Izzy

Ahem. I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the family. Meet Izzy.

Izzy appears to be a Border Collie. I say “appears” because I have no idea. He could be a mutt for all I know. 

He was observed wandering around the local gas station for three days by an alert acquaintance. The said acquaintance lured him into his pickup with a taco. However, said acquaintance also already has four border collies and his wife apparently draws the line at five. Perfectly understandable. 

So, said acquaintance tried to give the dog to my uncle, who said “I don’t want it, but my sister needs another dog like she needs a hole in the head. I’ll take it!” Or rather, “She’ll take it.”

He brought it to our house and said “Here you go.” My mother said “Take it back right now or you’ll be sorry.” Then the insurance agent showed up, distracted her, and my uncle made his getaway, sans dog.

And there you have it, the complete history of Izzy as I know it. 

My guess is that someone thought “Hey, Border Collies are smart and cute. I want one.” Then they figured out how difficult they really are to handle and finally decided the best course of action was to let him beg for tacos at the gas station.

Yes, he is smart. Yes, he is cute. But he needs a lot of work, patience and guidance.

The good news is that we could really use a Border Collie to help us out. It would be nice to have four extra paws to watch a gate when we’re feeding cows or rounding a herd up.

The bad news is Izzy has no idea how to do those things and I have no idea how to teach him. Fortunately, we’re both willing to try.

Hang on Izzy, old buddy. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long, wild ride.