Winter Chilling

The snow is all gone now, but here are a few pictures of the critters taken last week.

The chickens never did learn to like the snow, and would spend nearly all their time in the barn.

 

The rabbits weren't affected by the snow, though I gave them plenty of extra hay to burrow into while we had single digit temperatures.

 

Giant, with his thick coat of fur, loved the snow and cold and had no problems running, playing and rolling in it. He's so funny!

 

The goats, like the chickens, preferred to stay in the barn. They refused to even walk down to their water, so I had to bring some water to them in buckets.

 

Easter Surprise!

During our routine hay feeding this afternoon, we happened to notice Hope (one of the kids from last summer), had a bloody discharge. Upon closer look, we then were shocked to see she had a large udder. As my eyes glanced over the pasture, I immediately saw a little black and white lump lying in the middle of the pasture.
And there we found a tiny newborn doeling. I was completely shocked, because as far as we know, Billy hadn't had access to any of the does, and Hope never even showed any obvious signs of being pregnant. Hope and baby Bunny are doing just fine. She is a tiny little thing, weighing just 5 pounds, and is nursing well.

Furry Friday

Furry Friday

Giant Outdoors

We patched any of the openings in the goat fence that we thought Giant might be able to squeeze through, and he is now being housed in there with the goats.

 

We figured he would enjoy being back with some livestock, and out of the house. He's been mainly inside since his surgery, and I don't think that's been the best thing for his overall health.

 



Furry Friday

This edition of Furry Friday will show off Ollie and Stella. To read their actual story, click here. For this post, here's some images of their cuteness:

 

 

With a house full of kids, there is no shortage of cuddles:

 

These guys definitely know how to sleep. They just crash down and pass out pretty much anywhere.

\

 

Getting Ollie all cleaned up:

 

They had SO many fleas all over them, and ticks in their ears.

Stella is more people-loving than Ollie. While they are both super sweet and friendly, Stella wants to be near you all the time. She cries if she thinks you've left her.

Hanging out with Giant, who's learning to be patient with them.
He definitely doesn't like sharing though.



It's Raining Dogs!

Not only have we been blessed with the addition of Giant to our family, but we now have two more four-legged critters we call our own. Here's their story:

 

I woke up around 1am this morning to the sound of Giant crying- telling me he needs to go out and go potty. So I put his leash on and took him outside. Immediately we heard a young puppy's cries coming from down the road. I assumed that the nearest neighbors had perhaps got a puppy and left it outside, and I really didn't think much more of it. But to be safe, I called Handy Husband, who has been working nights, and let him know to be on the lookout for a puppy on the road on his way home.

 

Giant wanted us to go look for the puppy... he nearly pulled me down the road. But I resisted, as it WAS 1 o'clock in the morning. I forced him to come back inside where I closed the windows in the hopes that he wouldn't be able to hear the puppy cry. I tried to go back to sleep, but presently began to hear the puppy crying ever louder and louder- even with all the windows closed!

 

Once again, I got out of bed, put my shoes on and grabbed the flash-light. The puppy's cries were definitely louder and closer. I know realized that this was a dumped puppy... not a neighbors' dog. You could hear the sad, desperate pleas in his little voice. I took off down the road in the direction of his cries, and it didn't take long to reach the dark shadowy lump in the middle of the road. When I got close enough that I thought he'd be able to hear me, I started talking to him, and without hesitating, he ran right up to me. Wet from the dew, and wimpering the entire walk home, he seemed happy to be in my arms.

 

Thinking that this was the only puppy that had been dumped, since he was, afterall, alone, I never even considered that there were more out there. But this afternoon, on our way into town, we came upon another little ball of fluff in the middle of the road... this time an almost-white girl. These two puppies are obviously siblings... same age, same body type, same sort of fur. I just HOPE there are no more out there. It breaks my heart to think about how scared these little creatures were when they were dumped.

 

 

 



Wordless Wednesday

Our New Three-Legged Friend

Giant underwent his amputation Saturday morning, and we were able to pick him up from the vet's office today. They told us that he did remarkably well, and is the sweetest dog.

 

He was SO happy to be HOME.

 

 

 

He's doing very well, adjusting to life on three legs. He wasn't too sure at first about being inside the house, but he is soaking up the attention and is getting along just fine. We have to give him an antibiotic twice daily, and he does really well taking them in a lump of cheese.

 

We have quite a job ahead of us in cutting out all his mats and getting him cleaned up. He's been quite neglected for a long time.



The Gentlest of Giants

 

Our neighborhood watchdog has now become OUR dog. Here's the long, heart-wrenching, yet infuriating story.

 

I had last seen Giant (or Bear, as his previous owner called him) over a month ago, limping up to our farm through the back pasture. It took him all afternoon to reach our house, as he would have to stop and rest every couple of steps. We knew he was injured, but didn't know how. When he left our house later that day, I assumed he'd go back home and his owner would see his crippled condition and would take care of him.

 

Two days ago, Giant showed up at our house just in time for morning chores. He was just as cheerful and sweet as ever, but physically, there was a much different story going on. It was apparent his left hind leg was broken, when we saw a bone protruding from his skin at least an inch to an inch-and-a-half. The leg itself was just dangling. He had no control over it at all, and could no longer use it.

 

We drove down to the owner's house (two farms behind us) and spoke with his owner. At this point we didn't know if he even KNEW about Giant's condition, as he is a farm-dog and lives with the sheep (or at least, is supposed to). The owner informed us that, yes, he "knew that 'Bear' was injured... had been hit by a car... about a month or more ago... but at this point, there was NOTHING that could be done for him." This owner had basically decided to let his dog die. He even said that he couldn't bring himself to shoot him... he couldn't live with the guilt. So, his solution was to let the neighbor kid know that if he sees Bear to go ahead and shoot him (but in the meantime, he was perfectly fine letting him wander around with his leg dangling- no doubt in tremendous pain).

 

To make matters worse, he then says that he just can't spend that kind of money on vet bills to fix a dog that "won't stay home." And just so you know, this conversation took place in front of his brand new shop building... a nice metal building with roll-up doors on a concrete slab, with his custom-built, 6 year old home to the right of us... complete with a Mercedes in the driveway. Yes, we could easily see they were hurting for money (that was sarcasm, by the way).

 

Handy Husband and I were FURIOUS.  

 

So we left the owner there, along with his two brand-new Great Pyranees puppies (Giant's replacements) and returned home to promptly lock Giant up in the haybarn. There was no way we could turn our backs on this wonderful dog. He may not be the best sheep-dog, but he is one of the gentlest dogs with the sweetest souls you could ever know. He didn't deserve to be treated that way. NO animal deserves that.

 

This morning, we loaded Giant up into the car and took him in to the vet's office. We explained the situation to them, and their response was, "So, it looks like you got yourself a new dog!"

It only a took a moment for the vet to see that Giant's leg was, indeed, irrepairable. He said that if he had been brought in after it first happened, there is no doubt that the leg could've been fixed and fully functional. But at this point, amputation is the only option we have to save Giant's life. If left untreated, gangrene will eventually set in and likely lead to his death.

 

We left Giant there at the vets, where he will undergo the procedure tomorrow. He has already been put on painkillers and antibiotics. Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday, he'll be able to come home... where he will be loved and cared for as he should be.

 

I had originally intended to get long-winded and opinionated at the end of this post, but decided to leave you with a couple of appropriate quotes that sum up my feelings pretty well:

 

 

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals." ~ Anonymous

 

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." 

~ Mahatma Gandhi

 

 The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.  ~ Martin Luther King Jr

Neighborbood Watch(dog)

Here's our friendly neighborbood watchdog...

We recently discovered that his name is Bear, though he's always been Big Giant to all of us. Giant is the sweetest, gentlest dog I know.... great with the kids, watches over the animals and wouldn't hurt a fly. He was especially attentive to the goats when they were nearing kidding time, and for a while after would spend a lot of his time lying near their gate, just watching.

Bear is a one year old Great Pyranees, and belongs to a sheepfarm back behind us a bit, but according to his owners, he takes more vacations than he works. He checks in with us nearly daily, just to see how things are going, and I imagine, just to say "Hi."