Meet Robbie – Terry’s New Puppy

Over the weekend my family got a little bigger and a little happier. I adopted a purebred Sable Border Collie named 'Robbie.' Robbie is 7 months old and rather timid, but he's starting to come out of his shell and act like one of the family.

Robbie was intended to be a working dog on a ranch in Shoshone. His previous owners, the Pereira family, got him to help because Border Collies are renowned working/herding dogs. Border Collies, unlike Heelers, don't nip or bite when herding. Instead, they crouch down, move fast, and give cattle the "Border Collie Eye." It's sort of like the evil eye, only less evil.

Unfortunately for the Pereira family, but fortunately for me, Robbie is a bit of a timid dog and not really cut out for working. He would much rather lay on the couch and play with the kids. Which is what I like to do! WIN/WIN!

After spending a lot of time with our neighbor dog Sam (his real name is "Tucker," but we still call him Sam), the escape artist who lives down the street, I knew I wanted a Border Collie. My third dog, Barkley, was part Border Collie and part Golden Retriever. They are cool, quirky, fun dogs, and exceptionally intelligent.

I had been in contact with local animal shelters, but we found Robbie in a post on Craigslist. After a week-long exchange of emails, texts, photos, and phone calls, my wife and I drove up to Shoshone Saturday afternoon and brought Robbie home. We set up an area in the back of my HHR for him, but he found it more comfortable to sit in my son Jack's car seat for the hour ride.

Over the past few days Robbie has been slowly coming out of his shell. He is truly a special doggy and we are very blessed to have him as part of the family.

Take a look at some of the great pics we've already been table to get of Robbie. He's a very photogenic dog and will look at the camera on command. He's brilliant!