Over 14 years ago, I bought a little black and white border collie named Rhett from my friend Kristine Dedolph for $50. I had only been working dogs for less than a year, my first border collie and I never clicked well and I bought Rhett mostly because she was a soft, sweet dog that listened and had a calm manner of working.
At six months old, she quickly progressed well past the dog I had struggled with (Leary, who still keeps my couch warm today) and I took her in my first cow dog trial when she was 2 years old. Both Rhett and I were brand new to working cows, we entered the Novice class with the idea that the entry fee was so low that at least we would get some time to practice working cows. We ended up winning the class!
Rhett had a natural stock sense and was a good listener. My lack of experience kept her from becoming a top dog, but she taught me so much about calm stockmanship and what these dogs are capable of naturally, with very little training.
Rhett was never an alligator type cow dog, she always handled her stock with intelligence and would hit the nose hard, then get out to allow the cow to respond to her pressure. I've yet to have a dog as strong and brave on cattle as Rhett. She spoiled me for cow dogs in general, I am so picky now that I find it better just to keep sheepdogs.
That $50 was the best I ever spent. Rhett is retired now and is mostly in charge of the house cats, but I will never forget how much I owe her.
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