Catching Up

Haven't done a blog post for awhile, and really need to catch up. The biggest thing going on in our lives right now is the struggle to find the perfect family pet for us. This is why I miss Petey so much, he just fit into our family so well and we were in a good place with him. We had the puppies here, but they just turned out to be too much. They were taken away from their mom too young (in my opinion), and just whined all the time. They were cute/sweet little puppies, but Joe really wants a non-shedding dog. The lady who owns this house has a daughter that owns a dog rescue and offered to find the puppies a good home. She is also having labradoodle puppies and said we could have one (non-shedding)...but I just don't know/think a puppy is going to work quite honestly. In our old home we had a place for Petey to go at night (our laundry/computer room), where even if he whined a little in his crate we couldn't hear him. Here in this home, no matter where you put a puppy, you are going to hear it. Not to mention a labradoodle will be big and Joe doesn't really want a big dog either. It's so hard to find "the perfect dog" because can't do a puppy, can't do a big dog, can't be a dog that sheds, etc., and it just get very difficult to find the right dog. Now I know what you are thinking...that "perfect dog" doesn't exist, yet I know it does because Petey was that dog for us, and I know he can't be the only one out there. Needless to say, since the puppies we have found a stray dog and also adopted a pig. The reason we opted for a pig is because we thought this might be the answer, instead of having a dog, maybe a pig would work. We definitely have the space to do it, living on a farm and all. Pigs are smarter than dogs (actually the 4th smartest animal on the planet), they don't shed, they don't get fleas, they are easily trained and the list goes on. But with that, a lot can go wrong with having a pet pig too. Because they are so smart they need to be kept busy, they need to be able to root, they can easily destroy your home, and get into trouble. The other issue, that we are just realizing, is that pigs are either dominant or submissive...there is no in between. And they are actually like this from birth (the more dominant getting the better teats and being bigger, and the submissive being smaller or the runt of the litter). As a first time pig owner, we really should have a submissive pig because they are less likely to cause any trouble. Unfortunately the pig we have is already showing signs of aggression, and is definitely dominant. So not sure if we are going to keep her or not, I feel like she would do much better with a more experienced/knowledgeable owner. Although I did some research on the good and the bad and I thought I knew what I was getting into...I was not expecting the aggression that I am already seeing in this 8 week old pig. Here are a few of pictures of her.

As far as the stray goes, she is definitely a lab mix. We are thinking Lab/Pyrenees mix and maybe something else in there, not sure. She looks very much like a lab, but is bigger than a lab and has many characteristics of the Pyrenees. I actually LOVE this dog and would love to keep her. She is smart, lovable, sweet, awesome with kids, and I think would actually truly protect us and our farm. The only problem is she obviously sheds, and the fact that she is so huge. When she goes outside she gets very dirty and muddy and brings that into our home....the bottom line is that Joe does not want this massive shedding dog in our tiny home. The other part is that Nicole is afraid of her, even though she really has no reason to be. The dog has never growled or been aggressive towards the girls...but she is mouthy. She is mouthy when she wants to play or be petted...but the problem is with how big she is. Petey was mouthy too, but he was small and Nicole wasn't afraid. When this dog gets mouthy my girls entire arm practically fits in her mouth! I don't want Nicole afraid to be in her own home with this dog...so currently she is an outside dog. :o(  We are debating on whether to find her a good home where she can maybe be an inside dog for somebody, or if we should just keep her ourselves as an outside dog. I personally love her and would love to keep her as an outside dog...it's just that part of me that believes dogs should be inside with their loved ones that kills me. Yesterday we went to the church and the dog actually followed us there...on foot! The church is probably 4-5 miles away and we have to travel a little ways on a highway to get there. The dog (now named Marlee), started following us so I stopped and tried to get her into the car but couldn't, so I then sped up to loose her and I did. I figured once she lost sight of us she'd head back home....well instead, about 15-20 minutes after being at the church, she showed up there! This is where we actually found her a few days ago, was at the church. So from now on, when we leave to go anywhere, we will have to put her in the kennels so that she doesn't follow us. I can't imagine if we weren't going to the church and we were going 30-45 minutes away into town or something!  So with that said, here are a some pictures of Marlee. :o)

I think what I would really like to do, is find the pig a home with a more experienced owner, keep Marlee, and then maybe just get Nicole the kitten she has been begging for since Charlie died. See, wanting a pet isn't just about me wanting a dog, it is Nicole wanting a pet of her own. Emily has Smores, Ashley has Joey, Pumpkin is all of ours, and Marlee would be mine/all of ours. But Nicole used to do a great job taking care of her rabbit Charlie, and wants a pet of her own. What she really wants is a cat, because she is afraid Pumpkin is going to die soon. I think as long as I can keep Marlee (even if it is outside), I would get the fulfillment I am looking for with owning a dog, and then Nicole would just need to have the pet of her own she is looking for. I think the pig will be too aggressive and dominant for Nicole to be the owner of her. Last night we put the pig (named Jasmine by the way) in the kitchen with the gate closed for the night, which we've done every night we've had her, and then she started making screaming noises and ramming the gate to get out. We had to put extra support there to keep her in, but if she keeps it up, it will only be a matter of time before it is hard to find something to keep her in the kitchen. :o(  Okay, well that is enough pet stuff...

On a better note, Nicole has finally lost her two top teeth! One she lost a couple of weeks ago, and the other she lost last night. Here is a picture of her when she lost her first tooth, and then a picture after she lost the second tooth.

Other than that, here are some pictures of some things we've been up to lately around the area.

 

At the TN River Museum, we bought lollipops with bugs in them! All the lollipops either had a cricket or mealworm in it. Hey, once in a lifetime experience right!? I ate my cricket and Emily ate her mealworm. Nicole and Ashley both tried theirs, but couldn't follow through with it. Strangely enough, in the lollipop, it kind of tasted like a potato chip. Haha

 

The picture of the log is actually where a beaver has chewed through the log, and the picture of the girls with cannon, is Shiloh National Park, where part of where the civil war took place.

 

Last, but not least, here is the final picture of my home, the dining area.