I was thinking a lot about Fate over the last few days, and one of the things I thought it is that it must, in some ways, have been difficult for her to have Red as a big brother.
Red transcended the normal issues that arise between people and their dogs, he simply intuited what people wanted from him and offered it without argument or complaint. He herded the sheep, did his therapy work, was my very loyal companion and alter ego in some ways.
He seemed to know how to do everything that was asked of him.
If Red was the much accomplished big brother, Fate has always been the complex and independent adolescent. Fate filled the role of the fun dog, her sheep-chasing became something we all thought was adorable. I stopped pushing her past that.
I have this feeling that I blew it with my training of her, I backed away too soon and too sharply. The truth is, when you have a dog like Red, you tend to get lazy about training another dog.
Bud has brought out my training instincts again, and now I have this growing feeling that it’s Fate’s time.
Fate is just as remarkable a dog as Red but in a different way. She has just as big a heart as he did, but a different temperament. She is intense and active, she has a mind of her own, she is the smartest dog I have ever lived with.
But she is a puzzle-like the smartest girls often are. There was nothing complex about Red.
Fate has enormous instincts but refuses to focus it on herding sheep. She is smart enough to stay close to Maria on their walks, guide her home when she gets lost, and stay off of her quilts when she’s in Maria’s studio. They are a great pair, no need to mess with that.
I’ve never had a dog, including Red, who loves people more. Yet Maria is content with Fate and loves her just as she is, I have always expected more from Fate – she comes from champion herding stock in Wales – and by indirection, from me. I guess I don’t understand her the way I understood Red or even Bud.
Recently, she startled me by doing some beautiful therapy work with little training or experience. Today, she startled me again by pushing the sheep out of the pole barn, something she has never wanted to do before.
I’ve seen her as a kind of magnificent teenager, funny and individualistic, and my confusion about her caused me to back off of working with her or training her much more. She is, after all, Maria’s dog, and will remain that way, the two fit together beautifully.
But I know that dogs become what we want them and need them to become, I take responsibility for that. Perhaps it’s time for me to change.
Maria and I have been talking about Fate as Red weakened, and Maria would love for her to meet her extraordinarily potential and be more than the funny dog who won’t herd sheep. She has always believed in Fate as a working dog with great gifts to offer. She has always seen me as keeping my distance from her.
I love Fate, I think she has just confounded me. Yet, I know dogs change when the pack changes, dogs can rise up and fill a void, a dog-like Fate is capable of just about anything if she decides to go for it, and if her trainer doesn’t screw her up.
I think I’m afraid of doing that. I think I might have already done it, which is why I hold back with her sometimes.
I told Maria that this was up to me much more than Fate, she will pick up what is inside of me, and I know she loves to work, just as much as Red did.
Fate has all the tools she needs to be anything – brains, heart, instinct – it is really a question of whether I can find a positive and effective way to guide her and help her fill the void in our dog life. I have no idea if we will get another dog or not, or whether it will be a border collie or a Lab or a rescue dog or something else.
I think dogs appear when they are needed. I would like to give Fate the chance to shape her own fate, I think if this is a direction we want and are open to, she will come to it of her own accord.
With Fate, this is something to explore, carefully and knowingly. I don’t want to push her into anything or put pressure on her. What I need to do is wait, and give her to chance to rise to the moment, or just keep on being the wonderful and fun and loving dog she is.
Today, I took her up to the sheep and saw her push them out of the barn. More importantly, I saw them let her push them out of the barn. She even gave Zelda a bit of lip, which I haven’t seen before either.
Is this coming from me, or is this coming from Fate? I don’t know. I’m open to it being Fate’s Time, I’ll share the process.
Whatever happens, the pressure is on me, not her.
My condolences to you and Maria, Fate and Bud and the others animals on the loss of Red
Fate did not need to work as she knew that it was Reds job. He is watching and will be interesting to see if he passes on the baton. In her work he will live on.
I cried for Red today although I never knew him. I have lost several dogs to death and been unable to cry; your descriptions and pictures of Red have made him real for me and I was able to cry for all my lost loved ones. He had a wonderful life with you. Thank you for sharing,