A County Down farmer accused of ‘casual sexism’ has apologised to his sheepdog following a media storm.
51-year-old Sammy Skim sparked sexism complaints when he called his Border Collie a ‘good girl’ after she rounded up his flock.
Although Mr Skim argued ‘good girl’ was a term of endearment used widely in farming circles, a women’s group demanded that he apologise.
‘I only wanted Lady to know she did a good job’, he explained.
‘In retrospect though, the pat on the head was a bit demeaning. So, I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to her. Ah shite, is that the correct pronoun? Did I just assume my dog’s gender? This is a ballix. The dog wasn’t even offended. Her wee tail was wagging and everything. Ah frig, I did it again’.
Lady said on Wednesday she accepted the interview had ‘become a talking point’.
But she added: ‘I don’t believe there was any offence meant by Sammy – and for my part, there was none taken. I even got a treat’.
‘One of the sheep, Woolly McCrea, got offended on my behalf. Woolly’s a good lad and a massive Teddy Bears fan’.
‘Coincidentally, Sammy is a Celtic season ticket holder. But I’m confident Woolly’s just a huge women’s rights advocate and doesn’t even care that Sammy supports the filth’.