this is Erin with her puppies. I can’t remember exactly when Erin had them; it was either 2000 or 2001. There were eight in the litter. We tied little loom threads around their necks so we could tell who was who. Erin is a Border Collie and is very smart but doesn’t have the herding instincts that her breed is known for. We took her to a farm once to see if she would herd the sheep, but she just wanted to play with them. She also didn’t have much of a maternal instinct – instead of feeding, she’d always want to jump up and greet and play ball with all the human visitors who came to ooh and aww over her babies, so my sisters and I had to hold her down so her babies could eat. One of the pups broke his leg somehow and was stumbling around in a cast for about a week. It was sad but also kind of adorable.
