On 6/2/22…we said goodbye to a BIG SPIRIT WITH A BIG PASSING…

IF A DOG COULE BE A LEGEND, IT WAS HIM... “Crazy eyes’ as he was called on arrival at age 3…no one wanted to adopt the ‘wild-eyed wolf’…no one…he was truly intimidating. Funny thing was he REALLY WAS a bit intimidating to the humans who met him…he was his own being…smart, sweet to a point and determined for a ‘his way or the highway’…. HUNTER was what we like to call the ‘Clint Eastwood of border collies’…he came in on his horse with his western hat and boots and went the path that was his to live…you could feel the will of this Border Collie.

Yes, we tried to adopt him out…as the worst car chaser yet to come to glen highland, the adopters had to put trash bags on their windows and they didn’t even live near the road…he ‘worked’ the sound of traffic like a maniac…but it was his nipping of kids that landed him back in rescue…when he returned, he truly was no worse for the wear…just ready for the next phase…so he came to live with the founders who erected a complete privacy fence on 2/3rds of the yard where the traffic moved…mind you this was RURAL traffic but Hunter would work the tiniest sliver of sight between fence posts and herd the traffic. Lord help him the day he actually slipped out the gate and yes, he was grazed by a car…luckily it was a student driver!

Hunter with all his strength and glory, was brilliant and tough…aka the Clint Eastwood imagery…he played ball like a frothing machine; he charged through the creek on the trails like a Trojan horse; he herded other dogs mercilessly…poor Zena got so tired of him she decided he was a new target…those two ended up with a Glen Highland trail named after them because their OCD nature left them non-stop barking at the moving water, the sand they dug up and the balls they waited for to be tossed…HE was no easy Border Collie but boy oh boy, he was majestic…even when he was guarding his bones with full growls that made you halt with even the thought of taking the bone from him. He was in charge.

So roll ahead to age 14…volunteers would meet this sweet Border Collie and watch him shuffle around the yard and just think he was the kindest soul they could imagine and we would just howl, knowing they had no idea of his history. Poor Hunter will all that bravado had spondylosis which like sciatic is so painful, it ruined his senior years so he in fact, did shuffle rather than run. We gained at least a year with the supplement Myos so he could be upright but as the recent weeks unfolded, he could barely hold his body upright and renal failure was taking a huge toll, too.. The magnificent old man had finally met his match…his body told the truth and it was time to send him back to spirit where he could again soar. The sweet old man with the hell-raising history was now about to let go.

Boy oh boy…the hardest dogs are the ones you love the most so this difficult guy will leave a massive hole in our hearts. Only a couple people know the real Hunter cause they were involved when he arrived and those who saw him today, saw the softer side, always present but never leading til his Senior years. He was a sweetie at the end but we always a chuckle remembering the hellion he really was up til the final years. His strong will carried him to age 14 even with a broken body.

NO ONE LIKE YOU HUNTER…YOU CARRY ON WITH THAT FORCE OF ENERGY THAT IS ONLY YOU!

YOU DID GOOD… and all of us pretty much got out of the way so you could!!!!!

HUNTER'S STORY

SANCTUARY RESIDENT HUNTER bounced from two homes by the time he was 3. A handsome guy with super intensity, his issues were tough - severe car chasing, shadow chasing and food guarding - not an easy combination. As a young BC, Hunter’s intensity was off the charts yet he also had a softer, super sweet side, eager to comply with someone who connected to him. He was a favorite for all the Glen Highland staff even with all his very difficult traits. Over and over again, Hunter was not chosen for adoption. Residency was his only chance at a life so in 2013, we were grateful we could give him safe haven.

Living with Hunter required secure fencing, rural living and constant management. He was a force of intelligence and drive, ahead of us most of the time. If he was bored or could not chase nearby cars, he would madly bark at the ground and grab the grass and dirt, throwing it in the air, wildly digging at the earth. He would enter a ‘zone’ of OCD patterns that was very challenging to live with. While Hunter would respond to intervention by calling his name, he then needed to be occupied with activity or he would revert to barking and repeating the same behavior.

Thankfully, aging has created a softer, gentler Hunter, a sweetheart so easy to enjoy. At 14, he cuddles on the couch, chases some balls and hangs with his BC pals, sometimes even preferring to be inside at your feet while the TV is on - a content, relaxed BC! We are astonished at the changes and frankly, relieved and completely certain that without Glen Highland, Hunter would not be alive. We are glad to give him as full a life as possible.