February’s Dog of the Month is Trigger.  Sadly, Trigger is no longer with us but his legend lives on.  This is his story.

Trigger

Description: 15 year old border collie

Position: Posthumous

Trigger was selected by Ben from a litter of Border Collies in Ararat in October 1996 – still with eyes closed at only 3 days old.  Ben had been wanting a pet dog for a long time – originally wanting a St. Bernard!  Thinking he wouldn’t be able to kill enough sheep to feed it, Mark walked the Melbourne Show dog pavilion for hours researching what would make a good pet for his young son.  He kept coming back to the Border Collies.

And so, in November 1996, Ben’s – and later everybody’s – best friend arrived at Coolana.  He and Ben were inseparable until Ben went to boarding school.  Trig – as he became known – was a wonderful companion and they got up to all sorts of capers.

He would have to be the best ball handling dog around.  On frequent visits to Port Fairy, Ben would bury numerous balls on the beach, while Mark and Anna distracted Trig so he couldn’t see what Ben was up to.  Then Trig would happily spend hours digging and digging until he had found each and every ball.  He would do backflips and almost turn himself inside-out to catch balls.

Ben would sometimes harness Trigger up to his bike, and together they could be seen hooning round the farm – small boy on bike, “husky dog” towing him around as if crossing a frozen continent.

However, there was a serious side for Trigger – he had to earn his keep.  Mark trained him as a sheep dog, and Trig showed that he was truly talented.  He was just as happy working with sheep or cattle.  And he could be strong when needed – always the first one in to break up a couple of fighting bulls.

While Ben was at school Trig was Mark’s right-hand “man” – always in the right place at the right time.   He and Mark formed a special bond.  Once the serious side of the day was over, there was always some fun to be had.  Trig was just happy to be part of the family, and as such there was mutual love and respect.

Once Ben came home from boarding school Mark “lost his mate”.  Trigger was still keen to work for Ben after all that time.  In fact, as Trigger aged and became semi-retired he was willing to work for jackaroos, jillaroos and visitors alike – in fact he could teach them a thing or two about working stock.

Trigger was a LEGEND!  He was safe around children, loyal to his humans, friendly to all who were fortunate enough to know him.  His smiley face is not easily forgotten.  He passed away peacefully on 16th March, 2012 – with 15 ½ wonderful years under his collar.