Best Buddies

One of the highlights of the year was getting Ernie. David got him at a puppy adoption. He was a rescue from a kill farm in Georgia. He has been a loving companion from the beginning. He was/is very responsive to commands. He has gone out of his way to befriend Hule and has consistently followed her around. He is very loving and playful with seemingly endless energy.  He is a great little guy and was a great addition to the Z Food Farm family.

Ernie, like all puppies, is interested in playing and has almost unlimited energy. Hule, being an older dog is not as interested in playing as is Ernie. However, there are times when Ernie's persistence pays off and Hule gets involved. Here they are playing king of the hill. In many ways Ernie is the best thing that has happened to Hule in a long time.

When Ernie first came to the farm Hule wasn't too sure about the newcomer. She ignored him and rebuffed all of his attempts to engage in play. It seemed as if Hule thought he was just visiting and was waiting for him to leave. It took a couple of weeks for Hule to realize that Ernie wasn't going away. Once she accepted that he was here to stay they have gotten along. While he can be annoying in his efforts to get her to play, Hule seems 'happy' to have him as her brother.

Given Ernie's exuberance, and Hule's laid back disposition, she will often get tired of his steady attempts to get her to play. Yet, as this picture shows, there are times of restful repose. Ernie is Hule's shadow. While he has become more independent over time, he does not stray too far from where she goes.

During each of the first three years Hule was very active in her job as pest control. She killed about 12-15 ground hogs each year. This year she only got three of them. The reason for this decrease is hard to pin down. One explanation is that Hule is getting older and may not be as vigilant as she has been in the past. Another explanation is that the ground hog population has not recovered from Hule's prior efforts. We'll see what happens next year. One of the reasons that David wanted another dog was so that Hule could pass on her knowledge about hunting. David learned farming from Matt at Cherry Grove. Hule learned hunting ground hogs from Matt's dog Abigail. David's hope is that Ernie learns hunting from Hule.

Happy days and happy dogs.