A Big Dog Party!

 To quote Dr. Seuss:  "Where are those dogs going?  To a party, a dog party, a big dog party!"

And that's just what we had this weekend!!

We fill our house with 12 sweet friends, and 8 dogs and had a weekend of fall fun!  We ate and laughed, hiked and played - and all eight of the dogs got along splendidly... playing to exhaustion!  There's nothing more fun than a big puddle!

We tried to get a photo with the entire group, but someone couldn't figure out how to get out of the arena.

I was absent for part of last week so that I could have a little extra time for preparations.  

In the time since we last chatted, we had a little equine emergency with our dear Daphne (donkey).  Friday evening, after doing the bedtime chores, Hubbs shared a photo with me...

He remarked how unusual it was that Daphne let him clean their donkey house while she was lying down. She didn't even try to get up.  As he told me this, I thought to myself that this was truly unusual, and possible a bad sign.

Sure enough, on Saturday morning, Daphne was limping and we put in a quick call to Dr. Becky (Hubbs' sister).  She came and found that Daphne had a hoof abscess. 

As Hubbs stood there holding Daphne, Pete jumped down from the fence onto her back.  Naturally, she didn't even flinch.  "I'm here for your cat scan!" said Pete.

Dr. Becky opened Daphne's hoof to drain it and bandaged it to protect it from the dirt.  It should be much better in a matter of days!  The pain is relieved by opening it.

I was so relieved.  The donkeys' hooves were trimmed last week, and perhaps the farrier trimmed her just a little short.  Hoof abscesses, once opened, resolve quickly (usually) without incident.  My fear, when I first heard that Daphne was limping, after hearing that she was lying down the night before... was that she had foundered.  Daphne is my fatter donkey and just seems to have a slower metabolism. 

 It's next to impossible to keep these girls trim because of the grass/hay that we have here in PA.  Donkeys were built for arid, scrubby areas with very little green growth.  Pennsylvania is the opposite!  Foundering is a metabolic disease that causes equines feet to break down - with the end result often that of having to put down the animal.  I live in fear of this with my "easy keepers" and try my best to not let any of my equines get fat.  Daphne is my biggest challenge.  Thankfully, we dodged that bullet this weekend.

As you can see, we had a full and wonderful weekend amongst friends.  

We spent part of Saturday afternoon at our favorite brewery - for lunch and playing games.  We hired a dog sitter to stay home with the 8 dogs.  I'm happy to say that everyone had fun - humans,

 and dogs!

Our Ivy cat spent most of the weekend outside - as far away from all of the dogs as possible!  After everyone left, she returned home to help me fold the laundry.

Sunday afternoon, when we fed the equines their small afternoon snack, Moonbeam decided to lie down to nibble.  Naturally, I felt a wave of panic, fearing that something was wrong with him as well.

Luckily, within minutes, he was back on his feet nibbling away.  These animals may contribute to my early demise - from worrying!

We are very excited for this week, as our Carolina Wren is headed here for a visit.  What fun we will have showing her the farm now that she is a little older (almost 2!)

Before I end, I wanted to share a photo from Friday... the flock of turkeys that has been nesting in the woods near the pond...

I hear them every morning!