the old timers

As I always seem to write about the younger members of the sheepdog team, I thought it was  about time that the old timers got a mention!

Gail is now over 11 years old and moved into the kitchen several years ago. She spends most of her time sleeping, and eating just about anything that she can find, but still can’t resist the opportunity to come and lend a hand at work. She often arrives half way through a job, sometimes even deciding to gather the sheep in a distant field. The problem is that she now runs at not much more than a walking pace, so for some of her more ambitious outings she needs her overnight bag! Ernie is  over ten, and is still quite active despite his poorly front leg. He loves to come on every outing riding on the quod bike, and helps with the work as and when he pleases. His real forte is still helping with the training of the young dogs, and he will appear whenever I take one of the youngsters from the kennel, heading off to the field on front of us.

They have both been feeling the heat this summer, and with the ponds drying up in the recent dry spell, Gail in particular has been prone to taking a bath in the sludge at the bottom of the pond. This makes her most unpopular when she returns to roost under the kitchen table!  I’ve provided a shallow water bath in the yard for the pair of them, which they both retire to after any brief attempt at work, it may not keep them completely clean but at least Gail doesn’t leave a trail of mud across the kitchen floor!