Saved by a Collie

I told a friend a childhood story the other night and she said: "Have you blogged that yet?" Wow I have really infected my friends with this blog. But no I have not told my collie story and I should, so I will.

We grew up with two Blue Merle collies. Kerry was the first and Shane the second. They were each with us about a decade. We got Kerry soon after we moved out of Detroit, so I was just about two at the time. A little over a year later a house was being built across the street from us; the basement had been dug but heavy rains had delayed further work and there was about three feet of standing water in the hole.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon a 3 year old Timothy wandered away and a semi-frantic search was underway when someone spotted the wagging white underside of Kerry's tail through the bushes across the street. They ran over and found me half-in and half-out of the basement hole, a laid out Kerry sprawled across my body with her teeth holding onto my belt. I don't know if I would have drowned, how tall are 3 year olds? Needless to say everyone was happy not to have tested the science of kid and muddy water in a hole.

Those were wonderful dogs, we had cats too of course and as I grew up I became a devoted feline lover but Kerry and Shane hold a special place in my heart, perhaps a bit more special for the collie that may well have saved my life.

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photo: that is a blue merle collie, not one of ours but the closest I could get in an internet search, I wonder if any of my siblings have old photos of those dogs.