The Dogs of Windcutter Down: One Shepherd's Struggle for Survival
For the past three years, Kennard, with his wife, Debbie, and their  three children, has owned and managed a 150-acre sheep farm in England's rural  North Devon. This account focuses both on the difficulties of maintaining a  vanishing way of life and on five border collies Kennard (A Shepherd's Watch) has expertly trained to assist him  in tending his flock. From late fall through the summer, the author deals with  the specter of foot-and-mouth disease, a broken tractor, lice misdiagnosed as  sheep scab and the ups and downs of birthing new lambs. When it becomes clear  that Greg, the lead dog, is getting too old for his job, Kennard acquires an  unusual-looking puppy that his children name Jake, a collie who will prove his  worth. Pressed by mounting expenses, the Kennards decide to hold sheepdog  demonstrations on their farm, which garner increasingly bigger and more  responsive audiences. Kennard's commitment to sheep farming, despite the  hardships, comes through clearly, but his low-key style lacks detail, and while  anecdotes bring Kennard's children to life, his wife remains a cardboard  figure. 24 b&w photos.(Mar.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.