PROUD mum Meg the border collie and her new litter of pups are a symbol of better times to come for Britain's beleaguered farming industry.
Meg was one of 200 working dogs handed over to The Border Collie Rescue Society, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, during the foot-and-mouth epidemic as sheep flocks were culled.
Throughout the crisis, the charity tried to re-home as many dogs as it could, but because of their temperament, the animals could not be sent to domestic homes.
Instead they were sent to foster homes before suitable farms were found.
Now the society reports that the working dog is back in demand again as farmers restock. That means there's plenty of work in the future for Meg - who was given to the society by a County Durham shepherd - and her seven youngsters.
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