More about Fia ("Fiadh"): Not at shelter (Maia)

Now that she is no longer emaciated, and has been treated for tick-borne illness, Fia is wowing her foster mom, and everyone else she meets with her beauty. Her two breeds occasionally conflict with one another, as her border collie side wants to herd or chase, and her Pyrenees side wants to guard.  She is learning to manage both those traits as she goes walking with her foster mom around Timberlake, smells squirrels and rabbits, and holds herself back from totally chasing in hot pursuit.  She is housetrained, and learning to manage herself around new people. Fia is one true beauty!    Pretty Fiadh, 2 years old, spayed, and emaciated from starvation, is feeling and looking so much better! It’s been a battle getting her to get her stomach used to food once again. She had a quick vet exam earlier this week and we discovered two tick diseases, so are adding antibiotics for that in addition to extra food, and probiotics. We sure do love From her foster mom: “ Fiadh was found as a starving stray, and the shelter only knew what they saw, in a limited environment. I brought her home to help her get healthier, and to learn who she is, in a home and neighborhood setting.  She’s a beautiful girl, and can be very gentle and affectionate. She’s also sustained trauma along the way, and this affects her day to day behavior. We’ve learned she is deeply afraid of men, even my nice male neighbors. She cowers  at their feet and tries to run away. Seeing men from a distance, makes her turn around and run.  She’s also afraid of loud noises, and other dogs. She wants to play, but their barking threatens her and she has lunged at them, then gotten scared, turned, and run into me, knocking me (at 160 lbs) over.  She’s on leash with me at all times, unless we’re in my house. When we walk, she sees squirrels, pulls hard and chases them. I believe she would kill them.  I read that you have a kitten and we all want her to be safe. I have two grown cats and am using a tall dog gate, to keep them separate from her. Fia was fine with the cat test at the shelter, but I don’t trust her with mine. They sniffed each other thru the gate once, then Fia began jumping up and down, barking loudly, scaring the cat.  She’s very high energy, skinny and remarkably strong; we walk 3 miles a day, and she’d walk further if it were up to her. She seems to love the water, pulling me to the end of my dock, and testing me to see if I’ll let her jump in the lake, to swim after the geese. She’s also a chow hound and a counter surfer, always looking for snacks.  Those of us who foster for the shelter do our best to learn as much as we can about each animal and report back honestly. I hope this information is helpful.”   PLEASE NOTE: This pet has been posted by Friends of Campbell County Animal Control, Rustburg, VA. For questions about the pet, please email us at [email protected]. All adoptions begin with an application, found under the "Animals" tab on our website, friendsofcampbellcounty.org. *Unaltered babies under the age of six months can be adopted only to residents of Campbell County, the City of Lynchburg, and counties touching Campbell County. *Unaltered adult pets six months or older will need to be sterilized before they can be adopted outside our local area of Campbell County, the City of Lynchburg, or counties touching Campbell. *We do not promote dog adoptions to homes where an invisible fence is the fencing of choice. *We do not permit cats or kittens to be declawed following adoption.