Hi all-

I've been lurking on this list for a long time, but I'm enjoying the debate
and discussion on rough collie appearance, specifically eyes.

I was at my son's soccer game last Sat. and saw a big black and white dog
being walked by a young girl. My mom said "Wow, that's the biggest border
collie I've ever seen." I took a look and squinted (missing our team's
first goal). "No, Mom, that's not a border collie." The girl and dog got
closer. I thought"That's the smallest borzoi I've ever seen." I had to wait
until the little girl got pretty close to me to ask her about her dog (I'm
recovering from surgery--getting up from a sitting position takes a while).
When she got up to me, I saw that here was a collie mix, b/w, with the
smallest eyes, the longest,narrowest head and the most arched back I'd ever
seen except on a sighthound. My parents, having had rough collies and
knowing more about ES than the ever wanted to, looked at the dog, looked at
me and sort of sighed. They knew I was not leaving until I talked to the
kid. Yep--a purebred collie.

But I have to say, he was sweet and noble and never once got spooked by
having his ears pulled and soccer balls whizzing past him. He looked out
for that little girl the whole time they were there. Even if he didn't have
the looks, he had that stalwart collie heart. My ES would have been dying
to get on the field and score some goals, my elderly Lab would have taken a
nap and my old setter would have been unnerved by so many kids. Suddenly,
he didn't look so uncollie like after all....

Paige