Cooperative Living May 2020 - 9

FarmLife | by Preston Knight, Contributing Writer
Raised to Work
One farm dog's commitment
tells a broader story
Hemi, a border collie,
is a farm dog in Augusta
County. His owner,
Leo Tammi, successfully
placed him as a finalist
for the American Farm
Bureau Federation's Dog
of the Year.
Leo Tammi got Hemi
nearly 15 years ago.
A
mong farm dogs, there is no
passing of the proverbial torch.
No ceremony to celebrate the
end of one's career and the start of
another's. No press release announcing
changes. A younger dog just seamlessly
replaces an older version of itself.
This has been Leo Tammi's experience
for four decades, but there was just
something about the latest transfer of
power that made him want the world to
know more about his full-time furry staff.
Hemi, a 14-year-old border collie, is
now retired and more inclined to find a
small resting place these days at Tammi's
115-acre farm in Augusta County, Va.
The rounding up of sheep - Hemi's
primary task since he was one - is now
under the purview of Rue, an energetic,
albeit " highly strung " farm dog, his
owner says.
To recognize Hemi's career, yet also
to bring attention to the value of such
animals, Tammi applied to have the
border collie under consideration for
the Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year
contest, run by the American Farm
Bureau Federation.
It worked. Hemi was among the
10 finalists nationwide for the " People's
Choice Pup " category.
While the dog fell short of victory in
January, his owner accomplished just
what he wanted.
co-opliving.com
" It was a way to tell a story and let
people know more about these special
dogs, " says Tammi, a member of
Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative.
" I don't know how people can have livestock
without a dog. There's story after story of
how these dogs have saved my butt. We
couldn't get work done without them. "
'LUCKY' DOG, HEMI
Tammi and his wife, Judy, historically
have raised upward of 600 ewes, though
that number is about half today. While
Hemi was in command, the farmer was
impressed by the dog's calm demeanor
and dedication to his craft.
Border collies have a strong desire
to work, Tammi says. Gathering lambs
requires a farm dog to be able to listen
and respond to an owner's command -
" quae tae me, " a Gaelic phrase, will lead
Tammi's dogs to make a wide counterclockwise
arc around a group of lambs -
and also be willing to go to the ends
of a property in search of animals to bring
home.
At the farm, Rue can barely hold back
from doing work when Tammi provides
direction. It's easy to imagine that Hemi
would have been the same way in his
younger days.
" He's really earned his keep over the
years, that's for sure, " Tammi says.
In his Farm Bureau application, Tammi
mentions a run-in Hemi had with a coyote
and relays a story from the 2012 derecho,
which brought excessive winds to the
Shenandoah Valley, leaving a wide path
of destruction.
" Hemi must have impaled himself
when he jumped some of the debris in
his outrun, " Tammi writes. " [An] X-ray
showed a 14-inch stick was 3 inches in his
chest and right on or in his heart. He also
had a collapsed lung. We pulled the stick
out. It didn't bleed much. Fortunately, it
hadn't penetrated the pericardium. That
was lucky. After a night in the emergency
veterinary clinic, Hemi came home. Judy
swears he was smiling when he came out
of the truck and crossed the front yard. "
Hemi continued to work and take
commands while impaled and before
Tammi noticed. The dog was lucky that
day, Tammi says.
At his farm, after some reflection on
what Hemi has meant to him, the owner
had a change of heart.
" A border collie's work ethic is so
strong. It's just an amazing experience
when you find that the dog wants to
please and listen. You can almost see a
light go off in their head. They understand
what you're saying and they do what
you've asked. You know you're really
connected with the dog, " he says. " I guess,
really, I've been the lucky one for having
a dog like that. " 
May 2020 | Cooperative Living | 7
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEO TAMMI
PHOTO BY PRESTON KNIGHT
http://www.co-opliving.com
Cooperative Living May 2020

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