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Response to the community forum re: border collies, and other comments
Monday February 12th, 2024
Greetings,
I am really sorry that your husband was approached by the dogs in a menacing way and that he hurt himself jumping into the ditch. I can imagine that was frightening and upsetting. I sincerely apologize. I have informed Deb, the woman who owns those dogs, of the incident. She extends her heartfelt apology as well, and has assured me that she will have them under control when they are on-site, and that they will not be left unattended off-leash. I hope your husband heals and feels comfortable to run the roads again.
--
As for who we are, we are shepherds hired here on a multi-year agreement with the Del Sur Community to perform a vast amount of fire fuel reduction in the area, spanning around the open space surrounding these neighborhoods protecting 3,000+ homes. It’s imperative we have a 24/7 on-call shepherd nearby to tend to any of the issues that can arise with the nature of managing 350+ animals in constantly changing and challenging conditions. The land managers who’ve hired us have realized it is more cost effective, and far more expansive, to utilize our methods for reducing fire fuel. They welcome us and we hope you will continue to as well. We are here to build right relations as we take care of the land.
We have livestock guardian dogs that are inside fences and that do indeed have a big bark, Bear, Diamond (Great Pyrenees) and Darling (a mixed Anatolian Shepherd). We have them for protection against the predators in the area. Domestic dogs are considered a threat to them so we ask to please keep pets away from the paddocks as the dogs are territoriality protecting their zone.
To further explain the dogs presence, as some of you may know, our property was vandalized by young teens, last summer who came down from Veridian on e-bikes, multiple times, and received no action or remedy from the folks at Veridian, even after multiple e-mails and phone calls. Even though folks in Veridian that I spoke to suspected it was particular children that fit the description and said they would follow up with the police, and two police reports were made, there was no follow up. We have also been taunted by potentially other teens and have had our animals harassed, even picked out of the electric fences and moved. We have posted signage around the area to share it as a Shepherd-Site, and that the guardian dogs are there to protect their designated areas. There is as a lengthy description of who we are and why we are here on a sign at the entrance, we welcome you to read it and say hello when you see us. We’d love to become friends!
We ask to please keep in mind that although inviting, the back roads are service roads on private land that is not designated for the general public to use as recreational trails. We are working here to service the land, to make your neighborhoods safer from the real threat of fires that you may know have roared through here and burnt down homes multiple times in the recent past. We do not want folks to feel afraid or excluded, we are sharing because it is good to be oriented to the nature of our presence here, as it is for the safety of the greater community, and for the stewardship of the land, tended to in a regenerative way that a promotes healthy, fire resistant habitat for the plants and animals.
We will continue to do our best to minimize any negative impacts. We welcome you to communicate with us directly [email protected]
All the best.
Matthew: a man on a mission
co-founder
Greetings,
I am really sorry that your husband was approached by the dogs in a menacing way and that he hurt himself jumping into the ditch. I can imagine that was frightening and upsetting. I sincerely apologize. I have informed Deb, the woman who owns those dogs, of the incident. She extends her heartfelt apology as well, and has assured me that she will have them under control when they are on-site, and that they will not be left unattended off-leash. I hope your husband heals and feels comfortable to run the roads again.
--
As for who we are, we are shepherds hired here on a multi-year agreement with the Del Sur Community to perform a vast amount of fire fuel reduction in the area, spanning around the open space surrounding these neighborhoods protecting 3,000+ homes. It’s imperative we have a 24/7 on-call shepherd nearby to tend to any of the issues that can arise with the nature of managing 350+ animals in constantly changing and challenging conditions. The land managers who’ve hired us have realized it is more cost effective, and far more expansive, to utilize our methods for reducing fire fuel. They welcome us and we hope you will continue to as well. We are here to build right relations as we take care of the land.
We have livestock guardian dogs that are inside fences and that do indeed have a big bark, Bear, Diamond (Great Pyrenees) and Darling (a mixed Anatolian Shepherd). We have them for protection against the predators in the area. Domestic dogs are considered a threat to them so we ask to please keep pets away from the paddocks as the dogs are territoriality protecting their zone.
To further explain the dogs presence, as some of you may know, our property was vandalized by young teens, last summer who came down from Veridian on e-bikes, multiple times, and received no action or remedy from the folks at Veridian, even after multiple e-mails and phone calls. Even though folks in Veridian that I spoke to suspected it was particular children that fit the description and said they would follow up with the police, and two police reports were made, there was no follow up. We have also been taunted by potentially other teens and have had our animals harassed, even picked out of the electric fences and moved. We have posted signage around the area to share it as a Shepherd-Site, and that the guardian dogs are there to protect their designated areas. There is as a lengthy description of who we are and why we are here on a sign at the entrance, we welcome you to read it and say hello when you see us. We’d love to become friends!
We ask to please keep in mind that although inviting, the back roads are service roads on private land that is not designated for the general public to use as recreational trails. We are working here to service the land, to make your neighborhoods safer from the real threat of fires that you may know have roared through here and burnt down homes multiple times in the recent past. We do not want folks to feel afraid or excluded, we are sharing because it is good to be oriented to the nature of our presence here, as it is for the safety of the greater community, and for the stewardship of the land, tended to in a regenerative way that a promotes healthy, fire resistant habitat for the plants and animals.
We will continue to do our best to minimize any negative impacts. We welcome you to communicate with us directly [email protected]
All the best.
Matthew: a man on a mission
co-founder
