Devotion and
Farm dog contest entries bring winning combination
Story by Linda DuBois ∞ Photos by Melissa Jewel
They’re diligent laborers who help with the arduous workload around farms and ranches. They’re faithful companions who bring joy, and often fun, to farm life. And for some farmers and ranchers these past couple of years, they’ve been something even more: a bright light during a dark time. Such are the tail-wagging winners of the California FarmBureau’s second annual FarmDog Contest. Open to Fa rm Bureau member s , wit h suppor t f rom Nationwide, the contest asked entrants to submit photos and a brief story about their dog. The Grand Prize winner earned $1,000, with First Place receiving $500, Second Place $250 and Third Place $100. The following is the story of the Grand Prize winner: a cow-herding border collie named Crystal. Top dog It was over a year into the pandemic and the Boersma family was drained physically and emotionally. Faced with a staf f ing shortage, Eric and Dena Boersma and their four young-adult children were working long hours, seven days a week at their 1,200- cow dairy in Riverside County’s San Jacinto. “Everyone in the family was exhausted and we just couldn’t keep up,” Dena Boersma said. Herding the cows was especially challenging. With each cow wanting to go in a separate direction, it often took two to three people to move them, she said. “Sometimes there weren’t two people to even do it because we had to be doing other things. So, one person would be trying tomove them, and it was just frustrating and exhausting.” But that was BC—before Crystal. It was son Hayden who came up with the suggestion that changed everything: “What if we had a dog to help us?” While the family had had dogs, cats and other pets,
they had never before had a working dog. But it sounded like a plausible solution. New beginning Af ter much searching, in mid-July, the fami ly adopted 3-year-old border col l ie Crysta l from a California man who trains dogs to herd. She’s been everything the family needed and more. “Whenever she sees a cow, her ears perk up and she gets all excited, ready to go to work,” said Eric Boersma. “Crystal is always by our side when we are in the corrals or pastures, looking intently for her next assignment.” She’s bonded with the whole family—which also includes son Riley and wife Cassandra and daughters Hannah and Lauren—but works especially well with Hayden. He’s invested the most time in learning to work effectively with her, including mastering all the hand signals and commands Crystal already knew. “I had to learn a lot and continue with her training,” he said. For example, “a herding dog’s tendency is just to bring the animals to you, so you also have to teach them to drive them away from you. That takes more practice.” Crystal also needed a little help with her confidence. While she came to the family prof icient at herding smaller animals (she learned with sheep), she was a little afraid of the cows. “Going to cattle is a bit different because they’re a lot bigger and can be more stubborn,” Hayden said. “So, Crystal got a little intimidated once in a while, especially if it was a group of cows and they didn’t really want to go anywhere.” Here’s where Smokey came in. Since getting Crystal, the family has adopted a “retired” cow-herding border collie that needed a home to live out her senior years. While she’s primarily a pet rather than a working dog, Smokey has shown Crystal how to be more assertive with obstinate cows.
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