Elsie the Sheltie

A few years back my niece was celebrating her 14th bday at an outdoor party at her mother's. Ash and her gaggle of friends were spread out in the yard into little groups chatting and giggling as young girls are wont to do. Elsie was finally released from the house and tore into the yard. Usually a sweet and calm creature, Elsie suddenly seemed to go berserk. She began to race around the outside circles of the guests and as I watched from the patio, the girls began to scream in terror and run, much like frightened sheep, to the corner of the yard. Elsie, a sheep herding dog who spent her entire life in Northeast Philly, instinctively knew how to wrangle a herd of teenage girls into complete submission.