An Early Christmas Gift
Friday, December 20, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Doing Your Best
It's 4:30 a.m. and I just lost a rescue kitten I have been working to keep alive for weeks. I named him Tiny since, well, he was...
When I first saw Tiny, his litter mates and mom they were urine soaked, full of fleas and malnourished. By malnourished I mean I could see every rib on 2 of the kittens through their fur. Tiny was clearly in the worst shape of all the kittens.
I was afraid to bathe the kittens since I was not sure if mom would accept them back as hers if they were clean. But when I saw she was trying to bathe them herself I knew I had no choice but to take on that job for her--I did not want her to ingest the filth her kittens were laden with.
I had just finished bottle feeding another litter around the clock for weeks so I was not interested in taking on another group so soon. I decided to bathe 2 of the kittens and see if mom accepted them back then I'd bathe the other two if that was a success. I always like to bottle feed 2 kittens together so they can bond with each other and interact with another kitten. I could bottle feed 2 if I had to, 4 would be more difficult and also leave mom without any kittens to care for, something that was not good for mom.
I gingerly dipped the first wiggly, grimy, urine soaked kitten into the warm, soapy water and the sink's contents turned brown immediately. I emptied the filthy water then repeated this process 3 times with both kittens before the sink water was semi-clean.
I towel dried the little ones then returned them to mom who, to my relief, immediately began to lick them dry. I then bathed the 2 remaining kittens and also returned them to mom. The person I took these cats from had bathed mom so I just left her as she was for the time being.
As I focused in on mom and her wonderful mothering ability, I realized she was not much more than a mere kitten herself--most certainly under 1 year of age. If she had not been taken off the street, her life would be one of producing litter after litter of kittens--many would not make it past the first few days of life. Her life expectancy would typically be about half of what a well-cared for cat's life span would be. This litter would be her first and last.
Mom was a wonderful mommy, she was affectionate towards her babies and me and her kittens seemed to be putting on weight and progressing naturally. Three of the 4 remained much smaller than what I though they should be but they played and ate and seemed to be doing well considering their circumstances.
Until they were about 12 weeks old...
The kittens had been weaned and were eating well on their own but I noticed 3 of the 4 kittens seemed as if they were not putting on as much weight as their larger litter mate. I kept the 3 smaller kittens together in the house where I could see them at all times of the day and night (the larger litter mate had bonded to other kittens) and gave them a diet higher in calories.
One afternoon I went to check the kittens and 1 of the kittens, Little, was dead. Angel, the only girl in the litter, was doing well but Tiny seemed to be lethargic. I started subcutaneous fluids immediately and syringe fed high calorie food into him. He rallied then crashed--rallied then crashed. A trip to the vet's uncovered nothing alarming so I brought Tiny home and worked with him around the clock. One minute he was alert and playing, the next, he was lethargic.
This morning, after sleeping just a few hours, I went to check Tiny and he was all but gone. His heart was still beating slightly so I worked on him for over an hour. I could tell he was fighting to live (he had been fighting hard his whole little life) and I fought for him. Then he was gone...
I am sad, tired beyond belief and wondering why Tiny could not live to climb trees and chase leaves and just be a healthy kitten. But I also know some of the kittens I bring into my rescue are genetically impaired (inbred) and will have major health issues--some that won't be apparent immediately--some that aren't "fixable".
And, I question if I did everything I could have done for Tiny. Deep down I know I did my best and so much more than many would even consider doing.
I remember seeing a sign years ago that said, "Do your best and leave the rest to God". I have tried to live my life out just that way in all situations including my rescue efforts. I do my best but I can't do any more. God has control over life and death, not me. Yes, I can do my part but that's all I can do.
I loved Tiny, really loved him (still do). And he loved me back. How do I know this? Tiny had a first class purr--regardless of how he was feeling--that little guy had his purr machine always turned on. Tiny's last act in this life was to purr. As I held him, sang to him and told him I loved him, he purred. He purred...
Shepherdess Blog
September 8, 2013
Jackie Deems Copyright 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Just Another Day in Paradise...
So, it was a great morning--other than the 6,000% humidity, raccoon proofing the chicken coop, an air attack by the bug brigade, etc. I kept telling myself sweating cleanses the body. If that's true, I'm cleansed through 2030.
Any ways, around 2:00 p.m. I noticed my chickens were having a chicken fit and turned to see a raccoon just a few feet away from them. SPOILER ALERT: Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you are faint of heart. Raccoons like to kill chickens but they don't do it in a nice way (not that there's a nice way to murder something). Raccoons like to rip chicken's heads off--literally--then discard the little lifeless body like a broken ragdoll. I told you not to read it...
One more thing about raccoons; they aren't really supposed to be out in the middle of the day. I have always been told that they only come out in the middle of the day if they are sick (like they're going for a doctor's appointment)? Actually, they come out when they are hungry and see food. And this guy had his heart set on Raccoon KFC--my live chickens.
I did not want to kill the raccoon, I have a hard time killing even bugs. So, I let my hunting dog, Lucky, (well, he was born a hunting dog but chose the wrong people for his owners) out to tree the raccoon so I could at least keep an eye on where he was. Lucky will never fulfill his destiny on this farm but treeing a raccoon has to make up for his lack, in some small way, of being used for real hunting.
I call my defunct hunting dog over to the tree where the raccoon now is at the top of and Lucky looks up, turns around and walks away.
Next I try my Dachschund, Buddy, who goes in and out of the coop all day kind of like the farm's self appointed Chicken Watcher. Surely he will see this raccoon as the serial chicken killer he is. He too looks up in the tree, sees the raccoon, turns around and walks away. There must be some telepathic connection between the raccoon and these 2 dogs that I, a mere human, can't possibly ever understand. My mind is too simple for the complexities of raccoon and dog brains.
So, I decide to get my chickens into coop #2 where the raccoon is not. Yay! Success, finally...after lots of sweating and body cleansing.
In the meantime, I can't find the oldest farm cat, Muffin, to get her settled for the night. I do get my latest rescue old man cat, Alfie, in his apartment only to look up 10 minutes later to see him walking around the side yard. How did he get out? Who knows? At this point, who cares?
I am also filling sheep waterers, checking the burn pile so it does not burn down a nearby barn, still looking for Muffin, keeping an eye on the raccoon (who is keeping an eye on me), and trying to get ahold of my lead Livestock Guard Dog, Molly, to treat a surface wound she has. Oh yes, the humidity hasn't gone down 1% either and the mosquitoes have launched enough air attacks on me that the Red Cross won't be expecting me to donate blood this century. In fact, I may need a transfusion before it's all over with.
Where are my guineas? It's almost dark and they should be in the coop by now. They're roosting in the trees. Oh, that's right, they won't go in the coop because I put the new chickens (I just got last night) on the other side of the guinea coop this morning and the guineas won't roost next to new chickens. How could I forget something so significant in the grand scheme of things (tongue firmly planted in cheek here)?
Finally it's dark outside and I can't see all the craziness going on except by flashlight. But I can still imagine what's going on and that can be even worse than reality when you have a very active imagination.
It's approaching midnight and my energy level is almost nil. I could pull an all nighter here but my body says no. The spirit is willing but...
Instead I bow my head and say this simple prayer: "Bless you guineas, and chickens and Alfie. God, as always, is watching over you. Thank You, Lord, for letting me find Muffin. Please put the raccoon in the live trap so I can relocate him tomorrow morning. Help me let go of the cares of the day and to realize all that happened today was not a surprise to you. In the grand scheme of life, these are all just minor inconveniences. "
With that I fall into a semi-deep body cleansing sleep.
Shepherdess Blog
July 16, 2013
Jackie Deems Copyright 2013
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Full Circle...
Randy Williams & Patti just before she came home to Ohio
It's not often we get to see events in our lives come full circle...
The first time I saw Patti and her sister, Sweetie, they were 10 weeks old. My husband, Chuck, and I had driven 3 hours to see the two pups we hoped to add as livestock guard dogs to our growing sheep flock.
Patti and Sweetie were crammed into a metal cage with a metal bottom, sitting in the full sun with a tarp over the cage. In August. They had no water and were panting so badly I feared for their lives. Chuck and I knew that even if we didn't want these 2 pups we would take them just to get them to safety. As we drove home with the girls Patti gave us the cold shoulder by turning her back on us and not responding to our voices when we tried to talk to her.
Our lead dog, Molly, was wary about the pups at first but quickly seemed to understand they were not competition but the help she needed. They bonded quickly to each other and were inseparable in a matter of days.
As the girls grew up Patti grew more and more aloof. Though she responded to my voice by wagging her tail, she remained just beyond reach when I tried to pet her. When I entered the pasture she would leave for another paddock and I noticed she interacted much more comfortably with the other dogs and sheep than with me. Though she was never aggressive towards me, she certainly was not interested in spending time with me as the other dogs were.
When Patti was 3 years old she began to leave the pasture. By leaving, I mean just that--she dug out of the pasture and stayed outside the fence away from the sheep--and from me. I consulted several people who had been raising Livestock Guard Dogs (LGD's) for many years and they all told me there are some guards that prefer to guard outside the pasture so they can get to the predators before they enter the pasture. That may work in some neighborhoods but not in ours where many of the neighbors have a "cute" saying: "Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up" referring to what happens to stray dogs if they cross their (the neighbor's) property lines.
When Patti decided to not only guard her sheep but also all the livestock in the neighborhood--meaning she roamed continually-- I knew it was time to find her a new home. I "loaned" her to a friend in Indiana who had a coyote problem and a more understanding group of neighbors than I had. Patti took care of the predator problem at her new home but she also began to leave the pasture and run into the road where she'd hide behind trees and jump out at unsuspecting drivers. This did not set well with those she "played" this game with.
So Patti came back to our farm, this time we had electric fencing installed behind our woven wire fence that held her in the pasture for about a year and a half until she found she could dig under the fence and slide herself under the electric wire without being shocked.
I knew it was just a matter of time before Patti became a problem again with our neighbors so I began to advertise her to the farms in our state. No one responded until one day I got a call from a lady in Pennsylvania who was looking for a guard dog for her sheep--the same breed we raise. Patti would have 100 acres to roam and the 7 strand very hot electric fence this farm used seemed like the perfect place to keep Patti contained.
In August of 2010 I met the people who were to pick up Patti, we loaded her up in their car (she had to be sedated for me to even catch her) and she was on her way to PA. Finally, Patti would be able to guard on a large farm while being safely enclosed by electric fencing. It seemed like the perfect solution and life for Patti and her new owners.
Or so I thought...
The day after Patti left our farm I got a call from her new owners. Things had not gone well, Patti had timed the shock pulse of the electric fence and jumped through the strands 10 minutes after she'd gotten to her new home. It was literally my worst nightmare for her or any of my animals--to be taken to a new home and escape from it before they knew where they was supposed to come back to. The fact that Patti was hundreds of miles away from me or anything she knew made things even worse.
The new owners immediately looked for her and alerted their neighbors about her escape. But there was no sign of Patti anywhere--she'd just vanished. I kept in close contact with Patti's new owners and they began to get calls from people who had spotted her including a neighbor who caught her on a video camera they had installed on their hiking trails. Patti was still in the area and I was assured by her new owners it would just be a matter of time before they got her back to their farm. Though I wanted to come immediately to where Patti had disappeared in PA, I was assured everything that could be done to find and catch her was being done.
So I waited and prayed...
Patti sightings were still coming frequently for quite some time but as they tapered off I felt I had to go and try to bring her home. You have to understand that making a trip by myself, to a place I did not know (that had bears) to walk the woods and fields--without getting lost was, to those who know me, either the act of a deluded mind or a huge leap of faith. I wavered between these 2 possibilities and decided that a leap of faith at least sounded like the better of the possibilities.
For 7 days I prayed, walked, talked to many strangers, handed out and posted flyers, ran ads, visited state and local law enforcement and called every dog shelter or pound or vet clinic within reason. I even contacted the local newspapers to see if anyone would pick up the story and 1 paper did. That story written by writer/dog lover, Chris Togneri, brought me many leads while I was in PA and I followed each one hoping 1 of these dogs would be Patti. Each time I went away without my girl...
I finally had to leave PA alone and each mile between Patti and I actually caused me to weep for her. I asked God why I could not find her but heard no answer.
For months I prayed and cried and dreamed (not good dreams) about Patti. I felt I had betrayed and doomed her to death and the guilt was weighing my heart down. I knew that since she did not seek human contact she would not be easily caught and, since she would gravitate towards livestock, would most likely be shot as a marauding dog.
Though it took me a while to get to that place, I realized I had done all I could--more than many would have done--and I let it go. I remembered seeing a little sign years ago that said, "Do your best and leave the rest to God". I had certainly done my best, now I had to let God do His part and in His time.
All leads evaporated. It seemed Patti had vanished from my life as easily as she'd vanished into the PA woods and countryside until I decided for, whatever reason, to place just 1 more ad in the local PA paper that had published the story about Patti. I called it a Christmas present to myself all the while not expecting to get a response from that ad.
A few days after I placed the ad I got a call from a gentleman in PA (Randy Williams) who lived 12 miles from where Patti had last been seen--12 miles from the farm she was supposed to live at. He had been told my his mother-in-law about my ad and said he was sure he had Patti. Id' heard that story so many times before that I didn't get too excited about what he had to say. I asked if he could take a picture of the dog and he told me he didn't know if he could get close enough to her. Within minutes he sent me a picture that sent chills through me. It looked like Patti had indeed gotten to their farm and was safe after all.
Of course, to be 100% sure it was her I would have to go to PA--in winter, during the coldest weekend of that winter. All the way there I prayed it would be Patti. As soon as I pulled up into the Williams' driveway Patti met me barking and running beside my van. Now, she was not barking because she was happy to see me, she barked because I was an "intruder". I knew I had my work cut out for me if I was going to be successful in catching Patti.
All that weekend I tried to catch her by putting sedatives in hot dogs--her favorite treat. All weekend she eluded me as I sat for hours in a cold van trying to look uninterested and or invisible to Patti. The Williams offered their home to me during the day and I went from window to window in their house following her movements. But nothing worked and after seeing how hard I tried to catch Patti all weekend, the Randy and Laurie (Williams) said they would continue taking care of Patti with the hope that they could someday catch her and return her to me.
I cried much of the 4 hour drive home and talked to my dear friend, Mary Ann, on the phone. Though I was so sad I could not catch Patti I also was so grateful to God that I had seen her and knew she was in loving hands. It was almost beyond my comprehension that God cared enough for me and knew how much I was grieving over Patti that He let me know she was OK. I could have just as easily never known what happened to her.
I emailed the reporter, Chris Togneri, and asked if he'd consider doing a follow-up article giving Randy and Laurie credit for taking in Patti and letting readers know the end of the story. Unbelievably Chris still got inquiries about Patti and people wanted a happy ending so he interviewed the Williams Family and took along a photographer (Andy) with a very long lens since Patti would not come close to them.
For a time I kept in touch with the Williams and they continued loving and caring for Patti for 2 years after my last attempt to bring her home. Then we lost touch until this past March when I received an email from Chris Togneri telling me Randy Williams had contacted him to see if they'd do a story about Patti again.
It seems a neighbor of theirs was routinely calling the dog warden with complaints about Patti being on his property. The neighbor could legally shoot and kill Patti if she was on his property and the Williams were facing some large fines if they did not restrain Patti. Restrain Patti? Not an easy task. You'd have to catch her first and Randy would not even try to restrain Patti since he believed it would kill her. He thought if Chris could write an article about the situation maybe someone with a lot of land and livestock would take Patti in.
I immediately called Randy and told him we'd come for Patti if they could catch her. He told me the dog warden had tried several different things to catch her and had even called in a "dog whisperer" who failed to catch Patti amd said she was too smart to trick or catch. At this point the dog warden and I were also in touch because I wanted him to know we were committed to bringing Patti back to Ohio, out of his jurisdiction.
On a Saturday, two weeks later, we got a call from Laurie saying they had caught Patti (who was heavily sedated) and that we needed to get in our car and drive to PA now! Now doesn't happen easily on our farm but in 2 hours we got things settled enough to leave. I called Chris, the reporter, to let him know we were on our way since he'd asked if he could be there to get the real end of the story.
Chris, Andy (the photographer), the Williams Family and some friends were there to meet us when we got to PA. Patti was still very sleepy so the Williams offered us dinner and we all talked about Patti's "adventure". Many tears were shed since the Williams Family, especially Allison (Randy and Laurie's teenage daughter), had become very fond of Patti and kept saying it wasn't fair that she had to leave. It was difficult for them to let her go but a necessity if Patti was to be safe.
After an hour we loaded Patti into the car for the 4 hour drive home. She slept most of the way back and once we got her to our farm I put her behind electric fence she would not cross. She stayed there for 2 weeks until I thought she'd know where she could come back to once she left the pasture. I was sure she would not stay within the pasture fence for long amd assumed she wold leave it the first chance she got.
Much to my surprise Patti has not left the pasture but has stayed inside the fence for the last 3 months she has been home. Not only did I finaly get my Patti back, but she came back a new "improved" Patti.
And, I know without a doubt each step of this journey, Patti's journey, was led by God. I also know that because it was so important to me to bring Patti home so she could be safe, He brought these events full circle just for me!
Shepherdess Blog
June 23,2013
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
So Patti came back to our farm, this time we had electric fencing installed behind our woven wire fence that held her in the pasture for about a year and a half until she found she could dig under the fence and slide herself under the electric wire without being shocked.
I knew it was just a matter of time before Patti became a problem again with our neighbors so I began to advertise her to the farms in our state. No one responded until one day I got a call from a lady in Pennsylvania who was looking for a guard dog for her sheep--the same breed we raise. Patti would have 100 acres to roam and the 7 strand very hot electric fence this farm used seemed like the perfect place to keep Patti contained.
In August of 2010 I met the people who were to pick up Patti, we loaded her up in their car (she had to be sedated for me to even catch her) and she was on her way to PA. Finally, Patti would be able to guard on a large farm while being safely enclosed by electric fencing. It seemed like the perfect solution and life for Patti and her new owners.
Or so I thought...
The day after Patti left our farm I got a call from her new owners. Things had not gone well, Patti had timed the shock pulse of the electric fence and jumped through the strands 10 minutes after she'd gotten to her new home. It was literally my worst nightmare for her or any of my animals--to be taken to a new home and escape from it before they knew where they was supposed to come back to. The fact that Patti was hundreds of miles away from me or anything she knew made things even worse.
The new owners immediately looked for her and alerted their neighbors about her escape. But there was no sign of Patti anywhere--she'd just vanished. I kept in close contact with Patti's new owners and they began to get calls from people who had spotted her including a neighbor who caught her on a video camera they had installed on their hiking trails. Patti was still in the area and I was assured by her new owners it would just be a matter of time before they got her back to their farm. Though I wanted to come immediately to where Patti had disappeared in PA, I was assured everything that could be done to find and catch her was being done.
So I waited and prayed...
Patti sightings were still coming frequently for quite some time but as they tapered off I felt I had to go and try to bring her home. You have to understand that making a trip by myself, to a place I did not know (that had bears) to walk the woods and fields--without getting lost was, to those who know me, either the act of a deluded mind or a huge leap of faith. I wavered between these 2 possibilities and decided that a leap of faith at least sounded like the better of the possibilities.
For 7 days I prayed, walked, talked to many strangers, handed out and posted flyers, ran ads, visited state and local law enforcement and called every dog shelter or pound or vet clinic within reason. I even contacted the local newspapers to see if anyone would pick up the story and 1 paper did. That story written by writer/dog lover, Chris Togneri, brought me many leads while I was in PA and I followed each one hoping 1 of these dogs would be Patti. Each time I went away without my girl...
I finally had to leave PA alone and each mile between Patti and I actually caused me to weep for her. I asked God why I could not find her but heard no answer.
For months I prayed and cried and dreamed (not good dreams) about Patti. I felt I had betrayed and doomed her to death and the guilt was weighing my heart down. I knew that since she did not seek human contact she would not be easily caught and, since she would gravitate towards livestock, would most likely be shot as a marauding dog.
Though it took me a while to get to that place, I realized I had done all I could--more than many would have done--and I let it go. I remembered seeing a little sign years ago that said, "Do your best and leave the rest to God". I had certainly done my best, now I had to let God do His part and in His time.
All leads evaporated. It seemed Patti had vanished from my life as easily as she'd vanished into the PA woods and countryside until I decided for, whatever reason, to place just 1 more ad in the local PA paper that had published the story about Patti. I called it a Christmas present to myself all the while not expecting to get a response from that ad.
A few days after I placed the ad I got a call from a gentleman in PA (Randy Williams) who lived 12 miles from where Patti had last been seen--12 miles from the farm she was supposed to live at. He had been told my his mother-in-law about my ad and said he was sure he had Patti. Id' heard that story so many times before that I didn't get too excited about what he had to say. I asked if he could take a picture of the dog and he told me he didn't know if he could get close enough to her. Within minutes he sent me a picture that sent chills through me. It looked like Patti had indeed gotten to their farm and was safe after all.
Of course, to be 100% sure it was her I would have to go to PA--in winter, during the coldest weekend of that winter. All the way there I prayed it would be Patti. As soon as I pulled up into the Williams' driveway Patti met me barking and running beside my van. Now, she was not barking because she was happy to see me, she barked because I was an "intruder". I knew I had my work cut out for me if I was going to be successful in catching Patti.
All that weekend I tried to catch her by putting sedatives in hot dogs--her favorite treat. All weekend she eluded me as I sat for hours in a cold van trying to look uninterested and or invisible to Patti. The Williams offered their home to me during the day and I went from window to window in their house following her movements. But nothing worked and after seeing how hard I tried to catch Patti all weekend, the Randy and Laurie (Williams) said they would continue taking care of Patti with the hope that they could someday catch her and return her to me.
I cried much of the 4 hour drive home and talked to my dear friend, Mary Ann, on the phone. Though I was so sad I could not catch Patti I also was so grateful to God that I had seen her and knew she was in loving hands. It was almost beyond my comprehension that God cared enough for me and knew how much I was grieving over Patti that He let me know she was OK. I could have just as easily never known what happened to her.
I emailed the reporter, Chris Togneri, and asked if he'd consider doing a follow-up article giving Randy and Laurie credit for taking in Patti and letting readers know the end of the story. Unbelievably Chris still got inquiries about Patti and people wanted a happy ending so he interviewed the Williams Family and took along a photographer (Andy) with a very long lens since Patti would not come close to them.
For a time I kept in touch with the Williams and they continued loving and caring for Patti for 2 years after my last attempt to bring her home. Then we lost touch until this past March when I received an email from Chris Togneri telling me Randy Williams had contacted him to see if they'd do a story about Patti again.
It seems a neighbor of theirs was routinely calling the dog warden with complaints about Patti being on his property. The neighbor could legally shoot and kill Patti if she was on his property and the Williams were facing some large fines if they did not restrain Patti. Restrain Patti? Not an easy task. You'd have to catch her first and Randy would not even try to restrain Patti since he believed it would kill her. He thought if Chris could write an article about the situation maybe someone with a lot of land and livestock would take Patti in.
I immediately called Randy and told him we'd come for Patti if they could catch her. He told me the dog warden had tried several different things to catch her and had even called in a "dog whisperer" who failed to catch Patti amd said she was too smart to trick or catch. At this point the dog warden and I were also in touch because I wanted him to know we were committed to bringing Patti back to Ohio, out of his jurisdiction.
On a Saturday, two weeks later, we got a call from Laurie saying they had caught Patti (who was heavily sedated) and that we needed to get in our car and drive to PA now! Now doesn't happen easily on our farm but in 2 hours we got things settled enough to leave. I called Chris, the reporter, to let him know we were on our way since he'd asked if he could be there to get the real end of the story.
Chris, Andy (the photographer), the Williams Family and some friends were there to meet us when we got to PA. Patti was still very sleepy so the Williams offered us dinner and we all talked about Patti's "adventure". Many tears were shed since the Williams Family, especially Allison (Randy and Laurie's teenage daughter), had become very fond of Patti and kept saying it wasn't fair that she had to leave. It was difficult for them to let her go but a necessity if Patti was to be safe.
After an hour we loaded Patti into the car for the 4 hour drive home. She slept most of the way back and once we got her to our farm I put her behind electric fence she would not cross. She stayed there for 2 weeks until I thought she'd know where she could come back to once she left the pasture. I was sure she would not stay within the pasture fence for long amd assumed she wold leave it the first chance she got.
Much to my surprise Patti has not left the pasture but has stayed inside the fence for the last 3 months she has been home. Not only did I finaly get my Patti back, but she came back a new "improved" Patti.
And, I know without a doubt each step of this journey, Patti's journey, was led by God. I also know that because it was so important to me to bring Patti home so she could be safe, He brought these events full circle just for me!
Shepherdess Blog
June 23,2013
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Little Lola Kitty's Kiddie Blog...
Yay! I'm born...
My name is Lola and I was born 9 weeks ago. I have lots of brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles who were born just a few days after I was.
You see, my mommy and grandma were taken to our new home just before they had their babies. It was a good thing that mommy and grandma found a new inside home because they were living on the street and it was hard for them to find food and, it was going to be really hard for them to keep us safe from dogs, raccoons and other things that would try and hurt us.
Any ways, my mommy had her litter of kittens, another name for her babies, on Thursday and her mommy, my grandma, had her babies the next Sunday. It was kind of confusing at first because we all lived in the same little house and my grandma kept telling me I was her baby then she'd lay down next to me. Then my mommy would tell me I was her baby and she'd lay down next to me. And before you know it, all the babies were mixed up and both mommies were feeding us all. I didn't mind because I felt really loved by both mommies and my brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles helped keep me warm.
Every day a giant would come into our house and look at us from far away, say something in giant talk, then leave. At first, the giant did not get very close to us but when we were just a few days old I could tell she was moving closer and closer to our birthing box.
My mommy hissed at the giant and my grandma mommy ran away if the giant got too close. This made all the kittens cry because we were afraid the giant was going to hurt our grandma.
I did not know much about giants--only what my mommy told me--but I heard from some of my brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles that some giants were mean and even hurt kitties. So every time the giant would come in I would close my eyes really tight, purr loudly and pretend the giant wasn't there.
As the days went by I noticed my grandma mommy would leave us and climb up into secret places in our little house. Sometimes she would be gone just a few minutes, other times she would be gone for hours and hours. Then one day she just quit coming back
There were 8 of us kittens and it was very hard for my mommy to feed us all since she was also feeding grandma mommy's kittens too. She tried really hard, yes she did, but she only had enough milk to feed 5 of us till we were all the way full. So many times we fell asleep with empty tummies and even though we cried for our grandma mommy to come back she never did.
The giant did not know our grandma mommy wasn't feeding us but she did notice some of us were getting thinner. My sister, Nala, was the littlest in the litter and I was pretty small too. We were too young to be able to help ourselves and our mommy could not help us either. We knew if grandma mommy did not come back soon, something sad would happen to some of us.
Then one day the giant came in and said something in giant talk as she came close to us and the next thing I know I was being lifted in the air--higher, higher--like I was flying but without wings--and the giant put me on her shoulder. My mommy hissed and even came towards the giant but she would not put me down no matter what mommy did. Then the giant lifted Nala into the air too and put her next to me on her shoulder.
We both cried out, "Help mommy, the giant is taking us away to hurt us". My mommy hissed and even came towards the giant but it did not stop her from taking us away. We kept crying out to mommy and she cried back but her voice got farther and farther away until we could not hear her any more.
Nala and I were so scared and we cried so hard that first night away from mommy I did not think we would ever stop. I was glad we had each other to snuggle with at night when the giant was asleep and we would whisper to each other in our little cocoon box, filled with soft baby blankets, the giant made to keep us safe and warm.
The giant would give us warm liquid, kind of like the milk mommy gave us, and it was in a bottle I did not like to drink from. I fussed at and fought with the giant at first when she tried to make me eat but after a while I got so hungry I just ate whatever she gave me. I missed my mommy and grandma mommy and Nala and I cried a lot the first few days the giant was taking care of us.
Every few hours the giant appeared and fed us the warm liquid from the bottle. Then she'd hold us close to her, rock us and make a sound like my mommy did when she sang us to sleep. It was still very hard to understand what the giant was saying but, if we listened really hard, some of the sounds made sense to us. Could it be we were turning into giants too? That was the scariest thought I ever had in my life!
I noticed the giant would stand over our cocoon box, close her eyes and say something in giant talk. Though I still could not understand what the giant was always saying, I somehow knew she was a nice giant--if there was such a thing as a nice giant. After all, if she was not a nice giant why would she wake up from a sound sleep, night after night, just to feed us, sing to us and rock us back to sleep? If she was going to hurt us, like giants were supposed to do, why would she spend so much time trying to help us?
After a while I looked forward to the giant waking us up and I even began to purr when she fed us. Nala did not think we should ever, ever be nice to the giant and she was kind of mad at me for starting to like the giant and forgetting our mommy. I told her I had not forgotten our mommy, grandma mommy, sister, brothers aunts and uncles. I would never forget them. It's just that the more time I spent with the giant the more I understood her and felt her kindness to us.
She could have left us with our mommy and grandma mommy but we surely would not have lived if the giant had not started caring for us. Bottle feeding 2 wiggly tiny kittens who did not like you was hard work, and tiring too, so I thought I should at least try to be nice to the giant even if Nala was not.
After many talks in our cocoon box, in the wee hours of the night, even Nala had to agree the giant was indeed a nice giant. It we had to be separated from our birth family and if we had to be fed by a giant, this was the best giant we could have to care for us.
"Why is she so kind to us?", Nala asked me one night. I wondered if we'd ever find the answer to that question.
And then one night, about 4 weeks after the giant started to care for us, it happened. As she stood over our cocoon box, closed her eyes and spoke in giant talk, I finally understood what she was saying...
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."
That was the same song my mommy and grandma mommy sang to all the kittens each night. And we knew from that time on we would be safe and secure in our new mommy's, our giant mommy's, care.
June 15, 2013
The Rescue Kitty Chronicles
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
Yay! I'm born...
My name is Lola and I was born 9 weeks ago. I have lots of brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles who were born just a few days after I was.
You see, my mommy and grandma were taken to our new home just before they had their babies. It was a good thing that mommy and grandma found a new inside home because they were living on the street and it was hard for them to find food and, it was going to be really hard for them to keep us safe from dogs, raccoons and other things that would try and hurt us.
Any ways, my mommy had her litter of kittens, another name for her babies, on Thursday and her mommy, my grandma, had her babies the next Sunday. It was kind of confusing at first because we all lived in the same little house and my grandma kept telling me I was her baby then she'd lay down next to me. Then my mommy would tell me I was her baby and she'd lay down next to me. And before you know it, all the babies were mixed up and both mommies were feeding us all. I didn't mind because I felt really loved by both mommies and my brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles helped keep me warm.
Every day a giant would come into our house and look at us from far away, say something in giant talk, then leave. At first, the giant did not get very close to us but when we were just a few days old I could tell she was moving closer and closer to our birthing box.
My mommy hissed at the giant and my grandma mommy ran away if the giant got too close. This made all the kittens cry because we were afraid the giant was going to hurt our grandma.
I did not know much about giants--only what my mommy told me--but I heard from some of my brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles that some giants were mean and even hurt kitties. So every time the giant would come in I would close my eyes really tight, purr loudly and pretend the giant wasn't there.
As the days went by I noticed my grandma mommy would leave us and climb up into secret places in our little house. Sometimes she would be gone just a few minutes, other times she would be gone for hours and hours. Then one day she just quit coming back
There were 8 of us kittens and it was very hard for my mommy to feed us all since she was also feeding grandma mommy's kittens too. She tried really hard, yes she did, but she only had enough milk to feed 5 of us till we were all the way full. So many times we fell asleep with empty tummies and even though we cried for our grandma mommy to come back she never did.
The giant did not know our grandma mommy wasn't feeding us but she did notice some of us were getting thinner. My sister, Nala, was the littlest in the litter and I was pretty small too. We were too young to be able to help ourselves and our mommy could not help us either. We knew if grandma mommy did not come back soon, something sad would happen to some of us.
Then one day the giant came in and said something in giant talk as she came close to us and the next thing I know I was being lifted in the air--higher, higher--like I was flying but without wings--and the giant put me on her shoulder. My mommy hissed and even came towards the giant but she would not put me down no matter what mommy did. Then the giant lifted Nala into the air too and put her next to me on her shoulder.
We both cried out, "Help mommy, the giant is taking us away to hurt us". My mommy hissed and even came towards the giant but it did not stop her from taking us away. We kept crying out to mommy and she cried back but her voice got farther and farther away until we could not hear her any more.
Nala and I were so scared and we cried so hard that first night away from mommy I did not think we would ever stop. I was glad we had each other to snuggle with at night when the giant was asleep and we would whisper to each other in our little cocoon box, filled with soft baby blankets, the giant made to keep us safe and warm.
The giant would give us warm liquid, kind of like the milk mommy gave us, and it was in a bottle I did not like to drink from. I fussed at and fought with the giant at first when she tried to make me eat but after a while I got so hungry I just ate whatever she gave me. I missed my mommy and grandma mommy and Nala and I cried a lot the first few days the giant was taking care of us.
Every few hours the giant appeared and fed us the warm liquid from the bottle. Then she'd hold us close to her, rock us and make a sound like my mommy did when she sang us to sleep. It was still very hard to understand what the giant was saying but, if we listened really hard, some of the sounds made sense to us. Could it be we were turning into giants too? That was the scariest thought I ever had in my life!
I noticed the giant would stand over our cocoon box, close her eyes and say something in giant talk. Though I still could not understand what the giant was always saying, I somehow knew she was a nice giant--if there was such a thing as a nice giant. After all, if she was not a nice giant why would she wake up from a sound sleep, night after night, just to feed us, sing to us and rock us back to sleep? If she was going to hurt us, like giants were supposed to do, why would she spend so much time trying to help us?
After a while I looked forward to the giant waking us up and I even began to purr when she fed us. Nala did not think we should ever, ever be nice to the giant and she was kind of mad at me for starting to like the giant and forgetting our mommy. I told her I had not forgotten our mommy, grandma mommy, sister, brothers aunts and uncles. I would never forget them. It's just that the more time I spent with the giant the more I understood her and felt her kindness to us.
She could have left us with our mommy and grandma mommy but we surely would not have lived if the giant had not started caring for us. Bottle feeding 2 wiggly tiny kittens who did not like you was hard work, and tiring too, so I thought I should at least try to be nice to the giant even if Nala was not.
After many talks in our cocoon box, in the wee hours of the night, even Nala had to agree the giant was indeed a nice giant. It we had to be separated from our birth family and if we had to be fed by a giant, this was the best giant we could have to care for us.
"Why is she so kind to us?", Nala asked me one night. I wondered if we'd ever find the answer to that question.
And then one night, about 4 weeks after the giant started to care for us, it happened. As she stood over our cocoon box, closed her eyes and spoke in giant talk, I finally understood what she was saying...
"Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."
That was the same song my mommy and grandma mommy sang to all the kittens each night. And we knew from that time on we would be safe and secure in our new mommy's, our giant mommy's, care.
June 15, 2013
The Rescue Kitty Chronicles
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Love is Kind
Benjamin after his first of several baths
Because of what he'd already been through, this little kitten should have been anything but loving or kind...
The first time I saw Benjamin he was in a rusty, filthy cage with another kitten. His white fur was coated in a thick, yellowish oil that looked much like motor oil and he had dried feces matted into his fur that had been there for quite some time. As I spoke softly to the little kitten he would not even look up at me.
I put on my gloves before I reached into the cage to lift Benjamin out, unsure if he would attack me when I touched him. That happens sometimes when cats have been continually mistreated, mishandled or are too afraid of people and I have come to believe, after many years of rescue experience, that many so called behavior problems in animals are man made. As I touched him Benjamin just went limp.
That day I took Benjamin and 3 other cats home along with a mother dog and her 2, 8-week-old puppies that the former "owner" had threatened to shoot if I did not take. Benjamin was in the worst shape of all the animals I rescued that day.
I usually like to wait a while before I give the new cats a bath since I don't want them to go through yet another negative experience after just being rescued. But Benjamin was so filthy I knew it wasn't healthy to wait for his first bath. I had to get that oil off of him before he ingested too much of it and I knew the dried feces had to be washed off him too.
I armed myself for battle by putting on a thick, quilted plaid shirt and once again put on gloves. I filled the bathroom sink with warm water and slowly lowered the kitten into it. For the first time Benjamin's big sad eyes looked up into mine and he purred. He purred...
The oil slowly came off with repeated washing using mild detergent. The dried feces was matted to his skin and had to be carefully and meticulously cut off or it would actually tear his skin causing it to bleed. Through it all, Benjamin looked lovingly, trustingly, into my eyes and purred. When his bath was finished I wrapped him in a big fluffy warm towel and sat him in my lap. He fell asleep purring.
When he woke he was a new kitten. It was as if all his dirty, ugly past was washed away and went down the drain and a new clean beginning took its place. It was amazing and unlike anything I had ever seen before.
I put him back with the other kittens and he played with them as if his life had always been that way. He climbed and rolled around and was just so full of joy it brought tears to my eyes. Then he stopped and looked straight into my eyes begging me to pick him up. Being in my arms was not enough for Benjamin so he climbed up on my shoulder and lovingly rubbed his cheek against mine. I cried again at this unexpected act of love and kindness from a kitten who had been shown anything but that his whole, short little life.
Though he should have been anything but loving or kind to humans, this little kitten showed me that even when I am treated less than lovingly I can still be loving and kind--that I don't have to let my past mold my present or future--that just because others may choose to be hateful or unkind to me, I don't have to do the same in return. Bad things happen to us all, what we do with those experiences, how we act in response, makes us who we are.
I Corinthians 13:4 says, in part: "Love is patient, love is kind..." Though I had read that passage so many times in my life, seeing it, feeling it--even though it was from a little abused rescue kitten--made it more real to me than ever before. Maybe that's because it was so pure and so unexpected. Maybe it was because God knew I could learn this lesson best from a tiny kitten named Benjamin. Whatever the case, it's a truth I won't soon forget.
Thank You, Lord, for showing me Your love and truth about kindness no matter what form it comes in.
Benjamin, 4 weeks after his rescue
Shepherdess Blog
January 2, 2013
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
January 2, 2013
Copyright 2013 Jackie Deems
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)