"This is Gracie, 5 years of age when we took this photo. We knew she was an Australian Shepherd / Australian Cattle Dog mix, but we didn’t know there was a name for those! She and her littermates were thrown from a truck in a sack on a busy street before they even had any teeth; we don’t know why. A friend of mine witnessed this action and saved Gracie for me to look at because she was blue merle like a favorite dog from my past. She must have been a fighter because she was on the bottom of the pile in the sack and suffered a broken toe. We were hoping she was going to be an Aussie Shepherd, but after the dog trainer got a look at her, we were warned that this was a Cattle Dog or dominant Cattle Dog mix and she would need firm handling from an early age. Advice taken! Gracie was very dominant and fought me for the pack leader designation from the very beginning. I don’t know if she’d even be alive now if not for Cesar Millan and the principles we’ve learned from watching him. My husband and I were nowhere nearly ready to handle a dog this aggressive on our own; thank goodness our trainer specialized in herding dogs and knew what she was doing.

"Gracie is eerily intelligent and knows at least 200 different words, including every different toy in her toy box and the names of each of our three cats. Because of her intelligence, she excelled in obedience classes, but she flat-out refuses to do tricks no matter what kind of reward she’s offered; it’s as if she knows they serve no purpose. She prefers being an only dog; she stays outside during the day and comes inside at night to spend time with us and go to bed in her crate. She’s not a cuddler or very touchy-feely, but enjoys a good belly rub and frequent back scratches. She is an amazing herder, but she only has cats to herd. Every night, we will go out into the backyard and turn the floodlights on, and she herds our shadows like crazy! It’s hard to give her as much exercise as she needs, frankly. She loves walks around the neighborhood and hiking out with us.

"Now that she is older, I would have to say she is a pretty balanced gal and a little more relaxed as long as she has something to do. Her favorite treats are large Dingo bones—I’ve never seen a chewer like her! She obeys commands instantly, but she will test me every single day on the off chance I “forget” something. In public, I keep a close eye on her because of her size and strength (50 pounds) but she is always very well-behaved.

"Helping to save Gracie and having her as a member of our family is probably one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. We certainly won’t ever forget her."

"Sydney is a Texas Heeler, or a cross between an Australian Cattle Dog and an Australian Shepherd. She was rescued from the local animal shelter after having been abandoned as a puppy. She has just turned one year old at the time of this picture, and is a treasured member of our family."

Sydney the Texas Heeler (Australian Shepherd / Australian Blue Heeler mix) at 2½ years old—"She is about 30-35 lb. and stands just under 20 inches at the shoulders. I took this picture of her with her "baby." It's her favorite toy that she takes with her everywhere. Sydney is a very intelligent, loyal and affectionate dog."