It’s been a while since we posted and a lot has happened in those years!
Our biggest change on the farm in that time has been our dogs. Jack and Lassie are both no longer living. They were very special dogs and we have many wonderful memories of them. Now we have two new dogs who are taking on the role of farm helper.
Meet Annie, our female and the older of the two dogs! Annie is four years old now and loves working with the animals, hanging out with us, and playing fetch! We got her from 4J Acres when Lassie died, hoping to be able to have puppies between her and Jack, but unfortunately Jack was unable to breed by the time Annie was old enough.
Picking her up in Texas from 4J Acres was the final adventure of a family vacation we took in 2021. Annie was a little bundle of energy, always wanting to be with us and help in whatever we were doing. But, like a typical Scotch Collie, she also knew how to relax when she didn’t have a job to do. She has grown very well into the role of lead dog on our place.
Like our other dogs, Annie loves patrolling the farm. She has kept countless hawks and eagles away from the chickens, herds the cows back into their pen if they get out, and keeps the chickens out of the yard and garden. Annie also loves to hunt rodents and goes on point whenever she trees a squirrel. This hunting instinct hasn’t shown itself as distinctly in our other Scotch Collies and is very fun to watch.
In her “spare time” Annie does have a favorite hobby - playing fetch! She never gets tired of that. But even in the middle of a game, Annie will immediately change into work mode if she sees an eagle anywhere near our chicken coop. We love to watch her running all out to chase it off. Annie loves jumping and climbing over obstacles and we had fun teaching her some agility moves, which she seemed to really enjoy.
Even with all her energy, Annie loves to just hang out with us. She is always gentle with the kids too. We’re really looking forward to the time when she has puppies, and if her past behavior is anything to judge by, she will make an excellent mama!