A Look Back to Critters in My Recent Past

3/23/12
I am so happy to have the new baby chicks for this year, but can't help remembering some of the other critters who I am grateful to have had. Some of their pictures are featured at the bottom. I'll start with dogs, my first ever Cavalier named Tanner. He is a tri-color boy and never liked the water until we put a catfish in a small pool. When he saw that fish, he went nuts. I had to pull his head up because he kept swimming in circles in this pool (only about 1 foot deep) and forgot to come up for air! He did come up with the catfish by the dorsal fin, though. I loved him dearly but he started losing weight and I thought he was dying. The vet determined that he had a pancreatic enzyme defficiency that could be treated with medication. Due to the high cost, I found him a great home through a Cavalier Rescue group who could afford the daily medication and he is doing fine. (Times were tough and he was better off.)
I miss HonkyDonk, too. A local guy recommended that I get a donkey to ward off coyotes so I did. She was so sweet (until the vet tried to trim her hooves, and boy did she get frisky!). I had her for about a year and started to wonder if she needed a donkey companion which I really couldn't provide. I guess the final decision was made when she didn't warn me that a large pig was standing 5 feet away from her but the Alpacas did make a warning sound. She ("HonkyDonk") wanted to 'play' a lot but her play hurts! It came down to me realizing that I didn't have enough extra pasture to put her in to graze, and I couldn't let her run with the Alpacas because if she kicked them in their underbelly region, she could kill them. Luckily my plumber's wife had fallen in love with her when she came out one day. Turns out, she has 4 horses and another donkey. Perfect! Even though I hate to give an animal up, I INSIST that they go to good homes where they will get the treatment they deserve. (Not that I didn't but she needed a donkey buddy:)
Speaking of the pig, I looked out by the girls (Alpacas) on New Year's Day, because they wouldn't shut up. Lo and behold, a large pig was just grazing as happy as could be. To make a long story short, I called a local guy who 'pigtied' it to a tree (see picture below), the owner was tracked down, and came to collect his future ham. The Alpaca girls were frozen like statues when this 'thing' came bursting into their pasture. Luckily the owner also fixed my fences as I don't have fences that are pig-proof!
Last but not least, my favorite cat Sparky (shown below with some of Daisy and Mo's pups) has happily found a home at a farm nearby. He is a cool cat and very laid back. While I do miss him especially as a mouser, my dogs consider cats a food group. There is a stray that looks to be mostly Siamese that shows up every other day and the dogs go ballistic. I don't feed any outdoor cats but if they kill mice and not my chickens, GREAT!
My main philosophies when it comes to animals are pretty simple: Don't have an animal that can kill you; Don't have an animal that you have to kill to profit from; Don't get an animal that you aren't prepared to care for forever; and if you can't care for it forever (ie the animal would be happier somewhere else or becomes destructive), find it the best home possible.
Have a great day and be kind to all God's creatures.