We took the sheep out to the back pasture this morning, no hay for the first time. Red and I have a new routine now, I find a spot on a nearby hill and he lies down there, he seems very happy to sit and watch.

He has a new relationship with the sheep. Sheep are astonishingly skilled readers of dogs, and the sheep react very differently to Red now that he is failing.

They don’t stand and watch him for signals and cues, they will graze very close to  him, and his stare has lost power and focus. He is blind in one eye and losing sight in the other.

They seem more like companions to them now, much like Fate is, and that Red is becoming. The tension between them is gone, Red has  a different relationship with them now.

They sense he is fragile, I think, and they simple accept this new kind of presence. It is sad for me to see, but also beautiful.