BB—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 31, 1981
BY DEBBIE KOONTZ
HOP BOTTOM - If you
were one of the many
millions of people who
watched the Eagles play
Sunday night, then you, like
at least one man of Hop
Bottom, may have found
more fascination in the
commercials than in the
outcome of the game
And who is that one man’
He is Walt dagger of
Susquehanna County who
watched his herd of sheep
and two Border collies help
sell a Volkswagen during a
30-second spot immediately
following Super Bowl ‘Bl
dagger, owner and
breeder of 100 Dorset sheep
and nine Border collies,
helped prove that farm
animals can serve yet
another purpose - that of a
productive and at the same
time glamorized life in
television and advertising
At least it’s a glamorized job
to the members of the
animal world compared to
their usual run-of-the-mill
jobs
But since animal Emmys
are not yet a reality,
dagger’s collies can only
take pride in the knowledge
that they herded the sheep to
a successful commercial.
But what about that
commercial’ Well, it
features a Scottish coun
tryside (actually New
dersey) and a Scotsman who
relates the bonuses and joys
of the car as dagger’s sheep
are herded by.
And back at home’ Right
after the cameras and the
crew and the excitement
were all gone, the dogs
The collies, used in a 30-second commercial for Volkswagen, had to herd 30
sheep over the hill to the car where a crew stood waiting
f -„
It took almost two days of-working in a hot August sun to get the sheep by the
car in the manner Screen Gems wanted it done. Cap and Jessie, the two dogs
seen in the commercial, held up pretty well according to Jagger.
Even collies make commercials
settled back into their cozv
life in Sheepy Hollow This is
the little farmstead built by
dagger before his retirement
from the insurance business
dagger who breeds, trains
and raises his own dogs,
estimates it takes about a
half a year to fully train a
Border collie to do an
average farmer’s work
That includes taking them
from one pasture to another,
leading them through gates,
cutting out one from the
flock and keeping strays in
line dagger teaches his
collies about 20 different
commands which cover
virtually anything he wants
done with the sheep
“These dogs are real
smart and learn fast They
make good farm dogs
They’re very loyal too,” he
said He further explained
that today’s collie is a
descendant of the original
Border collie of, (where
else’) Scotland, that was
crossed with wolf hounds so
long ago It is also a relative
of the long-nosed Lassie-type'
dog
These collies share the
Sheepy Hollow barn with the
sheep, some goats and some
black and white cats
The nine dogs produce a
couple litters of puppies
every year according to
dagger
"I sell them to farmers
who raise sheep and other
farm animals, people who
need a good herd dog, and to
almost anyone who loves
these dogs like I do ”
Now you may feel you
have an animal as smart and
'Volkswagen does it again
Walt dagger of Hop Bottom breeds and trains
these Border collies to work with his sheep on this
Sheepy Hollow farmstead that he built. It takes
as productive as dagger, out
getting it on television may
be a little harder than it
seems
“I sold some sheep to a
man who was a friend of a
man that worked at Screen
Gems That’s how this all
came about,” dagger
laughed
So if you can’t get your
animals in the limelight of
the television world, at least
look for dagger’s ex
traordinary animals hard at
work around a Volkswagen
during the next break in your
favorite tv show
ni' 4 ‘ i •
Here one of the collies is herding the sheep, continually keeping an eye out for
any strays
Farm equipment companies to merge
ST LOUIS PARK, Mmn -
A A Kole, president of
Chromally Farm and In
dustrial Equipment Group
recently announced plans to
merge four autonomous
operation divisions within
the group into a single
operation
The companies to be
consolidated are Arps
Corporation of New Holstein,
Wis , Hawk Bill Company of
Vinton, !a , Kewanee
Machinery of Kewanee, 111 ,
and Schwartz Manufac
turing of Lester Prairie,
M'nn
f I -
Jagger about six months to fully train his collies to
work with the sheep.
Gerald L Gross, president
of Kewanee Machinery, has
been named president of the
newly formed company
which will be headquartered
in Kewanee, 111 Additional
appointments will be an
nounced as they are made
The purpose of con
solidation, according to
Kole, is to offer distributors
and dealers now handling
one of the company's
brands, an opportunity to
broaden their sales by ad
ding other Chromallov farm
lines
SADDLE
UP!
TO BETTER EQUIPMENT
Find It In Lancaster Farming's
Classified Pages .
“Since tne total con
solidation timetable extends
beyond 1981, we plan to
maintain the individual
company’s product brand
name and models for the
present," said Kole
Consolidation of certain
marketing and ad
ministration functions is
already underway with the
ultimate goal being
broadening of products and
distribution of Chromallov
Farm Equipment on a
worldwide basis, he con
cluded
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