Folks regularly tell me that they can’t tell my three border collies apart — 3 fast-moving, 35-lb, black-and-white dogs… what could the problem be? — so I thought it would be fair to provide a field guide to the herders of Hollow Oak Farm.

Luc is the one who got me started on the path of penury-by-sheep.  He’s now 8-½ years old and hasn’t slowed appreciably.  He’s got pointy ears, and in poor light is indistinguishable from a coyote.  More than one friend calls him Crazy Eyes, which is apt, but I discovered is also the name of a TV character, so I have mixed feelings; I think he deserves his own nickname.  Luc is terribly keen to work sheep, but is not very good at it, so he mostly sits out the actual herding.

Cass is the youngster in the house at 2-½, but has designs on world domination, so the others mostly let her have her way.  She has floppy ears and lots of black speckles, both of which belie her true nature.  She has the classic border collie mind-control gaze, which she deploys equally on sheep and people holding tennis balls. Cass had irregular access to sheep until we moved to the farm, but now she’s emerging as a very capable herding dog. She and I both have lots to learn about working with sheep, but she’s already the one I want at my side when the shit hits the fan.

Chloe is the newest member of the household, though at 5 she’s the middle dog.  Her brown eyebrows make her the easy one to distinguish if she stops moving long enough for you to notice them, and her ears are usually at half mast.  She also likes to show you her tongue, handsome as it is.  Chloe got to join us because she washed out of the high-pressure world of herding competitions, but she’s been a great farm dog so far.  She’s got a calm presence around sheep that balances well against Cass’s intensity.