Little Dog, Big Award

In Anaheim, at the 107th California Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, the Farm Dog of the Year was announced. Not a border collie. Not a cattle dog. But a miniature long-haired dachshund named Willy.

The $1,000 Grand Prize in the fifth annual contest went to the little dog owned by Marshal Hagedorn of Hagedorn Forestry Management. Hagedorn works as a tree feller in Shasta and Tehama counties and runs cattle near Montague. He and his girlfriend, Bailey Thomas, adopted Willy in February 2023.

“I hike around and cut the oversized trees that the loggers can't handle with their machines,” Hagedorn said. “He goes with me everywhere every single day.”

Willy quickly became part of the operation, helping control rabbits and ground squirrels and tagging along on long days in the woods. He is not a traditional herding breed and has never been trained to corral livestock. Still, with a bark and confidence far bigger than his size, he moves calves and even larger cattle.

“That's just it. He's so small and when he comes out of the grass at full speed, they don't really know what to think,” Hagedorn said.

Runner-up honors went to Jim, Corduroy, and Sheila.

Pictures, because we know you want to see, can be found at https://cfbf.com/ag-news/press-releases/miniature-dachshund-wins-california-farm-bureau-farm-dog-of-the-year