Sadly we decided to sell Boris yesterday. Happily, he went to an awesome home that already has an active “work program” for 10 other dromedaries. Check out this video of these gentle giants who will be living with Boris at his new home. Click the YouTube logo to watch it on YouTube, where you can view it in high quality. It’s much better viewing that way if you have a high speed Internet connection:

Christine will tell you that Boris was MY camel, not hers, even though she was the one who cared for him and worked with him. I was the one who wanted to buy him when we attended the exotic animal auction in Cookeville, TN. I thought it would be real cool to have a camel, and it was! Boris was a hit at the Rhea County Fair and the Dayton  Christmas parade this past year. It was fun showing him and watching the reaction people had when seeing a camel for the first time. We even bought a tall trailer to transport him. We were determined we’d eventually be riding him and having him pull a wagon.

When we bought Boris we simply had no idea of the extent of commitment that would be required to raise a dromedary gentleman. Christine soon took over the day-to-day responsibility of caring for Boris along with her goats, mini donkeys, llama, etc, etc. Bless her heart, she’s such an awesome wife!

While we had a great time showing Boris off at community events and gaining local reputation as “the folks with the camel,” it soon become apparent that he was getting bigger and bolder. Boris would need consistent daily training if he was going to be safe to be around. Dromdaries are just too big to mess with if you don’t have them under full control. Grown camels are HUGE animals and they must be trained and respected.

Christine worked with Boris the best she could with the lack of reliable information on raising and training camels. It seemed as though the few self-proclaimed camel trainers you find online offer totally different opinions about camel behavior and training. I think Christine signed off her camel discussion board once and for all the other day by chastising many of the participants for acting like children in their attacks on other forum members who don’t agree with their techniques.

We needed camel training intervention, so we called a friendly camel man we had met at the auction when we purchased Boris. Scott Allen sat next to us at the auction and provided excellent bidding advice. We won the bidding for Boris at a price he assured us was a good deal. Scott told us that we’d be needing help with Boris and made sure we knew he could provide it when the time came. Well, the time had come and we gave Scott a call.

We arranged to bring Boris down for a 30 day boot camp at Scott’s farm in Cartersville, GA, Pettit Creek Farms, to work and train with his 10 other camels. Yesterday was the day and we headed south to Georgia with Boris in tow.

On our way down to deliver Boris for his month of training, we discussed whether or not we wanted to sell him to Scott. We’d already planted the seed with Scott about possibly buying him and he was definitely interested at the right price. Of course we knew we’d take a loss on Boris to make Scott an offer he couldn’t refuse, but we also knew that continuing to keep Boris would be expensive and time consuming. It would be sad to see him go, but we knew that it was probably going to be best for him to have a home at Pettit Creek than with us. We’d play it by ear and see if we wanted to invest further in Boris for our own use, or sell him at a loss to Scott.

When we arrived we unloaded Boris and Scott tied him inside a big stall. He told us that Boris needs to learn to be tied and be happy about it. We then went to the back of the property to retrieve 5 males, 2 of whom would be harnessed and pulling a wagon after lunch. They followed right along for a long walk from the back of the property to the front. Scott tied them to his camel hitchin’ post, where they’d stay until after lunch.

Until we visited Scott and his family at Pettit Creek Farms in Cartersville, GA, I was skeptical that anyone in this country really knew how to train a camel to behave, let alone to work. Now I’ve met someone who truly does know how to do this and do it very well. Scott loves his 10 camels, but not in a mushy, gushy way. He doesn’t kiss them (as we did Boris) or dote over them. No, Scott’s their boss. As with everyone living at Pettit Creek – kids, grandkids, employees – the camels pull their weight. Scott’s “no pet” policy provides no room for slackers. Everyone has a job, including the dogs.

We then went to lunch at a memorable diner in Cartersville, where we ate at the former “colored” counter that seats 3 off the kitchen. We had a burger swimming in beans and cole slaw. Yummy, but definitely something you eat with a fork, not with your hands. This was a memorable lunch experience in a true hometown joint with history and tradition.

After spending time with Scott and meeting his family we knew that the best thing for Boris was to live at Pettit Creek. He’d be under the care of a family that knows and loves camels and is doing some very interesting work with them. He’d have lots of buddies and he’d never be bored. This is the kind of place I’d want any camel to be. I got an email from Scott this morning telling me he woke up at 2AM thinking about getting started with Boris today. He just loves working with camels and couldn’t sleep with a new student on board. Now that’s passion.

Boris will soon learn to use his strength and other camel skills to actually be productive, rather than standing around all day munching hay and tipping over water buckets. He’ll pull wagons and manure spreaders, he’ll even be saddled up and ridden caravan style with 5 other male dromedary workers. Scott’s son is now working on a harness for 6 camels to pull a hayride wagon and other farm implements.

Boris will never again be bored and we’re so thankful that we were able to know him for the 6 months or so that we owned him. I’m really looking forward to visiting Pettit Creek Farms this summer to witness his progress. I want to ride that wagon that Boris and 5 other dromedaries are dutifully pulling to the commands of the driver. That will be a wonderful day.

We’re both sad to see Boris go, but we now know that camels need a job to be happy and Boris just got hired by the best.

This week was both a fulfilling and a very tough week. I pulled off the first monthly Knoxville Geek Breakfast with 30 geeks in attendance, this was fulfilling. We also lost one of our favorite pets, Rocky, our too-tough-for-his-own-good Chihuahua. This was tough.

The geek breakfast was awesome. We had a nice mix of people, from IT management, an author, business owners and guys looking for a job. Lots of smart people. I know this group is the start of something that can help make a difference in our community. We collected a total of 56 lbs. of peanut butter and canned tuna for Second Harvest Foodbank. As we grow, hopefully our contributions will as well. Next month’s meeting has been set for Feb. 12, same time, same place. Join our Facebook group and RSVP, even if you can’t attend this coming month. This way you’ll receive messages about meeting dates, etc.

Geek Breakfast Welcome

On a more somber note, we lost Rocky the same day to kidney failure after he was attacked by our German Shepherd, Sheba. Though under a vet’s care, his little 4 lb. body couldn’t fight off the infection that resulted from his large puncture wounds. We opted to put him down, rather than to submit him to lengthy hospitalization that had just a marginal chance of turning him around. He’s buried on our property next to 2 other Chihuahuas we’ve lost in the last few years. Christine posted a nice memorial to Rocky on her web site.

This coming week will be a busy one as well. Tomorrow we’re driving 2 hours to trade a miniuture horse for a llama. This llama is a show animal who is very well trained and good around people. I also have a new web site design to review, videos to produce for Boogey Lights, and at the end of the week I’ll be traveling to the federal prison in Florence, CO to visit a friend who is doing time there.

It’s going to be a non-stop pace between now and when we leave for Daytona Bike Week on Feb. 21. The Boogey Lights web site conversion, brochures to design and print, and new product videos to shoot. Then we have a full 2 weeks in Daytona with a trip to Austin the weekend following our return. I’ll be attending the SXSW Interactive Conference for 5 days. Whew! It’s just sneaking up on me all at once after a relaxing holiday season.

Actually, it was his ribs. Rocky’s a 4 year-old Chihuahua who thinks he’s tougher than any other dog, regardless of its size. After doing who knows what to our German Shepherd, Sheba, yesterday he took a severe butt whoopin’ that would surely have caused his death if he hadn’t been found by our friend Heath and his girlfriend. They saw Sheba digging wildly in the leaves outside and guess who was in those leaves? Yep, it was Rocky.

He was bloody and snarling. Heath called Christine to see what they should do. It just so happens that Christine was in the hospital preparing to undergo a colonoscopy and I was about to run some errands while waiting for her. I answered her phone and told Heath to get Rocky to the vet, pronto! With some coaxing I talked them through getting a towel to wrap him in so he wouldn’t bite them and they were on their way.

I arrived at the vet about 3 minutes before they did. When they arrived Rocky wasn’t in shock, but he sure didn’t look good. He looked pitiful, all bloody and shaking. Poor thing. The vet looked at him within minutes and thought it was only broken ribs. He would confirm when I came back with Christine after her procedure. When we returned, Rocky was on an IV and the vet thought he should spend the night. He had several broken ribs and injured his front leg.

Christine picked up Rocky this morning and we’ve moved him from the shop to the house. He’s on strong antibiotics and pain killers. His wounds are draining, so he’s going to remain a bit of a bloody mess for awhile. In any case, he’s going to enjoy the elite status of “house dog” while he recuperates. I think it’s going to be a good month or two before he’s ready to go back with the others. We’ll have to see how quickly he heals.

We’ve moved Sheba to my man cave, where she’ll enjoy a quiet retirement away from the smaller dogs. She’ll only have to be careful to conduct herself properly around the Filas, who share our large yard with her. Otherwise she may be the next to get a butt whoopin’! Sheba’s getting a bit more ornery in her advancing years. She’s 10 now and is also a bit lame. She’ll spend the rest of her days as my “cave dog.”

We bought Boris at the exotic animal auction in September. He’s about 2.5 years old and still growing. Christine’s working with him a lot on basic obedience training. He’s coming along due to her incredible patience and persistence. Watch this short video taken yesterday to see some of his hijinx with our neighbor, Cody.

Our neighbor gave Christine a personalized gift for Christmas that’s as creative and unique a gift as I’ve ever seen.

She took a picture of each of our male and female peacocks and placed them on the top of two small boxes. Inside each box was a pair of handmade earrings made from their feathers.  She found the feathers on our barn floor.

Are these cool, or what? Click on the picture for a larger image.

We got a Zebu for Christmas! No, it’s not a Dr. Seuss character, it’s a type of cattle and ours is a mini Zebu. We named him Ziggy. Ziggy the Zebu.

Until yesterday, I had no idea what a Zebu was. Now that I know, I think I’m going to like this little 1 year-old bull. He’s not the smallest of the mini Zebus, but he’s much smaller than a full size bull.

Today’s Video

I shot some photos of our new Zebu, Ziggy, and of Christine working with Boris, our dromedary camel.

Below you’ll find a video where Boris comes to inspect the camera up close and personal. Watch this video on YouTube directly and click the “watch in HD” link below the video window if you have a high-speed Internet connection. The video quality is MUCH better this way.

It was a bit damp today for the annual Christmas parade in our hometown of Spring City, TN but everyone seemed to have a good time in spite of the rain. I should say everyone except the goats. They just hate to get wet. I believe they dislike the rain more than cats do.

This was Christine’s first year setting up at the parade. We only brought goats as we were concerned that Boris, our dromedary camel, and the mini donkeys might get spooked by the loud train whistle coming from the tracks just 50 feet from where we setup. Photos and video of the event can be found below, just scroll down!

Below is a player containing several videos of the parade. Use the right and left arrows on the sides of the video window to go to the next or previous video. Click on the video window itself to watch them on YouTube. There you can click the “watch in HD” link below the video window if you have a high-speed Internet connection. This provides a much higher quality video image.