Happy Tails | Bodie

Every single animal that comes through our shelter has a story. Some are complex, many are sad, but all of them get better the minute they arrive at the Virginia Beach SPCA. Bodie found himself at the VBSPCA in March 2023 after he was struggling with changes in his previous home. The one-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix needed a home where he’d get plenty of attention and exercise. Lucky for Bodie, it wasn’t long until a family who had experience with his breed came in to meet him. We recently caught up with Cassidy to get an update on Bodie now that he’s happy in his forever home with her and her boyfriend, Nathan.

How did you know Bodie was the one for you?

I searched all the shelters in the area for months, fantasizing about getting a dog. We knew we wanted a dog and were waiting for the right time to pull the trigger. Nathan had a heeler for most of his life and he was getting up there in age (16 years old), and I had an elderly cat who had just passed away so we were ready to welcome a younger animal into our lives. I was perusing the VBSPCA website on a Sunday and saw Bodie. We almost immediately went to the shelter to go meet him. We fell in love with him at first sight, but what sealed the deal was a shelter staff member saying, “This is the calmest I’ve ever seen him.”

How is Bodie doing in the home?

Bodie is doing great. He is definitely a menace, but we love his antics and are up for the challenge of keeping him constantly entertained. Cattle dogs are not for the faint of heart! We have worked with a trainer and have come a long way with him. He has some anxiety that we work through, but overall, he has settled into our routines very well and seems extremely happy.

What sort of activities do you do together?

We try to take Bodie with us wherever we go as much as possible to show him everywhere is fun. He adores going to First Landing, where we play fetch and swim. He has almost daily playdates with his little girlfriend Maya, an island dog who lives in our townhome complex. He loves to go to Pups and Pints to get soaking wet standing in the splash pad. I take him to work with me occasionally and he runs around playing with his most prized possession, his Jolly Ball. He loves the car and tries to get in whenever we so much as walk by it.

Does Bodie have any funny quirks?

Bodie is very quirky, so it’s hard to think of specific things that he does that stand out more than others. The biggest one to point out is now that he has figured out he loves water, his new favorite game is trying to jump in the shower or bathtub whenever the water is running. He is very sweet and whenever you sit down around him, he will walk up and put his head on your shoulder as if he is giving you a hug – but he does expect you to scratch his legs and belly while he stands there. He is very unaware of his size. He isn’t a large dog, but he isn’t small either and insists on napping on top of us. He has herding tendencies, of course, so he is a Velcro dog and does not like it when his people are in two separate rooms. His main goal in life is to keep us together at all times. Bodie almost always sleeps on his back with his legs up in the air and will sometimes use walls to prop himself up so he can stay upside down.