By Vicki Scott
Here in Glencoe, we have two dogs, even though I am a cat person. During my caregiving experience, I became attached to some border collies owned by the daughter of a client. Border collies are very smart, and I thoroughly enjoyed their entertainment.
When given the chance, I got my own border collie, and we named her Reba. A short time later, my husband found another dog whose mother was full-blooded border collie. Her dad, however, was a “traveling salesman.” The dog looks like a yellow lab and her name is Sandy.
Both dogs enjoy playing and make a good team in keeping every living thing out of our fenced-in yard. Sandy will go psycho if someone she doesn’t know tries to come in.
Reba came from a shelter and had no spirit about her at first. She would just lay around looking sad all the time. When we came home with Sandy, things changed. I couldn’t get Reba to do anything but sit up, but Sandy would try anything. With Sandy, I would throw a ball and she would go get it and bring it back until Reba ran after the ball, got the ball, then hid it somewhere. One time, Reba chased after a ball I threw and brought it back to me, just to show me she could, I guess. She only did that once.
Sandy loves to walk. If we try to walk without her, she hollers so loud that our neighbors come out to see what’s going on. This hollering is especially present when I try to walk with my grandbaby, Saylor Rhea. Reba will walk if she feels like it, even when Saylor Rhea is around. Reba is such a diva!
Saylor Rhea calls Sandy “Sammy.” I tried to correct her but this two-year old grabbed my phone, gave it to me and instructed me to find Mini. Once I found Mini, she was able to scroll through the other videos. She found a dog that looked like Sandy whose name was Sammy! Saylor Rhea put up such a good argument that I almost started calling her “Sammy,” too! She is so persuasive! Sandy – or Sammy – and Reba have teamed up and have made me wonder if I am still a “cat person” or not.
I praise God for the opportunity to play with and get attached to the life and personality of border collies. Our dogs have been such a blessing!