Sheepdogs play an invaluable role on many farms with their amazing ability to round up sheep. And recently, one clever sheepdog went the extra mile by swimming across floodwaters to save a group of stranded ewes.
Patsy the sheepdog lives on a farm with his owner Llŷr Derwydd in Denbighshire, Wales. Patsy is great at rounding up the sheep — a skill that came especially in handy after Storm Babet struck the farm on Friday afternoon.
Three ewes became trapped, surrounded by rising floodwaters. Derwydd was worried for their safety and their lives.
“We saw the three ewes stranded on this little spot on the field,” he recalled to PA news agency, per the Daily Mail. “It was getting smaller and smaller so we thought we’d better get them off and make sure they’re safe.”
Thankfully, Patsy was ready to save the day.
In a remarkable moment captured on video and posted on Twitter, Patsy swims across the flood waters to reach the sheep, then routes them across a shallow part of the water towards dry land, then leads them back to the farmer.
Derwydd can be heard yelling “good girl, good girl” and rewards her with a pat on the head. The farmer was impressed by how well Patsy handled the challenge.
“It was quite dangerous because I didn’t know how deep it was. She’s a strong swimmer and she was able to swim across,” he told PA. “I knew she was quite a good swimmer otherwise I wouldn’t have done that, but I was quite surprised that she didn’t have any issues, she just went.”
He wrote on Twitter that Patsy would be getting “an extra dog biscuit tonight.”
The video has trended online, with many users praising Patsy’s quick thinking and bravery to save the stranded sheep. “What a fantastic intelligent dog, worth her weight in gold,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Awww what a brave and clever doggo….. doing what she loves – braving water too!” another replied.
What an amazing dog! We’re so glad these sheep are safe thanks to Patsy! Please share this story if you love dogs! ❤️🐾
