Daisy dog can’t be beaten
Tough hound survives back injury to win jump
IF THERE was a Victoria Cross for dogs you’d have to give it to Daisy.
At Saturday’s Etheridge Show and Turn-Out at Forsayth, eight-year-old Daisy jumped 2.3m, easily taking out the popular dog jumping competition.
Daisy was up against stiff opposition from other highly esteemed canine high jumpers, Panda and Bilgus.
But when Panda and Bilgus dropped out of contention, Daisy just kept going, one board at a time.
Up she’d go, with just one or two toenails gripping the top of the rail before landing in the back of a ute.
Just when you’d think she couldn’t handle another board, up and over she’d go. And the crowd would go with her. What a trooper. What a warrior.
And then when it was all over, Willie Bethel from Jenkins Creek Station told a story that would make the hardest heart melt.
In 2015, Daisy won the dog jump with a mighty leap of 2.6m. That’s a record in Forsayth. And you have to remember that Forsayth is working dog country.
This is where dogs are called “turners” because their primary reason for existence on this earth is to turn runaway cattle and bring them back into the mob.
Jumping into utes stacked with gear is another part of the job.
When the boss says, “gitintheback”, a dog has to do it quick or it’s a long walk home.
Last year a bull got Daisy down in the Jenkins Creek stockyards and damaged her back.
For days Daisy could only just pull herself around. It looked like her working days might be over.
And then, Willie said, she started to come good. Slowly she recovered.
She was placed on light duties. Gradually she went back to work.
On Saturday Daisy proved that animals, just like humans, can be brave and can overcome great adversity, like being run over and gored by a bull.
She didn’t break her own record on Saturday. No, she did better than that. She came back and had a go.
The crowd gave Daisy a big cheer. Willie tickled her ear. Daisy looked around with her tongue hanging out one side of her mouth and gave a big, sloppy grin. She might as well have been saying, “I was just doin’ me job”.
❝And then when it was all over, Willie Bethel from Jenkins Creek Station told a story that would make the hardest heart melt.