Friday, April 08, 2016

We Bought a Farm: Working Dogs

I cannot believe it was one week ago that we put our Scrubs down. Both JB and I agree that the week has flown by. There has been so much going on here which I think was a good thing. Yesterday was the first day that I did not cry. I almost did numerous times, but I made it through.

The biggest thing is that I keep feeling Scrubby's presence. I don't mean that in a spooky way, I just mean that I keep thinking he's coming around the corner. I keep thinking I see him out of the corner of my eye. I keep thinking I hear him. And then he isn't there. I can't get my mind to realize that he is gone forever. And I definitely can't think about him while I am lying in bed. I totally lose it.

A few days before Scrubs died, JB and I made the decision to purchase two new Australian Shepherd pups. We really felt like we needed a dog presence on the farm with all the animals we had. We like the safety and companionship of dogs. These will be outdoor dogs, but they will have the entire run of our 100 acres. They will be members of our family just as much as if they lived inside. We did decide to get two because they will be outside and we felt they needed a pack.

We thought about just getting a rescue dog. The problem is we have a ton of free-range animals on the farm. We need a dog that we can trust with these animals. For this reason we decided to go with dogs bred for this life. 

We are getting a girl and boy dog that are unrelated so there is a chance we may have pups someday that we would sell. I pick the doggies up on April 15th. We are all excited, but if I am being honest, I feel like I am betraying Scrubs just a bit.

THE GIRL: 




THE BOY:





4 comments:

Trish Loede said...

Wendi, we had to put our Lexi down in early November.. she was with us for nearly 13 years--we got her when our kids were 1 and 2.. We swore we would never get another dog.. or at least hold out for a few years.. less than a month later we welcomed Lily (a loveable golden doodle) in to our family. She really helped the kids in their healing process. We've discovered that we had plenty of room in our hearts to fill with another fur baby. We still miss Lexi, and Lily in no way replaced her--but Lily has now picked up Lexi's watch and will transition our family from having little babies to empty nesters when Tyler and Madie head off to college in 2 and 3 years...

Wendi Kitsteiner said...

Trish, thank you for these words. They meant SO much to me.

Constance said...

Dear Wendi
You have made a wise choice. Scrubs would know that another dog (or dogs) will be friend and partner to you at some point and would be happy for you! Dogs live only for our happiness. Waiting serves no purpose unless it is waiting for the right dog to come along because having them with us helps our heart heal. A member of our family has had Aussies for many years (still does) and they have brought such joy!. These two pups will guard your family and farm and make Scrubs proud <3 Blessings on you and your family and may you remember Scrubs always with joy and happiness.

Anonymous said...

My mom had Australian Shepherds on her cattle ranch. They were great dogs.
-Deirdre