A couple days ago I was walking with Cody and Sierra in Sherwood Gardens, one of the best places to go in Baltimore this time of year, and I saw what I thought looked like an English Shepherd. I wasn't so sure since everytime I see a dog that looks slightly like our dogs I think “That dog looks like my dogs!” Most of the time it is usually an Australian Shepherd or Border Collie mix though. This usually what most people assume when they see Cody and Sierra too. However, on this day I was pleasantly surprised.
At Sherwood Gardens this dog was lying down casually when he spotted us walking by. Bandit, which we later learned was his name, starting pulling to come say hello to Cody and Sierra and it looked like his owner couldn't stop him. Since Bandit looked friendly I thought I would let my dogs have a little greeting Bandit. After I was confident no snarly faces would be directed at Bandit I casually asked his owner, “What type of dog is that?” she replied, “English Shepherd” to my surprise. I told her that Cody and Sierra were English Shepherds too!
Being such an unknown and rare dog breed I was pretty surprised that we meet another person with an English Shepherd in Baltimore city. I mean Baltimore isn't a huge city but it isn't small either. What are the chances of English Shepherds running into each other?
Some of you might remember, the last time we meet another English Shepherd in Baltimore was when we fostered Scout. You might remember that Sierra gave Scout a singing lesson and he was pretty good. Scout doesn't live in Baltimore city anymore though since he is currently being fostered again by the NESR with a great trainer in Pennsylvania that knows a lot about working with English Shepherds.
What was interesting to see was that Cody and Sierra both really liked Bandit. Sierra was especially playful and they both wanted to run off leash with each other. (Not a good idea in Sherwood Gardens though.) It seemed like Bandit, Cody, and Sierra all knew they were the same breed or something. Usually Sierra is a bit snarky with other dogs but she was fine with Bandit. I took this picture of Sierra and Bandit lying together.
Bandit really like Cody and Sierra too. When we tried to say goodbye and started walking away, he pulled his owner and followed us. He probably thought “Oh no, my friends are leaving!” He clearly felt an English Shepherd kinship too.
Talking with the girl that owned Bandit we agreed that having an English Shepherd is a bit different from other dogs. They can be too smart for their own good sometimes, but it would be hard to own any other breed of dog. It is a lot of work but a lot more interesting and fun in my opinion.
Since Bandit doesn't live to far from us we told his owner he and she could come over for a dog playdate sometime. Cody and Sierra love having friends over since I think they get bored of each other sometimes. (Cody definitely doesn't like dealing with his little sister.)
Hopefully we will see Bandit again and run into more English Shepherds in our area.