young they have two modes, 100 miles per hour and asleep. This energy has to be directed somewhere or you will quickly end up with problems. A bored ACD will find ways to entertain himself, usually doing something you won't like, such as redecorating your house, rearranging your yard, etc. There is an old adage, “A tired Cattle Dog is a Good Cattle Dog”. Take this saying to heart.
