The Chosen Ones.

First pictures of Tippy.

For five years before our move to the farm where I was to become farm manager we had lived in Alloa which is near to Sterling in central Scotland. During this time the subject of having a dog had come up several times but it was always decided that we were away from home to much during the day. When I first met Vicki she had a dog but it died before we married. I too had grown up with a dog in the house but my enthusiasm for them never really developed beyond petting them when I felt the urge so I have to confess that whenever the subject of getting a dog was raised I felt less than enthusiastic about it seeing them as a burden and a tie.

A few weeks after moving in to the farm the subject of getting a dog came up once more and as all of the obstacles had been removed by the move I could find no objection on my part, my only stipulation being that it was a Border Collie. My reasoning behind this being that as it was to be our daughters dog and I was aware that children and pets can grow apart very quickly so at least being a Border Collie I could take to it later if need be.

So after browsing the local paper for Border Collie pups for sale and finding a place at Wingerworth near Chesterfield we set off one Friday evening after dinner to choose our puppy. My parents always came for a visit on a Friday evening so they also piled in to the car and came with us.

When we arrived the farmer showed us six pups, there was a brown and white one, a blue and white one and four black and white ones. The red one disappeared behind a corrugated iron sheet leaning against a wall so dad said not to bother with that one as it would probably always be timid. Soon everyone was taken with this particular black and white puppy and were on the verge of making the decision final when this other little pup came up to us and made it be know that she too was interested in finding a home so more or less straight away it was decided that if she wanted us who were we to refuse so after paying the farmer £65 he gave us some food for her and we took her home with us there and then.

By the time we had got back to the farm she had been named Tippy because all the tips of her extremities, tail, feet and nose, were marked white. Of course everyone was very excided so it was hard not to overwhelm her. So that is how we came to have Tippy in our lives, and to this day no one ever regretted being her chosen ones.