Australian Cattle Dog in Mass. Turns Out to Be One Heck of a Batter
Rebecca West
Dogs are great at so many games, like playing fetch, catching a Frisbee midair, and playing baseball — um, wait, what? Yup, their agility seems to know few bounds because one Australian cattle dog is darned impressive with a whiffle ball bat when she's at the mound. Okay, so maybe she doesn't necessarily stand on a plate within a diamond, but she's freakin good, nonetheless!
Enter Pepper, a 6-year-old blue heeler living in Marblehead, Massachusetts. For the past three years, Pepper has been trained by Daniel Martin to hit pitches at an auto garage, and her swing is nothing short of amazing.
Per Yahoo, "She typically swings when a ball is thrown quickly overhand to her, but will also swing at the ball when it is tossed to her with a hockey stick," Martin explained. "Her batting ratio is so good that it clearly isn't a fluke. When you watch slow-motion video of her playing, she has her eyes on the ball even as it approaches her quickly. She's very talented."
Pepper's athleticism doesn't end there. On her Instagram page, @therealbigpupi, there are also videos of Pepper surfing, too. According to her profile, Pepper's a video creator who's been seen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!
There's not much more information on her available, but it's no surprise she's so talented. The Australian cattle dog, or simply cattle dog, is a breed of herding canine developed in Australia for droving cattle over long distances across rough terrain. The compact but muscular animal, also known as blue or red heelers or Queensland heelers, is related to Australia's famous wild dog, the Dingo.
According to Britannica, "The Australian cattle dog is often included in lists of the most intelligent dog breeds. One such dog named Skidboot, thought to be an Australian cattle dog, was dubbed 'the smartest dog in the world' and learned many unusual tricks, such as taking out the garbage."
Be sure to visit Pepper's page and check out her videos. She's definitely got some snap to her swat.
