Better Farming - November 2016

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On the Helfenstein farm, Bruce’s
herding instincts helped Carolyn’s
husband, Harry, with daily cattle
movements. The barn-dwelling herder,
a gift to Harry from Carolyn and her
now adult children, relished his
round-up chores, gathering cows and
moving them under Harry’s direction.
Bruce also chased and killed ground-
hogs, preferred to avoid muddy fields,
played football with visitors and hated
thunder and lightning.
One spring morning many years
ago when the children were still young,
Bruce nearly drowned when he fell
through ice on a nearby creek. Neigh-
bourhood children watched anxiously
from a waiting school bus until Harry
managed to reach Bruce with a length
of extension ladder and bring him to
safety.
“Bruce knew that Harry and the two
of them were a real team, but the kids
knew him as somebody who would
sneak into the house and watch
television” with them, Carolyn said in
an interview from her home near
Ripley.
“In our house, there were supposed
to be no dogs, which was a joke
because they’d sneak in anyway,” she
said.
“Almost every farm has a dog, and
every dog has its own personality and
the stories that go with it,” Helfenstein
said. “He’s not always a purebred
anything. He’s often a pup that some-
body else has got to find a home for,”
she said. BF
FARM DOGS
Kevan Gretton and his dog, Clint, crossing a field at this year’s sheep dog trials.