Evan Bourchier received the best birthday present when his in-laws gave him a kelpie named Moss in 2016. Moss lives with Evan, his wife Tamsin and their four daughters, Emma, 7, Eliza, 6, Edith, 4, and Eleanor, 18 months, on a Strathmerton mixed farm.
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What is her personality like?
Moss is a relatively typical kelpie, just go, go, go, and tends to like either chasing things, or if she’s not chasing them, keeping an eye on them.
She gets behind the cows and pushes them up, but being a kelpie, she does have a bit of a passion for sheep — we’ve got a few sheep at home and she’s more excited to see the sheep than the cows.
When she was young, she could be a bit disobedient or deaf — I’m not sure which one it was, but now she comes when called.
Does she travel with you on the farm?
She would prefer to hop in the cab of the ute than hop in the back, or she lays on the floor of the tractor — she likes to ride in comfort.
Does she have any funny habits?
Sometimes I refer to her as the koala rescue dog.
She seems to be very good to find koalas in trees, we’ve got a bit of a pet koala that lives in a tree near the house or above her kennel, and you’ll see her sitting there staring up at the tree.
What’s the worst thing she’s ever done?
She went through a stage when she was younger of wanting to chase cars for a bit when we first got her, but she’s settled down now.
What does she eat?
She mainly likes bones and a bit of meat, so she gets a bit of variety.
She gets an occasional rabbit or hare, but just dog food most of the time.
Do you spend a lot of time together?
We spend a fair bit of time together, she’s actually in the ute with me at the moment.
She’s very happy to go along with whatever and she’s good with the kids.
