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I'm on my third Border Collie. I agree it doesn't sound like a lot but when considering the average lifespan of this breed (around the 14 to 17 year mark), my own lifespan may only be able to cover 5 or so.
Presently I have 2 - they are brothers from the same litter and I consider them as much a part of my family as my human relatives. Loyalty and unconditional love is a given from any breed of dog but what sets Collies apart from the rest is their quite obvious intelligence. One only needs to study their eyes to notice it. A recognition of what they see is clearly evident. If I may regale you with a short story.

I have a pair of boots; y'know, the sort with ten eyelets? One morning I rose to find the laces had been removed from both boots - and I don't mean torn away with the frenzied ripping of a slow-witted type of animal. No, the laces had been carefully slid through every eyelet in both boots and lay on the ground beside them completely intact.
The dog had worked for however long and carefully with (presumably) his teeth to remove the laces from the boots without breaking or tearing them in any way. Amazing!
That's my own personal experience with the breed. But to really see how smart they can be one only has to watch the average sheepdog trial, the competition run by farmers mainly in the UK. With just whistles and the odd gutteral shout, the farmers order the animals to run for virtual miles while rounding up the sheep. To look at the dogs as they run, stop, lie flat on their bellies is a sight to behold. And if you ever get the chance to look closely at their eyes, you can see...just see the internal working of their minds as they try to corral their charges into the pen. All the while the only thing breaking the silence, the incessant panting as their hearts beat at breakneck speed.

Of course, that's the working type of Collie - not my two, who even as I write, are lying either side of me on the sofa, legs akimbo as if to boast - 'Hey, look at me!'

Man, my boys are the best.

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