Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[savingdogs]

I wonder if just my laundry soap would work?

Or perhaps I should make some goat milk soap with borax in it. I've seen recipes.....

We have had a huge cool-down overnight......they are predicting our highs to drop 20 degrees. I actually put on a JACKET to go let the goats out.

I have the chickens in lock down, hopefully they will lay eggs in there. Yesterday they just didn't lay! I couldn't believe it, they crossed their legs or something. Out of 20 that should be laying, only two laid an egg. Pretty weird. I really need to retrain them before winter comes though.

 

[abifae]

Yeh. I told Auntie first freeze would hit early this year.

Luckily, she knows to believe the Abi Senses.

 

[savingdogs]

It is raining!

*SD actually smiles about this and rolls up the garden hose.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Abi abi abi ... tell me more about your winter intuition, because we are NOT ready yet! Might take another few weeks. Think I have time?

SD: Beautiful roosters and bunny. Wish I was closer.

 

[savingdogs]

So I'm looking at bucklings this weekend....it is time to breed the does. I started a thread already with a link to the one I'm excited about, so I won't post that here, but I'm hoping that we can bring this little guy home. I'm still at the talking-to-the owner stage, and we are corresponding via e-mail so we are still working on it.

But he is so CUTE!

We had RAIN overnight. Gray skies today. The rabbits are quite happy about this, goats are glaring at me like I caused it...again.

Zoe is getting spayed today, she may be getting adopted next weekend.

I heard back from the owners who adopted a dog from me 9 years ago. I wanted to tell his story, and I'm so excited to hear that he is still alive. He was three when we adopted him out and it was so nice to hear he is around, and he even looks pretty good in the picture.

 

[savingdogs]

The Story of Eli

Eli has to be one of the most beautiful cross breed dogs I've ever seen, and fostering him was really an educational experience for me.

People always ask, "How do you give those dogs away?" and it is true, it is hard to get attached and give them up, but when one of the dogs loves YOU very very much, it becomes even harder. Eli is one of those dogs that REALLY loves hard.

He came to my house as a young 3-year-old, german shepherd/rottweiler mix, a very handsome combo of the two breeds, very compact with a shepherd face and a bit smaller than you might expect from that cross, but a very good looking boy. His owner, a young woman, had lost her housing and her relationship ended with her person and she could not take the dog with her. She told me that he was very attached to her and it would be hard to leave him. When she came to drop him at my house, she had a hard, hard time actually walking away. She held him, crying, for the longest time. I finally left her and the dog together in my living room to give them privacy, she cried so hard and so long over that dog. And Eli loved her back.....he waited by the door for her for THREE days to return after her departure. He would be friendly and sweet if you called him over, he ate a little and drank, but he would not leave the spot at the door where she had exited. Finally one day he managed to get out the front door and he ran to where her car had been parked, sniffed around, and then I saw him catch the scent and go tearing down the road, me running after him yelling "Eli!!"

I did catch him. And he did finally forget his person, and attached himself...to ME. He became my shadow, wanting to go everywhere with me, and I sure didn't mind, what a nice dog! This was early in our fostering years and we didn't have very many dogs at the time, we toyed with the idea of keeping Eli. People who saw us together would remark, "You should keep that one, he really loves you!"

I was running adoption events at that point, and "my" store was a once-a-month event and I began to take Eli. The store had a veterinary clinic inside and one of the vet techs began seeing Eli with me when I attended once a month. And over the course of time, she fell in love with him, despite not initially being in the market for a dog. She and I talked about how attached Eli was to me, and I was quite concerned that he would wait at the door for three days for me to return and try to dash away, just as he had at my house. But the adopter I found for this dog was just too wonderful.....and she understood how to make a new dog comfortable and also, how to ease my mind, as I was actually a much less experienced rescuer at that point and was worried myself about how Eli would adjust. But it seemed like the right home, I got the twinkle.

So I take Eli over there and sure enough, they decide to adopt him. I carefully said goodbye to the dog and whispered "see you in heaven" in his ear as I did already at that point, and left, expecting Eli to jump through the window to follow me, or something.....but nothing happened. His new family was keeping him happy. And sure enough, the adopters let me know that he indeed did excellent, and re-bonded with their family just as beautifully within a short time and he fell hard in love with THEM. Eli is just a loving devoted type guy.

A few months down the road they wanted to go on vacation and decided making the long trip to my house was the best place for Eli to be babysat, and they knew how he loved me, so they thought it would be best if I watched him.

So they bring Eli to my house and drop him off. I see the dog getting real worried as they are saying their goodbyes.

And then WHAT does he do after they leave?

He spent three days waiting by the door again! This time I understood better and did my best to distract him, but I learned that dogs have so much love to give sometimes, they don't have trouble re-learning their lives, and learning how to open their heart again. They are not like people, afraid to love because they are afraid to lose. The just love with their hearts wide open. And yes, while they grow attached to me or members of my family, they always re-adapt in their new homes as long as I place them well, with a loving, caring family who give them time to adjust.

For years after that, people would see dogs hiding behind my legs or puppies sleeping on my feet at events, or I'd tell folks how the fosters were fond of sleeping on my feet at night, or other signs that the fosters really love our family, and they would ask, "how do you do it, how do you give them away when they love you so much?". And I just think of Eli, waiting for his new family by the front door for three days, just as devoted to them (or maybe even more) than he was to his first family, or than he was to me, and I know that they will be alright. And I just smile.

(photo on my FB page)

 

[abifae]

Yay for puppy stories!

 

[savingdogs]

So I bought the 8-month old registered mini nubian buck that I was chatting about on the other thread!

He is soooooooooooo purty......but also smelly already. We aren't avoiding that part. But Molly is already batting her lashes at him so his cologne is at least, effective.

He came from the most wonderful place, we KNEW these folks, I just didn't realize it was a couple that my husband knows. They are fighting the same battle as us with the power company and holy cow, I'd be fighting like heck to keep my house if I had THEIRS. Their goat barn was to-die-for. Beautiful, beautiful facility. Poor Cody is slumming now in comparison to where he was born.

I got to examine the paperwork, check out sibling doeling and his mama and her udders, I got to see what she would be like to milk and I fell in love with HIM. I'll take pictures tomorrow. He is very easy to manage and sweet, you can tell he was a loved and handled baby. The owners have the same kind of attitude as all of us (they had meaties there in a chicken tractor, she feeds Hoegger's herbals,and even told me the name of a good local goat vet).

He will be probably too large for Emilee is the only drawback. His mama was a little larger than Ginger, I don't think his eventual size would be a good size for Emilee's first freshening. So she and he will have to live in the different pens. I put him in the pen by himself but he can see them and they are making google eyes at each other, especially Molly. That is perfect because Molly isn't giving much milk anymore and I wanted to put her with him first, and leave her there like two months. So if they are palsy walsy that is great. I'll just dry her off or feed her milk to the chickens.
I was hoping to keep milking Ginger since she has so much more and breed her two months after Molly, and then once he has been with Ginger two months, I'll probably sell him. If he doesn't get ANY bigger I might reconsider breeding him to Emily, but I think since he is only 8 months old, he will certainly get bigger. I actually think he would be good to keep to breed my does to next year as well, so I might just keep him till next year, I guess it depends on how he behaves and how everyone gets along and how stinky he is when he isn't in rut and they are not being milked.

Everyone here thinks he is super cute, he has markings similar to Ginger but he is like a brick red color, and he has the fully nubian ears which we think are really cute. I'll take some pictures tomorrow!

 

[TanksHill]

 

[Javamama]

I'm so happy that it worked out!


My little guy has gotten stinky this week and I don't mind it at all. I'm just weird I guess