RUTHOur faithful friend, protector and most beloved animal ever, Ruth, has passed away.
The children named her Ruth for she left her family and friends to come live with us. (She was a stray.) In fact Vaughn was going to shoot her when she came walking toward the house from our barn, and the children ran out to say, "No, we've been feeding her in the barn!"
She immediately, upon hearing the children yelling, turned and laid on her back in total submission to my husband.
Instead of shooting her, he fed her hamburger and welcomed her as our own beloved friend. Over the 12 years she came to share our lives with us as our beloved, she has protected us by killing a wolf, innumerable coons that would kill our chickens and eat our corn. She has run off coyotes and killed weasels and she always chases off deer who would eat our trees and sweet corn, along with any undesirable characters from our property.
She has cleaned, guarded and herded our baby lambs and baby goats as well as lovingly guarded baby kittens and children of all ages.
Ruth is truly the smartest, most discerning and loving, faithful friend I have ever known in the animal world. She is the finest animal one could ever ask to be our friend. We will miss her horribly but are thankful she has gone on. Her legs were giving out and it was time for her to rest from all her labors of love. We love you Ruthie.
