All dogs are descended from wolves, even those “furbabies” people love to cuddle. Of all dogs, border collies are the most closely genetically linked to wolves, their prey drive and stalking behaviors are very similar. The final steps of prey drive, the grab and kill, have been bred out of border colliies, they stalk and hunt, but rarely kill. They are bred and trained not to ever seriously harm a sheep, and certainly not to kill one.

That is about all that separates them from the genetic composition of a wolf. Sometimes, The wolf comes out in Red, as when he is stalking and controlling sheep in a storm. He pays no mind to the weather or snow or ice, he is focused and the sheep looks at him and sees a wolf. That is how a border collie gets sheep to move, that is precisely the trait Fate seems to lack.

The sheep sees the wolf and moves in response.

It is beautiful to watch Red work in a storm, this morning, it was brutal out in the pasture, high winds, ice, sleet, bitter cold and driving snow. Red never blinked. He is a remarkable creature, as determined and wolf-like with sheep as he is intuitive and gentle with people.