As soon as my youngest child was potty trained last spring, I promised him and his older brother that I would get them a dog — not just any dog, though. It had to be a collie.
My parents got me a collie when I was about 4 years old because my mom had always wanted one. That dog, named B.J., after a then-popular TV show (B.J. and the Bear), was quite possibly my best friend growing up. We went everywhere together … well, everywhere being the 35-acre farm where we lived. To a boy and his dog, it was quite a world to explore, full of creeks, snakes, hay fields, pastures, skunks, cows, barns and more. My fondest memories growing up involved walking that land with my “lion dog” (as my youngest calls collies). I felt like a character in an episode of Lassie. Oh, the adventures we had!