On herding

Last summer my significant other decided he would take me to Cres, an island in the Adriatic sea. My significantly hairy darling agreed and so we went. The roadtrip passed without problems. However, the ferry ride was considerably more filled with adrenalin. Not because of the ferry itself but because of the stairs in it; you see, Sambo is a bit stair-o-fobic in unknown places so the extremely narrow and steep stairs were a death sentence to him. Actually, for both of us, no kidding. Climbing up such stairs usually isn't such a problem. But the downhill part is a whole diferrent story. When I saw Sambo wouldn't cope I lifted him in my arms so I would carry him down. Half way down the moron looked down, got spooked, started to panic and tried to jump off my lap, so we both almost fell. Luckily I managed to hold him until we got down, sadly on the expense of him furrowing my stomach and arms. But ok, it ended more or less fine and we got to live another day.

The real adventure of course started when we arrived in Cres. We encamped, pitched the tent and conquered a huge land we vigorously defended for the next few days. Then we went for a walk to the sea, first along the main road and then by a smaller marginal road with very little traffic and good visibility, so I always let Sambo run off leash there. So off we go along the main road… and meet the first sheep. Loose, without any fence around it, so it freely crossed the road. I suppose I don't have to tell you how enthusiastic and alert Sambo got. We continue and a bit ahead see the next flock of sheep, calmly grazing by the road. And a bit forward, another one. And another one. We finally arrive to the small road where I let Sambo loose; he starts to research the new territory while we walk on the left side of the road and by a small cart track on the left, guiding us to the ruins of a stall, enclosed with a fold made of rocks. A bit ahead of it is another fold of rocks and in it there are 4 horses, which I of course go to see and pet. We make a long, decent walk and happily return to the camp. The following day we go for a walk again. This time we don't see the horses, so we almost pass the cart track, but in the last second I catch a glimpse of a small movement with the corner of my eye. I make one step back and see – sheep. A flock of sheep, calmly chewing hay in front of the fold with horses. My boyfriend immediately joins me, while Sambo continues to cruise the road and enjoys the air full of scents. I knew I shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist myself, the temptation was just too big. I quietly called Sambo, pointed my finger towards the cart track and whispered: 'There are sheep there.' Sambo turned and looked at me; then he probably noticed my unusual smile and posture and decided to investigate what's going on. So he came to us and looked around the corner. And saw the sheep. Have you ever seen the movie Ice age? Well, if you have, then you must know what a face made poor Scrat, the prehistoric squirrel, when it saw a whole arsenal of acorns. Then you can also imagine pretty well what a face made Sambo when he saw the sheep. He stood there, fascinated, for a few seconds, enjoying the view. And then – action time! With his unmistakeable roaring he plunged rigth into the flock, which scattered in all directions. It looked like if a huge ball of wool exploded. The sheep went flying into the air, left, right, jumped over the stone walls… And Sambo was right behind them. In four seconds there wasn't a trace left of the sheep, Sambo or anything else, there was just silence and the rocky folds. My boyfriend and I exchanged glances in the silence and waited. And listened. Nothing, then we heard a yelp. And another one. 'What do you think is going on?' he asked. 'If I know my Black Death as well as I think I do, he picked one sheep victim which is now standing with its ass towards a bush and can't go left or right, with the one and only Death standing in front of it, centrifuging with his tail and yelping into the sheep, telling it to move and make his day.'

We decided to save the poor sheep, so my boyfriend went around along the road and I went pass the ruined stall between the shrubs and rocky folds. In a few moments we simultaneously came aorund the corner or better said, some bushy shrubs. And saw the sheep, pressing itself to the bush, eye to eye with the Black Death, standing a few feet in front of it, wagging his tail wildly and yelping into its face every now and then. Mamma knows, what else. Nevertheless, I have to confess that Sambo still surprised me. When my darling and I came around the corner and saw the exact scene I had predicted, we both started laughing. Sambo looked at us for a moment and the sheep wanted to take advantage of the situation to flee its guardian. In a second Sambo lost that comic touch and showed some serious, exemplary herding. When the sheep went left, he jumped in front of it and closed its exit to freedom; when the sheep wanted to dart out to the right, Sambo had already anticipated that and was already blocking it. When he lost focus for a second the sheep managed to escape. Sambo circled it from the side and slightly pushed it away with his body and then blocked its path, until the sheep again found itself in the shelter/trap of the bush. Even now I remember that herding experience with a proud smile because Sambo did everything by the book. He didn't bite the sheep or showed any intention to and except for that discrete push he never even touched it, he just blocked it with his body and directed it until it was exactly where he wanted it to be. In my opinion he passed his herding trial with flying colours. Of course, after such a successful presentation it is only natural one has to treat himself with a little fun. The sheep, who was now standing still, wasn't all that fun anymore, so Sambo gave it a little space to run away. Then, the off road trial began. The sheep went flying over the rocky fold, Sambo behind it. And pass my boyfriend on the road, me climbing over the rocks. Then they played tag for a while on a half flooded shore. The sheep soon didn't feel like running anymore, but Sambo's enthusiasm didn't subside, so he started barking at it to make it run a little more. Luckily he got to enjoy another round of sprinting; another sheep jumped from behind a bush by the road and found itself right between the other sheep and the Black Death. So they all had a relay race for a few more minutes, after which Sambo's adventurous spirit was approximately satisfied, so I finally managed to recall him. This was, without a doubt, the climax of Sambo's vacation, but we also enjoyed ourselves admiring the action and laughing to the herding adventure. We kept seeing the sheep every day that week, but never again near the small road, so I couldn't offer Sambo a bit more fun and recreation. Oh well, in a few more months the sheep will have their chance to get some payback…