Another Good Farm Dog Bites the Dust

Yes, that's Bandit our border collie, who tolerates almost anything even his bunny friend Snowball hanging out on top of him. Please don't interpret the look on his face as humiliation, rather resignation to the good life as a house dog.

In his previous life, he was a farm dog living at the Mark Navis farm west of Waupun. Bandit and his dog friends were 'hired' to round up Mark's herd of Holstein cattle. But because of Bandit's Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, he was ruining the work ethic of his four-legged co-workers and needed to find another home. You see, Bandit is forever stuck on one channel: he has an obsession with rolling balls. When I visited the Navis farm in June 2004 after the large milking barn had been hit by a tornado, there was Bandit sitting in the garage among the scores of volunteers and news media, nudging his ball with his nose to anyone game enough to play.

Maybe his disorder is a good thing, since it wiped out the memory of the barn collapsing over his head. When I spied an ad in the paper for a border collie that could roll a ball I had a feeling it was Bandit. Sure enough. I dialed the number and told them I would be there. At first the Navis family changed their minds (the little boys couldn't part with him just yet). A couple of months later the phone rang and I set out to get our new dog.

One problem: Bandit was totally opposed to riding in a vehicle. Donning heavy work gloves, we cajoled him, blind-folded him and finally got him in the crate. When I told Mark he was going to be an inside dog, he just looked at me and laughed. Seconds after we reached home, Bandit was on the living room floor in his new home rolling his ball.

Since he's been at our house, my young son has taught him to look forward to rides in the car. He's got the potty-training thing down and knows the couch is off limits. He's also learned that the veterinarian's office isn't a fun place to visit. He's already been to the dog groomers (only cause he tries to bite) and has won a blue ribbon at the Fond du Lac County Fair. He enjoys visiting our farm but would rather run up to the house to see if my father-in-law would like to throw the ball a few hundred times.

Bandit has also decided that I'm his girlfriend (or the sucker of the house); putting his paw on my shoulder and laying his head on my chest, gazing soulfully into my eyes - beseeching me to scratch his ears. Thinking I must be his favorite person in the house (I know better that honor belongs to our youngest son) I am crushed each time he runs away to get his ball - sure that he has buttered me up for a few more rounds of catch.

Everyone tells me that Border Collies are one of the smartest breeds and can be taught almost anything. Unfortunately for Bandit he never got beyond the second chapter in his ABC's lesson (B is for ball!)