Echo

I always feel melancholic when an older dog leaves our place.
I remember the dreams and hopes I had for that cute pup.
Then, over time comes the painful realisation that he is not the dog I was looking for,
or wanting.
Due to no fault of his.

In fact, when I look more closely at this matter,
it is probably my lack of  wanting to make compromises,
that has lead to this moment.

On the other hand,
I have seen dogs broken down by disappointment, failure, disdain and
not being able to meet the ambitions or approval of their owner or trainer.

You see the dog trying,
but it is just never good enough.

It is soul shattering to see.

The dog becomes unsure and 
the owner slowly starts disliking the dog,
for all that he is not.

With over 26 years of working with collies I have seen this negative pattern too often.
Unfortunately, I cannot say this has never happened to me or one of my dogs.

Thankfully, I have become more insightful in the years,
 and because I liked Echo too much,
I would not allow this to happen.

So, yesterday, he left us for a new life,

where he would be appreciated for what he is.

Echo will have a career change now.
He has moved to Ontario,
where he will try his paw at agility

(and if he is lucky will become a ladies man...)

He will never see the dissapointment in my eyes,
or know my frustrations when he battles to move our heavy sheep.

All, he will know is that he was my buddy for three years,
we enjoyed walks together, horse rides and racing the quad.

He can look into my eyes and know I loved him.

I wish him all the best.