Sad Story with a lesson for all of us!

I received an email from a friend of mine that purchased a year old female Toy Aussie, Lucy,  from me.  Earlier today she wrote me to tell me the said news about her Border Collie:
"My husband is out of town this weekend so my girl friend and I were taking the girls (the dogs) to the lake to play. We stopped to get gas and when my friend opened her door, Maggie bolted out probably thinking we were at the lake. She ran full speed right into traffic and was hit. I rushed her to the emergency clinic but we lost her right after we got there. My heart is truly broken. She was a wonderful dog and she loved me as much as I loved her. Lucy stayed in the back seat and never made a sound but I am sure she knew something was wrong."

She is now left with Lucy (her toy Aussie) to love her and help her heart heal. Lucy too, is lost without her friend. Aussies are so intuitive about when your sad or hurt I have no doubt that she will love this lady as much as she can until it feels a bit better anyway.

Here at Shade Tree Aussies, we have become really adamant that the dogs wait until they are told they can get out of the car or truck for this very reason. We work on sit and stay at home while they are puppies. Then when we go in the vehicles they are made to sit and stay with the car door open until they given the command to get out. We start with short rides around town and then back home without anyone getting out. Before you open the door, they are commanded to sit and stay. Should one bolt from the car, we catch them and make them get back in the car. We go though it again, and again until they stay in the car while you back up a few steps from the door and they stay. After a couple seconds we go back to the door and give the command to "unload" and then give them loads of praise for doing it right. This just drives home for me why we started doing this long ago. It has become a habit for us and our dogs and you sometimes need a sharp reminder of why it is so important to keep up your training program.