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It is always difficult when a dog is missing. You look everywhere, wondering where your pet is and what it is doing. But a story about a missing dog had a happy ending, after its owners discovered that it had accepted an unexpected new job.
Tilly is a two-year-old border collie owned by Linda Oswald and her family from Idaho. But in early June they collided with another car on the freeway, and Tilly was thrown from the back of the car, according to SpokesmanReview. Tilly ran away and was nowhere to be found, making the family’s accident worse.
“I cried every day,” Oswald told the SpokesmanReview. “It was ridiculous, but you get really excited about your pets.”
The family searched for ten hours before going home. But the search on social media continued: A post about Tilly went mainstream among the locals. Days passed without a word about the missing dog.
But it turned out that Tilly’s instincts were leading her to an unexpected place. It turned out that Tilly had ended up on a farm … tending sheep!
Travis Potter, who runs the farm with his brothers, noticed that some sheep had left the pasture and an unknown dog was with them. “I think this dog tried to herd,” Travis said.
Tilly fitted in so well with his new job that he went almost unnoticed – the farm owners mistook him for one of their own Australian Shepherds, although they noted that the coat was a bit different.
However, on closer inspection, they found it to be the lost dog they had seen on social media. The farm owners contacted the Oswald’s and Tilly eventually went home, thirsty and tired, but otherwise safe and sound.
Border Collies were bred to herd animals in the past, so it’s no wonder Tilly’s instincts took hold when she walked onto a farm. And his owners say they are not surprised, they had seen those instincts in him all along.
“He will protect everything,” Linda Oswald told the SpokesmanReview. “When I go to the dog park, he tries to get people to join a group.”
We are very happy that Tilly is safe and sound at home, and has even found a new calling during her absence!
