Melancholy Days Before the Border Collie
When my wife and I first met, we both lived by ourselves in our own separate apartments. We’d both grown up, partially, in the country, so we weren’t strangers to animals being around. In my family, we’d had about every kind of pet and animal you could think of. So much so, there were times I thought my mother might start building an ark in the backyard.
Becky and I dated for quite awhile before getting married. Like many people our ages, we both worked full time. In fact, we’d met working in a restaurant. Also, like many of our friends, a wedding was an added expense that we didn’t need.
We moved to Austin, living in an apartment and working in restaurants. Having both come from the same area, being in a city that was economically and socially bustling was a very positive change. We were able to take some college classes and save a little. We finally decided that we had enough to get married, and had a wonderfully, small wedding on the beach in Galveston.
Happily married, independent, young(ish), and living in one of the most incredible cities in the US, we were pretty satisfied with our lives. Not really wanting to complicate things too much, a baby was far out of the question. We bought a plant, and even named him George, but sadly, George wasn’t much of a conversationalist. We really felt like we needed something bigger, to make us feel like grown adults (but not too much).
Maybe We Should Get A Dog?
We had discussed getting a dog, but living in an apartment in a big city made that seem like a chore. Having grown up in the country, I don’t think either of us had ever put a dog on a leash, let alone walked it around the neighborhood with a poop-bag in tow. We decided that if we wanted to add a dog to our family, a bigger home was going to have to come first.
It wasn’t long before we found the perfect place to rent, just on the south side of Austin. A stand alone house in a quiet little neighborhood. It had an extra bedroom, a garage, and, best of all, a big backyard with a privacy fence around it. We signed the lease right away and started packing.
Now, my wife had a little experience with dogs growing up, but not to the extent that I had. As I said, my childhood memories almost seemed to have a pet store as the backdrop.
We’d had dozens of dogs growing up, several different breeds. I remember a cocker spaniel that my father had brought home one day. For some reason, she just took to me, which sort of irritated my father, as I know he had spent a decent amount of money on her. Just as much as that cocker spaniel loved me, she was just that rotten towards everyone else. She slept in my bed every night and wouldn’t budge for a command unless I spoke it.
We also had dachshunds, a rottweiler, Norweigen elkhounds, chihuahuas, a golden retriever, and more mutts that I could ever count. There was always one type of dog breed that we’d never gotten, and I’d always been completely enamored with. Border collies.
My First Experiences With Border Collies
When I was about 10, we moved into a different home on the outskirts of my hometown. It was a small two bedroom in an area that had been developed from mostly farmland in the last decade or so. There were houses fairly close together along a two-lane highway, giving the impression that it was a sort of neighborhood. But behind each house were acres of empty fields, unused grassland, and further back, a large forest.
Our neighbors on the right owned and trained horses. There was a boy there that was a few years younger than I was, and we sort of became friends by default. Sometimes we’d be playing in my yard, other times, over in his. But whenever we were over on his property, there were always these two beautiful black and white border collies around.
They were brother and sister and they were inseparable. Whenever the father was outside riding a client’s horse around a ring, training it not to rear, those dogs were lying in the shade nearby, watching him. When the boy and I would trek off into the woods behind his house, the collies would follow along. But whenever he crossed over into my yard, they’d always turn and head back to the yard. They knew, and it’s obvious to me now, that their job was to watch that area, along with the horses.
I was amazed at how well those border collies would listen. If the father made so much as a gesture, the dogs would spark to attention. They were never leashed or kenneled. They’d hang around the “farm” all day with whomever was out there. Then at night, they’d come inside and fall asleep on their individual pads on the floor. They never even thought about heading towards the highway (something that made me personally nervous having lost more than one pet that way).
Bringing Home Our "Baby"
We moved away from that house after a few years, and not ever having been that close, the neighbor’s and my friendship dissolved almost immediately. He was a few years younger, and this was long before cell phones became popular, let alone Facebook. One thing that had never left my memory was how impressed I was with those two border collies.
When my wife and I were thinking about getting a dog, I told her this story, quite obviously trying to steer the decision. She wasn’t really set on any specific breed, but after doing a bit of research, she was a little concerned. It’s fairly common knowledge, even to those poor souls who aren’t “dog people” that border collies are very high energy. They’re also one of, if not the smartest breed. I convinced her that having a dog that was basically a genius would make dealing with a little extra energy worth it. I’m quite persuasive, and she didn’t really need much convincing. A decision was soon made; we would be getting a border collie.
After scouring online advertisements, Facebook, and wherever people look to purchase a dog, we found a farm about an hour west in Blanco, Texas. We made plans to go look at some puppies that were several weeks old on a Sunday in April. After a hearty lunch of some Texas barbecue and sides, we headed out to the farm to see the dogs.
As soon as we pulled up, the mother and father were running along the car on their side of the fence. I parked and a woman who was the owner came out the side door. We made our introductions and were soon engulfed in a small herd of excited little border collie puppies.
The look on my wife’s face was one I’ve rarely seen. Her eyes were as wide and awe struck as a child watching fireworks for the first time. She’d never been around puppies like these and she couldn’t keep her hands off of them. One after another, two at a time, she was holding them, getting kisses, getting her fingers nibbled on. I’m sure if I would’ve even hinted at the suggestion of taking them all with us, there would have been no turning back.
While I have to admit, I felt a bit of those giddy butterflies while the puppies were crawling all over me, I had no desire to take them all. There was one particular female, the smallest of the litter that had something special about her. As soon as I picked her up, I knew.
“This one.” I said, looking Becky dead in the eye. “This is the one.”
“Really?” she asked.
“Definitely!” I answered, handing her the puppy.
She may have wanted to protest, mildly. Possibly, she thought that she should. But she didn’t. She smiled and held the border collie puppy close to her chest.
All the way home, myself in the driver’s seat, Becky holding our six week old border collie on her lap, we both knew we’d made the right decision. Even when the newest member of our family got car sick on my wife (on several occasions), and whimpered fearfully. We were as sure that we’d made the right decision as anything we’d ever done.
“Let’s call her Baby.” I said as we sped back towards Austin.
