Maggie's Story
from the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Blount County Edition, Sept. 10,
2000
by John Stiles, Blount County Bureau
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Rescued Border Collie leaps into
competition, heart of new owner
Two weeks ago, Maggie was in a foster home, facing an uncertain future. Two weeks hence, Maggie - now in a loving home - will enter her first athletic competition. Maggie is a 4-year-old Border Collie, the dream dog University of Tennessee junior Jesse Pritchard, 21, of Louisville had always wanted. |
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Jesse - well-known in East Tennessee running circles - wanted a "Frisbee dog." He had decided to get a puppy, to train from ground up, when he accidentally found the East Tennessee Border Collie Rescue group on the World Wide Web. There, he saw Maggie's photo under "adoptables". She was being cared for by Skip and Carolyn Stansberry of Louisville, who are active in Border Collie Rescue. |
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When he threw that first ball to her, he knew Maggie was the one for him. Maggie dashed after the ball, and couldn't get enough play. She was, however, unfamiliar with a Frisbee.
Since that Sunday night two weeks ago, she has learned to make a Frisbee "talk." On command, she flips end over end in the air to catch a Frisbee.
Carolyn Stansberry said Maggie's former owner surrendered her to the rescue group because she was extremely energetic. That energy now has an outlet.
Jesse met Maggie on a Saturday morning, and by Sunday afternoon was ready to take her home.
Maggie now also is living with Bugar, a 9-year-old German Shepherd.
Bugar is from Germany. Jesse's stepmother, Melanie, got Bugar while serving in the military.
"When I came home on leave, I'd always fly her with me," she said. "I'd get one of those big bones and she'd have it chewed up by the time we got here. I love German Shepherds."
As fate would have it, she moved into the neighborhood near Danny - Jesse's father - and Jesse to a house where she could "have a dog." Danny and Melanie credit their love of dogs with bringing them together.
Maggie is not the first Border Collie in the Pritchard family.
In 1997, Danny was training for the Big Sur Mountain Marathon in California. Chancey, another Border Collie, and Danny were a familiar sight running on Topside Road. Every so often, Chancey was given a breather by jumping into Fort Loudoun Lake and cooling off.
The story ends badly, however. One night, Chancey jumped a fence and started their training run alone. She was killed by a car.
Jesse ran once with Maggie, but she is not accustomed to pavement, so he quit. Frisbee competition is on grass.
Jesse knows something about surfaces. He is an ornamental horticulture major at UT, and works on fields there.
Maggie's first competition will be in Nashville.
"I will have had her four weeks when we compete," he said.
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Maggie the Border Collie is caught in action as she leaps to catch a Frisbee thrown by Jesse Pritchard. Maggie, who came to Pritchard through the East Tennessee Border Collie Rescue group, will participate in her first competition in Nashville later this month. News-Sentinel photos by John Stiles