Lily was one of the greatest American Bulldogs I have ever laid eyes on. Perfect in temperament and conformation, she was the epitome of what we strove for in our American Bulldog breeding program. A daughter of Peaches and Bruno, Lily was killed in a tragic accident here on the ranch when she was only four-years-old.

Thankfully, we kept her daughter, Scout, who, like Lily, has the temperament and correct conformation of a truly great dog.

Lily, we miss you. We stopped breeding American Bulldogs when we lost Lily. We knew what we had produced with Lily and we felt we couldn’t continue without her in our line.

Spicey was very aptly named. She kept the dogs in line and taught them how to properly honor the world’s greatest beast, the cat. No puppy left this ranch without Spice having sized it up and dressed it down, instilling respect for everything feline.

Spice was quick to swat a transgressing puppy, but she was just as quick to grab hold and wash its face until the puppy thought his face was being washed completely off.

Benny didn’t live here at the ranch but he was a frequent visitor. The father of Pixie’s first two litters, Benny was three-and-a-half-pounds of fluffy lap dog.

There is always the possibility, when living in the country, that something wild and ornery will take the life of a small companion such as Benny, and unfortunately, also as with Panda. In the same ten day period that we lost Benny we also lost Panda. Thirty miles apart but with the same outcome.

Panda was our little alarm clock, door bell, wake up call, and loose livestock alarm. Yes, he was noisy, but he was also a devoted little dog who knew his place and that place was to be the first line of defense in a world filled with danger.

Dangerous bunnies. Dangerous ground squirrels. Dangerous postal carriers and delivery drivers. We ALWAYS knew when someone had arrived, a cow had escaped, or something was amiss on the ranch.

At eight pounds of black and white attitude, he was our "border collie lite" and was very proud of it.

It’s very, very, quiet around here without Panda. The delivery people arrive without us knowing. The rabbits have started raiding the container gardens on the deck. And the neighbor’s cows are grazing happily right up against the fence.

I guess we’ll just have to get used to it.