Jacqueline P Vincent

Toby the Border Collie Pup

Do you remember in my last post when I said I didn’t think there would be any more baby animals? Well, I was wrong—again.

It turns out it’s not only my daughter’s farm that produces surprises. The farm next door, owned by a lovely chap called Josh, had its own unexpected arrival at the end of January: a litter of puppies from his gorgeous short‑haired Border Collie, Luna. Their dad is Jack, a long‑haired collie, also owned by Josh. Jack is a trained sheep‑herding dog, while Luna is a cattle dog, and together they’ve produced quite the lively brood.

Luna has been a marvellous mum, raising eight hungry pups. She’s not working at the moment—understandably—but given half a chance she’d still leap into the back of Josh’s truck and head off to help. After all, rounding up cattle is far less exhausting than feeding eight wriggling babies.

Before the pups were born, Josh had commented that Luna was “getting fat,” to which my daughter replied, “She’s producing milk, Josh—she’s about to have pups.”
The look of shock on his face was priceless. He rushed off and bought a puppy pen, plus other neccessities, for the impending arrivals. Two days after the pen was set up—there they were. Eight tiny, squeaking bundles of fur, and Luna’s new chapter as a mum began. Though she still cast wistful glances at the truck whenever it disappeared to move another herd.

The pen has sides high enough to contain the rampaging puppies, but low enough for Luna to hop in and out with ease. Thus giving her a break from her duties.

On day two, we were allowed to visit. Oh my goodness—they were a warm, wriggling pile of squeaks and softness, and we fell in love instantly.

Over the following weeks, we visited often, and my daughter eventually chose a puppy for their farm. They already have Whina, their German Shepherd (a Māori name, pronounced Fina), and Hugo, a Papillon cross. Hugo stands all of nine inches high at the shoulder, spends more time asleep than awake, and if there’s a lap available, he’s on it. But don’t be fooled—when roused, he’s the best guard dog in the district.

Last week, the chosen pup—Toby—was allowed his first visits to the house to meet the indoor animals: the dogs, the cats, and the occasional rescue chick or duck. My granddaughter, IG, is the farm’s unofficial rescuer. If anything is lame, underfed, injured, or abandoned, it ends up under her gentle care.

Each evening, Toby now comes over for longer and longer visits. We’ve already noticed that, like Whina, he gets too hot indoors and prefers being outside in the fresh air.

When he finally comes to live on the farm full‑time, he’ll have his own kennel and run beside Whina’s for nighttime—except in very cold or wet weather, when they’ll be inside with Hugo. During the day, both Whina and Toby will be working dogs, either riding in the tractor with Chris or helping to round up and move the animals.

And Hugo?
He’ll be on the bed, fast asleep, supervising absolutely nothing.

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Thank you for reading my latest blog and I can’t wait to publish the next one.