The house guard dog, Barons, is a "aiku suns" -- apparently a Russian breed Silvija first encountered a few years ago; her friend Iveta had a female (almost as big, and just as aggressive!). Silvija is a dog person and so has been excited learning about this breed. The best she can describe it, Barons is somewhere between a wolf and a really big St. Bernard. Silvija can also unequivocally say Barons is the largest dog she has ever seen. And, almost 6' tall, she's certainly not used to looking like a little shrimpy in dog pictures! Let's just say you don't want to be a stranger perusing the yard. There's nothing like 150 pounds plus of huge snarling dog hurling himself at the fence to persuade you to peruse elsewhere! On the other hand, you tell Barons who's family, and he's happy to play—just make sure he doesn't try to jump up on you! As you can see in this picture, Silvija knew the wisest thing to do was sit down and make friends (and show no fear!) Obviously it worked...on our next trip in October Barons greeted her with a big, wet, sandy sloppy kiss on the lips!

Sadly, dogs like Barons don't live very long... has has since passed on. His replacement may be the same breed, but the new dog has an incredibly nasty disposition, including attacking family (he likes clamping on to arms).