Dogs on the increase and Goats on fire

So, as you know we decided to get Rasputin to replace Rin Tin Tin and in the same way we were sort of semi keeping our eyes out for a Great Dane as we missed Belinda dreadfully. Unfortunately there are not many Great Danes here and they are all very expensive - out of our price range. Then Danilo had a phone call from a Great Dane breeder who said a friend had Dane puppies and would we please take on as they were not being kept in a good condition.

Off we went, and they were actually close to us in Cacique. First we were taken to see the father called Ecooby (Scooby lol) and I have never seen such an enormous Great Dane in my life. He was being kept in a wooden enclosure and was standing up on his hind legs and even towered about Danilo. Then to see the pups - 2 of them, one black, one white and the mother was a Belinda lookalike but bigger.

We found out the price, a third of the normal Dane price, and came home to discuss it and I wanted to research white Danes as they can have hearing and sight problems. I told Danilo to check the white one out for signs of blindness or deafness and probably best to get the black one. They were also being kept in a small wooden cage with a mud floor and the white one was too scared to come out.

Danilo returned with a three month old Great Dane puppy in tow - the white one.

He appeared to see well and hear well so that was nothing to be concerned about but he was scared and made a beeline for Lobo. We had been planning to have him in the house but he only wanted to be with Lobo and the two of them do everything together. Slowly he is becoming more used to people, and he has now stopped peeing where he lies (he had no choice before). He is ecstatic to be able to lie on comfy rugs and has his own sofa as well.

He is already enormous at only 3 months. Here he is with Rasputin and they are the same age.

We were trying to think of a name, and people suggested strong names like Samson, but he isn't a big strong confident dog. He is just Goofy in everything he does - so that is his name. Welcome Goofy.

In the meantime the goats are fine - Oregano and Picante. It appears that Oregano is definitely pregnant as you can see here when I am giving her her evening snack.

Luckily I have been put in touch with a goat lady, who keeps goats in Spain and her Facebook page is Experience Olvera if you like goats. She has told me she can tell when Oregano will give birth by looking at the area under her tail so my job this afternoon is to take a picture of Oregano's bits. Don't worry, I won't post it.

In the meantime I was taking Rasputin for a walk the other evening and noticed that the goats weren't in their hut. I asked Danilo why not, and he said a chicken had laid eggs on the straw in the hut and the goats broke the eggs so now the straw was full of ants and goats don't do ants in their bed. Which is fair enough as nor do I. He said he would fix it.

The next night I was taking Rasputin for his walk and noticed smoke coming out of goat hut. Danilo explained he was fumigating by burning the straw. Fair enough. Until at 10pm neighbour comes running to the door to say the goat house is on fire.

Danilo rushes outside, back and forth with buckets of water, while I sit here chatting on FB to friends and shaking my head. Suddenly the back door opens and in walks Danilo, naked. I asked why he was naked and he said everyone knows you have to take you clothes off when you put out a fire, as they get dirty or may be set on fire too. Wonder if anyone has told firefighters this?

Here is burned out goat hut.

And here it is with new roof and new straw and goats are very happy. As  you can see Danilo is an expert roofer at using the "just chuck it on there" method.

And we have a new goat called Maggi (after the stock cube).

And the big news from a couple of weeks ago is that my books arrived. The truck was too big to get down our track

And when I opened the box - there they were, along with a load of goodies and a 50 pound bag of rice sent by the lovely lady who arranged for them to get to me.

Now I need to start getting ready to do a nationwide tour signing books. The book is selling well, with 25 reviews on Amazon so far, 2 4 star and 23 5 star which is a great relief.

"This book is beautifully written and does an incredible job of drawing you into the culture of the Dominican Republic"

"The author of this book is amazing it is the only book in my life that I could not put down until it was finished !"

"Lindsay took me on this journey with her. I felt like I was watching a movie through her eyes. Her love for the country, for her husband, for her life and living her dream inspired me and touched my heart deeply. What a great book for women not to stop before the miracle told brilliantly by this author."

Please do think about buying it if you want to learn more about me, my life and the Dominican people and the country.

Have to go now  to take a photo of a goats bottom and start preparing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Irma. Hope all of you in the path of this nasty woman can avoid serious loss and damage, and I leave you with happy dogs playing in their sandpit.