Posts
8/13/09
I seriously think at some time in my life, someone has practiced their witchcraft on me by placing a curse on me. My morning today is just one of many like it. I just chose to write about this one because it’s fresh in my mind. It went like this:
I got up in plenty of time to do a few things around the house, feed & water animals and get to work by 10:00 a.m. I finished what I needed to do in the house, threw on a handy pair of shorts and t-shirt and headed out to feed animals.
In our barn right now are 16 female alpacas that have access to half of the barn and a dirt lot outside at one end of the barn. The three dogs, our two and one that belongs to our son, sleep in the barn at night in a nice sized section that is studded in for a family/tack room. I fed the dogs first & while they ate, I gave the alpacas fresh hay and filled their water buckets. One with electrolytes and one with plain water. Next, it’s on to the horses. They’ve been drinking a LOT of water lately with the heat and humidity we have here in Missouri so I checked their stock tank first. Totally empty, bone dry, even though I filled it last night after work. So, off to get the hose and turn on the hydrant that’s back in the barn. While the stock tank was filling, I tossed out a few flakes of hay for them, went back in the barn, talked to the alpacas and played with the dogs for a few minutes. Once the stock tank was full, I went back to the feed room to get food for the two Great Pyrenees that live outside with the male alpacas. (The girls are in the barn temporarily for breeding etc. or normally they’d be in the pastures with the Pyrenees as well. I regress.
I walked out of the barn with their bowls in my hands and spot a little beagle in the horse pasture. Another dog. This dog does not belong to us, nor WILL it belong to us. I do not need another mouth to feed at this point in time. Five cats, five dogs, and 24 alpacas at the moment are plenty. These were my immediate thoughts! Stray dogs are one of the main threats to alpacas so I was determined to run this little one off the property. Twenty acres…good luck.
I walked towards the dog and it’s little body, tail, torso, head…started wagging! SO excited this little thing was to see me coming to rescue it. It could not figure out how to get through the fence where it was standing, so I walked over to help it find the way out. As I was walking toward the pasture, I could hear a faint clanking sound. Realizing the dog was wearing tags…I felt a huge relief! Maybe I’ll find the owner!
As soon as the dog found freedom, it ran to me still wagging like crazy. It was a amusing sight. This dog sat in front of me, laid down and rolled over, begging for a scratch on the belly. This subtle sign of submission and overall charm, stole my heart. Trying, with all the wiggling around, to read the tags, I find her name is Lucy. I picked up the little wiggle worm and brought her into the barn with the other dogs and closed the ½ door so she couldn’t get out while I went inside to call the number on the tag. I found it odd that there was no area code, just the 7 digit number. Repeating the number to myself as I went inside, I walked past the clothes dryer just in time for the buzzer to go off telling me the clothes were dry. Something else to do before I can leave for work, I said to myself. I got to the phone and realized I had forgotten the phone number! I let out a frustrated sigh and headed back to the barn where little Lucy and the other dogs were getting acquainted, snagged Lucy’s collar that held her tags and marched back into the house. I sat down and proceeded to finally call the owner and let them know where their lost dog was. I dialed the 7 digit number assuming it was in my same area code. Never assume anything my mother used to preach. The woman that answered was very concerned for the lost dog but said that she just had one dog and he was staring at her. Ok, now what? Next, I tried the number using the only other area code that I could think of that was anywhere near us & got the dreaded tone and canned voice telling me to check the number and try again. Oh dear. There was also a rabies tag on the collar…I have good eyesight but I don’t think those tags were really meant to be read by human eyes. A dry rub would have been the smartest thing to do but I don’t always do the smartest things. Straining to read the phone number and holding the tag up to the light and turning it this way and that, I could finally make out the number and dialed. I really needed to be getting ready for work!
The receptionist at the vet hospital that answered the phone apparently hadn’t had her first cup of coffee yet and spoke as though she had nothing else to do all day but keep me from getting ready for work. Eventually, we figured out that the dog was in the care of their “foster person.” I’m not sure that that is the official title but I gathered that it was someone that fosters animals before they’re adopted out to new homes. I thought to myself, “well she’s doing one heck of a job!” The sleepy girl passed on the name and phone number of the foster person and I proceed to call her.
Foster person remembers Lucy but tells me that Lucy has been adopted and she didn’t sound as if she was going to offer any other information or suggestions. Great. “Surely there’s a way to get in touch with the new owners?” I asked. Reluctantly, she told me that she would call the new owner and give her my number and let her call me. Now I’m thinking that IF the new owner has dumped Lucy (which happens a LOT out here) they are not going to be calling me. I really need to be getting ready for work!
I still have two Great Pyrenees to feed and 7 more alpacas to feed and water. I haven’t showered or even brushed my hair yet and I’m wearing dirty clothes. I carried the cordless phone around with me as I filled feed bowls & buckets in the barn and headed out to the boys pastures. The pastures are not that far from the house but I’m not sure what the range is on the cordless phone. Knowing my luck, the phone will be out of range when the owner calls me and I will have missed the chance to return Lucy to her new owner today. Surely she’ll leave a message or call back. I sat the phone on the fence post where I thought maybe I’d hear it ring and thought it might still be in range and proceeded to feed the dogs and alpacas.
The alpacas are very curious boys and are very fond of their food and whoever it is that’s bringing the food so they were behaving very affectionately and I have to take the opportunity to visit with them and receive any kisses I might get. Then, I remembered the phone! I tell the boys I’ve got to go and run to the phone and see no one has called. Walking back to the barn, I feel a hot flash coming on…sure, why not?
Everyone is fed and watered and I have to get to work. I am supposed to be leaving in 5 minutes. No time to shower. But I’m sweating like a stuck pig. What to do, what to do? I do the bare minimum, throw on a set of scrubs, grab a yogurt and fly out the door! Running to my truck, I hear a noise off in the distance…a voice. I stop and look up to see my neighbor, Amy calling to me from across the way. I can’t really hear what she’s saying but it sounds like, “Can you hear me?!” I could hear her but not very well, so I answered, “Yes!” She said, “Ok” and turned and walked away. Hmm…maybe that’s not what she asked me. Now I’m concerned. Her husband is off to work, she has 3 year old twin girls…maybe something is wrong. Maybe she needs something. Seriously going to be late for work, I got in my truck and at a high rate of speed, raced down the 800 foot driveway and turn onto the gravel road towards Amy’s house. I looked up just in time to see Amy’s truck square in front of me! If I had looked up a second later, I would have slammed into her. I think I’m going to be late for work.
Amy and I position our vehicles so we can chat and I asked her what it was that she said to me, that I couldn’t really hear very well what she was saying. She was asking me if I had seen her dog. Their new dog, Lucy, a little beagle was missing.
I seriously think at some time in my life, someone has practiced their witchcraft on me by placing a curse on me. My morning today is just one of many like it. I just chose to write about this one because it’s fresh in my mind. It went like this:
I got up in plenty of time to do a few things around the house, feed & water animals and get to work by 10:00 a.m. I finished what I needed to do in the house, threw on a handy pair of shorts and t-shirt and headed out to feed animals.
In our barn right now are 16 female alpacas that have access to half of the barn and a dirt lot outside at one end of the barn. The three dogs, our two and one that belongs to our son, sleep in the barn at night in a nice sized section that is studded in for a family/tack room. I fed the dogs first & while they ate, I gave the alpacas fresh hay and filled their water buckets. One with electrolytes and one with plain water. Next, it’s on to the horses. They’ve been drinking a LOT of water lately with the heat and humidity we have here in Missouri so I checked their stock tank first. Totally empty, bone dry, even though I filled it last night after work. So, off to get the hose and turn on the hydrant that’s back in the barn. While the stock tank was filling, I tossed out a few flakes of hay for them, went back in the barn, talked to the alpacas and played with the dogs for a few minutes. Once the stock tank was full, I went back to the feed room to get food for the two Great Pyrenees that live outside with the male alpacas. (The girls are in the barn temporarily for breeding etc. or normally they’d be in the pastures with the Pyrenees as well. I regress.
I walked out of the barn with their bowls in my hands and spot a little beagle in the horse pasture. Another dog. This dog does not belong to us, nor WILL it belong to us. I do not need another mouth to feed at this point in time. Five cats, five dogs, and 24 alpacas at the moment are plenty. These were my immediate thoughts! Stray dogs are one of the main threats to alpacas so I was determined to run this little one off the property. Twenty acres…good luck.
I walked towards the dog and it’s little body, tail, torso, head…started wagging! SO excited this little thing was to see me coming to rescue it. It could not figure out how to get through the fence where it was standing, so I walked over to help it find the way out. As I was walking toward the pasture, I could hear a faint clanking sound. Realizing the dog was wearing tags…I felt a huge relief! Maybe I’ll find the owner!
As soon as the dog found freedom, it ran to me still wagging like crazy. It was a amusing sight. This dog sat in front of me, laid down and rolled over, begging for a scratch on the belly. This subtle sign of submission and overall charm, stole my heart. Trying, with all the wiggling around, to read the tags, I find her name is Lucy. I picked up the little wiggle worm and brought her into the barn with the other dogs and closed the ½ door so she couldn’t get out while I went inside to call the number on the tag. I found it odd that there was no area code, just the 7 digit number. Repeating the number to myself as I went inside, I walked past the clothes dryer just in time for the buzzer to go off telling me the clothes were dry. Something else to do before I can leave for work, I said to myself. I got to the phone and realized I had forgotten the phone number! I let out a frustrated sigh and headed back to the barn where little Lucy and the other dogs were getting acquainted, snagged Lucy’s collar that held her tags and marched back into the house. I sat down and proceeded to finally call the owner and let them know where their lost dog was. I dialed the 7 digit number assuming it was in my same area code. Never assume anything my mother used to preach. The woman that answered was very concerned for the lost dog but said that she just had one dog and he was staring at her. Ok, now what? Next, I tried the number using the only other area code that I could think of that was anywhere near us & got the dreaded tone and canned voice telling me to check the number and try again. Oh dear. There was also a rabies tag on the collar…I have good eyesight but I don’t think those tags were really meant to be read by human eyes. A dry rub would have been the smartest thing to do but I don’t always do the smartest things. Straining to read the phone number and holding the tag up to the light and turning it this way and that, I could finally make out the number and dialed. I really needed to be getting ready for work!
The receptionist at the vet hospital that answered the phone apparently hadn’t had her first cup of coffee yet and spoke as though she had nothing else to do all day but keep me from getting ready for work. Eventually, we figured out that the dog was in the care of their “foster person.” I’m not sure that that is the official title but I gathered that it was someone that fosters animals before they’re adopted out to new homes. I thought to myself, “well she’s doing one heck of a job!” The sleepy girl passed on the name and phone number of the foster person and I proceed to call her.
Foster person remembers Lucy but tells me that Lucy has been adopted and she didn’t sound as if she was going to offer any other information or suggestions. Great. “Surely there’s a way to get in touch with the new owners?” I asked. Reluctantly, she told me that she would call the new owner and give her my number and let her call me. Now I’m thinking that IF the new owner has dumped Lucy (which happens a LOT out here) they are not going to be calling me. I really need to be getting ready for work!
I still have two Great Pyrenees to feed and 7 more alpacas to feed and water. I haven’t showered or even brushed my hair yet and I’m wearing dirty clothes. I carried the cordless phone around with me as I filled feed bowls & buckets in the barn and headed out to the boys pastures. The pastures are not that far from the house but I’m not sure what the range is on the cordless phone. Knowing my luck, the phone will be out of range when the owner calls me and I will have missed the chance to return Lucy to her new owner today. Surely she’ll leave a message or call back. I sat the phone on the fence post where I thought maybe I’d hear it ring and thought it might still be in range and proceeded to feed the dogs and alpacas.
The alpacas are very curious boys and are very fond of their food and whoever it is that’s bringing the food so they were behaving very affectionately and I have to take the opportunity to visit with them and receive any kisses I might get. Then, I remembered the phone! I tell the boys I’ve got to go and run to the phone and see no one has called. Walking back to the barn, I feel a hot flash coming on…sure, why not?
Everyone is fed and watered and I have to get to work. I am supposed to be leaving in 5 minutes. No time to shower. But I’m sweating like a stuck pig. What to do, what to do? I do the bare minimum, throw on a set of scrubs, grab a yogurt and fly out the door! Running to my truck, I hear a noise off in the distance…a voice. I stop and look up to see my neighbor, Amy calling to me from across the way. I can’t really hear what she’s saying but it sounds like, “Can you hear me?!” I could hear her but not very well, so I answered, “Yes!” She said, “Ok” and turned and walked away. Hmm…maybe that’s not what she asked me. Now I’m concerned. Her husband is off to work, she has 3 year old twin girls…maybe something is wrong. Maybe she needs something. Seriously going to be late for work, I got in my truck and at a high rate of speed, raced down the 800 foot driveway and turn onto the gravel road towards Amy’s house. I looked up just in time to see Amy’s truck square in front of me! If I had looked up a second later, I would have slammed into her. I think I’m going to be late for work.
Amy and I position our vehicles so we can chat and I asked her what it was that she said to me, that I couldn’t really hear very well what she was saying. She was asking me if I had seen her dog. Their new dog, Lucy, a little beagle was missing.
