Adriana Plum always thought there was something different about her black Australian Shepherd, Certik.

It turns out she was right.

Plum, who never owned a dog as a pet prior to marrying her husband Robert in 2002, was introduced to the Australian Shepherd breed at his farm here, where he has raised turkeys for Perdue Farms Inc. for more than 15 years. She decided to get a few “Aussie” pups of her own, and it didn’t take long for one to stand apart from the rest.

“All our cows got out and they ended up down the road in the woods,” said Plum, a native of Slovakia. “I went to find them and get them home somehow and I just took [Certik] along because I didn’t want to be alone.”

The six-month-old Certik — Slovak for “little devil” — turned out to be more than just Plum’s companion, as his Australian Shepherd pedigree took over. Plum stayed on the road and sent Certik into the woods after the cattle.

“He instinctively went after them, went behind them, put them on the road, and drove them home,” Plum said, adding that she had no idea she could get the calves to follow her. Certik pushed the runaway livestock back to their pasture a half-mile down the road, going after them when he wanted the calves to stop and wait for Plum.

The following day, Plum contacted a woman who owns a sheep farm and conducts herding and instinct tests for dogs.

“Because it’s not normal that a dog can bring cows home,” she said.

Certik flourished in his herding lessons, pushing Plum to enter him in Australian Shepherd Club of America herding competitions. Starting at the most basic level of competition — appropriately named “started” — Certik ascended the ranks, winning his first award in 2006 as Most Promising Started Aussie and doing the same at the higher levels — open and advanced.

And as his award ribbons, buckles, and trophies began to stockpile into the hundreds, so too did his talents. Plum worked with Certik on obedience, versatility, and agility, resulting in his being named the ASCA Most Versatile Champion in 2006 while appearing on his first Aussie Times magazine cover and garnering worldwide attention.

This past October, at the week-long ASCA National Specialty in New Jersey, Certik was crowned Most Versatile.

“Whatever he does, he’s the type of dog that will do it all,” said Plum, who has taught Certik herself with no previous training knowledge. “We’re tried just about everything. If there’s something he cannot do, we haven’t found it yet.”

Certik will appear on his second Aussie Times cover in 2008, the same year he will attempt to win his third consecutive Most Versatile title at the ASCA National Specialty in Las Vegas.

“I would like to go and see how many times he can win,” Plum said of the now 4-year-old Certik.

Based on his resume so far, he may keep winning until the cows come home.