Border Collies

This is a picture of Seamus shortly after he joined my family almost 13 years ago. He has slowed down the last few years but he is still a good dog. He is always at the back door barking when I come home. He seems to say "you are the most important thing in my life and I'm glad you made it home safe." When he was younger he used to gather my shoes on to his bed and chew the insoles out of them. We began to shut our bedroom door to keep this from happening. He still likes to peruse the trash cans for old tissue and dental floss. What's up with that??

Being a border collie he has needed his jobs over the years. His best and most useful, was waking me up in the morning. Paul used to have to leave at 5:00 a.m.. Paul would wake me up to say goodbye and then I would promptly go back to sleep. Seamus would then wake me up forty-five minutes later. He would begin by sitting next to my bed and stare at me. If you never have experienced border collie stares to get you to do what they want, let me tell you it is an experience. You can feel the eyes upon you and the urgency that they want you to comply. If I didn't wake up with the staring of the eyes, he would then proceed to nuzzle his nose on what ever body part he could get a hold of. If that wouldn't work he would begin to whine. Seamus did not bark for the first 10 years of his life. He would growl if he felt we were being threatened but would not bark. Now that he has found his voice, he uses it to make us comply to his wishes if his old techniques do not work.

His life now is pretty much sleeping, eating, and begging for treats. Paul has a soft spot for him and gives him treats on demands. Occasionally Seamus will get the energy to play one of his old games. He used to love hide and go seek. He would stay on his bed while I would go hide in the house. Once hidden, I would call his name and he would begin his search. He would run from room to room looking for me. Once he found me, he would run back to his bed to play again. The second time around, he would check the first spot to keep me honest and then search the house. Now, since his sight and hearing are not as good, he searches me out in a hide and seek fashion. It is not that we are playing a game, but he is looking for me to spend some quality time with him. He will curl up with me and sleep while I watch t.v. or surf the net.