What A Week!

We have rain, and plenty of it. Our front yard is a quagmire here and, over at the property, the creek is up a bit and the pond that the creek joins across the road, is full to the brim, it looked awesome. With the area logged recently, we can see the pond and the creek leading out the other way, quite clearly now. 

So, it's been a very busy week. It seems we're rushing back and forth each day, from home to Belton to spend time with, and feed, the animals there, and then home again a couple of hours later, to spend time with our others here. As soon as Little Bit has had her final shots and rabies, I want to assimilate her back with her family there, and the use her to help assimilate our dogs from here, one at a time. Since Little Bit loves Brunel to bits, then we'll use her as the bridge (hopefully) and then it'll be Lightning last as he is the one we had issues with when we brought him home, nervouse and baring his teeth. When we first brought lady from the shelter, she did the same with Mama and Sonny although they were all from the same original pack of semi-wild dogs. They may be the two that have the most issues during the meld. It'll just be a slow process, and it can't begin until Little Bit has her rabies shot and the last of her puppy shots.

We've been slowly taking stuff over there. I thoroughly cleaned my black fridge-freezer and hubby took that over on his truck. That saves us $3 a day that we were spending on ice to keep the dogs' water cold during all the hot days we were getting recently. Now we can put water, our drinks, and snacks in there. So much easier. And cheaper!

Sonny, Mama and Lady are all doing great (getting fat! I'm going to have to cut their food down a bit, I think). They love getting lovings and are so good 99% of the time. Sonny is a mischief, he's forever grabbing stuff and presenting it to you, wanting to play. 

I've been getting my seeds planted in pots ready to transplant into the garden once it's all ploughed. Since the cooler weather is coming in, some of them may end up staying in the barn as if it was a greenhouse. I have 2 cucumber plants coming up, and have peas and beans planted that I will transplant into a storage tub so that I can pop the trellises over them indoors.

Today, I finally transplanted my largest Pothos (that has needed a bigger pot for quite a while and I hadn't got around to it). I put it into a huge patio type pot. Eventually, I'll trail the vines around the place, like I've done in various homes over the years. I do love my indoor plants. they make for some good clean air, as well.

I was very happy today at how well insulated the barn is. We closed windows and it got quite cosy. Admittedly, as Mark is fixing the damaged areas (that Sonny and Mama destroyed their first night with us), he is then putting up boards, and when we get it framed out for living space, that will be done beyond that. That will give us quite a lot of insulated space even before the actual room walls. It will also mean that I will be finally able to have some real window sills about 5-6 inches deep instead of the couple of inches we have at the house that there is NO WAY you could put plants on. 

Before the cold and rain these past couple of days, hubby was putting some of our plumbing underground. We need as little chance of water pipes freezing, if we get that bad a Winter, as possible. We need running water for the animals. Losing it is not an option.

Today being cold, our late lunch was some home made  cock-a-leekie soup, out of the freezer, and a crusty baguette. It hit the spot! It's def getting into crock pot cooking days.

 

Kind Of A Good Day

Today's been a pretty good day ... AND ... hubby got the plough hooked up to the tractor, and ploughed the first row. He said it took 4 runs but it's looking good! Trouble was that the tractor overheated, so I guess it'll be one row a day over the next few days, to get the area between the fruit trees ready for a Fall veggie garden. 

We've had to do it there for this year, as my water hose only goes that far. Hopefully, next year, we'll have some irrigation in place, but this is good for the next few months.

I'm looking forward to growing my broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts and potatoes. It's about a 30' x 20' area, but next year, we'll do a larger one.

We took over one of my kitchen cabinets today, so we now have a place to put snackables for while we are over there. I also took the glass shelf, and the 2 drawers from the fridge, and now just have 1/2 the door shelves and the bottom of the fridge, to finish cleaning. It's annoying that it takes me a week or more to clean a fridge, where a normal person would take a couple of hours, but I do what I can and when my body says "enough" then I have to quit and go lie down. Between the pain from trying to stretch and bend (and my hip not allowing the bend, or my chest "kicking" because I'm bending over) or my heartrate/blood pressure deciding to act silly, it's such a major thing now. It's so annoying that my body does its own thing without any help from me.

I was very surprised this morning when I got to the barn. I opened the door and Lady greeted me ... her pen was open, and when I went back there, so was the back door! Either she's a Houdini dog or we have no idea how that happened. I was so proud of her though, she DID NOT attempt to run away. Thankfully. I guess she's decided she has a home with her own space and bed, she gets fed well (she's putting on weight) and she gets lovings. She grins a lot, so I think she's happy. It's nice to see her, Sonny and Mama running together, and Mama and Sonny rolling around, playing. 

We're about to try building a classic haystack (on a smaller scale) as we have some good grass hay right now. We shall see how that pans out. It'll be an adventure, if nothing else. If it doesn't do well, then next year I'll have to pay someone to cut and bale it for me.

My Friends Find It Funny

Most people who've known me for a while know I have dogs ... and my friends, who've known me for years, also know I'm SCARED of dogs! Quite a paradox. Other people's dogs tend to bite me - even those whose owners say they don't bite. One even ran off leaving her dog hanging off my arm, way back in the 90s. I've always got "my" dogs as puppies, so that they grow with me and I grow with them.

Many moons ago, when Angel was just a puppy I took

her to the vet for a puppy check, and shots. She was "talking back" and the vet said I needed to nip it in the bud or I'd have a big problem. I was terrified she was going to grow up and attack me. Then, ne day I saw a lady with a Husky, and her dog was doing the same, and when I said that to her she asked if I had a Husky. I told her Andel was German Shepherd/Husky mix, and she said "oh yeah, she'll talk, it's that Husky in her". A vet had made me scared of a puppy growing up, over a perfectly natural behaviour. Mind you, she was a pain in the butt and VERY wilful, she was a daddy's girl, thoroughly spoiled and a total comedian with me. But much loved. She was 14 when we said goodbye.

So, now we have these 3 boys, Brunel, Lightning (also answers to Bug) and the great-grandpuppy, Rover. They love lying around outside, or - as now - lying on the bed as I write this and hubby plays his game. 

They have it made, and 2 humans a their constant beck and call.

And Rover, definitely a nanny's boy, has his special spot with me. He is such a love.

Then, we now have ex-semi-feral turned loverboy, Sonny, who has changed so much in the almsot 3 weeks we've had him. He jumps on my thigh and snuggles his head against my chest. Very weird is that he's an adult dog, and I've not been afraid of him. I even tell him that.

And Mama is the same, now comes up for lovings and is getting almost puppy playful, so different from the serious mama stray that I'd spent weeks trying to get close to. As horrible as it sounds, I think getting trapped and ending up in the shelter for those few days terrified her so much that, when we showed up to get her, at least we were a familiar face. She knew we'd fed her before, she knew our land was safe for her, and so - although it took her a couple of days to decompress - she knew things would be ok eventually. I'm just surprised it happened so quickly.

I can't wait until the vet oks us taking Miss Little Bit

over to see her mama and (we're pretty certain) dad. Her next shots are next week, and he said after that it will be ok. Just because of everything she's been through, to make sure she's good beforehand.

Tomorrow (unless something happens) the new 10' x 10' x 6' dog kennel is getting delivered in the morning, and then Mark will put it together, ready for Thursday when we go to the shelter to pick up Lady Lou, the other female picked up by Animal Control at the same place as Sonny and Mama.

Then, it'll be a matter of helping her decompress and settle in. Mama and Sonny run around while we do stuff, and come when called, so I'm hoping they'll relay to her that she's safe.

Then, our next thing will be getting Little Bit spayed, and then trapping and vetting/spaying the 2 stray cats. Hopefully, they'll all live happily ever after at The Retreat On The Creek.

  

Busy Day

 Today has been pretty busy. 

We spent time down on the property with Sonny and Mama, and they just continue to amaze me by how they are coming on. Sonny is an escape artist, he doesn't want to do his business in the outdoor run, he sneakily pushes where we have the door bungeed to the dog run gate (so's they can run in and out) and lets himself out into the unfenced area. He runs to a particular spot and then, after doing what he needs to, comes running back acting all silly and happy. The first time, I was thinking he was going to run off, but he has def bonded well with us and comes straight back.

Mama just likes to follow Mark out of the door when he's not looking. She, too, is such a happy girl now, it's smashing seeing the change in them. Today they were playing with each other, rolling around, friendly growls, it was so good to see, they were so serious those first few days.

We ordered another dog run today, for delivery Monday, and then we'll be able to pick up Lady Lou from the shelter on Tuesday. We were supposed to get her 2 weeks ago, but when the other 2 destroyed a lot of our insulation in the barn, we had to slow down so that Mark could do some repairing and we could get better organised.

We'll also be stopping at Goodwill on Monday. I'll be looking for more blankets and pet beds, as we only have 2 beds and 5 blankets, and that's not even really enough for changing out Mama and Sonny's. I'm also wanting to get a hard paddling pool for washing the blankets (and dogs!). This weather, I can wash, drain, rinse, and hang over the outdoor fence panels to dry! No need to take them home every time, to do.

My Tiger melons are very prolific, we've already eaten a few and there are plenty more growing on the vine. I scooped the seeds from the ones we've enjoyed, soaked them for a couple of days to loosen the attached pulp, removed the floaters (hollow seeds which won't grow) drained the rest, and now have 3 trays drying on paper towels in the spare room for the next few days. 

I'm trying to plan my Autumn plantings, so that I can start some seedlings off ready to plant out, and have Mark plough me an area in front of the orchard, for now. Close enough to the barn and where the water hose will reach!

Our security cameras have caught a few visitors stopping by.

2 cats (strays, as I checked with neighbours to see if they belonged to anyone) and some crows. The ginger cat usually comes in the daytime.

I've asked the shelter if I trap the cats will they be willing to spay/neuter and vet for me. I'll continue feeding them, I don't mind a feral colony, I just don't want one that reproduces every few months. I'm a big TNR fan.

Our night time visitors include this little possum. He/she was a surprise!

The grey tabby cat comes at night.  Both seem young by their shape. 

What a menagerie we have. Sometimes we catch a deer on our other cameras, a young doe. We haven't seen any hogs in a few months, so maybe someone got them on one of the other properties they roam on.

Definitely blessed to have them all stopping by. It's my retreat and seems to be theirs as well.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

 I guess the new furbabies didn't want to stay in the barn and were looking for a way out ... and tore the insulation in the barn in a few different places.

Thankfully we can patch those areas with the roll that we had over, and we are going to have to get some boards to cover the bottom so's they can't do it again. UGH! They also destroyed some of my  plants and pots. 

Sonny seems to be adjusting well, Bonny is still pretty much shut down around me BUT did allow my husband to pet her and, in fact, met him at the door just before we left. I'm thinking that, because she rode in his truck from the shelter, and he carried her into the barn, that she trusts him more than me at the moment, and that's ok. I just want her to feel safe and to start eating, drinking and acting normally so that she knows she is ok. And so that she will be ok. This will probably be a long process, but at least they are now around humans who will care for them.

We still have to find Mama her puppies and the other female though. I drove by the abandoned trailer that we think may possibly be where they were trapped at by Animal Control, but I didn't hear anything that would suggest they were there. They may have gone deeper into the woods/swamp to hide, and if that's the case, I hope they'll start coming back around, although it may take longer for Mama to start trusting me again.

This is Mama and the 2 missing puppies. They'd been coming regularly to the porch to eat, and I'd been worming them in the food, and giving them the daily Capstar flea treatment in ground beef meatballs. Not the greatest solution but one that was offering them some protection from fleas and worms since they wouldn't allow me to touch them, so I couldn't use topicals on them.

The female's face def looks like Mama so we're thinking maybe siblings. 

Monday update:

We've been so busy, I didn't get chance to finish or post this.

The past few days have been emotionally and physically draining BUT we have accomplished a lot. 

We had the bright idea of putting one of our goat pens inside the barn, and setting it up for Sonny and Bonny. They still have space but can't destroy the barn any more than they already have. They even tore a screen out of one window trying to get out. I'd thought the run of the barn would be less stressful, but it seems that Bonny is more relaxed in the smaller space. What did I know???

Mark and Levi, the lad who helps us out (what a Godsend he is!)

have walked them on leashes and we'll continue working on that. Sonny is really good but won't leave Bonny alone to do her business, so future walks will be with them separated a bit to give her space. She is still nervous, but is now eating (very thankful for that) and seems accepting of us. With everything we've done, she's never growled or anything, it's like she understands we're trying to help even if she may still be distrustful of humans. We'll be working on that.

I had asked on a local Facebook group if anyone had fencing panels so that we could make an enclosure for them outside to hang out in, while we are there. One kind lady paypaled me $300! Blew me away. Mark has gone for Jury Duty Selection this morning, but when he gets home we are using that (and some of his social security money) and going to buy some livestock fencing, chicken wire (so's they can't dig under), and posts to do the enclosure more quickly.

Kelley, the rescue lady who's been helping me from afar, has another pen that we will be going to pick up, and Mark said we can set it up inside as well, so we're thinking getting a row of them down one wall for the furbabies that come here. We'll try to find homes for those that are adoptable, but those who aren't because of fear of humans basically, will just stay with us and become part of our family.

It's an ongoing journey, one we didn't expect to be taking, but a necessary one. These poor dogs deserve better, they don't deserve to be neglected or mistreated because humans have let them down.

Oh What A Day!

Having not seen the stray Mama and her puppies in 3 days, I had reached out last night to local shelters to see if anyone had them. I woke up this morning to a yes! A few minutes of messaging, and then we got on the phone. It seemed that they had Mama, based on the pictures I'd sent ... only to find that nope, the 2 that looked like Mama and a puppy were not them at all. The "puppy" is about 5 years old and def has adult teeth, and though a twin face-wise, the one that we thought was Mama does not have her saggy boobs, and we don't think they'd have shrunk that much in 3 days.  

Sooo ... they had basically shut down in the shelter, traumatized. We said we'd take them. They are now in our barn with food, water, bedding, pee pads and peace and quiet.

The boy, who they'd named Sonny, is a sweetheart and started setling in right away, he knows he is safe. 

Unfortunately, the female, who they've named Bonny" is extremely stressed. She stood near one corner, facing the wall, and Sonny kept going by to check on her, then coming back to eat, checking me out for some loving and then back to her. We are thinking they may be siblings, or mates, but they are def bonded.

We've set up a fan for them, and left all the windows open for air flow and hoping that some of the familiar scents will help calm her. Neither was one of the ones we've been feeding for the past few weeks, but we are wondering now if that was why Mama kept stealing the bowls and running off with them after she and the puppies had eaten. Feeding the pack, we now think.

However, that's not all!

Sooo ... of the other dogs picked up that day (and yes it seems there were a few, and they are now part of an investigation for abandonment) the tan female I'd asked about (the one I think may have been a former puppy of mama's or a sister) the shelter said yes they had her too.

Unfortunately, when they sent me the pic, nope that wasn't her BUT she's obviously a part of this family/pack since they trapped her at the same location ... so we're going back on Sunday to pick her up and the 2 puppies they have. We are hoping that the puppies may be adopted by then so that they get special homes where they are the only dog, or one of 2. We want them to have happy loving homes. Us taking these animals in is a last ditch effort so that they are not left and forgotten in the shelter.

However NONE of these that we will have are the ones I had asked about, so Mama, her 2 babies (although we do think the other babies are hers from the original 6, just that we've only seen the 2 in recent weeks) and the tan one we think is Mama's sibling or a previous puppy, are still missing.

The general thought among the staff, us and rescuers, is that Mama and the others may be in hiding since Monday and may come back in a few days when they feel safer again. We put food outside for them, just in case. We intend to walk Sonny around the property edges where Mama used to come through, and let him mark territory, in the hope she will realise he is here.

So, tomorrow I will be changing the GoFundMe to encompass the new challenges we have, now needing to get fencing to give them an enclosure to roam in but not be able to be semi-feral, and shelters for them to be able to hang out/sleep in while outside. I want them to be happy, so being semi-feral, the outdoors is a big thing with them for their sanity.

I'll no longer need the GoFundMe to cover vetting/spaying/neutering as PAWS of Anderson are doing all the vetting and spaying/neutering for free. They heartworm tested and microchipped Sonny and Bonny, wormed, de-flead and spayed/neutered them today. They are just happy that we were able to take them, since they are less likely to find homes being semi-feral. Like many shelters in our area, they are doing their best but overwhelmed with all the animals being abandoned, owner relinquished or the abundance of kittens and puppies due to unspayed animals.

The GoFundMe link remains the same though as it did begin for medical care costs. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-little-bit-stray-dogs-get-medical-care 

If you can donate, please do. If not, please share this blog and the fundraiser, and please pray for us, our rescues, and all the shelters and rescues out there.

Mama Ate Out Of My Hand Today!

There are blessings ... and there are BLESSINGS, and today was the latter. Another small step in the ongoing "thing" of the stray mama and her puppies. And it all came about because I'd forgotten to bring the ground beef meatballs to put the flea meds in ... and had the grand idea of plain McDonald's cheeseburgers (since my dogs love them so much as a treat). Oh and I got more than I bargained for. The puppies greedily wolfed them down, and then I was coaxing mama ... and she took her half a burger gently out of my hand. Then, since the other adult didn't come by, I broke the other half into three pieces and hand fed her those, and she took them sooo gently. I told Mark, I guess if I want to continue this, then tomorrow I'll be heading to McDonald's again. Hand feeding is one step further in the relationship with her, since even after trapping her and vetting/spaying her, I don't think she'd do well in a home situation or shelter, so will be having her back with us, free to roam on our property and with us caring for her.

Tomorrow I am thinking of putting one cheeseburger with the Capstar in, in the carrier and trying again to trap whichever of the puppies goes in for it, so that I could get him/her vetted before the weekend. Once I have a heartworm result and know it's negative, I can start the Symparico Trio, which is a once monthly pill (which I use for mine). It does everything - fleas, worms and heartworm prevention, so makes that part of getting/keeping them healthy, much easier. It also works out cheaper - mama's 6 days of Capstar, and the puppies 3 days each was $100 today, and only kills the fleas daily. Thanking Kelley for helping me pay for those, and for the dog food she sent me! These dogs can def eat! I now mix 2 cans and 6 large soda cups of dry food together, daily, between the 2 adults and 2 puppies. They may come hungry, but they eat well. And if they finish it all, I put additional dry down for while we are not there.

I am just so thrilled though, that mama ate out of my hand. 

Despite the puppies remaining somewhat aloof, when they hear me by the barn, they come skedaddling over and are def happy to see me ... even if it's only "ok, food's here!" They are just so cute. Sometimes, one will come alone and mama or the other doesn't come for a while. So I do feel they trust me and feel safe around me, but they just don't want to be handled, which is making me catching them, harder. 

If you'd like to help support me with getting them vetted and spayed, I have a gofundme at https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-little-bit-stray-dogs-get-medical-care . You can also paypal me at iluvnubians831@aol.com or Cash App at $RoseDempseyAuthor. I appreciate any and all help, these furbabies are so worth helping and finding homes for.