I brought Fate to the Moses Farm stand in Eagle Bridge, N.Y., perhaps the best farm stand I have ever gone to. They are passionate dog lovers there, they always ask me to bring a dog to see them if I can. I brought Fate today, and it is great to see Fate’s s sweetness really emerge. She is a love dog in much the way Lenore was a love dog, only she has the activity level of the border collie. Labs are, in a way, too smart to do what border collies do.

Three people were surrounding her, she went over on her back to have her belly rub, she loves people in away that is not common to all border collies. Rose did not love people, she had little use for anyone but me and then Maria. She would not have gone near these women, or submitted to all of the cuddling and cooing that went on.

I love having a dog that loves people, the mission of dogs in my life is to bring smiles and connection and love to people. This was nice to see. We went to the pharmacy to check on Bridget – she is quite trained emotionally, she says it’s like an Irish wake in there – and then to the bookstore. Fate wiggled with delight at the sight of every living thing.