these are our dogs Sara and Charlie. our chicken protectors. if it appears that they have that laissez faire attitude it's because they do. my good friend Henry Hoeschen once commented that "...they act like they're on medical marijuana."
Charlie is the black one. he's been with us for a decade. a extremely good dog. i'd describe him as a stinky George Clooney. dark, dapper, and all the right moves. just wear gloves when you pet him. Sara on the other hand has been somewhat troublesome, a Lucille Ball if you're old enough to remember. if not maybe that wife of Kurt Cobain, what was her name...Courtney Hole?
my wife discovered Charlie at a garage sale benefiting the local pound. he was a puppy, asleep on the ground wearing a 'adopt me' sign with lots of people around. my wife noted that while she shopped the dog rarely moved. she returned home and over lunch mentioned she saw a dog that might be a good fit on our farm. a earth shattering comment for a gal who is to this day anti-dog. we all went back to the garage sale and there he was again, awake now and tail wagging though clearly in a lethargic state. we adopted him. a wise move as he never really required training...he just does whatever you want. except bathe. he hates baths and i've conceded this to him. ok, and he's gun shy.
Sara, as we found out later, was returned to the pound numerous times by other families. so we had some problems with her. worried that the two together might reak havoc at night i'd shut them up in my shop at night. Sara would somehow manage to shit half her body mass numerous times over the night in inconvenient places, like on my computer keyboard for example. i then built a box to contain her and she managed to chew her way out many times until i fortified her fortress with sheet metal wrapped 2x4's. one time she escaped and broke in to my neighbors office. (my neighbor has employees, lots of them, a million $ payroll) the office has three rooms for himself, a secretary, and an accountant. Sara managed to destroy all 3. it was bad, well worth it's own blog post, a disaster.
my wife and i are both pretty much anti-dog in the traditional pet concept. someday i'd like to print up a 'leave your dog at home' bumper sticker. i'm offended when these oblivious dog owners assume i want the attention of their silly mutt. i certainly would not own a dog if i lived back in seattle. and i'd never let a dog in the house. farm dogs are different. they know where they stand on the pecking order and that there is little chance of ascending to human level (like if you're not even allowed thru the back door). but they aspire to so they are constantly trying to please. the bottom line is that they have a job here on the farm: varmint control. and Charlie and Sara do this very well.
my wife discovered Charlie at a garage sale benefiting the local pound. he was a puppy, asleep on the ground wearing a 'adopt me' sign with lots of people around. my wife noted that while she shopped the dog rarely moved. she returned home and over lunch mentioned she saw a dog that might be a good fit on our farm. a earth shattering comment for a gal who is to this day anti-dog. we all went back to the garage sale and there he was again, awake now and tail wagging though clearly in a lethargic state. we adopted him. a wise move as he never really required training...he just does whatever you want. except bathe. he hates baths and i've conceded this to him. ok, and he's gun shy.
Sara, as we found out later, was returned to the pound numerous times by other families. so we had some problems with her. worried that the two together might reak havoc at night i'd shut them up in my shop at night. Sara would somehow manage to shit half her body mass numerous times over the night in inconvenient places, like on my computer keyboard for example. i then built a box to contain her and she managed to chew her way out many times until i fortified her fortress with sheet metal wrapped 2x4's. one time she escaped and broke in to my neighbors office. (my neighbor has employees, lots of them, a million $ payroll) the office has three rooms for himself, a secretary, and an accountant. Sara managed to destroy all 3. it was bad, well worth it's own blog post, a disaster.
my wife and i are both pretty much anti-dog in the traditional pet concept. someday i'd like to print up a 'leave your dog at home' bumper sticker. i'm offended when these oblivious dog owners assume i want the attention of their silly mutt. i certainly would not own a dog if i lived back in seattle. and i'd never let a dog in the house. farm dogs are different. they know where they stand on the pecking order and that there is little chance of ascending to human level (like if you're not even allowed thru the back door). but they aspire to so they are constantly trying to please. the bottom line is that they have a job here on the farm: varmint control. and Charlie and Sara do this very well.
RSS Feed
