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.

A Very Good Weekend!

Despite the rain, it has turned out to be a very good weekend.

Hubby moved the one pen into the new goat area, and put it back up. We need to buy a new tarp to cover it, to protect the goats when it rains, but hopefully we'll have it all set up how we want it so that the boys can move into it by next weekend. They were in and out of it while he was putting it together. Once we move them into this enclosure, we'll move their original pen in their original field, and set it up again, ready to move the girls over into that field. That'll give me chance to bleach and scrub the pallet bed and let it air dry before we put everything back in the pen, for them.

Then today, his helper, Levi, came for a couple of hours and they put up the final side of the fencing, so that enclosure is complete. It rained a little at first, and I told them to take cover, but Levi said he was ok and they worked through it. He is a blessing, he and Mark work well together.

Yesterday was good with mama and the puppies, and I gave them their Capstar but today they didn't show, so I prepared their food and just put wormer in it. Trying to keep them as healthy as possible since we've not been able to catch them and get them to the vet yet.

The little boy was the worst but I'm hoping the Capstar is making him a little more comfortable. His chest was so sore and red. He sits and watches me sometimes, just out of reach, like he knows I can't get him, yet he's fine running to me for the food when he sees me out there prepping it! 

The puppies are getting so big now ... I guess I must be feeding them well!

I still have the gofundme up for help with their care and vetting costs so that we can get them took care of and the puppies adopted.

The link is:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-little-bit-stray-dogs-get-medical-care Any and all donations are much appreciated, as this whole effort has proven to be way more expensive that I ever imagined. That said, I have to do this, these babies deserve a good home and mama and her sister/older daughter deserve to be safe on my property but not have to be pregnant again. God gave us this land, and with it comes great responsibilty, some of which is to care for the strays that come onto it. Be they dogs or cats, we've had a few felines that we've fed as well.

I had a lovely surprise yesterday when I checked my melon plants ... I saw a baby melon!

When Mark went to put the support under it, he found another 2, so I have 3 so far ... and still lots of flowers on it so maybe a bumper harvest. I hope so. It's hard to see, but if you look above the 3rd leaf on the right front, you can see a tiny round mass that's a slightly different green mottled. That's the one that I saw. The ones Mark found are hidden under the leaves.

We also shared our first peach yesterday. It was very nice! It wasn't on one of the trees we've planted ... we found the tree over near the woods at the back over by the 2 junk buildings that were left on the property. The poor thing has been neglected, but this year it will get pruned properly and given some TLC. There is so much junk, over around that area, that we still haven't managed to clear. We have to wait for the grass to die down so that Mark can mow in there and not run the risk of damaging the mower or tractor.

He's in demand at the American Legion, and is going there on Wednesday to help them do some plumbing. Most of the members are in their 80s, it's kind of odd that he's the 3rd youngest ... the youngest being 59. It's a pity more younger veterans and military don't join. I'm glad he's meeting new people though, and feeling needed.

All told, it's been a pretty good weekend, despite the on/off rain and storms.

 

Update on Little Bit

Little Bit is coming on in leaps and bounds - our $3000+ stray puppy who has decided she is home, so we are now keeping her. Her right eye has healed pretty good, and her stitches were taken out a few days ago. The vet is pleased with her growth, she was 7.8lbs on Monday but has probably added another pound since. She eats well! In fact she loves food. She doesn't like drinking water though, so I add it to all of her food, or I add beef/chicken stock/broth. I have to be sneaky or she'll end up dehydrated again and with me needing to dropper her water. This is so much easier.

Her favourite spot is on my bed, sometimes she snuggles, sometimes she plays, and her little tail wags nineteen to the dozen. She's a very happy puppy other than when I have to give her meds! I'm thankful that both cyst/abscesses are gone down now, although we can see where she is still missing fur on the skin where they were.

We have a gofundme set up to help cover her (and her siblings/mama/aunt) medical care and expenses, and are grateful for all shares and donations. Every little helps. The link is https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-little-bit-stray-dogs-get-medical-care

She is a darling. We didn't intend keeping her, our goal was to find her a home where she'd be the only puppy and be thoroughly spoiled. Unfortunately, with all the additional care she needed, and the longer period of time she was with us, she is well and truly bonded to us, me in particular. It would be cruel now to move her on.

 

A Very Good Day!

 It began with rain ... and more rain ... and more rain! We had quite a soaker of a morning. Mark had 2 appointments, one with the VA for bloodwork, and the  other with our family doctor for his regular check up. Both went well, for which we are thankful.

We didn't even go down to the property until late afternoon, as we needed it to stop raining. The boys were happy to see us, and I wormed them with their feed. I also put wormer in the dog food for the strays. 

The boy puppy was in a sorry state,

very sore from fleas on his chest, so I'd taken Capstar over in a ground beef meatball, and he gulped it down. Since I can't handle him yet, this is the only way that I can do it. Tomorrow, I'll give him another, and it looks like the other female is beginning to show signs of sores as well, so I'll try to give her one. 

He also has a couple of thready areas on his shoulder, but I'm hoping that a daily Capstar until I can get him trapped and vetted properly. He is a sweet boy but he is so shy if we move so much as a foot, he scarpers.

He has such a sweet little face, and at least we're feeding them well as both the remaining puppies are a good size.

I so need to catch him, I just wish I could stand or walk unaided. I'm hoping to have some help on Sunday, and maybe we can manage it then. I want him to have a home, instead of being stray and just running on the property.

Mark started erecting the other pen in the new goat area, and digging a trench near the barn to try to make a run off area so that it doesn't flood every time we get a deluge.

For all that, it was a satisfying day.

Today Has Been Good So Far!

We'd set the alarm for 7.30am but the dogs woke me earlier, so I made use of the extra time. First of all I let the dogs out, put down their food and left the front door open so that they could run in and out. Little Bit was jumping up at the door of her crate, yapping wildly and grinning at me, happily. She knows what happens next! I had her tub of Beneful, and I brought her in on my bed, on the towel, so that she could eat her food and then get some snuggle time. She loves that.

Mark then put Sunshine and Maisie out into their pen and fed/watered them, and we headed out the door and down to the property. 

Our new helper, Levi, arrived at 11am and he and Mark set to, doing the fencing for the next goat enclosure. They did well, and accomplished one side, 

and then took down the one large pen and put it on the trailer, ready to move and re-erect tomorrow in that new area. The plan is to finish the fencing tomorrow,
and then move Solomon and Max into this area, and put Sunshine and Maisie in the other. We'll also be moving the pen in there to another spot.

My little melon/cucumber patch is doing good. One of the 

plants has started to sprawl and has yellow flowers on it. Another is not quite as big but starting to do the same, and then I have one that's just starting out with its 2 little leaves.  The others all withered and died. I'd planted watermelons, tiger melons and cucumbers and they all got blown about during a storm, and since the plants all look alike, I have no idea which these are. I love them all though, so no matter what comes up on them, cukes or melons, I'm happy.

Our tomato plants are getting tall, and bushy. We seem to do well with them in the huge tubs that I grow them in.

I need to start thinking what I want to start ready for Fall planting. 

Thank You For BOGOs!

 Today is a hot one, and we started late anyway but stopped at Publix on our way down to the property to grab dog food and some snacks and drinks for us. Thankful for the BOGOs on all the dog food. Every little helps! Even so, we spent almost $100 on it. 

Mama and 2 puppies came by and wolfed down 2 cans of wet food mixed with 3 large soda cups of dry food, not sure if the others were resting somewhere or if (maybe) someone had seen a cute puppy and grabbed it. Mama then tried to run off with the empty pan, she even GRINNED as I yelled at her to leave it. She is a character and has no problems with eye contact at all now. I am so glad of that, it's progress again. Every little step is welcome.

The farmer who used to mow the pasture for our property's previous owner, came by yesterday and bush-hogged it for us. It looked so much nicer with it all low. Now, maybe Mark will be able to mow it down a bit more with the tractor, since he's fixed the mower pulley and belt. He just couldn't get ahead with the regular mower. 

Unfortunately, we've lost a lot of bees to this heat. I'm very sad about that. We don't really know how to do anything about it. Mark re-did their water and the weaker hive is suffering badly.

Mark re-hung one of the farm gates so that the goat field area was able to be closed off farther down. Eventually there will be 3 enclosures in that one old pasture. Just baby steps, one thing at a time. We're hoping to get some fencing this week so that he can divide off another area for the girls, so that we can take them over there.

Little Bit finished off the last of her antibiotics last night, and her abscess is about dried up, so all good on that front. She is a little piggy when it comes to her food, she eats very well. Then curls up to snuggle. She is def putting on weight well now but is still a bit scrawny looking, as her legs are getting longer. We've been feeding her 5 times a day to try to build her up a bit. Seeing her siblings earlier, she is about the size they were a couple of weeks ago, when we brought her home, so still has a ways to go. She gets her stitches out on Wednesday, and will finally get her first shots done then as well. We started a GoFundMe on the advice of other rescuers and this is the link >>> https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-little-bit-stray-dogs-get-medical-care 

Our neighbour, Josiah, who bought the house that once owned our land (we closed in November and he closed in December) was there today. I'd been worried, as he was supposed to move in at the end of March/beginning of April and we'd not seen him there, and the yard was overgrown. It was good to see him, and we caught up on stuff. His plans went awry and he's hoping to be able to move in before the end of the year now. He's a nice young man, so I'm keeping him in my prayers.

It's Been A Long 4 Weeks

If I had known how the last 4 weeks was going to play out, I'd have run away and hid, real fast! It was hard enough playing nursemaid to hubby after his eye surgery, hobbling around the bed to put the ointment on his stitches and the drops in his eyes because he was basically blind at the time and had no hand/eye coordination whatsoever ... but no, Mr Murphy figured that wasn't enough. 

So, hey let's give Mark 3 bleeds internally that leave him almost passed out after vomiting "coffee grounds" (blood from haemorrhaging internally) with me finding him on the floor in the bathroom, and having to get him up onto my shower seat so's I could hose him off, dry him and get some clothes on him to take him to the ER.

And yes, they kept him in. He had emergency surgery and I had to struggle with the menagerie (although thankfully Jel helped me at home, and Dylan helped me at the property) and try to visit him. That was chaos as I not only needed valet parking (which wasn't available, Security ended up helping me) but I needed wheelchair transport to his room as well.The folks at Memorial were all awesome, but it was extra stress that me (with my whacky BP) really did not need.

He got released on the Thursday, he was mobile (more mobile than me) but still shaky and supposed to be "taking it easy". Yeah, he's a man, so you know he listened!! Even so, he progressed daily, and other than icky haemoglobin and AIC numbers, he's doing pretty good.

The following Wednesday, the stray mama dog brought three of her puppies to see us, while we were at the property. One little puppy was only half the size of the others, and her brothers were hogging the food and bullying her, so we decided to bring her home with us, try to fatten her up some, and get her adopted. We didn't name her as we weren't going to keep her, we just wanted her to be an only pup not one of four and having to share us.

We took her to our vet to get her first shots, but she was riddled with fleas and worms so we had him treat that first, and she was due to get her shots last Wednesday.

On the Monday (6th) hubby let her out of her crate to play, while I was feeding the big dogs in the kitchen, and she ran to Rover (of course, the only food aggressive one here) and he snapped once, but caught her cheek and jaw and popped her eye out. Mark rushed her to the emergency vet and they did surgery, but she did lose the eye (which I only found out a few days later as Mark had misunderstood what they'd told him that night. He was a wreck).

So, since bringing her home she's been getting very special attention, and will now be the boys little sister. Twice we've had to have her given fluids as she wasn't drinking enough, and she's also had issues with an abscess on that side, that we've had to have it drained twice. She is still on antibiotics. She is a bouncy, bouncy puppy but her favourite thing to do (other than eat!) is to snuggle on the bed with us. She also now has a name, Little Bit, which had been her nickname but is now hers for good.

Getting to this week.

Hubby, deciding I wasn't stressed enough with worrying about his bloodwork, and taking care of the puppy, decided to trip over 2 days ago whilst holding onto her. He twisted and landed on his back (which is now stiff and sore) but managed to keep her from touching the floor. I joke that he's trying to make me have a stroke!

On a good note, all the goats are doing well and learning to be goats. They now all get a lot of time to browse "real food" so that they don't need as much "feed". I've found the man who used to mow our property for the previous owner's father, when he was alive, and he's now going to mow the creek side of the dirt road for me, and his son is going to come and help Mark with fencing and odd jobs. I'm hoping we will have the girls' enclosure fenced next week so that they can move over with the boys.

Our geese, we saw them the other day heading across the road to the other side, where our creek goes into a pond/river. There are 3 babies that are almost as big as their parents now. It was lovely to see them as we drove onto our property.

So that's the catch up. I am hoping for a peaceful next couple of days. The dogs let me lie in this morning until 7am ... most welcome! That made for a much nicer start to my day than 5am!

Happy Birthday Brunel and Oops ... Double Trouble!

 Today our boy, Brunel, is 4 years old! He's very happy, we sang "happy birthday" to him and he had a cupcake, later he'll have ice cream. He is our darling.

He's the little brat who tried to make me think I'd killed him the day we picked him up. We'd stopped by TSC so that I could get the 6 week puppy shot ... and as soon as I gave it to him, he zonked on me. It was a tense few minutes, and then he woke up and was ready to go again. That was his way through puppyhood, go nineteen to the dozen and then stop, drop and zonked. Apparently dogs do that, who knew?

He is aptly named as he is very obstinate. Despite going through 2 lots of training classes (and abiding by most of the commands) we have never managed to stop him from jumping up people. He just loves everyone and wants to hug them ... but I, being afraid of dogs (yeah, I know, that seems a bit weird but it's true) appreciate the fear that a dog his size, running and jumping up somebody, could cause in a person like me. Hence why we've worked so hard with him but nothing has worked.

That said, he is a loveable goofball with his daddy's sense of humour, and KNOWS he is smart, lets us know that all the time!

No sooner had I made up the dog food pan than 3 puppies came haring around the corner of the barn, with mama sat aways back and watching.

The only problem ... these were 3 DIFFERENT puppies to the ones we'd already seen. So, it would seem that mama had six babies! 2 boys that were darker than the other 2 we'd seen before and a white spotted little girl! 

She has a very similar face though to the one we've already grabbed. Just now we are looking at twice as much work to get them vetted and adopted. That said, I did try to get ahead of the game and I mixed wormer in with the food today so these 3 and mama have had a worming treatment. I figure, we know they'll all be riddled with fleas and worms, so at least I could do a basic worming to help get that started, prior to taking each to the vet.

While we were over there, our 2 boys were out wandering around the field and browsing on bushes and tall grasses. I love just sitting and watching them, and it's so funny when they come running, calling for me, and jump up my car window like a dog would. Yeah, all of my animals are crazy and have identity issues.

These boys are so beautiful, they are def growing and filling out, but look so small in the field. Both are def teenagers, that's for sure. Solomon is the leader but Max doesn't always follow, he wanders where he wants to wander.

They are def bonded together now, and will be the daddies of my future babies, in a couple of years. For now, I am focused on letting them grow into who they are going to be, and growing a few inches taller. They will eventually be the size of a deer.

The Best Laid Plans ...

 We took the puppy to the vet yesterday and she was riddled with fleas and worms. Thankfully, tested negative for parvo, so that was a blessing. They treated her for the problems and gave me a chewie for today and another (Bravecto, a once every 30 days) for tomorrow so as to ensure that we get rid of both completely and set her up for future protection. The vet said they wouldn't do her shots until next week, when she's a bit healthier.

So, knowing that, we took the pet carrier over to the property, so thatw e could steal the boys, but Mark had had a doctor appointment this morning so we were there later, and didn't see any of the dogs today. No worries, we left food and water and, since it was so hot, we figured they'd be by later when it cooled down a bit. The goal though, now, is to get the 2 boys vetted since they probably have worms and fleas too.

The little lass is a character. She is penned but can see our dogs, and she has them all hooked. This afternoon, with the storms rolling in, we brought Maisie and Sunshine in to the other pen that we put them in, and she wasn't sure what to make of them. She sniffed at them through the crates, and they peered at her, it was quite funny.

She has won my great-granddaughter's heart, Samantha played with her in the kitchen while I cleaned the crate earlier. She is a darling, that's for sure, despite being quite vocal on and off throughout the night. I hate that she was missing her mama and brothers, but I wanted to be able to build her up a bit since they hogged the food as was shown by the way the boys pushed her away from it, yesterday, more than a few times.

I contacted Anakins about the possibilty of them trapping mama and her sister/daughter (not sure which) but haven't heard back yet. They can come back to ours, they live there and we're ok feeding and watering them. Maybe - in a few months - they might decide they want to be more to us, and that's ok too.

Hubby planted some tomato and pepper plants out, and I watered everything on the front porch, but it was so hot that we really didn't do much else.

Unfortunately, our red hen succumbed to the heat. We didn't know how old she was, since a lady came by one day and, seeing our others running around, asked if we'd take her. She'd been the only survivor of hawk attacks. So now we only have our white one left. She's 5, I hope she doesn't get depressed having lost her sidekick. I may look for a friend for her, but I don't want to raise any chicks until next year.

We're going to try to go down earlier tomorrow but we are both still pretty exhausted from the events of the last couple of weeks, so whether we make it early or not remains to be seen.

Look Who Came To Meet Us Today!

I'd just finished getting the goat food pan done and Mark whispered "look Rose" and I looked up to see 3 puppies skedaddling around the corner of the barn, and heading for the goat food pan!. I immediately started doing the dog food pan with dry and canned food and put that down, and they dived right on in!

Mama then came sauntering around the corner and sat by my car, watching them eat. They were so hungry they didn't care that I started stroking them. It was amazing!

I'm so proud of the stray mama for bringing them over. She looked at us like "ok, I've done my bit, here they are".

She waited for them to finish eating and then started eating herself, and then the puppies came back and were eating with her. Meanwhile, the one that we think is probably Mama's sister, came and ate from the other pan that we'd put farther out. She is not yet as trusting of us. 

This is the runt of the litter. It's the only girl, and her brothers bullied her a bit while eating, so we've brought her home with us and have a 3pm appointment with the vet for shots, deflea (I bathed her in Dawn and got rid of a lot but I think there are still a few left) and a general check up, and to enquire about the cost of spaying. We're going to try to find a home for her through the vet office.

This is one of her brothers, and even well fed, he is still scrawny. He's the growly one when they eat. His twin is more complacent. 

The other boy, slightly less gregarious, bit more timid as can be seen by the ears back, but happily sat near my feet and looked up at me.

Well-fed, they just collapsed in a heap near my feet and zonked. We'd have liked to have grabbed all the puppies but it would have been too much today. We were in my car and no pet carrier, because this was totally unexpected. I'm hoping to get the others over the next few days, and maybe it's better for Mama if we take them one at a time.

Then, it'll be asking help trapping Mama and her sister

so that they can be vetted and spayed, and returned to the property. They seem happy here and I worry how they'd fare in a shelter situation, so they can come back, live as they have done on our property and be fed and cared for by us ... with no possibility of future puppies!

Definitely a surprise today, and so thankful it happened, because I had honestly worried about how I'd ever find Mama's puppies, and I wanted to make sure they'd be ok before trying to trap Mama and her sister.

Oh What A Week!

If anyone had told me, last week, that the following eight days would be such a roller coaster, I would have taken a pass. Instead, I went through a very tough couple of days, playing nursemaid to Mark after his eye surgery on Wednesday 17th June. 

I struggled to keep up with his eye meds, putting the erythromycin on his eyelid stitches and the drops in his eyes, with me tottering around holding on the bed and then trying not to be leaning on him while I was doing the drops. If you'd been a fly on the wall it would have been funny, I can look back and seethat now. At the time, it was extremely difficult.

Then came Saturday morning. I'd let the dogs out around 5am (they are still on Mark's work schedule and he's been retired since January!) and then gone back to bed after feeding them and putting fresh water down. I woke up a couple of hours later to the dogs whining again, so got up to let them out again ... and found they were whining at Mark who was collapsed on the floor in the hallway bathroom, having been puking and basically passed out. When I went to flush the toilet, it looked like somebody had emptied coffee grounds in there. I've seen plenty of vomit in my life, and had never seen anything like it. I googled it really quickly and it said it was internal bleeding so I told him, "we've got to get you to the ER". I hosed him off on my shower seat then got him dried and dressed, and thankfully, Jel was just out of the gate and leaving for work so she came back, and she helped him out to my car, with him actually using my walker for support.

I got him to Hillcrest, and they immediately took him back immediately, into a room and got him on IV meds and fluids. The staff were brilliant, the doctor ordered a CT scan and then said he was going to transfer Mark to Memorial as he needed an endoscopy to see what was going on. 

I left around 2pm to head down to Belton to take care of the goats and chickens, and was on my way back and called Hillcrest to find that he'd been discharged but was still en route to Memorial, so I headed to Memorial. When I got there, I needed valet parking but they don't have it on weekends, so I gave the security guard Mark's eye meds from home, and said I'd be back the next day (not realising that there'd be no valet parking then either, as they don't have it on weekends).

Apparently (which I didn't find out until the next day), he was admitted to Memorial at 7.09pm and promptly had projectile vomiting, scoring a record for distance and the height it reached on the wall ... with the nursing staff still talking about it when he was leaving! Because of that, and again it was the coffee ground looking, which is blood, they gave him 2 units of blood and did an emergency endoscopy at 1am,  cauterizing 3 wounds, apparently one was an ulcer and 2 were vascular bleeds. They then clipped them, to ensure they had a second level of sealing.

Unfortunately, despite fluids, and the transfusion, his haemoglobin started dropping again, so he had another transfusion, and they kept him on fluids only just in case they needed to do another endoscopy. Thankfully, his haemoglobin did stay stable after that second transfusion, although it didn't really improve, so - right up until the day they discharged him - they weren't sure if he was going to need another surgery to make sure everything was ok, or not.

Meanwhile, Jel and Samantha helped me a couple of days with Sunshine and Maisie at home, and Dylan and Lily took care of the chickens, and Solomon and Max for me. Without them, I'd probably never have managed to do everything I needed to. My lack of mobility makes so much of what I do difficult without other people helping me with aspects of what I need to do.  Opening the gate for the boys, opening their pen because I can't get my car close enough to be able to go down the car door to get the pen door; getting into the pens to get food and water bowls ... because the ground is uneven so I'm having to hold on to something and cannot pick them up; until you can't do things that you used to, it's hard to understand. It sounds like nothing and yet it's so much.

The good thing is that I brought him home yesterday, and he's doing ok. A bit doddery getting around, but def on the mend. I am very thankful for all the prayers, and all the help from everyone.

Plenty Of Thanks To Go Around

 Suffice to say, I've got a whole lot of thanking going on. 

Beginning yesterday, when the nurse at the opthamologist's office walked me out to my car and put my walker in the back for me (before bringing Mark out after his surgery) until today, when my grandson (Dylan) and great-granddaughter (Lily) came over to help feed the goats, chickens and stray mama because I was stressing about doing it with hubby being basically blind, and not supposed to be upright, right now. 

Inbetween, my great-granddaughter (Samantha) helped me with the 2 girls here with feeding and watering, washing off a crate tray, and helping get the crate in from outside, since we have some serious weather coming in and their outdoor pen bed area tends to get soaked, despite tarps. So they are indoors, crated, bedded down, fed and happy right now.

I also have to thank my hubby for being patient with me. I have 2 speeds, slow, and "is she even moving?" so his CNA is def not speedy and is accompanied by grunts and groans of her own. At least I can put his eye drops in and the ointment along his stitches, he'd be poking his eye out trying! His coordination is def off at the mo. I'm also good for food, drinks, his meds and setting up his insulin shot at night (since he can't see to calibrate it), although I can't give him his shot, it gives me the willies. Itry, and as I often say, I can be very trying.

The worst of it is that it puts my heart rate up, all the back and forth, so I have to lie down to let it go back down, and the same with my BP. I don't even take it until I've lain down for 10-15 minutes, so that then, even if it's high, it's not high enough to spook me and raise it all the more. A girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do!

Now, about to let the dogs out, before the rain comes in, and then rest for a bit. I deserve it!

Goat Life, And Other News

Goats are awesome, even when they are being obstinate and strong-willed. I know, back in 2016, we had said "never again" after losing the last of our 4 back then, Sadie, but just 6 weeks in with our new babies and I can't imagine being without them. 

Such distinct personalities too:

Sunshine, definitely little miss obstinate with an "I'm going to do whatever I want to" attitude.

Solomon, "hey I love everyone, oops there's my blackberries, bye". He LOVES blackberries!

Max, "I love everyone too but I love daddy the best!"

And then, our poor little Maisie, who is very shy and even after 3 days with us isn't sure that she can trust us.

Although, when I sat and held her today for some lovings, she actually looked at me and didn't try to hide her head in my armpit, so that's progress.

Plus she follows Sunshine around and even approached Mark, tentatively, when he was sitting down on the driveway, so - again - we seem to be making headway slowly. I just want her to be a happy goat and feel safe with us.

Meanwhile, over at the property in Belton, the boys had fun being outside their goat field. They chased the tractor and scared the poor stray mama again. All it took was a loud bleating, and she scarpered.

She'd been happily eating her food and only about 5 or 6 feet away from me. I'd even been talking to her, telling her she was safe with us, telling her she was a good girl and then - one loud bleat - and off she ran. She came back later with another female and they stood watching me. Knowing there were 2 coming around today, we put out extra food.

Hubby put together a milking stand today, for milking later on but -for now- for me to use for hoof trimming as that'll put them at a height where I can sit and do it. I'm not stable enough to try to stand and bend over. Thinking ahead, and trying to figure do-arounds for things that I know will be a problem for me.

Tomorrow hubby has his eye surgery, they say they won't be bandaging his eyes but he will see blurry tomorrow, and for the next few days after that will look like he's been brawling! Big black eyes apparently. They are trying to open up his squinty eyes as they think they're limiting the light getting into his eyes, and that's affecting his sight. Hopefully this will help improve it.

I'm nervous that I'll get lost en route. We know that is one of my many talents.

Welcoming Maisie

So, this afternoon, we picked up our latest little one, we're going to call her Maisie. She is 8 weeks old, and a Boer/mini Nubian cross and she has BLUE EYES! She snuggled down against me, in the car, while we were talking and then snuggled into Mark while I was driving. We assumed she'd be like the others (and cleave to us as the only familiar thing) when we set her down, outside the car, to meet Sunshine. Aha! Not so, she decided to go explore ... but away from us and just ran farther when Mark tried to catch up to her. Sunshine managed to "call" her back though

and they are both now together in the pen. As you can see from the pic, there really isn't much difference in their size right now, but she will probably grow to as big as Solomon and Max are at the mo, but Sunshine won't grow much more at all. 

The boys are getting on well, and they went walkies again today, over to a shady bushy area that will eventually be fenced in as an additional grazing area. They follow the tractor ... until something else takes their attention and then we have to double back to get them following us again.

Hubby Took The Goats For A Walk

 I say it over and over, I love my crazy life. I know it's not for everyone, but to me, there's something peaceful and calming about being around goats. Not always, Nubians can be noisy (and our bellow for mama and daaaad) but they are so loving, and so funny sometimes. I failed to get a pic (I was at the wrong angle and couldn't get the car turned around in time) but today Solomon chose to entertain me by getting into the chicken hutch ... and then on the upper layer where the nesting boxes are. I honestly don't know how he manages it, but he does!

Today, a day earlier than planned, we picked up Max, our newest baby. He is gorgeous, I've never had a Nubian with

spots before, and he is very soft-coated. He already follows Mark around, and comes to me for lovings. 

Mark took them all for a walk, to forage around the property and be goats, since

we treat them as our babies and pamper them. I drove alongside taking pics. Sunshine was a bit bossy with Max and kept butting him away, not sure if it was just because he was new or a spot of jealousy over him 

stealing "her" buddy. Sadly, she won't be hanging with her boy any more as they are getting to an age where things can happen, and I don't want babies having babies. So, Solomon and Max will now hang out together, and 

she will have a new buddy tomorrow, another Nubian but a little girl who we'll be calling Maisie. For today though, these three had a blast foraging around the property, outside of the goat field.

Yesterday, when the mama dog came around, she was HUNGRY. We normally put 2 large soda cups full of dry dog food in the pan for her, but we'd bought some canned food since it's so hot, and I put 2 cans in with the pan of dry and mixed it up. She snuck in while we were busy and ate the whole lot. Since I have no idea how many puppies she is feeding (and she is still feeding as she has very saggy half-filled tears when she comes over) I want to make sure she's getting enough nourishment.

Mark popped a couple of solar fans in the goat pen, so that they have air circulating, and they also now have a mineral lick that they have free access to. He also mowed some of the next field down, which will eventually be the girl's field. The mowing is a never ending job, since the total grassy area is about 5-6 acres.

We're heading out in a mo, to get some straw for Sunshine's bed tonight, and some frozen bones and ice creams for the dogs. Yeah, we'll never be rich cash-wise but we're rich in far better ways. We have all these furbabies who love us dearly, we are well-blessed.