The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival - Hardcover

Kennard, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312362005 ISBN 13: 9780312362003

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007

Synopsis

"There is no good flock without a good shepherd, and no good shepherd without good dogs."
 
These age-old words of wisdom have always guided Devon sheep farmer David Kennard. But as he battles to save his farm from extinction, they take on a greater weight than ever.
The storm clouds are already gathering when Borough Farm suffers a series of disastrous setbacks that threaten the Kennard family's traditional way of life. Though the farm has survived foot and mouth disease, an invasion of stray sheep, and the threat of disease, a malfunctioning tractor and a sickly sheepdog all add to the farm's daily pressures. How much longer can they stay afloat financially? And will David be the last shepherd to tend his flock in this rugged corner of England? Is there a way to achieve the seemingly impossible---making a living through farming sheep in the twenty-first century?
A shepherd since the age of seventeen, David offers an honest and affectionate, often comic picture of life on his sheep farm. But throughout this gentle meditation on his family's rural way of life, David is in a fight for that life, and for the survival of his family and farm. He must rely---as always---on his faithful sheepdogs Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, and Ernie. But even he is surprised when the dogs---and the new dog on the farm---exceed his expectations and prove to be Borough Farm's secret weapon.

About this title

About the Author

David Kennard's name has become a familiar one in the United Kingdom because of his bestselling video The Year of the Working Sheepdog. His first book, A Shepherd's Watch, was a Sunday Times (UK) bestseller. David lives in North Devon, England, with his wife, Debbie; three children, Clare, Laura, and Nick; and, of course, his dogs, Greg, Swift, Gail, Fern, Ernie, Jake, and Mist. Visit his Website at www.shepherdanddogs.co.uk.

From Publishers Weekly

For the past three years, Kennard, with his wife, Debbie, and their three children, has owned and managed a 150-acre sheep farm in England's rural North Devon. This account focuses both on the difficulties of maintaining a vanishing way of life and on five border collies Kennard (A Shepherd's Watch) has expertly trained to assist him in tending his flock. From late fall through the summer, the author deals with the specter of foot-and-mouth disease, a broken tractor, lice misdiagnosed as sheep scab and the ups and downs of birthing new lambs. When it becomes clear that Greg, the lead dog, is getting too old for his job, Kennard acquires an unusual-looking puppy that his children name Jake, a collie who will prove his worth. Pressed by mounting expenses, the Kennards decide to hold sheepdog demonstrations on their farm, which garner increasingly bigger and more responsive audiences. Kennard's commitment to sheep farming, despite the hardships, comes through clearly, but his low-key style lacks detail, and while anecdotes bring Kennard's children to life, his wife remains a cardboard figure. 24 b&w photos. (Mar.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0312362005
• ISBN 13: 9780312362003
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288