The Australian Cattle Dog was bred to perform one of the toughest jobs Australia had to offer a dog: Tending to, and rounding up, the half-wild cattle of Australia’s huge ranches (or “stations, as they’re called). The journey to become that dog went through many incarnations, from the Smithfield dog and Hall’s Heelers, to Bentley’s Dog and the scandal around the McNiven dogs (he is said to have infused his ACD bloodlines with that of Dingos). In the end, this rich history gave us a dog well suited for its job: Sturdy, tough, and trainable, but highly capable of problem solving. Read: Don’t screw up in front of an ACD.
To this day, the world record for the oldest dog belongs to “Bluey,” an Australian Cattle Dog who died at 29 years and 5 months of age. Les Hall of Victoria, Australia, got Bluey as a puppy in 1910, and the dog worked with cattle and sheep for nearly 20 years before being put to sleep on Nov. 14, 1939. But wait!
The Guinness World Record for the next three oldest dogs also belong to purebred dogs! “Butch,” a dog that lived to be 28 years old on the nose (no pun intended) was a Beagle. “Taffy” was a Welsh Collie who was 27 years and 317 days old when she passed, and “Bramble,” a Border Collie, lived to 27 years and 211 days. Of course, all sorts of things go into the longevity of a dog, including genes, nutrition, and plain good luck, but it amuses us that at a time when some blowhards gush about the unsoundness of purebred dogs, the top four longest lived dogs on record are purebred dogs.
Australian Cattle Dog by Dottie Dracos
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