"Lakota"
Lakota is another rescue animal and comes
from the Sioux Reservation at Fort Peck here in Montana.
We estimate his age to be about two years old.
At first glance he looks quite ominous due to his size (110 lbs.)
and that fixed "thousand yard stare", but he is a gentle giant,
very intelligent, and quite the gentleman. He also has an
insatiable love for Dads homemade bread and biscuits,
as shown in the photo below.

"Lakota"
First day on the ranch.

"Sophie"
Sophie is our ever vigilant 12 year old Border Collie.
She is a natural herder and when I cannot locate the horses,
I just say "go git em Soph" and she will locate and
drive them back into the corral for me.
Unfortunately she tries to herd anything else that walks and
our two Nubian Goats do not seem to want to play her game,
as she has been horned on several occasions.
She has also been mauled twice by black bears,
we are just glad she did not bring them back home with her!

"Tootsie"
Tootsie, or Toots as we call her is a mix of Poodle and Terrier,
but we are not sure of what type of Terrier. Though small in stature,
she is quite tenacious when the smaller predators come around,
and shows no fear when guarding her turf against the many Foxes
and young Coyotes that frequent the area.
Aside from that, she is a little sweetheart and quite the lap dog.
 

"Lady & Tanya"
Lady (the brown) & Tanya (the black) are five year old sisters
and are Lab and Pit Bull mix, although Tanya looks to be pure Lab.
They were my first companions when I relocated here
and are rescue animals. The day after I had gotten them they were destined to be destroyed, but we were in the right place
at the right time to intervene.
These two are excellent trackers and and are the best watch dogs
I have ever had the pleasure of having as partners. 
I have trained them to both verbal, and hand commands. 
They are Daddies girls and whenever I am outside, 
they are right with me every step of the way.
They are also excellent with children, love affection,
and are very loyal as well as protective.
It is these two sweethearts that were partially instrumental in
getting me my handle of "Two Dogs".
 
 
 
 
 

.........
Before...

This is "Blair", a dog that Sylvia recently rescued.
She was so emaciated that I could put both of my hands around her waist. Her right rear foot was almost ground off from being hit and dragged along by a car. I have been fattening her up and had to come up with a device that would allow her to walk, keep the wound clean, and at the same time let me access the wound for treatment. I cut a bleach bottle in half and with a little ingenuity and a latex wrap, made an open air brace that works very well.

A Montana leg fixer.
 

Here is Blair and Christopher
enjoying a relaxing moment in the front yard.
(Chris is the one on the right)
She is a real sweet dog and gets along
great with all the rest of our critters.
She is also getting a little fat on her.

Here I caught Blair up on the couch with her new
adopted baby... Yeller, our newest kitten.
 

"After"
Blair as she looks today... Fat, Silky Haired,
and walking around like she never had a foot problem at all!
She is daddys little girl, and we are keeping her.

Animal Rules
I love and enjoy all of our animals.
They are very entertaining, fun to watch and interact with,
and some, like the dogs, are also a source of
protection, safety and security.
I treat them fairly and with a lot of love.
However... they must all get along and not
harass or fight each other.
I have found over the years that an animal that becomes
aggressive or unpredictable is not only dangerous,
but outright deadly. I do not teach aggression
to any of our animals. If they protect you...
it is because they are loyal to you and want
to keep you from any harm.
I really wish more people would realize this
and not train their animals to be vicious.
It can only lead to serious problems down the road!
Sorry... just my experienced opinion again.