At first glance, a young Wyoming border collie named Maya doesn’t seem to have much going for her. She’s about only half the normal size for her sheep-herding breed, doesn’t want to herd sheep and is terrified of the ranch’s barn cat.
Maya was, ironically, born under a sheep wagon on one of Wyoming’s oldest sheep ranches, the Warren Livestock Co., founded near Cheyenne in 1886.
Susan McMurry Samuelson and her husband represent the third family to own the ranch, and dogs are a vital part of the operation. Great Pyrenees guard the herds, and border collies help herd sheep.
Born Out On The Range
The dogs are particularly busy when the sheep herds are on their summer range in the mountains between Cheyenne and Laramie.
The ranch employs expert Peruvian sheep herders who work on three-year visas. So, herders must return to Peru every three years and come back to Wyoming once their visas are renewed.
That’s how Maya came into the picture.
A couple of years ago, her mother was pregnant with Maya’s litter when the Peruvian sheepherder who owed the mother dog had to return home and await the renewal of his visa.
So, Maya ended up being born under a sheep wagon out on the range.
While that should have foreshadowed a great career for a dog literally born to herd sheep, Maya had other ideas.
Maya is a border collie that never took to herding sheep at the Warren Livestock Company ranch near Cheyenne. Instead, she gets to hang out in the ranch house with her favorite human, Susan Samuelson. (Courtesy Susan McMurry Samuelson) 
Border collies are excellent sheep herders, and are much appreciated on the Warren Livestock Company sheep ranch near Cheyenne. (Courtesy Susan McMurry Samuelson) 
When working dogs on the Warren Livestock Company sheep ranch near Cheyenne get old, like this border collie, they get to retire and hang out on the ranch house porch. (Courtesy Susan McMurry Samuelson) 
Border collies are excellent sheep herders, and are much appreciated on the Warren Livestock Company sheep ranch near Cheyenne. Great Pyrenees like this one guard the herds, while border collies herd sheep. (Courtesy Susan McMurry Samuelson)
Skittish Little Dog
When Maya was still a pup, Samuelson couldn’t get anywhere near her. The dog had essentially gone feral and was afraid of people.
One of the Peruvian sheepherders finally managed to scoop up Maya and brought her to the ranch headquarters.
There, Samuelson tended to Maya, patiently waiting for the young dog to get over her skittishness and work on basic commands, such as “down,” “sit” and “stay.”
Maya took up residence in the house and eventually bonded with Samuelson.
“Maya is with me all the time,” she said. “She sits with me where I sit and she follows me from room to room, wherever I go.”
Maya was tiny from the start and has remained so, Samuelson said. Border collies typically weigh 45-60 pounds. Now fully grown, Maya weighs 25 pounds.
No Interest In Sheep
Border collies usually have a natural herding instinct, Samuelson said.
They don’t need prompting to start trying to herd sheep — only some training and discipline to learn how to do it properly, she said.
Not so with Maya.
“She just never had any interest in the sheep,” Samuelson said.
She and her husband are still the only people Maya is completely comfortable with.
And while Maya loves going up to the summer range in the mountains, Samuelson said the little dog stays right next to her husband and doesn’t try joining the other collies in herding duties.
For whatever reason, Maya’s herding instinct has never kicked in.
“I think it’s maybe because she’s small and the herders had other dogs that did all the work,” Samuelson said. “And I think she just become accustomed to handing out, as a pet.”
But that doesn’t make Maya worthless on the ranch, by any means. She has become a great companion and is overflowing with personality.
“She’s a funny girl,” Samuelson said.
“I can’t get rid of her. If we have a dog, they’re with us until the end. We don’t get rid of our dogs,” she said.
When working dogs at the ranch get old, they retire and get to hang out on the front porch of the ranch house. Maya has that privilege sooner than normal.
‘She Thinks He’s A Mountain Lion’
Maya’s most hysterical quirk is her crippling fear of the ranch’s barn cat, Samuelson said.
Out on the range, mountain lions can be a serious danger to sheep.
Samuelson said she thinks Maya might have witnessed a terrifying mountain lion attack when she was a puppy and was imprinted with a fear of felines.
“We have a calico cat named Bob, a barn cat,” she said. “And Maya thinks he’s a mountain lion. If she sees him, she runs away. Even if she sees him through the glass of a window, she’s afraid of him.”
Despite having a cat phobia and a disinterest in sheep, Maya will continue to live her best life at Warren Livestock Co., Samuelson said.
“She’s my dog now,” she said, adding that nobody needs to feel sorry for a pint-sized sheep dog who doesn’t like sheep. “She’s living a life of luxury.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
