Mattie's Life Story: Lessons from a Border Collie
By: Susan Deborah Schiller
"I'm bored!" says Mattie's look in this photo. Mattie retired at age 7 from the Pathfinder Ranch in Wyoming where she was used to chasing cows from sunrise to sunset, always on the go. Now she was on our little farm and wondering why people don't charge out the door at 6 am for the Glorious Chase!
The story I'm about to tell you, if you've ever been a rancher, will sure show you what a naive farmer I was, back in 2009. But then, this story is really about Mattie, so here it goes…
My husband, like Mattie, was itching to get back to work. He had been disabled at the age of 40, so after 9-years of laying low, he was tired of the "same old". So he left the ranch, where we were managers (Cowgirl Up! is where that story is told) and tried to find where he might fit in best. That left me as "The Lone Rancher".
I looked out the window and said to myself, "Sue, you've got to get those horses out of the pasture and in the corral." My husband usually took care of that. He just saddled up and rounded those horses right into the corral. I couldn't ride by myself, yet. I was only just in the beginning stages of learning how to saddle a horse!
Okay, please don't get mad at me for telling you this. I know it was really stupid. But I knew how much horses like oats, right? So I went and filled a huge bucket with grain and I jogged out to the far pasture, shaking my bucket. Horses have a hierarchy, mainly based on age and strength (how is it that they know how old they each other are???) and the lead horse saw my bucket and came galloping. That set off a stampede of sorts!
Within seconds I was engulfed in horse noses and having to be very firm with my boundaries. Fortunately it wasn't a terribly far walk to the corral. Safe!
So Mattie and I went to work every day, teaching these horses who was boss. Mattie somehow picked up on the clue that I didn't really know how to herd the large animals, so she often did all the work herself. Eventually, I learned how to flick a rope, without touching the horses, to give myself a safe space while walking in the fields.
And just to relieve your mind, I did get better and better at the Lone Rancher thing, thanks to the GRACE of GOD! No animals died or got hurt on my watch. But I know there were some very good cowboy angels working with me.
We lived on the edge of the huge Wind River Reservation, a desolate and lonely area. It's "Home on the Range" with wild buffalo and antelope, along with the Indian cows and bulls that have free range.
It was just Mattie and me and the animals until my daughter and granddaughter arrived to live closer to us! And the only "person" to talk to, in those days, was Mattie.
Mattie showed me the lesson of JOY in OBEDIENCE. Like most border collies, she lived to make ME happy! If I was happy, she was happy! It was an endless cycle of joy, because her obedience made my life easier. I could trust her to bring in the horses or to move the cows. She wasn't even afraid to herd the buffalo and the bulls! She had no fear, because she was full of Love.
Mattie showed me the lesson of always LISTENING for the VOICE of my Master. She knew true authority, and to her, I was the voice of authority!
Her eyes and ears were trained on me most of the day. If I walked into the kitchen, she went to the kitchen. Even if she was in her favorite spot, it didn't matter… wherever I was, that's where Mattie wanted to be!
Although she loved the outdoors and couldn't wait to do chores, if I went inside the house, that's right where Mattie would go. She expressed her love in joyful obedience, even if it meant not getting her way.
Mattie showed me God's face and His ways.
if Mattie had her way, we would chase cows and horses from pasture to pasture, all day long. But that wouldn't be good for her. She wasn't able to see what we saw, that her spirit was willing but her body was getting too old to work so hard. She submitted to my decisions for her life, even if it meant disappointment and sorrow…. even pain.
Mattie showed me Loyalty and Grace.
Mattie never stopped loving and trusting, even when there came the day when we had to leave her precious ranch. How would she handle living in a plain old house with an ordinary backyard? Would she complain or get depressed?
Not Mattie, no. She continued to look and listen for me. She learned to be content with trips now and then to a local dog park. And at my son's suggestion, we bought a rat condo!
Mattie loved her rat herd!
Here's what I wrote on Facebook on January 28, 2011:
What do you do with an 8-year old professional border collie who has worked hard herding cows all her life? She entered retirement last year and still has trouble adjusting to the quiet life, so my son convinced me to buy 2 pet fancy rats… and now this dog is in heaven! She's totally fascinated by "corralling" these rats and guarding their pen… she feels like she's back to work without the hard toll on her limbs. Matty is so happy with her pets she doesn't even want to go outside with the horses! Have you ever heard of a pet needing pets?
From all the great responses fellow Facebookers wrote on my Wall, it's confirmed that we truly love and adore our pets! Even to the extent of buying pets for our pets!
Mattie taught me the greatest lessons of all:
Love heals.
Love makes us whole.
Love protects.
Love listens.
Love submits to true authority.
Love sets aside one's own needs.
Love doesn't remember wrongs.
Love believes and trusts, even when it's confusing and nothing makes sense.
Love keeps moving forward, not looking backward.
Love keeps hoping, never giving up.
Love looks up for a solution, not down in depression.
Love is joyful abandonment in the trust that what you need will be given to you, at the right time.
Love is God, our Master.
Mattie was a gift from God. She came to live with me at just the right time. It began with a little dream and a little prayer… I simply asked God for a dog. And one came, just the right one.
Mattie, like many working dogs, was kicked in the head too many times in the pursuit of cows, and developed a form of epilepsy that produced seizures from time to time. She lived for a few years after the seizures began, but they took a toll on her life. My son had to have her put to sleep, so that she would not continue to suffer.
But the lessons Mattie taught me still live on, and have become part of my legacy. I know they are part of my children's legacy, too, for they loved Mattie as much as I did.
How about you? Do you have a pet you would like to always remember? I'd love to hear YOUR story!
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With all my love,
Sue
Susan Schiller knows how it feels to lose everything: marriage and family, church and reputation, finances and businesses, and more. Susan's upcoming, interactive memoir, "On the Way Home," tells the story of how she came to be known as "the most abused woman" her counselors had yet met and how she learned to navigate to freedom and fullness.
Today Susan helps people write their life stories, unearthing the treasures of their past and sowing them into their future, creating new family legacies.
Copyright © 2010 to 2016 Team Family Online, All rights reserved. For reprint permission or for any private or commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Susan, I can hardly write b/c I am missing my cracker girl dog. I loved yr story. It made my eyes wet too. Thank you for yr story. It warmed my heart. Wanting God to give me another. Just like you I SAID god I need a doggie like my pookey.
Awwww…. Debbie, I know God will give you just the right one to love, who will love you! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Such a beautiful story about a heart-warming rapport between a super person named Susan McKenzie and her faithful helper Mattie! So impressive as to make my eyes wet.
Thanks so much for stopping by and reading, Sang-dae! I look forward to hearing more of your stories 🙂
Love this story about your Mattie. I have always had a close connection with animals, and our dogs were no exception. One of our schnauzers is now 15 and we are having to give back to her on a daily basis, with extra love and care. However, the gift that she gave to our family was changing my husband's heart. He never cared for our other dogs…They were always mine. But Josie was different. She managed to touch him in a way that no other dog had been able to do…..and his heart was softened…not just to the animals but to people as well. I believe God sends even animals to reach some people. And, I have always known that He put the dogs, in particular, here to show us His unconditional love which is unfailing.
Wow, Mary! That is a very touching story, and so much like God’s heart… to send just the right “messenger” with unconditional to heal a broken person’s heart! This is such a blessing… and I thank you for sharing!
What a heartwarming story Susan about Mattie. What a great list of healthy love lessons from Mattie. 🙂
Nature is such a wise teacher… I love books, too… but for the past few years I’ve loved looking for wisdom in nature. Thank you for sharing, Claudia!
I LOVE the story of the border collie herding fancy rats!
I also think of the protection God was putting over you when you went out to the bring the horses in armed only with a bucket of oats.
It's awesome how God always takes care of us!
In our naive, foolish (childlike?) “faith” I believe God sends extra angels. He really loves His kids! Thanks, Matthew 🙂
It is amazing how dogs or any animal an teach us a lesson, how when we draw closer to God we will live a more satisfied life and all the good things will follow. I thought you were doing pretty good Susan as a lone rancher, I think I couldn't have done better. I lived on a farm in Alberta and have done some dumb things, oh my!
I would love to hear your farm stories, Olga!
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