Sierra

Although Norma and I have had German Shepard dogs before, neither of us had every met such a wonderful dog as our sweet Sierra. She never once barked or growled at a guest, and was especially gentle with children. I say "our Sierra", but the truth is, she was everybody's pet while they stayed here on the farm. She would quite often abandon us up at the farmhouse, and move in with guests, particularly those who stayed at The Cabin. Although she knew that we don't allow pets inside the rentals, she was very contented to lie down just outside the front door, where guests took great comfort that she would notify them of any approaching wildlife and be there to play with the kids in the morning. And play she would, often chasing sticks or tennis balls for hours on end. Of course, the game for her, was not "bring the stick to the human", the game was "keep the stick away from the human." Most folks learned right away that the secret to winning her game was to have two sticks.

Sierra, who was descended from German bloodlines, started out her life as an apartment dog in New York City. There, we are told, she failed obedience training 2 times, and proved to be quite a handful for her owners, both of whom worked. Sierra found herself a benefactor in a wonderful woman named Adelle Wolf, who would periodically take her out of the city to enjoy open space, water games, and other outdoor pleasures in the Delaware Watergap recreation area. We first met Sierra (and Adelle) when Adelle's Aunt and Uncle, Roland and Betty Constantin, became long time repeat guest (and dear friends). Adelle wondered if we might be interested in taking Sierra at 2 years old so that she could permanently stay in the country. All it took was for us to meet her, and we were hooked. Particularly, Norma, who would have taken her whether or not I wanted to.

She and Buster became fast friends, although he would usually end up on the wrong end of her sometimes-rough doggie play. Sierra was truly saddened when Buster died and we could sense that she kept looking around for him on the farm. Then one very hot day, about two weeks after we put Buster down, we came back from town and found Sierra lying in the shade of a shrub. Sadly, we realized that she had died. We never really knew what the cause was, since, just prior to our heading to town, she had been running around the training ring that we were working a young horse in, and had taken a nice swim in the pond to cool off. She showed no signs of anything and it was as if she had just lain down and expired. We buried near Buster wrapped in her blanket, with her favorite fuzzy blue ball toy. Her personalized dog dish is her marker.

We, and many of our guests, will really miss her. We continue to try and find a kennel that breeds the same line of Shepards, and will surely buy one if at all possible.