Baillie (therapy) and Faith (herding)
Beardie people really are special and Cindy Mendonca is a prime example! Although she didn't know us personally, and knew we had the motorhome, she invited us to stay at her home so that Scooch could run in her fenced yard, and was actually making dessert when I called to tell her we had arrived! We didn't stay at her house, but we probably should have - it was really late when we left, and we could easily have spent days with Cindy.
Besides feeding us, giving us tons of information, sharing funny and sad stories, and reminiscing with Bill about their days in the Air Force, Cindy had also arranged for Scooch to meet sheep - on the same side of the fence! She took us to Ann Witte's farm, and being a complete novice, I tried to stay back and let Cindy and Ann work with Scooch. Not a chance - this city girl was right there with the sheep in the pen! Not that I had any clue what I was supposed to do, of course.
According
to Ann, Scooch showed "a couple of flashes" of herding
instinct, but with the late hour, the heat and humidity, and the
distraction of Ann's many other dogs, it probably wasn't a fair
test. We'll try to check out herding possibilities at another
time.
At least we've had an introduction!
