Animals are really stepping it up during the Australian bushfires. First, it was wombats sheltering fellow animals in their burrows, and now it’s this border collie who helped save her owner’s farm livestock. Patsy, the six-year-old border collie and kelpie mix, guided a flock of sheep away from a fire danger zone.
Photo: patsythecorryongwonderdog/Instagram
Meet Patsy, the Hero Dog Who Saved 900 Sheep During the Australian Bushfires
According to Cath Hill, sister of Patsy’s owner Stephen, in Bored Panda, “For Patsy, funnily enough the fires don’t really make much of a difference!!! She’s a border collie/kelpie cross, so she’s a working dog through and through. These dogs have been bred for generations to develop their ability to work with sheep and cattle on farms, and they are very intelligent and resilient animals. They love to work, it’s just what they are bred to do, and they can be very focused and single minded on the job! So when my brother needed Patsy to help bring the sheep into safety, that’s exactly what she did. She just got on with her job and did it, regardless of the conditions. Cool, calm, and collected.”
Stephen used a tractor fitted with a water tank to keep the flames from his farm while Patsy herded 900 sheep and led them to safety away from the fire. Thanks to Patsy’s efforts, most animals on the farm were saved.
“I’d have been stuffed without Patsy,” said Stephen. “She’s earned front-seat privileges for the rest of her life.” 