ANOTHER LITTLE VISITOR.........!!!

Patti and I went up to Phoenix yesterday to visit  Claire and David.  Had a great time,  lunch at Dillon's not far from where they live.  I don't think I've ever eaten before with an aquarium of 4-6 foot sharks watching me.  But they stayed where they were and we had a wonderful lunch.  

Got home late, John got to feed by himself, but he did just fine.  He doesn't like to mix up the feed bowls, but like I tell him, they don't care what they get, as long as they get something.  And if someone misses a pill or powder, it won't hurt them.

When we went to bed last night we could hear the dogs barking at yipping coyotes.  The only way we can shut them up is to shoot a gun up in the air.  Boy,  you talk about quiet.............it gets real quiet after that happens.  But neither of us was bothered enough to get up and do it.  Finally went to sleep, and woke up later with the dogs barking again, but couldn't hear the coyotes.  

This morning when John went out this is what he found up one of the trees.  We figure the neighbor's dog might have chased him up the tree.  Unfortunately the tree was right next to our dog's pen.  

Nicki is getting ready to go into the feed room, but if you look right above his body, you will see a blob in the tree.  Needless to say if the coon twitched an ear, Nicki was right there, snarling and lunging at the fence.  So the coon wasn't going anywhere.  We figured tonight we could lock our dogs in the feed room and the neighbor's dog in the the garage, until the coon came down out of the tree.  

When John started moving the golf cart towards the tree, the coon got very worried and actually moved down the limb a little bit.  The neighbor's dog was off someplace else, so I went to lock our dogs in and when I came out of the feed room, the coon was already gone.  John said he jumped down and headed towards the garage.  Later on the donkeys and mules were ears up, locked on the neighbor's property, so John thinks that's where it finally went.  I doubt that it will be back, although it might be the one that has been coming to the back porch and eating cat food almost every night.  That is when he doesn't have to contend with the skunk. 

Thanks Claire & Quilla

(& Gus' chubby little side)

You think these two aren't enjoying their "quality" time with Claire?  Here... they are just one of the herd.  At Claire's house, they "RULE"........!!!!   LOL 

Last night old crippled Pepper was at it again.  He's figured out if he tries to "woo" Cheyenne he might have a chance.  She's only 32 inches tall, so all it takes is  walking over the top of her & go for it......!!!  John wanted to take pictures, but I told him we don't want to embarrass him, as if Pepper ever could be embarrassed.....!!!  He's going into this winter (19 degrees a couple of mornings this week) with a little meat on his bones, & stepping out pretty good on his poor old broken hip & bad knee.  So hopefully I won't have to blanket him, which he hates, because he has to stay in the pens at night.  Otherwise I have no idea where the blanket would end up in the brush.  He's only getting down occasionally.  John's getting good at rolling him over without having to use the ropes.  Pepper just lays there & doesn't try to fight, so John stands between his front & rear legs, (you'll notice I didn't say Tish rolls him this way, I have better sense) grabs all 4 legs & rolls him to his left side, & he usually pops right up.  I have told John, although Pepper doesn't fight & all that, standing between his legs like that isn't a "REAL" good idea, but so far he's gotten away with it.  

The other day John was very upset with Daisy, she stepped on his foot & wouldn't pick it up.  DUH...!!!  I asked John why he didn't throw all his weight into her shoulder to off balance her?  John is great with the animals..........BUT......I really believe it is much easier to work with large animals if you were raised with large animals.  He grew up with 3 very long lived pets, a dog, cat & parakeet, while I ran the gamut, you name it, I probably had it.  I might add opossums do NOT make good pets, raccoons are great fun, but destructive & crows are worse than a 2 year old child. 

I don't want to jinx Jenny, but her foot seems to be doing better, since we've been soaking every other day in epsom salts & betadine, & keeping it wrapped in a diaper with a sugardine poultice.  She's also still getting metronidazole, rectally twice a day.  I swear she walks slower & more crippled when she knows we're watching her.  She's being real good about everything, & I make sure there is a steady supply of animal crackers.......!!! LOL

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Yesterday John left a rather large can of assorted screws in the golf cart.  He & Steve,  a volunteer had been working on the well house, trying to cover all the wood, so the donkeys can't eat it.  It has started looking some what like a large piece of Swiss cheese, Cheyenne in particular seems to love the taste of siding. 

John comes in yelling & screaming about damn donkeys etc.  It seems the little darlings had discovered his can of screws.  Donkeys are worse than cats when it comes to finding something that wasn't there the last time they looked.  By the time he found it the plastic can was pretty much flattened, & the screws were strewn in a pattern like someone had the edge of the can in their mouth, & preceded to fling it around until the "neat" rattling sound quit.  I thought it was funny, but then again I didn't have to sift thru the dirt & gravel, looking for screws.  LOL  

We had some visitors today, one couple had been here last year they said, their friends were visiting from Pennsylvania.  Judging from the horrible weather on the east coast, they said they are glad they aren't home.  Hopefully it will be better by the time they leave, although I think they are flying home this week-end, not much time to fix things.  

Looks like Gus & his "bud" Quilla will be going up to Claire's next week for the winter.  Claire said her pasture is brown & has quit growing, so they should be OK.  Courtney is coming this week to do a "final" trim on Gus & work on Jenny.  Gus is still walking around like his feet don't bother him, but they are getting long enough she should be able to trim a little off without doing anything drastic.  

Jenny's foot is going thru some more changes, it seems like everyday it looks different, sometimes good & other times not so good.  Today was a not so good day visually.  But it doesn't seem to bother her much if at all, she goes everywhere, & "insists" on getting out of her pen.  The people today were a little late for their tour.  As usual the donkeys stayed in their pens after breakfast, so as the morning moved along they started letting us know that it was time for them to be out.  By the time the people got here & we did the tour, Jenny was more than ready to get out.  What that means is you better watch her & yourself, or you will probably get knocked somewhere you don't want to be.  She uses that big old head as a weapon.  Pepper does the same thing, but he's a little easier to handle. 

Speaking of Steve the volunteer, Tula took a treat from him yesterday.  That makes about 5 times in 8 years or so, that she has taken a treat from someone.  I think all the others were women.  Steve said maybe she is coming around, until I burst his bubble by telling him how long she has been here. 

Pepper has an appointment to see the vet Friday morning.  Maybe she will have some ideas about what is going on with him.  Maybe not, I'm sure he is well past his "expiration" date by most standards.  At least she can look in his mouth & see how the tumor is doing, & give him a general check-up.  

This is the before & after of Gus' trip to the vet to see what is going on with his leg.  This morning it looks even better, so I assume we are on the right track.  Haven't gotten the results back from the swabs & scrapings yet, but Animax & Naxcel seem to be doing the job.  

The vet was going to have me give him Tucoprim, BUT, Claire had said equine that are Insulin Resistant, shouldn't be given sulfa drugs.  Unfortunately she didn't tell me why, so when the vet asked why, I had no answer.  That happens quite often with me........!!!  At my age my brain is full & there isn't much room for anything else, so I rely on my good friends to "try" to keep me in the loop of knowledge.  (G)

According to Dr. Eleanor Kellon, sulfa drugs can cause an insulin rise in people studies, but is a complete unknown in IR horses.  It's just another piece of information that makes sense although hasn't been proven.  Why take a chance if you don't have to, so no sulfa for IR donkeys around here.  I printed out information to take to my vet when we take Pepper in Friday.  Who knows, it might give her information that will help her be better informed for her patients. 

He's having to stay in the pens because of the bandage & polo wraps, but he doesn't really seem to mind.  It's getting cool enough here at night (52 degrees last night) that we might be able to leave it upwrapped in a few days.  We've already noticed a lot less flies.  He doesn't usually go too far from the pens & the house, but he does like to roam around. 

  

 

We've been calling her Missy, she showed up here last week, hungry & scared.  She looks like a purebred Great Dane.  We've asked around & no one has claimed her.  John's theory is, she's recently had pups, & once the money making puppies were weaned, the owners came out to the first mailboxes on our road & dumped her.  

Our 2 dogs split a can of dog food & each get 1 1/2 cups of dry food a day.  They weigh about 60-75 pounds each.  At first she was eating about 18-20 cups of dry food a day, I need to ask John if he's backed off on the amount yet?  She's very sweet but shy & taller than the minis.  I've been in touch with a Dane rescue in Phoenix, there aren't any Dane rescues in Tucson, to see if they have a place for her.