If you’re an employer you know that good help is hard to find. Take a look at the latest help in my office. As small business manager (my wife and I) I don’t have the same insight in employee dilemmas as I did when I worked for a huge employee machine nearly a decade ago, but I can tell from this employee’s attitude that I’m in for trouble. In fact, while we were trying to figure out a name for the latest addition to the Kayser household, “Trouble” was definitely a top contender.
As of this morning everyone in our clan was leaning toward the name “Sage” for our new female border collie. We’ve been toying with the idea of getting a dog, but we had to make sure the kids were up for the task. A dog is a lot of responsibility. Our horses can feed themselves in the pasture and you can put out a truckload of food to keep the cats happy, but a dog requires a bit more day to day interaction.
Hey, wake up! Coffee break is over. Do you have my tax returns filed yet?
We finally had enough faith everyone was going to pitch in and take care of the chewing, poop factory. Why a border collie? Our neighbors have something to do with that choice. They have a border collie that hikes up the road daily to see what the Kaysers are doing. We’ve enjoyed her limited company and my daughter is looking for another critter to show in 4-H.
Why not a hunting dog? It’s fairly simple. Most of my income is generated from big game hunting. Whitetails are the number one game species and hence the market reflects that with product. I love bird hunting, but between my brother and good friends I can team up with a retriever with a simple phone call. Plus, would it be fair to keep a hunting dog penned up while I’m chasing elk or sitting in treestands over the entire fall?
This seemed to be the best fit for our family and make no mistake about it; hunting is definitely on the puppy’s agenda. Tonight after school we’re going to introduce the puppy to some shooting as the kids check the sight on their .22 LR for 4-H. We’ll keep Sage far away, but she’ll see the guns and hear the pop. If all works well I plan on using her to decoy some coyotes in the winter. Judging from the way she was sniffing the pile of dead coyotes in my barn, she might be up for the challenge.
Mark Kayser
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