Cass the collie puppy, owned by Ben Cantelo, has been named the South West's best farm dog
Cass the collie puppy from Dartmoor has been named the South West’s best farm dog following a month-long search by South West rural insurance company Cornish Mutual.
The competition celebrated the hard-working hounds on the region’s farms. Cornish Mutual joined forces with regional newspaper the Western Morning News and asked people to send in the very best pictures of their dependable farm dogs, showcasing just how crucial these much-loved animals are to the Westcountry’s agricultural sector.
After a fantastic response from people across the region, the judges picked the image of Cass out on the early morning rounds.
Cass’s owner, Ben Cantelo, a small scale farmer on Dartmoor will now have the winning image captured on canvas by renowned Cornish animal portrait painter, Emma Richardson.
Ben said: “I took the picture a few months ago. Cass and I were out early with the sheep and she was just sitting there on the back of the trailer with the sun coming up and I thought it would make for a great image. My partner actually entered it, when she saw the competition she immediately thought of that picture. Cass is only young, so still being trained, but without her I can’t do what I need to do in order to keep the farm operating, she’s so important.”
The runner up picture was of Poppy the two-year-old Springer Spaniel taken by Avril Trehane from South Petherwin near Launceston. “Poppy is out and about on the farm all the time, she didn’t really work out as a gun dog so is more of a ratter now. She’s a central part of the family and always out with my dad on the farm. At the end of the day you’ll always find her drying out by the wood burner.”
Alan Goddard, managing director for Cornish Mutual said: “We had some fantastic entries and I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to send in a picture of their dog, or post it on social media. The response was great and it just shows how much we all value the role that dogs play on the farm, and within the family. But there had to be one winner and I just loved the curious young puppy perched on the back of the trailer."