Our day starts as usual, making our way to the garage we dodge heaps of frozen-solid vomit, stray dogs and traffic which yields for nothing in particular. Our diesel Ford Ranger rattles down the unpaved streets of Ulaanbaatar's Ger district. Emerging over a hilltop, you can see the sun beaming through the pollution as the smog settles in thick over the city. Skyscrapers and cranes are barely visible through the cloud of coal smoke. Between the soviet-influenced architecture, dilapidated infrastructure and heavy pollution you can't help but feel like you're in a fallout city.

Today we finally made the arrangements to buy sheep for our puppies. Doug, Soyolbolod our translater, Suldee our caretaker, Suldee's friend and I hurtled away from Ulaanbaatar in a Hundai Porter and a Ford ranger. Far from any city, the streets turn to dirt, gravel and stone and the Tuul river becomes our frozen highway. Drifting shortly ensues. As soon as you're over the first ridge and skirting through the valley you feel a thousand miles from the city. The family we are visiting today is related to our caretaker Suldee. We are invited into their Ger for Suutei Tsai (salty milk tea) and slightly-fried balls of dough. The ancient herder gives us advice for raising sheep and talks prices as his 'assumed' wife beats on a leg of lamb with what I would call a machete. After a lot of talking and confused glances this ancient herder takes us to his Hashaa housing his many sheep, goats and rams. We all hop in and start wrangling the sheep looking for 1 and 2 year old females so they will be gentle and docile with our puppies. With 10 fat sheep loaded in the back of the Porter, we pay the family, seal the deal with a handshake and take off down the road back to our dog enclosures. The sheep are frightened beyond belief as we haul them into their own kennel, and with more then 15 dogs howling and barking at the sheep they have good reason to be scared. But the dogs soon calm down and we coral the sheep into their hashaa. With the sheep in our enclosures we will now introduce the pups to them and begin the bonding process. In the next few days we will begin building puppy "retreat" areas so the mother, pups and sheep may interact safely.