A New Start

Lena’s litter has come to the magic eight-week age, when they’ve fully made the transition from babies to toddlers, and they’re ready for their new homes. Kara’s selection process for puppy placement has been very careful to make sure these English Shepherds are going to working farms, where their livestock tending capabilities will be best utilizes, with good, dog-savvy owners.

Some of these selected farms were as far afield as Ohio and Maryland! One fellow, Jim, has red Dexter cattle, while a lady, Tory, has heritage sheep, ducks, and geese. Both have an interest in keeping these special English Shepherd genetic available for whelping and stud services in the future as well, which was in keeping with our vision of preserving this heritage breed.

Prepping for lambing season meant having to stock up on important veterinary supplies, plus a doctor visit for me before the craziness of spring ensues, so we settled on a rendezvous point downstate to meet Jim and Tory with the puppies. Sometimes you can forget how long of a state Wisconsin truly is until you have to drive across it and back in a day!

Farmstead Creamery is only closed on Mondays, so that was our chance to be away. Mom and Steve were going to hold down the farm and all the chores, while Kara and I made the puppy trek. We packed a cooler with munchy items, another tote with puppy care supplies, loaded up with music to listen to and springtime planning issues to discuss. Situating the wire dog kennel in the back of the car, so the pups would be safe in transit, it was time to load up the little sable female “Maple” and her tri-colored brother “Watson” for the five-and-a-half-hour ride.

One last romp in the yard and photo opportunity before leaving. Lena knew something was up, and the pups were wondering about what was happening. This was only their third time riding in a car, and their first time riding without their mother. This was scary new stuff!

Transitions are always tough—for people and for animals. And the puppies let us know how they felt about this transition! Our ears were ringing for a bit until the pups finally settled down to the rhythm and hum of the road to sleep the hours away. That is, until we’d come to an intersection, when they’d rouse and the raucous yips and howls would commence again.

We did stop several times to let them stretch their little legs at grassy parks (the snow is almost gone downstate already), sniffing and prancing. And the treats came in handy as well—some of which were distributed to us by the curly-haired lady at the drive-through of Molly’s Rude Awakening coffee shop in Black River Falls (a vibrantly colorful, hippy-themed place where the drive-through is the side of VMW bus).

But once we finally landed in Platteville (the town where Kara and I were born), the pups seemed to know that this was going to be more than just another potty break at the park. The new owners and their spouses were ready for us, eager to meet their new four-legged family members.

Jim has a resonant, low voice, much like Steve, and Watson immediately took to his new “Daddy.” Maple was a little more concerned, wanting to run back to her “safe people,” but Tory knew how to settle her fears and was just so eager to be holding her new little love. Kara had been working with these puppy buyers over the phone and online, so it was great to meet them in person, answer their questions, and offer some puppy developmental stage advice.

Jim had eight hours to go to make it home, while Tory had 15, so Kara had also packed food for the pups and water from the farm, so they’d have familiar supplies for the pups in transit. Kara then eagerly watched Facebook for postings of pictures of the little ones on their trips to their new farms and announcements of safe arrivals. It was a little sad to see the puppies leave, but we were comforted to know that they were getting a great new start, with lots of exciting years ahead with their new families.

Today, two more families arrive to pick up their puppies, while the last two being sold come on Sunday. The families arrive with such eagerness, especially the daughter of a farm family in Menomonie who just arrived. Amy, the mother, explained how her 7-year-old daughter hadn’t slept a wink last night because she was so excited about the puppy coming. For the kids at Chris’ farm in Mason, the puppy is a planned surprise.

The snow is receding, the air is warming, and migratory birds are beginning to return. Spring is just around the corner, with its promise of a new growing season. What a perfect time for these darling little puppies to be starting their new adventures on farms both near and farther afield. We wish for them the very best! But we are keeping two pups—Nellie and Finley—whom you may be seeing sometime down on the farm.