From the Vault: Instinct
For the next week or so I am taking a look back some of the most memorable and hilarious stories with each of the animals. Tonight is Jackson’s turn, and one of my all-time favorite memories.
When Jackson was little, we lived near a reservoir with a bike path around it. Often we would take IO and Jackson for a bike ride. (I can barely even remember what it was like to only have 2). The reservoir was next to a cattle ranch. One beautiful spring day we set out. Jackson was just under a year old. On the way back to the car, we came around a corner to cattle scattered everywhere: in the trail, down by the water, on the other side of the trail. Apparently there was a hole in the fence between the trail and the ranch. Somehow I had never noticed just how BIG cattle are until there was no fence between them and me. One of them saw me and began trotting straight towards me. And when I say trotting, that does not fully convey exactly how fast an approximately ½ ton animal was quickly closing the gap between itself and me.
Suddenly, Jackson, in all his tiny little Border collie glory, sprinted ahead and placed himself between the cow and me. I started to call him back, but my husband said, “Let him go.” I was nervous, I had read never to turn your border collie loose in a herd of cattle because they could hurt the cattle, or get hurt themselves. He was so small still—the runt of his litter and 25 pounds on a good day, and the cows were impossibly big next to him. I just didn’t see how this was going to end well. But I did have serious trepidation about riding my bike through the herd and I had no idea how else to get back to my car. This was not the rancher’s property and I certainly did not bring Jack with the intention of testing his herding skills. So with a sigh and a prayer, I let him go.
I needn’t have worried about either his safety or lack of experience. He knew exactly what to do. This little dog immediately started bossing the cows around, beginning with the one running straight at me. He rounded it up, began driving it down the trail and before I could blink, others soon followed suit. I could see this moment of success spark something in Jackson, and soon instinct took over. He methodically began to gather all the smaller groups of cattle with the larger herd. A little cluster of cows was down by the water, he circled them, made them start moving, and deposited them into the herd, before moving on to another group on the other side of the trail.
I could hardly believe my eyes. Not only did he know exactly what to do, not only was he unafraid of these huge animals, they were actually listening to him. I realized I was witnessing a very old “dance”, an interspecies relationship that has evolved over centuries, one hardwired into both these animals’ DNA. It was breathtaking to watch. Words cannot express how beautiful and amazing this moment was to behold.
We soon made it back to the car and Jackson was beside himself with excitement. He strutted around with his chest puffed out for week afterwards, as though he had found his calling. It is bittersweet to note this, as he has not had opportunity to pursue this skill and live the life that is in his blood.