Someone asked me to describe Red in one word, and I answered quickly: kind. For all the authority he shows to the sheep, he is kind, there is a sweetness and generosity about him that Dr. Karen Thompson described to me when she told me that he was the dog for me. This is the best description of him. He is exceptionally kind to people, so many are drawn to touching him and looking into his eyes. He is kind to me and all of the animals here.

He is poignantly kind in his therapy work. He even kind to his sheep unless somebody challenges or defies him, and then he can be firm, but never firmer than he needs to be. I caught him looking up at me this morning in the light coming through the window, and I thought the photo captured the kindness in him.