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A trip to WalMart on a sunny summer day in 1996 resulted in us bringing home more than we'd planned from our shopping trip. A rancher in the parking lot had more to offer in a cardboard box than anything that WalMart ever sold to bargain hunters. A wriggling mass of black and white love in the shape of a litter of 8 week-old border collie puppies awaited new, loving homes.
Dan was 14, and had been begging for a husky pup for ages, but when he saw the pups in the cardboard box he knew he had to bring one home. For $10, he could have his own pup, and a dog's lifetime of love and adoration. As usual, he managed to convince his mom that he should get what he wanted.
As he picked each wriggling bundle of puppy breath out of the box and held it close to him, one pup in particular caught his attention. The dominant male of the litter begged for attention. The rancher had jokingly named him "Mr. T" because of his assertive personality. After we finished our shopping inside, we checked on the progress of the puppy sale, and although one or two had found new homes during that time, Mr. T was still available. Reluctantly I gave in, and before I could even think about it, Dan and his new companion were seated happily in the car, enroute to Mr. T's new home.
The first thing Mr. T got was a new name. "Rex" was chosen because Dan had watched the movie, Babe, not too long before, and one of the border collie characters was named Rex. Rex was introduced to the other canine members of the household and was promptly accepted into the pack. So began Rex's life with his new family.
Time passed, and Rex learned all he needed to know about being a dog. He is incredibly intelligent, and he learned new tricks almost faster than Dan could teach them to him. Roll over and play dead; shake... shake other (paw).... shake both (paws); "Cat"/"Gato"/"Chat" (written or spoken) means go fetch Regina, his pet cat; get your leash, give me that, lay down, come, sit, stay, etc. The list is so long I don't even remember all the things Rex knows how to do on command.
Having a border collie in the family is a challenge. They are always looking for things to do, and short of working on a sheep or cattle operation, they rarely have opportunity enough to expend their boundless energy and challenge their highly intelligent minds. Neurotic behaviors are almost par for the course if you own a smart, hyperactive dog like a border collie. Rex is no exception. He gets on the counters like a cat and snoops around, stealing anything that interests him (and feeling so guilty about it when you walk into the room that you KNOW he's been up to something... it's just a matter of figuring out what it is!). Being dominant male, he fights any and all male canines, irrespective of size or temperment, if we don't watch him like a hawk. Being somewhat timid of strangers, he reacts to his fear by barking and jumping at them. He may be the perfect dog to us, but to other dogs and strangers, he's somewhat of a holy terror. This can cause problems as we try to find ways to expend his energy without frightening people or endangering other dogs.
What does Rex like? Besides loving his family to the exclusion of all others, he also loves FRISBEE!!!! He loves toys of all sorts, but the frisbee is his favorite. Other interests include removing the tops of 2 litre bottles, chasing balls, tug of war with his people or canine family, "flying" through the air as he hangs on to a rope and is swung in circles, cat herding, dog fighting, barking at things seen out of windows, smiling and kissing, going places in the car, long walks on the beach, and peeing on his nose. He didn't learn the proper male dog way of urinating until he was about 3, and he still doesn't quite have it down to a fine art.....
Rex's dislikes include riding in the car (he likes to get to the destination, but the actual car ride makes him sick), strangers, dogs, and getting caught doing something he knows he's not supposed to do. He'll perk right up, though, when you tell him he's forgiven.
This is Rex's story. If you think that giving over your home and heart to a border collie might be for you, do some research first and talk to people that share their lives with them. If, after the research, you decide that a loving, hyper, obsessive, manic, child/cat/dog/bicycle-herding border collie that is probably even more intelligent than you are would be just the right lifetime companion for you, go ahead and start looking! Because many people didn't realize what they were getting into when they brought a border collie home, humane societies and animal shelters are excellent places to look, as are border collie rescue groups. Sometimes, you can even find love in a cardboard box in the middle of a parking lot.