I lost one of the sources of great pleasure in my life.  I have had and known lots of wonderful dogs in my life, but none as special to me as Possum.

She was special with people and other animals.  She would understand when people were troubled and try to help.  At the 63 ranch, Heather, one of the owners had a horse colic and had to be put down.  Heather was devastated and I saw her sitting on a rock sobbing and Possum went over and stayed with her.  She understood.

She loved cats.  She would sleep with the kittens and when it was a sunny day and Possum would be out in the morning soaking it up, the cats would all come lay with her.

She never got to far away from me when I was with her.  In the house she slept on a pad behind my chair.  In the trailer she slept beside me on the floor.  Outside, all the other dogs might be off doing something and I would have to call them to me, but with possum was pretty close most of the time. It was as close to true kinship with an animal I have known.

When Tammy would go ride and I was doing something else all the dogs would go with her.  Not possum, she stayed with me.

She could really read me.  If I was upset with the other dogs she would just disappear in the grass or brush and then show up when things were okay again, or if I called her.

She was what I really liked in a working dog.  She had lots of feel and could be as rough or soft as she needed.  We had a black heifer that really hated dogs and would leave the bunch just to pick a fight with the dogs.  One day I watched Possum go out in the pasture and just lay down. The heifer came to get Possum but she just moved out and layed back down.  I didn’t understand what she was doing but as I watched I saw a dog that understood how to work with so much feel and she got that heifer to walk to the corral without being bothered.  From then on if Possum was alone the heifer would work for her.  If there were other dogs she would fight, and Possum would just stay out of the way.

She had a great life.  She got to do what she wanted, didn’t make many mistakes, and made lots of people happy.

She loved to drag on tails and bite ears.  I didn’t like it, but she loved it.  She was so quick and was not afraid to get right in there with the meanest bulls and never get hit by a horn.

A week or so before she died, we were working bulls around the arena at D and H Cattle.  HD was putting Ban-amine in a bulls jugular in the chute.  He was just about to put the needle in and Possum and I came by and she saw her chance and took ahold of the off side ear.  We both got a bit of a look!

I am so glad I had this very special dog in my life.  She was a licker and a tail wagger and didn’t care that her tail banged on everything close.  I miss her so much, and will never forget her.

I wonder why she had to go.  Some native traditions believe that animals will sacrifice their lives for their human companions that maybe facing death.  That’s the kind of dog she was, and I believe she would have done it.

I am so sad she had to go, but I am so glad I got to be a part of her life and feel like we both added to each other’s quality of life.  I am going to try to get abetter kinship with all my animals quality of life and will always be grateful to Possum for the wonderful memories.

Ill never forget her.

This was one of the first songs i heard after my Possum died.

I have been spending a little time at “Tribe Cattle Company” lately.  The property and cattle were purchased by some folks that had no previous experience in agriculture except for watching the mini series “Lonesome Dove” a gazillion times, and to add a modern touch they are fans of “Yellowstone”.

They are can do, get er done people and they just went to it.  After working cows the first time Robert (Gus) Tankersley decided they needed help.

He got a hold of me and I was just 4 hours away in Oklahoma so I went over for a few days.  We all got along great and these are some good people that are a family(tribe) that all work, play and pray together and are going to really be successful in the operation.

I am glad I get to be a little part of it. They are so fun to be around and in the two times I’ve been there they have taken ahold and made big improvements.

I can’t wait to see where they take this!

The thing that creates the main source of cash flow for D and H cattle company is not not turning feed into beef, but turning feed into athletes, just like a race horse operation.  At some point the bull will end up as protein, but the longer that take the more profit potential there is, almost the opposite of the beef business.

Here’s a clip of a training session.  

These bulls started out really wild and scared and I have seen them really settle while I have been here.  It’s so important to keep the fire and desire in the but also get them to a thinking frame of mind rather than a reactive to keep them from injuring themselves and last a long time.

When they are going to buck or dry run bulls through the chutes it starts the day before.  The feed is cut back so they are not full and heavy and could injure themselves when they buck so hard.  If they are over full they don’t buck them.

The arena is watered and worked for the best consistency to keep footing and prevent injuries from the incredible athletic move some of these bulls make.

They are gathered and sorted for left and right delivery.  Then they are staged in an alley with two or three in a cut. Now they are set to buck or get gentled or patterned through the chutes.

Nothing is done in a hurry at this point.  The bull might be staged for quite a while before they start just to let them get comfortable and settled in the environment that creates the cash flow for the outfit.

Then you set the back pens to have a place to go with the bulls when they are done in arena.  The bulls can then settle from the stress and excitement of the training.

It’s a lot of work to do it right and takes some excellent stockmanship skills.

Daughter Mesa and HD Page are a good team and have a good crew that really know how to get the most out of these bulls.

HD usually flanks all the bulls. Scott Maines from Australia was putting the dummy on, Bud Whitehead was pulling chute gate, Mesa was filming and taking bulls to back pens, and I was running out gate and loading bulls to chute.

I didn’t enjoy it too much at first as the bulls were pretty scared and wild, but after seeing the change they are making it is very rewarding and I am glad I am learning more about this stockmanship.