Animal Talk

The Christmas Story As Read to Bru and Captain Jack

>> Sunday, December 13, 2009

I couldn't believe my luck last night. I was at a camera store (buying a Christmas present) and right in front of me in line was the lady you see in the photo. Her name is Wendy. I came to find out that she was picking up photos taken the day she read...or tried to read...The Christmas Story to her dog, Bru and her Shetland pony, Captain Jack. One thing led to another and of course, we started talking about our dogs and horses. Wendy pulled out her package of photos and began to share.

I asked the obvious question: "Could I scan these and put them on my blog for my friends to see?" I asked.

Wendy hesitated for a minute...but just a minute...and answered, "Of course! I was just having a little fun...Captain Jack isn't always in the house, but I brought him to get pictures to show my friends!"
I understood completely! Like most of the rest of us, Captain Jack and Bru aren't just animals, they are Wendy's heart.

It took awhile for Wendy to get things started what with Bru and Captain Jack being the curious fellows that they are. Clearly Wendy has the patience of Job and her animals are beyond adorable.
I noticed the foot...err I mean hoof...prints on the carpet and asked what they were. "Oh Captain Jack just tracked in a little water," she answered.

Good enough for me!

In the end, Wendy read the special story to her wonderful little (big) guys. And the beauty of Wendy reading The Christmas Story to Bru and Captain Jack is that I got lucky enough to share these special Christmas photos with you!

Hooray!

>> Thursday, December 10, 2009

Thank you for all your kind words and prayers. I began to take the medication that the doctor prescribed on Monday and today is the very first day that I feel like myself. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

I was concerned about taking a prescription because any narcotic makes me sick...literally. Thankfully the medication for a syrinx is not a narcotic to kill pain. It's a medication that interrupts the signals that my nerve endings send to my brain. I haven't had any side effects and the doctor was right...it took 48 hours to get into my system.

Meanwhile, little Boomer found another home so I'm not fostering him. I did find great comfort with my girls and of course my family (who doesn't know quite what to make of me when I'm not my usual happy self!).

Maddie and Annabelle would actually sense when it was time for me to lay down and make it to the bed before me! What good girls!

The Human Animal - ME!

>> Monday, December 7, 2009

Please forgive me for taking so long to post (as well as comment on your blogs). As most of you know, I've been having some really bad back pain between my shoulder blades. It hurts to sit. It hurts to stand. It doesn't hurt to ride Tango...much!

At any rate, I had my MRI last Wednesday. On Friday the doctor called me back into his office to show me what was wrong. I have a cyst INSIDE my spinal chord called a syrinx. When I first got the diagnosis I was dumbfounded. I had never heard of anything like this before.

Then I came home and started to read....wrong thing to do. I spent a weekend in pain and scared. I'm calmed down now because I think what I read doesn't necessarily relate to me but I was wondering how many (if any) of you have heard of this before? It's knocked me off my game a bit!

Meanwhile, since this is a blog about our favorite kind of animals...the furry ones....I was distracted from over-thinking about my condition today. You want to know how? Well I'll tell you! I got an email from one of my rescue friends asking if I'd foster a dog from the prison system for awhile. Just the idea makes me happy. See what dogs can do even when they're not with you? Just thinking about Boomer the basset hound distracted me from my problems.

Thank God for dogs...and horses....and of course cats too!

Hmmph! Annabelle and Her New BFF!

>> Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Okay. It's time to get things off my chest again. The reason I'm not hogging this picture on Thanksgiving day is because I was sleeping under Mom's hand. I was being quiet and calm...not trying to steal the show. Wish I could say the same about Annabelle! Just look at her. She's making goo goo eyes to Mom's friend Sherry. If I would have done that, I feel pretty sure Mom would have told me to settle down. Humph! Annabelle gets away with murder.

Annabelle decided she needed a new best friend and Sherry was it. She forgot all about Mom and me. They thought I was sound asleep, but I could hear the ooohhhss and ahhh's. And just when I thought it was about all over.....

Annabelle gave Sherry's face a gentle pat. There was no point in me even moving. Sherry was in love. Oh well. It was Thanksgiving. I guess I should be grateful that I was even in the living room...we never go there except holidays.

I better be thinking of some cute things to do before Christmas. Any ideas?

Oh...one more thing. Mom says to tell you she's sorry she hasn't been posting and commenting much lately. She's been having some serious pain in her back and it hurts her to sit. She's going for an MRI today, so hopefully she'll be back in the seat for much longer really soon!

Regardless of How You Feel About Coyotees.....

>> Saturday, November 28, 2009

The following story came to me by email and I had to share......

Meet the wiliest of all coyotes: Hit by a car at 75mph, embedded in the fender, road for 600 miles - and SURVIVED!
When a brother and sister struck a coyote at 75mph they assumed they had killed the animal and drove on. They didn't realize this was the toughest creature ever to survive a hit-and-run. Eight hours, two fuel stops, and 600 miles later they found the wild animal embedded in their front fender - and very much alive. Daniel and Tevyn East were driving at night along Interstate 80 near the Nevada-Utah border when they noticed a pack of coyotes near the roadside on October 12. When one of the animals ran in front of the car, the impact sounded fatal so the siblings thought there no point in stopping. 'Right off the bat, we knew it was bad,' Daniel explained. 'We thought the story was over.' After the incident around 1am, they continued their 600 mile drive to North San Juan - even stopping for fuel at least twice. But it was only when they finally reached their destination at 9am did they take time to examine what damage they may have sustained. At first it looked as though it was going to be quite gruesome. '[Daniel] saw fur and the body inside the grill,' Tevyn East said. 'I was trying to keep some distance. Our assumption was it was part of the coyote - it didn't register it was the whole animal.' Daniel East got a broom to try and pry the remains out of the bumper and got the shock of his life. 'It flinched,' Tevyn East said. 'It was a huge surprise - he got a little freaked out.' 'We knew it was bad': Tevyn East, who was in the car when it hit the coyote, bends down to take a look at the fur poking through the fender

The owner of the car inspected the damage to his car and the body of the coyote was poking out through the radiator

The animal's head can be seen as rescuers took apart the front fender to save it after it was struck by the car at 75mph

As the animal struggled, wildlife protection officials put a loop around its neck to prevent it from further injuring itself The front of the car is completely taken apart as the coyote begins to wriggle free.