Collies: The Ultimate Family Dog

A Blue Merle Collie - Like Rory in the Animal Justice Club novels

Over the years our family had four collies....or eleven if you count the puppies.

Robin, a tri-colored old soul gentleman, then Lancer, a tan and white, and Abby, a blue merle. One spring they had eight puppies; all tan and white.

I was homeschooling our four children at the time and we all got to witness a few puppies being born. The last one - the smallest one - wasn't breathing. So I did what I learned in 101 Dalmations...I held the wee one in my palms and rubbed and prayed.

That moment is seared in my mind. One of those moments where time seems to stand still and all involved are caught in a vacuum - no air, no sound, no movement.

Four children, ten, eight, six and four huddled in a small bathroom. Abby and the other seven pups in the tub. One small pup suspended between death and life. Then he gulped the first breath! The illusion of time standing still was broken as we all cheered and cried for joy.

In that moment I knew he was ours.

We found wonderful homes for his seven sisters and brothers but Little Bob remained.

It wasn't many months later that we lost Lancer to slug bait poisoning. I was devastated. He was my 'boon companion', my shadow. But Little Bob immediately tried to fill his dad's shoes, even though he was only six months old.

I have to address his name: Little Bob. All the children got to put names in a hat and we picked one out - it was Little Bob- the Jack Russell from Harry and the Hendersons. Our youngest, Rebekah, picked that name, but of course Little Bod did not stay little for long. In fact he grew to be one of the largest collies I'd ever seen!

What's amazing about rough collies is that it's like they are born trained to be the best family dogs: attentive to the children, calm, always smiling, by your side. They followed our kids on many adventures. We lived at the edge of a temperate rainforest and it was not uncommon to encounter black bears and, to a smaller degree, cougars.

There's a story about a cougar in Anna Wells and the Case of the Caterwaul. It is based on a true encounter Abby and Little Bob had on our property.

As a family we still talk about our collies and the impact they had in shaping our kids childhood. They were all such gifts from God.