The 4 year old boy, named "Hunter", liked Zakat.  This went better than last week when a boisterous man kept walking up to Zakat and trying to stick his hand in Zakat's face.  The second time he tried and he ignored my, at first, "polite" attempts to make him go away, I grabbed "Z" and we slid to a different chair, ten feet away, and in the waiting room. He got louder and forcefully came up, seemed he was trying to impress customers who were sitting around. At that point I just "ordered" him to get away ... Zakat then took notice and the idiot got a chill and left the building. ... oh,   then the Owner's husband brought in their 20 pound black lap-Dog and set him directly in front of Zakat's face .. "Z" was laying down and on my feet/shoes. The Owner BTW likes Zakat.  Zakat likes her. So it all went neutral until the Lap-Dog licked Zakat's nose.  Z gave a very very stern warning, not making contact.  The Owner's Husband snatched the Lap-Dog up and said" Gee, I just thought he wanted someone to play with".

So, here we are, once again,  at the Tire Store and Tire Repair place 20 miles away. We were here last week. Zakat and I are regulars ever since we paid Rick Bowling to fix our road. I think I already said, the guy knowingly put hundreds of pounds of inappropriate metallic "Slag" down which contains nails and screws. I think this is the 16th flat we have had between Mary and I. Nice waste of 2300 as the guy has excuses why he can't fix it. Since everyone seems related to everyone, it's a little hard to get "justice" .  While there, some children were amazed at the size of Zakat.  Zakat liked Hunter.

So, Mary removed the lid and Zakat asked her to set it down so he could eat his ice-cream alone while we ate ours. Zakat is , in no way, spoiled. He is, after all, a working LGD!

Since it was a 90 degree day, "DQ" was  the next chore. Zakat is asking why we left the lid on his Vanilla Ice-Cream. He did have a point there.

Speaking of which,, Zakat follows along today and seeks the shade of Blackjack .. kinda close isn't he? I have a feeling that Zakat knows he has explained the "Personal Space" requirements vis-a-vis Zakat and is not the least bit worried they will be violated.

Here is my faithful protector, Zakat. I have been having troubles with Blackjack and excessively bad manners on the ground ... just sometimes ... Zakat noticed I reprimanded Blackjack.  The rest of the time, Zakat would make BJ mind his space.  In this foto-op, Blackjack kept insisting he was coming into the grain room. He quickly got a faceful of an angry Ovcharka who takes his Guardian chores VERY very seriously! Here we see BJ displaying courtesy to Zakat.  So I know it can be attained.

The English Class at the High School now learns Russian: Taught by Zakat.  He nuzzled people and kissed a few also. Obviously he likes them.

High school Drama Class Yearbook picture. Really. Zakat has done this one so many times he is a pro at it.

About the "Tactical" gear : You're the backup for the LGD's right? If you're ever called on , by them, as backup .... what's your plan? Mine seem to know I am 'all there' for backup ... probably by my attitude.

Zakat and I are checking if the ice is thick enough to play some Ice Hockey.  Not ready yet !! Though, I must say, it's between 8 and 11 degrees (F). Seems like it "ought" to freeze deep enough.

Today it's 91 degrees.  Zakat knew exactly what to do about it. He's in about 24 inches of water. It's supposed to be 10 feet deep but Bill Ham Construction had no idea how to do it and insisted we wanted it to be 2 feet here .. it was too late and Zakat wasn't around to fix the guy's attitude. Such is life in rural KY where the crooks usually rule and know people in "high places".

Can't believe 7 months have gone by. Zakat has appeared on other animal pages here though. It's an 85 degree July day. Trudy is here do trim all 6 horses.  Most of the LGD's love to chew on the freshly "pared" hoof-wall. It's like eating parts of fingernails , not that any of us would. But the LGD's seem to love the protein material. Pullo stands untied and sleeping. Zakat lies, of all things, underneath Pullo. Agrippa, Kuvasz, is having his head rubbed by Trudy.  Pullo's my "Little" cow-pony, a Foundation Quarter Horse.  But do not tell him he's "Little".  In his mind,  he's huge and fierce. And most other horses, especially the cows,  are certain he is.

Mrs. Racoon visits the fence between the house "Deck" and the wild. Zakat lives for trying to chase her away.  I toss out leftovers for her ... gotta keep that working mom with food for her babies. She has enough trouble wit the family of Red-Fox who live within 1 to 2 hundred feet from her family.

After his swim, Zakat strolled up onto a rise where the breeze and shade are nice, despite the 90 degree weather. I have to admire him for picking up extra mud which can be transported via his truck-back-seat and then into the house!

September 2011. Can you believe how long Zakat has been here? Been building/repair on fences in the field. If I put a leash on him, he happily stays for the ride up the long, steep, hill. Otherwise, despite the heat, he'll jump off to sniff some strange scent.

Zakat and his house-buddy, Sabrina.

Next day and "Z" is in the mood for playing with the calves. He will do the canine "Play-Bounce' to try and entice them. Some will run while others will react like they do when they play about with another calf. This 4 month old bull decides to dominate Zakat after "Z" does the bounce-bit. Here, you see his front feet off the earth.

Mid September 2011. I looked back after a while because Zakat wasn't following along with me. There he was, about a quarter-mile back.  He'd decided that the cows needed company I guess. Zakat seemed quite happy just laying there watching them mill-about.

Zakat stays just enough ahead of him and the bull-calf is certain he is winning this one.

So Zakat pretends to run away. Then he feints charging. Then he turns so the calf can chase him.  Here, he's banking to his right and the bull has taken the bait and is moving forwards.

The bull spins around again, in a playful manner. Zakat goes into 'Play Bounce' again.

As they got around the other side of the 'Creep Feeder',  Zakat spun around and herded the calf back to his friends. This gentle trait is very-much Ovcharka. I am told by Russians who lived with Ovcharki in the fields,  that they needed a working dog who'd help out with some chores.  Unlike other Europeans,  these shepherds were quite poor and could not afford one working dog for protection against the very large Russian Wolves and another, like a Border Collie, to herd the animals.

So Zakat bounces over to his old fiend, a young heifer aptly named "Spot". The two of them played when she was 4 months old.  Spot is more a dog and people than a cow. She loves her back to be rubbed. This time though,  Zakat got nowhere trying to entice her to play. For she is too interested in trying to figure out why, after a year, she can no longer fit through the narrow slats designed to let the very young calves get to extra grain and keep their older sisters and piggy moms out.

"Z" tries to make him chase.  However,  it seems the young calf has had enough this time.

Early October 2011: Zakat opts to watch from the truck window. He can jump out,  if he really wants to.  I have seen him do that before.

So, Zakat goes over to the truck and lays down in the shade. A VERY devious filly named "MiHa" is playing with an empty grain bag she'd just stolen from the back of the truck. Pullo, my trickster and very very good herding pony (A Foundation Quarter-Horse) is trying to sleep in the early, dawn of the morning however, MiHa keeps taking the bag and shaking it all about. I am fairly certain she understands it bothers him.