MURRAY
From Murray’s owners:
Murray is a 2 year old Border Collie/Australian shepherd mix. We rescued him from a kill shelter in Alabama when he was 9 weeks old and have had him ever since. He is extremely intelligent and loves to learn and follow commands. He is very loving and affectionate with us (gives lots of hugs and kisses) at home and lives peacefully with 2 other chihuahuas in our house. With strangers and children, recommend no choldren under the age of 12, he is quick to nip, he is generally untrusting of new people, and does not give much warning before using his mouth to tell you he does not like something. His behaviorist facility was destroyed in the hurricane and soon after we found out my wife is pregnant with our first child so we have to figure out how to move forward. Murray is very wanted and we love him so much, it breaks our heart that losing these resources post hurricane and finding out we are having a baby is causing us to come to the conclusion we can no longer provide the home he needs.
Behavioral Training: We started behavioral training with him around 6 months old when we first noticed a problem, we have been taking him in for weekly drop-off training sessions at the Ruff Life behaviorist facility in Asheville, NC and he has also done boarding there as well. He was very comfortable at the Ruff Life facility and with most of their staff but the facility was destroyed during Hurricane Helene. After meeting with the owner of Ruff Life (Tessa) she has confirmed our thought that Murray probably won't be safe to have with a baby in the house. We are happy to put you in contact with Tessa (Ruff Life Owner) to learn more about Murray from a behaviorist standpoint since she has been working with him for the last 1.5 years if you are interested.
Sheep Herding & Other Training: We have spent so much time trying to introduce Murray to new experiences. He has tried agility training, various tricks, swimming classes, and sheep herding training. He absolutely loves the sheep herding training and prior to the hurricane we had been working with a local farmer to do weekly sheep herding training but a lot has changed in our town post hurricane. For his first birthday we even took him to the Rural Hill Sheep Herding festival in NC to watch (he loved it). He has a sheep herding instinct certificate as well.
Vet: He has impeccable medical history with genetic testing, neutered, has gotten all shots and gone to exams every 6 months. The only health problem we know of is when he gets stressed, he has skin breakouts- our vet has prescribed creams and they have gone away once treated. At our vet he has 2 people that have put in the time with Murray and they are both able to handle him.
If you would like more information about Murray or feel you have the right home for him you can email doharrigan@gmail.com.
