The American Farm Bureau Federation announced the 2021 Farm Dog of the Year during their annual convention this week. Congratulations to Bindi, she’s a five-year-old Australian Sheperd who lives in New York with her owner, Sonja Galley.
Galley was very grateful to accept the award for her partner in crime on the farm. “She was actually born here on the farm, so it’s really exciting because I have been able to watch her grow and develop from day one. It’s humbling in one sense and just really exciting in another to be recognized. It’s just great that other people are able to see what a great dog she is,” Galley said.
She explained how Bindi and her other dogs aren’t scared of hard work. “Dogs do a lot of things, if I need to move cows around, they are there to help me with that. If I need to move a group of cows, they can help do that in the summertime when we have cows out on pasture,” Galley said that the work doesn’t stop there, “I go to give them grain, the dogs will push the cows off of the trough, so they are not mobbing me while I am pouring the grain out. So, different things like that.”
She also thinks that an award such as Farm Dog of the Year has a benefit to it because everyone loves dogs, even if they don’t live on a farm. Galley explained that it’s a good way to start a conversation about agriculture with someone outside of the industry. “It’s a connection factor to a lot of other people that aren’t on farms. When you start talking about dogs, I think everyone can really understand that relationship and they can relate to the farm dog in that way,” Galley went on to say, “I’m really grateful that the judges felt we were worthy of this honor…it’s really cool.”
The American Farm Bureau Federation started the Farm Dog of the Year award three years ago in order to recognize the important role dogs play on the farm.
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