Ripley: Believe it or Not

Almost half a century after a little girl fell in love with an ideal, a living, breathing version came bounding into my game room after a short ride back from just over the state line into Ohio and into my heart just shortly before Christmas.  She was a Christmas miracle for me.

We named her Ripley after Ellen Ripley of the Alien movie franchise.  It would end up being a more prophetic name than I intended.  But initially it was just meant to evoke a strong female character, which she definitely was.  She was a force to be reckoned with.

We adopted her from a loose knit rescue organization in eastern Ohio, but she came from West Virginia.  That's all they would tell me about her.  I don't know if they were guarded for a reason, but she came to us at a young age of only about 10 weeks, one of a litter of three, already on a deworming medication that was used to treat parasites common to dogs in puppy mills.  Past that and knowing that she had been transported from West Virginia to Ohio to be brought halfway back to me, I would never know more about her beginnings.  At the time, I didn't care.

What I cared about was that she was ours.  A beautiful tricolor rough collie.

At first, a puppy is a puppy is a puppy.  And I knew about puppies.  I certainly had enough experience with dogs, and I thought I understood about the collie breed.

Yeah, I was wrong.

Ripley had a lot to teach me.  First of all, she came in winter.  She loved the snow, but it was too cold to let the dogs stay out for too long at a time.  So, a herder by nature, bred to be busy, she fast became the hardest puppy I had raised to-date.  My office was full of collector toys in mint condition in their boxes.  Many would not survive her puppyhood.  That in and of itself was not too surprising, puppies see something within reach while teething, they assume it's for their benefit, but her stubborn determination to keep after them was.  Over time, I knew she understood she wasn't supposed to have them, it was just bull headedness to capture my attention.  On the other hand, she was the easiest puppy I'd ever house trained.

She was a collie in every way I've since learned collies are - all the little eccentricities that the breed is known and loved for by its human fanbase were present and accounted for.  The laying on her back with her legs wide open in a most unladylike pose, which would then be offset later by the very dainty crossing of the paws while laying down upright.  The "chatter" of the teeth, almost like she was trying to say something in Human.   And the very Lassie-like cock of the head when she heard something strange, or wanted to solicit something from you.

Ripley exhibited a mild stubbornness that very clearly has nothing to do with her lack of intelligence. Quite the opposite.  "Because I said so" didn't carry much weight with Ripley.  I knew they were an intelligent breed, but the level of free will she exhibited had only been matched by my boon companion for 11 years, my husky mix Cheyenne.  So now I had two dogs who liked to think for themselves on my hands.   Which was more than okay of course, but I had expected a mellower experience (which ironically I would later get with Rooney).

I ended up doing puppy classes with Ripley - this "experienced" dog owner - but I thought I needed
 the lessons more than she did.  With a dog as smart as a collie, you need to be on your toes.

But the barking was what caught me off guard and would end up landing me in some hot water a little later on.  I had not expected that.  Collies are verbal animals.  Very.  They'll tell you that collies bark when they're bored.  Most dogs will.  What I'll tell you is that collies are just verbal communicators.  Period. If they have something to say, you'll hear about it.  Problem is:  so will your neighbors if the "conversation" takes place outside.

I thought I knew about the health problems collies were prone to.  I would eventually learn just how very little I actually knew about that too.

I know people tend to have strong opinions about individuals who take on breeds they don't understand and aren't prepared to handle.  But sometimes you don't know what you don't know.  And even had I know what collies sometimes carry within them, would I have taken her?

I've had to think about that in the past year.  I think the answer is that I would have, yes.  The debt I would incur.  The pain I still feel.  Yes, I would have done it all again for those marvelous creature.  No one loves you like your dog, remember.  Well, no one loved my Ripley more than I did.