Our little boy is growing up! As Rosco matures into adulthood, he’s really coming into his own as a great herding dog. Aussies are known for their herding abilities, as well as their intelligence and playful nature. While these are all desirable traits to have in a four-legged companion, sometimes the combination equals one big troublemaker and a whole lot of mischief.

Rosco is full of energy and loves to play. Like most Aussies, he requires tons of exercise and mental stimulation, or else he will come up with his own ways to amuse himself. In other words, a bored Aussie is a mischievous Aussie.

We try to give Rosco plenty of outlets for his excessive energy. He gets beach time, swim time, park time, ball time, frisbee time, along with multiple walks a day. It seems like I spend the majority of my time trying to entertain the dog. But despite my best efforts, Rosco still manages to find trouble. He’s recently taken to running away. Just for fun, to see if we can catch him.

The first time Rosco ran away, he raced up the driveway, around the house, down the other side, and off into the brush. I was so mad at him I swore I was going to beat him when I found him. (Not really, I would never beat my dog.) I couldn’t find him anywhere, so I had to get Steve, who was in the shower, to help me look. Steve went on foot, I took the Jeep, and we headed out to look for him. I was still fuming mad. And then we found him… herding horses up the hill. It was so random. I couldn’t help but laugh. It was like a proud parent moment. Rosco was doing the very thing his breed is supposed to do. As much as I wanted to be mad at him, how could I be mad at him for that?! His innate abilities took over. I drove up next to him, opened the Jeep door, and he leapt right in to my lap, smelling of the worst thing I’ve ever smelt. I think he got peed on by one of the horses. But I was still so proud of him!

Here’s some background to that story. The horses Rosco herded had been hanging around our house in the previous days. In St. Croix, people own horses and bring them to open fields or neighborhoods to feed. There are seemingly stray horses all around the island, but I’m told that they do have owners. Either way, we see horses around our neighborhood all the time, and Rosco has taken a liking to them.

In addition to the random horses, there’s also a horse rescue on the island. To fund the rescue and care for the horses, they offer horseback riding on the beach. Every day we see the horses on the beach, Rosco has to run over to herd them. Even if the horses are riding out in the ocean, Rosco will swim out to herd them. He doesn’t quite know what to do once he’s in the water with them, but it sure is funny to watch.

Rosco is by far the silliest dog I’ve ever met. I never thought anything could replace my last dog (the love of my life), and nothing ever will, but Rosco is starting to win me over. I think I’ll keep him.