I was determined from the first to let Gus be a dog, not a stuffed animal, and so brought him out daily into the pasture. Apart from getting run over by a rampaging flock of sheep, he has had a fine time out there, he loves the donkeys, especially Fanny, who seems to love him back.

Bedlam Farm aspires to be a Peaceable Kingdom, and we are lucky to have animals who are good to one another. This morning, on one of her creative impulses, Maria picked Gus up and put him on Fanny’s back while she graced. Gus was quite comfortable up on Fanny’s back, and so was she. He sat up there like the King of the Hill and surveyed his kingdom, then we took him off, although his balance is quite good.

I love this on many levels. He reminds me a bit of the famous small dog, a Chihuahua named Knucklehead who was part of the act of Lou Jacobs, RIngling Bros. iconic and much loved star clown for many years. Knucklhead rode around in a tiny cart and sometimes rode on the backs of circus animals.

A whole new show for our Open House this October, now people can see Gus riding on Lulu. When I fire wrote this, I meant it as a joke. Now, I’m not so sure.

Gus is already a great farm dog, but there are new horizons to conquer.