Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
He had two patches on his back and that’s how he got his name.
I hear Patchy cost you $8000. How did that happen?
One day I was pulling down the old fence. Patchy was barking a lot and he was loud. I took my cochlear (hearing aid) off and put it in my shirt pocket. By the end of the day, I was picking up the odd wires and posts and I didn’t realise the cochlear fell out of my pocket. I went to look for it and couldn’t find it. I had the fencing contractor help me and we both still couldn’t find it.
About a week later, a fellow came out with a metal detector and I told him all about it. ‘‘Right,’’ he said. ‘‘If it’s got a battery in it, we should find it.’’ We went down to the paddock, got the machine going and not long after we found it — I had driven over it with a tractor, pushing it into the mud. I brought it home and cleaned it. It was working fine and there was no damage.
A couple of months later, we had a steamy hot day. I thought, I’ll go have a snooze. So I took the cochlear off and put it on the table and Patchy chewed it all up beyond repair and it cost me $8000.
Is he trained?
No. He just takes notice of the other dog and helps them out.
Does he enjoy working?
He loves working the sheep. He’s in the paddock most of the time, bringing them home. He helps the other dog. He won’t work on the cattle.
Does he like to travel?
He doesn’t mind the motorbike but he loves the ute.