the Longford Hideaway Mascots

Meet little Nia; part Chihuahua, part wolf and part sausage, she is a sweet little lapdog with a St. Bernard sized ego. Nia loves to come along on your walks around the ranch and down to the beach, where she will ferociously dig holes in the sand until only her wagging tail is visible.

Stella is our elegant black lab and a real beauty. She's always ready for a swim, or a tramp through the pasture, or a plate to lick. She'll be delighted to accompany you to the beach or the top of a hill or to any meal. Sometimes Stella is very maternal, adopting stray animals that venture onto the ranch. Other times she turns into a wild teenager, hunting mongoose with a passion.

Winnie is part dingo and part border collie. She's very expressive and is quite a talker with a large vocabulary of howls. Winnie will chat with you for hours when she's not chasing young Senepol calves. Winnie was raised by Stella, and they have a typical mother/daughter relationship. :) Winnie adopts small animals and herds them. She likes to keep busy.

Diana is our tailless Rottweiler mix. She just wandered up onto the porch a couple of years ago and became Nia’s playmate. Diana has a tongue the size of a bathtowel. She loves being one of the pack. She is a strong swimmer and has a great sense of humor. Diana enjoys diving into the water with maximum splash.

Ruby Jane is slender and blonde, part greyhound, german shepherd and perhaps part coyote. Rescued as a pup from the streets of New York City, she spent some time in Europe where she perfected the art of stealing rounds of stinky cheese at open air markets. Since moving to St. Croix and retiring her doggy passport, she has learned to swim and enjoys chasing deer...or just being one of the girls.

Duke, the humongous yellow lab with the ineffable bark, belongs to our neighbor. The most obedient of the lot, he joins our pack for trips to the beach and whenever meals are served. Duke's a sweet dog and a real sad face artist, we love him.

Boris is our beautiful boneless cat who reached out and grabbed us from a cage at the local shelter. Truly, he has a very relaxed island soul. He has incredible eyes with green starfish in the center. Boris has an auto-purr system that switches on when he is picked up or petted. Nia loves to chase this little one.

Swimmer is a patient individual, as one would have to be in a world of dogs, yet she allows her desires to be known with a Godzilla-like meow. Originally from Brooklyn, this discerning kitten followed Luca home one evening after he dined at a sushi restaurant. Swimmer is an excellent mouser, has an impeccable sense of timing, and she does NOT swim.

Marco is a Zenaida dove who we hand-raised when he fell out of a nest in downtown Christiansted. He has adjusted nicely to country life, but is very people-oriented and may land gently on your head and flirt with you. Here he is with Christina. She created an art piece about Marco.

Down by the pond near the tractor shed, you’ll see quite a few birds... Lucy Goosey (in white) and our four other young geese have a terrific repertoire of goose noises. Geese are great watchdogs and can live to be over 30 years old. We keep ours for the goose eggs in the springtime.

The Muscovy Ducks were beautiful little ducklings, but they’re pretty weird looking ducks...

Here’s Luca with some eggs by one of our homemade hen houses. The Chickens were raised from little balls of fluff who arrived mailorder at the post office, and now we’re breeding our own varieties. We have a number of breeds, all chosen for a gentle disposition. The girls enjoy being gently held and petted. Our chickens live in movable chicken “tractors” and we give them new pasture every day. A few of our hens have names: Fringy, Buffy Handy, & Red.

The Dogs often gather around the chicken tractors as though they were watching Saturday morning cartoons. We call it “Dog TV”.

See more about our Chickens!