Animals on the Farm

Since my parents moved to Kentucky, their household,which once contained one dog and one cat, has dramatically expanded to include a what could be moderate sized petting zoo! Below are pictures and a little bit about each animal or group of them.

First and foremost, is Fred. Fred is our golden retriever that we rescued from Alabama about 5 years ago. Fred is a big character. He spends most of his day sleeping, even when he goes to work everyday with my dad. He's treated very well and his favorite part of the day is eating off my dad's fork, at the dinner table, every night. Fred is also well known for his babysitting capabilities, pictured below.

Here's Fred babysitting the kittens, who we've been fostering since two weeks before their birth. They're intrigued by him - he could care less about them. To him its one more damn cat in this house that deprives him of our attention (this is how we think Freddy thinks).

This is the kittens' mother. We call her "Momma Cat." She's only temporarily staying on the farm. Once the babies are old enough, she and the babies will all go to new homes.

The Savage Beast. Maisy was once my cat, but she didn't like Boston that much, since she couldn't get out of the house. Now, she only comes in to eat; she normally sleeps in the barn.


This is Molly. Molly was a rescue. One of my Dad's tenants abandoned her in their apartment, so my Dad brought her home. She's incredibly skittish, but has taken up the hobby of beating up Maisy whenever they're around each other.




This is Lilly. She was also a rescue. She spends every night sitting on my Dad's lap while he watches tv. Lilly also enjoys spending her nights in the hay loft.

Jazz (left) and Murphy (right) spend their days grazing on the farm. Both are extremely friendly horses. As soon as you approach the fence, possibly with a treat or not, they come running. They don't miss any meals!

Here's one of the ten or so ducks on the farm. They're my Dad's prized children. My parents' first summer in Kentucky, the neighbor's dog came over and killed a few of their ducks. My Dad was so upset that he researched that it would be legal for him to shoot the dog if he caught the dog killing one of his ducks again. And yes, in Kentucky, if an animal is killing your livestock, you can kill them legally.

Here's Fred checking on the baby ducks. Unfortunately, something snuck onto the farm last night and ate all the babies.

Here are some of the duck babies. Three were born on the farm and three were born in captivity, in a hatchery. Every spring, my parents enjoy the hatching of several new ducks. Unfortunately, every spring the ducks suffer natural selection as wild animals sneak onto the farm at night and eat some of them.

My parents also have a pond, that is full of fish. Pictured is a large carp and a small cat fish to the right. The carp have recently started coming up at night, when we throw fish food into the pond.