New Love Of My Life

His name is Stanley, or as I like to refer to him Stan the Man. He thinks I am the most wonderful thing in his world. I think of him or I say his name and I smile. He is madly in love with me and I with him. He sleeps snuggled up with me every night and if I've been gone during the day, he can't wait until I sit down so he can jump up in my lap. I can't wait to get home from work because I know that at least Stanley will be ecstatic to see me. Did we know each other in a previous life? Who knows.

All I know is that his small presence makes me feel so much better. Holding his little body next to my face, listening to his purr, feeling his face rub against mine just makes the blues go away. I do have a number of other cats and I love all of them. In fact, I have Stanley's sister, Iris, too. But there is just something special about Stanley. It's a different kind of bond.

Stanley, Iris and the other 3 kittens in their litter were found orphaned and were rescued by a woman who heard their crying. We took them in and they all found homes. Well, I took Stanley and Iris, Madonna took two of them and the other one went to a wonderful home in Sturgis. So, lately when I've been so sad about the recent events involving the Horse Help Providers, Inc. organization (read previous post), Stanley has lifted my spirits. I hold him close and we stare at each other and I am reminded that not all humans are bad. I fight back the tears, tell him how much I love him and am so very thankful that he will never know a single day of inhumane treatment. I am so lucky to have you Stanley.

My Heart Is Sad

I have no photo to attach to this post. Well, I do, but I think most people would not want to see it. As some of you know, my sister is founder/director of Horse Help Providers, Inc. They are located in the eastern part of SD. They are periodically asked to help in cases involving inhumane treatment of horses, most often starvation/neglect cases. They were recently involved in a very sad case. I don't know very much about it and what I do know I don't think I'm free to discuss yet as legal proceedings may be pending. I do know that there is nothing humane or dignified in the photos that she sent me. I do know that no animal deserves to starve to death, to lay in it's own filth because it is too weak to get up, to lay there waiting until death relieves it of the suffering. Are there people who actually believe that any living creature deserves to be treated like this? Apparently there are, or these cases wouldn't be happening. I don't know how she has the strength to continue on when over and over again they are asked to help with these cases and so rarely does justice prevail. So rarely are humans held accountable for their actions.

So, my heart is very sad. I should be writing about the bobcat I got 3 days before Christmas or the wonderful donation I received from the Vet Tech Club at National American University. But, I just can't stop thinking about the photos of the dying young horse. I can't stop thinking about the fact that we are a species that is supposed to be intelligent enough to know better. And I can't stop wishing that there was more I could do. For anyone who wants to learn more about the Horse Help Providers, Inc. organization, you can visit their website at www.doublehphorses.org Scroll down the page and you will see the message "our website is moving here" click on that and it will take you to their new site. Their computer crashed and they are in the process of getting everything all set up again. Thank you to anyone who feels they want to help.

Empty Nest

I can't remember the last time that I had no wild creatures to care for. Most years I'll have a couple of birds, maybe a squirrel or a bunny or something. This time of year what I get is either sick or injured in some way. Depending on the injury and the animal, most years I'll have something that I need to keep over the winter. But not this year. Not yet anyway. Absolutely nothing wild to care for right now. I keep thinking that there must be something that needs to be fed or a cage that needs cleaning. It is a strange feeling, this feeling of having extra time on my hands.

Well, I do have something occupying some of my free time. We had a litter of tiny kittens brought in to the clinic about 3 weeks ago. They were discovered under a building, thin and very hungry. I could sit and watch them play all day long. There is almost nothing cuter than a bunch of little kittens playing. Hopefully they will all get wonderful homes. And if they don't get adopted, no big deal I guess. But they are awful cute so I'm sure they will get homes.

The last couple of days have been beautiful fall days. I love the sound of people walking through the leaves. I love the sound of someone raking up the fallen leaves. I love listening to the crickets and the crisp, cool breeze coming in the open window. I love baking and the way an apple pie in the oven makes the whole house smell delicious. I love making homemade soup this time of year and have started making my own noodles.

Yes, I have re-discovered many other things I love during this reprieve from caring for wildlife. I am actually enjoying this break from the wild things. I am savoring this empty nest time. I know before long I will be caring for baby bunnies, squirrels and birds of all kinds. The nest is never empty for very long.

Release

I open the sliding door and step out onto the deck. I whisper, "Please give me a reason not to do this." I go down the steps and walk slowly across the yard. I feel like I'm walking in slow motion. I say, "Please miraculously say my name or 'hello' or 'pretty bird' or something, anything." But as I enter the flight cage there are no words, and I knew there wouldn't be. There are just the normal sounds of my beautiful crow, Stryder, acknowledging my presence.

I pick him up; he is not a tame bird and does not like to be handled. After a short while he calms down and I tell him I love him and that every thing is okay. I bring the syringe out of my pocket and tell Stryder he will be flying in heaven soon. He stares back at me and blinks. He's never had a reason to fear me and he doesn't fear me now. I hesitate. I say, "Maybe today isn't the day. Maybe if I wait a little longer things will change." But I know I would only be prolonging this heartbreaking act of love.

I insert the needle, pull back on the plunger. I have found the vein. I slowly inject the solution and Stryder's head falls to the side. Release. I sit with him for a few minutes and let the tears run down my face. My head knows this was the right thing to do. Stryder couldn't fly, could never have been released. Had he been in the wild he most surely would have met with a much worse fate. There are, after all, worse fates than death. But my heart has a difficult time with this type of situation.

When we speak about release we are usually talking about returning a wild creature to the wild. But there is this other type of release. Release from living a life of confinement when you should be soaring in the sunbeams. Release from living a lonely, solitary life when you should be with a community of your own kind, interacting and socializing.

I'm sad now, but I know I did the right thing. I'll miss you, my beautiful bird.

Be Watchful During Spring Clean-up

It's spring (I think!) and if you're like me you're anxious to get outside and clean up the yard, maybe start digging in the dirt and planting things. There are a few things you should be aware of before you start raking up those piles of old leaves that you didn't quite get to last fall.

Rabbits, mice and sometimes squirrels find those piles of old leaves perfect places for making nests. Please check these piles before you remove them. You may be removing someone's home. Old woodpiles are also great places for wild mothers to hide their young. Depending on where you live, you may even find that a red fox has decided to have her family there.

The grass is finally starting to grow, even time to mow in some places. Be on the lookout for rabbit nests in the grass. The nest isn't usually very deep and can easily be mown over if you aren't careful. If this should happen and the nest isn't completely destroyed, you can put it back together and place the babies back in the nest--as long as they aren't injured. Also, watch for any ground-nesting birds.

If you have red squirrels in your neighborhood and you have stored things like golf bags in your garage, you may want to check them before taking them to the golf course for the first time. The little red squirrels can be very destructive and often will find your golf bag, duffel bag, etc. very attractive when it comes time to look for a good nesting area.

Before you do any trimming or pruning of bushes and trees, make sure you aren't trimming away someone's nest. Birds are very busy right now building their nests and preparing for this year's family. Squirrels will also build nests in trees. Usually using lots and lots of leaves and twigs. They will also use the cavities of dead trees as nest sites, as will a variety of cavity dwelling birds. The little squirrels in the picture above were rescued when the tree their nest was in was cut down. I was told that the mother was frantically running back and forth along the downed tree, unsure of how to help her babies.

So before you begin your spring clean-up, take a look around your backyard. You may be surprised at who you're sharing it with.

Duck, Duck, Goose

In light of recent discussions involving the waterfowl at Canyon Lake, I feel like I need to voice a concern about a part of the issue that has received very little attention. And that is the releasing of domestic ducks and geese at the lake.

Every year about this time we start receiving calls from concerned citizens regarding ducklings at the lake. Many of these calls involve domestic ducklings that have been released there. Sometimes it's the family dog that discovers a lone duckling and presents it to the caller. Sometimes it's about a duckling that has obviously been someone's pet and is following the caller all over the park. These ducklings are frequently purchased at farm supply stores. Sometimes they are meant to be Easter presents. Sometimes they are purchased with the full intent of raising them to a certain age and then releasing them at the lake so the family can go visit them there. And sometimes they are purchased on a whim with little or no thought given to how they will be cared for and what will be done with them when they are no longer cute and only 3 inches tall. People quickly learn that all they do is eat and poop and it doesn't take most folks long to grow tired of cleaning up after them. So, they are released at Canyon Lake where they just add to the ever-growing population of waterfowl.

It seems to me that you can't really discuss the whole feeding of the waterfowl issue without also discussing the release of domestic waterfowl at the lake. If people are going to be fined for feeding the ducks and geese then I think people need to also be fined for releasing ducks and geese. It's difficult to find homes for these guys which is another reason that I think people choose to let them go at Canyon Lake. Fortunately, the three domestic ducklings we have received from the lake so far this year have gone to a wonderful new home. The duckling shown above is one of those lucky ducks.

I do understand how tempting it is to purchase these little guys. Is there anything cuter than a baby chick or a duckling? Before you buy, think about it. Think about the fact that these guys require constant clean-up. They grow quickly. Do you have proper facilities to keep them in? Are you going to be able to care for them once they reach adulthood? And remember this. Just because they are ducks does not mean they will all get along. Ducks and geese can be very brutal and will often kill young ducklings that are not their own. They will often be very aggressive toward adult newcomers as well. So before you dispose of those ducklings at Canyon Lake, those ducklings that just don't seem to be as cute as they used to be, please give it some thought. Better yet, don't purchase them in the first place if you don't intend to keep them and care for them properly.

It's Bunny Season!

Bunny season has arrived. I have received five baby bunnies in the last three days. Last year I was bombarded with baby bunnies and I hope this year the rabbits are a little bit less prolific.

Please remember that not all bunnies need rescuing. If they are about 4 inches long (about fist-sized), ears standing up, eyes open, hopping around, they most likely don't need rescuing. Bunnies are out on their own at a very early age. It is normal for them to stay still and motionless when they are frightened so often times if you approach one it will stay in place. Many times people think this means they need to intervene and "rescue" the bunny.

Also, mother rabbits are not like mother cats or dogs. They do not stay in the nest with their young for very long. They visit the nest to feed their babies once or twice a day. So if you find a nest of bunnies but you don't see the mother, it does not mean that they have been abandoned. The absolute best thing you can do is to leave the nest alone and watch for the mother to return to feed her babies. If that is not possible, you can check the nest the next day to see if the young appear to have been fed.

The bunnies pictured above were from one nest. There were 10 of them. The mother had been killed. These little ones didn't have their eyes open yet so they were less than 10 days old. In this case human intervention was required if these little ones were to survive. Please remember that the best thing for these babies is that they be raised by their mother. It is impossible to duplicate what wild mothers do for their young and they don't always survive under our care. No matter how hard we try.