#Saved by #cattle #dog and #manure

Austrralian cattle dog

Saved by cattle dog and manure:

      Beloit Daily News:

     SHOPIERE - Farmer David Ferwerda may have dug pythons out of warthog holes and escaped elephant herds in Africa, but it was a pregnant Black Angus that would leave him on the operating table.

       Ferwerda, a globe-trotting game hunter and farmer, credited his loyal Australian cattle dog Hannah with saving his life after the Angus attacked him.

     "She's an exceptionally good dog. She never takes her eyes off me. If it wasn't for the dog I would never have gotten out of that barnyard," he said.

     It was a sunny morning when the 77-year-old bachelor went to do chores during calving season at his farm. Little did Ferwerda know when he went to fix a leaky stock tank, that an Angus in the early stages of labor was lurking behind the barn door. The pregnant predator struck Ferwerda in the collar bone, knocked him in the manure and started pummeling him with her hooves.

Ferwerda thought he was dead meat.

     "I hoped it would be over in a hurry because I didn't have any chance to get out. I just gave up," Ferwerda said.

      The Angus didn't break any bones, but put a nasty gash in his head. As he regained consciousness, Ferwerda saw that his mighty cow dog Hannah had backed off the beefy bully. The farmer crawled out on his hands and knees through the manure as the dog watched his back. Ferwerda said cows are scared of cattle dogs because they can bite their noses.

     "The cow was pawing the ground, kicking manure and blowing snot. I got out of the barnyard without getting mauled again," Ferwerda said. "She's a wonderful little dog."

     It wasn't the first time Ferwerda had narrowly escaped death, only to ignore it. He was attacked by a Holstein bull in the 1960s, but credited soft manure for helping him safely slither away.

     As for the angry Angus, she lost her calf and was later trucked away to Monroe.

     "She's hamburger," Buss said.                                                                                                Which do we give the most credit to:  his faithful dog. Or the manure> 

“It's tough to stay married. My wife kisses the dog on the lips, yet she won't drink from my glass.”  Rodney Dangerfield