“they didn’t approve of kids and Border Collies mixing”
There are always situations to smack down those theories. Several years ago, after the death of their Schnauzer-a large one, not one of the little things-my brother and sister-in-law went to the local Greyhound rescue to adopt a recycled track dog. They saw an outgoing, beautiful brindle female, and went to the adoption office to tell them they wanted to spend some time with the dog. The lady in charge told them it was inadvisable to have a Greyhound with such small children (my nieces were 5 and 7 at the time).
My brother told them he had done his research as well, and he was pretty sure he knew what dog would be an appropriate companion for his kids. The dog went home with the family 4 years ago, and there has never been a problem with the kids-she even tolerates two cats-but she will stand right up and eat unguarded leftover from the kitchen counters. Staffordshire Terriers-one of the “pit bull” breeds-are supposed to be dedicated cat killers, among other things, but my daughter’s Staffordshire loves them.