The Funny Farm

In my previous post, I talked about Bark in the Park & the organizations that will benefit from this event. The Walden Humane Society & Second Chance Farms will be the recipients of the proceeds from this day. I'm grateful to both of these organizations for all that they do, but especially for these special pets: *


*Buddy, the one eyed yellow lab was adopted from the Walden Humane Society. A breeder brought him in to be destroyed. Born with micro-opthalmia , he was "unacceptable" due to his "less than perfect" appearance. He's a wonderful companion to " Miss Johnson" & a great family dog


*Several year ago, Alice, from Second Chance Farms asked me to foster a pregnant stray and provide her with a quiet & safe place to have her kittens. After, she would take the mother & kittens and find them homes. " Mamma Kitty" wanted only to be fed & left alone. After giving birth to 5 kittens, Mama & two of the kids remained with us. Slowly she became more trusting & decided that we could be her people. Mamma died recently from cardiac problems, but we know her life with us was a good one.

Here are some of the rest of the crew. Hard luck stories all, but they are a welcome part of the Funny Farm Family!

Max, a Standardbred race horse was off the track due to injuries while still a young man. He was reschooled as an English pleasure horse & came with his own companion. If we took Max, we had to take his side kick Rhoda( an older quarter horse who had been passed around many times in her life) So, Max & Rhoda ( don"t they sound like a retired couple from a Catskill Hotel?)
joined the funny farm. Rhoda was a steady old gal & I used her to teach my kids to ride. She was part of our family until she passed. Max is still with us @ 27yrs old. Handsome, but the old injuries are bothering so he's "retired" & dosent seem to mind being "a lawn ornament".



Our small goat herd were about to be slaughtered for meat when they got loaded into the van & joined the family. They don't seem to mind their lives as goat-dogs & like everything here, will die of old age.


A few winters ago, 4 domestic geese wandered down the path by the barn & demanded a meal.
I did not want anymore geese, but they had other ideas. After looking for their owners, it seemed that they had been "dumped " on the road by someone who decided that keeping geese was not their cup of tea. One pan of cracked corn ( they were hungry!) & guess who became the somewhat unwilling owner of 4 grey geese? They made themselves right at home, bossing all the other animals & acting as our own alarm system for the whole property.



As I re-read this post, it occurs to me, that most of our animals came to us when we were not looking to add more animals to our lives. Who chooses? I think they choose for us.
(check back for pictures of the Funny Farm crew. )