C ricket was a very lucky find. At 10 weeks of age she was already showing promise on stock by flanking a flock of 25 sheep and turning them back. She is everything I could ever hope for and even some things I didn't know I wanted.

I am amazed at the amount of talent bundled up in one little bitty dog. She has an uncanny ability to read stock and an excellent sense of balance and rate. She's got an intense desire to work which can be more than I am able to deal with at times. She has the confidence "to go over the hill" and there's nothing she won't tackle. She's a beautiful dog and extremely athletic. She raised one litter of pups and was a great mother, very attentive, neat and tidy, good with discipline and eager to play but not overly silly.

Cricket is not the type of dog for everyone. Often she has her own ideas about where things need to be and how she should get them there. She won't tolerate a heavy handed or verbally abusive handler or one that demands instant and unquestioned obedience, pushing back on pressure and going faster, tighter, wilder. She was quite easy to train, once I learned a bit about what to do, because she has such drive to work that she bounced back easily from even the worst mistakes I made. She reads the stock much better than I do and I have learned to put my ego in my pocket and trust her judgement.

She is the best lambing/calving dog I could ask for, able to quietly move single mothers with newborns without getting anyone upset. Dogs like Cricket don't come along often, but recognizing the ability and learning how to work with it can sometimes be a humbling experience.

Cricket has become the guardian of our children, tucking them in at night, lying on the bed until they are asleep if they are frightened and need someone to keep the "monsters" at bay. In their eyes, that little black dog lying on guard will keep them safe from anything....and I don't doubt she will. She has stolen my heart in ways I never thought possible. There is not a dog on this earth, present, past, or future that will be able to fill the niche she has carved in my heart. She has been a great teacher and is a central part of our family....our very own "cricket on the hearth".