life is not what I think it should be on the farm. No sheep should ever leave me OR be a senior citizen. (Don't have it in me to call any of our critter family 'old')Most of you know we had to send our Great Pyrenees Bobbi to the big pasture in the sky recently. We miss her so much. She took wonderful care of our sheep, along with her brother Andrew, for 12 years. That is definitely old age for a Pyr. I am sure she and Andrew are busy busy keeping their old friends in line!
When I lose someone, I barely get time to grieve. I always cry even considering a new dog or even looking at ads for a new dog. BUT, Bobbi would not want her sheep friends unprotected from the 'bad guys.' (Coyotes- lots of them.) So I have to get my act together and keep an eye out. This is our new Pyr Milo. We drove to southern IL to pick him up and he's having a bit of culture shock. He's 3 years old and when he met Jim, I turned into the invisible woman. It was so sweet to see Milo take to Jim so quickly. Aren't they cute together? I think I'll keep them both! Ha! So there was no leaving Milo! We had no intention of leaving with out him anyway. We were told he was 'around sheep' all his life. He had all his vet work current and, he is just gorgeous! It was a long car ride home and a very difficult, scary time for Milo. I can't imagine how sad he must have been to be moved from everything he grew up with. And his best friend Moose the Newfoundland. When we got Milo home, we found he has some issues. His mouth does not quite fit together so his tongue hangs out. He is adorable but I wish his teeth fit together better. We have to feed him soft food and we'd like to see him gain some weight. He is very timid and we are depending on Heidi Grace to help us train him to stay with the sheep. Houston, we have a fence climber! We will be installing a radio fence this weekend to cure that habit! Stinker!
Every animal who finds us is like a puzzle. Each day we find things out about them that make it easier to ease their worries and teach them what we need them to do. Right now we have to keep this cutie inside when we are not out there to monitor his activities. His hips are not the greatest but in addition to climbing our fences, he has also climbed a tree to get over the fence to visit Henry & Niles? He is very determined! He's having separation anxiety when Jim is at work so that is what I am working to ease first for Milo.
We take walks with the sheep, with Heidi Grace, Teagan and Noodle. The girls are showing him the way and I know that is how Bobbi would want things to be. I don't think Milo will ever be able to work alone in Bobbi's group but we'll see. Until we know, or find a working pair of Pyrs, Dalai Llama and Chaquita llama will be coming back to work in Bobbi's group of sheep.
Keep an eye out for updates about Milo. I think this adventurer will keep us on our toes! Hope all is well with all of you! We'll be updating the website this weekend with lots of fun fiber and painted items- keep an eye out ok?
Smooches from everyone! Sandy and Jim www.homesteadwoolandgiftfarm.com ...where sheep may safely graze.