This is the story in the name of our ranch, Best Friends Ranch LLC.
Steve, my husband and I, Sondra, have been best friends since 1961, 47 years ago. We met when we were 8 years old. We met in Colorado where our dads worked as mechanics together and our families went to the same church and had family get togethers at times. Steve was my first boyfriend at the age of 17. Things changed and after our graduations in 1971, Steve moved to Arizona for health reasons and I stayed in Colorado, basically we both went our separate ways, but always had a best friends bond with each other. We both have been married to other people. Steve was lucky and had 2 wonderful sons to add to his life.
Well, our old marriages didn't last and in 2002 Steve called me in Colorado, while living still in Arizona to come out and marry him and I did!! We got married in December 2002 and now I am blessed with 2 wonderful sons (David and Scott) and a fantastic daughter (in-law), (Heather) and 2 beautiful grandchildren our grandson,(Terrance), was born in 2004 and our granddaughter,(Rylee), was born in 2006).
After I moved to Arizona, I told Steve about my dream that I have had for several years to start up a small ranch and raise animals and he loved the idea. We both have the love of animals, thanks to spending a lot of time on our grandparents farms in the summertime as we were growing up in Nebraska, where I'm from and Wisconsin, where Steve is from. So while living in Arizona, since 2004 we were looking for the perfect place including weather conditions to buy and start our small ranch. Well, we finally found our place and bought it in December 2006. We bought 7 acres and a nice home. It needs a little fixing up around the property, but we are able to do that and put our personal touches into it. We live in Cliff NM.
The animals that we raise at this time are Anatolian Shepherds and Nigerian Dwarf Goats. We bought our Anatolian stud while still living in Arizona. He came from Patent Pending ranch in Williams AZ. Then after we moved to our little ranch, we bought our stud, his two females (they are sisters) from Akards Acres in Bridgeport TX. The Anatolians are beautiful large agile dogs and can find out more about them by clicking on the Anatolian Shepherd button on our website. We also have the Nigerian Dwarf Goats. We decided on getting goats for our livestock, as our female dogs were around goats at their ranch and our stud never had any livestock before, that way the girls could train him in what was to be done with livestock. Our stud has done a great job in protecting our goats. These dogs learn very quickly their job and responsibilities. The Nigerians are very small goats, about like a pygmy, but more variety in colors. These goats can make great pets and are trainable for something like even 4-H for your kids.
You are always welcomed to call and make arrangements to come by and visit. We welcome visits to come out and take a look at our animals. We just ask, not to bring other dogs on our property. Anatolians don't care for other dogs on their property. Thanks and hope to hear from you or see you sometime.
