This is our 20+ yr. old donkey Jackson.  He was roaming freely on the property when we first came to view our potential new home.  He greeted us warmly and made it perfectly clear that this was his home but he would accept us as stewards as long as we treated him with kindness, love, and respect.  A snack bag of Doritos went a long way in his admiration of us.  We felt so strongly that he belonged here that we requested the realtor place him in the buyers contract for the home.  Jack is very gentle and has the personality of a big ol' lab.  Jack crossed over the rainbow bridge 1/17/18 and will be missed tremendously.  :(  Run wild once more Jackson.

Meet 6+ yr. old Jennifer (Jenny from the block).  Jenny arrived in our front yard shortly after we moved in.  She sang her sweetest love songs to Jack until he relented and escaped his pasture to pursue her.  A few hours later Jack & Jenny reappeared on our back porch with Jack looking thru the window and nosing the back door.  It was quite obvious that Jenny had won his heart and he was demanding her acceptance into our family.  Although Jenny was unapproachable and vary wary of humans she would follow Jacks lead until our trust was earned.  Jenny and Jack have become inseparable and together they are a force to be reconed with as guardians of their empire.  Several ferrier visits later their hooves are in much better shape and after immunizations and check ups from the vet they have been declared fit and sound.  Although there is some speculation that Jenny's tryst with Jack may actually lead to a fuzz ball in the pumpkin patch.  I've been told that gestation is 11 months and Jenny joined the family on Aug. 6, 2014.  Will wonders of life abound?

                                                          

                                      This is our rescue donkey Jillian.  She is approximately 5 years old.     

                                      Jillian has a very difficult life up to this point.  She recently had a colt but

                                       unfortunately the colt did not survive.  I hope we will be able to give

                                       Jillian the love and care she needs and deserves. 

                                        On Nov. 19, 2018 Jill surprise blessed us with a beautiful little female

                                         donkey we named Pearl.  We named her pearl because we were leaving

                                         for a cruise on the ship Pearl the day we discovered the new baby. :)

                       

Such a wonderful surprise!  Jilly Bean had an adorable baby girl on 11/18/17.  We had no idea Jilly was even pregnant.  Pearl was born at approximately 3 p.m. and we were leaving for a cruise out of New Orleans at 3 a.m. on the 19th.  Jilly is proving to be an excellent mom and Pearl is thriving.

                          Sweet little Joleen.  She is also a rescue donkey pulled from theslaughter  truck.  

                                     Joleen is only about a year old.  She was having issues when she arrived.  Very

                                     heavy breathing and seemed to not be feeling very well.  She laid down and would

                                     not get up.  The person who delivered her to us even said that if she did not make it

                                     she would get us another Jenny to replace her.  :(  Well----we got her up, walked

                                     her for several hours, forced liquids, talked to her and calmed her down, About 12

                                     hours later she seems to be doing much better.  Unfortunately , we were 

                                     forced to put Jo down the following day due to a ruptured stomach.  I'm so sorry Jo.

                                      I really tried to save you.  :( 

           

                                    

Our beautiful molly mule we have named Mercy May.  Another rescue.  Received her on 6/15/17.  Hope she is as good a guardian as our Jenny from the block, Jackson, & Jilly Bean.  She is absolutely GORGEOUS.  Very tame and easy to handle.  Possibly---????  broke to ride. 


Our first duck hatchings.  What an awesome  thing to watch.  The marvels of new life emerging.  Hard to believe this little wet unattractive blob will evolve into a beautiful duck. 

Our Rhoan duck Quackers first experience with water.  W ell---at least at this stage they are cute.  He hasn't quite figured out that a sink full of water is the equivilant of Duck Disney. 
Quackers learning to swim.   "OH now I get it!!  This is FUN!".  Still awkward but starting to get the hang of it. 

So----our ugly duckling Quacker's has grown into a beautiful male.  Lessons learned in the bathroom sink were well worth it.  He takes a bath every morning at dawn when let out of his coop for the day.  After his bath he normally retreats to his run for breakfast and then back up to his safe haven, warm and snuggly in his coop, but is able to roam the pond and pasture at will during the day. 

                                                       Quackers run and coop
Our ducks are very happy now that the rains have filled the pond to capacity this fall.   
Lily, Sofie, & Samantha.  Lily & Samantha are our 13 year old chocolate labs.  They were litter mates from our first lab (Jazz) who was search and recovery trained.  Jazz & her son (Gunny) from the first litter were on the list to be called out to Sabine county to search for space craft remains.  Jazz & Gunny are both gone now and we miss them terribly.  Lily and Sam never made the cut for search and recovery but they proved to be excellent companions and  much loved pets.  Lily is now deaf and Samantha had such problems with hematomas on her ears that we had the ear flaps removed.  While she may not win any beauty contests it was the best decision we made for her.  She hears perfectly well and has no problem with her ears.  The little angel in the middle is my Bella Sofia Mae Williams.  She is my veteran assist dog and was 4 years old on May 22.  Sofie has gone everywhere with me and has even spent nights in the hospital on my hospital bed. 
On Oct. 2, 2014 Sofie blessed us with 6 (1 Ruby boy, 1 Ruby girl, 2 Blenheim boys, & 2 Blenheim girls) BEAUTIFUL Cavalier King Charles pups.  As you can see, Lily took it upon herself to play nanny which didn't seem to bother Sofie one little bit.  We were a little concerned for Lily though in light of her advanced age  but trying to keep her away from the babies seemed futile.  She even lactated and served as a wet nurse for a while.   I guess that maternal instinct was just too strong for her to ignore.   Our Tink was the first one born in the litter and we kept her to train as a veteran assist dog for Ed since Sofie proved to be such a great service dog. 

On October 3, 2016 Sofie blessed us with 8 beautiful pups.  3 tri color girls, 3 tri  color boys, and 1 Blenheim boy and one Blenheim girl.  Beautiful litter!  Such a good mom! 

Sofies Spot of Ace Tink.  Tink is Ed's veteran assist dog in training.  She is totally devoted to him and is proving to be an excellent service dog.   In our experience, Cavalier King Charles have been as smart as Labs with comparable temperament and loyalty.  They are just as easy to train and their size makes them easier than labs to handle in travel. 
Our baby hen,  Martha, seems like she will be a great mother. She is an "Ameraucana" chicken. Here she is taking care of some newly hatched Jumbo Brown and A&M quail like they were her own.
Our  hen Martha's first egg.  A very pretty powder blue. 
Tink blessed us with 5 beautiful babies on 8/25/17.  We kept this precious baby girl for Steve and named her Phoebe.