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Obsessive Bunny Herding at Drowsy Water Ranch

Gretta Fosha
Drowsy Water Ranch
Grand County, Colorado

Drowsy Water Ranch ” I’ve often hoped that if I die, I can come back as a Drowsy Water Ranch dog. Of course, my luck would have me back here as one of those hairless Chinese dogs. I’d have to wear a sweater most of the year. But really, how great would that life be? Wake up, eat, go chase some animals, jump in the pond, play with some kids, eat some horse poop, nap in the sun, wrestle with another dog, chase some more animals, and sleep. Talk about paradise. This place might just be dog heaven.

This place is heaven to three border collies right now. As you probably know, the breed is a working breed. They need a job, really, probably as much as water and food, they NEED it. In the summer, they have plenty of jobs ” herding horses, herding ducks, herding kids, herding balls, herding sticks, herding chipmunks, you name it, they want to herd it.

Off-season proves a little more challenging for them to find a job. No kids, fewer horses, no cows, just not a whole lot of outside entertainment in general. But, leave it to the intelligence of a border collie to create work for themselves. (This is probably why the breed doesn’t do so well in city life either ” “I thought, since you were gone all day, I’d just work on redecorating the living room by chewing a hole in this cushion then spreading the innards neatly around the fireplace, oh and there is some in your bedroom too, thought you’d like it there.”)



If you don’t already know, Justin and I live about 1/2 mile down the road from the actual ranch. This means, since Lily is our dog, (Duke and Aspen live with Ken and Randy Sue) she has to come home with us at night and go to the ranch with us in the morning.

Our dog, Lily, really loves having a job. She really, really, at all times, heck or high-water, must have something to do. And, she absolutely loves the ranch-dog lifestyle. She loves getting to run free, drink from a creek, bark at trees, chase cows, swing from horse tails, and play with kids. Our house is merely a place to sleep and get some food. If the sun is shining, she wants to be at the ranch working.



Lately, Lily has developed a minor disorder as a result of her need to work and her love of the ranch. This disorder causes her to get irritable and restless if we are not headed to the ranch by the crack of dawn. In fact, she’s devised a way to get herself to the ranch each day if she has to:

We have two small cowbells on our doorknob we put there so she can let us know if she needs to go outside. She figured it out quick ” ring the bell with nose, door is opened. Lately, if we are not ready to go by sun-up, she’ll ring the bell. We ignore her. So she rings it again, harder.

“We hear you, Lily, just wait a minute.”

” Read more on Gretta Fosha’s Drowsy Water Ranch blog at http://blog.drowsywater.com/


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