Meet Molly, a six-year-old (we think) border collie/Australian shepherd who was found caked with mud, smelling like skunk and generally unhappy on a lonely road in Oregon. The British Columbia Border Collie Rescue took her in and we adopted her on Good Friday 2006. Molly is settling in great, is getting used to Mary and I, and is a very sweet girl. We'll post some more photos of her once we have some more adventures.
Update 08-23-2006: We've had Molls for just over 4 months now and she's gone for about 3,451,768 walks and is lean and happy. In fact, she pretty much runs the place. We recently discovered she LOVES soccer and her frisby skills are sharper than ever. Even better, her muscle tone is much better and she doesn't limp anymore, and her endurance is good enough to go for hikes for several hours at a time. A neighbour leaves biscuits for her at the end of our driveway most mornings and Molls goes running out to look for them at first light. Spoiled might be an understatement, but she's worth it!
Update 11/26/06 First snowstorm of the year and we don't know if Molls has ever seen snow before. She seems to love it, though. She spends most of her time eating it and it doesn't slow her down much when we play frisbee (yes, frisbee must happen no matter what it's like outside). The only downside so far is we can't find her biscuits in the snowbank.
Update 04/23/07 Wow...we've had Molls for just over a year and couldn't imagine life without her. We've gone on tons of adventures to cool places and even flew her back East to visit family. The best part is we're still exploring and finding new trails, beaches and mountains to visit. Now that she is totally settled, we'll be doing a lot more overnight camping and road trips this summer, which means lots more photos to come. Thanks for checking in.
Update 12/11/07 Very busy six months. We've moved into our new house which Molly loves. Mary and I then got married in Ontario but didn't bring Molly, who spent a week at a friend's place. She did come on our honeymoon though to Echo Valley Ranch and Spa where she spent five days running with a pack of 10 border collies, all of which looked just like her. Needless to say, we all had very good sleeps at night. She even met a boyfriend named Jojo, who stuck up for her when the pack got tired of her barking. We're all back home now safe and sound and planning our next adventure.

01-06-10 Wow, it's been more than two years since I've written anything here. As the pictures suggest, we've been on lots of adventures. Molly is still doing well but is beginning to show her age, which we can narrow down to 11 or 12. She has stopped playing frisbee or soccer and her favourite pastimes now include napping and eating dirt! She still enjoys a good walk, just not as many. We recently attended her daycare's Christmas party and met all her pals, and because of that she behaves much better around unfamiliar dogs ... something we had to keep a close eye on when we first got her. We're all looking forward to a happy and healthy (and probably busy) 2010 and I'll make a better effort to post more photos this year. Thanks again for checking in!

Oct. 2/2010 - IGVD - also known as Ideopathic Geriatric Vestibular Disease, struck Molly on Sept. 26, two days before a planned 10-day visit back east. It was a little shocking to see her suddenly collapse and struggle to get up. IGVD, apparently quite common, affects dogs' otolith (ear bones) and causes vertigo. She is slowly regaining her balance and is doing better, but the resulting head-tilt, possibly permanent, is a little odd. Poor girl had dental surgery the week before (unrelated) so it's been a tough three weeks for Molls. She's otherwise healthy and apparently happy we're home. I'll try to get a pic of the head-tilt to post.

Oct. 12/2010 Molly is recovering from her IGVD episode nicely by the looks of it. While some dogs never recover, Molls has made a 90 per cent recovery. She still has some head tilt and a couple of different tendencies (instead of looking over her shoulder when lying down, she tilts her head right back and looks at us upside down)but for the most part is back to her zany self. She is still a little wobbly so has either managed to compensate for whatever vertigo is left or the vertigo itself is now manageable. At any rate, she has gone on all her favourite hikes with no problems and was running around like a goofball last night with a big grin on her face so all is well. Thanks to everybody who showed their concerns. :)

April 17/2011. It's been five years this weekend since we met Molls at a Surrey dog park and brought her home on the ferry so we celebrated with a few of her favourite hikes and a new one, leading to the summit of Mt. Prevost. Molls is as healthy as ever and doing great. In fact, she seems to still be getting younger (we've been saying she's 10 for three years now). Enhjoy the pics and thanks for stopping in.


Sept. 26/2011 After a summer of short hikes and plenty of visits to the neighbours' for biscuits, Molls seems to be showing her age a little. Though happy and enthusiastic, her hips seems to be giving her increased difficulty. Equally as disturbing, she is suddenly drinking about twice as much water daily as usual, and her coat is lacking the shine that it usually has. A quick Google search suggests those are the first signs of canine diabetes, kidney failure or Cushings disease. She has her annual vet check-up on Friday, so I'm sure we'll have some tests done to see what's up. I'll post the results next week. As always, thanks for stopping by.

Oct. 1/2011 Molls got back from the vet and the report is .... a clean bill of health!! A relief. She does seem back to herself and is drinking a bit less. maybe she was just really thirsty?? Went for a good walk today to celebrate. There are pink salmon swimming up a nearby stream so Molls waded into her usual spot to splash around a a salmon swam right past her. She just watched it go like it was an everyday thing. Cohos and sockeye should be coming back soon, too!

May 19, 2012 Time is flying. Mary and I had a busy ski season so the winter seemed to fly by. For the time we were away Molls was left with an in-house dog sitter we brought in who was awesome, and Molls could sleep in her own bed. However, the last six months Moll's old age is starting to show through a little. Her legs and hips are sore and we find we need to use more medication like Medicam week to week. Walks are pretty limited, though we went for a nice one today in Bowen Park. Her appetite is still great, and she looks great, but with a little grey around her eyes and snout. Neighbours continue to give her biscuits, which pretty much seem to be her daily goal - she has everybody on the street trained very well! Easter weekend was our sixth anniversary with Molly, so we're in our seventh year with her now. Unbelievable. She has been such a joy and important part of our lives.

July 15,2012 IGVD Part 2. Just as the vet said would happen, Molly now has some vestibular troubles in her right ear, poor girl. Her world is spinning. After the first bout, we're better prepared to deal with it and keep Molly as comfortable as possible until it passes. Even posted a video of her on You Tube so other people can research it when it happens to their dog. Hopefully it goes away soon.

January 4, 2013. Sheesh. Seems whenever I post here it's because Molls is having some issues. After six good months, the weakness in her rear legs is finally becoming intensified, and poor Molls can barely stand on her own. I don't think this is going to go away, so we're adapting as best we can. Her hips and legs simply can't support her. We've ordered a harness to help her move about, and hopefully she comes to accept it. Even her walk down the street for biscuits is almost out of reach, and if she wants to stand up we have to help her. However, she still has a light in her eyes and looks forward to her meals and treats, so we will make her as comfortable as we can!

Jan. 7, 2013 Heartbreak. A day I never believed would arrive has indeed arrived. Molly's hips and back legs became just too arthritic and sore for us to allow her to go on. She was in pain and, yesterday, showed signs of distress, so we made the difficult decision to send her to a better place. Our time with Molls was nothing but joy and we'll treasure the time we had together until we meet again. Go well, Molls, you are loved and we will miss you dearly. Love Toby and Mary

Jan 25, 2013 It's been almost three weeks since we said goodbye to Molls and emotions are still at the surface. We also haven't seen our neighbours because there has been no reason to go for a walk. It has been amazing to see all of the condolences come in. There have been lots of cards and well wishes and we thank everybody for that. It's becoming very clear how many people Molls had in her human network both here in Nanaimo and through this website.Some friends sent us some photos of Molls during their stay here in the summer so I've posted them - please scroll down to the bottom of the gallery to see them.