Yes! Surprise, surprise, a double surprise!
Santa arrived early, leaving two very nice fluffy little cuddly gifts here at Westwind Farms. He didn’t leave them under the Christmas tree in the house, no siree; he left them in the barn addressed as gifts for the goats.
I think Santa is much more clever than most people realize. He got to thinking that our Boer goat population had doubled and was in the process of tripling and expanding some more. He fully realized that they, in the near future, while bearing singles, twins and triplets in the seclusion of out-of-sight pastures, would need some protection from predators such as wolves, coyotes and ravens, which occasionally frequent the area. So guess what we found in the barn?
Santa left us two eight-week-old Great Pyrenees puppies – both female, one entirely white, the other with dark earmuffs, which when named will give easy identification. Words escape explaining how cute they really are; you just have to see, to hold, and to cuddle. We are quite aware how clever this breed is, as Foxy, our house dog, is half Pyrenees and carries the inherited guard dog trait.
We saw them first at just six days old; their eyes were not yet open, and they lay comfortably in an open palm. It was then we selected the two from a litter of nine. It was eeny, meeny, miny, moe for the one that was all white, but the two coloured ears actually sold themselves on the second one. We saw them later at about six weeks old, and it was then that we sent the letter to Santa Claus.
The Pyrenean Mountain dog, known as the Great Pyrenees in North America, is a large breed of dog used as a livestock guardian. It has a temperament that is strong-willed, gentle, confident, fearless, patient and affectionate. It is a majestic nocturnal gentle giant, preferring to snooze in the day and protect their charges by night.
The dogs’ arrival at this time of year is ideal, as they will be able to get used to and, more important, make friends with all the animals that are housed in the stable. Just as important, the animals in the stable will be able to get used to them as they wander about in the darkness.
There should be no surprises when each in turn is turned out to exercise together in the paddocks and later released to mingle at will in the much bigger, well-fenced, fields of pasture. It is here where their guarding is a must.
Westwind Farms is leaning strongly in the direction of totally organic gardening, humane raising, feeding, housing and caring for animals that are grown for food. And falling quietly in place with this is the “live and let live” theory. Fewer hunters are allowed on the farm, and we hope that the Great Pyrenees will bring an end to their need.
Their nocturnal roaming, we also hope, will discourage foxes, raccoons, possums, skunks, porcupines, rabbits and squirrels from taking up residence, as they are always a nuisance on any farm. Mike and Molly, our two barn cats, are taking care of the hole-in-the-feedbag chewers, which are mice, rats and chipmunks.
At Westwind Farms, our hope is to cut any losses to the larger predators without harming the predator species. A confrontation between predator and these large dogs should encourage predator retreat, seeking less challenging roaming grounds elsewhere.
Eat your heart out, folks; I’m going out to cuddle the puppies. Don’t you wish you were me?
Take care, ‘cause we care.
barrie@barriehopkins.ca
519-986-4105