Winter Weather

            The wintertime can be a difficult time to take care of your animals. The cold weather causes there to be a lot of changes in routine. And for some it can cause issues. On a personal perspective, in the summer we left our dogs outside in our fenced yard. In the winter it is too cold for them to stay out all day, so Margo stays in her crate and Bella stays downstairs or in the garage. Harley is a good boy though so he gets to roam the house. With this set up I have to come home every few hours to let them all go to the bathroom.

            At my dad’s we have the goats and dogs that stay outside. Not by my choice. Anyway, for this there is a lot more changes for winter time. First of all, their normal water buckets would freeze so they need heated one. There is a fact that a lot of birds die from dehydration in the winter which seems weird because of all the snow but it is true.  Also, animals need a warm place to stay like a barn or a dog house. We have houses for ours and we have to make sure they stay full of straw so the animals will stay warm.

            Animals also tend to get winter coats that also keep them warm. It is amazing how bodies automatically do things, and also how every animal is different, just like humans. It also fascinates me the relationship with humans and animals. Everyone has a different opinion about them, and some animals are treated good, and others bad. Deer and small animals are used as meat. Other people have pet bunnies. What makes one species better than others?

Man's Best Friend

          Animals are truly amazing, especially dogs. There are so many different things that dogs do to help humans. I mean after all they are called “man’s best friend”. Service dogs and police dogs are so amazing. Police men treat these dogs just like any other officer that they work with. They help stop crime and also protect their partners. They are trained to do remarkable things. They are taught to take a bullet for their partner, they can track down drugs, and help save people. There are so many stories of police dogs that have done the unthinkable and even done things without command when their human was hurt. I think that they can be smart, if they are used and taught well, just like humans. Some use their brain more than others.

            Service dogs that help the blind are also so amazing. The things they can do to help humans is just crazy. Sometimes a human’s life is in the hands of a service dog, telling them when to cross the street and where to walk, and avoiding danger for them.

            One time I got to go to a training facility for police dogs. It was about eight years ago so it is a little foggy in my mind, but I remember getting to watch the officer hide narcotics, and then bring the dog in and he would find it. He also showed us commands that they used and other tricks the dogs knew. When we were there they told us that they had just lost one of their dogs, and you could tell how much of an impact it was on them. The dogs wore bullet proof vests and they explained how much they were, and how they were hard to get. Our 4H group raised money for a dog vest, and gave it to the department.

            I love being in 4H for the fact that we help people and animals, we often times will go to animal shelters and either donate food, toys, or just spend time with the animals. And as everyone knows, animals are my favorite. I wish I could help all the animals but I know I can’t, and my parents won’t let me. But the goal is to create a community and country that does, and realizes the importance of the other mammals that share this planet with us.  

Cats & Dogs

            So lately, my dog Margo has had a big change in behavior. When we first got her she was a puppy so of course she was hyper. We did a good job training her though and she behaved very well. When we got the other dogs she started to become unruly. We thought this was just because she wanted more attention.

            When Bella had her puppies, this bad behavior got worse. This time we knew it was because of the attention she wasn’t getting. Even though we got rid of all the puppies she still jumps on everyone and I’m not sure why. No matter what we do she doesn’t learn. No matter how much I try to punish her she never quits. When she’s left alone she will rip up everything, and she’s about a year old now or a little more. When she rips up my shoes I put her in her crate and yell at her, sometimes I’ll hit her with the broken part of the shoe. She never learns. I would never actually hurt her but I don’t know how she will learn. She has always been kind of a pansy. If you yell at her you can see it in her face she gets sad. It’s kind of funny. You can tell what she is feeling just by her eyes.

            A random change of topic, I think it is fascinating how animals clean themselves, especially cats. Dogs clean themselves too, but they only do the…important parts.  Cats are just cleanlier I guess. My cat Oreo cleans herself all the time.  I’m not sure what makes it that way. People are all completely different, some don’t shower at all and some do all the time. All cats clean themselves and dogs don’t really. Maybe it is because dogs can’t reach everywhere else. Cats are just more flexible. Oreo has some sort of skin disorder or issue. I already took her into the vet once. They gave her a shot, but now it is getting worse, it is like open wounds. They said it was just a staph infection, but I will have to see what it really is when I take her in on Tuesday.

My Worst Experience

On the same topic, about how pets can’t really choose what happens to them, I have a story that fits perfect with this. The other day when I was driving home with my boyfriend, I was going around the curvy road by my house. All of a sudden, I saw this dog walking on the road. This is not the first time I have seen this dog, it was walking at me in the middle of the road on my way home from school once. The first time it happened it freaked me out a lot, but this time was even worse.

            Last Christmas eve, my puppy that was part of the family got hit by a car. This was one of the worst experiences of my life. Every time I think about it I cry, it was like losing a family member. It was losing a family member. And I had to witness it too. I was curling my hair getting ready to go visit family. Nakita was her name, and she had a tendency of running around where she shouldn’t, so my mom had a shock collar that she monitored. That is why as soon as I heard the screeching of car tires, and a thud I knew exactly what happened, I ran outside and my mom was screaming. I started hyperventilating as I stared at her lifeless body, and to make things worse, the guy had a dog in his car.

            Seeing your mom break down is bad enough, but losing a member of the family was horrifying. On Christmas Eve too. My mom was screaming and crying kneeling by the road, I stood there crying and in shock. My dad tried to comfort her but it wasn’t happening, he took her off the road. The guy kept saying sorry, but that couldn’t bring her back. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. My mom kept saying it was her fault and that she should have been watching her closer. I couldn’t watch anymore, and I felt like I was going to puke. I ran in the bathroom and sat by the toilet. When my mom came in she started apologizing to us, which made me even madder.

            I lost one of my best friends, and it was so hard to keep it together when we went up to see my whole family. I honestly cried almost every day for a month. It just kept replaying in my head.  I miss her so much. R.I.P Nakita <3

Brain Flow of Random Thoughts

            My asthma lately has been super bad, these dang animals. I love them so much, but being around them makes my insides suck. I think that if I wasn’t allergic to them that I would definitely become a veterinarian. For 4-H I have to take care of all the animals we raise. I give our goats’ shots and dewormer; I shaved our sheep, trim hoofs and anything else you can think of.  

            Now that I have some medical experience, I like to try and diagnose what the dogs may have, based on human illnesses. Cleo, at my dad’s house has an infection on her eye. When I took her to the vet I could kind of tell what the vet was talking about, based on my knowledge of medical terminology.

            My cat Larson has been getting a little frisky lately, we seriously need to get him fixed. At first he started humping stuffed animals, which was nasty. Every time I turn around he is on it, I locked it up then it would stop. We had a vet appointment to get him fixed but nobody could take him so we had to cancel it. Now it has gotten so bad that he will literally hump anything that is fuzzy. Blankets, towels, shoes, you name it and he has probably tried. So nasty.

            Animals are just like humans, my dog Cleo is horrified of thunderstorms, but my other dogs don’t really care. They all have their own personalities, which is really awesome. My dog Margo got really sad when the puppies were gone and you could tell. Different things bother them just like us. That’s why I can’t believe that people would abuse and kill animals. I mean I guess people get murdered too.

            Today I was thinking really deeply about the anatomy of dogs. My sister even said,”who cares about that, why the heck does it matter.”  I was amazed how they learn things without even understanding what we say. How they can jump up and stand on only their back legs, and even dogs with 3 legs can still run like normal dogs. They are just amazing animals. And how they are treated and taken care of are just simply random, and luck. Unlike humans who can better themselves, dogs can’t choose, it just depends on who takes them in.

Ripped to Shreds

            This weekend I was in charge of watching the animals by myself. My mom and her boyfriend went to Chicago so I was left here to fend for myself. Dog sitting the weekend away, it is actually a lot to do. They get rowdy so I had to let them out like every other minute it seemed like. They are very needy, especially since there are so many of them, three dogs and a cat. Today was they day that they came home so I cleaned the house up, did the dishes, laundry, and tried to make everything look nice. They just got home actually and they called me and said, “You need to come out here right away, there is a huge mess and we are not happy.” I was really confused because I thought everything was in tip top shape. That was before I went in my room to sit on my computer for a little while. I walked out in the garage and their entire dog bet we=as ripped into shreds that almost covered the entire floor. Way to go dogs. They weren’t happy about that. It had to of happened in the last hour or so though.

            The dang dogs will rip up anything and everything, and then Larson, the cat, will toss around all the little shreds. It’s like a process. Their favorite is shoes though; I can’t tell you how many shoes I have seen them abduct. A few of the victims were mine too. Coming out to the living room with your shoes in pieces is a sinking feeling, especially for a girl. I try to scare them with my wrath but they don’t learn, I have resorted to putting all of my shoes in my room. One time they got Ron’s really expensive shoes, I wasn’t there to see the damage but I heard about it, Ron was not too happy. I saved my mom’s tennis shoes that had just been taken, only with a few bite marks.

            The last time I had to watch the rascals they ripped up an entire magazine while I was trying to sleep in. I found pieces of that everywhere for the next few days. I’m not even sure how they managed to do that, I guess they wanted my attention bad enough. As soon as they get a new toy it is like a race to see who can rip the squeaker out the fastest, dogs are crazy.

No Hunting For This Girl

I have loved animals since as early in my existence that I can remember. When I was a kid I always had cat and dog books, I had a backpack that was shaped as a tiger, I loved the animals I had, and basically everything to do with them. When I was in second or third grade I did a report on becoming a veterinarian. We made a poster board and presented it to the class.       

 I used to be able to kill like flies and moths, and even at one point decided I was going to be a hunter. I got my hunting license and everything and was all official. I went a few times with my dad but we never even saw anything. I was at that age that it was super cool to get a deer so you could impress all the boys, and show off. It must have been about middle school or freshmen year. Anyway, I was okay with the fact of killing a deer, I mean I have been around it many times when my dad got them and I watched and helped clean it out. As I got older, I started to less like the fact of killing an animal. At first I told my dad that I only wanted to shoot a buck, not a doe because she might have babies somewhere. Also being very impatient didn’t help, I absolutely HATED just sitting in the woods for hours, and the worst part was that you had to be quiet. Slowly my hunting career came to an end.

I even had my own gun, a 243 rifle that was black and had a silver scope. I think I stopped because it was more or less boring to me, and as I grew older, the thought of killing an innocent animal was not so appealing. I am fine with other people doing it, I just don’t think I want to. I would feel too guilty, so don’t expect me to be murdering anything anytime soon.

            The idea of hitting an animal on the road makes me want to cry. Every time I see a poor little baby, I feel so sad. I have said multiple times that if I ever hit a cat, I would never drive again. I’m not sure if that is true, but I would at least cry for probably a few days. The other day I even picked a moth up by its wing and put it outside, it’s getting bad. I must hang around my aunt too much. She won’t let us throw out gum out the window because she doesn’t want a bird to think its food and choke. I love my aunt.