Easy Does It

When I first went to herding class I met Jerry, the trainer, and his dog Easy, a Sheltie. At the time, I knew very little about dogs and even less about herding, but this didn’t prevent me from ignorantly questioning the usefulness of such a small dog--as I thought Easy to be--when one compared him to the relatively large sheep. It didn’t take long, perhaps a couple of weeks, for Mr. Easy to completely disabuse me of my silly assumption.

I believe it was in early fall, and the resident ram at that time (aptly nicknamed "rambo") must have been feeling particularly ornery that day, as he was busying himself chasing a Rottweiler across the arena, when Jerry called Easy in to show the ram what’s what. And I’ll be damned if that ram didn’t turn tail and run as soon as he saw Easy coming through the gate. Well, needless to say, after that I was not only a believer but also a fan, a fan of Easy’s, a fan of the effortless way he worked, and of his self-assurance—that unmistakable swagger that said in no uncertain terms "I know what I’m about".

A small dog? In size only, but not in stature, in stature he was the pride of the pack.

Apollo and I learned much under Easy’s tutelage, and for this we are thankful. And so it is that we say goodbye not with a heavy heart but with gratitude for the privilege of being Easy’s friends and workmates.