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  • From: Alliums <garlicgrower AT earthlink.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [Market-farming] Time to stock up on cats and dogs
  • Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:22:20 -0500

Hi, Folks!

Since I have a rescue dog, I get updates from the regional rescue societies.

Supposedly, there is a serious overpopulation of cats and kittens right now (both barn and pets) in the shelters in Southeastern Pennsylvania/NJ. Many of these societies are desperate to find homes for barn cats. If your farm doesn't have barn cats, I highly recommend them -- our feral cats at the community garden keep our growing areas free of rabbits, mice, voles and rats -- I wouldn't want to be without them.

Our house was invaded by deer mice in early fall, but we lost *nothing* because my indoor cat patrolled the kitchen and wouldn't let them out from under the sink where they were entering. Once we found out what was happening, we got traps and seem to have gotten rid of them all, but we could have had a horrible mess in the kitchen (lots of harvested food in baskets laying around) if Lindsey hadn't perked up and abandoned the rest of us to patrol the kitchen around the clock.

So, get kitties and get rid of rodents! :-)

Lots of rescue societies (at least here in urban areas) take in pregnant dogs in the fall so that folks will adopt a rescue puppy for Christmas instead of buying one from a pet store. As someone who did it, I'd say that training a puppy to be a good farm dog is A LOT easier in winter when you aren't distracted by your plants than in the Spring. Pepper is now 16 months old and even though the garden is frosted and harvested out, if she sees something to chase out in the back of the garden, she goes full tilt ON THE PATHS instead of through the growing beds! :-D

Of course, if you get one of the mommy dogs from a rescue society, they will spay her first and she's probably already housebroken(which is nicer than housetraining a puppy in January! ;-)).

Livestock -- it's not just cows, horses and goats! ;-)

Dorene




Dorene Pasekoff, Coordinator
St. John's United Church of Christ Organic Community Garden

A mission of
St. John's United Church of Christ, 315 Gay Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460





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