"Mom! I have a dog clinging to my foot, and a Del clinging to my arm," my eldest son complained. "What do I do?"
After fifteen hours in the car with only short breaks for bathroom purposes, I'm inclined to say exactly what I'm thinking. Instead, I take a deep breath, turn around, and distract my two year-old so she'll release her grip on her frustrated, teenaged brother.
He sighs, and I remark, "She loves you."
"Yeah, Jackson, I love you," Del smiles and grabs his arm again. Ugh. Two year-olds should not be so skillfully capable of manipulation.
"I'm never doing this again," my weary husband remarks. I make as much noise in assent as I can muster after driving straight through the previous night.
We are on our way home from picking up our new LGD (livestock guardian dog). After losing a beloved and conformationally exceptional herdsire to a dog attack earlier this year, we decided that we absolutely needed to protect our livestock (and our investment) with one of the many LGDs out there trained to watch over flocks. We researched the various breeds - Maremma, Anatolian Shepherd, Great Pyrenees, Karakachan, Komondor. We narrowed down what we thought would work best for us, our herd, and our family to the two Hungarian breeds, the Karakachan and the Komondor. We talked to friends who had each, and we talked to breeders; and we finally decided to add a Komondor to our farm.
We emailed the two closest breeders of purebred, registered Komondors and received a reply from Denmans Critters in Tennessee. We liked that the Denmans also had miniature goats and fowl on their farm, and their Komondors actively worked as guards for their livestock. Fortunately, the Denmans' dogs had whelped a litter of pups on New Years Day, making them the perfect age for their new homes in March, which was when we wanted the pup to join us. Fortunately, they still had a male pup available. Fortunately, the Denmans were willing to accept a deposit and hold the puppy until we were ready for him. Unfortunately, the Denmans live about twelve and a half hours away from us.
And so, the adventure began.
After fifteen hours in the car with only short breaks for bathroom purposes, I'm inclined to say exactly what I'm thinking. Instead, I take a deep breath, turn around, and distract my two year-old so she'll release her grip on her frustrated, teenaged brother.
He sighs, and I remark, "She loves you."
"Yeah, Jackson, I love you," Del smiles and grabs his arm again. Ugh. Two year-olds should not be so skillfully capable of manipulation.
"I'm never doing this again," my weary husband remarks. I make as much noise in assent as I can muster after driving straight through the previous night.
We are on our way home from picking up our new LGD (livestock guardian dog). After losing a beloved and conformationally exceptional herdsire to a dog attack earlier this year, we decided that we absolutely needed to protect our livestock (and our investment) with one of the many LGDs out there trained to watch over flocks. We researched the various breeds - Maremma, Anatolian Shepherd, Great Pyrenees, Karakachan, Komondor. We narrowed down what we thought would work best for us, our herd, and our family to the two Hungarian breeds, the Karakachan and the Komondor. We talked to friends who had each, and we talked to breeders; and we finally decided to add a Komondor to our farm.
We emailed the two closest breeders of purebred, registered Komondors and received a reply from Denmans Critters in Tennessee. We liked that the Denmans also had miniature goats and fowl on their farm, and their Komondors actively worked as guards for their livestock. Fortunately, the Denmans' dogs had whelped a litter of pups on New Years Day, making them the perfect age for their new homes in March, which was when we wanted the pup to join us. Fortunately, they still had a male pup available. Fortunately, the Denmans were willing to accept a deposit and hold the puppy until we were ready for him. Unfortunately, the Denmans live about twelve and a half hours away from us.
And so, the adventure began.
My husband and I took plenty of road trips while we were still in college. He frequently did research for various entities around the southeast, and we went to many academic conferences together; we moved quite frequently then, as well, many times covering long distances of travel overnight. However, those days are five kids and twenty years ago. We definitely underestimated how those years would affect this journey. Neither of us was prepared for what the trip would require of us.
My husband and I are both teachers in our "away from home" jobs - he teaches college, I teach high school. So, we made plans to leave for Tennessee on Friday after school. I secured one of the very few students I trust keeping our seven year-old, nine year-old, and twelve year-old overnight. We made charts for the kids staying home to outline their farm chores while we were gone. We posted emergency numbers and our insurance card on the stand above the phone, just in case the babysitter might need them. We cleaned the house Wednesday night and Thursday night, and I went grocery shopping Friday afternoon to make sure there was enough variety of food in the house to please everyone. Then, we began packing - An extra set of clothes for each of us, just in case; snacks for the road; pull-ups, wipes, and a diaper pad in the diaper bag; extra blankets and jackets ; and Del's indispensable, purple, unicorn pillowpet.
We really thought we were ready. The first error we realized is that there are toll roads on the way to Tennessee from Virginia. We had only brought enough cash to cover the puppy and his interstate health certificate. Oops. Then, we realized both of us thought the other one was going to put the dog crate in. Darn. Oh, and no lead or collar for our newest farm member. Ugh. I couldn't find a pay phone that worked anywhere (it seems as though my husband and I are the only people left on earth who do not have cellular devices), so I had no way to contact the babysitter, even if I could find my calling card. ARGH!
As usually occurs, the problems tended to work out on their own - we dug through our wallets and were able to find enough cash and change for the tolls on the way out. We picked up cash at an ATM during our first gas fill up, so we had enough for the way back. Problem one solved. The puppy was quite comfortable on the floorboards at our son's feet for the trip back. Problem two solved. Jackson carried Bela to the car himself, so no collar was needed. Problem three solved. And, once I explained the situation with the pay phones/babysitter, the Denmans cheerfully allowed me to use their phone to call home. Problem four solved.
We finally arrived home, exhausted and worn and with decidedly less money than we had when we started but happy with our fulfilled mission.
As for the adventure? Well, let's just say the twenty years haven't completely doused the spirit yet. On the way home, short of sleep, cranky and sore, my husband made me giggle when he started pointing out landmarks we should visit on our "next trip." "Oooh. We've got a bunch of cool battlefields around here. I want to go to the battlefields. You know, I've only seen one battlefield. We need to go to a battlefield."
My husband and I are both teachers in our "away from home" jobs - he teaches college, I teach high school. So, we made plans to leave for Tennessee on Friday after school. I secured one of the very few students I trust keeping our seven year-old, nine year-old, and twelve year-old overnight. We made charts for the kids staying home to outline their farm chores while we were gone. We posted emergency numbers and our insurance card on the stand above the phone, just in case the babysitter might need them. We cleaned the house Wednesday night and Thursday night, and I went grocery shopping Friday afternoon to make sure there was enough variety of food in the house to please everyone. Then, we began packing - An extra set of clothes for each of us, just in case; snacks for the road; pull-ups, wipes, and a diaper pad in the diaper bag; extra blankets and jackets ; and Del's indispensable, purple, unicorn pillowpet.
We really thought we were ready. The first error we realized is that there are toll roads on the way to Tennessee from Virginia. We had only brought enough cash to cover the puppy and his interstate health certificate. Oops. Then, we realized both of us thought the other one was going to put the dog crate in. Darn. Oh, and no lead or collar for our newest farm member. Ugh. I couldn't find a pay phone that worked anywhere (it seems as though my husband and I are the only people left on earth who do not have cellular devices), so I had no way to contact the babysitter, even if I could find my calling card. ARGH!
As usually occurs, the problems tended to work out on their own - we dug through our wallets and were able to find enough cash and change for the tolls on the way out. We picked up cash at an ATM during our first gas fill up, so we had enough for the way back. Problem one solved. The puppy was quite comfortable on the floorboards at our son's feet for the trip back. Problem two solved. Jackson carried Bela to the car himself, so no collar was needed. Problem three solved. And, once I explained the situation with the pay phones/babysitter, the Denmans cheerfully allowed me to use their phone to call home. Problem four solved.
We finally arrived home, exhausted and worn and with decidedly less money than we had when we started but happy with our fulfilled mission.
As for the adventure? Well, let's just say the twenty years haven't completely doused the spirit yet. On the way home, short of sleep, cranky and sore, my husband made me giggle when he started pointing out landmarks we should visit on our "next trip." "Oooh. We've got a bunch of cool battlefields around here. I want to go to the battlefields. You know, I've only seen one battlefield. We need to go to a battlefield."