Cats & Dogs

Four dogs lying together in front of the door

We brought our working dog, Henry, and our son’s Golden Retriever, Aran, with us from Australia. Since then they have both moved on and are buried in our "cementario" on the farm, along with other critters we have lost along the way. As a fellow farmer in Australia said to us once, “If you’re gonna have livestock, you’re gonna have dead stock.” We just try to provide them with as high quality life as we can while they are with us.

Meanwhile, we have acquired 4 more dogs, only one of which we actually meant to acquire. Pablo is a full Border Collie we bought to replace Henry as our sheep dog. But he was kicked by a mule when a pup and now he’s afraid of all animals. He won’t even go near the chickens. He’s basically useless as a farm dog but he’s the smartest and most agile dog we have.

Flo was rescued from a hunting camp in Wyoming and is our working dog and does a decent job. She even placed first and second at the Hotchkiss Sheep Dog Trials. But in every other area of her life she’s a complete idiot. Cute, but not really playing with a full hand. She’s half Border Collie and half Airedale which might explain things a bit.

Filemon and Mateo grew up here as pups with their original owner who spent the summer working with Alberto. When he returned to Mexico, the dogs somehow stayed here and now are firmly part of the pack.

Fortunately, our dogs never leave the farm and are friendly with critters and humans alike. But we had to put bunk beds into the kennel to accommodate them all.

The two cats, Shivers and Fabiola, were also found abandoned. Shivers showed up in Alberto’s barn and Adi found Fabiola as a tiny kitten on the side of the road when he was riding his bike. They both live in the barn and keep the mice at bay. They also both know how to stand down a pack of dogs without lifting a paw, so it all works out.

Two cats sleeping entertained in a chair
Two Border Collies in the snow
Black kitten in a chair
Three dogs in a snowfield with the snowy mountains behind
A young Border Collie watching from the porch steps
A scruffy Border Collie on the lawn
Two dogs dressed in their red Christmas bows
A barn cat on the porch

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