by Peggy Godfey
Last Spring I began riding two herds of cows who were calving. An icy, muddy, windy seven weeks kept me horseback and checking for difficult births, abandoned and sick babies. Both my dogs went with me, staying back when I needed to ride close to cows with new calves.
By the time the weather warmed, both herds were accustomed to seeing the dogs.
Later, when moving cattle from pasture to pasture, the dogs helped me herd. Kay, a Border collie, works the cattle gently and with finesse. Her attentive responses to my commands are instant. Dingo stays by my horse until directed to help. Her style is on the order of a guided missile. After a couple of successful maneuvers, Dingo grew deaf to my commands. Her zeal to move the herd with nipping and barking took precedence over obedience.
One morning I hollered and threatened to make sausage out of her too many times to suit me. Next day I left her home. She moaned, sulked and pouted. On the third day, I let her go with me again. What a miracle! Her deafness was completely healed. Obedient, attentive–she developed into dependable help.
Herding is an inborn trait in many breeds of dogs. Town and city living, as well as a non-working rural life, can be extremely frustrating for these animals. This accounts for a great deal of the mischief they cause.
Whether man or beast, finding the best work to express innate abilities and energy results in effective living and resonates with freedom.
My Kay– by Peggy Godfey
Long time coming into your self-confidence
Timid among people, bold with livestock
You are the ever-moving fence behind them
Never barking, rarely nipping.
You have such good sense
Such natural affinity for your work
When you aren’t working at my command
I can trust you to sharpen your eye
But not hassle stock.
You read me well, teach me much
When you lay your head
Against my leg
I become grounded.
Both works first published in RANCH DOG, A Tribute to the Working Dog in the American West, Willow Creek Press, 2000.
Peggy Godfrey is a San Luis Valley free-range poet. Composting disasters provides a fertile medium for sprouting poems and stories, which are her personal version of value-added agriculture.
