Except for Rose, Fate may be the most intelligent dog I’ve ever lived with.

For months now, she’s figured out how to nose open the front door and the outer storm door in front of it and escape.

She’s not looking to run away; she causes no trouble. She wants to sit by the gate and be near the sheep she loves too much to herd. I decided to try to stop this; it could be dangerous for her if she got out and we didn’t know it or had gone away from the farmhouse.

Locking the door works, but we don’t luck up when we’re home or can see the dogs. Fate is as wiley as a rat, and she waits for us to be in our workplaces or not paying attention. Then she slithers out.

The other day, I came around the corner and thought I saw the inside door move. I tiptoed closer and saw Fate’s head pop up in the window glass, checking if the coast was clear.

“Caught,” I yelled, and the face vanished; she rushed back into the house, and when I came in – just a few seconds later, she was sitting innocently on a dog bed, relaxed and sleepy.

All those stories about border collies being smart are true if sometimes exaggerated. I hope Fate never gets her paws on the tool shed.