Farley originally appeared in FBorFW in 1980, after Elly's friend Mrs. Baird bred a litter of Old English Sheepdogs. In October of 2008, we reviewed this storyline with some new material added.

Farley was a good dog, but would occasionally make a bid for freedom.
The family worried incessantly until he came home again, usually filthy and in need of a bath. Farley's escapee escapades were documented by Lynn and her sister-in-law
Beth Cruikshank in the first FBorFW children's book, Farley Follows His Nose.

Farley proved to be quite difficult to train, was sometimes suspected of not being all that bright, and yet he developed a vocabulary that occasionally surprised the Pattersons. It didn't take him long to become a beloved member of their family, and even Elly came to overlook the mess and the dog hair and love the big mutt.