Our family doesn't only consist of our children, our dogs fit right into that family tree. We don't have the kind of dogs that are allowed in the house, they are ranch dogs and they smell! Our dogs do, however, life a very good life. Meet our family....
There was Dottie, the Border Collie cow dog that we got when our son was about 4 years old. Dottie was a "princess" as my husband called her. She loved my husband and lived for the minute she got to work cattle or ride on the 4-wheeler. Dottie's toughest time in life was when she broke her leg and had to have surgery, then stay in the kennel for 6 weeks. She could do the work of 4 men when it came to gathering cattle. She was a little bossy, didn't like visiting dogs and did kill a few chickens in her day. Dottie died the year our son left for college.
Then there is Blazer, who my husband and daughter brought home from the fair. Mom said no, but they waited until I left and came home with this adorable cow dog cross puppy. Funny how that happened, husband and daughter came home with a lot of animals....she knew how to work her daddy! Blazer has to be made of steel. He is not a great cow dog, but he sure tries. He has been kicked in the head so many times, but still insists he is a "heeler". He also had a hand in the end of the chicken operation on our ranch. Since my dad moved to the ranch several years ago, Blazer has decided he much prefers the low-key life of grandpa and has set up his homestead there. Grandpa provides way more milkbones than we did.
Blue is the different dog...he is a bird dog, not a cow dog. Although he tries to herd cattle, he is much more efficient at retrieving waterfowl. Blue is a Yellow Lab and he is amazing. He is definitely "his own dog". Blue actually belongs to our son and really misses the time when he is away at college. "Himma" as Blue is nicknamed around here (Himma wants a treat, does Himma want to go for a ride...) has it made. The dog pretty much runs the ranch. All he can eat, a huge bean bag bed (from our college days) to sleep on, a big ranch to run around on and plenty of hunting to be done in the fall. He can usually be found relaxing on the front lawn...we are often wondering what he is dreaming about...or sitting in the driver's seat just waiting to go for another ride in the mule.
Our latest member of the family is Callie. She belongs to our daughter. We searched long and hard to find a new female cow dog after Dottie died. We were able to surprise our daughter with this adorable Border Collie cross. She is not even two years old yet and has defied all odds. She was hit by a big Dodge pickup when she was only 6 months old. We really thought she was gone when we brought her in. What I believe is that our daughter's crocodile tears are what brought her back. She had a head injury and had swelling around her brain. She couldn't walk or get up for two weeks. We nursed her back to health and she recovered. It was truly a miracle. It did earn her the name of "Crazy Callie" though. She has a tendency to bark at the ripples in her water bowl, circle to tractors when they are started and she really thinks she is a bird dog. She is pretty good with cows and can run forever. She had another near death experience with an illness, again, she survived...now she is just the precious little "baby girl" on the ranch also waiting for our daughter to get home from school.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras
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