A Dog With a Job

Charley my Heeler-Sheltie Mix has always loved watching "working dogs".  Whether we were at a competition for sheep herding or watching agility, Charley has loved watching it.  Always with quite of bit of intent.
When we first moved to the Island, we lived in a little studio apartment above a garage, and down the street there was a sheep farm, and when we went for a walk we would watch the dogs herding the sheep....it touched something in Charley, when we watched, I would imagine it was his football.
It was at a herding competition that I first starting thinking about goats.  Certainly I wanted to be a goat farmer....but I wanted Charley to have a job.  I would imagine my goat cheese label with a picture of Charley looking at the camera.  I called my pretend cheese "Smiling Dog Cheese".  When I was stressed at work, I would imagine Charley as my goat herder, as I spent the day milking goats and making cheese.  It was my escape fantasy.

Bring us to the present.  We have our beautiful goats.  I understand how much money it takes to create a goat dairy, and we are content to be a small family with goats who will give us milk we will experiment with.
Well, in all of this, I was so excited about Charley being our herder.  When I would visit my mentor and friend with the goat farm, I would bring Charley so he could acclimate himself to the goats.  He seemed to enjoy them, and there was always something about them he felt he needed to do, he just didn't know quite what it was.
When the girls first came, Charley was there, and he would stand back....again watching....trying to figure out exactly what he was supposed to be doing.  Unfortunately, after getting butted a few times by Layla, our protective mamma, he grew to be afraid of them, and wouldn't even go in their pen.
We have started letting the girls out, with a little portable fence, where they can graze on our blackberries, or enjoy some of our luscious grass.  When we would herd them from their pen, to the fence, we had Charley just stand back and watch.
Well....my husband has been coming home on his breaks, letting the girls out, and teaching Charley the finer points of herding goats back into their pens.

Today we were having what we call a "Heavenly Day".  We put together a milking stand and then put the girls in their fence area and just sat, having a beer, enjoying the few minutes before my husband, Gordon, had to go back to work.
When it got time for Gordon to go, we let the girls out of their fence and led them to the pen.  All except Daisy.  She wasn't ready.  So, when Cali and Layla went in, Daisy took off to the other side of their area.  Gordon was on the other side, as I tried to get Daisy to come to me.  I kept hearing Gordon calling for Charley, giving him commands.
Daisy got away from me, into a patch of nettles.  I saw her going towards Gordon.  I went to the gate of their pen.
All of a sudden there was Charley, with all the skill of any border collie, herding Daisy along to the gate.
I shut the gate and started singing for Charley, I grabbed his frisbee and threw it for him.....Gordon has taught Charley how to herd....he now is doing what I fantasized about all these years.  We all jumped a yelled.  He did it, he really did it!!!!
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  I'm so happy that after all these years Charley is the herder he always knew he could be....I love that my sweet husband, the chef, is also a dog whisperer and goat herder.  And Charley and I are living our dream, as small time goat farmers.  Dreams do come true.