Willow Oak

[Willow Oak]

Here is a picture I posted elsewhere on this forum of my most recent waistrel, Taz:



He arrived on this past Sunday.

When I left for work on Monday I left Taz at home behind one of those child gates that I placed in the back hallway. I figured that even if he got out of that he would only have to contend with Bonnie and Clyde who are "teeth-challenged," and Lu Lu. Well, it did happen that he got out. When I arrived home I found him behind a chair in the living room. I could tell there had been some activity, but he came crawling out and appeared to be none the worse for his experience. I couldn't tell what all had taken place, but there is no doubt that if the larger dogs had been in the room, Taz would be no more. I did find what appeared to be a bite mark on his hind leg, and he definitely had suffered some sort of psychological Trauma. He was all over wet, evidently from the other dogs saliva, and he cried for a long time even after I arrived home. Even then he cried and whimpered in my arms for the longest time.

Tuesday I left him locked in the bathroom. I worried all day that he would get out of that, but when I arrived home he was still locked up. Nonetheless, he still cried and whimpered for a long time after I arrived home. So maybe separation anxiety had contributed to his trauma of the day before. I bought another dog crate yesterday on my way home from work and locked him in that when I left this morning. My mind is much more at ease now, although he did not like being locked up that way. At least I know he will be well and whole when I arrive home.

I still grieve much when I think of Yella Fella and Goldie and how I failed to protect them. Those bad memories are flooding back to me now that Taz has arrived. Poor Yella Fella. Poor Goldie.

What a mess I had to clean up when I arrived home from work yesterday! And then I had to endure about 20 minutes of nonstop whining and crying and yelling from little Taz. He followed me all around, trying to crawl up my pants leg. I had to sit down and hold him for a few minutes with him still whining and crying and yelling all the time. He did eventually settle down, but I do not know what kind of trauma the poor guy is enduring while I am away. He was safely locked away in his cage when I arrived home. His problem must be some extreme form of separation anxiety.

All the other animals appear to be doing fine. Cathy still doesn't like being shut away in her cage, but I still dare not leave her loose. The dogs do go nuts when I arrive home. I let them out of their kennels and into the big fenced-in front yard where they can run and jump and play. The cats are all fine. It is good to see Cougar doing so well after having all of this teeth extracted.

[I shall fill in the gaps regarding Yella Fella, Goldie, and Cougar, and all the others as time goes on.]

[Willow Oak]

When I arrive home from work today he will run around and cry and whimper and yell and scream until I pick him up and hold him for 10 minutes or so. Only then will he calm down and realize that everything is okay.

[Willow Oak]

Taz' behavior when I arrived home yesterday wasn't as bad as it was the day before. He did cut up for a few minutes, but he calmed down much more quickly yesterday that he had the day before.

Today I shall continue the story of how I came to have all of these animals by introducing you to Oscar. Below is a birds-eye view of my property taken from Yahoo Maps:



I've made a rough outline of my place in black, and as you can see I am in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods. You can see the two willow oak trees in the yard in front of my house.

Over the past few years I have found several litters of puppies in the woods, and how they got there who can tell? One of those puppies I found by himself, and he is the only one of those that I have found who is still with me. The rest I delivered safely to our local shelter.

I knew from the beginning that Oscar would not be a good candidate for adoption at the local shelter: he is a large breed dog and he is black. For some reason, that kind of dog doesn't get adopted as readily. Oscar had another problem: he was all over eaten up with mange. I treat dogs for mange by giving them about a half cc of Ivomec (Ivermectin) each day for up to two weeks. That will do it (ivermectin is toxic to a collie).

In the beginning, Oscar was in a bad way, and I actually contracted the mange from him. He and I both were in quarantine for several days while we recovered. I can testify personally to the extreme discomfort of having mange. I would bathe Oscar in the kitchen sink, dry him off, and sprinkle him with Gold Bond powder to lessen the itch (I did the same for myself). He did suffer so those first few days!

Eventually, Oscar recovered from his bout of the mange (as did I, thankfully), and today Oscar is a big, healthy, vibrant, and happy boy. See for yourself:







This is one of my favorite pictures of Oscar, running with his pals, Fred and Sam. I love to see that smile on his face:



Oscar is a gentle soul, as you can see from this picture of him with Thumper the cat:



Before I erected the fence in the front yard I let the dogs run free. After all, I live in the country. Even so, I still would have a dog come up missing now and then, and there is a road in front of my house. Then one day I stepped out my front door to find Oscar lying at the door all covered in blood. He had been shot with a shot gun. He survived that one okay, but I knew then that even in the country it is not a good idea to let your dogs run loose. So up the fence went, and now running around outside is safe for all of my animals.

[Willow Oak]

"Mister! Mister! Help me, mister! I am all alone in this world, and I don't have nobody to help me, mister, and I'm afraid, mister! Please help me, mister!"

I had stopped at a convenience store in the country to get directions, and here he was, begging me to help him. Inside the store I inquired about the kitty. No, he didn't belong to any of them, and no they didn't know from whence he came; but the owner of the store hd gone home to retrieve his gun, because the kitty was bothering the patrons and scratching their cars, etc., etc.

So, on my way back to my vehicle I scooped him up. My intention was to deliver him to the shelter. I have a policy of delivering all animals I find away from home that I deem adoptable to the shelter. This one would be no different. Except that it would be a few days before I would be able to get over that way. In the meantime he would have to reside at my house.

That is almost always a mistake, because most of the time the critter ends up staying permanently. So this is how Cougar came to live with me. A sweeter, kindler, gentler kitty has not existed. If any have ever shown their appreciation for being rescued Cougar certainly has. In time he would be found to have a gum disease and have all his teeth extracted. But it would take me a time to realize his pain.

Cougar is a laid-back kitty:




Cougar began to show signs of bad teeth, but it took me a time to realize it:



This picture is one of those that really opened my eyes to the problem of Cougar's teeth:



I spent a lot of money on Cougar, but it was worth every penny. Here he is after one of his three visits to have his teeth extracted. As you can see, he is much more perky:



Cougar is one of 12 (or so) cats who have taken up residence at Willow Oak. I'm so glad he did.

[Edwina's Secretary]

I am enjoying your writing. I hope you will keep going!

[Karen]

Awww! Not many would have gone to the expense of all that fencing, but I am glad you did, I am sure you sleep more soundly at night now!

[jennielynn1970]

I'm really enjoying your writing and your pictures. Can't wait to read more!

Big hugs to all your guys!