A Dog And His Boy

Hank and I were horsing around last night after I got done feeding and I remembered that I'd forgotten about some fun shots I'd taken back in the late fall.

Hank was pretty feral when we got him. For the first few days he was here, he was tied up in the sheep shed, and for a couple weeks after that he drug around a long rope so that we could catch him. We didn't care if he became our best buddy, but wanted to make sure we could at least get ahold of him for routine or emergency veterinary care.

I don't remember now how long it took for him to adopt us into his flock. It doesn't seem like it was too long, but it also almost seems like he's been here forever. I do remember his first really cold, nasty evening. I went out to the barn to feed, expecting to find Hank shivering and miserable, huddled in the corner of a stall. I couldn't find him anywhere.

At the time he still had few sheep friends and as I searched all over I feared that between that and the weather, he'd given up and headed out looking for a better life. I finally caught a glimpse of him, racing around in big circles out in the field next to the barn with a huge smile on his face. Hank loves cold weather. I was so relieved to find him and find him not miserable that I went out and joined his fun. We've been playing ever since.



His favorite game is attack tag. He races in.



Jumps away just as you get close to tagging him.



Makes a big, fast circle.



Buzzes by again.



Darts away.



Races back.



And away.



Until he's had enough. Or maybe until he senses we've had enough. Then he trots over,



collapses in a fit of tickle giggles,



and gets up happy.

He especially loves to race around at dusk. I'm not sure if it's because he's rested up and just feeling good or excited to start the night's work or if he's just getting warmed up, sort of like stretching exercises. We love being part of his nightly (and daily) ritual.