Rescue Kitty Meets Big Brother Blue Heeler Duke

Bringing home a new kitten to a 3-year-old Blue Heeler can be tricky. We had been looking for a gray kitty to rescue specifically for about 9 months. We had lost our cat CC and we were heart broken. As you know, it takes time but there is no time limit right or wrong. The truth is if we'd found Rip (aka Rippee) sooner we would not have hesitated to rescue him.

When we decided we were looking for a Blue Heeler it was merely a matter of time as well. I had searched high and low for a local breeder to no avail. One day Dan was surfing the internet and low and behold there was a breeder in Utah. Note to self we leave in Nevada and this breeder was on a cattle farm outside of Moab Utah. It is about a 10-hour drive from Reno, NV to Moab and keep in mind we were going about 45 miles past there. The breeder sent us a video of all the puppies, and we fell in love with Duke. Yes, he is named after one of our favorite actors John Wayne. Because we had to go through Moab where he filmed so many of his movies it only seemed appropriate to name him Duke.

Fast forward. Duke is a cattle dog and is not living the life of a herding dog. He is full of life, so are we. Dan is retired. Need I say more. The two hung out together all day, we would take him for a walk at night until winter came, and it was too cold. Duke loves to go places especially camping. Loves the trailer not specifically social with other dogs. Great with the grandkids and one hell of a watchdog. Super protective of me. With that said all of his 68 pounds love us very much. He is food driven and loves his treats. The Blue Heeler (Australian Cattle Dog) breed was new to me. I have raised Chihuahuas and German Shepherds.

Initially he was an adorable little puppy. Once his personality emerged, I wasn't sure truthfully if this was going to be a fit. He was over the top stubborn, super smart and not a cuddle bug at all. My German Shepherds might have weight 140 but they loved to think they were lap dogs and cuddle. Not this guy. We enrolled him in boot camp because he just wasn't responding to our training. You'd take him outside to potty or for a walk and he'd walk inside and poop. Totally frustrating.

When we dropped him off for his 5-day boot camp the Director assured us that we would see a transformation. Upon returning 5 days later she took us into her office a confessed that she had never had such a stubborn dog in her career. Granted she was young, but still. She shared what he had learned, and we took our little fur ball bundle home.

Over the next couple of years, Duke began to develop his personality. Some of the stubbornness has gone. Jealousy replaces that from time to time. He is loving, protective and funny. He can catch any kind of airborne food or treat effortlessly. He has been well trained by Dan the man who enjoys snacking and watching TV with his sidekick Duke Snacker. When the Grandkids take care of him when we are out of town, let's just say the treat jar is full when we leave and empty when we return even if it's just been a couple of days. They love to reward him and see all his tricks he does for treats.

In December of 2022, I was bored one day at work and for some reason was possessed to check our local Humane Society and there he was. The cutest kitty I'd ever seen. Now he was not completely gray. He had a little white on his chest and 4 white paws. Instantly I was taken back to my 8th birthday when my mom took me to the Los Angeles pound, and I brought home my kitten "Mittens." I instantly had to go check out this rescue kitty.

Called both my adult kids to tell them about this rescue kitty. My daughter said let's go, my son said pick me up on your way. One was going take her lunch and the other just needed to be back in a couple of hours so he could go to work. My kids have had two cats in their lives. The first one was about six months old when we got him. His name was Stormy, and he was a gray kitty. He was incredible. This cat would lay on the bed with the 140-pound German Shepherd. Fearless and loving.

Their second cat was supposed to be a kitten. The Dad was out of town and knowing what a sucker I am for a cute animal they convinced me on a Friday night after work to go to the animal control the next day and see if there was a kitty to adopt. It really didn't take too much to convince me. I grew up with cats and dogs. I feel like a house without both is void of a lot of life. I even got a pet duck once for Easter and I lived in Los Angeles. That’s a story for another time.

Some people are superstitious but not my kids. Cat #2 ended up being an 8-year-old cat name Angel. When we arrived on that Saturday morning there were no kittens. Matt and Melissa were a little disappointed but determined to take a cat home. As they made their way around the corridors where all the cats were housed they came across this one who would meow then roll on her back. She was shinny black and a love bug. The rest is history. The funny part is that we decided to keep it a secret until their Dad came home from his trip. They were excited to share but had a plan. He walked in the front door and before he could put down his luggage a black cat ran by. He should his head and probably thought it was jet lag but not. My son was about 6 and when his dad asked if that was a cat other than Stormy. He replied, yes, it is, her name is Angel and Mom’s check already cleared so she can’t go back.

When the three of us saw the picture of Rip (of course I texted them pictures) we had to go. The Nevada Humane Society would be opening in about 30 minutes, and we had to go. As it turned out we arrived about 25 minutes after they opened. I was driving and all the way over there I kept telling my kids, don’t get your hopes up. He may be gone already. Kittens fly out the door at our Nevada Human Society. Also, in recent months they had several that had ringworm and there was a limited number of kittens available. This was the first grey kitty I had seen. We had to get there. Who’s the kid now? We quickly identified him and asked to hold him. There were lots of people looking at the kittens that day. I stayed close to him and held him while the kids checked out the other options. Yes, they couldn’t help themselves they held some other rescue kitties as well. We all knew which one we were going to take to my house.

Once you identify the kitten you want, they put up a little sign that basically says taken. You fill out your information on the app and thy call your name, read you some rules and dos and don’ts, take your credit card and send you on your way.

Now here we were with a rescue kitty in hand. We had to drop Matt off at his house so he could go to work. But before he’d let us go, he loaded the wire pen into the back seat of my little sedan so that Rip would have a place to call home until he and Duke were on good terms.

Melissa and I arrived back at my house cat in hand. Now how were we going to surprise Dan with the new rescue kitty? I knew that he would be over the moon excited but right now he was asleep. Yes it was 1p.m. in the afternoon, but he’s retired.

More to come as we start the adventure of welcoming a new rescue kitty to the family.