The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1920-05-22
swERRYvoRE SHEPHERD DOGS.
They Go to Meeting Sundays, and
Won't Abide Long Sermons.

"Skerryvore Where is Skerry-
vorey" This interruption came from an
eager group of boys and girls one day
when ! was telling the story of the
shepherd dogs of Skerryvore.
Well Skerryvore is an island off the
west coast OF Scotland. 1t is mainly
a sheep country, though there is also
some general farming done there. Its
shepherd dogs have been trained for
generations to herd sheep, and they
really do wonderful things in that line.
For example, our old Bob would exc
cute an order to "cut out" all the
brown sheep from a flock of, say 500
sheep, mainly white, and turn the
brown ones over to the care of Don,
another dog Of ours who would keep
them all herded for the shepherd.
You should see how cleverly the
dogs drive in the sheep from the bills
at shearing time. How gently they
drive the little lambs and the footsore
sheep! Ii they found sheep with a
leg broken they ran to one OF the
shepherds, caught him by the sleeve
and led him to where the injured sheep
was lying.
remember playing trick once on
Bob, but he soon saw through it. 1t
was on a Sunday afternoon. Bob was
doing by the hearth Of the big farm
kitchen when | remarked in an ordl'
nary conversational tone, 81 think the
cows are in the corn" Immediately
Bob was on the alert. He jumped up,
ran to the door, which ] opened for
him, and then out into the farmyar6.
The corn field-it was an oat field,
wheat and oats being called corn in
Seotland-the corn field could not be
seen from the level of the yard, so
Bob climbed on a peat stack and thence
to the roof of the shed, from which he
could see the corn field.
There we're no cows there. tRut IL
there had been, he would have driven
them out promptly. He returned
quietly to the kitchen 10 doze again
by the fire. A second time ] gave the
false alarm, and a second time Bob
nves tigated; but when I tried TO fool
him a thmd time, he didA't stir, except
to open a sleepy eve and gaze re
proachfully at me. He could be fooled
tw a.. but not all the time, his eyes
suid
Once Bob showed me the way home
when was lost in the mist ! had
been fishing and was coming home,
when a heavy mist came up. Now
Scotch mist" is dense fog; one can
not see a yard away in IL. | thought
| knew the direction of our house and
so walked on, but soon ! found | was
lost could hear the creek running
near. and then ] became afraid to
move lest fall in. ] whistled and
called for Bob, in the hope that he
might hear me, for | was not far from
home. He answered, barking, and soon
found me. gave him one end of my
fishing pole, and said. Bob, home !"
He took me to the door in a few min
utes. | could not have found my way
home. near as It was, in that thick
fog. without Bob's help.
Would YOU like to hear about how
Bob and the other shepherd dogs OF
Skerrvvore 60 to churchi The shep-
herd dogs Of Skerryvore ~ to church
regularly. They go with the shepherds,
STAY quietly under the pews during
service. and as rule never disturb
ANYBODY. But one Sunday, when our
minister was away. there was q strsng-
or in the pulpit, and he preached very
long. Our own minister usually
preached about half an hour, but this
man kept on for - minutes.
Now. YOU know, dogs have pretty
exact sense of time, and when the
preacher kept on preaching. past the
time when service usually ended, the
dogs began to get uneasy. Presently
Bob. who was a leader, came out from
under our pew into the main aisle, sat
down. and looked mesningly AZ the
preacher. The other dogs followed
Bob's example, and soon there was a
double row of dogs. stretching all the
wav from the pulpit down the main
aisle 10 the door. They all were lock-
ing steadily at the preacher and DONG
their best. thoagh very politely, 20
give him a hint 20 stop; bur he could
not take such a gentle hint.
Then. one after another. the dogs
vawned widely, looking up a. the
nreacher-vou know how widely a col
liz can vawn. But still the preacher
talked on. Another FIVE minutes they
waited The preacher siill would not
ION % aWoof," bzrked Bob. "Woofi
hs-ked an the other dogs. Ard then
thev All turned and walked ont The
preacher took the hint and ended the
-, II j Lauson IN the Cont