My cattle dog Carson was bugging me to get him a dog. He said it was lonely and boring around here after I went to work. He threatened to go live at the dog park in Santa Cruz. He barked. He did the canine whine. Finally he went online and found pretty little Sarah at AustralianCattleDog.com/rescue. I pointed out that she was a stray in Fresno and we had no idea who her family might be. She'd had no shots and no training. In short she was an undersized, uneducated bitch of dubious origins. His perseverance was dogged, of course. Leg of lamb and liver biscotti were served at their engagement party at Easter. The noise and chaos levels around here have increased exponentially but they're having great fun playing together. Although Sarah acts

more like a gorgeous but bratty little sister, Carson takes good care of her. I'm nominating him for a Dog Star award. He saved little Sarah by using excellent cattle dog judgment and precise herding action. As I piece the story together, Carson and Sarah were playing tug of war with a stick inside the house while I was at work. Somehow, a short narrow part of the stick became lodged vertically in Sarah's throat and she started choking. Carson realized she was in trouble, jumped through the dog door and ran to the backyard to get the yardman, Victor, who was cutting the grass. Carson barked very


insistently at Victor and herded him to the back door where Victor could look in and see Sarah in distress. Victor was luckily able to squirm through the dog door and get to Sarah to remove the stick before she choked to death. Carson will always be a hero to Sarah and me! He's a credit to Wisechoice Kennels of San Andreas, CA

Mary Blair Bashford
Santa Cruz, CA