A sheep farmer in Wales was put through a “horrible experience” after his top sheepdog was knocked off a 60ft cliff by a “very protective” ewe.
Dan Jones, who last year began renting and running a farm valued at £1 million (€1.14 million) for just £1 (€1.14) a year, was herding sheep on the Great Orme headland in north Wales when the incident occurred.
Jones was gathering his flock for shearing when he sent Tian, a two-year-old sheepdog, to move along a group of stubborn ewes.
However, it is believed that one of the ewes turned and chased after the dog in an effort to protect her lambs. The sheepdog was flung over the cliff and hurtled 60ft down into the sea.
The sheepdog fell 60ft off a cliff into the sea. Source: Facebook
Luckily Tian resurfaced and eventually was able to swim back to shore and return to dry land.
Jones had to enlist the help of his friend and climber, Roger Pierce, to rescue the dog fully.
Source: Facebook
Jones posted images of the ordeal on social media; he assured his followers that Tian was perfectly alright following the incident.
Last year, the 38-year-old shepherd was tasked with taking a ‘nature-first approach’ to farming the Great Orme.
The farm which he began renting last year was purchased by the Welsh National Trust in 2015. Jones currently runs the 145ac Parc Farm, while also grazing some 720ac of coastal headland.
This was the last section down to Tian! Nice one Rog.
Posted by Dan Jones – Great Orme Shepherd on Tuesday, July 11, 2017
This wasn’t the first time that Jones was forced to enlist the help of Pierce’s climbing skills.
In February of this year Pierce was called upon to rescue a sheep that had become stranded on a cliff face.
Source: Facebook
Jones had been trying to coax her down from the ledge for a couple of days, but to no avail.