The "Perfect" dog

 If I were going to use one word to describe Kolt, it quite possibly would be "perfect".

 He's smart, biddable, loves to work, even tempered, happy, focused.

He takes stuff in stride, people like him.

And he's rather handsome, too.

Part of this is genetics. Part of this is, well, me.

 Kolt, as Border Collie #4, is the happy recipient of the  knowledge gain by working with my other three.

They weren't exactly perfect. Second hand Border Collies can come with issues. Fear, reactivity, cat obsession. Freight train pulling and no focus, ADD. But, in their imperfections, they were my teachers.  They made me work and learn. They showed me what was possible.

Their imperfections were part of them and, while it was not at all fun dealing with some of that stuff, I wouldn't change it for the world.  I learned to "read" dog behavior. I learned to be proactive. I learned to expect more from myself than I did from my dogs. I learned that perfect dogs are created by good owners.

I feel incredibly blessed to have a 10 m/o puppy that has been a perfect fit for me and is shaping up to be a "perfect" dog.  But I was just as blessed to get the "imperfect" dogs that tried hard, adapted to a new life, accepted me as a new an imperfect owner and taught me how to be a "dog" person.

The circle of life

When I lost Missy, I wasn't ready for another dog. I had two high energy dogs in their prime to pour myself into. Kipp was ready and willing to become my "right hand dog". He was steady, he was there. And Kenzi was still a crazy teenager. I also had a job and while being a full time student.

With Kipp it was different. There was a gaping hole as I had no serious working dog to get out and pour myself into. I wasn't supposed to loose a dog at nine y/o and I was kind of reeling from it. Kenzi was depressed and wonky. For the first time in seven years I was down to one dog and life felt empty.  For the first time in 11 years I didn't have a dog with that serious "I need to work" edge to it.

I kinda knew it would happen.

I had though about getting a puppy in late 2014 or early 2015. I began the search in earnest a couple weeks after Kipp was diagnosed with cancer.

And this little guy happened -

Happy, full of life, serious, wanting to be my buddy, needing a job to do. In other words, Just what I needed.

Leftover puppy because he was the pushy, outgoing one of the litter. In other words, exactly what I wanted in a Border Collie pup. And oh yes, smooth coated with soon-to-be-prick ears.

Waiting and ready for me just when I needed something to smile about again

His name is Kolt. I kind of fell head over heels for in about 2 days. I brought home a puppy because I knew I'd be depressed all summer otherwise. I had no clue how much of a balm he'd be and how quickly he would become *my* dog.

He's grown a bit since the summer -