Almost every day, someone asks me where the Border Collie comes from, and I thought I should explain that for  people who are curious.

For nearly two decades, border collies have been a central part of my life, my writing about dogs, my evolution as a human being, my work with sheep, my life on a farm, my  books, my photography.

I’ve had six of them: Orson, (Homer, briefly) Rose, Izzy, Red, Fate. Each one was completely different than the other. Each was devoted to me, loved to work with me, shaped my view of dogs, of training, of my own humanity.

Orson led me to my farm, he was the reason I first worked with sheep, I chose to euthanize him after he bit three people, one,  a child, seriously. This earned the enduring outrage and hatred of some people who say they are animal rights activists.

The Border Collie establishment disliked me just as much, I had no idea what I was doing when I got one, and said so in book after book. But in a sense, I was their worst nightmare. An urban author with no sheep or farms or fields to work or run in. I didn’t like them either, they seemed humorless and self-righteous to me.

I called them the Border Collie snobs, which didn’t help matters. I have never cared for snobs.

After Orson, I have always had sheep for my Border Collies to work with. I have no apologies to make for my care for them and love for them. Everyone of them has has the best like a Border Collie can have – Love and Work, just as Freud said. And sheep too.

I re-homed Homer, I could not connect with him, and found myself yelling at him the way my father yelled at me. He deserved better. I gave him to a young boy down the street who loved him and who he loved. He lived a long and happy life, he died a little over a year ago.

Rose was one of the most remarkable animals I have ever known, she came with me to the farm and saved my life more than once, and lived alone with me for nearly six years as my ties to the other world frayed, along with my long marriage.

Rose was always there, watching me, guiding me, helping me. If I was lost, she was grounded and clear.

Rose was a hero dog to me, right out of Call Of The Wild. I wrote an e-book about her, my favorite book – The Story Or Rose: A Man And His Dog –  which my publisher refused to publish in paperback.

They would not tell me why. I would not have survived on that farm without Rose.

Izzy was rescued from a farm once owned by the author Maurice Sendak, he was nearly feral after living mostly alone on farm behind a big fence. He ran and ran all day, he had claws like a hawk.

Izzy was a dear soul, he led me into hospice work and was the subject of a book called  Izzy And Lenore:  Two Dogs, An Unexpected Journey, and Me.

It turns out that Border Collies, known for their restlessness, can make great therapy dogs. They are agile, sensitive, trainable and can deeply attach to human beings.

Izzy died of cancer. I think Red and Fate are known, they are two border collies who live with me now.  Red is an amazing herding dog, he was trained and bred in Northern Ireland.

Fate is an exuberant and loving border collie from  Wales, she loves to be with sheep, but seems too nice to herd them. She is a wild thing, the only one of my dogs who could live easily and happily in the wild, she would love it. But she won’t herd sheep. She is the Ferdinand of Border Collies.

Every one of these dogs has been or is bright, and faithful and loving. No Border Collie of mine has ever run off, gotten into a dog fight, destroyed my property, taken more than a few hours to housebreak.

The Border Collie is widely regarded – hands down, in my mind – as the best herding dog breed. They are extremely intelligent, athletic and full of energy and enthusiasm. No other dog comes close to the border when it comes to obedience, or obedience or agility trials.

They have great speed and stamina, they never quit a job, snow or heat.

Border collies are widely considered to be the most intelligent of all dog breeds. In my experience, this is so, although any border collie owner will tell you that they can do the stupidest things – like try to herd snow plows and trucks with diesel engines.

I love Bud, but Border Collies will always be my cherished breed, they just are.

The Border Collie was first bred in Northumberland, England, on the border of England and Scotland.

The breed was developed by a herder named Adam Telfer, the farmers and herders in the British Isles were desperate a dog with great stamina, intelligence, a love of working with people, and gentleness when it came to livestock.

In America, we have plenty of land, the dogs work the sheep in open fields and pastures. In England and Ireland and Scotland, there is little land, the dogs take the sheep out off of the farm to graze, stay with them, and bring them home. In Ireland, where Red was born and bred, dogs are not pets, they are farm implements, like tractors.

They don’t sleep on beds inside, they stay out with the sheep. Like Red, they sometimes are treated roughly, the Irish trainers consider Americans to be soft and crazy and overindulgent.

Border collies are the perfect herding dogs. They do not have sharp and tearing teeth or large jaws, they nip when they have to, but if trained, will rarely harm a sheep.  They can outrun them and keep pace for hours, react to sudden moves and panic, wait hours to drink water or sleep.

The first dog bred by Telfer was called Old Hemp, a smart and legendary, and very quiet dog used by many shepherds and famous as the best herding dog who ever lived.

Every Border Collie, including Fate and Red, has Old Hemp’s blood running in them. The first time the term “Border Collie” was used was in 1915, when the Secretary of the International Sheep Dog Society named the breed in order to register them as a separate breed.

Some form of collies had worked with and helped shepherds for hundreds of years, but Old Hemp marked a turning point for the breed. Finally, herders and farmers had a dog smart enough and fit enough to take sheep out to pasture, stay with them in all kinds of weather, and bring them safely back to their farms without harming them.

The breed became popular at the end of the 19th century, when they were presented to compete in the first official sheep dog trial in Bala, Wales, England. Old Hemp won the trial and continued winning competition after competition.

Border collies became popular among people looking for dogs with a keen intelligence and a strong desire to work with people. They are increasingly popular as house pets, but they make very demanding pets, they need plenty of exercise, activity and work, not just once a day but for much of the day.

I have seen a lot of unhappy and neurotic border collies – many purchased after the movie Babe came out –  who have little or nothing to do, and live with people who don’t understand how much they need to work. This is one reason I have had sheep ever since I decided to live with border collies. It is hard for me to imagine life with border collies and no sheep.

But there are all kinds of work for dogs, sheep isn’t the only work for border collies. There are lots of ways for them to obsess and work. But people shouldn’t be fooled: it is certainly true that if they don’t have lots of work they will find work, and their owners will usually not like it.

I am blessed to have been living with these dogs. I love their enthusiasm, loyalty and trainability. I love their energy and enthusiasm for love. I love that a dog like Red is versatile enough to herd sheep and also do the most sensitive kind of therapy work – hospice work – sometimes all in the same day.

Something in my consciousness connects with something in theirs, we both love to work and respect work and look for the joy in life, not just the sorrow.

What a gift to have  dogs like that. They changed my life.

I hope this helps for people who want to know more about this dogs. And yes, it is true, please believe me. They are not for everybody. They are intense and restless creatures, they can literally go mad with nothing to do.

With the right people, in the right place, they can be the most wonderful pets and companions in the animal world.

They are the right place for me, I hope I am the right place for them.