DOGS, DONKEYS, & MRS. WALKER

 

Across the Fence                     

 

By Arvord Abernethy

 

The Hamilton Herald-News has carried some articles about the dogs that the Buster Adams, who live over behind Shive, use to keep coyotes and other predators out of their goats. I was talking to John Soukup who lives out Lanham way and he had bought such a dog back early in the year. These two fellows have the Komondoras breed that came from Hungary where they have been used for about a thousand years.

 

John said that he would often lose one or two goats a night, but knows of only one that has been caught since he got his dog and it was caught in the hind quarter, a different catch than coyotes usually make.

 

He was telling about one night back in the spring when they heard the coyotes yelping, so he and Linda got up and drove out in the pasture to see about things, Zen, that’s the dog’s name, had the goats in the shed and was walking back and forth in front of the shed like a real trooper.

 

The dog did his work well and helped the Soukups get a good kid crop, but they have been having a lot of stomach worm trouble in the kids.

 

There are some other sheep and goat raisers in the county that have such dogs, but I don’t have their names. Durwood Kelley, down beyond Lampasas has some dogs for the same purpose, only his are the Great Pyrenees breed. This breed is hardly as large as the Komondoras and are white all over; they are a French breed.

 

Durwood had lost over 300 nannies to predators, so he had to do something or get out of the business. He bought two five week old Great Pyrenees pups and put them in a pen with baby kids and lambs until they were eight months old; then when they were turned out they continued to stay with the goats. The Kelleys have not lost any goats to predators since last September and their kid crop has gone from zero to 100 percent.

 

I had to go out of the sheep and goat business on account of predators. Hamilton County has a lot of good sheep and goat range, if only the predators could be controlled; and it would greatly help our economy.

 

I don’t know how these dogs keep the coyotes away, but they had sure better not bite or tear the skin of a coyote or the Enviromental Protection Agency will have all these dogs killed. Long Live the Coyote-they say.

 

There is a new twist to this kid sitting business; at least it is to me. Dogs have been used for years, now I hear of people using mules or donkeys to keep predators away. I was talking to Vernon “Smokey” Walther and he has a mule that stays with his goats. He lost seven goats one day before he got his mule about ten months ago, but doesn’t know of a one he has lost to predators since.

 

Smokey said there was one thing that didn’t work out right, when a nannie would kid, the mule would stand over the kid and keep the mother away; so he had to take the mule out during kidding time.

 

He said that if his dog went to the pasture with him, the mule would keep the dog under the pickup all the time they were there. As he put it, the mule has a purple passion for dogs.

 

Henry Reich, over between Shive and Pottsville , has some donkeys with his goats, and has had for about two years, but I didn’t get to talk to him.

 

I’m sure you have heard of the over population of donkeys in the Grand Canyon . Some were left there by gold prospectors years ago and have now multiplied until they are overgrazing the scarce grass. They are being air lifted out, so this might be a good chance for goat raisers to get a donkey and get back in the goat and sheep business. The lowly donkey might win his good name back if it wasn’t for such things as the political convention held in New York last week.

 

 

I was visiting recently at the Leisure Lodge Nursing Home when I saw someone being brought in a wheel chair, so I asked a nurse, "Wasn't that Mrs. Bennie Walker in that wheel chair?"

 

"Yes, they have just brought her back from the hospital where they X-rayed her leg to see if they could take it off."

 

I knew that she had broken her leg, so feared that complications may have set in and it was impossible to save it.  I could imagine in my mind what anxiety of Spirit Mrs. Walker would have thinking that she would be a cripple the rest of her life, so I thought I would just go by her room to cheer her up some.

 

I went on to visit the person I had planned to see, then I went to Mrs. Walker's room, braced up my courage, and walked in.  Instead of seeing someone all discouraged and down in the mouth, there she lay all chipper with a big smile and crocheting a gift for someone.  I didn't tell her about the thoughts that I had, but I did go away feeling much better.   The doctor cut it off last week.

Shared by Roy Ables

 

ACROSS THE FENCE