Fergus is a Farm Dog

Yesterday we took Fergus to the Vets for his shots. While in the waiting room we discovered something. We are just plain old farmers with a farm dog. The Vets we go to is a farm Vet. Cows, horses and live stock go in the back door and dogs and cats in the front door. We got Fergus all gussied up for his trip to the Doctors. He had a bath. It was over 80 out today so we hosed him off outside and shampooed him. We dried him off with an old towel and he was looking mighty spiffy. But no ribbons in his ears, no toes painted or perfume sprayed on him. He still smelled like a dog. Well, he is a dog. I heard something on the news yesterday morning that set me on this train of thought, Yoga for dogs. No leash allowed. "Connecting spiritually with your dog". I bet Fergus would laugh if he could if we were to take him to such a place.
As we left for the Vets, Fergus hopped in the back seat of the car with me and sat there like a proper farm dog. We commented that he would ride just fine in a pick up. When we arrived at the Vets, there weren't any pampered poodle type there. There was a blue heeler who had been attacked by a coyote while protecting his herd. Half the skin on his hind leg was missing. His owner had a wad of tobacco the size of a golf ball under his lip. He was a true Texas rancher. He loved his dog, it was plain to see but there weren't any home made doggie treats for this dog, or a fancy collar, matter of fact he had a make shift leash made from a calf halter. I bet there was no heated dog house for this dog and never ever a coat or sweater from some pet store. The old rancher called him "fella" and was just as happy as could be to hear his dog was going to be fine. The dog hopped up into the pick up when they left and he got a good pat on the head. No silly baby talk to the dog. Just a simple, "good to have ya back fella". Fergus sat watching everything in the Vets office. He's just a young farm dog. Still no one calls him "poochy woochy" or something stupid like that. We love our puppy for what he is and what he will be. A valuable worker on the farm and a part of our family but not our baby. Fergus will grow up to guard our land, herd our goats and be a loyal friend. He will learn what we mean when we say, "get um in here" and " round um up". He already does a good job putting the chickens in their house each night. We give him a pat on the head when we see him show signs of his ability to work. Our last dog was a hard worker. Knew what you were thinking and could pick out a animal you wanted just by you pointing to it. She chased off predators and played with the children. Fergus will be the same kind of dog. Still no one calls him "precious puppy" or feeds him gourmet dog treats. I believe the dog would fight us if we tried to put some sweater or coat on him. It would be about as insulting as you can get to this dog. I am sure he would run off. We don't pretend Fergus is our child. But we love him, we know he will be loyal to us, the kind of dog that would save your life.Today at the Vets, we saw lots of old farm dogs, well loved and respected. The Vet asked us how Fergus was coming along with his training. The Vet has a border collie too. A working dog. A Farm dog. No fancy smancy stuff on the farm dogs, no heated dog houses. But loved all the same.