I would like to take this opportunity to thank visitors to this site for their messages of support. I am now starting to add additional stories submitted by visitors.

If you have any amusing stories to share with like minded Border owners please contact MAIL ME

If you can send a digital picture (jpeg) with your contribution so much the better.Wherever possible I will try not to alter your original transcript.

MISTY - a VERY valuable Border!

About 5 years ago, my dad and I decided to go blackberry picking in our field.

My dad went up to the top of the hill, but I decided to head into the bramble
section halfway up.

I was standing there for about fifteen minutes just collecting blackberries.

A fter a while I found there weren't many decent ones left, so I turned round
quite quickly and slipped.

I sat on the ground with my foot down a hole for about 5 minutes. I kept thinking to myself that I must get up, until I saw these yellow and black things crawling up my legs.

I screamed - bees bees! My border terrier - Misty came running over to me,
then back to my dad - she was going backward and forward barking, till my dad
realised something was wrong.

He followed her, and saw that I was surrounded by wasps. After being attacked, my dad managed to get me out, but Misty had been badly stung. I ran up to the house and got my mum to phone the vets and then hospital.

Misty was taken to the vets. she very nearly didn't make it. she was given many
injections and recovered well. apparently I was later told that if I had been
stung much more -I may not be here today.

My dog saved my life and I am forever grateful.

Borders are the ideal pets - they won't leave your side what ever happens.


Misty (left) and Kiri (right)

Thank you Misty!!!

verity (wales)

 

Midge

Hello, hi and woof woof

Just to let you know the little blighter has arrived, oh the joys of being parents yet again......we've got the 1yr old chasing the 3 year old... the puppy(midge) chasing the 1 year old and his tail....and the cat... and Shoe laces (while still in the shoes).

We got a crate for him to sleep in and we let him try it out earlier tonite, after much crying we decided to take a look to see if midge was ok.......to our horror he managed to get the bottom of his jaw stuck in between the bars,the more we tried to free him the worse it went..after about 72 hours (well 10 seconds anyway) we managed to free him. Pup is fine ,we are nervous wrecks!!

House Training

After following the dog round for what seemed like an eternity while he sniffed, turned, put his tail up, turned, sniffed again, scratted, turned and walked to the back door he finaly decided to empty his bowels,(the only 10 seconds we took our eyes of him) Janet picked him up to move him to the newspaper placed near the back door ,while walking in the stuff which was moving at a hefty rate out of his backside.Well....the kids started laughing janet started cursing I was howling .then another turn of events ,midge finished his duty on the paper and was so exited he stood in it and then ran around the house.............I'll leave that to your imagination.

 

Toby - This is a real scream, and typical of our lovely 'best friends'

From the owner of Toby and Samantha, Essex, England

My two sound exactly like your two ..... but, I bet you can't beat this for disgusting eating habits..... on holiday in Northumberland towards the end of Bamburgh Beach near the rock pools, my husband and I and our two borders (Samantha and Toby) were having a lovely time rock pooling.

We had just walked past a huge starfish (about 7 inches in diameter) - a few minutes later we noticed Toby chewing something.

After investigation, we found out that Toby had gone back to "visit" the starfish and had decided to eat it!

On the way back to the caravan he was violently sick all over the back of the car. I have never seen or smelt anything so disgusting in all my life! What on earth was he thinking of? After the first mouthful, did he actually find it tasty?

He's the sweetest and best dog in the world and I wouldn't be without him, but he's definitely not all there!

isn't he 'sweet'?

 

Brock

This anecdote about Barbaras Border, Brock (alas now in border heaven) is one of her favourites. Unfortunately no picture of Brock

In Barbaras own words

I used to work in a school as a lab technician and occasionally did a bit of work for the domestic science teacher who had rather a reputation for being an absolute dragon with her own technician, and everyone else she came across. Because I'd helped her out on odd occasions I plucked up courage to wheedle her into icing an 80th birthday cake I had baked for my mum.

It took some time to persuade Margaret to ice the cake - but she gave in eventually and said yes.

The day came when it was ready to take home and I was instructed, like a three year old, to take every care and not to damage her handiwork.

It was indeed a magnificent creation, complete with hand made flowers in a hand made basket on top, and pretty swathes of flowers gathered in the centre of each side of the cake - a delight to anyone's eye!

With just a little covering of cling film, so as not to press on any of the decoration, I placed it most carefully on my kitchen work top, thought how thrilled my mum would be with the surprise, and went to watch TV in the sitting room.

Like in most family households one is used to the background noises which are going on - and used to unusual almost imperceptible sounds that visitors might not notice.

Engrossed in the television program and almost asleep, one of those sounds must have caught my subconscious mind.

At that moment I remembered in horror my darling dogs insatiable appetite for fruit cake! Normally reliable, so far as food left on the kitchen work top, fruit cake was his weakness!

I leapt to my feet, flew to the kitchen just in time to catch Brock slinking beneath the dining table .......... I hardly dare look! There, right in the centre of the side of the cake was a missing mouthful! Oh, what to do? For starters the domestic science teacher would kill me (yes, I'm an adult, with adult children!) but I knew she'd kill me, and how to explain to mum - who had an idea that a surprise was on its way the next day..........

Then I realised that although the cake was damaged the cling film was unbroken - and the damage was bang slap in the centre. Relief started to course through me.

Reasonable arty, I managed to find a bit of ribbon and a tiny pearl topped pin and recreated a centre piece over the damaged area, safe in the knowledge that Brock had not actually had his mouth on the icing due to the cling film.

The elderly guests would not get food poisoning! Eventually I did confess to both mum and Margaret what had happened. Mum laughed - but Margaret sniffed and said it was a good job I'd not taken it back to her........

And Brock? Well, of course I blamed myself, not him!

Barbara

 

---

MAXWELL

My name is Maxwell Mosquito and I am a 9 year old Border. A little while ago some of the younger members of my family were staying with their parents plus my best friend Nutmeg, a golden labrador whose greed is legendary!

Lunch had been prepared, including a beautiful large slice of smoked salmon, and the humans were enjoying a drink before lunch having done their best to keep us dogs out of the kitchen.

Nutmeg and I sneaked into the kitchen and as she is bigger than me she was just able to get her paws onto the salmon and dragged it onto the floor.

Nutmeg immediately took control, she took the nice fat end and I took the other end {my mouth isn't as big as hers} and we were busy chomping away when Master came in to carve the salmon.

Luckily he saw the funny side and managed to wrest the remains from us, washed it and cut off the tooth marks.

Definitely a lesson for the humans not to think that dogs are only interested in canned meat and dry biscuits!

 

Roxy - 7 months old

One of the stories "Remote terrier" reminds me of my own border. She is always waking up early in the morning and having a walk around unstairs and jumping on everyones beds just to make sure no one has escaped in the middle of the night!

Once, when Roxy was younger she started chewing on one of my little brothers toys at 5 in the morning. It was a harry potter wand that you play games with and it makes noises and says things like "your powers are now mine" . So whilst she was chewing it she must have pressed some of the buttons, so i woke up to some scarey wizard noises thinking this wand was possesed by a ghost or something! So i was sat up rigid in my bed, scared stiff and wondering what on earth was happening! Then i heard the noises coming nearer and i got even more scared, but to my releif i saw Roxy walking through my bedroom door, looking rather smug, wagging her tail with the wand in her mouth!!!


Roxy at 6 months

Henrietta