She’s a pure-bred border collie from a Bendigo breeder. That’s why we called her Bonnie — Bonnie from Bendigo.
Why did you get her?
As a pet. I didn’t want her working. We’d had dogs before who worked or were pets but she was definitely for company.
Does she still do some herding?
I can get her to do a bit of herding, but none of the get back stuff. When we had the dairy farm she liked getting in the lane behind them and pushing them into the yard. Now she sometimes has a go with the cows but the calves give her a mean look and she comes running back. The mothers don’t worry because they are all old dairy cows but their beef calves give her strife.
Have you ever owned a border collie before?
No, previous we’d had Jack Russells, a golden retriever and one red heeler. In the ’93 floods that heeler killed 13 snakes. One of the Jack Russells died from a snake bite, he got bit on the tongue and died within minutes.
What does Bonnie like doing?
She loves water. Once I went looking for her and found her in a water trough. When you open the gates to irrigate she’ll stand at the gate and bark at the water as it comes out.
She likes riding in the motorbike with me. She'll either sit in the footwell or stick her head out the side looking for hares. She loves hares, but she's got no hope of catching them. The tractor is another favourite, you just have to open the tractor door and she jumps in. I let her in because otherwise she follows the tractor and when you’re reversing you don’t know where she is.
What do you like about Bonnie?
She’s good company. If I’m here in the shed she’ll be sitting there with me, and if I drive into town she’ll sit down and be exactly where I left her when I come back, waiting for me. She’s a sensible dog without an aggressive bone in her body.
Has she had puppies?
Yes, when she was younger. The sharefarmer’s kelpie got into the backyard and they had a mixed litter. One of the puppies went to my niece who lives next door, another to the orchard up the road and one to a Shepparton vet. Six months after she was fixed — I’m not making that mistake again.
Where does Bonnie sleep?
By the back door. We started her in the laundry but that only lasted a few weeks, then she had a kennel in the backyard but she preferred to sleep on a bag near the door, so I got her a bed up there.
Words and pictures: Daneka Hill
