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Sunday 14 July 2019

My Highlander wants...

a working collie.
I phoned him last night to say we would be there in September.  His news, his calm and lovely collie had come to the end of her life, her poor body was riddled with cancer.
 He was so sad, like so many shepherds he loved his dogs and treated them as pets.  On our last phone call we were talking about my wanting a dog.  He said the way to train a dog is through love not fear, that had been his way all his working life.  A couple of years ago his dog had had a litter of pups, one of which he offered to give to me.  At the time I wasn’t ready, added to which I thought it unfair to take a dog with a Highland life ahead to bring away from the environment it was bred into.  Sadly he didn’t keep one of the puppies for himself.  He is now struggling to find a working bitch, as so many folk are using quad bikes on the hill.
I suggested he put a advertisement in the local paper, that most definitely isn’t the Highland way.  He has asked at the market and the word is out.  The trouble is at eighty he hasn’t the time to train a new dog, so his only hope now is to find a shepherd who is retiring.  Most, you would think would be keen to keep their dogs as companionship in their retirement.

Me, being me, has written an advertisement for him.  It is in the post as we speak! Husband has advised against my usual approach... just do it without him 
knowing!?!  We do go back along time and I 
have  the greatest love and respect for him as he has for me.  Regrettably I think Hubs has a point... 
‘Don’t interfere LL!’  For once I will be 
sensible and follow his sage advice.




Any ideas?  Maybe, just maybe you know of someone... vain hope, but there you are!



10 comments:

  1. The local word of mouth is the way to go...he'll get a dog used to the hills and the life.
    Wishing him good fortune..a dog will find him, be sure

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I’m sure you’re right. I must try not to be all things to all men and try not to help which is my usual MO. It is so hard though when you care!

      LX

      Delete
  2. Do farmers have some means of keeping in touch with each other? For example, I know there are groups with a common interest have 'closed' Facebook pages that only people with the common interest can apply to join. Is there some kind of thing like that he could enquire at? I wish him good luck in his search. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The old bush telegraph works well in that neck of the woods. I well remember the first morning driving the ten miles to the local village walking into the shop and them saying ‘You must be the new people in ‘Sunnyside’. My flabber had never been more gasted!?!

      LX

      Delete
  3. https://www.preloved.co.uk/classifieds/pets/dogs/for-sale/uk/working+collies

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh err... you are a one, there’s only puppies for sale in Ludlow... now what?

      LX

      Delete
  4. I spent a long time on that web site. Good luck to your friend. That was too many memories of my own standard collie. A grand dog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too! Collies grand dogs indeed. Joanne, don’t they just leave a such a huge hole in your heart?

      LX

      Delete
  5. gz above had the most sensible advice. In other words stop interfering!

    ReplyDelete

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