December 2025

As you may know from following these posts, Lost Creek Canyon Ranch is also host to the SoCal Mini Horse Sanctuary. The Sanctuary sits on about 11 acres in our middle ranch area and houses miniature horses and donkeys, plus emus, alpacas, and more. All are rescues. And last month, there were two more arrivals: a pair of miniature cows. They're very friendly and quick to come over for a pat and a treat.

This is one of the two new arrivals - a miniature Highland cow. He's still a pretty sizable animal and you won't want him cuddling on your lap. Still, he's kinda cute.

The Sanctuary also is home to a half-dozen alpacas, somewhat small and more fuzzier than llamas. They're a little skittish and tend to stick together in a pack, but they're curious and will occasionally come over for a look.

The miniature donkeys housed at the sanctuary are also charming and always ready for a pat. Donkeys are members of the horse family and when mated with horses will produce mules. Also known as burros, they have distinctively long upright ears and a mohawk-like mane.

Back at the ranch, we've added two more livestock guardian dogs, both puppies but soon to grow into giants. Poet is our four-month old Armenian Gampr mix, an unusual breed of which there are purported to be fewer than 1,000 in the USA. He's a cute little fellow now but will soon be very sizable. As for Bandit, he is a Great Pyrenees/Maremma Sheepdog mix and even at one year old is already huge. All the same, he's pure puppy in his personality and he and Poet have become best buddies. It's great fun to watch the ranch's largest dog play tag with the smallest.

Finally, it's calving season again among our feral cattle and the newest addition is this little one. It's amazing how quickly they're on their feet and browsing alongside mommy. We're watching out for this one and hoping he grows into adulthood.