Barn Hop

This was a pretty laid back day here. We don't get many of them especially at this time of the year. It was a cool morning , a hint that Fall is on the way here in Nor. Cal. After chores of milking and feeding I took our livestock guardian , Spinner for a walk. Spin has been our LGD for almost eleven years , her birthdate is 10-13-2000, and we have had her since she was four months old.

Her partner Kingston passed about three years ago. Spinner and I began our tradition of walking not long after that when I stopped working at a local animal clinic as one of the nurses. She missed the interaction of her life partner and the activity of occasional play time with him. So we began to walk daily at the time anywhere from 2 to 5 miles. We both dropped some weight and she certainly seemed happier for the extra attention.

Now that Spin is getting older, ok, me too! We don't walk as far a mile round trip being about it. She has some issues with her spine and some old dog things also. I have old goat lady issues so it seems to work well for us. She still lives with the goats 24/7 and probably wouldn't know what to do if she were not in the barn. She still guards but her ears don't hear like they used to and she is getting cataracts in both eyes. So her guarding isn't as aggressive as in her younger days. And we are fortunate that the area we are in now doesn't require her being fence line from 0-60 at this point.

Spinner came from a wonderful breeder who has had the breed for 50 years. Their dogs go from field to ring and excel in both areas. They have also earned their good citizen awards. Her dog (sire) lived to be 11 when he was euthanized do to advanced liver cancer. Her bitch (dam) was still alive last year at 13. An amazing age for a giant breed. So we are hoping that God grants us another year or two with this amazing girl who has spent her life caring for our critters and keeping them from harms way.

So until then we will continue to walk, not daily at this point but several times a week. And if you are ever in Mendocino county and see an old goat lady with a big white dog give a howdy honk!