It was almost dark and I was chucking blocks of oak into the maw of the stove, filling it before going over for milking. The dogs were with me for company as they often are. Gael was eyeing the chickens and Mike was lying near me watching as he always does. Suddenly I realized that Mike had dropped into a working crouch and was creeping away from me. Around the corner came a big yearling heifer, named Piper, that had escaped from the hill pasture. Even though she has never been worked by dogs and wasn't dog broke, she thankfully stopped when she saw Mike. I didn't even dare take time to close the stove before going after her myself. Once cattle get into the driveway there is nothing to stop them before they hit Route 5S or the Thruway. Capture is urgent. I got in front of her as quickly as I could and waved my arms to turn her away from the drive. Of course I didn't have a stick or anything else to impress her with so she kept trying to get by. The dogs were eager to get into the game and ran along beside me. I hollered at them to lie down and parked them under a hay wagon out of the way. I finally chased her over by the creek.

The only way I could think of to deal with Piper was to put her in with the bull and heifers in the heifer barnyard. While she cavorted near the creek, I cut the strings off the gate with my jackknife and dragged it open. Of course the heifers inside imediately tried to get outside. I blew my shepherd's whistle and screamed for the girls, who were inside the house, to come help me. Naturally they didn't hear.

Piper then ran off toward the gate of the cow yard. There was no way I could go get her and steer her through the heifer gate, while keeping the other ones inside all by myself. The bull was trying to join in the exodis too and I was getting kind of scared.

Suddenly, it was border collies to the rescue. Even though he can barely see, Mike ran, without any commands, around behind Piper and started to drive her toward me so I could push her through the gate. She put her head down to fight him. He grabbed her nose and swung through the air as she tried to shake him off. She started toward me, as requested, then changed her mind and charged up the hill in the one direction that wasn't covered. Like a black bolt out of nowhere, (or actually from under the wagon) came my little chicken herder, Gael. That was all she wrote. Piper ran through the heifer gate as if pursued by devils. I dragged it back into place and tied it up again. My heart was pounding like a hammer but I was grinning like a fool. I sure do love those dogs.

They were proud and happy and I guess they had a right to be. Two elderly dogs, both plagued by cataracts, one of them about the world's fattest and most outrageously lazy dog, but when the chips were down, they did what they were bred to do. We went back to the stove to close the door and then into the house for biscuits all around.