Hello! My name is Mango and I’m a border collie puppy. I was born in Culpeper, Virginia on June 4, 2004. For the first 7 weeks of my life, I lived on a farm with my mom, Hannah and my grandmother, Abigail. Around July, people started coming by our house and one by one, my brothers and sisters left our little pen and joined their new families, all but me.

See, I’m not your typical border collie. Most border collies, like my mom and grandmother and brothers and sisters, have black heads with a white stripe down the middle. I, on the other hand, have a completely white head with a black triangle on top. Border collies are part of the shepherding group of dogs, used mostly for herding sheep. It’s rumored that people never used to want us white headed ones because they felt that sheep would not respect a dog that was the same color as them. That theory of course is absolutely ridiculous; I can herd any sheep…if I knew what one looked like. 

Anyway, so with my little white head I stuck out in the crowd and no one wanted me :o( I didn’t care though cause my mom said that I look just like my dad. He’s got a white head and a triangle on the top of his head too! The only difference is that he’s red and white, while I’m black and white. Besides, I knew eventually someone would come and take me home with them. 

And that day came on July 16, 2004 when Amy and David came to get their first look at border collie puppies. By that time, there were only three of us left and I was the only one unclaimed. They took me out of the pen and I was so excited. I ran around in little puppy steps. I pushed myself along the floor like a turtle. I licked Amy's face. When the time came to decide whether or not they wanted me, it seemed like I had definitely won David over but Amy wasn't so sure. I really wanted them to take me so I gave them my saddest little puppy face and sure enough, Amy caved in. She smiled at me and picked me up and told me she'd take good care of me. David ran me around and I was just the happiest little dog. 

A week later, they returned to take me home. Except for the car ride, during which I threw up several times, I was really happy and have continued being so ever since. I've been growing up quickly and eating furniture even faster. So that's how this adventure began...and you can read about how it continues in my daily blog.