Home, Sweet Home – Making Our House Into a Home

Cast your bread upon the waters,
for after many days you will find it again. – Ecclesiastes 11:1

I would love to say that I cast my bread upon the water very regularly, but I don’t.  I’ll admit that I’m a little selfish with my time and with my money, but this week I feel like I helped someone else find her bread again.

On January 6, my good friend Carol Anne lost her best canine friend after complications with labor.  Cat, yes that’s the dog’s name, was the best working stock dog anyone could have ever wanted.  She was easy on the pregnant ewes, gentle with the lambs, but tough with those ornery heifers when needed.  Cat was a champion stockdog and was CA’s companion anywhere she went on the farm.  She was more than just a dog, she was a farm-hand and a friend.  To put it mildly, CA was devastated by this loss.

To make matters worse, Carol Anne had recently given away her other dog Scout to a very good home.  Both Scout and her new owner are very happy together.  She and her husband has also retired Molly to a home in Florida.  They were running low on dogs.

Now, for those of you who may not understand how stock dog work on farms go, here’s a brief overview.  Most farms have multiple dogs.  Each of those dogs have different strengths and abilities in different areas.  You may use one dog to move cattle and another dog to bring in lambs.  And you keep several dogs to keep from burning out one dog.

Now, back to CA’s story.  Jerrad and I were both devastated for CA.  We knew how important Cat was to her personally and to the farm.  Both of us had the same thought…we could give her our dog Zip.  Zip is a 2 year old registered Border Collie who was born on CA’s farm to Molly. Zip is hands down the best dog I’ve ever owned.  She’s smart, personable, and has great common sense.  She’s very loyal, too.  After talking to her about it, CA decided to take Zip and try her out.  Our hope is that Carol Anne can make her the best dog possible and that Zip will make a great companion for her.  Zip will go to her new home tomorrow.  I’m a little sad about it.  But I’m excited that she will have a wonderful working home…a better working home than I could ever dream of providing for her.

So Carol Anne, I’m not sure whether or not you read this blog, but if you do, I hope we’ve helped you find your bread again.  You’ve cast yours out so many times for other people, it’s about time someone help you out in return!