Savingdogs-Saving the chickens

[savingdogs]

I didn't want to use roundup and that is one of the reasons we got GOATS!

I tore out my lawn TEN YEARS ago at my last (beautiful) house. I wish wish wish I could post a picture of it here for you guys. It did not have veggies planted, but I took out all the lawn and put in landscaping. Then I made a huge patio and put out pots and grew tomatos, strawberries, herbs, etc. I had a hedge of 10 foot tall lilacs. It was a show stopper!

Everyone thought I was a "master gardener". Really I just started with a good design that complimented the house and put in a lot of hardscape and ..............no lawn.

Then a few years later Sunset mag and other places got into it being all trendy to not have lawn because of water usage.

We did it because no one in our family likes to mow lawns!
They always seemed to be a waste of time to me, I remember my father spending countless hours making the lawn out front look immaculate and I just won't GO there. Life is too short.

Now there is a little patch of lawn here so we have a lawnmower again, but I'm putting my vegetable garden right in the middle of it as we speak.

 

[lorihadams]

Yeah, that 50x275 ft pasture my goats are going in was lawn....it is ridiculous. Our driveway is what bugs him the most...it's gravel and you can't keep stuff from growing in the middle where the car misses. I like it that way...it looks like a country road. Why spray it with weed killer every month to fight it? Pointless. I pull up any weeds that come up in the walkway around the house. I just don't care if our yard looks like a golf course. Why bother. We live in the middle of a cow pasture....seriously.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Yeah, that 50x275 ft pasture my goats are going in was lawn....it is ridiculous. Our driveway is what bugs him the most...it's gravel and you can't keep stuff from growing in the middle where the car misses. I like it that way...it looks like a country road. Why spray it with weed killer every month to fight it? Pointless. I pull up any weeds that come up in the walkway around the house. I just don't care if our yard looks like a golf course. Why bother. We live in the middle of a cow pasture....seriously.

Maybe a compromise? You can use vinegar to get rid of the driveway extras.
And you can keep your natural lawn!

 

[savingdogs]

Boiling water works too.

 

[savingdogs]

Well I promised OFG a cat rescue story. I do rescue cats, so I should be savingcatsanddogs. But that sounds silly, doesn't it?

And cats I've rescued more because they presented themselves in my path whereas I've volunteered to be a dog rescuer. But cats need help too sometimes. Sometimes more than dogs. As a society, we do not place the same value on our cats as our dogs. I personally do not love them as much, but since I'm bonzo crazy about all my animals, my cats are still loved more than plenty.

But I want to tell

The Story of Smoke

A couple years back I was working for a small country vet as the "front" person in a two-person clinic with two doctors. Cute little place, too bad I had to quit that job when I could no longer answer the phone.

In any event, an elderly lady comes in at one point with a cat in a carrier. He was a large grey neutered male, very calm and collected. She said Smoke had been stepped on by a cow, he was her barn kitty. It had actually happened a few weeks prior, but she didn't have any money when it happened. Now she had collected 50.00, would that help?

Well as most of you know, 50.00 does not go far in a vet clinic these days. She was on a fixed income and wasn't even particularly attached to Smoke as he has just showed up at her farm one day.

I had just been part of a hugely succesful fundraising event and we were looking for special cases to write stories about for the donaters. So I offered to have my group take care of Smoke if she would sign him over and donate the 50.00.

Well right away the doctor discovers that Smoke, with a broken leg, was quite the nice guy. No snarling or hissing and even though the break was terrible, he let her examine it thoroughly. She felt he really needed a really expensive intricate surgery or to have the leg amputated....but she had one more idea after he was seen nonchalantly moving about the clinic three-legged, carefully holding the leg up.

She splinted it. He wore a full leg cast until the bones knit, and while they did not knit perfectly, he did not have pain either. At first he lived at the clinic and then he got to move to my house. We were amazed at how calm and collected he was in spite of my menagerie of cats and dogs (we were in the city house at the time and had five cats) and how he mastered it all with his ultimate finesse and grace, carefully lifting the splinted leg as he walked, keeping it from touching the ground. He even maneuvered himself into one of those litter boxes designed with a tight opening so that dogs may not reach in and................well....just so dogs cannot reach in.

In any event, he converted himself from barn cat to house cat with ease....but he still wanted to be outside. He would sit on my windowsill and gaze out wistfully, and after the cast was finally removed, he actively wanted to escape. Course he had his moments when he wanted love and attention too, but he remembered the birds and the bugs and the warm sunshine...

I wasn't sure what kind of home to find for him, as he no longer could run like a normal cat although he got around pretty well, but an outdoor home was out of the question. He continued to just hold up his leg and it never seemed to bother him, but he wasn't fast, could not get away from predators.

Finally a wonderful lady came forward who needed a friend and new kitty in her life. She had a home with a walled-in front yard, too high for a cat without two strong back legs to jump on. When I saw her home, I knew it was perfect. And SHE was perfect too. She was ready to deal with any follow-up issues he might need and was an all around good cat owner, and Smoke took to her right away. He knew he was "home".

So a barn cat moved to town and I got my story for the newsletter, but knowing Smoke, the calm and collected gent, was a gift in itself.

I believe I have a photo of him somewhere I'm going to try to dig up and post so you guys can see him....

See OFG I do love kitties too

 

[AnnaRaven]

Thank you for the story!

 

[savingdogs]

So things are slowly returning to normal after "kidding season" here at Dizzy Dog Ranch. It was a tough week or two for me but I'm very happy with how far we have come and how well the does are milking. Cheese will be the next project, along with getting everything ready for the garden (as soon as the snow melts!)

My chickens are laying well again, especially my EEs. I think one is thinking about going Broody and I'm glad. We are still working on the parts for an incubator. The silly little red hen keeps going into the goat pen and hanging out in the kidding stall. Not sure how she keeps escaping and getting over there, but they don't seem to mind her. She is laying eggs in they hay feeder so I think I'll clip her wings to keep her out of there.

My ducks are not yet laying eggs again at all. They have really come to like me more since I've been home full time and are friendlier though. They don't eat much and I have them on the flock raiser, not layer pellets. I only over-wintered three.

The rabbits will be ready to breed in a couple weeks now. I'm rather excited about that. In about three and a half months we should have our first meat from them and be ready for sales. They have proven to be the easiest animals to care for that I have. Mostly we just check on them. Their cages are huge so they poo on one side and hang out on the other and there isn't even much clean up to do yet. I love having the rabbits!

On the foster dog front, it looks like Ellie and Hanna will go to their new home soon. We are really attached to Ellie. What a dog. We will never forget her, she is a favorite. We are happy that they will be going to a home together. It is in California and they will like that....they hate the cold weather here. They will be here until Ellie finishes healing her dermoid sinus surgery site, but that will only be a few more days.

And we are getting two new foster dogs. This is the first one, Jake:

He is being given up because of a medical issue called megaesophagus, which basicaly means his swallowing pipe doesn't work right. He will have to have soft food and an owner who will follow closely with a veterinarian. He is just a pup though and will most likely be active and playful. This condition does not hurt, it just causes them to regurgitate their food if not fed properly or if he gets into dry kibble or trash. I will just need to make sure he only gets his own food and he may need a special feeding arrangement. He will probably go quick.

And my second new foster is a medical issue puppy too. My background is proving helpful for Ridgeback rescue. This one was hit by a car. At first his owners were not found, and now they have given him up to us because they cannot afford to save him. This happens a lot with rescues. Ridgeback lovers from all over the country actually contribute to their care however, lots of good samaritans in the world. I don't contribute money, but we have offered to take care of him while he recuperates. IF he recuperates. His injuries include broken leg, broken jaw and worst of all a broken vertebra (not sure which one). Here is a link : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/note.php?note_id=10150096551078538&id=73831725016
I'll probably go up to Olympia with my coordinator to pick this one up so I can get directions directly from the veterinary staff if I can. He initially had a heart issue too, I guess the impact from the car was great. He is still needing prayers but made it through the worst part, when they worried his heart would give one. Chisulo is only eight months old. I will need lots of help from the men around here for him as he will need to be carried outside for potty breaks. But he will be at the vet clinic for awhile longer I would imagine.....at least a week I'm sure. By then Ellie and Hanna will be gone and Jake settled in so all will be good. I'd keep posting pictures of these ridgebacks, but they really look very much alike, so just keep picturing Jake's face up there.
I think I will call him Jay however, I've already had a foster named Jake a couple times.

But in any event, it has been awhile since I updated everyone on our happenings here. I wish I could say I've been feeling great but that doesn't really happen anymore. At least I can say I feel better ABOUT it, not having to be gone all the time or work so hard as I used to or always feel like I wasn't measuring up. Dizzy Dog Ranch is a much better place for me to be.

Edited to include link regarding Chisulo's care

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Nicholas to OFG: "Read it again, momma, read it again!"
OFG: Ok honey... "The story of Smoke...."

yay!! thank SD! i love a good barncat gone city story!

you know Little Mo, who came to us starving one day, was The Worlds Worst Barncat and once we moved him inside... he's never EVER wanted to go back outside. not even once.

yay cat rescues!!



ps that jake is a fine lookin' dog!

 

[savingdogs]

Isn't he? Ridgebacks ARE fine looking dogs however.

They wouldn't be much good as a working dog in your climate however, they HATE the cold. Excellent as a guard protection dog however.

I added a link if anyone wants to know more about Chisulo or my group. And of course if you know any ridgeback lovers who might want to be one of his good samaritans.

 

[valmom]

What a great story about Smoke I once rescued a barn cat from a commercial horse barn- they were going to get rid of him one way or another since he was eating *ALL* the cat food they put out for the barn cats. And he looked it! His name was Marshmallow- a hugely fat white cat. He weighed 35 pounds and looked like a white sofa cushion with a tiny cat head. He started out in the barn since we already had 2 indoor cats. That lasted until cold weather when I felt sorry for him- and discovered the mice were stealing his cat food and caching it in my toolbox in the tack room

Once Marshmallow came indoors he never ever went near a door in case someone wanted to put him back outside.