We also have a dog. His name's Beast. He's a sheepdog. He's super cute. I love him.
Without the shepherd's dog, the whole of the open mountainous land in Scotland would not be worth a sixpence.
A border collie named Orson inspired me to buy a 110-acre farm with four barns and a sheep. That led to a series of books about Bedlam Farm and about dogs, rural life, lambing and herding sheep.
My first pet at home in Edinburgh was a dog my dad had called Glen. He was a small sheepdog and went with my dad every day to work as manager of a cooking centre, which made the children's lunches for schools.
A shepherd may be a very able, trusty, and good shepherd, without a sweetheart - better, perhaps, than with one. But what is he without his dog?
Jacob is a German Shepherd. (I have never understood why they aren't called German Sheepdogs. What do the Germans call shepherds?)
We have Beast, our Hungarian sheep dog. And he is so talented. He's so smart. He knows his daily schedule. He has an extracurricular activity. He goes herding. He herds sheep. And we've been told that he's quite gifted.
A sheepdog trial is the most difficult test of a man and dog ever devised.
