How did you end up with a corgi? Tell us your story!

My wife and I were newly weds, we were not ready for babies so we decided to take on a puppy instead.

At that time in our life, we were living in a 2000 sqft condo, space was limited and so we knew we wanted something small to medium size. We have thought about other dog breeds like border collie, beagle & sheltie. We eliminated them because of the following reasons:

border collie - requires a lot of exercise and we were living in a condo.
beagle - the breed seems to be quite stubborn and can be a real howler.
sheltie - great size and very similar to corgi, but the hair can be a lot of work.

So why did we pick corgi? well, we read alot about the breed, it seems like corgis are very smart, motivated by food, loyal and good with kids. It fit right into our requirements.

So what else am I happy about my dogs? I like that they're not "common". I'm surprised that there are many people who don't know about them and constantly ask if they're pure bred :) I also like the fact that my dogs can handle themselves with the bigger dogs in the dog park. Corgis are very brave and have great stamina to run and herd cattles & sheeps for 45mins nonstop.

How about you? How did you end up with a corgi? why don't you share with us?

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I just got a corgi from Celeste!!!:))) she has such adorable corgis and I love kobe!!!!!!
We used to watch the Westminster Dog show every year and we always picked one dog that we'd root for. Well, around my freshman year in high school I fell in love with a corgi on there and it's been my favorite breed ever since. I would always find pictures of them online and then when i was older I'd research about their personalities and behaviors.

My husband did not know what one was when we first started dating, but once he saw one he loved them too, and it was icing on the cake when he found out Ein from Cowboy Bebop was one :) He still really wanted a Westie when we first got a dog (his aunt had one), but I eventually convinced him that our first dog should be a corgi.

So, my almost 12 years (good god!) of waiting for a corgi ended this year when we bought our first house and could finally get a dog! I researched for a few months before we closed on the house to find out if any breeders in the area were expecting litters this fall. I talked to a few in depth for a few weeks before I found Gibson by chance online at puppyfind.com. I talked to the breeder and really clicked with her, and so 3 weeks later Gibson came home with us!
My x-in-laws had a Corgi that had died. They sent the x to get them another. The seller brought 2 Corgi brothers for him to choose from. He could not decide which to bring home to his parents, so he bought both. He let his parents pick the Corgi they wanted & we took the other. Our 1st Corgi, Jake turned out to be the best choice!

Hubby #2 & I like the Corgi so well that when we were ready to replace Corgi #1 I looked online for another Corgi. The owner advertised either the dog or the kids had to go!

The former owners thought he had too many bad habits. We knew about the herding traits of a Corgi so we decided to go check the dog out. They did not charge us for the 3 year old dog! They felt he was going to a good home that likes Corgis.

Now almost 12 years old he still has bad habits, but we are trying to prove you can teach an old dog new tricks! He continues to enertain us & stay very active.
This story began several years ago in a remote, snowy Russia.. Not exactly snowy, though... It was October in Moscow, it was not cold at all, and the trees were still in those fall colors: red, yellow, golden brown...

I was a college student then. I don't remember what kind of problem I had that day (was it a broken heart, or.. C in Economics quiz), but my friend Nadya found a good solution. "You need a dog!" she said. "The dog will change your life!"

Nadya had a mutt, and she was absolutely confident that mutes are the best and smartest dogs alive. Since they combined so many breeds in one dog, they were really multi-dimensional treasures, she was telling me.

"We'll find you a dog," she said, when we were standing outside of the University building, in the center of Moscow. "Here, look! That one!" she suddenly exclaimed. There, between the trees, I could see a small dog, going back and forth on the spot. During those Perestroyka years, we had many stray dogs, running around town. Some of them were just lost dogs, and some of them never had an owner.

"I am not sure this is a good idea," I said. "Even though I always dreamed of a dog, I live with my folks, and my mother does not like dogs, and I do not know how to handle dogs..."

"It's simple," Nadya said. "Look how cute this dog is! Your mother will love her! And I'll teach you how to handle dogs. Now, help me to catch her! You'll be very happy, believe me!" And chase began.

"Go from that side! Herd her towards me!" she shouted to me. "I'll drop my jacket to cover her!" I followed her commands. Finally, a little red dog was caught and wrapped up into Nadya's jacket.

"Let's go home," she said. I lived with my parents, and used public transportation for commute. We hide a dog under Nadya's jacket because the dogs were not allowed on metro at the time.

We were lucky not to find anybody at home, when we were back. Nadya helped me to wash a dog, and to feed him. It was her, actually. I gave her name "Kimka". When I finally was able to see her clearly with my own eyes, I've got excited. She had a thick red hair, short legs, pretty big ears, and a smily expression on her face.

"What if we stole someone's dog?" I asked Nadya. "No worries," she said. "She does not have any collar, or anything. And you would not be able to find her owner among the 9 million people in the city." And she was right.

Well, it turned out, my mom really fell in love with her, like I did. "Kimka" was the smartest dog I knew ("Told ya!" Nadya said. "Mutts are the smartest!"). Kimka even knew some commands. She was such an easygoing and sweet dog. She either was housebroken before, or just smart not to do her business at home. For me she was just unbelievable!

And I was really, really happy with her! Until I went for a trip during a spring break, and when Kimka stayed with my mom, she caught distemper. I think, it was distemper. She died very fast. My mom cried when I was back. And I cried later, for a long time, Kimka was my first dog!

Several years fast-forward, I got married, we had a son, we moved to the US, we got a cat (because dogs were not allowed in our apartments). One day we went to buy some food for the cat in Petsmart. I was looking at the magazines on the shelf. "Wait a minute!" I said to my husband. "Remember, I told you about my dog? About my Kimka? Here she is!".

And here she was, on the cover of the magazine with a title "Corgi"! I bought that magazine. I always thought she was a mutt, a stray dog! But surprisingly, she was not. I am not sure, though, that she was a purebred. May be some mix. I don't remember for sure. I don't want to deceive myself. But she definitely had corgi blood in her. "She had her relatives at the Queen's Palace", my husband said, jokingly. I read every article in that magazine, to find out more about the corgis.

This summer we decided to have a dog. We live in a house, our life settled down. we were ready to get a dog. What bred? I think you know.
I was always anti-puppy. I just didn't have time or want to have a pup. My friend who breeds corgis kept telling me what good dogs they were, and though cute I wasn't interested. When I lost my old Boston I started looking around and called my daughters aunt who had a litter of Jack Russels. Turns out she was on the phone with my friend. She called and told me she had been wanting to gift me with a puppy for a while and she had the perfect one for me. He was a "bluie", and had a personality that would fit with our life (I have a daycare and it's always hectic). She told me I could have the pick of the litter but really wanted to give me him. I trusted her and we soon had pics of Zim. He was sooo adorable. He came to live with us and it was instant and total love. Other then my horse I have never fell so hard in love with an animal. My daughter calls him my "Regal Protector". He was the perfect puppy- other then a love for chewing up underwear, he potty trained easily and fast and left the furniture and shoes in one piece. So in love with the breed I chose to buy another pup from the next litter my friend had. So into our lives came Sunny. Sunny is my trouble child (joking). He is the puppy that Zim was not. He is a shark of a pup, chewing on everything and anything that happens to run into his mouth. He (just like his brother was) is the sweetest pup I've ever met. Besides, I hate my couch and need a new one. I can't imagine life without a corgi- heck, I'm not sure how I managed with out one all these years-
1 1/2 year after our wedding, hubby and I felt we are ready for a new addition to the family.
Four legged addition, not two, mind you. We started looking but couldn't agree on a breed (I refused to have a husky or malamute and we agreed on 1 thing: no small yappy breed) until one day, I browsed the internet and found this breed 'Corgi'. Needless to say, we fell in love immediately with the smart foxy face and short legs!
No breeders have any puppy available at that time because most puppies were already spoken for before they're even whelped.
Lucky for us, 2 tri colour puppies suddently became available. They were originally scheduled to be shipped to the US but due to the enourmous shipping cost, the buyer cancelled at the last minute.
My husband fell in love with one and we quickly told the breeder we're coming to get her. It was Easter holiday so the next day we drove 21/2 hours to get Truffle - enroute Petbarn for crate, food, toys, etc. She has such loving personality and given us so much joy that we decided to get another corgi boy, Bailey. Our family and friends think we are crazy to have 2 dogs but they don't know that these are not just dogs, they are corgis!! How could we live without them? :)
I had talked to my husband about needing to nurture something; I had this emptiness in my heart since I had lost my last dog (a none Corgi). I told him that I missed a little body following me around, bumping into me and just plain needed to mother something. He asked me what kind of dog I wanted and I remembered this beautiful red Corgi that I had seen a long time ago. I remember that she had laid in my arms just like a baby with those big beautiful eyes looking at me. She belongs to my neighbor who never really took care of her.

In my mind I had even cooked up a plan to get her away from them and get her to a good home. My conscious struggled with me since I would be essentially stealing this dog, even if it was for a good reason. So finally I gathered the courage to "relocate" her. But I was one day too late, she had contracted worms, went untreated and passed away.

I was so mad at myself for not "relocating" her sooner. Till this day, I still regret my decision not to take her right then and there. I still see that beautiful face looking at me with such hope in her eyes. I was crushed and guilt ridden.

So years later remembering that face, I told my husband that I wanted only a Corgi, and no other dog. He scowered the internet for me and found me Amazing Grace. And while she is a tri, and not a beautiful red, she makes me feel, like in a way I am saving a Corgi, and giving her a good life.

Till this day, I still hope that “Little Red” forgave me for not saving her. Had I had a little more time, I would have done so.
My mother's best firend had owned a Pembroke when she was a child, and about 20 years later my mum and i were on the hunt for a dog to join our Rhodesian Ridgeback. Mum mentioned Corgi's. I was kind of against it at first as i prefer big dogs, but now that little Mab has joined our family I can see myself always owning a Corgi. Love them to pieces! We bought Mab from CedarCorgis in NSW Australia, as we live in Australia. In her litter there were 13 pups. 7 Black and white and 6 Blue merles. Mab is a Blue merle, and the breeder herself said she was very impressed with how Mab turned out saying she was the best in the litter. We are very proud of her. We plan to go back up to the breeders house for a 6 month reunion of the pups. That'l be heaps of fun!

It's heaps of fun to show Mab too, meeting other bredders of both Pembroke and Cardigan. Although there is not much Competition in the shows at this stage we sure are having fun. Mab seems to enjoy the days out too, and we just love the ribbons she gets! Hope she does well in the Show ring, so far so good.

Bonnie Mills.
My husband and I were moving from FL to NC. Our NC house was very big (5000 sq ft) and I wanted a dog because if you were upstairs if someone broke in you would never hear them. Anyway we wanted a sturdy, smart and good natured dog. We read about all the different breeds, when we started reading about Corgi's everything about them seemed to fit our needs. Although we still to this day can't remember reading the part about the shedding issues!!!!!!!!!!
When Chepstow was 14 months old we were at the North Carolina Corgi Picnic and decided we really needed another one. We decided that we should get our second Corgi from rescue. Tenby arrived in bad shape but we all made it through that first year. We are empty nesters and our boys give us so much happiness and pleasure.
It all sort of happened.

My girlfriend and I always wanted a dog growing up but was never able to get one due to our parents.
We were together for 7 years prior to moving in and renting out a condo. The condo was small (900 sq ft) and no pet was allowed. We just kept trucking knowing that one day we'll own a house and eventually a dog together.

So a year went by and we saved enough for a down payment on a house. We started house hunting for months. We were finally able to close on one and started the move. The house is not that big given that we live in the Bay Area. However, 3 beds/2 baths were plenty for just the both of us.

She made an outlook appointment and sent it to my work email. It was an appointment to start puppy hunting. It was set for Jan of 2010. With me being driven to get one ASAP, I started looking and reading up on different dog breeds. I did not consider a Corgi even though I watched Cowboy Bebop hundreds of times. Didn't even know what type of a dog it was to tell you the truth. Always thought that it was a really cute dwarven dog, lol. My gf was the one that told me about the breed. Some guy who visits her workplace often is obsessed with Corgis and had just adopted a puppy. She took a picture of her and showed it to me. I fell in love with the cuteness. I started doing research to see if the breed will fit perfectly with us and it sounded like a match. We were comparing the breed to Pugs, Beagles, Daschund, and Terriers. The search led me to this site and I just fell in love with the community. We knew that it was the right breed for us.

Within about a month from us moving in to the new house, I saw an advertisement online for 2 remaining Corgi puppies. They were located pretty far from us but pretty much driveable. As lady luck called it, we had to go to that area of Northern California for a wedding. I scheduled an appointment to see the last of the litter and I knew right there and then that Kenji was the perfect dog.

In the end, everything just fell in to place. We love him and have not regret the decision that we have made.
I grew up with German Shepherds with the occasional Lab or Great Pyrenees finding it's way into our family. I've never been without at least one dog in my life and always knew I would have dogs by my side. I've been in love with corgis for years. Starting, as with many people, with Cowboy Bebop. I always thought Ein was such a cool dog. He totally makes Corgis the Rin Tin Tin or Lassie for the otaku set.

After getting married, graduating college and beginning work in vet med I actually got to be around a lot of different corgis. But by this time my hubby and I had settled into our "grown up" lives and careers, bought our first house, then our second bigger house and rescued our first furry kids. Having a soft spot for shepherds I had to take in Brynner (one of 12, mom shot by a rancher who didn't realize she was just trying to provide for a litter of pups behind his barn) and Heston (found starving by the highway, covered in fleas and ticks, terrified of men). The years went by and the sad day came when Heston lost his battle against cancer and we had to help him across the Rainbow Bridge. I still ache over losing him. Months after his passing I felt it was time to finally add a new member to our family, this began my Corgi search.

Much like adoptive parents I put together a killer portfolio to send to rescue organizations. I had info about my experience with dogs and my over decade long experience in vet med, letters of recommendations from veterinarians and technicians I've worked with as well as one from Daze of Camelot Animal Sanctuary whom I've worked with over the years. Sandi with Daze of Camelot even gave a list of character references for HER organization. Knowing how busy rescues are she even offered to do any transport and home inspections. With my graphic designer hubby working from our home office (his work was based out of NYC, but he only had to travel there for business about 4 times a year) we would have plenty of time to devote to a new Corgi. I felt we had a great chance to have a Corgi in need of a forever home placed with us. Pictures of us, our home, our current pets or fenced yard... I thought it was going to be a piece of cake! Wrong.

Denied. Apparently we are not the ideal home in the eyes of some rescue organizations. One did not like that we had never owned a Corgi previously. Some didn't even respond to emails or phone calls. Others got back to us only to tell us the dog was no longer available (yet the listing on Petfinder remained up for several months after) or not right for us since we were in a different state (Idaho isn't that far away from Washington! grrr!). I began to wonder if my hubby and I weren't suitable for a rescue who the heck was?! Disenchanted with rescue I began looking into breeders and found the perfect one after speaking with several. Enter Ashton.

When Ashton came into our lives I knew he was a perfect match for our family. He is such a kick in the head. I just have to chalk up all that heartache with the different rescues actually being a blessing in disguise. If I had been able to adopt a rescue Ashton wouldn't be with us now. Every cloud has a silver lining, ours has a bunny butt. LOL
Thanks Bonnie for reviving this thread! I enjoyed reading every one's stories. My story is an example of how not to get a dog. Our beloved Standard Poodle had died after 18 years of trying to be the perfect dog. He was senile for about 2 years before so it was hard. My daughter was a senior in high school and had decided to go away for college (with MSU right in town I had hoped she would go there like our son did). Facing my retirement without kid's activities I decided we really needed a dog. My husband was not too enthused but agreed if I got a smaller dog. I carefully researched breeds and decided a Pug would be a great choice. My hubby thought they were the worse possible choice! So back to the drawing board. My father had raised beagles when I was young so that was my next choice. There were no beagles to be found! A real shock since there are always beagles available in Michigan! So I started looking at ads in the paper. There was an ad for corgi puppies and Famous Last Words: "let's go look at the puppies". There were 6 or 7 tri puppies, absolutely adorable! That produced Sparty who has been a character from the beginning. He has never attempted to be the perfect dog LOL but managed to steal my heart with his antics. Since then we added Buffy who only lived until 6 and now Izzy who is my husband's little darling. Actually she wants to be everyone's little darlng! My house is never empty even though the kids are grown! I can not imagine not having them.

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