Lifestyle
The retired sheepdog that adopted a brood of ducklings
After leaving herding behind, a farm dog took on an unexpected daily task: escorting the ducklings from their barn to the pond and standing guard nearby.
For years, the dog spent her days guiding sheep across the hills, starting at dawn and returning at dusk. When she grew older, her family moved her closer to home so she could enjoy a quieter routine.
Taking it easy, it turned out, was not really her style.
That spring a clutch of ducklings hatched in the barn. Within days the old dog had appointed herself in charge. Each morning she waits by the barn door until the little line wobbles out, then falls in behind it, nudging stragglers back into place with her nose and steering the whole procession across the yard to the pond.
She never chases and she never barks. She simply walks the same patient arc she once walked behind a hundred sheep, only much shorter and a great deal slower.
An old instinct, a new flock
Once the ducklings are on the water, she lies down on the bank, chin on her paws, and watches. When they climb out, she brings them back. Nobody trained her to do it, and nobody in the family has quite found the heart to tell her she is retired.
Herding dogs are bred to gather and move animals, and many seem happiest with a job to do. For this one, the job just got smaller, fluffier and considerably noisier.
The ducklings do not seem to mind. These days, if she is a few minutes late, they wait for her at the barn door.