I've been having an internal debate to myself about what my first blog post should be. Should I introduce myself or write like I've been doing it for years. I was browsing posts from my favourite blogs (and some new ones I stumbled across) to find inspiration and that is when I discovered insideabubble and found her sweet 'The Pet Tag' post.
Introducting my handsome and precious fur baby:
What is your pet's name?
He's called Maciver. Pronounced Ma-kiver, not Mac-Iver, and I never knew who Macgyver was until after we named him. People who have known him since he was a pup still think that's his name. He was very nearly called Flynn but all the house members had to agree on a name and one of them was against it. Maciver came up on a name-meaning website as Scottish for son-of-an-archer which was an instant hit with everyone as he belongs to my boyfriend whose surname is Archer and he was born on a farm in Carlisle, near Scotland. So even though Maciver is unusual and a bit long for a dog's name, I love it.
Does your pet have any nicknames?
As with any long name, it's inevitably going to be shortened and Maciver has no shortage of nicknames, the most common being Mac or Kiver. Some of his nicknames: Baby, Goober, Goobz, Angeldog, Macapoo, Macapod, Pod, Poddle, Prince, Gremlin. We also refer to him as the Chosen One since he's the only animal in the household who was sought after and chosen whereas the other dog and cat were given to us pretty spur of the moment.
What kind of pet is he/ she and what breed?
He's a Border Collie dog whose grandfather was a champion sheep-herder.
How old is your pet and how long have you had your pet friend?
Mac was born on 12th April, 2012 and we brought him home on 19th June, 2012.
How did you get your pet?
He was my boyfriend's 21st birthday present from his mum (even though she's not-so-secretly always wanted a Border Collie). Around a year before we got him we were discussing getting a second dog as a companion/ playmate for the older dog and the thought never really went away. We searched the internet for reputable breeders to find the perfect new addition to our family. My boyfriend and his mum were very particular about how the dog should be and they each had their own set of criteria that had to be met as he wanted a male and she wanted just the right amount of white stripe on the face. I discovered Mac and instantly knew he was the one but (if you can believe it!) my boyfriend thought otherwise although soon realised that he was perfect. I remember the drive to pick him up and how the moment we walked into where the pups were, he immediately stood our from his siblings and came right to us as though he knew we were going to love and care for him forever.
What are some quirky things about your pet's personality?
He suckles and pummels cushions and is obsessed with lights. He just knows when the cutlery draw is opened and comes charging into the kitchen no matter where he is or what he was doing and stares at the ceiling waiting to see a reflection from the knives and forks. He also likes wrestling with his daddy and is unforgiving to dog's who try to take his belongings or challenge his dominance (it's something we constantly work on). He's also super duper intelligent and some of the traits he's picked up because of that are adorable. He'll go out and do his business if you open the back door and tell him to "go wee wee." If you tell him to go to daddy he'll find where my boyfriend is. If he knows he isn't supposed to do something he'll stretch and act nonchalant while he thinks of ways to get what he wants before making his big move. He thinks he's really clever and we're all unaware of what he's doing but whenever he does the stretch you can see his little brain working and it's the cutest thing. When he gets shouted at he'll come right up in your face and cuddle up to you because he thought he'd try it one, it worked and now it's too cute to ignore. He also loves humping some of my friends but he's very particular about who he likes to hump.
What does your relationship with your pet mean to you?
I wish he could live as long as humans do because life without him wouldn't be right. Everyone who knows me knows how much I adore him.
What are some of your favourite past times & memories with your pet?
We live near a lot of children and pass by their house to get to our field. During the first summer he was with us, they'd come running to see him, stroke him, walk him, and feed him and now I can't get the sound of their voices saying, "can I stroke your dog?" out of my head. Mac's a real people dog and will often snub other dogs and go gaga over their owners. One time when the children were crowding him, he was so happy and excited that he peed right there where he was sat and I could see the pee slowly spreading out around him and towards the knee of a girl who either didn't notice that the dog she was squealing over had peed or her, or just didn't care because she liked him so much.
He also isn't much of a water dog and will rarely enter further than his paws but one time he swam across a river because his best (and first) friend, Billy the Border Terrier, was on the other side. After running around for a while with Billy he realised he'd left his parents behind and instead of walking along with Billy until we got to the bridge, he swam back across. There have also been a couple of times where we've been walking along the canal and he chased some ducks right into the water and we've had to heave him out when he realised he was swimming.
As for past times, I love spooning him and he's his most sweetest in the morning when he jumps on the bed, looks at me with those loving eyes, tucks his ears back to give me a good landing strip and demands all my attention. He knows a lot of fun tricks like 'stick 'em up' and 'bang' and we practise those daily. As weird and gross as this may sound, he has really nice smelling ears and it's such a comforting scent.
