Layla our special designer dog.  Layla is that special accidental combination of border collie, sheltie, and ?????.   We used to refer to them as Mutts.  My Unique Trusting Totally Sweet companion that follows me around the farm and keeps my spirits up.

Alan and Rosmarie perform all of the physical and managerial tasks on the farm.

The livestock guard dogs, Dansor an Anatolian shepherd, and Casey a Great Pyrenees, have the responsibility of guarding the alpacas from predators such as coyotes and dogs.  The guard dogs live in the pasture and barn along with the alpacas.  Their guarding duty starts in the evening hours when the coyotes start roaming.  The dogs do a great job keeping predators at bay with their ferocious barking.

Nine rescued cats reside on the farm with us, chasing away mice and basking in the sun.

Lilly and Elsa live in their own room in the barn with the alpacas.   The room is furnished with lounge chairs for napping and a ceiling fan for those hot summer days.  In the winter we provide a heating pad for them to sleep on and a space heater to keep them warm.  In exchange the girls do a terrific job controlling the rodent and snake population in and around the barn.

Tumbles and Flip-flop our mother and daughter look alikes occupy the porch, the hay shed and the tractor shed.

Snickers and Sapphire have their sleeping quarters in the garage and usually make themselves comfortable in the fleece bags.

Cartwheel is somewhat of a wild child we occasionally catch a glimpse of him as he darts in and out of the cat door leading into the garage.

Then there is the legendary Thirteen, a stray tom cat that only showed up when he was starving, injured, or sick.  During his last bought of recovering from illness we decided he needed a visit to the vet for neutering and vaccinations.  Thirteen hasn’t strayed from the farm since.   He is the king of the property and accompanies us from the house to the barn everyday as we head out to do our chores.

Molly is the only cat that resides indoors.  She is a senior citizen and has decided that all of that outdoors nonsense is best left to the younger generation.  On occasion Molly takes a trip out to the porch but only if the weather is just right for her.