STORIES

At the end of a long day of mustering as all the hands settle down around the fire more often than not the conversation will turn to the topic of their dogs. Amazing stories of "the best dog I ever had", "Kelpies versus border collies versus koolies etc"," the dog that could climb trees"," the dog that saved my life" and on and on into the night.

The working dog is not only man's best friend but to the stockman he is also his right hand.

 

Creamy and Henry

From ABC Local Radio (Australia), Richard Vidler interviews legendary Agricultural Show announcer Angus Lane. Angus tells us the moving story of Creamy and Henry Ashcroft who were competing in the three sheep trial at the Royal Show in Brisbane. The full story can be found at LINK

 

Droving Alone - worth his weight in beer

Mike was the best dog Darcy Martin ever owned, now we know why. They say a good working dog is worth at least 3 men, but when its hot in Queensland he's worth his weight in beer.

Location on Google Maps

 

Colin Seis and Trixie's amazing journey

Colin Seis' family have been farming their property "Winona" in the Gulgong area of the Central West of New South Wales since the gold rush days of the 1860's. In 1949 they started a fine merino wool stud and in 1974 began to seriously breed working kelpies. They now export kelpies all over the world. Years of traditional farming techniques began to take their toll on the the land and Colin began to experiment with more sustainable methods in the 1980's. From this came "Pasture Cropping" a no till method that not only regenerates the native grasslands but is cheaper, more efficient and carbon friendly.

In 1979 they lost nearly everything in a major bush fire. Here is Colin's story about a special dog Trixie.

Location on Google Maps

 

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This is the first of our working dog stories. It comes from Simon Marnie's ABC Radio program "Talkabout Saturday". For more great working dog stories lookout for the excellent ABC book "Great Working Dog Stories" (ABC books) by Angela Goode and Mike Hayes. This is a wonderful book of amazing dog stories and is thoroughly recommended.

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A kelpie dog story from John Richard at Cassilis:

Sam and Kip were litter brothers from a dairy farm in Kangaroo Valley. When relocating from Kangaroo Valley to Cassilis, Sam sat up in the seat of the truck and watched every kilometre, while Kip slept on the floor. Several trips were made with stock and machinery along the Old Northern Road and over the Blue Mountains. One particular evening, I was on auto pilot and followed the road straight ahead onto gravel instead of turning right on the bitumen. Immediately, Sam gave me a quick nip on the elbow - talk about front seat drivers! On pulling over, Kip would wake for a walk while Sam took a well-earned sleep. Their different styles were evident in all their working life. Sam would rush off to bring the cattle in quickly while Kip would observe and bring them in at the end. The two even looked totally unalike Sam was short- haired, all red with erect ears; Kip was long- haired with floppy ears and touch of white hair. Neither was a better dog than the other they were opposites that complemented each other.

 

You can find this and others stories on the ABC website.

LINK