When Farm Life Reminds You Who's Really in Charge

Hi Reader,

I'm writing this Thursday afternoon instead of my usual Wednesday night schedule (to be in your inbox Thursday morning). Why you might ask. Because honestly, sometimes farm life has other plans for us.

This week has been one of those reminders that when you're in the business of caring for living, breathing animals, schedules are more like... suggestions... 😆

Monday brought Sarah and Casey all the way from Hawaii to meet their Maremma puppy, Caia. Watching a puppy meet her forever family for the first time never gets old – especially when they've traveled thousands of miles and are planning the most complicated puppy pickup in my business history due to the rabies quarantine requirements (October can't come soon enough for them!).

Caia with her new family, who are witing for her to arrive in Hawaii

Tuesday started with a training consultation, then shifted into emergency mode when my husband needed an unexpected ER visit. That put a monkey-wrench in my day but that's life. (Don't worry, he's ok.) By midnight, I was outside bathing two puppies because their new owner was driving 9 hours from Northern California to get them and was already checked into his hotel room. When your clients trust you enough to make that kind of commitment, you don't let them down – even if it means working past midnight.

Wednesday had me dropping off Juliet, one of my young breeding candidates, for her PennHip and OFA testing at 8 AM, rushing back for the 9 AM puppy pickup, then heading to the VA hospital an hour away for my husband's follow-up appointment. Somewhere in between, I discovered an injured dog (because of course 😩). Around 7 PM I was back at the vet to pick up Juliet and pay my $740 vet bill for her testing and antibiotics for another dog.

Here's a cute video of the two pups who just arrived at their new home.

By 9 PM Wednesday, I was toast. Usually I'm burning the midnight oil writing these emails, but this extreme night owl finally crashed out and slept for 13 straight hours. (I really wanted to stay up to write this email but I just didn't have the bandwith to do it.) 😴

The plot twist? I had two more puppies scheduled to fly to Washington state next week. But I discovered that the airlines have stopped shipping dogs until late August, due to the heat. So now their new family is making the drive down this weekend to pick them up instead.

Whatever it Takes

Here's what struck me about this week: every single challenge – from the midnight puppy baths to the airline complications – came back to the same thing that probably drives most of your decisions too. We do whatever it takes for our animals.

Whether you're the one checking on livestock at 2 AM during a storm, or choosing to invest in proper health testing and veterinary care for your dogs even when the bills add up, or rearranging your entire week because your animals need you – we're all in this together.

The chaos, the unexpected expenses, the sleepless nights, the moments of pure joy when everything comes together perfectly – it's all part of this life we've chosen.

Tomorrow I'll be back to my regular schedule of training LGDs, feeding goats and horses, puppy & dog care, and probably a few more surprises. But right now, I'm just grateful for understanding clients, a great veterinarian, and the occasional forced 13-hour catch-up sleep session.

How has your week been treating you? Hit reply and let me know – I love hearing from you.

Take care,

Kim

P.S. If you've been thinking about adding a Maremma to your farm, our August litter applications are open now. Given how quickly life can change (airlines, anyone?), it's never too early to start planning ahead.

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