Day: January 18, 2018

Of all the dogs I have had, I can think of only two that could thrive and survive in the wild, and would love to be there, those two are Rose and Fate, two border collies I have been lucky to live with.

Both were/are remarkable dogs. Fate always wants to be outside, she never gets cold or restless. She loves her wild and long walks in the woods with Maria, she is an intuitive dog, perhaps (and along with Rose) the smartest dog I have had.

There is a Jack London kind of wildness about her, as there was with Rose, and Maria loves that part of her, she has some of that herself. Rose was much  more serious than Fate, Rose worked, but was not into fun, and she needed and tolerated no cuddling or baby-talk.

Fate has a sense of humor, unlike Rose, she loves to play, wrestle and engage in mischief. I cannot imagine Rose ever stealing food off of a counter when no one was looking. It would have been a breach of loyalty in her mind.

In the bitter cold, even Red rushes to the door after his work is done, Gus is not interested in plowing through the snow. Fate never wants to come, she loves to be around the sheep, and she has figured out how to open the door if we are not careful about shutting it.

We often look out the window to see her sitting by the pasture gate, rain or shine. Yesterday, we are out digging out the cars for a long time, and when I looked up, Fate was sitting out in the snow, head turned back towards the sheep. She misses nothing.

Fate is the only one of my dogs who could live in nature if she had to. She finds creeks and pockets of rain, hears mice and chipmunks from far away, and finds roots and nuts and berries. She is like a deer  in that way, and I’ve seen her dig small shelters for herself.

Like Rose, Fate reminds me of what dogs once were, and are supposed to be, and can be if left along to live their lives.

The Bedlam template is ever-changing. We have three quite remarkable and utterly different dogs, they get along wonderfully and are tested during this winter of the sub-zero temperature.

Red is a calm, steady dog, responsive and obedient, I cannot recall him ever causing me a moment’s trouble.

Fate is Satan’s Spawn, she is forever pushing the boundaries, obedient only when it suits her interests. A piece of breaded chicken cutlet disappeared from a kitchen  counter yesterday without a trace, it has to be Satan’s child.

Gus is a riot, a loving and perpetual motion machine. He is always up for fun, he makes us smsile.

Each handles the cold in different ways. Gus loves to walk in the snow for a few minutes and then come inside, he also loves to chase Fate through the snow. He does not seem to get cold or need boots or a sweater.

Red does his work, he doesn’t seem to notice the weather but I do not when the temperature falls well below zero, that he isn’t all that interested in staying outside. He loves the fire.

This weekend, just in time for the Refugee Soccer kids to come here for a weekend retreat, the temperature will edge up into the 40’s, a heat wave this winter. Then on Monday, another snow storm. Our storm dogs are ready for anything, they got through this winter so far without a hitch, they can handle whatever is coming.

These dogs are great together, each compliments the other, I love having such a wide range of dogs in terms of behavior and training and life.

This afternoon, we take Gus to the vet to talk about his illness. He’s had three good days, yesterday afternoon was no so good – repeated vomiting on and off for hours. We did let him outside in the storm – I thought it was safe – and I did see him digging through the snow and eating some sheep pellets. My bad.

After the vet, I go in search of a larger bird cage for the Mansion parakeets. One of the residents is convinced the current cage is too small and keeps letting the birds out. So  am getting a bigger and more secure cage.