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Baird'sBears
I couldn't resist sharing . . . my little sister Barbi (she's only 51) rescues and fosters abused Border Collies. Four of her rescues just passed their first sheep-herding trials!! This is a huge victory, considering that these dogs are basket cases when they come to Barbi. She performs miracles in canine rehabilitation.
Here's a pic of Barbi at the trials with rescued dog Petey!
Baird'sBears
:doh: Trying again . . . :redface:
Posts: 3,177come by Shep, come by - whistle whistle whistle 
Baa Ram Ewe! Baa Ram Ewe! (this will only mean anything to you if you have seen the film Babe)
Do you know that in Britain we had a TV programme that ran for years Eileen, it was called 'One Man and His Dog' and it was real sheepdog trials with real sheep, and dog obviously, it was a cult hit - hence the 'come by' reference!
We once had a sheepdog sorry, Border Collie, her name was Bess and she was a fabulous dog but she kept trying to herd the 2 kids and 7 cats and got very upset when she got told off for it. The kids were only young so she frightened the heck out of them and the cats - well, you can imagine!
We rehomed her with a good friend of ours who is a shepherd where she turned into a terrific sheepdog, had a fantastic life and her offspring are still bounding around on the farm - we still see one of them and the others all went to working farms.
We loved her but she needed endless instruction and excercise and we just could'nt give it to her. Border Collies are wonderful dogs but can be basket cases if not cared for properly. They need CONSTANT working or they get bored and go quietly mad, poor things.
I think your sister is fabulous Eileen, say Hi to her from me and tell her that i know how hard it is to work with these dogs and how rewarding they can be. In fact - give her a big hug, she's a little treasure!
:hug:
Penny 
How fantastic!
I love border collies too.
We had a similar show here too Penny (this being the country with more sheep than people 
) It was imaginatively titled "The Dog show" and every NZer over a certain age could hum the theme song for you! Ours aired on Sunday night before Walt Disney and I learnt the catch phrase "she's a toey one", but my favourite sheep chasing phrase?? "rattle your dags!!"
Jazzy RagsWhat a lovely kind lady
Posts: 3,177Melissa - what on earth does 'rattle your dags' mean 
?????
Sounds funny though 
Penny 
Kiprie BearsIt's a miracle ! :clap:
Thanks for sharing heart warming story. :love:
Hugs/Marie
Past Time BearsWhat a great photo, Eileen! Your sis is gorgeous . . . guess it just runs in the family! She is to be commended for her rescue/rehabilitation efforts - that is wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Penny, I saw Babe twice and loved it both times . . . so I know what "Baa Ram Ewe" is!!
Texas has a huge State Fair and it ended just a week ago (runs three weeks and 4 weekends). We go every year and always watch the Sheepdog Exhibitions. Those Border Collies are just amazing and I love the way the handlers give them signals with their whistles! Smart animals!
Baird'sBears:hug: Thanks, girls :love:
I'm so proud of young Barbi, I could explode. She gives her all to the animals of Ava, Missouri and surrounding communities, raises Arabian horses and gives them away to good homes :wacko:, and gives those dogs more attention than most people give their kids.
Her own dogs, Bear and Amazing Gracey, are trained therapy dogs, and Barbi takes them to prisons, nursing homes, disabled children's facilities, to do their tricks and generally brighten people's lives. She's just about convinced the Missouri prison people to let the inmates foster animals. She appears in court against animal abusers, and knows more about animal-related law than the local judge, who adopted one of her border collies last year!
She's an ex-emergency medical technician and deputy sheriff, married to a lovely man who pays all those vet bills and keeps them one step away from bankruptcy!
Penny, when John and I last visited the UK, I watched dogs and sheep until they dragged me away from the telly. One of the funniest things I've ever seen was a Letterman show featuring 'stupid pet tricks', which are rarely stupid. Two border collies herded a half-dozen sheep from Letterman's studio into a waiting NY taxi!!
Eileen
Posts: 3,177EILEEN - i can't see a piccy of your sister - she's not disguised as a sheep is she?????
Do we have to guess which sheep she is? - if so, i bet she's the cute all white one at the front, she looks like she's leading the flock.
Or maybe the brown one? I like the look of her too.
I've had a lot to do with sheep over the years you know. I have hand reared many lambs for our friend the shepherd, watched them being born and have been chased by hormonally challenged rams ooo-er! One in particular i named Colin as it suited him for some strange reason, he was a handsome chap but of course i had to say 'Thanks but No Thanks' to him. haw haw haw
My youngest son when he was about 4 years old had a right hammering from a sheep - their heads are as hard as nails and this one took a dislike to poor Christopher and decided she was going to knock him from here to next week - poor kid took a few head on blows from her before he fell over. We spent about 7 hours in the local ER thanks to that bloomin sheep and i blame her for the obnoxious behaviour he displayed in his teenage years!!
Anyway, i loves Sheep and sheep dogs
Penny :hug:
Baird'sBears
Poor Christopher :hug:
I've never heard of sheep-butting as a cause of adolescent behavior, Penny, but you might have discovered something medically significant!! I was butted by goats, which might account for my adolescent obnoxiousness . . .
Barbi is the one with the golden fleece. I think the pic shows them just beginning or just finishing the trial. Not sure, but I do know that it was Petey who passed the test, not Barbi!!
I'm so jealous. 
I'm really seriously sheep-deprived, and have to be physically restrained whenever I see one. Love the things. I broke away from the Hubs not long ago, when we were visiting one of those restored pioneer villages, got over the fence and had a chat with and elderly-looking ram and ewe. I didn't get too close, since the ram urinated copiously when he saw me!
Are the rams anywhere near as scary as Billy Goats? When I was last in Ava, Barbi took me to a nearby farm, where two of her colts were being socialized and saddle-trained (away from Mom!). The black colt, Hawk, had become best friends with the resident Billy Goat. This foul-smelling, evil-looking, massively-horned beast liked to stand under Hawk and rub his horns gently on Hawk's belly! They were inseparable.
I think it's true that a born herder doesn't make the greatest pet! Some of Barbi's dogs are naturals, but most are not. She's got a combination of herders, hunters (moles, usually) and lovers, with lovers in the majority. Next dog I adopt will be one of hers.
Eileen
Posts: 3,177We used to keep a couple of goats Eileen, just as pets.
They were white and i think they were what is called British Saanen breed though i'm not sure as we rescued them from a bad home and did'nt care about what type they were.
They were HUGE! especially the billy goat who was called Hoover because he sucked up anything in sight and ate it - we had his mum too, her name was Cabbage and she was an ABSOLUTE SWEETY PIE. We loved her to bits and although we loved Hoover too he was a very naughty aggressive old thing at times.
One day i had been doing some gardening and had a wheelbarrow full of grass cuttings and i had to walk past him to get to the compost heap which was at the top of the garden - i usually had to run past him as he would always chase me and give me a good hard butt on the butt! I thought i had got the dash down to perfection but on this occasion he was really crafty, pretending he had'nt noticed me with wheelbarrow so i did'nt do my usual 100 metre dash - all i can remember was that one minute i was on my feet and the next flat on my back looking at the sky !!! He was a real old bugger
They both lived to a very ripe old age - Hoover lived until he was 15 but had to be put to sleep bcause his back and legs could no longer support his huge frame( he was the size of a small pony) so he could'nt walk or stand anymore, and Cabbage lived until she was 18 she developed cancer bless her - the vet said they were probably the oldest goats he had known
We loved em to bits and had a lot of laughs with them - Hoover once butted a friends son so hard he flew through the air, he did'nt hurt himself but it taught him not to poke goats with a stick :D
As for sheep, we are surrounded by them Eileen - they are very dumb animals but i like them too. I find their antics very funny, quite often my hubby has to go and rescue one that has flipped over onto it's back and can't get up again (they explode if you don't get them up, something to do with gas build up in their stomachs) - or they throw themselves in the lake and he has to wade out and stop them from drowning under the weight of their wet fleece.
Ah, don't you just love the country girls? Daft sheep, mud, lots of animal poo and not a decent department store for miles!!!
Penny
Baird'sBears I sounds like Heaven, Penny!
I'd take the animals and the poo and the mud over the city any day :thumbsup:
Eileen
bears by beesley TMHow awesome is that! Also, what a beautiful lady! This is something that I would love to do on our 13 acres here but Garnet says our 4 family dogs that live and literaly run the house hold must go first!
Many Hugs Louise
Bumpkin BearsGreat photo Eileen - it took me back years to when I used to help out on the farm next to my Granny's home in Dorset, England. I used to spend days out in the fields running around trying to herd the sheep with the help of the not so helpful collie called Queenie - but she was lovely anyway! I always helped out in the Spring with the lambing season too and I got the job of feeding any orphan lambs with the bottles of milk - hard life he 
oooo they were soo sweet. Now that I live in Belgium there are a few sheep in the field behind our garden but they make the strangest unsheepy noise - more like a pig grunting/snuffling than a sheep baaaing - can give me quite a fright when I am out in the garden and suddenly hear them!!!
Catherine
Posts: 8,574Eileen
There's surely a special place in heaven for an angel like your sister.
Just as surely there's a specail :twisted: place someplace else for those who are cruel to animals, kiddies and our elderly.
Youv'e every right to feel proud of this lady!
Matilda Huggington-beareI remember always watching the sheep dog trials. I love that show. Also loved BABE.
Your sister Eileen is one very special lady. I use to watch Animal hospital with Rolf Harris. I would always end up crying. 
Baird'sBears
Thanks, all! :hug:
Barbi is one very special lady. People call her, instead of the police, when they've seen or heard of a case of animal abuse. She strong-arms the police out to the site, after making sure the paperwork is done properly, then makes sure the case reaches the courts, and testifies against the abuser. Some of her stories are hair-raising, but she really makes a difference!
Eileen
Rufnut Teddy's
How wonderful Eileen, your sister is very kind, I have two border collies, they are the most loving intelligent dogs I have ever had. Mine are more show dogs than herding. The Red and White girl would rather round me up and her housemate.
Baird'sBears Wow, Karen!
What beautiful dogs! Thanks for the piccies!
Eileen
