Magazine article just read rated the Border Collie as world’s smartest dog.
I agree. Our first dog ‘Brownie’ was primarily Border Collie, although relegated to the Animal Shelter because of his mixed bloodline. That’s where my bride of one month found him. Maxine wanted a dog in the house while I worked the morning newspaper shift.
The duplex neighbors thought that was a good idea. They renamed him ‘The Brown Bomber.’ Later, the three little daughters—who learned to walk holding on to our dog as he herded them away from the street—called him ‘Bomba,’ then ‘Bomber.’
‘Smartest Dog’ said the magazine article, because the Border Collie could figure out what maneuver was needed when herding sheep.
As we soon discovered, Brownie could figure out how to reenter our ground floor apartment. Twice we found him in the front room after we drove away, leaving him in the fenced backyard. When we returned, the gate was still locked. But Brownie was waiting in the cool of our living room.
But how? We decided to deceive. We put Brownie in the backyard. Maxine drove a couple of blocks away. I tried to stay cool in the living room with both screened windows open. The year was 1950 and we could barely pay our rent, much less buy a window air conditioner.
As I waited, I kept my 8 millimeter camera ready. (Wish I still had the footage we showed later to our daughters.)
Before long I heard the open window screen rattle. Brownie was bumping his head against the screen until the latch came free. Then our Border Collie bounced his head against the screen just enough to squeeze in his head, followed by his body, and he jumped into the living room.
When our dog realized he was captured on film, Brownie looked a little sheepish.
Very sweet story
Awe