SD TDCH Windkist's Lean On Me, CGC, TKP, RATI, RATO, SPOT-ON- "Lucas" is a harlequin blue merle rough collie, born in Feb of 2013. Lucas is a mobility assistance service dog who has been working since September 2013. He is an astounding companion and working dog, very biddable and intelligent. He is currently working on completing training for his champion trick dog  title, Barn Hunt and Rally-o titles, as well as generally enjoying romping the farm. Lucas knows over 30 commands and tasks and delights in learning new things every day. Lucas was trained completely using force free positive methods. To learn more about Lucas training please visit www.achieveobedience.com

 RIP RESQ Here There Be Dragons- "Caspian"- is a sable and white rough collie born in September 2004. Caspian came to me in October 2014 shortly after my ten year old golden retriever Whiskey died. Caspian and Whiskey share the same birthday. I found Caspian on craigslist, his family was moving and no longer wished to keep him, they had had him since he was a small puppy. My heart broke for him, He was originally intended to be a foster for the local collie rescue, however it quickly became apparent that he was not going to find a new home at his advanced age and he became a welcome member of my little herd of collies. Caspian is the old man of the family and thus spends most of his days lounging in the sun or on the couch, but he is not above rough and tumbling with Lucas and Soren when the mood strikes. 

Caspian pased away on December 23, 2016.

Windkist's After Midnight, NTD, RATI- "Soren" is a tri colored rough collie born in March of 2014. Soren is the newest member of the collie family and comes to us from the same breeder that produced Lucas. Soren is Lucas' nephew! I have high hopes for Soren although he is just entering training now. My goals for Soren are performance events- I would like to compete in herding, rally-o, tricks and possibly obedience. Soren has a much higher drive than Lucas, but is quite biddable and intelligent.

Hamlet, otherwise known as Pigpig, is a male juliana pig born in July of 2013. Hamlet has quite the back story- he was originally purchased on impulse by neighbors of mine who wanted a 'teacup pig'. Sadly, they were ill equipped to care for Hamlet and two months later they appeared on my doorstep asking for help because he was sick. After discovering how sick Hamlet was and that the family had no intention of vetting him, I offered to buy the piglet so I could take him to the vet. Many, many, vet visits later and several thousand dollars raised, Hamlet began to heal. Hamlet has also undergone some training and knows several tricks such as sit, shake, sit pretty and spin, as well as being litter box trained. Hamlet is strictly an outdoor pig now, and has moved to live on my parents 15 acre farm, He has stayed quite small at only 13 inches tall and 3 years old. This is unusually small for a Juliana, and we believe it is more than likely due to his rough start as a baby.

Milo- is my oldest companion. She is a blue and gold macaw born in September of 1997, and has been with me since December of '97. Milo is equal parts mischievous and sarcastic. She is an incredibly talented vocalist and at last count spoke nearly 100 different words, phrases and sounds. She will carry on a conversation with you, and is known to outwit humans and then laugh at them sarcastically. Milo loves to ride around with me on the farm and sometimes travel to local schools to talk about exotic animal ownership. When I was a teenager, Milo was well known in the neighborhood as she would ride on the handlebars of my bike and we would climb trees together. Milo has zero idea that she is a bird. Her favorite activities are chasing cats, tricking the dogs into performing a task other than what I am asking of them, and throwing food to various animals from her cage. She also loves to trick people into thinking someone is barking, or the phone is ringing, or someone is coughing, and then laugh when they realize it was her.

S.A.M, Goose and Missy Pissy are our three resident barn cats. Sammi, the tuxedo, has been with me the longest, he was born in 2003 and came to me as a kitten. S.A.M stands for "Surface to Air Missile" which accurately described his personality as a kitten. He enjoyed leaping from the floor and climbing up the wall to ricochet off the ceiling. Sammi is a wonderful barn cat and keeps even the most determined rats, raccoon, hawks and opossums from the barns. Om-Nom-Nom (RIP), the dilute calico, is a creature of unknown origin and age. Noms was found at Rowan County Animal Control the day that she was schedule to be put to sleep in the gas chamber. I felt terrible for her as she looked like a very sweet old cat, and decided to spring her and bring her home. I was surprised when the vet told me that she appeared to be 10-12 years old. This was in July of 2013. Om-Nom-Nom was named because of a very weird habit that she has- she very much enjoys climbing up to your face and licking and suckling on your ear lobes. She also grooms your hair when you sleep, and during all of this she makes very loud "om-nom-nom/purring" sounds. Noms sadly passed away of old age in February of 2015. Goose and Missy Pissy are siblings born to a stray cat in our neighborhood. Goose is a lynx point DLH and Missy Pissy is a black tabby DLH. They were born in March of 2015. They are spayed and neutered and have stayed quite small although they are excellent mousers.