“Lets get a giant dog. It’ll be fun. We’ll teach him to pull a cart.” Ha; the things I am convinced of. We have had Baxter for 13 months now. Happy belated birthday to him! He weighs 130 pounds and is not quite house trained. Oh, and he chews on my nice wooden furniture. He does not pull a cart.
That picture from winter is from a while ago. He is a lot bigger now. A BIG FAT love bug. Now that it is getting colder and he can stand the heat, he sleeps at the foot of our bed. He falls in love with everyone he meets — and he likes to jump up and give them kisses (unfortunately). He likes to sit on people.
He thinks he’s a lap dog. He is not.
What is his job? Every animal must have a job on the farm, right? Lets see… He barks at strange sounds. Sometimes. Not consistently enough that I’d say he earns his keep. He keeps me warm at night… but that’s only useful three out of four seasons. He is an alarm clock – wakes me up at 6 o’clock on the nose every day by staring at me. But really he’s just a silly love bug that provides us entertainment. He is only one and a half years old… I’ll give him some more time to find his place.
Higgs, on the other hand, is my baby. His job is to keep me company. One day he’ll hunt birds. Maybe. We’ve had him for two years. He cuddles me at night, which is usually a good thing. He sits with me while I work from home. He sits with me while I write my blog. He comes with me when I walk to the gardens. He walks with me along our over-grown trails.
This winter, he will skijor with me. While Zach races down the mountain, Higgs and I will be on the multi-use trails skiing away. I can’t wait.
Our final and most useful (???) dog is James Dean. At least he thinks he’s a dog, and we’re too afraid to tell him otherwise…
Isn’t he just stoic? Since we moved to the farmstead, he spends his days hunting for bugs. And chipmunks. And birds. And hopefully mice and rats, but we haven’t seen him with any yet. He DEFINITELY earns his keep.
Thanks for keeping with me! Do your animals earn their keep?
Until next time. The end.