Ryder, the best boy…

I’ve written many posts about the collie breed, about Sunnybank and about Lassie.  I’ve written about books I enjoy and the history of the collie.  I’ve written product reviews and shared our news about the wins and new titles my collies have earned.  But looking back, I realized I don’t write nearly enough stories about my collies, to share their personalities and antics, to share their lives.  That’s something I’m going to work on in the upcoming months.

To that end, let me dedicate this post to Ryder.  We have/had quite a few smooths, but until Rosie joined our family, there has only been one rough collie, our Ryder.  Ryder was the 1st puppy born in our 1st litter, and the story of his birth is here.  At 72 lbs, he is a big guy, and is taller than our girls.  Lad was our 1st collie ever, and our 1st boy, and we lost him when Ryder was just a young puppy.  Since then, Ryder has been our only boy. (until Nolan joined the family this weekend.)

Ryder has always been incredibly sweet and gentle.  He inherited his temperament from his Mother, Abby.  Like Abby, there has never been an instance when he has lost his patience, except once.  I think Ryder was around 4 years old at the time.  He was out in the backyard with the other collies, and I heard barking.  I went to the back door to see what was causing the commotion.  Just outside the doorway I spotted Ryder, and I could tell he was upset.  And that’s when I noticed two small birds swooping down and pulling his fur!  Apparently they had built their nest in the tall shrub next to the back door, and were protecting their babies, when Ryder had ventured too close.

Before I could intervene and save Ryder, he reached up and quickly caught one of the birds mid flight.  He gently dropped the stunned bird onto the ground, where it stared at him for a moment before flying away.  To catch a bird in the air, and to release her unharmed, showed just how gentle my boy is in all things.  And honestly, he was only defending himself, he wasn’t really angry.  His calm gentle nature is what made him an ideal therapy dog.  For 8 years Ryder did therapy visits, bringing comfort and smiles to countless individuals.  He was so popular, in part because of his beautiful coat and sweet face, and because he instinctively knows when people are stressed or sad.  

When I would get annoyed or upset, Ryder would immediately appear at my side, leaning against me to sooth me or make me smile.  He’s now 13 1/2 years old, a very old man.  He limps when he walks, and is on daily pain medicine and a monthly Librela injection.  He sleeps a lot, but he is still ready to cuddle whenever I ask.  He can no longer jump on the bed, so I lift him up, and he curls up next to me.  We snuggle together for hours, and I treasure every moment.  I know he will be leaving me soon, and I can’t bear to think about it.  He’s irreplaceable, and I hope we get to celebrate his 14th birthday this August.