I met Old-Time Scotch Collies for the first time one summer day about 5 years ago. I was with a group of friends in a little park which was often frequented by other crunchy homeschool moms on play dates and one of the moms there that day had a pen set up with several adorable puppies inside. A few of the puppies were being scooped up and taken by various families. Apparently it was go-home day for several puppies. A few were left behind and they were some of the cutest puppies I had ever seen, but I wasn't sure what they were. Collie? Border Collie? English Shepherd? I questioned the mama owner and we began a long conversation about this dog I'd never seen or heard of before: an Old Time Scotch Collie, the original farm dog, she said.
At this very moment I was going through a major neighborhood battle over our gigantic Great Pyrenees, Sassafras. It had escalated to such a point that a local man (related but did not actually live on the road) was so incensed by Sassy chasing his ATV (on the road that split our land but which was also a private road to 3 other homes) that he jumped screaming from his ATV and pulled a gun. A wonderful way to begin our Saturday morning and a lovely thing for our young kids watch as they ate their pancakes. Tim and I were equally incensed as we went out to meet the irate man and reason with him. The conversation in the middle of the private road soon gathered 4 more neighbors, one being his aging father. Although this was not the first encounter with the angry man, it was the first time that the other neighbors finally let us know that Sassy was not only harassing angry man, but had become a nuisance to everyone. Trespassing, bothering their pets, intimidating them on their own property (she was harmless but very large and had a big bark - she could intimidate if she felt threatened). Apparently this had been going on for the last year or so and the only person who had the nerve to say anything was the angry relative who didn't like his hunting interrupted. I can honestly say that Tim and I had no idea. We knew she bothered angry man but since he didn't live on the road, we weren't overly concerned. He came and went occasionally and we always told him to let us know when he was hunting and we would put her up for him. The revelation that she had been antagonizing everyone for some time was a lot to take in. Everyone couldn't stand her. Which was so hard to believe because anyone that came into our home absolutely adored the big lovable goof and I never had any trouble with people and Sassy. However, I had been feeling a very aloof treatment from my formerly very friendly neighbors for some time and suddenly it became obvious what the underlying problem was.
Well, ugh. We felt absolutely terrible. Looking back I know we made a lot of mistakes and we were very irresponsible as dog owners. We definitely had a carefree "we live in the country now, all dogs roam" "what's your's is mine and what's mine is your's" attitude that was unappreciated by the oldtimers we had intruded upon. We were young and stupid and I'm ashamed of our lackadaisical attitude up to that point.
We took immediate steps to try to remedy the disaster. We have a very small house and 8 people. A large dog inside was just too much - Sassy had to stay outdoors. We kept Sassy tied up when we weren't home and when we were, I tried very hard to monitor her. Especially when anyone drove by, as that seemed to be the hot point - her chasing their vehicles and barking as they drove by. I bought an electric collar and attempted to break her of it. It was exhausting to maintain as people came and went quite frequently on the road and I was homeschooling with 6 and one was
an infant at the time. But I was committed to not having her always on a chain as our last few dogs had been - especially since her purpose as a Livestock Guardian was completely pointless if she was unable to be free to move around the property and protect. If we had a large fenced area for our animals that would have been ideal but we simply did not have the funds to complete such a project and she wouldn't stay in the electric mesh fencing with our goats. The last straw was when angry man drove by video taping Sassy and I. I just couldn't handle the scrutiny and stress of keeping an eye on her any longer. She had to go. We did find a good home with a young couple with a big back yard that liked to hike. I was thankful but it was hard to watch the sadness in my kids' eyes when we said goodbye. I felt like a failure. Again.
Needless to say, I was completely burnt out on dogs and couldn't imagine having another one. I was intrigued but also very skeptical about all of the wonderful things my friend was telling me about these collies. It seemed unlikely that they could be as good as she said they were. And they probably required a ridiculous amount of training that I simply didn't have time for. My most recent experience made that glaringly obvious. Besides that, unless we moved (which we had seriously considered) that stupid road through the property was going nowhere - a constant source of problem with any dog, I don't care how good they are. Nope, our little farm would simply have to do without a dog. I would have no more of it. I would go out and shoot the possums and skunks myself. But welcoming another unpredictable creature onto my property was not going to happen.
However, I did tuck the name Old-Time Scotch Collie away in my brain. Just in case.
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