Ranger Dog

I know that some of you are wondering about Ranger Dog.  He is well.  He is at the farm.  I hope to see him again some time soon.  Circumstances beyond my control caused me to have to leave him with Mr. Greenhouse.

I cannot tell you how much it hurt and how much I cried when I left the farm and left Ranger Dog behind.  I miss him greatly.  He is and will be in my heart always.  And, one day, I hope to be reunited with him.

I had to choose what was the best for him and not for me.  It would not be fair to have a adventurous soul like Ranger Dog contained in an apartment.  It would also not be fair for him to be a pawn in a battle for custody.  Animals have feels and nerves like we do.  So, I chose the best I could.

There are times now when I sit and cry for my Ranger Dog.  I would love to sit and put my face in his fur.  I would love to have him climb in my lap and kiss my face with his warm wet tongue.  Just to have him curl up with me on the couch and love on me a little.  So please don’t think I abandonded him or that I don’t think of him constantly.

I worry just like a mother about him.  Is he happy?  Is he warm?  Did he get fed today?  Does he get to go and play in the woods?  Does he miss me?

One night, when I particularly sad, I cried and said to myself…”when I get to heaven, I am going to have all the pets I want and no one will be able to take them from me”.  You see, before Ranger Dog, there was Abbie Cat….they both are still greatly loved by me.  And, before them….Buster…. 

Our minister says there will be a new heaven and a new earth….and since there are already animals on this earth, he cannot imagine that they would not be present on the new earth.  I am looking foreard to that time.  I might not have the exact animals that I had before, but, I will have plent of others to love.

Things that go “bump” in the night.

I am once again adjusting to single life.  I live in a one bedroom apartment.  And, there are a few things that I have to get used to again.  It has been almost 20 years since I lived in an apartment.  So, hearing car doors and motors at all times of the day and night takes a little getting used to again.  Also, people walking overhead during the late night.

However, lately, the most “bumps” have been coming from my own apartment.  When you have two active young cats in the house, there are no holes barred.  Cats are natually nocturnal.  So, when the lights go out, the fun begins.  I hear them rolling and tumbling all around me.  The take a running jump to get up on the bed.  Every time they do that, the whole bed jumps, jolting me awake.

It has also been a while since I have had an indoor cat.  Now, I have two.  They do amuse themselves and they amuse me too.  It is interesting to see the personalities emerge.  McGyver is definitely the more adventurous of the two.  But, MoJoe holds his own too. 

MoJoe is the one who likes best to be the gopher.  He snuggles himself under the covers some time around 9:00 AM and I don’t see him again until late in the afternoon.  McGyver will sleep on the couch or on top of the covers on the bed.

Another funny characteristic I have noticed…McGyver just plops down and rolls over.  MoJoe leads with his head.  It is really funny to watch.  One cat just crumples like he has no bones.  The other, does this “head” thing before he lays down.

The best part…they are both loving and sweet.  I get to pet them and hear them purr.  Purring is what my Grandmother used to call “singing”.  These boys sing a lot!

Hello Out There

Sorry that I have been “gone” for so long.  I have so much on my plate that something had to give and it ended up putting stuff out here for my friends and family to read.  I have had a lot happen in my life.  Those who need to know about it do.  Those who don’t, suffice to say a lot has changed.

I now live in a one bedroom apartment in a small college town rather than on the farm.  I have a job a a large animal vet, for which I am extremely thankful.  I am learning a lot.  I realize everyday that there is more to learn.  And, I am enoying the calls that we sometimes receive about animals.

In fact, I posted one about the trichonosis.  Well, since then, we have had a lady call in with a question about a Llama.  Seems that her husband bought her a llama at a yard sale and the llama had produced a baby.  She wanted to know what to do.  Moral to the story…don’t buy a llama at a yard sale unless you are prepared to take care of it and it’s babies….

We also had a call about a minature horse.  This animal, too, was bought at a yard sale.  This one, as the one above did not come with instructions.  Neither did this one have a health record.  The lady wanted to know what shots it needed.  She had good intentions about allowing it to eat all the grass it wanted.  Well, I learned along with her that you cannot just “put a horse out to pasture”.  You have to introduce the grass into it’s diet.  That was news to me and to her.

The newest thing is my life is actually two new things.  Their names are McGyver and MoJoe.  They are brother cats that I have adopted.  McGyver is totally orange.  MoJoe is orange and white.  They are both full of energy and what my grandmother would call “pepper and vinegar”.  They run around the apartment like little wild cats. 

I acquired these cats from their mom when she moved in with her parents here in North Carolina.  Heather picked up her life in California and moved all the way across country to North Carolina to start a new life.  She could not bring her kitties to her mom and dad’s house and was in a dither about what to do with them.  My friend, knowing that I had just had to leave Ranger Dog at the farm asked me if I would consider taking these two into my home.  I readily said yes.  The rest, as they say, is history!

Mac and Moe are doing well.  They have actually turned out to be very sweet and loving.  Mac is the “front man”.  Moe is mor cautious.  They make a great pair.  It has been hard for me.  Why…because I want to hold them and love them.  They, however, have had their lives turned up side down…so they need time to get used to new environment and to me.  We are working through this slowly.

The fun starts when I turn out the lights.  They come out and “climb the walls”.  They run and play and pounce and purr.  Then they settle down next to me and sleep for a little while.

I have figured out that they are part gopher.  They both like to tunnel under the covers after I get out of bed.  I come into the room and there is one of two little lumps in a once neatly made bed.  At first I worried that they would not get enough air.  They seem fine.  Maybe they are related to Merecats from Africa…they live in tunnels under the ground. 

Stay tuned for more adventures.

How to test for trichonosis

My new job and other things have kept me busy for a while.  However, I am taking time to add a blog so you all know that I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  By the way, what does earth’s face look like?  Where did that quote come from?  I wonder?

Anyway, I am learning lots and lots at the Vets’ office.  I have made it past my month trial period and have officially been hired.  Ther is lots to learn.  And, I have some great teachers.  One is a vivacious and outgoing lady the other is more reserved and quiet.  They both have bountiful information to impart to me.  And, I am trying ot soak it up like a sponge.

I actually got to help in the birth of a kid the other day.  That was really special.  A nanny goat was brouth in to the office because she could not deliver her baby.  We helped her along.  Mom and kid are fine.  The kid’s name is Oscar.  He is black with white spots on his ears.

Friday, two weeks ago, we got a call as the day was winding to a close.  A foreign lady wanted to know how to test a pig for trichonosis.  So, Debbie and I started looking on the internet for information.  It seems that was the first time that question had been asked. 

Debbie got busy asking the lady information while I did the reading on the internet.  It seems that you need either blood or striated tissue to test for trichonosis.  It is most commonly found in bears and bear meat now than in pigs since hog farming has come a long way in cleaning up their act.

/The lady wanted to know if a vet could come out and check out the pig.  Then, we found out that the pig had already been butchered.  Well, I got the giggles at that.  The lady was not deterred when we said that the pig should be alive if she wanted the vet to make a diagnosis. 

We got her number and called the vets.  They all agreed that the best advice we could give her was to make sure that the pork was completely done before being consumed.  That would take care of the trichonosis fear. 

So, the first rule, don’t kill the pig before getting the diagnosis.