Where did Holly come from?

She came from a breeder at Mansfield who enters her dogs in trialling. I picked her up after the Boxing Day races, four years ago. She is two weeks younger than my son Ben.

Why a border collie?

I just like them better then kelpies, I reckon they are better around the kids.

Tell me about Holly

She is a super friendly dog - she is a part of our family. We think the world of her and Ben just adores her, but he terrorises her at the same time. You wouldn't find a more placid, betternatured dog than Holly.

Tell me about her working ability

She is not a champion but she is handy. She has got plenty of push and go but sometimes she doesn't really care which direction the cattle are going, as long as they are going forward. She has been kicked by the cows a few times, but never had any injury that requires treatment.

I don't pretend to be a very good dog trainer; she can sit and stay, but she is largely self taught.

Cows or dog food, what does she prefer?

Holly likes working cattle better than selling dog food. She likes coming to work but if she had a choice, it would be the cattle.

What does she do when she is at the shop?

Holly expects everyone who comes up to the counter to give her a pat.

She also has a bit of an issue with the pigs ears we stock. She likes to slink off into the corner and steal a few, when she thinks no-one is looking. Her record is six in one day. She knows it's wrong but she still can't seem to help herself.

Has she had any pups?

She has had nine pups, but only eight survived. When she went into labour she had had four pups and we thought she must have finished. She spent 10 minutes chasing around a tennis ball and we couldn't believe it when we went back out and there were more pups.

We took them into the shop and they sold them all within a week. It was funny because a husband and wife would come into the shop and you could see them arguing. One would be saying "let's take one" while the other would be shaking their head.

Words:

Sophie Bruns

Pictures:

Julie Mercer