Seeing Eye-dogs, or guide dogs, have always fascinated me, and I suspect have also fascinated many of my fellow Boulderites. Their work seems impossible. The training is inconceivable. All in all, while the end result is wonderful, it is quite obvious that this is all fiction. It is of course IMPOSSIBLE to really train a dog to do what a guide dog for a sight impaired person would have to do. There is of course one rather barking problem. Guide dogs DO exist. Seeing Eye-dogs actually exist, really do their job, and as a working dog group goes, belongs to one of the most impressive of the workers. Seeing... Read More

Rumored to be the smartest of the breeds, and of course right at home in Boulder, are the Border Collies. On my list of favorites dogs of all time, Falkor was a border collie mutt from the Longmont Humane Society. May she herd in peace. Her herding instincts were so strong that if any animal of any variety was in our yard, it became an instant part of Falkor’s herd and part of her responsibility. Even the small snakes found no respite. Falkor would put a paw on one end to hold the snake down and groom the hapless reptile. The snakes hated it. On the other hand “Water Lilly,” a... Read More