Doe, a Deer, a female deer

So, I meant to tell you about the deer.

I guess she's a doe, a female because she doesn't have antlers.

Anyway, I live in the city.

OK, not some BIG city like Chicago or something, but it's not the country.

I know this because 95% of the people I work with, live in the country

and they tell me that I live in a city.

AND I live directly on one of the main roads going through town.

Sometimes I've seen deer very early in the morning or very late at night in the empty lot down the street next to the church.

I've also read about deer on a blog that I follow and the blogger just lives 3 blocks from me

but she has ravines near her and also a wooded backyard.

Yeah, no deer here.

Until a few weeks back.

I saw her in my neighbors yard at the bottom of the hill eating out of their bird feeder.

My neighbor had told me that he'd seen one down there before but this was a first for me.

I was out working on my yard.

My garden that I've shown before and during photos.

I'm still "during". Kinda one step forward 2 steps back type of deal with my yard.

One late afternoon that had turned into evening I had pulled all the towering marigolds out from around my raised garden and weeded and moved stuff around and cleaned and...there she was, eating off the stack of dead plants and weeds that I had piled up. 

There was a random apple from my tree on the ground and she was munching on that.

So I walked down my front drive and gathered up some more and returned to gently toss them to her.

She looked at me and picked one up and ate that. 

I turned and walked a few feet away and sat down on my stool and continued my work.

It felt kinda cool, sitting there in that quiet time just before dark, working in my yard with my dogs sleeping on the patio and a deer a few feet from me eating. I went and got my camera and took a photo of her and she didn't run, just looked at me, munching away.

So then she returned the next morning and then the next evening and then she started coming after work.

She was coming at least 2 or 3 times a day.

This was all going on during that time that I wrote about a couple of posts back

and I gotta tell you. It made me happy to see her.

I mean, really happy.

My niece Lily apparently is "friends" on Facebook with one of the neighbor girls next door and she thought we were both so funny.

Both of us posting about this deer and taking photos of her.

Lily lives very close to a State Park, so they have deer over there all the time.

It's not that big of a deal.

Sometimes in the early morning the dogs would be at the living room window barking at something outside.

I'd look out and there would be a walker or jogger, who had stopped and was looking up the driveway.

I'd look through the kitchen window to see what they were looking at, but I knew.

It was the doe.

Actually the dogs seemed oblivious to her most of the time except for one evening when Blue noticed her  over the fence and they just stared at each other.

I stood on the back step, with the back door open, watching and Louie walked out, trembling and not sure if he needed to be afraid or not.

Then Jimmy came out and stood next to me and looked at her and at Blue and then at me as if to ask "Should I bark?"

I just shook my head at him and we all stared.

Suddenly Nora shot past me and ran to the fence and braced her front paws on top of the gate and barking her away.

I scolded Nora and told her to stop it, that it was OK

but the doe left.

She came back later that night and again the next day and then...nothing.

Several days went by and I would come home and let the dogs out and water the front yard and the side yard and finally the back yard and just stare down at the bottom of the hill, trying to will her back.

Then I noticed that I wasn't the only one wishing for her return. On the neighbors picnic table next to the bird feeder, sat a couple of big apples

and then I saw that someone had also stuck several ears of corn into the fence.

But she didn't return and for some stupid reason, I felt overwhelmed with sadness.

I went to work and told my co-workers that I feared the worst.

They were actually very kind and told me that she probably just found a different food source.

I just nodded and thought about how she had to cross the busy street each time. 

and....about people. People that would want to do her harm.

I felt pretty sad, and foolish too.

but... she had brightened my days.

Then one morning, she was there again. Standing at the bottom of the yard and looking at me.

Now comes the silly part, but I felt like she had stopped by to say, Hey I'm OK.

and then she left and hasn't returned.

But this time I feel better about it.

I think that she's just moved on.

Bonsai

I have a little bonsai tree.

By some miracle it has survived while all the other houseplants died.

Oh sure, a couple of them hung on for as long as they could,

their leaves curling and turning brown on the edges.

In a last ditch effort, I moved them to the patio for some fresh air and sunshine

and that finished the job.

Poor things.

But this little bonsai sat on the shelf next to the kitchen sink

and strained towards the light of the window.

The thin little trunk curved towards the sunbeams.

I turned it around thinking maybe it would straighten itself out.

Then I decided to just move it in front of the window.

Why should it struggle when I could just move it.

I wasn't thinking.

I let the cats upstairs,
they laid in the windowsills,

wrestled with the little dogs,

slept on my laptop 

rubbed their faces against mine

and ran from Nora.

Finally it was dinner time and I went downstairs to give them fresh water and fill their food bowls.

I came back upstairs, shut the door

and found my little bonsai tree.

I'm sure there's a metaphor here somewhere but I have no idea what it is.

A couple of reasons why I needed a break

Do you remember why I was able to have my Hattie?

Her previous mom had several dogs, all older than Hattie and her husband had retired and she would be retiring in a few years herself and they hoped to travel. They thought it best to find Hattie a home so when their "seniors" passed, they would be able to come and go without worries.

Yep, that was the story.

A little more than a week ago, the office girls at work told me that this woman had an appointment for one of her dogs....

and her two NEW puppies.

I stayed away from the receptionist desk during the time that she was scheduled to come in.

Later I walked up and said "OK, just tell me. What did she bring in?"

The girls shook their heads and told me that besides her "not that old" Shih-tzu, her new puppies were a long-haired dachshund and a lab.

I just don't get it.

I'm happy that I have my Hattie...but why?

Then last weekend there came a knock on my front door.

I walked out and there stood a woman that I haven't seen in almost 14, maybe 15? years.

"Hey! Do you remember me?" she asked.

I did. I actually had first met her at her garage sale when she talked me into taking a cat that she had been feeding, (long story that I won't go into here.) and then one day she called me at my work and asked for me and asked if I would take her mothers dog.

Her mom had died and her grown daughter had taken the dog but it wasn't fitting in with their lifestyle.

So, I took the little tiny TEN YEAR OLD Maltese and said I'd try to find it a home.

I fully intended to look for a home because at that time in my life, I only had large dogs.

I had my Golden, a Chow mix, a Newfie mix and Deaf Boxer.....and cats.

I took that little terrified thing home and she instantly bonded with me.

She was glued to my side.

The woman called me to see how she was doing and then told me how the little dog used to wander down the front yards at her daughters home and that she would furiously go after her and then kick her all the way home.

I was sick.

I changed the little dog's name from Angel to Vivian.

I wanted her to have a brand new life.

My niece, Lily the one that works with me, was just a little kid at the time. We would take that little dog everywhere and slowly she came out of her frightened shell. One Spring, Lily and I took Vivian to the Easter Parade with a homemade bonnet and we dressed her up and made her PINK using Kool-Aid.

Vivian was so happy and trotted proudly around the park in the parade.

Another time I made an "Nemo" outfit for her and Lily walked her down the runway at a Halloween contest. 

We three had some much fun together and so began my love of little dogs.

I had Vivian for 6 more years and I sobbed when the day came to let her go to Heaven.

So, this woman asked if I remembered her and I said "Yes".

"Do you still have Angel?" I just looked at her and slowly said "No....she passed away YEARS ago, when she was 16."

"Oh! yeah, she was OLD! anyway, I've got a problem. My daughter has this 10 yr old cat and her husband just told her if she doesn't get rid of it NOW, he's going to take it out and shoot it tomorrow. Can YOU take it?"

She continued to ramble on and finally I said that if her daughter would bring her to my work, I would try to find her a home but I could not personally take her. That I have enough pets to care for.

So, she took my number and said she'd have her daughter call me.

About a half hour later the daughter calls me. I won't go into the entire conversation but basically the cat had NEVER had any vaccinations in her life and this woman refused to help in anyway to pay for anything to get her updated on her medical stuff. I told her that I couldn't find this kitty a home without it being current on vaccinations. That was met with dead silence. Then I asked if the cat was peeing in the house? There was another long pause and then she said No. That he husband was just tired of her. Finally she got very abrupt and said she would just take her to the shelter!

Then she ended to conversation by asking "Do you still have Angel?" 

I told her no, she had died years ago. 

I could still see little Vivian's face in my mind and felt my heart hurting.

Then this woman added "Ehh! I could never stand that dog!"

I am not a violent person but I felt such anger that I'm glad she wasn't standing in front of me.

Instead, I just said "Good luck with your cat and hung up"

So you see, I've been kinda mentally exhausted,

and physically too.

Last week was a nightmare because everyone was boarding their dogs for that last vacation time slot before school starts. 

Now things have come to a screeching halt because everyone has gone back to school but it will begin to pick up after everyone gets into their daily routine and then the Holidays will be upon us.

But last week was just CRAZINESS and I came in on Monday to find a boarder, an elderly poodle who had been active and spunky on the weekend, laying in his kennel losing his bowels.

I ran him up to the lab area and the vet looked him over and took some blood and his temperature. 

I took him back and gave him a bath, he was a horrible mess.

(this is not the boarder but he bears an uncanny resemblance.)

He was almost lifeless and I carefully towel-dried him and then carried him back to the lab area to leave him in the hospital area.

Suddenly he started having a seizure.

His blood-work had printed out and his white blood cell count was through the roof.

The vet thought it must be a cancer.

Then the little dog had another seizure and the vet called the owners.

No one answered so he left a message. Then there was another seizure and then another and finally the owners called and said to release his tired old body from his suffering. Apparently he's had issues before.

Yeah.

It's been a NOT fun week or so and that's one of the reasons I needed a break.

That and I have so much to do here at home....

and I haven't even told you about the deer yet. 

That's for another post.

BE BACK SOON.

                  Just taking a little Internet break.

Freak Out!

I live in mortal fear of fleas.

I won't go into it here but if you ever had fleas, it's the worst nightmare you can imagine.

The last thing I ever want to have in my home, would be those hideous things.

So the other day an owner of a pet that was boarding with us, fessed up that he discovered that he was bitten up with fleas bites after being with his dog. 

I have a set in stone rule that all pets boarding must be on fleas preventative.

No one is to come in or go out with fleas.

I won't go into the RANT that I had but somehow someone in the front office just took his word that his dog was on preventative.

Then the dog's owner ends up telling me that he has to go to the doctor because he is highly allergic to fleas and that after playing and hugging his dog, he was covered in flea bites.

I immediately go back to boarding and give his dog a Capstar and Frontline.

My own dogs are on Frontline, a monthly preventative and they were due in just a few days time.

I was livid. The effectiveness goes down towards the end of the flea killing cycle.

I was so freaked out that although I had Frontline at home, I purchased more at work and immediately applied it to my dogs that were there. Blue, Nora and Jimmy.

When I got home I applied it to all my little dogs and my cats.

But I couldn't stop thinking about it, so I got out my clippers and shaved down my 2 long-haired cats. 

I wanted it to be easy to check them over daily. 

Charlie, who is a huge lug of a cat, bigger than most of my little dogs. could have cared less.

But Harry...and I know that I sound crazy every time I say this but if you met Harry, you would totally understand,

Harry is my cat that I think is really a person reincarnated and trapped in a cat body, was NOT pleased.

He just gave me that LOOK.

You know what I mean?

The look where you are kinda afraid to go to sleep so you put the cats downstairs and locked the basement door look.

Yeah, my Harry was NOT pleased with his cut.

It startled me too, since he's very black and yet his undercoat came out so grey.

and here's the kicker to this story.

After my Freak-out!

The owner stopped in the next day to tell me that he had gone to the doctors and it turned out that it wasn't flea bites at all.

That he had poison ivy!

Wasn't that funny?

Ha!

I just shook my head 

No way am I telling Harry.

Watching the World Go By

So, with the super nice weather, I've been leaving the front door open to let the air in
and Blue likes sitting out on the front porch watching the world go by.
Tonight I hear him barking and I look out the window to see some guy walking in front of the house with a clipboard in his hand. He pauses, looks at Blue and goes on to my neighbors house.
Ha! I love it! I don't need a "No Solicitors" sign. I've got Blue!