Mo

Lara and her dog Mo helped us work sheep on Monday.  At one point, Lara sent Mo to gather a field of about 180 ewes, which included a handful of ewes that have lambed.  Mo disappeared around the back of a hill and didn't reappear where we were expecting, so Lara went looking for him.  Sometimes when a dog disappears like this, he's become distracted or confused (and has basically quit working) - not Mo, however!  Mo had discovered a ewe with a newborn lamb, and he was slowly bringing her along to join with the rest of the bunch.

Taff (L) and Mo waiting to go to work!

I can't describe how proud I was of Lara and Mo.  The episode emphasized to me the importance of "listening" to our working dogs.  Mo's disappearance might have been cause for anger (mine and Lara's) if we hadn't realized what he was trying to "tell" us.  Without the ability to verbalize, dogs must rely on their handler's ability to understand their actions and judgement - and Mo's judgement is nearly always good!