A Life Full of Animal Adventures

In episode 13, I welcome my guest, Rebecca Houghton. Born and raised in Bakersfield, CA, Rebecca is a hobby farmer, homeschooling mom, and retired RN now living in Sonoma County, California her husband Greg and their two boys, Parker and Andrew. Rebecca grew up with different animals including snakes, mice, rats, hamsters, and cats. Even though she has since lived all over the US including Mississippi, Hawaii, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, they have had many family pets over the years. Currently, on their five-acre farm, their family has a menagerie of animals including 2 dogs, 3 barn cats, goats, chickens, ducks, and a herding dog. 

During our chat, Rebecca talks about the rescue organization Compassion Without Borders. This rescue group partners with a animal medical center in Mexico to to give support and help rescue in need by bringing them to California to be fostered and adopted. You can learn more about this organization at the links below.

https://www.cwob.org/

https://www.instagram.com/compassionwithoutborders

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Transcript

Transcript

The Story of My Pet Podcast

Episode 13: From Snakes to Chickens and Dogs in Between, a Life Full of Animal Adventures

Host: Julie Marty-Pearson

Guest: Rebecca Houghton

[00:00:00]
 Hello. Hello, my friends and fellow animal lovers. Welcome to another episode of the Story of My Pet podcast. I'm very excited today to get to talk to one of my very good friends. She's known me a long time.
 
 [00:00:14]
 I'm a very long time. If we want to admit how old we are now, Rebecca Houghton is joining me. Hello, Becca, it's good to see you. Hello. Good to see you, too.
 
 [00:00:29]
 And where are you coming from today? Huntington Lake, California. Okay. And so that's not where she lives, but that's where she is right now. She has a cabin there with her family, so we'll get to hear about that, I'm sure.
 
 [00:00:43]
 Okay, I'm going to tell you guys a little more about Becca and then we'll talk about all of her favorite pets. Becca is a hobby farmer, homeschooling mom, retired RN firing Ariel Silks instructor. She's been married to my other friend Greg for almost 22 years. That's crazy. She has two boys, Parker and Andrew, who are twelve and eight.
 
 [00:01:11]
 I think those are still the right ages. Andrews coming up on nine, I think. She lives in Sonoma County on a five acre farm, but she was raised in Bakersfield, just like me, and she's lived all over the place. Mississippi, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit a few of those I've got to visit her at. And on their little farm, they have lots of different animals, dogs, cats, ducks, pigs.
 
 [00:01:37]
 And I'm sure I'm probably missing something. Okay. Hi, Becca. Hello there. So I have known you for a long time, but I was thinking about this before we talked and I said, I don't really know if you had pets growing up.
 
 [00:01:53]
 I did. My mom always called it the children's zoo. They were mostly her pets. We had a redded slider and various snakes and a horn toe blizzard. And eventually she got into enough snakes where it made sense that we raised the animals to feed them.
 
 [00:02:18]
 Oh, wow. Yeah. So then we had mice and rats and I had a pet hamster. And then we've always had cats. And it wasn't until I was in high school or junior high, I can't remember that we actually got a dog.
 
 [00:02:32]
 The dog found us more than we found the dog, but mostly it was cats and little critters. Okay. I was going to say, I remember your parents having a cat because we met during college years. I was thinking, I don't really know if they ever had other things, so that's interesting. I had no idea you grew up with your mom having reptiles and snakes like that.
 
 [00:02:54]
 Yes, they were in my brother's room. The only thing within my room, I. Am currently sitting for three little doggies. They are the sweetest doggies, but they sit in the front window and guard their neighborhood. And apparently something was walking or driving by that they were not happy about.
 
 [00:03:14]
 Okay. So as an adult, I think I know what your first animal was. But I remember you guys when you were in Pittsburgh that you guys got your first cat, Keiko. Am I right? It took me a while to think of that name.
 
 [00:03:33]
 Yes. Keiko was our first cat. As soon as we had an apartment that allowed animals, we got a cat, Caico. Okay. Yeah, I remember.
 
 [00:03:43]
 Oh my gosh, I don't know what they are barking at. And that was in Pittsburgh. And she moved with you guys to Detroit, correct? Yes. And then in Detroit when you guys had a house, you got your doggies.
 
 [00:03:59]
 Yes. We got Kai first a Wirefox terrier because that's what Greg grew up with. So that is what he really wanted. So as soon as we had a house, we got Kai. And then two years later we got Kona.
 
 [00:04:15]
 Okay. Our second Wirefox terrier. And Kona is still with us. He's 13 now. Wow.
 
 [00:04:21]
 And then a year later, Parker was born. So then we still had one dog in puppyhood and a baby. And I remember visiting you guys a couple of times after Parker was born and when he was a toddler, I remember him pushing his food off of his tray down to whatever dogs wanted to eat. It was like a game for him. Yes.
 
 [00:04:49]
 He knew that food would disappear. Yes. And I think he enjoyed it a lot. Yes, he did. So both Kai and Kona were Wirefox terriers.
 
 [00:05:00]
 I think they had very different personalities. But what did you love about having those two guys? And I know you still have Kona. They are very energetic love. Kai lived for a ball until she was too blind and deaf to find the ball anymore.
 
 [00:05:22]
 But you could throw the ball continuously for her. Kona is still very mellow for his breed. He was very much more the relaxed one. Kai was the dominant one. She was in charge.
 
 [00:05:39]
 And then Kona was just laid back. Whatever Kai or Parker was into, he would follow along, but he didn't instigate anything. And I'm sure part of it was Kyle. I've found that the female animal in a pack, whatever, cats, dogs or whatever is usually the one that says, I'm going to run this show. Yes.
 
 [00:05:58]
 Although now with our new dog who's a female, conan is the one in charge because he's the old man, he's. The senior in the house, so he's not taking anything.
 
 [00:06:13]
 When you guys moved on to your five acres, how long ago was that? That was in April of 14th. Okay, so eight years ago. Wow. Okay.
 
 [00:06:30]
 And so at that point, you guys still had cayenne, kona and you moved on to the five acres. And at that point, had you guys planned on getting more animals knowing you were buying that land? Or was it something that just kind of happened over time? No, we knew. I kind of got Greg into it.
 
 [00:06:49]
 We actually bought our chicks, our first round of chicks I think we have eight of them before we even moved, but knowing that we were moving. And you have to get them when they either have to order chickens or you have to get them when the stores have them available in the spring. Probably got them a month before we moved, knowing that we would be moving. Okay. And then it just went up from there.
 
 [00:07:17]
 Okay, so you have ducks and pigs now? We actually don't have pigs anymore. We're taking a break. Okay. So we currently have goat, chickens, duck, and slipper.
 
 [00:07:29]
 Our livestock guardian. I remember you rescued her. We found her. She was actually on Craigslist, but yes, she was at home at a farm, and they were downsizing, and they had two of them, and they wanted to rehome her. So she was six months old.
 
 [00:07:47]
 They had had her for the first two months, so we got her. And thankfully, the lifestyle gardening dogs pretty much know what they're doing. We had to train her to our property, so there were lots of times where I had to walk the full circle of our property so that she understood where her territory was. Right. And we had to train her not to mess with the chickens.
 
 [00:08:13]
 But she was pretty easy. I mean, there are some I've heard that don't ever seem to get it, but she does. She understands, and so she's done a good job with that. She's never injured any of our chickens. She doesn't guard them as well as she could, but that's okay.
 
 [00:08:32]
 Her and the goats are very tightly bonded. Okay. How many goats do you have? We have two. We had four at 1.1 was a handful, so we got rid of him, and then we lost one died.
 
 [00:08:49]
 And we had the fires a couple of years ago where we actually got evacuated. Right. I remember. And all three of them, the two goats and the dog have PTSD from that, so we cannot separate them anymore. We now have to call our large animal vet out to have her baby shots given because we can't get her in the car again.
 
 [00:09:14]
 Oh, no. Oh, my gosh. £125. And she freaks out, and the goats freak out and everybody else sounds like fun. No, as soon as I take her through the fence and lead her away from the goats, the goats start screaming, and her brain would be the official word, and she panics, and she won't have any part of it.
 
 [00:09:35]
 She wants to go right back through the fence. Poor thing. Yeah. For everybody. So yeah, I remember when several years it seems like there's fires every year, but it was a couple of years ago where it was close enough you guys had to evacuate.
 
 [00:09:50]
 And I remember seeing your pictures of you and Parker and Andrew and Kona and Kai and cage full of chickens and barn cats also. And you had them in the car, too. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. We have a 125 pound dog in the front passenger seat and then the boys in the backseat with the two house dogs and then the three barn cats.
 
 [00:10:20]
 And at the time, we had probably six pullets, which are not full sized chickens, so they weren't big enough to go fend for themselves. So we took them as well. And all the food and stuff that has to travel with all of them? All of them. Oh my gosh.
 
 [00:10:37]
 That's so crazy. But that makes sense why she was kind of traumatized because she was taken away from the totally understandably why you did, because she was the animal you could move, but she was taken away from her flock, basically, and she couldn't protect them. So it makes sense now that she's like, no, I'm not leaving them ever again. Exactly. Oh, man.
 
 [00:10:59]
 But luckily your firm wasn't affected by the fire, even though it was super close to you guys. Correct. That's something for listeners that I'm sure you guys if you're not in California, you've heard of all the fires we have pretty much every summer now, it seems like. But up in Sonoma County, they have had some really awful ones, and they're so fast moving that you guys have to be like, ready to go at any minute if it's anywhere near you guys. So I'm sure with all the animals, that's just so stressful.
 
 [00:11:32]
 Yes. So speaking of food, I was thinking about it. With all your animals, you guys have a lot of animals to keep fed on a regular basis. Yes. Do you have people that come and bring food?
 
 [00:11:49]
 Do you have to buy everything yourself? How do you guys keep everybody bed on a regular basis? Our feed store is only 15 minutes away, our closest one. So currently we just go there and I pick it up in our truck and bring it home. We do wheelbarrows down to get the bags to feed down.
 
 [00:12:08]
 When we had more pigs, we had to get a little more creative. So I had to drive monthly about 45 minutes away where we could get the feed for cheaper because we were going through so much of it that it made that drive worth it. And we would pick up usually 40 bags of £50 of feed at a time. Oh my gosh. Yes.
 
 [00:12:31]
 And then on top of that, we've had sourced with a local creamery milk. It's a local herd share where you can be part of the herd share and pick up milk, and we would pick up their scraps. So when you milk a cow, the first bit and the last bit you can't give to customers. And so they would store that in buckets and we would pick that up biweekly and bring those tubs back to the farm and soak the pigs feed in it to make the feed last longer. Wow.
 
 [00:13:08]
 Yeah. I follow a few rescue sanctuaries that have pigs and so I was thinking about that. It was like 21 pigs. That is a lot of food. No wonder you guys are taking a break.
 
 [00:13:20]
 And so, for your chickens, obviously, you guys get eggs from them, do you? Sometimes. Maybe not. Okay. We are having a battle with the ravens.
 
 [00:13:33]
 We have actually raised the new generation of ravens on our things that they keep stealing. So it's been a bit of a battle that we think we might be on the upswing of. Okay, I never even thought of that, but there are other animals in the vicinity wanting those very badly. Okay, but do you then raise your own chicks from the ones you have, or you just kept kind of a steady number of them? The chickens have been rather challenging in that regard.
 
 [00:14:12]
 We have not had a lot of chickens that have been smart enough to do that. They like to sit in one nesting box, and then everybody squeezes in there and lays, and so then they're sitting on eggs that are a whole range of ages. Okay. Yeah. So then that doesn't work.
 
 [00:14:34]
 They don't actually have to anything out. We had one mama who actually did it. She produced three clutches of eggs for us, and unfortunately, our chickens are free range, and they're locked in the coupe at night. She was taken from us one day, so I walked out to find her chicks down there just chirping away, screaming for mama. And mama was nowhere to be found, so I collected all of them.
 
 [00:15:03]
 And to do tricks, you have to put them in a container with a warming light. So I had to move them all to the barn, get them all set up. It was not what I was planning on doing that day. I'm sure things happen. So we raised them, and our last two rounds of chicks that we've gotten have been not ours.
 
 [00:15:24]
 Yeah, I guess I didn't think about that, that the chickens have to know what they're doing.
 
 [00:15:36]
 Maybe they should know what they're doing, but it doesn't always happen like that. I think it's probably partly that when you get the chicks from the feed store, wherever has sold them to you, they didn't have a mama to teach them what they were doing. I don't know how this one particular mama did, but I noticed her chicks were better at it, or at least more effective at their attempts than any of the other chicks we've had. So they have their mama around to show them what to do. Right.
 
 [00:16:08]
 That makes total sense. Yeah, you wouldn't think about it. I think sometimes we assume animals just have their natural instincts, but just like people, they're a product of their environment. So some things they got to learn and watch. I think about that.
 
 [00:16:26]
 It's the same thing with kittens. Two of ours were left behind at less than two weeks, and we bottle fed them. So they have a much different experience in terms of how they were raised versus ones that were raised with their litter and a bomb. That's why it's so important to keep animals with their moms, if you can, because they need that. Okay, so you also have barn cats.
 
 [00:16:53]
 How many of those do you have? We have three barn cats. Okay. Joan, Roger, and Rowan. So Joan is the sweetest cat.
 
 [00:17:05]
 She was actually a family knew that we were looking for barn cats, but we had not been successful. They have a program in Sonoma County of animals that they can't socialize. Cats that they can't socialize, then they rehome them as barn cat. Yes. It's so funny.
 
 [00:17:23]
 I read recently that they're starting something like that here in Kern County where they're semifaro, and so they can't be in a home, but they don't have a colony or something to go back to. So that's really cool that you guys have that, too. The process is supposed to be that you get them in this really big it's still a cage, but it's a pretty big one. Not your standard cat carrier. And you keep them in I don't remember how long it is.
 
 [00:17:51]
 You keep them in there for a certain period of time and then you let them out. And then they're supposed to stay close by. They understand by then that there's food and water. But the problem is we have two boys and these animals are the ones that weren't able to be socialized. So that process did not work for us.
 
 [00:18:15]
 The cats were like, I'm out, and they went and found their own. We actually saw the one we got was Biscuit and we saw him across the road. We're pretty sure he decided over there was better. How funny. We couldn't do in good conscience do that process again, knowing that we were probably going to encounter the same problem.
 
 [00:18:39]
 Right. But you can't adopt a cat either with the intent of a barn cat because most adoption agencies want to know that the cat at least has access to indoors. Our animal shelter won't even adopt to you if they think you're going to let the cat outside. You can't say they will be outside at all. A family knew we were looking, and their grandmother has a rental property.
 
 [00:19:03]
 And after the renters moved out, she went to clean up and found that they had left their cat behind. Oh, no. And the cat was outdoors. I think the cat was probably feral and had adopted them. They were feeding them.
 
 [00:19:21]
 So now she had this very, very sweet outdoor cat that she needed to re home. So we got called and Joan has been the sweetest barn cat ever because she was used to people, so she's perfectly content being outside. But she also loves pets and she comes up to all of us and she tolerates the boys and the things.
 
 [00:19:47]
 All the adventures that happen. Adventures, yes. Is she a tabby? Yes. I think I met her.
 
 [00:19:58]
 Okay. And she was so sweet. She was, like, rubbing up against us and talking, but she was just totally happy outside. And I think a lot of times we find our animals for certain reasons, and they're the right fit. It's like they found where they were supposed to be.
 
 [00:20:17]
 I remember how friendly she was, and so I can totally see how she just is along for the ride, whatever you guys are up to. Yes. And then we got a second barn cat after that. Jack. Sweetest cat ever.
 
 [00:20:33]
 Unfortunately, he got hit by a car. We had him for a very short period of time, but he was very deep in our hearts by the time in the month, two months that we had him. And at the time, we were building our new barn, which is a micro barn. It's tiny. It's like a tough shed kind of size.
 
 [00:20:55]
 And so the idea was that that would be his space. He'd have bedding and food and everything in there, and he could come and go as he pleased, but he passed away before we even finished it. So then we heard of an adoption program north of us, the next county up, and they are more open with their adoptions, and they had so many kittens that they were doing a free adoption program. Oh, wow. So we drove up to check it out, and they have so many kittens, and they said, pick however many you want.
 
 [00:21:35]
 Take them home. Wow. I was like, really? I kind of tested it. I filled out the form 100%, honestly, and said, these cats will be outside 100% of the time.
 
 [00:21:47]
 They looked over the form, said, have fun, and that was it. I was like, okay, well, at least we gave two of them a good home, right? We picked out a really, really cuddly one. He's white. That's Roger.
 
 [00:22:00]
 And then this really feisty black and white one that we named Rowan, figuring they could have their petals, but the other one would hopefully catch the mice. A good balance of personalities. Yeah. And we tried the same method that the barn cat program had used. So by then, our little micro barn was built.
 
 [00:22:25]
 We locked them in there for the number of weeks that it said, obviously with food and water and a little. Bit.
 
 [00:22:35]
 And then they have a little window. And we opened the window, and until they were full grown, we made sure they came in at night. And we closed the window, and we locked them in at night. But cats are cats, and eventually, they were, like, the best food there at night, so they boycotted that process. But they were fully grown by that time, and so we were more confident that we would have less problems with cars.
 
 [00:23:04]
 And this worked well. Roger, the white one, actually did get hit by a car. He disappeared for I think it was ten days and I thought he was gone. And then one day I was walking through our carport and I heard his cry, which is a lot softer than the other ones. And I look over and there he is.
 
 [00:23:29]
 I was like, oh my gosh, she's back. He's not dead yet. And he was severely dehydrated, completely malnourished, and had a severe limp in his right front leg. And we took him to the vet and they got him rehydrated. We locked him in our big garage and gave him wet food to relax him.
 
 [00:23:55]
 And the vet told us that we could contact an orthopedic surgeon to rebreak his leg, but because it had been so long, it was starting to heal and the vet had no idea how he was still alive. So we think that he got hit and got off the road and then he had to wait until he was healed enough that he could hobble back home is why we think he was gone for so long. Oh, my goodness. I am happy to report he is happy and healthy and you can barely know we did not do the orthopedic surgeon thing. We decided to let it reheal because he hobbled home.
 
 [00:24:30]
 So we thought, well, if he got this much, maybe he'll get better. And so did that. We just let him continue to heal and he can climb. We have a little fake tree outside the barn because we don't want rats to be able to get in the barn. So their tree is away from the barn so that they have to go up the tree and then jump into the window.
 
 [00:24:55]
 Got you. That's our rat proofing system. And he can climb up that. He can get in the window. When you watch him, you barely notice his limp.
 
 [00:25:04]
 And he is happy and content to be home and healthy. And he's out there catching gophers and mice again. Oh, my gosh. It's amazing what especially cats and dogs go through sometimes when they're injured and how they make it. I wish I had their ability to deal with pain.
 
 [00:25:28]
 Yes. I am so thankful that he is fine and amazed that he was able to pull through that. Yeah. For him to be gone that long, no wonder he was malnourished. But to be able to bounce back and be as active as he was before, that's amazing.
 
 [00:25:46]
 Yes. I know. You guys lost Kai a little while ago. How old was she? She was 13.
 
 [00:25:57]
 So it was last July that we lost her. And so then a while after that have you guys been talking about getting another dog or were you just kind of waiting? By the time Kai passed away, she had had pancreatitis for a while, so she was having to have smaller and smaller meals and more and more frequently. So by the time she passed away, I think she was up to four meals a day. She couldn't eat anything like you talked about when Parker was little, they would dump food on the ground.
 
 [00:26:31]
 So they are well trained to pick up food off the ground. But she couldn't. It would give her GI distress. And so by the time she passed away for that whole last year and a half, I think it was, we couldn't drop anything on the ground. And when we did, we had to get her away and pick it up real quick.
 
 [00:26:53]
 And she was also blind and deaf and we're talking 100% blind. And she had some dementia as well. Like some dogs, you hear that they can navigate the house still. Right. And she had a general sense of how to get from one side to the other, but she couldn't navigate it without walking, leaning against the wall.
 
 [00:27:17]
 So we had this whole ring about six inches up from her nose. She navigated the house by bumping her nose along to find the walls behind her bed. And she would stay there until she was hungry and then she'd get up and eat. She was definitely not the same dog she was. And the boys missed that.
 
 [00:27:42]
 Kona was getting a little older. I think he was more cranky because of her. Right. And they really wanted a dog, a dog that likes them and wanted to be around them. Right.
 
 [00:27:56]
 We had agreed that once Kai passed away because we weren't doing a puppy and a geriatric dog at the same time. Yeah, no, that's a lot that we. Would look into getting another dog. And she passed away in July and we got Montana in October. So it didn't end up being a right away thing, which us adults weren't thinking it was going to be a right away thing.
 
 [00:28:21]
 But of course the kids were like, okay, let's go. Yeah.
 
 [00:28:29]
 So how did you get Montana? We got Montana, a nonprofit called Compassion Without Borders. And they go down and they have a relationship with clinic in Mexico. And people down there know that they can contact the clinic if they see any homeless dogs or they can just drop dogs off that are either hurt or that they can't take care of. And I know they also have a relationship with the Fresno Animal Shelter.
 
 [00:29:05]
 So any dogs more attention, they'll also pick them up from there. And so we had a friend that volunteers through there and so she was able to help us with the process. We had another friend that had a couple of dogs from there as well. Not a very fun process. You're kind of in the dark the whole time you're going through the process.
 
 [00:29:27]
 Watch their videos when the dogs arrive, and then you have to contact them. But then you just have to kind of sit in the dark. If you saw a dog that you thought you liked, you kind of have to sit in the dark until the dog is ready to be adopted. Adopted, yeah. They will not promise a dog to anybody, which is reasonable because things happen.
 
 [00:29:46]
 Right. We put our name in for a couple of them, and with our friend that volunteers there, she was able to help us out a little bit because you have nothing to go by where she would say, no, that this one is a good fit for you, or, hey, look at this one. But interestingly enough, of the different ones we put our names in for and looked at, it was the one that when we watched the video that Andrew was first drawn to the first dog, he said that one was the one. So her name was Montana? She came with that name.
 
 [00:30:22]
 We didn't rename her. Okay. She knew her name and everybody nobody had any objection to it, so we just kept it. But she was very malnourished, and so she was actually with a foster family, and that actually helped a lot because she was partially potty trained and had been around another dog and some kids. So she came to us really scared, and she's a little scared of lots of things, but she got to get over some of that with this loving family that fostered her while they helped her.
 
 [00:31:00]
 So that when she came to us, she already was starting to understand, oh, there are some people that are nice. Right. I was going to say she got used to, like, a family and what that meant and that it was a safe space. Then people were okay. Yes.
 
 [00:31:17]
 So she was four months old, I think, when we got her. Okay. So we didn't want to do all the way puppy. Right. That's a lot.
 
 [00:31:27]
 Especially with all your other animals. That's a lot. Yeah. And when we first brought Montana home, she understood right out the gate that Kona understood things. So if Kona was okay with it, then she was okay with it.
 
 [00:31:42]
 So even when we first met her at the shelter, she was really nervous with the boys, and they had us keep Kona in a different room because they thought it would be too overwhelming for her to meet everyone at once. But she wouldn't warm up to the boys. So I finally said, can we please bring Kona in? And the boys gave Kona pets, and Montana was like, I understand. And that was it.
 
 [00:32:10]
 That's all it took for her to warm up to them. That's amazing. She needed to see a different dog. She needed to see the behavior modeled, and then it was okay. And then she was like, okay.
 
 [00:32:24]
 That's amazing, though, because now Kona kind of gets to be the Big Brother teacher and, like, Come along with me. I'll show you how you get things done around here. Yes. And I didn't read their little packet that they sent home until too late. We didn't do anything.
 
 [00:32:42]
 Right. According to their packet, it said, don't take her on any. Outings, keep her at home for the first seven days. And we drove from the shelter to the feed store where you can take animals in and on our way home. And it was the same deal.
 
 [00:33:01]
 We had Kona on the leash and her on a leash, on her makeshift leash, because that's why we were stopping there. We didn't even have a good leash for her. And it was all about whatever Kona would do. So we would walk Kona in front of her, and she would go, oh, okay. And she'd be real timid, but she would do whatever we do.
 
 [00:33:18]
 And that's how we did it. And three days after we got her, we'd do a big celebration for winter solstice, and we do a beach bonfire with a whole bunch of kids. And we took both dogs to this, and we don't matter for three days. And so that was the first time Montana met all these kids. We figured out within 1015 seconds of being there that all you had to do was have them pet Kona first, and then Montana wanted the pets, and so that's how she met all these kids.
 
 [00:33:50]
 And then, of course, after that, that I read their pamphlet and was like.
 
 [00:33:57]
 You guys didn't go with the slow, decent age. You just kind of threw it's like when you throw somebody in the pool and say, figure out how to swim. Here, look at what they're doing, and then there you go. Yeah. I'm sure it would have been a very different process for you if she hadn't had Kona as her teacher.
 
 [00:34:16]
 So when you guys travel now, like, going to your cabin where you're at, do you bring Kona and Montana with you? Yes, they're the two pets that go with us. So she did her first six hour car ride just a couple of weeks ago, and it took her a bit. She was like, Why are we still in this car? Right?
 
 [00:34:37]
 Again, she took her cues from Kona and worked out we had a rough couple of first days at the cabin. She didn't know what to make of anything. We had a complication in that right before we left. Several of us in our family got covered, so we were it made it extra complicated. So she normally sleeps with Andrew, but Andrew was with me in a different location and with Parker.
 
 [00:35:01]
 So it added an extra layer of patient that didn't need to be. But she has now settled in, and she understands the cabin, and it's a difference. At home, we have a fenced yard, so when she wants to go outside, she can go outside for hours and hang out. Whereas here she's learning how to behave off leash. But also we have a dog run, a cable strung between two trees.
 
 [00:35:28]
 So she has a lot of movement. It's 75ft long, so she has a lot of movement. But there's a limit that you run into. There's a chain limit, but learning all the different dogs up here. I'm sure there are a lot up there.
 
 [00:35:46]
 Yes. Are there people that live up there in the cabin year round, or is it mostly seasonal? It's mostly seasonal. There are some families that spend a lot of time in the winter, but I wouldn't say anyone lives dear route. Like, no one says this is their primary residence.
 
 [00:36:07]
 Got you. That makes sense. Well, that's cool that you're able to bring them now. And she has a sense of this is another safe space that she can be in, because I'm sure you guys will spend a lot of time there in the summer, all year, but especially in the summer. So it's great that she's getting used to it.
 
 [00:36:26]
 And the boys will get to have them there with them as well to go on adventures. Yes. It turns out terrified of water. And this is a lake cabin, so we're working on that. We just launched my parents sailboat three days ago.
 
 [00:36:45]
 We made sure that the first trip down the lake is with motor and not sail, so the boat stays upright. So I decided that was the best way to ease her into it, was a solid ride. So that was her very first boat ride, and she did pretty good. She realized, okay, I'm in the middle here. I'm not touching any water, so I'm good.
 
 [00:37:08]
 And then two days ago, we took her for her first kayak ride. Okay. Put her in the biggest, most stable kayak. It's a two person sit on top with Jeff Parker in it with her. So she had plenty of space.
 
 [00:37:23]
 And again, she figured out right away, okay, if I just stand here right in the middle, I'm not touching water. I'm okay, I'm not touching you. I'm not touching you. But in a different way.
 
 [00:37:38]
 That's so funny. Well, I think that's so great, because, listen, this is an adventure family. I mean, you guys love to travel, love to do outdoor kayaking, hiking, sailing, all those things. I know Parker and Andrew have been doing all of that since they were little. And so that's great that you guys have a dog that's learning to get to be a part of those adventures.
 
 [00:38:04]
 I'm sure the boys love that. Yes, they love being able to take her down to the dock, and she's not swimming with them yet, obviously, but she'll stand on the dock while they play in the water, so I figure that's a win. And hopefully we'll get to the point where she enjoys the water and maybe even swims a bit. Yeah, well, she's still what, she's a year old. Not even she's old.
 
 [00:38:32]
 Okay. So, yeah, she has a lot of time to learn and grow and all of that. And what's great about having her as a younger dog, that the boys will really get to grow up with her, especially Andrew. I have a feeling they'll be very bonded, me growing up. Always dogs kind of pick their people.
 
 [00:38:53]
 Not that they don't love everyone in the family, but there's always that one person that's like, yeah, that's my person, and I always know they're going to take care of me. So it sounds like from the very beginning, andrew had realized, yes, that's the one I want. And she agrees. Yes. To wrap up our talk.
 
 [00:39:15]
 If someone is listening to this and hearing all of the amazing things you guys have been able to do. Having a farm and all the animals. If someone said. Well. I would love to start to do that.
 
 [00:39:26]
 Whether it's chickens or saving barn animals or something like that. What would be your recommendation for them in terms of learning or things to think about before they started doing anything? I would say definitely I read lots before adding any new animal. Unfortunately, animals don't fit the nice, neat little boxes, and so no matter how much I read, there was some big hiccup with each animal. They did do X or Y or Z like the book said they would.
 
 [00:40:04]
 Definitely, you have to have the time and the willpower to figure it out because there's a learning curve. Just like with dogs and cats, there's a learning curve to every animal. We had chickens, okay, we can do ducks. No, they're different. They need different things, and they wanted different things, and they behave differently.
 
 [00:40:25]
 And so everyone is different unless you really pay attention to their housing and their fencing and do that right from the beginning, unless you live in an area with no predators, which I don't know where that exists, there's unfortunately always losses, whether it be cats and cars or coyotes and chickens, there's just losses. And I think coming to terms with that has probably been the hardest thing about animals, that you can only do so much. And we can't save every chicken, and we just have to know that if we're going to free range, which I think that's better for the chicken than having them enclosed in a coupe, everyone different, but for us, we don't give them enough attention and clean it out enough. That makes it logical. So we have the space, but we also know that nature happens and so some just peer and we always have to be replenishing our flock in order to maintain, but it happens.
 
 [00:41:34]
 And we have ducks, and ducks need water to swim in, but amazingly enough, they still drown in the water when they're learning, oh my gosh, we have lost so many to drowning that it's so frustrating. And we have ramps that go out and different things, but you never know what's going to happen. That was our most recent loss. We lost another chicken, and we think it was a rooster incident, but the rooster was a little aggressive. Anyway, the chicken drowned in the pond and you can't stop them all and you have to be able to come to terms with that or it will be really crushing.
 
 [00:42:16]
 No, I think that's great advice, especially if you have kids that are a part of the process. They have to understand what could happen, what probably will happen. And like you said, you definitely want to have as much control over the environment as you can with fencing and housing and stuff, but you can't be there twenty four, seven. And so even between animals, they fight and can have injury no matter what kind of animal it is, let alone predators, which I agree. I don't think there's anywhere you can live where there's not some kind of I mean, someone I follow lives in Calabasas in a really beautiful home in this nice neighborhood, and a coyote got one of their small dogs.
 
 [00:43:02]
 It climbs like a six foot fence and got it. And so you just never know what might happen. And that's one of the reasons a lot of rescues want you to say you aren't going to let your animals, cats or dogs out unattended. But if you're able to do it and yeah, you have to know that you give the time and the effort. And I think patience is key.
 
 [00:43:24]
 I think that's important for any animal being added to a family, just like what you guys went through with Montana. Animals are adaptive, but you can't expect it to happen overnight. Exactly. Bringing all their experience and anxiety or trauma or whatever it is into the situation. You just have to have patience for it.
 
 [00:43:43]
 Yes. They're sentinent beings just like us. They have their fears, their anxieties, their problems. Yeah, that's why I'm a huge advocate for obviously for fostering, but also some rescues offer foster to adopt, so you're able to bring the animal in for basically a trial and get them used to it, get your family used to it, whatever the situation is, and the rest is okay. If you say this isn't the right fit and they have a safe place to go back to, I think that's always great, too.
 
 [00:44:18]
 And it sounds like kind of what happened with you guys with Montana. She had had a foster family that helped her get used to it before she became a part of your family. Yes. Well, this has been so fun, first of all, catching up with you. I have to see you guys in person someday.
 
 [00:44:37]
 Yes. What I really want to do is visit the farm, honestly, and get to see you guys and all the animals. I think maybe at some point I can do that and we could do a live podcast from the farm. That would be fun. Yes, I think that would be cool.
 
 [00:44:54]
 Last time you visited, we didn't have a permanent house on the property. Yes, I know. You know, it's so funny. I'm sure everybody listening feels that social media sometimes you feel like you know everything and you've seen it because of pictures or whatever, but then you realize, wait, I haven't actually been in their space. I haven't actually seen you in person.
 
 [00:45:17]
 So, yes, that's true. We'll have to figure that out. But I'm so glad you got to be on the podcast. I think everybody's going to really enjoy hearing about all your animals, especially adventures with the small farm. I know so many people that want to do parts of that or learn about it, and so I think this will be really information that will help people and give them some things to think about before they make the jump into having an additional animal into their family.
 
 [00:45:49]
 So I think that's really important. Thank you again, Becca. Oh, Kona. I got to take a picture real fast. I always think of Kona.
 
 [00:46:04]
 I remember when I visited you guys. I think it was right after Parker was born and it was winter, and I remember I would go take a nap, and all of a sudden there was Kona. I was like, okay, let's take a nap. He was always such I remember being so sweet and cuddly and just wanted to be wherever people were. Yes, he's still the same way.
 
 [00:46:27]
 Yes, it's that's great. That made me happy. I got to see phona. Yay. Okay, well, I'll say goodbye to you, Becca, and to our listeners.
 
 [00:46:38]
 Thanks, guys, for listening, and I'll talk to you in the next episode.