Adelaide and her mum Nicole Osler spoke to Country News about their two border collies and the work the pair do on their Numurkah farm. The unlikely pair bonded quickly, even after one of them had to have both eyes removed.
What are your dogs’ names, ages and breed?
We have three border collies, Princess who is four and Scout who is five. We also have the old girl, Paris.
Tell me a bit about Princess.
She never grew. She was the runt, and Scout is her boyfriend.
Tell me about Scout.
Scout lost both eyes due to glaucoma. The glaucoma sent him blind, and the pressure was causing him significant pain, so we had to either remove them or put him to sleep.
But they both act the same around each other.
What kind of tasks does Princess do?
She doesn’t really work, she tries. We’ll use her if we’re moving the cows. She’s actually pretty good on the cows. Helps with the cows, not so much the horses.
She’ll bring them up, and if it’s dinner time, she’ll go in behind and bring them up so we only have to go to the gateways.
What is Princess’s personality like?
She’s playful and just loves people too. She’s obsessed with playing ball, she’ll play with anything.
She’s still like a puppy, she’s never really grown out of her bad habits.
What made you get Princess and Scout?
Well, we thought Paris was going to die, and so we got the kids a dog each in preparation for that, and Paris is still alive, and they’re four and five.
Where’s she from?
She came down from northern NSW.
What is Princess’s favourite thing?
More than anything, she loves her ball.