My dad passed away this week and had just taken in a sweet 1.5 yr old black and tan that wandered out of the woods in the ozark mountains. He had nursed her back to health and got her spayed and planned to keep her. My mom can't stay in the remote area alone and handle the coonhound with a lab and cat alone. We took the coonhound in (Olive) but we have chickens and a potbelly pig. Right now the chickens are penned in the run due to a bobcat issue but Olive doesn't seem to care too much about them, perhaps she had lived near them before. We sometimes free range them though. With the pig she acts like she does with the other dog, jumping and wagging her tail and touching noses through the fence. I wouldn't imagine I'd ever leave her alone unsupervised with the other animals but she seems like a good livestock guardian and I like the warning barks she gives when she see's or hears people. If she seems to work out for us (which I'd love to keep her in memory of my dad) I was thinking we could get one of those 10x10 chain link kennels to leave her in when we aren't home and let her out in the yard when we are. We have a big shop that is heated and cooled that she can sleep in at night or stay in the rain. She gets along well with the cat who we are also keeping and will live in the shop. We have an acre with a chain link fence and plan to fence in the entire 4 acres soon. We don't hunt or go running or anything so I'd worry she wouldn't get enough exercise. She likes fetch and tug of war. I'm wondering if that would be enough exercise and we could have a suitable home here. Any feedback or suggestions would be helpful!