I want to cry sometimes when I think of the very powerful friendship between Red and Rocky, not because it was sad, but because it was so touching and beautiful. When I first brought Red into the pasture to meet Rocky, I just wanted them to get used to one another. For a blind pony who had been living alone for 15 years, the intrusion of a small, coyote-like animal could be dangerous. When Red came into the pasture, Rocky’s nose went up. He smelled Red and stood still. Red simply lay down, as he always does around me, waiting instructions.

I stayed close, and was vigilant but not nervous. These two just both seemed so calm. Rocky slowly came over to Red and put his nose down and sniffed every inch of him, as if he was taking some kind of mental photograph, which I suppose he was. I was startled at how calm Red was, Lenore had been near Rocky, but she didn’t want to get close to him, and he was not interested in her. He was interested in Red. From that moment on, Red became Rocky’s eyes. He would watch Rocky and seemed to anticipate him.

If Rocky was going to the barn – he always walked carefully and slowly since he couldn’t see – Red would move in that direction, then sit down. Rocky would raise his nose, locate him, walk up to Red and touch him on the back with his nose. Red would get up and walk another dozen feet or so and Rocky would follow. In this way, Red would guide Rocky across the pasture, to the barn or down to the area where he liked to graze.

When Rocky was grazing, Red would simply sit near him, standing guard it seemed. Red’s presence seem to calm Rocky, give him some confidence. As the weeks went by, their friendship seemed to deepen. Each would find one another, and Red would guide Rocky around the farm or down to the water or into the barn. They seemed to be a pair, to belong together, this intense working dog and this very old blind pony.

When we put Rocky down, he fell right by the barn and Red watched, came over to sniff the body and then went off to gather the sheep. He has never looked for Rocky, to my knowledge or reacted in any way I could see to his loss. I am mesmerized by animal friendships, they are powerful and there is so much to learn from them.