Sheepdog engraving from the 18th century. Artist unknown.

My name is Brooke,  a collie bred to herd
Sure footed as a lamb, quick as a bird

Her Master:

When she’s down at Denny Park,
with no sheep to pursue,
A tennis ball, soccer ball or
A leaf will do.

An athlete who’ll break the sound barrier
To retrieve a stick.
She leaps and twists in the air an accuracy
Outfielders can’t lick.

Brooke:

You say you want to pet me,
Well that’s all well and good.
Why do that, when there’s a soccer ball
Right where you stood.

What then, you’ve already thrown the ball a dozen times
To me that so far I’ve caught.
Maybe a dozen times more will be enough
Then again probably not!

 

 

Brooke the border collie lives with her mistress, arts lover Barbara Breit, to whom she owes the poetic inspiration for this dog-blog post.