Ruby the Hendog

It's a hard job, and one that many dogs overlook entirely. Luckily for Ruby's people, Ruby is not like many dogs. She takes her work seriously. Hour after hour in whatever element Western Kansas chooses to throw at her, she can be found, herding her charges around the yard, keeping the flock in a safe, tight huddle, workin it like the working dog that she is. Sometimes she picks one hen and separates her from the herd- flock, that is, her head down, every sense alert, anticipating every move with the savvy of an experienced chicken dog. She keeps a tight ship, reminding forgetful or irresponsible biddies of their place with a gentle nip of the tail feathers, and she rarely sleeps until the last of her responsibility has roosted for the night. She can become a little confused about the end game, and does not always know why she is doing what she is doing or what her objective is, but she is not daunted in the least, even when she is reprimanded for having moved the herd across the road into the neighbor's lawn. In the evening, she drags herself up the steps and in the back door, smelling of henhouse, and collapses in an exhausted heap in her corner, knowing that all too soon, she will hear those words from her people, "check the chickens", and will jump up, so eager to help that she will nearly injure herself in the process, and start the whole thing over. A good dog's work is never done. If there were more dogs like Ruby in the world, jokes like "Why did the chicken cross the road?" would have never been born, and Chicken Little would have never gotten himself into such a mess either, because he would have never been allowed to be idle enough to notice the sky falling in the first place. Here's to good dogs, safe hens, and order on the farm.