Tim the red kelpie has made the transition from a sheep property to a lifestyle property and now to being a ‘townie’ all with ease.
Working farm dogs that don’t quite make the grade can still find their niche in regional life.
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Tim, the red kelpie, is one such dog and has brought joy to Kerri Brook and Ken Evans since they acquired him four years ago as a two-year-old from a farmer less than impressed with his sheep-rounding skills.
“A local farmer didn’t want him, and my brother saw him and said ‘well I’ll take him and I’ll find someone’,” Ms Brook said.
“And we just happened to have a dog put down the week before.”
Tim’s temperament was on show at Yea while the couple was meeting Melbourne friends at a mutual halfway point from their Seymour home.
There’s no real favourite among Tim’s adoptive parents.
“Oh, he’s joined to two hips and the favourite all depends on what’s happening,” Mr Evans said.
“Exactly — he loves getting in the car and he knows when I’m taking him for walks, and so when I get ready for that, he’ll come to me,” Ms Brook said.
“And Ken’s the feeder.
“He was a useless sheep dog, but he’s just a beautiful pet.
“He is just so well behaved.”
Mr Evans said barking or adventurous behaviour were not Tim’s style.
“He doesn’t bark, so when you do get a yap out of him, you have got to pay attention to what he’s unearthed,” he said.
“He doesn’t like the rain — he gets under the house, and we have to try coax him out when it rains.
“But he loves people; he’s just the perfect dog.
“You can’t fault him really.”
Tim has made the transition as a rescue dog gradually by moving first to the couple’s Creightons Creek property and now to town as the couple downsizes.
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