My Life As a Farm Dog, by Jet

Hi, my name is Jet, short for Zephyrhill Jet Stream.  I'm a Shetland Sheepdog, otherwise known as a Sheltie.  I'm going to obedience school with Mommy, and my homework is to write about a typical day in my life.

 So here goes . . .

We live on Zephyr Hill Farm, so I'm a farm dog.  I'm also Mommy's special dog, which means I get to sit on her lap or be on the couch with her.

Hero is Daddy's dog.

And Misty is the Livestock Guardian Dog that lives outside and takes care of the animals.  I'm a little bit scared of her because if she thinks I'm doing something bad, she chews on my neck.

My most important job is RUNNING!  I love to run!

Sometimes I run at the chickens and bark, and then Mommy yells, "Jet!  Leave it!"  So I do . . . after she yells a few more times.  Chickens are just SO chase-able!

When I go in the barnyard I like to play with Rascal, the barn cat.  Her brother Sterling doesn't like to play so if I see him, Hero and I chase him.

This is Siobhan.  You say it "Chivon."  It's an Irish name.  I like being named after a fast wind!

I'm scared of Siobhan because she charged me the first time I ever went in the barnyard.  Today she's being nice . . .

... but I don't quite trust her!

This is the milking parlor.

Almost every morning Mommy milks Siobhan in there.  I like Siobhan better when her head is held tight!  I get bored in there, though, so Mommy lets me explore the barnyard.

This is Ebony, another cow.  You can see why she's called Ebony.  It means "black," like Jet!

This is Macree, Siobhan's baby.  I'm kind of scared of her, too, even though she's little because she runs and bucks sometimes.

When Mommy gets all lovey with her cows, I keep my distance.  See me?

That's me back there.  But I'm not jealous because Siobhan doesn't get to sit on the couch with Mommy!  Ha! ha!

Here are two more cows.  One is a steer (that's Sir Loin, in front).  I bet you can guess why he's called that.  The other one is new, and he's a bull.  His name is Royal.  He has a ring in his nose.  Ouch!

Off we go into the pasture, and I do my job again--running as fast as I can!

I see Julie the pony and Brandy, and I go after them.

It's a good thing I can run SOOOO fast . . .

... because here comes Brandy right behind me!

Julie loves to get the horses running.

Woo-hoo!  A race!  There I go after Hero and Angel and Julie, and here comes Boudin, the other steer.

I run with the horses all the way to the other end of the property, really far away.  Then I hear Mommy calling me, "Jet!  Come!"

So I come running as fast as I can because then I get cheese!

I admire Hero.  He's older than me and he can teach me a lot.  Sometimes I walk next to him and just look up at him.  He's my friend--except when he has a rawhide bone!

I love being a farm dog.  Whenever I get to go out and help feed the animals, I jump for joy.

But you know what?  All that running and jumping gets me tired (yawn!) out.  So then I'm happy to follow Mommy into the study and lay down next to her while she works on the computer.  Then after supper I lay on the couch with her and fall asleep after my busy day.  I think being a farm dog is a wonderful life.  I wish every dog could be like me!