For most of her life she worked with sheep in the hills: out at dawn and back at dusk, her tail low and her eyes on the flock. When age slowed her down, the family brought her to the farm to rest.
But resting has never really been her style.
That spring, a brood of ducklings hatched in the barn. Within days, the little dog had appointed herself their guardian. Every morning she waits outside the barn door until the line of ducklings appears. Then she walks behind them, gently nudging stragglers forward with her nose and leading the whole procession across the yard to the pond.
She does not chase them or bark. She simply follows the same patient route she once walked behind hundreds of sheep – now over a much shorter distance and at a considerably slower pace.
An old instinct and a new flock
Once the ducklings are in the water, she lies on the bank with her chin on her paws and watches them. When they come out again, she accompanies them back. Nobody taught her to do this, and nobody in the family has had the heart to tell her she is actually retired.
Sheepdogs are bred to keep animals together and guide their movements, and many are happiest when they have a job. For this little dog, the job has simply become smaller, softer and certainly noisier.
The ducklings do not seem to mind. If she is a few minutes late today, they wait for her outside the barn door.
