I am delighted to share a story of love, inspiration, instincts, and truth. If you are reading this, I am sure that you have experienced similar tender moments with your pet.
The beginning of this story finds us traveling to somewhere near the Quebec border. It was May of 1990, a perfect day, one filled with anticipation and excitement. My husband Dave, our son David, and I went to pick out a puppy who at first sight would become the love of our family, and best friend to all of us.
As we went into the barn to meet with the mother and her babies, we were surrounded by over zealous puppies. There were three remaining - one male, and two females. The mother herded Davy, and her babies then put on a show for Dave and me. Have you guessed? We were looking at purebred, sable rough collies. .Having grown up watching Lassie as a child, I was overjoyed to finally become the mama of
Next came our son Samuel. From
day one, Crockett loved, protected, herded, and thought of himself as human. I
suppose that he thought that he was the eldest brother. Crockett was a patient,
loving, caring, responsible, intelligent, and most of all, what I would call, “wanting
to please and serve” kind of dog. He was selfless. He had a job, which he took
seriously and was so proud to perform. I always said that Crockett would die
for us. Never did I have to teach him to be gentle with the kids. He never
chewed on anything, did not steal food or garbage. Crockett was like a second
mom.
When we chose Crockett, the gentleman told us that he had an overbite and could not be put into dog shows for he would not qualify. We never had any intention of Crockett competing in dog shows, he was strictly a family member. Crockett was a perfect watchdog, to the point that we later had to have him debarked. He had a deep male voice, strictly business and fearless. When the children were young Crockett once cornered them behind him in the backyard when I was chastising them. He stood his ground, barking at me, not meanly, but with authority, and I knew that he was basically telling me to chill out and calm down. I did not become angry, rather I was proud of him for doing his job - protecting his, and my, loved ones. Thank you, Crockett.
Over the years Crockett was an example of unconditional love. He put everyone before himself, looking for nothing but a pat on the head, and a simple “Good boy Crockett!” He was not allowed to go upstairs for I did not want him in the kids’ bedrooms when they were young. Crockett never disobeyed this. Each night we all would go for a walk before bed. One night we forgot to put the stroller away into the garage as we always did. Well, that night Crockett appeared in our bedroom and barked at us wanting us to follow him. He was very upset. Once downstairs, he brought us to the front door which had a window beside the door looking out. Then we understood Crockett’s reason for alerting us. There was the stroller right in front of the window where Crockett could see it. We then knew that he thought that we had left Samuel outside, and forgotten him in the
stroller. We had to bring Crockett out with us and show him that Sam was not there, allowing us to put the stroller away.
Another instance was when the boys and I went to the park with my sister and her boys. Crockett and Scotia, my sister’s dog, also came along. The kids played on the swings and play structures and when it came time to leave, we all walked away except Sam. I took one look at Crockett and told him to go get Sam and bring him to us. Off he went herding Samuel all the way until we were all together once again. Crockett did not need training, nor did I give him treats to encourage him to obey. This
dog was a true ANGEL on earth, teaching oneness, simplicity,discipline, love, servitude, intelligence, and responsibility.
I would now like to share with you Crockett’s instincts. I will share two examples. The first is when Davy was a little boy, and I filled his pool for him so it could warm up in the sun. After lunch we headed out into the backyard and as Davy approached the pool, Crockett, still a young puppy himself, started barking and herding our son away from the pool. There was no way that he would allow Davy anywhere near the pool. I thought, what is wrong with this dog? He had never acted like this before. I knew enough to trust his instincts and took Davy in and came back out to investigate. What I found was a baby groundhog under the rim of the pool. As I came closer, the groundhog was startled and became aggressive. Davy would have been bitten had he entered the pool. Again, Crockett saved the day.
Finally, I will end with the most peculiar instinct. Crockett knew before anyone that our son had a serious problem. He would go and lick Davy’s sore leg, smelling it while becoming his nurse. Crockett could smell the cancer, the leukemia, long before we even knew that there was a problem. Crockett alerted us and suffered along with Davy. When our son passed away, Crockett would ask to go out continuously hoping that when he came back in, Davy would be there. Crockett never found David, and two years later he died of cancer, heartbroken for he could no longer herd and take care of his most beloved brother! Crockett left listening to classical music with me by his side. When I visualize them now... they are both healthy happy and playing together again.
Submitted by WOW Gal Marcy Billings
