A couple of days ago, I wrote about an attack by the neighbor’s dogs at our son’s farm. Since I sometimes tell stories before I know the ending, it seems like a brief update might be helpful to regular readers of my journal. Word was received at the farm yesterday that the dogs have been euthanized by animal control officials. It turns out that the dogs were responsible for multiple attacks against livestock. As a precaution, our son had a telehealth visit with his doctor about proper treatment of the bites he received and the doctor is obligated by law to report dog bites. We learned this about the law several years ago before we moved to Washington when our grandson received a dog bite while camping with us near where we now live. The report that the dogs had attacked people combined with the fact that they had been impounded twice in recent months for livestock attacks to bring the order that they be destroyed. Although I generally enjoy pets and have had many, many positive encounters with responsible pet owners, including caring for my sister’s dog in our home on different occasions, I confess that there is a sense of relief knowing that those particular animals will never threaten our grandchildren.

It turns out, further, that there were a few chickens who survived the attack. Two are in isolation with injuries, and it is not yet clear whether or not they will survive, but their survival so far and the fact that they are eating and drinking are positive signs. A few additional birds survived uninjured but weren’t discovered until several hours after the attack. Apparently they found a safe place to hide. Unfortunately, those particular birds were older birds that are not laying, so the family’s egg supply is gone for now. Although we enjoy receiving free eggs from the farm, it isn’t a major economic blow to our family. And, there are already a dozen chicks in the brooder, starting the cycle once again. One thing about the farm is that life and death often come close to each other. The sting of losing chickens is not offset by the arrival of new chicks, but the new chicks represent hope for the future. Our son’s family has raised enough birds from chicks to have a system for their care. They’ll remain in the brooder until they reach pullet stage when they will move to an enclosure inside the barn. Eventually they will be given access to half of the chicken coop and later be allowed to roam outside during the day after the garden is harvested in the fall. There are more farm fresh eggs in our family’s future.

Interestingly, a common practice on many farms is raising a guard dog to protect livestock. There are a couple of breeds that are known for bonding with poultry and defending them against predators. Because this area has native predators including eagles, coyotes, and foxes that prey on domestic fowl, it might make sense to get a dog as a partner in the farm. For now, the plan is to take things slowly. Although the farm has experienced a previous attack on chickens, the birds inside the coop were safe on that occasion. The neighbor’s dogs broke into both sides of the chicken coop and none of the birds in the coop survived. Because the children were frightened by the attack, it makes sense to proceed with caution when it comes to dogs and so the family will give some time before taking on the extra work of an additional pet. After all, they’ve got new chicks that need constant attention.

In addition, I have two new colonies of bees coming in a little over a month to join our existing apiary and I’ve been considering adopting a couple of shelter cats to live in the barn and help with rodent control. Farms and animals go together and we’ll see which animals will call the farm home in the years to come.

I am pleased at the natural ways in which our grandchildren are learning about life and death. When our children were small and living at home the death of family pets, while difficult, were opportunities to teach them about life, death, loss and grief. Our grandson who lives in South Carolina experienced the death of their beloved dog, who had been a part of the family for all of his life and shared his parents’ grief. They will likely get a new dog one day, but are allowing time. I appreciate that our children are not shielding their children from the realities about life and death. Talk of death is not common in our culture. I’ve worked with families who have members who became adults without experiencing anything about death. When a loved one dies, they don’t know exactly how to react and the process of serving them while planning an appropriate funeral for their loved one often requires a bit of gentle teaching. A farm provides a natural place for learning about life and death. Although the chickens that were lost in the attack were layers, the farm has also raised meat birds in the past. The children were not shielded from the reality of butchering and understand that some of their food comes from the death of animals. Fortunately in the scheme of things the decision not to raise meat birds had already been made this year so the chicks in the brooder will be allowed to live out their natural lives on the farm.

Hopefully our grandchildren will grow up with healthy attitudes about life and death and will be able to express their feelings of loss and grief naturally. It certainly seems that growing up on a farm is a good way to have a variety of important experiences that help children grow into maturity. We didn’t offer our children that experience. Our calling was to a different profession, but we have enjoyed many friendships with farmers and ranchers over our lifetimes and have been blessed by their connections to the land and the animals.

As is always true in the aftermath of loss, life goes on and that is another important lesson of the farm.