One Photo: One Story; Border Collie at Lenadoon

March 2017: West Of Sligo, Ireland. I thought I heard my wife Kelly say, “She’s hurting us”. I became alarmed thinking a curious dog was biting someone in our family, She said, “No herding us”. As we drove along The Wild Atlantic Way we came upon a tiny road that hugged the coast. We were still recovering from jet lag; we needed a walk and some fresh air. A man was parked in his car, reading the newspaper and smoking a cigar. His dog was sitting outside resting.

As four of us walked along the trail cut through salt grass the dog began to lead. She was an older, one eyed Border collie carrying a stick. She may have been retired from the farm and became injured and could no longer work the cattle or sheep. She kept a good distance and didn’t seem to want human attention. She was just doing her job.

“She’s (hurting us) herding us”, Kelly said. She’d run 30 yards, drop the stick and wait.

We walked the trail, took photos and explored the Irish coast. It felt good to walk. As we walked the path with our new friend guiding the way, we could no longer see the man’s car. We wondered why the man wasn’t looking for his dog.

We were herded to a look out point where we could see Sligo Bay to the east and the North Atlantic to the west. It was beautiful spring morning. We were guided to a large ocean weathered log where sat for a bit and watched enjoyed the view.

The dog sat near by and waited for us to head back to to where we started. On the return she repeated her herding technique. We tried to pet her but again she wasn’t interested. It made her happy just to show us around.

When we got back after 30 minutes the dog went back to the car and sat by the door. The man never spoke. The beautiful dog did her job. We absorbed a bit of life on Lenadoon Point in Ireland.