Following the events of Saturday, and being the sort of person who delights in researching just about anything given even the flimsiest of excuses, I have been reading up on border collies, their traits, advantages, drawbacks, pedigree, their reputable local breeders and more. I am therefore delighted and mildly terrified to unveil the result of my intensive course of study: ma petite chien.
Isn't she gorgeous? She is an eight week old pedigree border collie bitch, and she doesn't quite have a name yet. Proper border collie names are things like Scratch, Scruff, Snuff, Sweep, Patch, Don and the like. I know this because I have her pedigree back for six generations. I am, of course, not normal: this is a fact well established. I intended to get two dogs, and name them Phobos and Deimos, after the sons of Ares: the dogs of war. However, she is the wrong gender, so there is a possibility of Demeter, after the Greek goddess of the harvest and the green earth, bringer of seasons. That would make her pet name Demmy (not Demi). That may be subject to review. By Saturday, I actually have to come up with her pedigree name for the kennel club registration, which has to be less than 24 words long. Um, I'll try to keep it down. How about Lascivious Carnivorous Deathdealing Pirate-Ninja Snoopy III? I suspect that they have some sort of quality control. Time for another pic:
No demonic red-eye for my pup. She is awfully solemn I spent forty minutes or so with her, but she was kinda sleepy by the time I remembered that I should take some pictures. She's tri-coloured (black, white and tan) with the largest genetic contribution (although only 2.9%: she's well outbred) coming from a welsh world champion dog. I am so competitive, even with my puppy. I had intended to pick her sister, but I was totally won over. Fortunately, my friend is taking the remaining bitch in the litter, so they'll get to see each other during the days each week when I'm working. The advantage of living a few minutes' walk from my work is that I'll be able to start a little earlier, finish a little later, and pop down there three times a day when she is young.
I shall start gathering newspaper soon. I'm off to Boston on Sunday for a few days, then I'll pick her and her sister up next Friday, which will let us spend a few days with her after her arrival. While the puppy thing is all very cute and popular with the young ladies, I'm rather more looking forward to the addition to our hill-walking and hiking. When walking with my sister's dog, I have noticed that I notice the distance far less when I have a dog tearing around the place. It'll be a while before she's up to thirty kilometre walks, but I'm hoping that she'll be ready for shorter walks in the Pentlands by the winter. Despite my reserach, I really have no clue.