Four Legged Family

I have been following a thread on the Mary Jane's Farm, Farm Connection about Livestock Guardian Dogs.  It got me thinking about the pooches I have been owned by and loved, every bit as much as my children.  I can't remember a time when I haven't had a dog in my life.  I started out young with a Shepherd/Lab cross named Tahoe (how original, since we lived in Tahoe but we were kids after all....) and have had many different 4 legged children over the years.  Right now I have a very spoiled and pampered German Shepherd who sleeps on the foot of my bed at night and will talk your ear off.

Shadow aka Barky the Wonder Pooch

First Day on the homestead

But the dogs I loved the most were my Anatolian Shepherds.  Sadly, I no longer have one but that was the only dog I had for more than 18 years.  Of the Anatolians I had the pleasure to be owned by, (5 altogether)  Turk was by far my favorite.  The first time I met him, we had gone up to the Greenbluff area to a family that owned a U-Pick berry place to look at him.  There he sat on the front step, draped in a baby blanket and with a bonnet on his head.  He looked mortified.  Poor dude.  After we chatted awhile and came up with a purchase price, I looked at him and asked him if he wanted to go bye-bye.  He shook off the blanket and bonnet and jumped in my van.  When we got home, he looked around the room, raised his leg on my easy chair and owned me forever after.

Turk and his flock

Turk was a social bug.  He hated being alone and would break down doors if he thought he was alone in sheer panic.  He went everywhere with us.  He sat in the back seat of the van like a person.  When I bought my new van, I wanted one with AC in the back.  The salesman asked if it was for the kids.  I said heck no, they can open a window.  It's for my dog.  He was a great guardian of the family, kids and animals alike.  He insisted on counting the chicks every morning when they were fed.  A gentle giant with a wonderful sense of humor.  He loved to give the girls a hard time when they were teenagers.  That dog could jump in a car of girl scouts and pick out  "his girls" stuff and wipe his face on it and then in his droll manner just wait for them to complain.  He would ride in my friends Subaru with his head sticking out the sun roof, just taking in the view.  I could buy a van load of groceries and he would never touch anything in the bags.

Turk aka" Daisy May" due to his hot spot flea issue

Turk lived a long life for such a big boy - he weighed 200 lbs.  It was one of the saddest days of my life to have to have him put down to end his suffering.  But I still think of him often and he is a favorite in family stories so his spirit lives on.  Hopefully one day I will be owned by another Anatolian but there will never be another Turk. 

Kaplan

Cakur and Turk with meatball pursuasion