Travels with Midge

This site records the travels and adventures I have with my Border Collie Midge. All the stories herein are true, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent, the litigious and the stupid.

THE BOY HIMSELF - MIDGE

The cat died. A house without a pet is not a home.

Now I am a dog man, my wife Carol - lets give her her formal title here of The Missus - is(was) a cat person.  By "was" I should clarify  that she is not deceased but merely her alligences have changed.

"Dogs are faithful, friendly and trainable. They will guard you when I am away (getting in the fear factor there) and love you regardless what you think of them" I pleaded for a dog. My words were not needed, being a very honest wife she remembered that we had agreed to have a dog when the poor old cat croaked. Now, that was why the cat never liked being alone with me........

The deal was made. I would - feed, walk, brush, clean, scoop the poop, take to the vet, train the dog. In addition I would take the blame for every transgression it made. The dog would not be allowed in any room but the kitchen and utility room and I would be responsible for keeping the same clean. She would feed the dog if I was away on business - and that is ALL!! How things can change............

I cruised the net regularly looking for my new partner - that is the dog I mean. A rescued dog was for certain. Too many unloved dogs in the world to get a new puppy. Eventually I chanced upon a Border Collie rescue place Wiccaweys and realised they were only 8 miles away. I got onto the phone and before I knew it we were being homechecked and then the roller coaster of training a completely untrained, crazy, 7 month old collie boy started. Sarah, who runs the rescue with her partner Paul, told me "You have a 7 month old dog with the mind and development of a 7 week old puppy" Midge's early story has  been told elsewhere on the Wiccaweys website - see the "Hard work but worth it"  for the details. I don't mind telling you that there was more than one time when he nearly went back.  I stayed awake at nights thinking "What the hell have I gone and done?"

 Anyone who thinks about getting a Border Collie should be required to read the Wiccaweys website first. But then again I did - but I still went ahead!

Midge had not been ill-treated, the people who had him just did not understand Border Collies. Now collies come in various personality types so it would be wrong to generalise but they are more active, more intelligent and more neurotic than the average dog. They score tops on the intelligence charts and top in the need-for-brainwork charts. They learn bad things as easily as good things and they can be more intelligent that their owners and the collie trains the owner not vice versa.

 Midge had been taken as a puppy from Mid-Wales - a farm. The father of the family who got him wanted a dog to grow up with the young children. They wanted an intelligent dog that was easy to train. Border Collies are renown for their intelligence so those raised to herd sheep must be even more intelligent - just see them on the telly. But, Border Collies do not come readily speaking English and anyway Midge's first language was Welsh! He was duely taken to live in a town just before Christmas - can you spot the mistakes there? Problem number 1 - he is afraid of crowds, cars and noise. Problem 2 he is a collie that need loads of exericse and mental stimulation - but he is afraid to go out, so he does not get taken out. He goes steadily mad. Problem 3 he is full of worms - as working farm puppies often are. This gives him a serious bowel problem leading to food intolerance and he craps all over the place - not healthy with young children around.  Biggest problem though is the mother of the family never wanted a dog in the first place. Midge is offered up on Ebay to the highest bidder. Wiccaweys intervene and rescue him.

 Please THINK before getting a Border Collie - or any other dog for that matter - or even a goldfish!

Well I am just a 50 odd year old guy with a love of the outdoors. A some time mountaineer and rock climber who spends too much time working in a University Medical School and not enough time in the hills. You already know I am married (to The Missus) and that I have a Border Collie.  I am a lover of good beer and a despiser of bad beer. That is all you need to know - the rest will become apparent if you read further.