180 Acres of Farm Freedom for a Husky & Pit Mix: Luna & Penelope's Story

Meet Luna & Penelope from Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania!

“For a 180-acre working farm with two active dogs and a house that is a mere 25 feet from the roadway, the SpotOn collars have really worked well for us. We trained a husky mix and a pit mix, each with their own personalities, to the fence by ourselves in a short amount of time. All in all, it has been a success where other systems have failed.” – Amy Bridger

Luna

Luna is a 9-year-old husky mix who came from a home in the inner city about 20 miles from her dog parent’s farm. Luna’s dog dad has always liked the thought of having a husky, so they went and got her. When they brought her home, she was uncomfortable walking in the grass as she was born on mostly concrete. Once she figured out grass and the creek, she was off! For three years straight, she ran all over the farm, barely stopping to eat or drink. She was a heck of a groundhog dog in her prime. Now, she is a slower version of her younger self but still loves the cold weather. Luna is very smart and has many opinions that she likes to express very clearly. She loves everyone but tends to use her brain cells to get into trouble as her decisions seem to be instinct-based only!

Penelope

Penelope’s family found her at the local humane society, where she arrived in very poor shape, with an embedded collar and hypothermia. She had very little fur, many scars around her neck, and a missing tip of her tail due to frostbite.

Best friends

Both Penelope and Luna love running around with the family anywhere they go on the farm! If they are in the barn, the pups are in the barn too. If they are out on the ATVs, you can find Penelope and Luna right there with them. They also enjoy roaming around the property in their spare time, hunting groundhogs, and running through the woods.

This year, the family moved to a different house on the same farm property. When they lived on their old property, Luna has to be chained, and Penelope had a 90 ft diameter circle around the house with a wireless fence. When the family moved, they went from a home 500 feet off the road to a house that is 25 feet off the road. That created a different environment where the dogs were very interested in things happening on or across the street. With all the distractions, this caused problems with cars, pedestrians, and neighbors.

“SpotOn allowed us to set our own boundaries, which was a better option for us with 180 acres. For a large farm application, this really does work for us.” -Amy B.

With SpotOn, the pups can now spend a lot more time outside expending energy! In the warmer months, the family runs the dogs three miles each morning and night with the ATVs while checking on the herd and doing their routine fence inspection. Without that energy expenditure, Penelope would get bored and occupy her time indoors doing things she knows she’s not supposed to. Often the family would find her standing with all four paws on tables, desks, or anything she can climb onto to get something as simple as a tissue to eat.

“SpotOn allows for her to be outside without anyone watching her every move, which gives her more freedom.” –Amy B.

More time outdoors for the pups is a win-win for everyone, including the farm-itself! Groundhogs used to be a big problem as they would dig holes, break expensive equipment, and injure livestock. Luckily, Luna loves groundhog hunting! As a youngster, Luna caught as many as 65 in a summer. She wore off and broke most of her teeth doing that. Luna has no front teeth left and even wore down some of the back teeth while hunting. That doesn’t slow her down, though, and she can still gum one or two down each summer.

If there is any ruckus, the pups will hear it before the family does. Though they have a pretty low drama farm, it is still nice to have Luna and Penelope on patrol and alert.

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