This is Mokie, my husband's pride and joy. I think he actually loves this dog more than he loves me at times. :) He is a red merle Australian Shepherd. We got him as a puppy in March of 2003 because my husband wanted a cow dog. We picked the best, I think. They are herders by nature and he is really great with the cows. And, he is very protective of the girls. He won't let the cows near them. It makes Jaycie so mad when she wants to pet a cow and he nips at the cow's nose to scare them off. Another thing he does that I think is so cute is that if we leave the house, he will lie at the end of the driveway until we get home. Rain, snow, whatever. We went to PA for a whole weekend and were told when we got home that he only left that spot briefly a few times the whole weekend. Needless to say, we all adore him. I have to admit, though that I never thought I would make it through his puppy stage. He was so hyper. I think the breed is high strung in general, but I swear this dog bounced off our walls for a year at least. Ay yi yi. He is still pretty wound, but much more tolerable than he was.

Now to my point. Since Mokie is a farm dog, he pretty much roams free (As does the boss's dog). Our dogs (We also have a black lab. I got her before I met C.K. and I adore her.) are never tied up. They sleep in the laundry room at night and are outside most of the day. They have yet to venture away from home, I think the farm is big enough that they don't feel the need. Everyone who lives on the farm works here except for the guy closest to us. Well, his female dog got loose not so long ago( I am sure you know where I am going with this) and she and Mokie must have gone off and had a party for two somewhere around here. This is what happened.


There are actually four,not sure where the other one was when I took this. Now, we could try to deny that Mokie was the culprit, but I doubt we would get very far. You would never know that these dogs aren't all Aussie. They look just like him, don't they? So cute. Now, before you lecture me about being an irresponsible pet owner and not getting him neutered, C.K. wanted to get a female Aussie to breed them. And, yes, I have some issues with that as well, with as many perfectly nice orphan dogs as there are roaming around. Like I said, this is C.K.'s dog. My lab has been spayed since she was a pup. No throwing tomatoes, ok?

No really, I am getting to the point. My dilemma is this: The owner of the mother is the biggest waste. He is an awful pet owner. The mother has been chained in the backyard in this poor excuse of a shack forever. I have actually fed her when he is not home, and I have called the SPCA about him before (SHHH). These puppies are to the age now where they are roaming everywhere, and getting into EVERYTHING. I have been feeding them because I, of course feel somewhat responsible (He doesn't know this). I have asked the guy if he has found homes for them yet and he said yes, that they were all spoken for. Well, they are still here and no one has come to claim them. I am afraid they are going to get hurt. And, I can't afford to feed six dogs quite frankly. Do I take this into my own hands? I hate to see them go to a shelter. And, I don't really want to cause trouble with my neighbor either. Any suggestions?