We received a call from the Florida Great Pyrenees Club & Rescue back in 2013 to see if we would take in an emergency foster of a one-year old female Pyr. She was an owner surrender and the circumstances around her forfeiture were a bit murky. We quickly discovered she had not been acclimated to riding in a car, wasn't socialized around other dogs, and was critically panicked over small spaces. She could not be left alone in a room with a closed door as we discovered when she had shredded the inside of one of our beautiful carved wooden doors! With love, consistency and clear discipline through the years, Miss Daisy has mellowed out a bit and has become much better around other dogs ... for the most part. :)  She still has a couple in our pack she doesn't like and will give the ugliest looks in their direction, but we love her bunches! Feel free to share your birthday wishes for Miss Daisy! ​​

When we bought this 13-acre farm in August 2018, we had no idea of anything tortoise! Well, since we noticed deep holes scattered around our paddocks, Bill investigated. Turns out we have a few Florida Gopher Tortoises who have made GGF their home.

Tortoise facts:

• In Florida, gopher tortoises are found in parts of all 67 counties and are frequently encountered in neighborhoods, along roadways, and in many of Florida's parks and forests.
• Gopher Tortoise Day is April 10, and the goal is to increase awareness and appreciation for these long-lived gentle reptiles.
• Gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species because they dig burrows that provide shelter for 360 other species of wildlife, called “commensals.” These commensal species include the gopher frog, Florida mouse, eastern indigo snake, and hundreds of invertebrates like beetles and crickets. Without the gopher tortoise, many of these species would not exist.
• Gopher tortoises can live 40 to 60 years in the wild. The life of a gopher tortoise revolves around its burrow(s) where gopher tortoises spend up to 80% of their time. Burrows average 15 feet long and 6.5 feet deep.
• The primary threat to the gopher tortoise is habitat loss through habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation, particularly from urbanization and development. Land development for residential homes generally occurs in the same high, dry habitats that the tortoise prefers. Lack of appropriate land management (especially prescribed burning) has also contributed to population declines in areas where natural habitat remains.   
• The gopher tortoise has some form of state-level protection in each state which it occurs and is a State-designated Threatened species in Florida.
• The gopher tortoise is unique in that it is Federally listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act only in portions of Alabama.

​Comment below if you are a "tortoise lover"!

Another day of celebration! Just like last week when we celebrated Koda’s rescue from the slaughter truck, today we say “yay!” for Gloria.
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She was in the same group of horses as Koda (see the poster below), and SEVEN years ago, Gloria came home to our farm. She was estimated to be about three years old at the time, so today we say, “Happy 10th birthday, Gloria!”

Seven (7) years ago today, we rescued "Angelina" from a horrible fate that thousands of horses meet every week: the slaughter truck. You will see "Angelina" and "Swanky Prize" on the rescue poster; we saved both of them but sadly couldn't take any more.

We renamed Angelina to "Miakoda" which comes from Native American languages and means "the power of the moon" or the "moon is powerful."

We often call her Koda for short, and she was estimated to be about 3-years old at the time. When she came to us, she was so traumatized from the trip from Nevada to our farm, and no telling what else, and was so distrusting of humans, it took me over a year to get her to trust me enough where I could touch her, and that had to be with a bucket of grain and me on the opposite side of the fence.

​The picture of Koda taking food from my hand was HUGE and took well over a year of patience for this to happen. She would bolt to the other side of the farm if you approached her.

Eventually, when she was ready, I got her to load on to a trailer (a trailer full of love!) and she began to allow me to groom her. She was awesome for the two vets and stood quietly when they needed to give her a shot.

Koda is still a little wary of everything but she has allowed other people around her and maybe ... just maybe ... she has learned that humans aren't that bad.

We consider this Koda's BIRTHDAY! Happy 10th birthday, Koda!