When we bought our farm in 2017, the old sand and rock quarry operation had not been active for 17 years. In order to meet the standards to “reclaim” the land, the government required that certain types of vegetation be allowed to grow to stabilize the soil. Coyotes and foxes were everywhere. After a bold fox grabbed my hen (with me standing there in broad daylight), and nonchalantly trotted into the brush with her, I decided we were going to get livestock guardian dogs.
So we did, and after a we survived the steep learning curve of running a pack of independent thinking, powerful, massive dogs, the predators disappeared. Full disclosure, until we pulled a dog to keep at the barn, a fox (or a hawk) would occasionally get a chicken, but the coyotes (and feral dogs) steered clear of our property because according to the GPS collars, our guardian dogs can travel up to 17 miles in a night on patrol if they sense any predator activity.
Unfortunately, as change is inevitable, my dogs who worked so well together, suddenly did not. As the pack hierarchy was challenged, my dogs began fighting, and after a couple of bloody episodes, I seperated them. It stopped the fighting, but it also stopped the nightly patrol. “Turn them out and they will work it out,” was my husband’s advice, but I was afraid of what the consequences would be. “We really don’t have predators anymore” I said as I slammed the gates, separating the dogs to their respective stations.
One night recently, unbeknownst to me, some of my yearling rams got out and were grazing back towards the river. I have no idea why, but I decided to drive 1/2 mile back to check on the sheep in the middle of the night. I attached the GPS to Beau’s collar and he ran ahead of me. All was well with the ewes (Judah was with them), but when I arrived to the ram pasture, I only counted 3 (out of 6 rams).
“Boys! Where are you!?” I called into the blackness of the night. I heard one of the rams answer me off in the distance. As I drove toward him , I checked the GPS and Beau was deep in the woods not far from where I heard the ram. I will spare you (and me) the details, but the ram that was calling to me was safe, but Beau was in the woods with one of the “boys” who was mortally wounded. Apparently he stopped the attack or the coyote/feral dogs would have killed and eaten him. As I was trying to load the wounded ram, Beau found the remains of the other ram about a quarter of a mile away.
As I reflect on the tragic events of that night, I must own the fact that my decision to pull the dogs had deadly consequences. But even more importantly, I realized just how quickly an invisible enemy can rob, steal, and destroy if we let our guard down. A false sense of security is deadly, as Satan is standing in the shadows, waiting for us to relax and become less vigilant.
So my dogs are back on patrol, and I am determined to seek the Lord more diligently. The evil surrounding us is growing stronger every day, so we must grow stronger in the Lord as well. I am thankful that our Shepherd will never leave or forsake us. We can’t afford to walk in this wilderness without him.
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.