The best Farm Dog EVER!

 Fifteen years ago we rescued a Golden Retriever and her nine pups.  When the puppies were weaned, we were fortunate to find them all good homes.  The kids chose this beautiful, sweet little pup to keep for ourselves and named her Eppie M. after a character in one of their favorite books.

 "How did you train Eppie dog not to step on the vegetables or flowers?'  my daughter asked me this past summer.  I replied," I didn't"......,she just knew to stay in the narrow foot paths throughout the acres of growing veges.  There were a few times in the spring that she would get a bit confused because the freshly tilled ground all looked the same, but a simple "Eppie get out" was all that was needed and she would scurry off the freshly planted area.  She never chased the hens, sheep or goats, but would spend her morning chasing after the large long-legged Jack Rabbits that plagued the farm.  You could always tell by her bark weather she was after a rabbit or protecting her farm from coyotes or other wandering dogs.  Eppie loved her little farm.  When she was 7 years old, we moved from Beryl to Northern Utah and of course we took her with us, but she was so un-happy.  She would lay on the lawn and refuse to eat, or even greet the kids when they came home from school.  After a couple of weeks and loosing an unhealthy amount of weight, I told my husband that I was going to take her back to the farm," she is just going to lay there and die".   I loaded her up and drove the 400 mile one way trip back to the farm.  I was concerned about leaving her there, we did have caretakers living in the mobile home on the farm that would feed her and keep an eye on her.  As soon as I turned off the paved road and she heard the gravel hitting the underbelly of the car, she sat right up and began to whimper.  Pulling onto the farm road I drove to the vegetable gardens and let her out.  She ran yelping and barking, turning in circles and a big happy grin on her face verified that she wanted to stay at the farm, that this was her home.  Over the next six years Eppie would stand  guard over our little farm, watching over her goats, chickens and sheep until I came in the early spring to do the planting, lambing and kidding. She was my constant companion as I worked the fields and escorted me up and down the lane to the farm several times during the night to check in on the does and ewes during the 2 month kidding season,  She followed me through the maze of garden pathways over the next six summers, and when the fall harvest season was over I loaded up and made the trip back up north without her.  The kids missed her over the long winter, but understood that was where she was happy.  They were however, able to spent many long, happy summer days with her, hunting rabbits, kangaroo rats, and any other varmints plaguing the farm.

This picture was taken just a couple of weeks before she passed on 

The past couple of years she has spent with us up north during the winter.  We tried once again to bring her up with the family and she adjusted o,k,  I guess she knew her time was short.  She would come down to the farm with me and the kids during the summer, carefully walking the garden paths, and chasing the rabbits, but not as fast and as far now.  

The cancer began as a small lump and quickly grew into a large oozing mass on her side.  The vet said because of her age, 15 years old, she was too old to operate.  Just take her home and she will probably die of old age before the cancer gets her.  However she went down hill fast, and when she went off her feed, and was suffering, we knew it was time to let her go.  I made my husband take her to the vet, I couldn't do it, but I said my goodbyes and thanked her for being the best farm dog ever, for helping raise my kids, for being my constant companion at the farm, and for NEVER/EVER walking on the plants and flowers.

Eppie M.  you were loved and cherished.  As we take you home to your little farm and bury you among the flowers and garden paths we are so grateful to have been your humans and once again,

 THANKS FOR BEING THE BEST FARM DOG EVER!