Rutherford English Shepherd
The Rutherford English Shepherd, often known simply as the "black and tan", is a medium-size, sturdily built and active dog. They are affectionate, intelligent, naturally obedient, and biddable. Rutherford English Shepherds are not easily excitable and are usually dignified in manner. They have the ability to adopt themselves to a variety of jobs[1] and have proven themselves useful as watchdogs on the farm and as retrievers and trailers in the hunting field. Rutherford English Shepherds will eradicate vermin, protect children, and drive cattle[2]. They possess the temperament and intelligence to be a family pet.
For many years, Rutherford English Shepherds were valued by the farmers and rural citizens of rural Middle Tennessee. In their writings, historical dog breeders[3] John Blankenship and Tom Stodghill testify[4] that the rural citizens of Middle Tennessee were using black and tan shepherd farm dogs prior to the turn of the twentieth century. Around that time, John's wife Polly Blankenship’s parents Altte Simmons Wilson and Aubrey H. Wilson were using a sturdy Shepherd to move stock in Cannon County.[5] At about the same time, John Blankenship’s father Charles B. Blankenship was using a black and tan shepherd dog to drive stock in Wilson County.[6] Also in the late eighteen hundreds, Tom Stodghill’s grandfather George Dromgoole was relocating his black and tan shepherds from Rutherford County, Tennessee to Texas.[7][8][9]
References[edit]
- ↑ Our Versatile Shepherds by Tany Johnson, Stodghill's Animal Research Magazine - 1971-1972 Winter Issue - page 13
- ↑ A Good Stock Dog - Your Right Hand Man by Ivan Thompson, Stodghill's Animal Research Magazine - 1970-1971 Winter Issue - page 18
- ↑ Impressed with the English Shepherd and the Clock-Wise Breeding Program by Tillman Moxley, Stodghill's Animal Research Magazine - 1971 Fall Issue - page 10
- ↑ The article The Blankenships’ Best Friend by John Blankenship was published in the English Shepherd Club of America’s Who’s Who Breeder Manual. The article is republished on pages 26-28 of The Book of Ole Shep Volume 1 by Tony Bierman.
- ↑ In The Blankenships’ Best Friend, John Blankenship states that his wife's parents were raised on the farmlands near Woodbury, Tennesssee. He goes on to explain that her father used a sturdy Shepherd named Jack to help capture the wild hogs that roamed the woods. Cannon County is east of and adjacent to Rutherford County, and Woodbury, TN is located in Cannon County.
- ↑ In The Blankenships’ Best Friend, John Blankenship states that seventy years prior, his father Charles B. Blankenship of Wilson County, Tennessee, used the Black and Tan family pet to drive home cattle, sheep or other livestock purchased. This statement by Mr. Blankenship establishes that his family was using black and tan farm dogs prior to the turn of the 20th century. Wilson County is directly north of and adjacent to Rutherford County.
- ↑ English Shepherds in the News by Mrs. C.M. Bend was originally published in the English Shepherd Club of America’s Who’s Who Breeder Manual. The article is republished on page 2 of The Book of Ole Shep Volume 1 by Tony Bierman
- ↑ English Shepherds in the News states that Stodghill came back to Middle Tennessee to find other cattle dogs such as his grandfather had taken with him to Texas six decades before. Sixty years prior to the article would be approximately the turn of the 20th century.
- ↑ In the article English Shepherds in the News, Tom Stodghill states that Middle Tennessee families owning these dogs did not know what breed the dogs were, but that the dogs were excellent for handling livestock. He states that the dogs' color, markings, and other features showed definitively that they were of the [Rutherford] English Shepherd breed, and that they had been bred true down through the years.
External links[edit]
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