Several years ago, Ali Brenssell had an idea about donating the proceeds of one of his working dogs to cancer research. That followed the loss of friends to the disease and also his daughter-in-law, Carmen, undergoing cancer treatment.
But he never did anything further until after the death of his sister, Barbara, from cancer last year and his wife, Rachel, provided some encouragement, saying ‘‘now is the time to do it’’.
Mr Brenssell, 75, who still does casual work with his dogs around North Otago, was working on Peter and Pauline Dodd’s farm when he mentioned his plan and how he was looking for a young dog which he could later sell at the Lawrence Gymkhana Club’s working dog sale.
Before he left that day, Mr Dodd put a young heading bitch in the back of Mr Brenssell’s truck and said ‘‘that’s the dog’’. Since then, Mr Brenssell had ‘‘just put a bit of fine tuning on it’’.
Bet was now about 18 months old and very keen and hardworking, both on sheep and cattle. She had a great nature and loved people, including children.
It was now time for her to move on to the next phase of her career.
‘‘I can’t give her any more with what I’m doing. She’s ready to go further on. She’s got all her life ahead of her,’’ he said.
Donations of goods from Belmedia Farm, Oamaru couple Jack and Bridget McKenzie and PGG Wrightson Oamaru would also be auctioned at the sale and Mr Brenssell hoped that aspect might gain momentum, boosting the amount of money destined for cancer research.
At the Lawrence dog sale on February 14, Mr Brenssell would also sell Rip, a strong-eyed heading dog who was just under 2, and who would make an excellent farm dog, he said.
It was particularly special to return to Lawrence, which was his old home town, where he went to school, played rugby and got his first job. He had only missed a few dog sales since its inception and, knowing many of those attending, there was always plenty of banter.
Mr Brenssell left school at 14 with three broken-in dogs and five offers of shepherding jobs. The one he chose saw him paid the princely sum of £5 a week and his keep, although he had to scrub out the hut every Sunday with a scrubbing brush.
His career was spent both shepherding on farms and as a shepherd at the freezing works, with some mustering in the hills which he particularly loved.
Mr Brenssell said since finishing at Alliance Group’s Pukeuri plant in 2016, he had not retired, rather he worked as a casual shepherd — ‘‘where I’m wanted, I go’’ — and he was also caretaker at the Waiareka saleyards.
His dogs still got plenty of work and while he was not so much into the breeding side as he used to be, his love for training dogs had not diminished. He also got particular enjoyment from taking on a dog ‘‘that someone can’t handle and getting it round to thinking the right way and becoming a valuable dog’’.
In 2021, Mr Brenssell topped the Lawrence sale with a 3-year-old huntaway bitch called Lace which sold for $8700. He might have sold many dogs over the years, but that was the first time ever that he had a lump in his throat when he handed the chain over to Lace’s new owner.
But it had a happy ending when, soon after, he heard how the dog was working well for her new master, went everywhere with him and even had a bed made up for her in the garage.
