By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER Ohio Correspondent WASHINGTON D.C. — When an angry cow threatened the life of Texas farmer Joe Sheeran, his 8-month-old puppy Woody came to the rescue. That act helped Woody win the first-ever American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Farm Dog of the Year award. Woody is now 8 years old and the Australian shepherd is a champion stock and herding dog. “He’s a good farm dog,” Sheeran said. “Woody does everything. He is a working dog and a pet. He goes everywhere with me.” “Farm dogs are an important part of the lives of farmers and ranchers,” said Cyndie Shearing, AFBF director of internal communications. “They’re part of the family, and it is something that we thought we wanted to recognize and to talk about. Woody came to the home of Joe and Mary Sheeran in a roundabout way. Joe was at a dog trail when a friend asked him to deliver a puppy he had just sold to a place that was near the Sheeran’s home. Joe delivered the pup, but a couple of weeks later the new owners decide they didn’t want him. The breeder picked the puppy up and on his way home stopped to visit the Sheerans. Joe and Mary decided to keep the puppy. One day when Woody was about eight months old, Sheeran noticed a new calf in the pasture as he was driving away from the ranch. When he returned, he went to check on the calf but couldn’t find it. It had fallen into a ditch and couldn’t get out. Sheeran picked it up and carried it out of the ditch. The mama cow didn’t like that. “Woody was just a little pup,” Sheeran said. “I had him on a ‘down/stay.’ I didn’t want him to be interfering with the cow and calf. Here comes Mama. She came right at me, and charged me, and knocked me on the ground. She was on top of me trying to grind me into the ground. “That little puppy came over there and got in that cow’s face and was all over it. That allowed me enough time to get up and walk away. I was able to walk back to the house and then go to the hospital.” The Sheerans raise sheep and cattle on their Lantana Ranch. Woody helps move the cattle from one pasture to another, to sort the sheep in their pens, and more. He is also an ASCA Stockdog Champion and Working Trial Champion. He holds the AKC herding “Excellent” rank. AFBF presented Joe and Mary Sheeran with the award at its annual convention. The contest was such a success that Farm Bureau is talking with Nestle Purina, their partner in the competition, about having it again in 2020. A panel of judges with expertise in the pet care industry, veterinary medicine and communications reviewed more than 90 nominations to select the Farm Dog of the Year. Desired attributes included helpfulness to the farmer and his/her family, playfulness and the role dogs play to make life better on and off the farm. Farm Bureau members submitted written responses to questions, still photos and video clips to nominate their dogs for Farm Dog of the Year. As Farm Dog of the Year, Woody won a year’s worth of Purina dog food, $5,000 in prize money, a trophy plate, and a basket of Purina products in the contest. Four runners-up in the contest will each receive $1,000 in prize money, a trophy plate, and a basket of Purina products. They are: •Clue, owned by Florida FB members Andrew and Cindy Deak •Shine, owned by Kansas FB members, Denny and Donna Ashcraft •Finn, owned by New Hampshire FB members Tim and Lisa Molinero •Flint, owned by Utah FB members Rhett and Beth Crandall AFBF will be calling for entries for the 2020 Farm Dog of the Year contest in late spring or early summer. It will be posted at www.fb.org |
