Name: Kim
Type: Dog
Age: 11
Date of Passing: 19 / 08 / 1978

In 1967 when we were viewing his litter to choose ourselves a border collie pup there was something about him that made him stand out from his brothers and sisters and he was the unanimous choice for the three of us. He was no trouble right from that first night - not a whimper at being separated from his family . He quickly settled in and became part of our family where he had a pretty good life , like getting his own ice cream cone when the van came round .Like most of his breed he was hugely intelligent and picked things up so quickly , and was soon exhibiting all the natural characteristics of the sheep dog that essentially he was .
He loved going for his walks / runs , and we spent hours out and about the local area , but his favourite times were on the family holidays (at least three times a year) at the caravan at Chapel St Leonards where he was free to wander at will without the constraints of the garden (despite the fact that he had to endure a three bus/coach journey taking the best part of five hours in those days) . He loved the water and would happily through himself full speed into any lake or pool chasing anything that I'd thrown him , although he would never go out of his depth in the sea .
One enduring memory at the caravan site is when we were aware of some sort of commotion outside , where a growing number of people were watching this black and white dog hurtling around (and sometimes under) the caravans in pursuit of some unfortunate rabbit which had strayed down from the sand dunes , this went on for what seemed quite some time and we were reluctant to call him off (trying to disown him in front of the increasingly concerned crowd whose sympathy lay with the rabbit) , eventually the rabbit gave up the struggle , stopped and resigned himself to his fate , at which point Kim dropped -sheepdog style- onto his belly , panting fit to burst , tongue hanging out giving him a stupid looking grin and an expression that seemed to be saying "oh that was a great game , lets go again as soon as your ready !"
There was an almost tangible collective sigh of relief from the gathered throng as they realised that he was only playing and never meant the rabbit any harm , and we were able to call him back into Dennis ownership .
He had a good life but after a short illness he died in my Grandmothers arms when he was eleven.