Sheepdog in the City
This book traces Charlie’s experience of adopting a border collie during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising him in the city and then learning to train him as a traditional working sheepdog. There is also another thread exploring Charlie’s family history and his relationship to his father.
The dog, Enzo, has an amazing inherent instinct for herding and soon the story progresses from Charlie’s novice dog-handling to hands-on experience with professional shepherds in North Yorkshire. They learn the rhythms of rural life and prepare for competitive sheepdog trials. Alongside this, Charlie investigates his ancestry in the same region, uncovering a complex and often troubling family past marked by secrecy, mental illness, and his father’s suicide.
As the narrative develops, these strands increasingly intersect: the landscape, the work with Enzo, and Charlie’s family research all deepen his understanding of where he comes from. By the end, the book offers both a story of skill and companionship, and a personal reckoning with inheritance, memory, and identity.
This book traces Charlie’s experience of adopting a border collie during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising him in the city and then learning to train him as a traditional working sheepdog. There is also another thread exploring Charlie’s family history and his relationship to his father.
The dog, Enzo, has an amazing inherent instinct for herding and soon the story progresses from Charlie’s novice dog-handling to hands-on experience with professional shepherds in North Yorkshire. They learn the rhythms of rural life and prepare for competitive sheepdog trials. Alongside this, Charlie investigates his ancestry in the same region, uncovering a complex and often troubling family past marked by secrecy, mental illness, and his father’s suicide.
As the narrative develops, these strands increasingly intersect: the landscape, the work with Enzo, and Charlie’s family research all deepen his understanding of where he comes from. By the end, the book offers both a story of skill and companionship, and a personal reckoning with inheritance, memory, and identity.
Description
This book traces Charlie’s experience of adopting a border collie during the Covid-19 pandemic, raising him in the city and then learning to train him as a traditional working sheepdog. There is also another thread exploring Charlie’s family history and his relationship to his father.
The dog, Enzo, has an amazing inherent instinct for herding and soon the story progresses from Charlie’s novice dog-handling to hands-on experience with professional shepherds in North Yorkshire. They learn the rhythms of rural life and prepare for competitive sheepdog trials. Alongside this, Charlie investigates his ancestry in the same region, uncovering a complex and often troubling family past marked by secrecy, mental illness, and his father’s suicide.
As the narrative develops, these strands increasingly intersect: the landscape, the work with Enzo, and Charlie’s family research all deepen his understanding of where he comes from. By the end, the book offers both a story of skill and companionship, and a personal reckoning with inheritance, memory, and identity.