One of the most frequent questions I am ever asked is “who takes care of the farm and the animals when you and Maria are away?,” so I ran into our pet and farm sitter – Deb Foster – at Battenkill Books today, and I thought it might be nice for some of you to meet her and hear her perspective. I caught her by surprise, but she and Red were having a joyous re-union and she obliged.

Deb does a lot of things, she is a former counselor, she works as a publicist, pet and house sitter, a waitress and chef, but animals are clearly her passion, and we are lucky that is so.

Deb confirms one of my long-standing and controversial theories, dogs and other animals do not miss us unless we condition them to and reinforce the drama of separation. We leave quietly and silently, and the dogs do not make much of a fuss.  I ask Deb if Red misses me, and she says no, absolutely not. I am glad to hear it, I believe animals mirror us. I do not need for Red to pine away for me, this is something people need, I believe animals are often reinforced in separation anxiety. They are what we need them to be.

I love Red dearly but I value our time off from each other, I love sleeping wait and not having to feed and walk animals.

In the video, Deb talks a bit about Frieda, the dogs, even the sheep (at one point she is talking about Zelda and calls her “Frieda,” I didn’t pick it up until I looked at the video. We love working with Deb, we leave in peace, we don’t worry about the animals, it is non-stop love fest. Deb is one of those people who has done a lot of things and followed her heart.  Her presence gives us the freedom the travel, she takes care of every single animal and even has been petting Frieda, a first for anyone other than Maria and I. Come and meet her.