Red is a big brother now, he is patient with his new sister, a pest. She jumps on him, sticks her head in his mouth, he seems to like having her around. Red doesn’t play much, he is very serious about work. It will be interesting to see whether Fate can wear him down or not. He disciplines her with a loud growl or roar – she made the mistake of trying to eat his food in the bowl, she got a withering blast that sent her running.
We came home to Bedlam Farm today with Fate, our 10-week-old border collie from our friend and breeder Dr. Karen Thompson of Thompson’s Border Collies in New Kent, Virginia. Karen gave me Red three years ago, and he altered my life, and after some months of searching after the deaths of Lenore and Frieda, Maria and I turned to her again for our next dog.
We could not have done better, at least judging from the last few days. Fate is a wonderful spirit, we love her dearly and did from the first. She is a hellion with an amazing personality. We went to Virginia to meet Karen and spend some time with her, she is a remarkable person, her life story is full of tragedy, challenge, faith and accomplishment. She is a spiritual person, a minister with a vivid philosophy of living, her farm is an amazing place, filled with love, dogs, animal people and dedication. She raises dogs, boards them, works like a fiend morning to night. She also has sheep and goats.
I’ll write more about Karen later, she is one of the most interesting people I have met, she combines a love of animals with a love of humanity that is quite rare and very powerful. And her dogs are extraordinary.
The trip was as grueling as it was exhilarating. Fate was a trooper, she spent more than two days in a crate most of the day, and never had an accident or complained, hardly a whimper. She is recognizing her name, beginning to come when called, and learning to sit when told.
Back home, Fate explored every inch of the place, Flo got right in her face and hissed, Minnie hid in the barn, the sheep are dubious, the donkeys are watching her closely, the chickens keeping some distance. She doesn’t seem intimidated by anything much, but she was a bit subdued, then friends began arriving to say hello, she seems to love everyone and has a wonderful temperament. We took her for a walk on Macmillian Road, she learned leash-walking in just a few hours. She seems to be house-broken, intuitively goes outside.
She adores Red and tries to jump on and chew his head, he has put her down three times in no uncertain times, she is learning some boundaries. Red is, as always appropriate, he puts up with some obnoxiousness, as with the sheep, then asserts himself. I don’t want her attaching too powerfully too him, border collies will become obsessive if you let them.
Maria and I are exhausted from the 20 plus hours of driving it took to get to Virginia and back. It was a hard trip. The Northeast corridor seemed about to explode on Sunday, there was so much traffic. We stayed overnight with our friend Deb Glessner in Pennsylvania on the way and on the way back, she took us in and fed and saved us. It was hubris to think we could make that trip in one day, she and her Labs Heidi and Hannah were gracious and wonderful to us, we were refugees on the road with two border collies in the car.
Maria has really stepped up with Fate’s training, she is walking with her, training her, loving her, caring for her. The two have already bonded powerfully, this is going to be a very beautiful connection, I can see it already. More later, still unpacking.
