I came across a joke the other day; He said Border Collies are expensive to maintain because they don’t reach their full potential unless they are allowed to graduate from an Ivy League school. Given that these dogs routinely score at the top of intelligence tests, I can almost believe it. A dog named “Betsy” appeared on the cover of the March 2008 issue of National Geographic for being able to understand 340 words, while another Border Collie, “Rico,” is being studied by scientists for his ability to identify more than 200 objects. by name. I think the British have the right idea: in England, from time to time they offer acting competitions only for Border Collies, alone and separated from all other breeds. After all, why harm the self-esteem of 200 other perfectly good breeds?
One of my favorite “Far Side” cartoons made me realize how much cartoonist Gary Larson understood Border Collies. Beneath the drawing of a party attended by sheep, the caption read: “Henry! Total chaos at our party! No one knows when to eat, where to stand, what … Oh, thank goodness! Here it comes! a Border collie! (as the dog arrives at the door).
I read that Border Collies can be traced back to a single dog, “Old Hemp” who was born in 1893. Evidently, Old Hemp distinguished himself in herding trials by calmly looking at (or “keeping an eye on”) sheep and intimidating them into to move. . The sheep (known as “heads”) probably never knew what hit them and only later would they ask each other in baffled amazement, “How did we get here?”
I lived with a Border Collie for a day. I was in therapy for a month. Going from living with a race that only had a reputation for having eyes to spending time with one whose eyes never blinked was more than he could tolerate. It was like living with a portrait, its eyes following me everywhere. Only the Border Collie’s eyes really followed me everywhere. They were on top of me as I babbled into the kitchen. They followed me to the bathroom and then to the garage where I got into my car. Sixteen miles from home and I could STILL feel the dog’s eyes on me. To those who affectionately say that their religion or heritage instills guilt, I look down on them. Being watched by a Border Collie, now THAT made me feel like I had done something wrong, maybe I hadn’t moved fast enough from room to room.
The dog was a true love of his breed and I had agreed to take care of him as a friend. But towards the end of our time together, I pulled a few loose Puli laces over her eyes just to get through the day. I felt a little better when he “mixed in” with the other dogs, but something about him was still different from all the other dogs. I always knew when I saw something of interest in his posture: he did not raise his head, nor did he. Mostly, it bent its legs in five different places and crouched like a cougar stalking its prey. The first time I saw him do this, I could have sworn I heard the song “Jaws” floating in the air.
Our time together ended, his owner picked him up and they left. Weeks later, over lunch, he mentioned that his dog had developed some behavioral quirks that seemed to date back to the time he had spent with me and my dogs. When pressed for more details, I was shocked why I thought the dog had a problem. Sounded like a Puli to me.