Five-year old Fit, a border collie from Lake County, is the American Farm Bureau’s 2022 Farm Dog of the Year. Fit’s proud owners are Cindy and Andrew Deak, sheep farmers who rely heavily on Fit’s keening ability to herd their livestock. “She’s literally my right-hand girl,” said Farm Bureau member Cindy Deak. “If I’m out here on the farm she is almost always with me. We’ve kindred spirits, we kind of read each other’s minds.”
The Deaks purchased Fit from Scotland when she was just a puppy and over the years, she has become an asset to their sheep operation. Fit competed against more than 100 other farm dogs throughout the country to claim her title. Four years running, AFBF’s Farm Dog of the Year Contest, with support from Nestlé Purina PetCare, recognized Fit and four regional runners-up and a People’s Choice Pup at its annual convention on January 10 in Atlanta.
In addition to herding livestock and being an all around farm and family companion, Fit trains other younger dogs to herd animals. “She will work with any breed of dog, Cindy said. “She’s good with every person – child or adult. And besides, she’s a wonderful pet. It’s really an amazing feeling to have a dog like her. I think it’s a once in a lifetime thing.”
