Loose Ends: Sheepdogs and the end of summer

Most folks in the White River Valley were sure the dog days of summer were over until they either volunteered or attended another successful Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship. For the past 33 years, our community’s different kind of dog days—the Meeker Classic—has heralded the end of summer. Watching the handlers and their prize winning dogs year after year, I realized that my first introduction to the idea of using dogs to work came during my…