Take a Family Drive and Learn About Geography
March 5, 2025
Maggie, shown in the picture, is a Northwest Farm Terrier, a dog breed started in Port Angeles about thirty years ago. She is eight years old and her owner is Bill, the caretaker for the Farm School.
Maggie was raised around animals and is trained to interact with them. At six months she instinctively (no training at all, just a point of her owner’s finger) rounded up chickens and led them back to their coop. She is never aggressive with farm animals or people and will patiently allow children or adults to pet her. Horses seem to trust her, as do goats and sheep. Don’t ask me to explain the how of it, but I will tell you that I find it amazing that she understands her role on a farm without any formal training.
Twice she has chased coyotes off of the Farm School property and twice at the other farm where she spends a fair amount of time; she was not taught to do that; she simply knew that coyotes were not wanted guests.
Her owner, Bill, takes care of the animals on weekends and holidays; in addition, he will occasionally fill in for breaks at the school when there is a staffing issue. As a former teacher with twenty years of classroom experience, interacting with the children comes as naturally to Bill as working with animals comes to Maggie.
Sequoia’s Treehouse
