Casanova & The Vet

Happy for you and Marly! Thanks for sharing the good news!

 

That is Great News! After such a long day Thank You for taking the time to let us all know such good news!

 

Such powerful stories some sad some happy. Thanks everyone for sharing.

I've got lots of stories about animals since we have many of them on the farm. I myself have an issue that makes dealing with the farm animals difficult. I get attached. You really can't do that when you are raising animals for sale so I haven't had anything to do with them in decades. I raise the chickens since we don't sell or eat them we raise them for eggs.

I still have issues as chickens are incredibly mean to each other. So when they get old, sick or injured the other chickens pick on them unmercifully and keep them from food and water. The general attitude of my family is that is when you should kill the chicken for it's own sake instead of letting it get beat up. It is after all no longer laying eggs so why should we keep it? I simply cannot kill anything. Instead I've built a separate coop for any injured or old birds. I can pop them into there keep them away from the general population and make sure they have access to food and water.

I get a good bit of flack about this from my family but I could not care less. Currently I have a rooster in the coop as he somehow broke his foot. I think the older rooster beat him up or chased him into something where he hurt himself. He can only hobble a bit so it would not be long before the other rooster killed him outright or he died from dehydration. No such thing as taking a chicken to a vet as the vet would just tell me to kill it and then charge me a small fortune. No idea how long he will live but he's only 2 years old so it may be another couple of years. Before this I had a chicken in there that lived 3 years after she had been mauled by a hawk and lost part of a wing.

I have a similar problem with vermin such as rats. I'm no longer in charge of filling bait traps as I can't be trusted to do it. It's not that I like them in particular and I just don't want to be responsible for their deaths. Fortunately this does not extend to bugs, those I can kill.

 

LD. my daughter and son-in-law starting raising egg chickens 2-2 1/2 yrs ago. I can't remember how many they started with but no more than 8. She added a "Malibu" house (that's what she calls it bc it's pretty) It grew to like 25 and 1 rooster, Roger. Quite a variety she has and I love to watch them Each has their own personality. Skieler, 11 yr old daughter, has become attached to most of them and is sad when they pass. Most recently she sent me pics of a box with heat lights that is set up in her basement for chickens to eat (?) We live in NW PA so it's winter outside. My kids grew up with cats but there were no chickens. Jessie's friends jokingly refer to her as a Chicken woman now She tells me they are her "frands"!! My mom (84 yrs young) and I went to Cracker Barrel lasr week and lo and behold, there was a section in the gift shop with Chicken items. I got her a coffee cup, toothpick holder and the cutest chicken the sits on the sill with dangling legs Can't wait to see her to give them to her. Usually 's the grandkids that get the gifts!!

 

that's funny LDCrow you sound a lot like me and my animals. I didn't want chickens because I was afraid of them but my SO talked me into it and I caved in and I grew to just love them we even went and rescued 50 of them and I took care of them when one was sick or hurt I brought it in the house and cared for it till it was better now we are in florida and all I have is my 2 furbabies and I really miss all my other animals but these 2 have been keeping us really busy for the last 6 months I just got maya back on antibiotics for her foot we had her on the road to recovery and were doing a pretty good job keeping her from licking her foot but she somehow chewed the rest of what was left of her toenail off and we had to start all over again . And that's awesome Julie those gifts sound really awesome yes they do have a personality all their own I was really surprised I loved to sit outside and watch them in the spring and summer months or as long as the nice weather lasted I lived in PA too when I had them about 100 miles North West of Pitts I love hearing stories like these too brings back so many memories

 

LDCrow - I love your tender heart and it reminds me of my daughter (and me). It is hard to say goodbye to livestock that you've raised and has to be sold. Many a tear was shed over animals that were only supposed to be temporary. My childhood is filled with memories of farm animals. Bottle calves were so much fun. They are adorable and it is so hard watching them get sold after you have cared for them daily and who doesn't fall in love with a baby? Puppies Kittens Goats Mom even had a pet pig Though we did not raise animals for meat, I still had trouble at the dinner table knowing that supper once looked like our pet friends. Ok, so they weren't technically 'pets' but we did love them like we did the dogs, cats and horses that were permanent parts of the family.

Since I became an adult, Mom has had miniature donkeys and sheep. More babies More fun and yes, more tears but an experience that was worth it.

Daughter views all life as precious, even the bugs. She has taught me so much. I'm still afraid of snakes but I can handle to creepy crawlies better than I used to. She 'rescues' everything and if I see something in the house that makes me uncomfortable, she will gently scoop it up and place it outside.

 

PNP- I'd like to see your daughter scoop up a palmetto bug! Giant flying tree roaches is what they are and I can't quite be so forgiving towards them. Fire ants are also something I kill in vast numbers and they are quite dangerous as they can easily kill baby chicks. Horrible things and very painful to get bitten by.

I only kill venomous snakes when I encounter them but I give all snakes a wide berth. I have some live traps for other animals such as possums or raccoons both of which can and do kill and eat chickens. Those are trapped and then taken and released elsewhere. I had a devil of time recently as we had a small family of armadillos move in. Hard to trap and we had to get all of them so as not to strand any babies.

I've got a couple of dogs that have allergies just like humans do and I give them benedryl twice a day during the spring.

 

Our dogs have allergies too. Popcorn (avatar) suffers all year long and had to get a prescription from the vet.

Daughter gives you 2 thumbs up for live traps with release.

Since personal photos are prohibited, I have cropped out all but daughter's and nephew's hand. A few years ago, the library had a creepy crawly exhibit and daughter held everything she could. You can see the bug in her hand and she is encouraging nephew (3 years old at the time) to touch it. She might not mind a palmetto bug. She wanted me to allow her to have a Madagascar hissing cockroach as a pet but I said no.

 

Your daughter's much braver than I, pups . I despise bugs, spiders especially, tho I have managed over the years to temper my screams to mere squeaks. I once had a male co-worker (I was the only female on a fire crew with 3 other males. Best job I ever had, overall, loved it ) who thought it would be just hysterical to put a daddy long legs in my lunch box. It was one of those small Igloo coolers with an A type lid. He was sorely disappointed, tho, because I didn't open it until the next morning while getting ready for work, and I didn't even scream, just calmly asked my little sister to take it out and dump it for me, which she was kind enough to do.

The most unusual pet I've ever had was a goat. She wasn't really a pet, per se, but she was, if you know what I mean. When we moved west (I was 12), my mom decided we were going to do the whole raise your own thing, so for a while we had chickens, 2 pigs, goats, and even a few rabbits. The goats were for milk, which is surprisingly good; I think I could still milk a goat fairly well if given the opportunity. Anyway, our first goat was an Alpine breed, and she was pregnant when we bought her, so it wasn't long and she had twins. The woman who was mentoring mom about breeding and raising goats told us we needed to separate the kids from the mom right away, since mom was for milking, so my step dad had built a big wood box in the back entry of our house, and that's where the kids slept. I know, it sounds nuts, but we didn't have anywhere else that was warm enough to keep them, so they stayed in there until they were weaned and big enough to go out in the pen. Those two little does became as much a part of our family as our dogs. They were allowed to come out into the house when they were very little (I know, I know, weird), and they'd jump up on the couch, curl up on a pillow, and go to sleep. I don't ever remember them going potty in the house, and our dogs loved them. We'd even take them for drives, lol. What can I say, I have a strange family. I really enjoyed those goats, I hope to have some again someday, maybe even some mini goats, which I find absolutely adorable.

 

Today hubby & I made the painful decision to take Casanova to the vet so they could help him pass on.
Despite the meds and IV fluid drips he continued to lose weight and interest in food.
Around midmorning, he was crying and staggering around so we were able to get him in to the clinic about midafternoon.
The three things I can be grateful for as i'm sitting here crying my heart out are that:
God gave me the strength to be absolutely calm for Cas for the few remaining hours we had together at home & act as if we were headed for a fun adventure ride in the van.
Casanova was a gift who added so much to our lives.
That although people sinned & fell from grace, God loved us enough to give us the brains to figure out medicines not only for people, but for the very creatures He created ~ thus Casanova's end was both peaceful and swift.
okay …. hurting so much right now but better that i should be an emotional mess than that Cas should be suffering ~ I keep telling myself that eventually, I'll "see him on the other side".

 

Deepest sympathies swCactus1, I know how difficult that choice is. Please know it was from the depth of your love that you made the decision & Casanova knew only your love at the end.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss and keeping you in thought and prayer during this difficult time.

 

So very sorry for your loss SWCactus1. I know just how you must be feeling right now after having to say goodbye to one of my gorgeous Scotties just a few months ago. These decisions are made through love even though they are so very hard to make.

 

Very sorry you had to say goodbye to your beloved Casanova; you are in my thoughts today.

 

Thank you dafodily, pnp, Lilaclady, and Willow for your comforting words ~ it means a lot.
@Lilaclady …. extending a virtual /hug to you over your loss.

 

swCactus, I'm so sorry for your loss. Knowing first hand how devastating it is to lose someone who is not just a pet, but a family member, I can only send prayers for healing for your heart. In the last 16 years we've lost 3 of our dogs to cancer, Moose being the most recent last November, 2 days before Thanksgiving; having nursed all 3 of them until the end, I know how emotionally draining it is. And making that particular choice for 2 of them just about killed both my husband and me - one was his dog, the other mine, and they were father and son. Please know you are most definitely not alone, and that eventually you will be able to remember Casanova with smiles instead of tears. And don't let anyone tell you animals don't go to heaven; I find great comfort in thinking that the best ones wait for us there, and that one day I'll cross over to find 2 Redbones and a Bluetick waiting for me when I get there.

 

swCactus1, I am so sorry to hear about your beloved Casanova! I too have walked in your shoes and it is not an easy place to be, my
thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. I for one have to believe that when our fur babies cross over the rainbow bridge
that they are in a much happier and pain free place!

 

Oh wow im really sorry for your loss swCactus1 And I also believe that we will see ALL our furbabies waiting for us on the other side. I too know what a very hard and selfless act it is to let our babies go when we know they cant keep going on just remember and know that cassanova is no longer suffering or in pain. That doesn't stop the pain for you but it helps to relieve it some . And know that cassanova isn't alone up there im sure he had a lot of friends waiting for him on the other side of rainbow bridge . And you aren't alone in your pain here either you have a lot of ppl here for you if you need to talk you can IGM me anytime


UPDATE on Marly and Maya: Well Maya had a split toenail and I told you they cut the toenail off it isn't healing and that was back in Jan/Feb now as of July 5th They want to amputate her toe and Marly has a huge mass on her right front elbow and they want to remove it on July 5th and they are going to remove a mass from her chest too and clean her teeth while she is under so I will have BOTH girls being put under and having surgery on the same day its really scary im sure they will be ok but I still am worried so any prayers or thoughts would be really appreciated

 

Blessings to you and to your sweethearts for an easy time and quick healing!

 

Marlymar ... I will definitely be in prayer for your girls as I believe in a God who takes our concerns & makes them His own.
Strength and peace for you, an easy healing for Marly & Maya, and wisdom & skill for the veterinary staff. /hugs

EDIT = thank you sanddollar15 and spotsbox for your kind expressions.