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Our dogs and cats have always played a very important part in both our private and professional lives, they have all been Border Collies and have come from a wide range of different backgrounds, ranging from a working sheep farm in Wales, a cattle farm in Shropshire and a horse farm in Devon, to professional dog breeders in France  They have all had totally different characters and, likes and dislikes but the one trait that they have always all possessed is intelligence and an eagerness to please    The dogs not only provide good company for us, but also take an active part in conditioning the  llamas and ensuring that they are quite comfortable with dogs being around them and any cria they may have at foot.  The dogs have also been used for training trekking llamas so that they are also quite comfortable with a pack of dogs running around without spooking them.  Max Max is a lovely character and came from an amateur breeder in France.  He is extremely affectionate, very mischievous and has an abundance of energy.  When Danny died Max was devastated and spent most of him time simply searching for his absent best friend or laying down in all the places that Danny used to lay.  With the introduction of Rollo into the pack, Max has regained his zest for life, has a new best friend and a dog with the same levels of energy.   Rollo Rollo is Max's best friend and pretend enemy all at the same time.  The two of them spend most of their time flashing their teeth at each other and playing stalking games (even when one of them may be sound asleep) . When visitors come round Rollo and Max constantly vie for their attention and visitors often find themselves stroking a head placed on their lap without realising it. Fergus Fergus is one of life’s treasures, he is the most gentle lunatic on the planet.  Everything in Fergus's life must be done at the rush and then it is sleep time.  We needed to get Duc (below) in order that Fergus had someone who could keep up with him and play with.  Fergus loves the llamas and is quite happy just running around or through them when they are grazing. Duc Duc has grown into a lovely and very affectionate little dog who can outrun any of the others in the pack, he loves nothing more than jumping for a stick and can easily reach a height of 2 mtrs .  Jazz Jazz is the lady of the pack and has fitted in with the rest of the dogs extremely well.  She is a small but very agile lady and loves nothing better than beating up Duc and playing with our cat Alice whom she has adopted .  Initially she was quite nervous of the llamas but now they are just part of the farm where she lives and plays. Alice Alice appeared in our barn as a tiny little kitten one very cold winters night just as heavy snows fell.  We decided that she would not survive the night as her mother was nowhere around and so we took her in.  She has now developed into a lovely cat  who gets on really well with the dogs and the llamas.  Her favourite pastime is attacking Jazz when she least expects it and the pair of them spend ages wrestling on the floor. Cleo (Cleopatra) In 2015 we found Cleo alone in the barn at the onset of winter and it was clear that she was not being fed so we provided a warm lined box, food and cats milk to give her a chance at life. After a few weeks she started to put on weight and became slightly more adventurous and started to roam outside, unfortunately at night the large barn owls started to show a lot of interest in her because of her small size, so we left the front door open and she decided that it was warmer inside than out and she has been with us ever since.  Cleo has turned into a lovely and affectionate cat. Always in our hearts and never ever forgotten We remember every day with them as if it was only yesterday, as much as we mourn their loss, we cherish the time we had together and know that one day we shall we all meet again and be together forever. Tigger Tigger was out first dog and became the natural leader of the pack as other dogs came along.  He was a man's dog and best friend, always at Mike's side where ever he went.  Tigger never played with the other dogs but they all played with him.  He was the most loyal and loving dog you could ever meet.  Tigger suffered with severe epilepsy for 10 years of his life and unfortunately the drugs that controlled the severity of his fits eventually cause a massive tumour in his liver. Tigger sadly had to be put to sleep at 12 years of age. Merlin Merlin was the wise old man of the pack, the leader, the thinker and the most adventurous of all our dogs.  Merlin absolutely adored being with the llamas and sheep, whenever we have lambing, Merlin had to be there, they were his babies and he wanted to help clean and protect them.  Merlin was the one that we used most of the time when we introduced new llamas to dogs for the first time, he was totally trustworthy, gentle and at ease with them.  Unfortunately in February 2009, Merlin was diagnosed as having an extremely aggressive cancerous tumour on his back leg and given 1 month to live.  However, being Merlin, he decided to ignore the diagnosis and only succumbed 14 months later when he went downhill rapidly and we had to have him put to sleep. Merlin was 14 years old. Danny Danny came to us when he was 18 months old and after a fraught period of settling in with the other 5 dogs, he stole our hearts and became a very loving dog who loved to accompany Mike whenever he was out working in the fields.  Danny was Max's best friend and they used to play together constantly.  Unfortunately, Danny became very ill quite suddenly and was diagnosed as having Acute Leukaemia and within 5 days he had to be put to sleep.  Danny was only 2 years old. Oscar Oscar was our gentle giant, he was a very broad dog but came from working stock in Devon.  Oscar loved the company of children and just plodding round the garden.  He was so obedient that he would sit in front of the sheep and if he was told to stay, he would just stay there and allow the sheep to jump over him!!! Oscar was 13 years old.   Trim Trim was a professionally trained working sheep dog and rescued from a farm in Wales where she was tied to a chair with a metal chain and beaten regularly, after the farmer was rushed to hospital with a failing liver (caused by whisky), we bought her home with us and eventually paid the farmer for her so we could keep her.  Trim was quite nervous of other people and would not come near Mike for almost 6 months.  However time heals and she became a lovely and affectionate dog and with an amazing turn of speed.  None of the other dogs could keep up with her and she could just run and run all day long.  Trim loved to go outside and beat up Hobbit until he played with her, she could often be seen dragging him along the ground by his ruff until he retaliated and then the game would really start.  Trim is always the main focus of attention for Max and Rollo who seemed to spend much of their time outside trying to get her to play with them.  Sadly Trim lost the use of her hind legs and we purchased her a dogs cart which quickly had her running around with the other dogs again, unfortunately as her hind leg muscles wasted due to lack of use we discovered a tumour and were devastated when she had to be put to sleep shortly after. Hobbit Hobbit came from a cattle farm in Shropshire.  He was best buddies and playmate of Trim.  Hobbit was a bit of a loner most of the time but really came to life when I decided to kick or throw a ball for him, he happily played and could run all day long.  Unfortunately we believe that Hobbit suffered a stroke and sadly had to be put to sleep.      Thank you for visiting our web site, we hope you enjoy and benefit from the information and pictures provided for your pleasure.