Welcome to the Barnyard

We have goats!

We welcomed our first barnyard beauties to Serendipity the day before Christmas Eve.  The kids (and me too!) were so excited.  Greg's uncle brought them for the kids.  They are just adorable.  SugarPlum is the smaller of the two and was pretty skittish, but she is warming up to me.  The other day she escaped her pen and I was trying to "round her up" as Greg would say.  Really, it was me darting back and forth trying to persuade to jump back to where she belonged.  Greg asked, "Why don't you just grab her?"  Oh, duh.  That really didn't dawn on me.  I've never wrangled goats before!  So, I grabbed her and scooped her up and she went limp in my arms and...for real...started cuddling.  At least that is what I think.  She nuzzled her head against my chest and let me pet her for about 5 minutes.  Now when I go out to feed her, she talks to me, comes right up to me and follows me around.  When I feed them, she jumps in the trough and lets me pet her the entire time.  Bessie on the other hand is sassy and wants nothing to do with any of us still.  She's better than the first night, but is still in flight mode whenever we get too close.

My Junior Mint got his first head butt by the goat which in turn ended with him face flat in the dirt.  His eyes were as big as saucers.  After making sure he was fine, I just about died laughing.  That will teach him to get too close.  Goats 1 - Baby Greg 0.

As for the names, those were all Penelope.  At first we just knew we were getting two goats, but we didn't know the sex.  So, obviously you get her choice for female names, but if they would've been boys, they would've been Carlos and Lightning.  Right on Peeps. 

I can't wait to add more creatures to our barnyard brood.  Thinking maybe a couple more goats, maybe a sheep, a cow, and a mini donkey for sure!  I'd have whole zoo if Greg would let me!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Lucky Dog

I truly believe everything happens for a reason.  


Enter Lucky Dog.

Greg and I have had two boxers in our life for the last 10 almost 11 years:  Milo & Otis.  Milo and Otis were brothers, and seriously the best dogs ever.  Sadly, Otis passed away in April of 2011 leaving just Milo.  Greg and I kept telling each other that we should really get another dog before Milo passes away...you know to teach the young one "the ropes".


Not more than 24 hours after we seriously talked about getting a new dog, does Lucky show up.  And he's a boxer?  Our neighbor actually had him because she thought Lucky was Milo, and that he had escaped from our yard.  Nope not the case.  Of course, once I saw "Buddy" (that was what the neighbor had been calling him), I melted. But I had my heart guarded...I knew a dog as gorgeous as "Buddy" surely had to have a family missing him.  My neighbor who has lived here a lot longer that us was certain "Buddy" was dumped in our neighborhood because all the homes are on acreage and lots of people have farm animals...absorbing a dog...especially a cutie like "Buddy" would not be hard to do.  Looking back, I still can't even pin point how we got "Buddy" from our neighbor...it was like she let us take him to get acquainted with Milo and we just never gave him back.  I guess that's how things work in the country.  


I was still cautious though.  I searched AZ law regarding a lost/found dog...as long as I cared for an animal for at least 6 consecutive days, he was mine.  Let the countdown begin.  I took him to the vet to see if he was microchipped.  He wasn't.  I searched every single neighborhood within a 5 mile radius looking for "lost dog" posters with his sweet face.  I didn't find any.  I searched the "lost and found" section on craigslist and other lost pet sites and even put my own ad up.  I didn't find any ads matching him and no one responded to mine.  Then the 6th consecutive came and went and we officially changed his name from "Buddy" to "Lucky".  


Lucky he found us, and lucky we found him.

♥♥♥
Olivia