The St. John’s Boys drove five hours from New York City to Cambridge to visit Pompanuck Farms and also to see Bedlam Farm and meet a pony and donkeys and working dogs for the first time in their challenging lives. St. John’s is a school and residence for kids who badly need a school and a place to live. It was once called an orphanage and there was where my friend Scott Carrino lived when he had no other place to go.

Scott is conscious of returning the favor and twice a year, boys from St. John’s come up to Pompanuck to swim,  hike, and see the country for a few days. Bedlam Farm has become a part of the trip, we  have come to love it as much as the kids do. This year was special, they came yesterday to see Chloe and the donkeys, but they really fell in love with Fate and Red.

We witnessed the very great power animals like dogs – and these two in particular –  have to open people up and touch their spirits. This morning Scott called and asked me if I could come visit Pompanuck and the St. John’s Boys this afternoon. Sure, I said, did they want me to finish my talk? – the visit to the farm was cut short a bit by a thunderstorm.

Scott hemmed and hawed a bit, and he said “well, sure, but can you bring the dogs?” We know each other well, I got the message. I did not give a talk.

The boys wanted to see more of the dogs, so they did, we came over in the afternoon, me Red, Fate. Fate was in her element, wrestling with the boys, swimming with them, chasing sticks, having footraces with them (she won every one.) I think she jumped on each one at least a dozen times, she knocked Joaquin over more times than I could count, herded him, took him down on the run by running between his legs and circling him.

“My God, they are just alike,” said one of the teachers.

We all had a blast. There is something profoundly uplifting and healing about this kind of thing.

Red went into his therapy dog mode, he is almost mystical in his power to connect with people. The boys kept saying they had never seen a dog like him.

Red went one on one with the boys, connecting with several of them very strongly, sitting and letting himself be stroked and petted. Some were drawn to his quiet affection other than to the new Mayhem Machine in our life, the Dog Of Joy. And she did have everybody laughing and smiling, a great gift unto itself. These boys have known a lot of pain and trouble, it blew away for a bit.

Fate was her full-blown Joy Dog self, she bonded in particular with  Joaquin – they were strikingly alike. They never stopped moving, running, exploring.  The boys peppered me with questions about dogs, training, breeding, border collies.

None of them had ever seen dogs like Fate or Red, or known they existed. I love talking about them.

Joaquin started training Fate, he was very good at it, then the two of them raced back and forth together through the woods, I felt I had slipped into a beautiful film about love and connection. The travails and conflict of the world faded away. I took a bunch of photos and  will post several of them here and also do an album on Facebook. I was very grateful and honored to be asked back by this group, they were courteous, bright, attentive and great fun to know. I  hope they will make my dogs and our farm a part of their lives and memories.

I think Fate and Red touched some souls.