A Tribute to Our Outgoing President and Founder Carole Presberg by Kathy Chittenden, NEBCR Treasurer (on behalf of the NEBCR Volunteers) (above, original NEBCR logo designed by Carole Presberg)

Carole Presberg, our founder and president, will be retiring on February 1, 2006. Carole has devoted many years of her life to helping border collies. She is the founder of the North American Border Collie Rescue Network (NABCRN) and New England Border Collie Rescue (NEBCR) was born from there.

NEBCR began in 1999. A group of eight concerned volunteers got together and formed a network of foster homes willing to take in border collies from area shelters, from people in need of re-homing their border collies, and from area Animal Control Officers and others who found stray border collies.

Ghyll (foster dog), Clyde, Flash and Bess

Border collies are definitely "not your average dog." Proven to be the smartest dog on earth, they are very capable of outwitting the average pet owner. Their exercise requirements are often not met and when a lack of exercise combines with a lack of mental stimulation and improper or no training, the results can be disastrous. One of the most common reasons border collies are "turned in" is the complaint of "child herding." Yes, these bright dogs were bred to herd livestock and when kept cooped up while families work, they find their own herding "work" to do — and it usually involves the children. It is the lucky dog whose owners realize this is inappropriate early and find their area rescue group. They will get a second chance. If the behavior has been happening for too long and an actual bite occurs, it is often too late for any rescue or shelter to help.

Carole developed an application process to find appropriate homes for these dogs. Yes, it is detailed and a home visit is also required, but it is necessary so that NEBCR dogs will land in their "final" home the next time they are placed.

This is how I met Carole. My husband and I applied and ended up adopting a border collie named Fenn from Carole. I kept in regular contact with Carole, probably giving her way too much information on our life with Fenn, but I couldn't help it, we loved her and wanted Carole to know how well loved she was.

Every other response I received from Carole ended with a question. "Would you consider becoming a foster home?" After 8 months of saying "I don't think we can do it" we filled out the application to become a foster home. Then I got to see, even if just a glimpse, just how hard this volunteer work is! Carole was the Intake Coordinator as well as the President of the organization. Every day she was on the phone or computer for hours. Fielding all sorts of calls about dogs in shelters, dogs that people "had to get rid of today," reports from third parties about dogs "being abused and couldn't we help." As a volunteer, all I ever heard about was the dogs that stood a chance of coming into rescue and the requests for evaluations of those dogs.

Chance and Sage

As a foster home, I would take a dog into my home, do some basic training, assess what type of owner and "job" would be best for the particular dog, and then try and make a great match between dog and applicant. I had help at first, my supervisor worked very closely with me and taught me all sorts of neat little tricks to make the job much easier and it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! My dogs seem to enjoy having the new guest dog and it certainly forces me to be a better human for all the dogs here. New foster dogs need to be given lots of guidance their first few days as they learn the routine — and my dogs know that when I have a new foster dog, that means I spend a lot more time outside playing with them as well!

It wasn't until recently that I learned the whole extent of Carole's job and how hard it is to know that you cannot possibly help every dog out there that is in need. Carole shouldered all of this by herself for a very long time, seven years, and it is now time for her to take a much needed break from the heart wrenching and frustration-producing calls and emails that never stop coming. Carole also fostered dogs nonstop throughout this time period, sometimes several dogs at once as they awaited transport into their foster home. And, if that wasn't enough, she created the website for both NEBCR and the NABCRN and maintained them both.

In her "spare time" Carole developed the Border Collie Museum which is just about the greatest site for anything you ever wanted to know about border collies. She is also the co-author (with Marjorie Quarton) of a "must read" book entitled "The Working Border Collie." And she now has a bookstore, "The Shepherd's Dog." For more than 15 years she also produced and published "The Shepherd's Dogge Magazine" a quarterly magazine for border collie enthusiasts and she also headed up several trips to England, Scotland, and Wales to visit working sheep farms and meet the actual working dogs and their owners. And, as if this isn't enough, she is also an accomplished fiber artist, using natural materials including wool gathered from her own sheep and llamas to create beautiful one-of-a-kind creations.

Flash

I am going to miss Carole's input and participation and leadership in NEBCR. She has been an inspiration to me, seeing how much of herself she has given to these dogs, how much she has personally invested in helping these dogs, the things in her own life she has set aside to be able to do this rescue work. We will try to carry on the mission of re-homing and rehabilitating border collies in need throughout New England. It will be different, it will be a change, for NEBCR and for Carole.

I hope Carole gets to do all of those wonderful things she has set aside to grow this rescue group and that we all continue to carry on the good work that she has taught us so well how to do. I can't wait to see what new things our creative Carole comes up with to keep her busy in her "retirement" and I look forward to hearing updates on her new life as she ventures on to new and maybe even back to old pursuits. She will not be "gone" from NEBCR as her spirit and love for these dogs will always be what drives us forth.

Carole will forever be our "President Emeritus."

With Much Love and Admiration,
Kathy Chittenden and the NEBCR volunteers

Carole, Flash, Chance, Bess, Kate, Sage, and Pres

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