Hero Dogs Rescue Herd Of Sheep From Drowning
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Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Five fearless sheepdogs waded through floods to save nearly 80 sheep from drowning and their owner has called it "a miracle".
The dogs, four Border Collies and one New Zealand Huntaway, swam and waded through the strong currents to round up the scared flock.
They were caught up in floods when the River Stour in Dorset's banks burst last week due to torrential rain.
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The sheepdogs - Bee, Ghost, Blaze, Jack, and Kea - worked tirelessly for 40 minutes to bring the sheep over to the other side of the riverbank to safety.
They were helped along by owner Jemma Harding, 40, who too carried several frightened animals to safety during the mission that at first looked almost impossible.
Jemma, who works on Knighton Farm House near Wimborne, Dorset, called her five sheepdogs "ferocious and amazing".
She described the rescue operation as a miracle, adding: "We'd have suffered some big losses if it weren't for my brave sheepdogs.
"I was totally caught out by the floods. There's just no way I could have saved those sheep without my dogs."
"They're so brave and strong - each one is worth 20 men. They don't complain, they don't moan, and they just get on with the job at hand."
Even more impressively, one of her eldest dogs, Bee, doesn't even like swimming, not choosing to go into the sea when they head to the beach, unlike the others.
Despite that, they all got stuck into the job at hand.
Before the disaster unfolded, Jemma knew the rain was coming down hard and was worried about her sheep all night.
She said: "I was tossing and turning all night, thinking the riverbanks will have burst and that the sheep will have drowned by the morning.
"So I was relieved to see them all marooned like they were, but there was easily a good 300m between them and the farm gate. I needed all the dog power that I could get, and they saved the day."
Jemma, who also waded into the floodwaters in her wellies to carry stragglers, said the sheep were "jeopardising" the rescue operation.
"They're a bit dumb, they started self-sabotaging," she said.
At one point the sheep tried to jump on top of each other to save themselves.
And the current was so strong that even her brave swimmers struggled to sustain the same level of energy that morning.
Jemma said: "At one point, a few of them were trying to swim against the tide, and they weren't moving at all - that was the lowest point."
Thankfully all the sheep were rescued by Jemma and her sheepdogs, aged between one and eight.
She was so thankful to her pooches and she rewarded them all with warm puppy milk and plenty of hugs.
What a pack of pooches, although you don't need to tell us dogs are amazing, we're obsessed with them ALL.
