One of the last of his line, Prince the old farm collie enjoys a neck rub from his owner, Erika Dubois, while helping with the chores.
Click on the photo to view a larger image.
by Bill Dunphy;
This article was printed in a local newspaper in Nova Scotia; technically I don't have permission to reprint it here, but hopefully will get permission as soon as I find out the name of the paper.--gsb
One of the last of his line, Prince the old farm collie enjoys a neck rub from his owner, Erika Dubois, while helping with the chores.
Erika Dubois is finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
There are eight puppies in her barn, sired by one of the last surviving Old Farm Collies (or Scottish Collie) remaining in North America.
Prince, who is seven years old, is one of the few original collies alive on the continent. Once, around the turn of the century, the Old Farm Collie was the dog of choice among farmers across Canada and the United States.
But around 1900-1920, the American Kennel Club changed the collie standard. Using selective breeding and crossing with the Russian wolfhound, the AKC soon had narrow-headed collies being bred.
"What you lose is the step between the pate and the snout. But you also lose a better dog, in my opinion," said Dubois.
"I've been trying to keep this line alive for the last 20 years," said Dubois. "But you're really up against it. You can inbreed once but you can't get away with it twice. And if you had another choice, you'd certainly take it."
 Forget about Tickle Me Elmo, if these little guys were plush toys they would corner the Christmas market. As it is, these eight puppies are special in their own right, continuing the line of old farm collies which is all but lost in North America. |
That's an indication of how the old farm collie population has dwindled.
With her eyes always open for the distinctive mane and rust-white markings, Dubois came upon Prince while travelling in Upper Stewiacke. After looking him over, she remembers thinking, "By golly, old boy, this is what I want." [I believe Mr. Dunphy has Prince confused with King. Erika bred Prince, from Lady and King.--gsb]
Her search to find a mate for Prince took her across the continent, with countless ads and articles published in newspeapers and trade journals such as Small Farmers Journal, Ranch Dog Trainer, and the American Minor Breeds Conservancy.
She eventually came across someone in Arkansas, who had an English Shepherd bitch for sale, which is a remnant of the farm collie in the United States.
With the arrival of eight puppies in January, Dubois said she will put in a registration for the breed.
She said she would love to hear from anyone who might be interested in her conservancy project or who might have some knowledge on the existence of other farm collies, either here or elsewhere.
"From people who have called I know of three dogs, which constitutes a family, but that's not a tribe and certainly not a breed," said Dubois.
She expects to sell the puppies to people she knows who would be interested in keeping the line alive and wouldn't be quick to neuter them. There are two males and six females, who will be six weeks old on St. Valentine's Day.
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Additional note from Erika Dubois: I have placed all the pups within 2 hours of home except one about 4 hours away. I shall keep a female. All are caramel colour and should mature to a medium sable. In a year or so I'll take photos of these again and we'll see what we've got.