"Bonnie" is my beautiful Romanian Shepherd Dog (aka Carpathian Shepherd Dog) - she is very, very intelligent and highly alert and protective - she has extremely acute eyesight and hearing and she will seek out any high ground or a high place on which to sit, such as a garden table or a wide-topped gate post, in order to keep watch.   Bonnie was rescued, together with her mother and siblings, from the streets of Bucharest, Romania.   Due to President Ceaucescu's policy of urbanisation and his programme of building high-rise tower blocks for the urban populations of Romania's larger towns and cities, perforce many beautiful dogs were abandoned, including working dogs such as Bonnie's breed;   they were then left to roam the streets, to be abused and to fend for themselves - fortunately, despite being limited in scope and resources, there is an active dog-rescue programme in Romania.   Bonnie travelled to the UK at the age of five months, with her Pet Passport - a two day journey by road - she was then temporarily kennelled at Kings Lynn, from where I collected her.

 

 Carpathian Shepherd Dogs do not herd sheep - they are widely used in Romania and other countries of the Carpathians to watch for predators, such as bears and wolves which might pose a threat to the precious flocks of sheep - typically four to six dogs per flock - if the dogs spot such a predator they will give chase and follow through with a lethal attack without further prompting.   Fortunately Bonnie is well-disposed towards humans! 

 

 

Olympus OMD EM1, f 1.8 75mm (150mm equivalent) lens @ f2.8