A tiny rescue chihuahua named Nancy may not look intimidating on the outside, but she’s got a heart of steel. In true “small dog” fashion, she doesn’t let her little stature slow her down one bit!
In fact, a video of Nancy shows how courageous she is as she herds sheep around a corral!
Nancy the Chihuahua was rescued by the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home many years ago.
Battersea shared about Nancy on YouTube, saying: “Tiny Nancy weighs just 2.5 lbs but she has proven her expertise in the field, by confidently herding sheep more than six times taller than her.”
They went on to say that Farmer Geoff Temple described Nancy’s herding skills as “amazing.” He said, “I’ve been herding for 17 years and I’ve never seen a Chihuahua work sheep. I now train other people and their dogs and see about 15 people a week, and almost without exception they are all Border Collies. Nancy really is something special – she’s a fun-size sheep herder.”
Nancy was brought into Battersea Dogs & Cats Home back in 2009 at just three weeks old. The organization’s Head of Canine Welfare Training, Ali Taylor, nursed Nancy back to health hand decided to adopt her! Apparently, Nancy’s sheepherding abilities came naturally, as Ali found out when taking the tiny pup to the farm.
According to Battersea, Ali explained: “Nancy used to watch all her Border Collie friends herd the sheep and she seemed very interested in what was going on. One day I decided to give her a whirl in the ring and she picked it up straight away. I started in a very controlled environment but it quickly became evident that Nancy has natural ability and loves herding sheep.”
While Nancy may be impressive, Ali was sure to point out that she only herds for fun and “to prove that rescue dogs really can do anything.”
You can see Nancy in action in the video below:
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
