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| Name: |
Jasper
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Age: |
Two years old
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| Gender: |
Male |
Breed: |
Maremma Sheep Dog
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| Home: |
Mangamahu, New Zealand |
This
is Jasper our two-year-old Maremma dog. We live in on a small farm in
the Mangamahu Valley in the North Island of New Zealand, having moved there
from Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, three years ago.
Maremmas are an ancient Italian breed of sheepdog. Traditionally, they live
in the high alpine pastures guarding their flocks of sheep. We don't have
any sheep on our farm, that Jasper needs to guard, so Jasper has to be
content with guarding his human flock. He loves to follow me around the
garden and waits at the gate every night for me to come home from work. He
does take his protecting duties very seriously and like to warn us of any
activity and therefore, possible potential danger that goes on in the
valley. He does this by barking, lots of barking. In the United States
maremmas are being used as livestock guard dogs by farmers to protect their
stock from predators. You can read about maremmas at
The Maremma Sheepdog.
Jasper likes his food and we have to be very careful not leave anything
within his reach. He has stolen a few steaks off the kitchen bench, leaving
us with eggs on toast for dinner! He is not the sort of dog to play fetch
or do tricks but he loves his toys. He had a squeaky rubber bone he chewed
so much it has lost its squeak. He loves to play with his friend and fellow
Maremma called Nellie. Before we got Jasper, I never thought I would have a
dog - let alone such a big white one, but now me and our family can't
imagine life without him. He is special to us and we love him dearly.
Jasper is also special because he is a dog with a blog, jaspersdoggyworld.
He even featured in our local newspaper in an article about his blog.
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