From being a small child I have always loved Border Collies – I even drew them life-size on my bedroom wall! I don’t know what it was about them that I loved so much, but they seemed very intelligent dogs, and dogs with real character. When I was twelve, my first dog, a collie cross who I called Mac, came into my life and became my constant companion – roaming and exploring – always together. I guess that growing up in the countryside away from any towns meant that there were not so many friends to play with, so Mac became the friend I spent all my free time with – we were inseparable. Sadly as we had Mac at 8 weeks old I never knew her mother; who was a rescued farm collie that had been brutally treated, something you remember vividly as a child. She had been so weak that most of the pups had to be taken off her.

Mac did everything with me, and with us as a family. From farm sales with Dad and I, to going for walks with Mum when I was at school, to sailing with the whole family every summer. Mac loved the boat and the sea, though I shall never forget her running down to the sea each time we got there and trying to drink the salt water – she always had a comical expression! She even saw me off when I embarked on my first round Britain solo sail, we have a great photo of her watching me leave… She knew, I am sure, what I was up to.

It was a huge loss to the whole family when Mac died just short of her 20th birthday as for all those years she had been as much a part of the family as any of us. Testament to that was the huge stone that Dad carved her name in and put on her Grave down the field.

Grief is always helped by focusing on the living though, and 6 months before we lost Mac a new companion Floss came into my life. She came from the SSPCA in Scotland in fact, complete with the injury of a broken leg. It was one of the more traumatic times in my life taking her in and out of the vets for operations, and watching her fight gangrene which had set in her foot. She pulled through incredibly though, and luckily today still has a couple of toes which she can use on soft ground.

Life though has not been easy with Floss as after all her trauma it’s been hard for her to gain trust in people. She is though, a joy to be with, her character is both sensitive and funny, and as I am now trying working her with sheep we are becoming a real team. I’m a believer that most things happen for a reason – and Floss has been a great lesson in learning for me. I would never want to be without her! She too enjoys the water, and came on a kayaking mission at the end of this summer for two weeks camping and paddling along the canals and rivers. She’s the most fantastic companion.

The more time I spend with the Border Collie, the more I realise that I have much to learn from them. They are the most loyal creatures and interacting with them makes me feel incredibly close to nature. Sailing is about working with nature and the elements, not fighting them, and being in the countryside with Floss gives me a similar feeling – one of freedom and feeling alive!.

Both my dogs were rescues and I feel great compassion towards animals who, reliant on us for their well being, get misunderstood along the line. But FOSTBC is not just about helping those dogs in need, but also about educating people to understand them so that fewer mishaps take place along the way. I am both honoured and excited to be the Patron of FOSTBC and look forward to helping to promote the work to give Border Collies the freedom of spirit they so deserve.