He pesters the cat, growls at wildlife, lies on his back in your arms like a baby (all 50 pounds of him), chases balls endlessly, splashes in ponds, watches you carefully, loves the rain and snow and cold, cold weather, has unbridled enthusiasm for any new game, is tough as nails physically and a softie emotionally, and I’m certain his breed is the reason the term “dogging me” was coined. Although, at the grand old age of two years,  he’s not quite as tenacious about following my every step.

Today, I’d like to introduce Zeke. He’s a Border Collie of which I have part-time care and the first one I’ve ever gotten to know. He started off in life being groomed to herd cows at the dairy where I worked at the time, but that didn’t work out and now he has another owner. Since I am home much of the time, I still spend a few hours a day caring for him while his current owner works his day job. Caring for Zeke… well, if you’ve ever owned one you know Border Collies have a LOT of energy. We spend a couple of hours a day playing and walking and even then he’s still looking for “more.” And I’m constantly amazed at how smart he is. Just a little bit of working with a command and he has it down. I’ve heard from many owners and former owners of the breed who say their Border Collie was the smartest dog they ever owned.

Some of their most endearing traits are:

• Their intelligence
• Tractable nature
• Easily trained

Some of their challenging traits:

• Not suitable for a laid-back lifestyle
• Need for huge amounts of physical and mental stimulation
• Can be overly shy and sensitive

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened. Anatole France

Having Zeke in my life is a sweet blessing. He gets me out of the house, he gets me exercising (never my first choice of what to do with my day), and he has a lot of love to give and take. Brigitte is not his biggest fan, but she’s learned to accept his part-time presence and is finally secure in the fact that I won’t allow him to pester her without end. (A little pestering is good for the old lady 🙂 ) Click on the photo to get a real good look at her expression here…

A Border Collie would not have been my first choice of a dog to have as they absolutely require much mental and physical activity and are much better served when they have a job such as herding sheep or cows. This guy is with me for a reason, though, and I’m grateful for his exuberant presence in my life.