I have a friend who fosters shelter dogs. I’d been looking for a rescue for months. I asked her to keep her eye out and she said she’d do that for me. She mentioned that she was sheltering a dog currently but it was probably going to a different rescue organization. Very quickly, I heard back that the other rescue couldn’t take her and she was available. I told some of my kids about her and they were concerned how a grown rescue would do with cats, other dogs, guineas, chickens, cows, grandchildren – there’s a lot to take in on our farm. But…I just had this feeling that this might be the dog for us!
My friend offered to bring her to us so we could meet Katie. I really wanted my oldest son’s opinion – he’s got such a great intuition about dogs. He knows how to train a dog properly – he’s like the dog whisperer of our family! We spent a good part of an afternoon getting to know this girl – exposing her to all the elements on a farm and she did great! My oldest son approved. She did well with Elijah’s dog Keli (older and blind). All of that to say….we have a new member of the family – meet Katie!
We don’t know what Katie has been through – she was found as a stray. She is more afraid of men than women but she is coming around. She trembles a lot but not as much as when she first arrived. Initially when we called her, she would come but she was cowering and as she got closer it turned into very slow belly crawling. She always seems surprised when she gets praise and love for obeying. She wouldn’t drink, eat, pretty much even move without an invitation to do so – after just a week she will now eat and drink on her own. It’s as if she is afraid to do anything without permission in the house.
Katie’s favorite place to be is outside – which works out well since it is spring on the farm! She’s learning what words mean – she loves to hear “Let’s go to the greenhouse” – she usually leads the way. But she is always looking back to make sure I’m following her.
Her favorite new phrase is “Katie- load up!”.
She LOVES our “cow machine” (so named by a 3 year old grandchild)! She knows this means we are headed out to one field or another where she can roam and run. Sometimes the only part of her I can see is the white tip of her tail or the tips of her ears bobbing through the high grass!
If it’s been awhile since we’ve taken a ride…this happens – how could you resist those begging eyes?
And when we get home – Katie isn’t necessarily done with farm exploration. She just doesn’t want to leave…
We can tell she’s been badly treated but each day she becomes a little more comfortable…trusts us a little bit more. We believe that with lots of love she’ll learn that she’s come to a safe place. A place she is loved and cared for.
Katie is never far from my side…she’s become a wonderful companion.
She’s done well with grandchildren (she can’t get close enough to them for all those snuggles!). We are teaching her to ignore the chickens and she has done very well with that…especially hard when they are flapping and squawking all around you, She’s not sure about the cows yet. She’s an Australian Cattle Dog so I had some concern she might have instincts to herd them but so far so good!
About those cats….well….she’s a work in progress!
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