Rex: The Farm Dog
- Paulsen has worked on a lot of farms, so he's known a lot of farm dogs.
- He talks about what a farm dog is. They work hard, but they're also family.
- Paulsen loves working with farm dogs, especially old collies. He always talks to them while they work.
- He often wonders what these dogs do in their "off" hours. So one rainy day, Paulsen follows Rex the collie dog around the farm to find out.
- Rex's farm is busy. There are cows and pigs and two palomino ponies.
- Paulsen's first stop after his morning coffee is the barn, where Warren the farmer is milking the cows.
- When they're done milking, Rex takes off toward the pasture. He's clearly an old pro.
- Rex herds the cows and sends them toward the barn with great care. He leads each cow to its stall, one at a time.
- The farmer had once told Paulsen that Rex sleeps with the cows in the winter. Watching Rex work, Paulsen can see how much the dog cares for the animals.
- After he's sorted out the cows, Rex is on cat-watching duty. As the barn cats drink milk, Rex helps a kitten, the runt, get a place at the dish.
- That task finished, Rex trots off to the pigpen, then the calf pen. Finally, he hits the chicken coop, where he carefully studies the fence to make sure it doesn't have any holes.
- Finally, Rex checks on the ponies and heads back to the barn. He's done with his first round.
- The rounds continue, with Rex checking up on all the animals again. He spends extra time at the chicken coop sniffing at some skunk tracks.
- (All that sniffing pays off—Rex will catch that skunk the next night.)
- When Warren and Paulsen have finished milking the cows, Rex guides the herd back to the pasture so the animals can graze.
- Paulsen's impressed that Rex knows to lead them to the grass. He wasn't trained that way; he learned what to do from observing the cows. Now Paulsen's extra impressed.
- Breakfast time. Paulsen eats inside the house. Rex enjoys a plate of meat and scraps outside on the porch.
- Babysitting time. Rex watches the farmer's daughters, who are three and five.
- Paulsen marvels at how gentle and attentive Rex is with the little girls.
- The farmer's wife tells Paulsen that the dog is like a nanny.
- Throughout the long day, Rex never takes a break. Paulsen's amazed how hard he works making sure the girls and the farm animals are all doing well.