On life with a pair of balletic border collies... For Sunday Miscellany on RTÉ Radio 1, listen to Fred and Ginger, by Paula Shields above.
Someone's cold nose is nudging me, knocking hard against my right hand and arm. Avoiding the gesture only makes him more insistent. Black and white legs are upside down in the air – they may look like they’re flailing but the windmilling paws are strategic. Fred is on a mission to supplant the thing I’m ignoring him for – lapdog v laptop in a contest, previous form says he’ll win.
For almost ten years, Fred has been herding me around this house– I've only just registered that that’s what he’s doing, that I’m his unwitting, obedient flock. His sister Ginger lives mostly downstairs– no room up here to chase a tennis ball or a squeaky toy, so why would she bother?
I can barely remember life BC, Before Collie...
Listen to more from Sunday Miscellany here.
