Rescue Journal

the good and not so good...and the i am still not sure of.

Carol · Jul. 7, 2010

bob and ray rabbits did well with their neuters...amos the donkey, not so much. he has a minor bleeder going on...donkeys are prone to bleeding post surgically so i was somewhat surprized to come home for lunch and find amos in the field instead of locked down in a stall. the vet had wanted him out there until he fully woke up. he is locked down now and will stay in until he has good solid clot formation..which i am thinking will be at least 2 or 3 days.

good lord...we don't let our fresh post op human patients wander around...especially those with clotting issues...we make them take it easy and rest.

i don't think animals are much different than humans in this regard, we just expect more of them.

he also looked at the goats which i was afraid had lice again because their hair is falling out..he said there are no visible bugs to be seen and the skin looks too healthy for sarcoptic mange which they haven't been exposed to anyway. he said it is most likely allergies, and most likely something they are eating. we are to ivermec them all anyway just in case it is mites (they are due for worming anyway) and see how they look in a week.

ok...gotta go check on the donkey.

barn bedtime update.. looks like the bleeding on amos has pretty much stopped but he has not eaten any of his hay or his dinner. it will be a few days to ensure good clot formation..the vet checked back in and i said i thought he was doing ok as we just discussed his plan of care over the next few days...which basically is stall rest and watch him closely. he said to hold his pain meds tonight and start him on that and antibiotics tomorrow. if he doesn't eat by morning, i will call them out again.

ellie is not good. she did not get up today and i had a hard time getting her up for her dinner. her back is hunched and rounded...her trembling is strong enough to make the flab on her legs shake. i am pretty worried and i am not sure if it is just the third day and her damaged muscles are screaming or if she is starting to show spinal injury /neuro signs. i will check her again in the morning and if she is still not good and it is her spine the vet told me they could start her on high doses of steriods to try to reduce the swelling.

between amos and bailey, i wonder if some folks think i am over reacting and if they will continue to think that if ellie kicks off and dies or if bailey does get by some human and grabs an innocent goat..i have taken a fair share of 'poor bailey' and 'poor amos have to be confined' and not too much care and support for the other animals who live here and do have the absolute right to walk around their home without getting seriously hurt.

but there is a very good reason why i can safely manage the mixing of 140 animals of very different species with very few serious injuries...it is because i know what can happen and i try to take steps to minimize some of those really bad things....which is why bailey is not allowed to run the fence line and amos is to stay away from the other animals.

it is critically important that what i do to keep these animals safe is not undermined by others stretching the rules because of kinder and softer hearts than mine..it took me a very long time to learn to be tough enough to do what needs to be done around here...there are just somethings that are not open for negotiation and the safety of every single animal here ALWAYS comes first....full blown happiness in a totally perfect world for each animal, i will work on the best that i can..but to do it right and safely takes patience and time if you want to avoid a serious mistake.

i guess what i am asking is whether folks agree or not..or if they just think i am a total freak out waiting to happen over nothing...that everyone understands that these animals are only one person's lifelong, 24 hour a day, 365 day a year responsibility...and that would be me. so please bear with me while i try to do it the best way that i can.

Comments

lynne

well said mo

I am the pessimist of all time... I take every situation & try to predict what the worst possible scenario would be & how can I avoid it . Which is fine for avoiding trouble... but horrible when you spend a fair amount of your time in a state of worry. However with animals , exspecially large herd animals... I have seen some very scary incidents and have witnessed more than 1 animal lose it's life cuz someone didn't think it through .

The last week of caring for Gwen post-surgery has given me the tiniest insight into your everyday world...and honestly I could not handle the stress & worry you carry 24/7.

So don't even think/worry or consider what the rest of the world may be thinking when you make your decisions on how to keep the crew safe .. they are safe,happy and alive, who knows what tomorrow will bring ... a home for bailey , a huge win on the lotto max.. the possibilities are endless.

Carol

mistakes and accidents do happen...i esp. of all of us am most at risk for screwing up simply because i am the one here all the time, and i am usually in a hurry, tired and distracted...like when bailey slipped past me into the backyard last week.

i do find however, that an immediate awareness of the possibilities of pending disasters makes our reactions to mistakes quicker so we can minimize consequences..if i had felt bailey slip past me and just said in my head...oh well, it will probably be fine (as he grabs chewie with his teeth)...that would not have been a very good thing....or if when suzie slipped past me straight into perdy's mouth, and if i hadn't reacted immediately..would have the second step been a shake by perdy to finish suzie off completely?

if instead of putting ellie and amos into the same riding ring at the same time or upon seeing them there together..if the red flags had started flying immediately...maybe ellie wouldn't hurt so badly today....and maybe amos wouldn't have lost every bit of future "no more hormonol" trust from me.

it is not just that there are consequences to all of our actions or inactions...there has to be a willingness to accept the responsibility for those consequences..denial, or a refusal to accept and learn may keep us free from feeling bad and from pending paranoia but it won't keep those we care for any safer because we will just keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

and here is the thing...at a place like saints, there are a million and a half unique mistakes to be made...we don't need to double or triple that by repeating them over and over again because it is easier to pretend that whatever is not that big of a deal..one day, it might be a very big deal to someone.

even simple dog walks for the elderly and infirm are not that simple..walk them when it is too hot, walk them when it is too wet and cold, walk them too far or up a big hill and the next thing could be pneumonia, heat stroke, heart attacks/strokes or a crises that sends their arthritic hip and spinal pain spiralling out of control.

where safety against injury or loss in life or death are concerned...i do think paranoia is our very best friend...it keeps us way up on our toes and looking ahead for possible danger...that is always a good thing.

Mauro Salles

Carol, it's never too much to say that I'm not there. Despite that, I think you are 500% correct. "Waiting to happen over nothing" means "considering all possible causes of problems and eliminating them BEFORE the damage occurs", right? For this, yes, firm decisions and even a dose of "paranoia" are absolutely necessary and, without them, someone will get hurt or something worse. But there is a price to pay, since mistakes always happen and this is very hard to accept. Sometimes it's like a war zone.

Kim

What a sweet video of Mandy grooming Max. She does it so lovingly and focused,even with the distractions around her, of people talking and dogs barking.

Carol

at least you understand that your focus is on the few vs the many...people don't always get that they see the small picture from one side only vs the big picture that effects everyone.

i get that some of the animals have special friends or that some people's interest and focus are on a specific species, or whatever.
but i don't have that luxury...i have to care as deeply about ellie's wellbeing and happiness as i do about gideon's, or about jerome's as much as endora's or maple's as much as chewie's...
i can't rank animals by favorites or who i love or connect with the most...i have to care as much about any and all of them, including the assholes as i do about about larry....

but i do get mad when i feel one animal is totally de-valued because of species or personality...reggie may well be freaking annoying but he is sweet, jerry might be an ass but his heart is big enough to feel the lack of love, ellie might be a pig, but she is a princess here at saints, the rabbits may just be bunnies...but i have seen how they take care of maple..there is more compassion and kindness and respect for her in them then i have seen in many people.

they are equal here...no species, no personality,no breed....nothing makes anyone less deserving than another here.

we need to remember that.

Poppy

Mom always knows best.

lynne

carol people have their opinion about the animals but they are your animals and as you have said you have to live with them. it is always very easy and i have done it too to give opinions and it is always from the heart i really love bailey and wish i could take him but can not so shut my mouth. what you have come up with is a good idea for the multipurpose room you are right people focus on certain animals and can not get by them. i am so guity of this. i see perdy and baily and esther and not so much the little dogs. i love the big dogs but it does not make it right that i prefer tham more. my daughter has jusr got a beagle 1 year old and i kept thinking how would copper get along with her. half the time i call her copper it would have been a hoot to have seen then together. i miss my little guy. i am soory if half the time i come across as being either a bitch or troublemaker. that is the last thing i want to do. i had mentioned amos to a friend who was interested i think it was stephanies mom hop all goes well.

Colleen B

Carol, I support your decisions 100%. You are the only one who really knows these animals and you can see the behavior that may or may not predict some very scary things. Do not doubt yourself.

On another note - we are away this weekend so I won't be able to come out.

And lastly..."Mandy grooms Max" (I love Max's little tail wag)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYCsNkrpGs0