Bridget sent along a photos and videos of ‘Vermont Girl’ Cait enjoying herself in an unusual amount of snow for Martha’s Vineyard.

The sweetest pup in an extraordinary litter by Clwyd Bob and Nel, Josh, went to his new home with Valerie in Massachusetts.

Valerie has a 21 acre horse farm on the Blackstone River. She has had Aussies and rescues before. Josh is her first Border Collie. Valerie’s kindness and love of all things animal told meJosh is going to have great life!

Josh was sure he didn’t want to leave, but he will forget us here in Vermont and in no time …and he will be adored.

Valerie writes on Day 1: “Josh just took his 1st steps willingly to the horse fence. He could not believe his eyes & could not take them off of all 3 who came up to check him out. Wish I had taken the phone for pictures!!”

On a cold and cloudy winter day, when there were kennel accidents galore overnight, an email from Lucia arrived with a video of her Zoe (Meg x Jack) in pure delight, herding a ball around the house. AWESOME!! Way to cheer me up Zoe!

Lucia says: “Zoe herds the ball and everyone in the park, mainly adult humans!”

A story in The NY Times about a secret plan to buy up a farming community 1 hour outside of San Francisco for development of a new town is numbing. This is a purported solution to the housing crisis in the Golden State.

Something similar almost happened here in Vermont when an out-of-the-mainstream LDS [church did not support this] millionaire (billionaire?) started to buy up farms and property around the Joseph Smith birthplace to establish is utopian (I would say dystopian) vision of a 40,000 person new city. Feisty and enterprising locals (and clever land attorneys) stopped him when they found out what he was doing. Vermont knows how to be hostile to development.

There was even more money at stake in California and tech titans funding it. The mob doesn’t like to loose its money, and sadly, the bad guys won in California. Farmland premiums and developer bullying were too much.

Sean left today with Patti for his new home in Connecticut on a family compound of over 100 acres along a river. Patti had been searching for a year for a border collie to replace her last (and best). She first found Jimmy, but it was Sean who stole her heart: his strong frame, attentiveness and balanced temperament.

While we freeze here in snowy Vermont, Cait, Bridget, Galen and Pearl enjoy the quiet season on Martha’s Vineyard. Cait who was improbably found after 4 days and nights out in freezing temperatures, is thriving in her second chance life at the inn on the Vineyard with her new family. Pure happiness in the video Bridget sent.

Jullian sent me an update on her pup Venti from the Clwyd Bob x Nel litter. Maybe the most handsome border collie I have ever seen! Jullian (half Italian) taught Venti how to say “hi” for the camera: Ciao Venti!

During the off-sheep season (Nov – April), the dogs need to stay fit and stimulated. That means games at home throughout the day and walks at places like the Dartmouth Woods. They wait on the patio –mostly patiently– until I come out and lead the games.

Feels like I get older and they get younger. By the time we get home after a 3 hour hike on the Dartmouth mountain bike trails, my legs and feet ache. They are ready for ‘the next thing’. Eesh!

Brave young Cait who survived 4 days and 4 nights and a snowstorm out in the sub-freezing New England winter goes off to a fine life with Galen and Bridget, innkeepers on Martha’s Vineyard, and their border collie Pearl.

Cait was diagnosed with Aortal Stenosis, a constriction of the aorta giving her high blood pressure for life. She needed a home and humans who could make sure she got the moderate lifestyle and care that would give her a long life. Bridget and Galen are the perfect home for Cait. She will be treated with an abundance of kindness and love. Just what she deserves.

Thank you Bridget and Galen for taking Cait and her beautiful spirit into your lives and care.

Thank you sharp-eyed biology doctoral students who found Cait on Thanksgiving Day and gave her a second chance.

Thank you Dr’s Freeman and Rush at Tufts Foster Small Animal Hospital for getting Cait right in, diagnosing the problem and putting her on the right program.

And THANK YOU New England Border Collie Rescue for making the connection!!

If you don’t see a pup or dog you want here, please check out the dogs available for adoption at NEBCR –a super organization.

My three keeper pups for 2023 on a walk today at Dartmouth College. They are littermates from my Nel x Dewi Jenkins’ Clwyd Bob. In front, Sue (bass) and Mike (piano). Pete in the back (on drums), looks smaller but is every bit as big as Mike. They can go (perform) anywhere; they simply delight me.