January 12, 2010
Over State Lines
Husband's sister ML is a professional Herding Dog Trainer. Like in the movie "Babe," but with dogs instead of a pig. You didn't know that was even a real job, did you? Yes, yes, it is. There are, apparently, enough professional shepherds in the world to necessitate a professional herding dog trainer. It's a world so far outside my own that I barely comprehend it.
Anyway, ML owns a ranch, complete with sheep and geese. (Geese are what they use to train the very small puppies who might be intimidated by big-ass sheep. See how much you're learning? My blog is educational!) And all my jokes about rural life aside (and there are puh-LENTY) -- she is the SHIZZLE. If you owned a dog that actually herded and didn't sleep in your bed and eat homemade, organic food and wear little sweaters, you would know who ML is. She is The Dog Yeller.
She owns eight dogs, all working dogs. Two Great Pyrenees, five Belgian Tervurens, and one Border Collie. The Collie and one of the Tervurens are CHAMPIONS in their field (pun intended). The Great Pyreanees are employed to protect the sheep. They live with the sheep and keep the coyotes and wolves and eagles away.
(Sadly, there are no protective dogs living with the geese, and last summer, a couple of eagles made off with the entire flock. BWAAAAAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! Oh my God, rural life just never gets un-funny! I shouldn't be laughing, as it is expensive to replace a flock of geese, but that is one thing that us suburbanites and city slickers never have to worry about -- finding our goose's entrails hanging from a tree. See? FUNNY!)
Meanwhile, back in civilization, The Boy Child and The Spare continue their tormenting of their own dog, as well as my dogs. These boys luuuuuuuv dogs. So what better field trip to take them on than to a RANCH with EIGHT DOGS! It's every little boy's dream, right? Dogs big enough for them to ride! Woo-hoo!
And if we go in the beginning of April? In addition to wonderful doggies and barnyard animals? There will be BABY LAMBIES!!! ML is mating 40 of her sheep this month, and is therefore expecting 40 baby lambies the first few weeks of April! And don't even think of correcting me and telling me that a baby sheep is a kid. I don't care. It's a BABY LAMBIE!!!
So, being the awesome aunt that I am, I wrote an email to Billi outlining my idea for an outing to the wilds of Indiana. I included a lovely description of the scenery, the wilderness to explore, the dogs, the sheep, the baby lambies. But I made sure that she knew it would also involve a trip across state lines, a sleepover at a ranch, a gorge on the property big enough to hide bodies in, and various and sundry carnivores.
I mean, these are her babies I'm potentially absconding with, and I'd understand completely if she was apprehensive about letting me take her blessed treasures three hours away into coyote country.
Here is my sister's reply, verbatim:
Please. Take my children.Their spring break is that week of March 29 - April 2.
Go! Take them! Spend the night! Have fun!
Wow. I don't even think she talked to Brad first. She just hit reply and started doing her happy dance.
Why do I get the feeling that I'll be ending some future blog post with the words "...and she left no forwarding address"?
Comments
Sounds like fun! I actually had Sherlock in a pen with sheep twice. His breed isn't bred for herding anymore so there aren't any trainers willing to work with me, otherwise I would have tried it. It's ueber expensive to hire a trainer, they teach the dog and you - it was harder than I thought, but fun.
One word of caution. Poop. Sheep poop as they walk and they poop a lot! They also bump in to you and don't give a shit you were in their way. If you go in a pen with them, you will smell like an animal and poop. I really had a hard time with the poop.
Posted by: Hope at January 12, 2010 04:10 PM
Lambies works. Baby sheep are lambs. Baby goats are kids. Jeebus is the Lamb-O-God, not the Kid-O-God. Sounds like a good trip ...even with the poop.
Posted by: Herc at January 12, 2010 10:12 PM