I appreciate working animals for many reasons, one is that  after you have worked with them for awhile, you are in sync in a way that happens with very few living things, human or animal. You will notice perhaps that there are two dogs in this photo, Fate by the “Posted” sign and Red alongside me and my camera in the lower right hand corner shadows.

The photo speaks of the different ways in which working dogs relate to the people they work with. In recent days, I have been photographing what I call “Posted Art,” the signage that accompanies hunting season in the country. Some people allow hunters on their property (I do, if they ask) and some don’t. Posted signs are an art form all of their own.

Before this, Fate has never shown any interest in Posted signs, I have never seen her stop and stand by one. She clearly noticed what I was doing and saw my focus and joined in the work.

This morning, she went up to each sign we passed and stood by it, as if to call it’s attention to me or to mark it’s  presence. Red, on the other hand, always stops and sits by my side when I take a photo, waiting patiently for me to finish. I feel he is supporting my work, it’s not that he literally knows or cares what I am doing, but he senses it’s importance to me and respects my need to concentrate by being still. For a photographer walking dogs in the country, that is very supportive.

I am amazed at Fate’s alertness and observation, and her strong instincts to help. Border collies are like that. Red helps in a different way, by sitting  by my side. I am in sync with both of these dogs in a particular way, and it is one of the reasons I love working with working animals. People know this experience with dogs, cats, horses, Asian elephants and other domesticated breeds, and have for thousands of years.