Australiaâs hardest working dog could be out of a home
He was cronwed Australia’s top working dog last year, but now three-year-old border collie Duke and his family could be out of a home.
By her own admission, single mum Beck Smith is ânot someone who asks for helpâ.
In fact, aside from her pack of working dogs â including three-year-old border collie Duke â she manages a 53,000-hectare cattle station near Stonehenge in Queenslandâs channel country alone.
And she thrives there.
In October last year, her dog Duke was crowned the winner of the Cobber Challenge, which uses GPS collars to track the distance, speed and hours clocked up by farm dogs around Australia as they work livestock.
He was awarded the title after he was recorded covering 556km in three weeksâ work.
But last week, a visit from a property agent changed everything.
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âThe agent came out to start getting things ready to sell the property,â Smith explained.
âIâm not part of any of it. I donât get a say. I donât get details. I just have to accept that this part of my life is ending, whether Iâm ready or not.
âThe place is going to auction in June, which means we have to be gone by then.â
In a desperate bid to secure the future of her son, dogs and âzoo crewâ â the goats, cattle, poddy calves, ducks, geese and a muster cat named Mango who keep her company as she manages the farm alone â Smith has launched a GoFundMe.
âI hate this ⌠I feel embarrassed even putting it out there.
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âBut I donât have another option right now. I need help.â
With temporary accommodation and agistment for her cattle arranged, Smith is seeking donations to pay for a shipping container to move and store her belongings.
âRight now Iâve got a whole house full of our life and nowhere to put it. No way to move it. We urgently need a shipping container just to store everything safely while we transition, and I donât have the means to make that happen.â
Since it was launched three days ago, Smithâs fundraiser has raised more than $8000.
But itâs still short of her $12,000 target.
âI am also a single mum, doing this on my own, while trying to keep up with boarding school fees and everything else that comes with it ⌠it all just keeps piling up at the worst possible time,â Smith said.
âIâm just trying to get my son, myself and our animals through this.
âIf you can help, thank you. Truly.
âAnd if you canât, even just sharing this means more than you probably realise.â
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