At last, there is a tinge of green in the hedges, as the tiny whitethorn leaves are starting to show. Some hedges are dotted with tiny white flowers from the blackthorn bushes, which are a type of plum tree, and the ones in the garden are starting to bloom as well. I’m not sure if there are any bees about to pollinate them yet. I’m happy to say the noisy rooks have started to build their nests in the tree outside my bedroom at home, and there are eight nests currently in construction.

Storm Doris

Storm Doris struck towards the end of the February, and while I listened to it battering the country from the safety of my dormitory bed in school, little did I know about some of the damage it was causing outside. My Mum sent me a photo the next morning of our trampoline draped upside down in our hedge – clearly Daddy did not tie it down so well!

Sad news

Sadder news was yet to come when we realised our sheepdog Tess was not in the farmyard that morning after the storm. Daddy searched the whole farm, looking in all the spots he knew she liked to explore, but there was no sign of her. She was microchipped, and my parents contacted all the local animal rescue centres and the dog pounds, and despite over 300 shares on Facebook, she was not seen and was nowhere to be found.

Life for a sheep farmer is almost impossible without a sheepdog

She was a very special dog to us, she was eight years with us, and we had her father Shep for 14 years.

Life for a sheep farmer is almost impossible without a sheepdog. Our farm is laid out in four blocks of land, and we often have to use the public roads to get from one field to another. Without a dog, this is a much slower and more difficult task, as I soon realised when I was the “sheepdog” last weekend. I was told to stand in gateways, not to stand in gateways, run to the side, stop moving, shoo them along… it seemed I was never in the right position or doing the right thing, and I was soon worn out. Those sheepdogs don’t have it easy.

Dash

So we soon realised we needed a replacement for our dear Tess, and because it is such a specialist job, we needed to find a dog who is bred for the job, and who is showing potential working with sheep. After a lengthy search and many phone calls, we came across a six-month-old dog in Co Kilkenny, who was in the early stages of training and was displaying good skills. So on St Patrick’s Day we headed on a trip to Thomastown, where a lovely lady greeted us called Krisztina.

We are looking forward to watching Dash growing up as part of our family

She introduced us to Dash, who was very excited to see us, and she showed him work small group of sheep by the side of her house. Daddy was very impressed, and we were all smitten with this clever Border Collie pup. The deal was struck, and after a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake, we were back on the road, with Dash nestled between us on the back seat. He still has some training to do, and although we still miss Tess a lot, we are looking forward to watching Dash growing up as part of our family.

Charlie Hackett is a 13-year-old boy from Geashill in Co Offaly, where he lives with his two younger sisters Poppy and Heidi, and his younger brother George. His parents Mark and Pippa both work on the farm, produces organic beef and sheep, and along with a few horses, chickens, dogs and cats is a busy family farm. He is a first-year student at Kilkenny College, and boards there during the week.

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Read the rest of Charlie’s articles here.