Okay, let me be more specific…..3 chickens!

Lucy, Effie and Flo

My mother’s dog, Addy, is a very sweet Australian cattle dog mix.  My parents adopted her from the animal shelter back in 2001, when she was 3 years old.  My dad just loved Addy.

When we adopted our son, Kai, from China we spent a few days at my parent’s house, who were living in California at the time.  Addy was the first dog that Kai had ever met.

My dad assured Kai that Addy was friendly and loved kids.

Addy is a ‘herding’ dog by nature.  The first object of her herding instinct was my parent’s black cat.  Addy was obsessed by her and would spend all of her time keeping track of the cat.

After the cat died (from old age), Addy transferred her attentions to the squirrels in my parent’s backyard.  I don’t think she was ever successful in actually catching one though.

After my parents moved to Arizona and my dad’s death, my mother along with my sister and her family moved to a small farm, which they call Double S Farms.  Addy was in heaven with a huge backyard and plenty of gophers to go after.

The other day as we were sitting on the back patio, I noticed 4 figures around the apple tree in the distance….

Australian cattle dog

It was Addy and my sister’s 3 pet chickens.  Now, I knew that Addy got along with the chickens, but I didn’t know that the chickens just loved being around her.

According to my sister, the chickens just love to hang out with Addy, even when she is sleeping outside.  They just settle in around her.

At the ripe old age of 14, I guess Addy finally got to lead a flock, so to speak 😉

Addy was my dad’s special dog and although my mother loves her and takes care of her, I still think of her as my dad’s dog.

So, as I see her slow down, it is rather sad, because she is a link to my dad, who has been gone for 4 years now.

But, she isn’t going anywhere soon…. except to run inside to escape the coming thunderstorm, along with her feathered best friends.

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So, how about you?

Have you encountered any unusual friendships between animals?

I would love to hear about them!