In my rabbit trail though process tonight, I was reminded of my introduction to this breed I have come to love.

It was at the Firestone farm in Greenfield Village. I was probably 7 or 8 and there for the day with my family. Walking through the farmhouse, there was a little black and white dog curled up under a table. My brothers and I looked, but otherwise ignored as that’s what we’d been taught to do with dogs we didn’t know.  We asked her owner a few questions and then watched their wool spinning demonstration.

A few other kids entered the room, made a beeline of the dog and were promptly told by the owner to leave her alone as she was a working dog.

A few minutes later, they got up to take the dog to a quiet area of the barn and invited my family to come along (it pays to have good dog manners!). We watched the little dog in action working sheep and I was enthralled.  And then we went and petted lambs.

Nearly a few decades later?  I’ve owned the sheep, raised the lambs, processed wool every step of the way from shearing to finished garment.

Then there’s the dogs. They’ve been my right hand partners and companions for over 15 years now. From barn checks at 2 AM, to collecting and holding the sheep while I wormed and vaccinated, to putting on demos for school groups, to keeping me company through the long boring hours of college homework, to searching for missing people and being ambassadors for working dogs. They’re the best.