Deepfork's Golden Gladiator, CD

1977-1990

Ruffis, a golden rough collie, was my first dog. I got Ruffis when I was 13 years old. I had just received a kidney transplant, and my doctors, concerned about the jarring the kidney would receive from riding my horse, urged my parents to sell it. I relented, if I could have a collie instead.

So Ruffis, a 14-week-old collie, came to live with me. I had read Lad, a Dog and all of Albert Payson Terhune's other collie books, and I had wanted a collie for years. Ruffis, it turned out, was a direct descendant of the famous Sunnybank Farm collies.

Two words describe the big collie - loyal and good. He was our watch dog and my personal guardian. If a stranger came into the house, he would position himself between the stranger and us. He wanted to be in the back yard at night, so he could patrol the yard. One night, my brother came home late. Having forgot his key, he attempted to climb the fence to enter the house through the back door. As he was climbing the six foot stockade fence, a snarling collie jumped to within inches of the fence's top, trying to attack the intruder. My brother immediately announced himself to avoid further attack.

However, guard duty was the only time the gentle dog ever showed aggression. He knew when to guard and when to submit. One day, my mother found a four year old neighbor boy in the back yard grinding his heel on Ruffis' tail. Ruffis looked miserable, but never growled or snapped, instead he quietly allowed the child to inflict pain to his sensitive tail.

I had purchased Ruffis as a potential confirmation dog, but those of you who know collies can tell from his pictures that Ruffis grew a "Roman nose." His poor, misshapened nose kept him out of the beauty show ring. Instead, I decided to train Ruffis for obedience competition. He was great in this sport. I remember him looking lovingly up at me during our training sessions. It was clear he absolutely adored his young owner. I did take him to obedience trials, and we earned his CD (Companion Dog) title. As a teenager, I disliked the pressure of showing, so Ruffis was retired after this accomplishment. However, he got me hooked on training, and I have since learned to love the pressures of showing. Agility wasn't created at the time, so he never got to experience the joys of agility.

Ruffis was an incredibly good dog. He was hardly ever in trouble, and he had a strong desire to please. He loved to hear the words "good dog," and would look rapturous everytime he heard them. In fact, I only remember him getting in any sort of trouble twice in his entire lifetime. He was potty trained after just one incident.

Ruffis was a hero as well. Just as in the many collie stories written by Albert Payson Terhune, Ruffis saved a life. Our older little terrier mix, Tuffy, didn't like Ruffis, the puppy. Ruffis annoyed the older terrier constantly, trying to convince him to play. Tuffy would have nothing to do with the pup.

One night, Tuffy had been accidentally left outside. During the night, Tuffy had gotten the tags on his collar stuck on our chain-link fence, and unfortunately, it was stuck so high up on the fence that Tuffy's two front feet couldn't touch the ground. He was hanging, and his people were in bed. Tuffy was in dire trouble.

Ruffis, still a pup under a year old, saw Tuffy's problem and searched out a solution. He began gnawing on the stuck collar. Gently chewing on the collar, careful not to hurt Tuffy's neck, Ruffis stayed at his job until the collar was severed in two. Tuffy was freed from a potentially fatal situation.

In the morning, we discovered Tuffy out in the back yard, collarless. We found his collar still stuck high on the chain-link fence, chewed in two. From that night forward, Tuffy's opinion of Ruffis changed drastically. In fact, for several days after the event, Tuffy wouldn't leave Ruffis alone, licking his hero's face at every opportunity to the point that Ruffis got tired of Tuffy's constant attentions.

Ruffis was absolutely the perfect companion for a teenage girl. He indeed was one of the Sunny Bank collies come to life and my "golden gladiator."