This weekend we welcomed a new arrival to the ranch:  O.J. the wobbly cat.  She came to us from the Bitterroot Humane Association in Hamilton, Montana.  Diane M., who volunteers at the shelter, had contacted us about O.J. and then drove her out to the ranch. O.J. has cerebellar hypoplasia, which affects fine motor skills…

Beth was out taking photos this afternoon for our summer newsletter when she happened to take this interesting shot of old, blind Peabody and blind Luke in front of Widget’s House.  The photo reminded me of the expression, "like two ships passing each other in the night." Peabody is in the "blowing the coat out"…

Before I get into today’s topic, I just wanted to thank everyone who posted or emailed such wonderful and kind comments about Lonesome George’s death yesterday.  We were really touched by the heartfelt thoughts that were sent our — and George’s — way.  Thank you so much. Our equine vet, Dr. Bill Brown, was scheduled…

Our beloved old mule, Lonesome George, died today.  Kathryn found him dead in his corral early this afternoon.  She came to the door, in tears, to tell me.  I rushed back out to the corral with her.  There he was, laying on the ground, while his blind girls — Lena, Nikki and Destiny — milled…

I went over to Widget’s House this evening to take some photos for tonight’s blog … I didn’t have any particular story in mind, just thought I’d see what I might get with the camera.  Kathryn had just arrived inside to start getting the dogs’ dinner ready, so I stepped into the back paddock. There…

That’s wobbly Allie in the foreground, but what are those things behind her?  You’re looking at our new compost bins!  While we have always composted the horse manure and then spread it on our pastures as a soil amendment, we never thought it was ‘okay’ to compost dog poop and apply it the same way.…

Our big handsome boy blind Buddy was adopted today by Susan S. from Missoula.  Susan had come out on Monday to meet Buddy for the first time and introduce him to her other dog, a very small girl named Dalai.  Susan decided Buddy was just perfect, and Dalai seemed to think Buddy was just her…

About a year ago we realized we had a very remarkable foal on our hands in the form of Nikki.  Incredibly smart, calm, easy-going and — dare I say it — gorgeous, too.  A dream foal, except for one small problem.  She was blind. Her first few months of life had been rough, but by…

Evelyn turned out to have far more problems with her eyes than we ever imagined.  During his examination yesterday morning, our veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Yakely found Evelyn to have multiple eye conditions that precluded any surgery other than removal of both eyes.  We knew Evelyn had cataracts and detached lens.  Well, she also had detached…

Evelyn and I left the ranch late this afternoon and headed to Spokane, Washington.  Evelyn has an appointment with our veterinary ophthalmologist, Dr. Bill Yakely, on Monday morning.  For this sweet blind Lab, it’s also a trip home in a way — she originally came to us from Spokane Animal Control. I took the photo…