Dog Ranch Rescue

Missi

Adopted!
New Name:
Age: Adult
Sex: Female
Breed: Mixed Breed
Weight: 40 pounds
Current Location: Aubrey, TX
Adoption Date: September 4, 2022
Adopted by: Ana and Andy Gleasing
Latest Update:
Sometimes it feels pointless to even look for a home for a dog that nobody wants, yet we just keep trying because it only takes one. Even with Bet we would get some applications but they just weren’t a good fit.Missi was just not a dog that people wanted to adopt, we can only assume it was because of her tendency to try and take control and the person adopting her would need to keep her in check the way her foster parents had. But…….if Missi was another breed, a popular breed, a desirable breed I assure you it would not have been a factor. Missi is a mixed breed herding dog of some kind, and in Texas we are overrun with them, and there are tons of them in the shelters that nobody wants, so the task for placing her was a big one…
With that being said, Ana would like to speak about Missi..
“Who knew failing could feel so good?
Missi has been living with us as a foster for the past 3 months and with us she will stay forever.
This girl had a bumpy journey, starting as a stray before getting scooped up by DRR. She spent a month in rescue before being adopted then, sadly, she was returned a year and a half later due to bad behavior. I reached out and asked if she needed a foster and, sure enough, she did. She had a rough start in our home, being possessive and aggressive about it, but we worked with her and now she’s doing much better and has learned how to relax and live peacefully in her home. Securing her a permanent spot here was no easy feat though! It took me about a month and a half to come to the conclusion that she is ours and should live with us forever. Andy on the other hand, while he loves Missi so much, was adamant that we should not take on another dog. After lots of negotiating, Andy got on board. She may always be a project, but we are up for it.
Missi will live the rest of her days paling around with Frankie fka Marquee fka #234 and Maggie fka Chow Mein (they love to wrestle), she’ll have her sister Chili and non DRR brothers to run around the backyard with and a mama and DogFather who love her very much. Andy and Ana will keep Missi’s name but they mostly call her Miss Press and Missi Lou.”
Missi is home and we are pretty happy about that…
About Missi:
We were asked if we could help with this girl from a local resident here in Anna. Apparently this girl was a stray on the road in Bonham which is about 20 or 30 minutes from the Ranch. They had her scanned for a chip, reported her found and posted her all over social media on lost and found sites to no avail.
I asked them to bring her by the ranch today so I could assess her and see if we would be able to help with her. She is very sweet, a young girl maybe less than one. The problem is she appears that she might be pregnant. She does have a little bit of milk when you examine her teats. Perhaps it’s a false pregnancy but most likely it’s not.
We asked Jenn if she would be willing to care for her if that turns out to be the case and she said yes. In the meantime she will go to the sanctuary for the volunteers to care for her. We will get her examined very soon and report back what Dr. Reno finds.
We will be naming her Missi Billings who works in a vascular access surgeons office helping dialysis patients with their vascular accesses. She also lost both of her parents to Covid within 3-4 days of each other. She is a beautiful soul and animal lover!!
Welcome to Dog Ranch Rescue Missi

UPDATE 8/24/2022

Missi lost her previous home because she took ownership of it which she will do very quickly if allowed. Missi is very intelligent and has a close eye on what you will allow. She has been staying with Ana and her husband and they love her and would keep her but their house is already full. Miss immediately went to work to take ownership at her house but Ana said no sireee bob you will not. She lost all privileges to the sofa, the bed, and even going into Ana’s home office. She figured out very quickly what the rules were and fell into place. She then decided that she would bark and harass her husband Andy when he walked in the room, a few corrections pretty much put the nix on that. This is her sitting with Andy now, she adores him and I would just like to say that with discipline and rules your dogs will love you more for it as opposed to less which is what people fear when it comes to adopting a dog like Missi. She has earned her way back onto the bed, and the furniture because she has proved that she can share and be a good pack mate as opposed to trying to own the place. This is what its all about everyone, establish boundaries and rules and you will have better behaved dogs and a you will free their mind from the stress it causes them to feel like they need to take control, ( yes this is stressful for them)
Ana says Miss still has many quirks, she’s terrified of storms and reacts very severely when one comes about. She told me that she also has a very strange quirk of when she’s called to go outside with the pack every morning she runs and hides under the bed and has to be retrieved. Once she’s out she’s just fine but obviously this is an issue for her.

Dogs have quirks, people have quirks, life is full of quirks. Missi deserves a home of her own and its sad that because she needs someone to be in charge she never gets an application. It’s very frustrating for us in the rescue because it’s just a very simple thing to do, we just need someone who is willing.

UPDATE 8/10/2022

It’s a delicate balance for me to talk to you about our rescues and who they are. We never don’t reveal the problems that they have that need to be handled in their new home, but at the same time it immediately turns people off of the dog. Missi is one of those dogs, as I’ve stated before she’s very intelligent, that’s always seen as a positive but in most cases it’s not.
Is she a sweet loving great dog? Yes she is, does she need boundaries and a leader? Yes she does. Somehow that is a negative in the eyes of adoptive families. They never say it out loud but what people are always hoping for is a “turnkey” dog, one that requires no guidance no rules and a dog they can just love all over, and everything will be fine. Missi is not that dog and in all honesty 90% of them are not turnkey dogs either.

So you see the balance of honesty and transparency makes it very difficult to find the right home for her however we know it is out there.

UPDATE 8/9/2022

Missi went through a spell where she decided that she would react negatively to Ana’s husband when he walked in the room.
Aaron Stewart was called for consultation. He gave Ana some suggestions and as you can see they are doing well together.

We still have 0 applications for Missi and that’s simply due to the fact that she require a strong owner who will keep rules and boundaries. You wouldn’t think it would be that hard to find an adopter to raise their hand for that but alas here we are.

UPDATE 8/3/2022

I’m sorry Missi, nobody has applied for you and we would be shocked if they did. You’re not a bad dog, you’re a smart dog, you’re not a troublemaker. You just know how to make trouble. You are a great dog but you’re a dog that requires a great owner, an owner who will keep the rules in check, an owner who will be a pack leader an owner who will not let you do things that allow you to take control and sadly, very very sad that those applicants are few and far between and so far nowhere to be found.

UPDATE 7/24/2022

We haven’t had an update about Missi in quite a while, yes, she is still with the rescue after being returned. Missi requires a very specific home, and what I mean by that is an owner that is consistent and firm with her do’s and her don’ts. These are the kinds of issues that cause dogs to lose their homes every single day in America. These things are easily controlled and corrected, however you have to know what you’re looking at, you have to know what to do about it and you have to be consistent with it or you will have a “bad dog” Missi is not a bad dog and neither are other dogs like her but if you don’t respect the needs of your dogs they will be in trouble and more importantly you will be in trouble in your household.
Missi has ben staying with foster mom Ana who has been working with her since day one, she has reached out to me on a few occasions looking for advice and we have also consulted Aaron Stewart for suggestions for new things that pop up with this very intelligent girl
Here is an update from Ana, and while I’m still talking Missi has no applications, she’s got a lot of strikes against her, mixed breed, returned, too smart for her own good, requires a constant strong owner, these are all strikes when it comes to finding a dog a home, unfortunately..
“Let me tell you about a sweet, silly girl with the BEST eyeliner in town, Missi.
Missi has the sweetest face and softest coat. She loves food, zoomies and scritches. She’s very smart and requires an active lifestyle. When the temps are cooler, she gets to play fetch and go for walks; these things make her very happy.
Now, let’s get into some of her quirks. Missi is insecure. This comes from stress because Missi is an anxious dog. She doesn’t like loud noises or sudden movements. When she’s afraid, she hides under the bed or in a dark, quiet corner. She also likes to try to control her environment. We’re working with her on these behaviors and reassuring her in a healthy way that she’s safe. It’s a tricky situation and there’s a fine line that gets crossed easily with her between reassurance and too much affection which causes her to act out. When I say act out, I mean she gets possessive and controlling, which leads to bad behavior. Unfortunately, Missi is not a dog to be spoiled. Not in the traditional way, at least. She needs lots of structure and many boundaries. Missi can’t have anything of her own. Not right now anyway. We switch her around in crates, we don’t allow her on the furniture, we don’t allow her to lay in dog beds, she’s not allowed in my office…..the list goes on. The reason being is that she gets possessive of any and everything and lashes out at other dogs when they enter that space. We learned this very early on and have had very few problems with this once we stripped her down to the basics.

This may sound like a lot of work but it’s really not. It’s just a matter of being consistent, diligent and attentive to her behaviors and mannerisms. She truly is an awesome dog and deserves her forever home”

UPDATE 6/12/2022

Anyone looking to adopt a very smart dog that needs someone that’s a leader and willing to show her that humans are in charge?
Missi is a very nice dog who got along with any and all dogs when she was at the ranch for months two years ago trying to find her a home. Now that she’s been owner surrendered, she’s at the sanctuary where once again she proves that she does very well with others. Missi has an issue with the weather man and when rain is approaching she needs to get help to calm her fears. Missi would be a great dog for an active family, but she’s proven the first time that if boundaries aren’t given, she will take charge and that’s a human problem not a dog problem.
All dogs require a leader, no ifs ands or butts. Missi is high up on that list as with any dog that’s very smart. If you don’t show them you’re in charge that causes them stress and they then feel they have to take charge because why?

Because dogs crave balance, and without a leader there isn’t balance.

UPDATE 6/5/2022

She was a stray 2 years ago. We took her in and vetted her and had her in the rescue for quite sometime with no applications.
We finally found a home for her where she had been ever since.
She was returned on Friday, the owner contacted us several months ago that Missi had taken control of the home and she wanted to return her. We encouraged her to get help from a trainer and we didn’t hear back. Now the owners health is not good and she cannot handle trying to work with Missi.
The first thing I want to say is the same thing I always say. If you don’t take control in your home the dogs or dog will. Secondly I would like to say that Missi has some cattle dog in her and she is extremely intelligent and has shown this fact to be true. Third she’s a mixed breed dog and all of you know what that means when seeking a home for a dog in a climate of there being very few applicants for any dog in every rescue.
Fourth and this is the most important one, Missi has lived at the ranch for months and she has stayed at the ranch even when she had a home.
Never and I mean never has she been a problem with taking control of anything. She’s active; she’s happy; she’s smart, she gets along with all other dogs and never has she been in trouble at the ranch.

So with that we now need to look for a new home for Missi and the challenge begins.

UPDATE 10/30/2020

Time for us to put a little spotlight on Missi, she has very little interest but once again she’s a mixed breed dog and that’s how it goes..
Missi is all vetted, and is ready to find her home now. She’s a young dog maybe just under a year, she has Cattle Dog in her, and she has the brains that go with that. She’s a very smart girl, eager to please, she is housebroken at the ranch, she is good in her den and never complains or soils it during the night.
She is a little needy and needs direction with boundaries on that. Missi would be an excellent dog for an active family, or a person who runs, she would be great to jog with. She is in top shape, ready to go and would love to tag along.

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