Abigail Moves To The Farm!

Hello dear friends, after the last sad post I wanted to share some great news!  We now have a new addition to our family....Abigail!  After a great deal of thought and research we found a German Shepherd breeder that we trusted and were able to bring home a beautiful 17 week old puppy.  Xena's name at the farm is Abigail, or "Abby".

Many of our friends know that we are very partial to German Shepherds.  We have had many over the years at the farm and all of them have been rescues although we have had some other dogs here as well.  So many dogs over the years...Hercules, Ophelia, Tessie, Carrie, Sasha, Bailey, Kodiak, Jessie, Drakk, Holly and finally Willow and Lucy.  All very beautiful dogs that had a challenging start to life but through serendipity became valued and cherished members of our family.  Now we have finally brought a beautiful registered puppy into the family! 

All of our beloved pets that have crossed the Rainbow Bridge are still with us at the farm.  Each has its own garden and statue. This is one of the many benefits of being in the country.

Introducing Abigail!  She still has floppy ears and is absolutely adorable.  It has been many years since we have had a puppy in our home and we have had to do some quick puppy proofing.  She has a lovely personality and is inquisitive and outgoing.  We are happy that she fit in so quickly. 

Abby arrived yesterday so today was her first full day experiencing life at the farm.  It was a sunny but cool day and Abby enjoyed spending time outside with her adopted sisters. 

Willow, Lucy and Abby have all adjusted to each other quickly.  Willow is our oldest lab and seems to have taken a motherly interest in Abby.  Lucy is a little less certain but once outside they enjoy running and playing together.

The area around the farmhouse is fenced and gated.  Yesterday we kept Abby on a leash at all times but today it was quickly clear that she wanted to be where the other dogs were so we removed the leash to let her run.

We would like to teach Abby to work with the sheep as Kodiak and Drakk did before her.  Today she is being introduced to the sheep in the barn.  She isn't too sure what to make of the sheep and they are not sure what to make of her!

So much to see and do!  So many new sights and sounds...yesterday was sensory overload but today she is taking things much more in stride. Today our ears are facing "left"!

The chickens are very exciting.  Let's see if we can herd them!

They are so much fun!

No chickens were harmed during this session.😉    Abby has chased them but has not shown any signs of aggression.  The chickens will no doubt be plotting their revenge! 

We have two cats in our home.  Abby has met Horatio and thinks he is fascinating.  Unfortunately he doesn't feel the same way about her.  Abby is not comfortable navigating the staircase to the second floor so has not yet met Chantalaria, our other resident cat.  Chantalaria has been carefully assessing the situation from the top of the stairs and is reserving judgement.

It has only been just over 24 hours but we are already in love with our newest fur-child.

Thank you to everyone for visiting and have a great week!

Remembering Holly

Hello dear friends,

We have had a very sad week at Carogil Farm.  Last Sunday our sweet Holly crossed the Rainbow Bridge to be with her brother Drakk.  I have a few photos to share that will remind us of the wonderful life that she had here at our farm.

It is hard to believe that Drakk (pictured above left) and Holly (centre) arrived at our farm in 2009!  At the time our very pretty Jessie had just passed away and Kodiak (on the right) became quite depressed.  After consulting with our trainer we were advised to find another dog to keep Kodiak company but within an hour of that conversation our trainer called back to say he had not one but two dogs for us!  As it turned out, Drakk and Holly's owners in the city had decided that they were too busy to look after them and had just called the same trainer looking for help in finding them a good home.  So as is always the case here animals become a part of our family in the oddest of ways.

Holly and Drakk were very bonded to each other and were half brother and sister.  Drakk passed away almost one year ago and Holly has missed him.  After Kodiak passed away we adopted two yellow labs but while Holly tolerated them she really never bonded with them after Drakk's passing.  Dogs go through a grieving process just like humans do.  Some of our dogs have gone through a depression after losing one of their pack members.  Holly didnt show signs of depression but we believe that she missed her brother very much as they have spent their entire lives together.

Such a very pretty girl!  She was also quite big at just over 40 kg and very strong.

The area around our home is fenced and the driveways are gated to prevent our dogs from getting to the road.  Here Holly (left) and Drakk (right) are on a lounging break.  This area is particularly good for keeping an eye on the road and advising passing strangers  and people on horseback to keep moving! 

Holly loved the snow and was not bothered by the cold.  Both she and Drakk loved to play in the snow and when they wanted to rest would just lay down as long as we were outside with them.  When we go inside the dogs always come inside too.

This is a recent photo.  Both Drakk and Holly developed Degenerative Myelopathy, a devastating condition that can affect older dogs.  German Shepherds are prone to the condition which causes weakness in the limbs and ultimately an inability to walk.  We have learned that reputable breeders will test for the DM gene before breeding their dogs but unfortunately there are many other breeders that do not know or care to consider genetic conditions in their breeding programs.  Clearly the breeder that produced both Drakk and Holly did not any testing.  For those that are buying pure bred puppies it is so important to check into the reputation and practices of the breeder to ensure that they are not perpetuating health issues in the breed.

In the meantime our labs Willow and Lucy are adjusting to their fur family being somewhat smaller.   Over the next few weeks we will consider options for introducing another dog into our family so that Lucy wont be alone when it is time for Willow to leave us.

Thank you for visiting.