Ian and Sally have great hearts but, like Phil and Chris in Ireland, they're English. While the connotations of "English" are different in Spain and Ireland, but when it comes to animal husbandry "English" is a common moniker in both cultures. That is to say, whereas Irish and Spanish kill their animals when they are of no use, hanging their hunting dogs and leaving horses tied up, unfed, to be the latest mortal victims of the economic downturn, Phil and Chris would rather see themselves dehydrated than the goats go without. Ian and Sally, Englishpeople, balk in disbelief at the cruelty of their neighbors, Sally doing a 180 km walk to raise awareness about animal cruelty–specifically for hunting dogs–some years ago. So, often when they are not killed, unwanted animals get schlepped upon the porches of the English.
The goats here, formerly of Spanish ownership, browse the hillsides for their simple sustenance. Bianca, however, is like a big, temperamental, also Spanish baby with the strength and appetite of an Austrian bodybuilder. Despite both of them being kicked, Ian tries to train her with the techniques he's used with dogs, pigs, and other animals. The harsh truth, however, is that there are miles of jobs to do before Bianca can be fully attended to, and Ian needs his body to help Sally at the farm, and to wander off to build in order to pay bills, so he cannot afford to be kicked again. So it is with much joy and some wistfulness that Bianca finds a new home, though for the meanwhile she remains here, dear as this morning's newborn piglets, the pack of nine dogs trailing us up the road, and a cup of hot tea amid a day's labors like a breath of fresh air.
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