Bless the Beasts and the Children


It's Saturday. 
For me, that means going for a long workout. Then, going to the animal shelter to cuddle the kitties, to walk the dogs. Am not willing to clean their cages with my uber sensitivity to odors. Still, they need attention. They need to get out. Animals who become accustomed to being paid attention to are more likely to be taken home by a person vs animal heaven.
Workout ~ check!
Animal shelter ~ didn't make it today, however, I did rescue a sweet little yorkie who was about to get run over in traffic.
Next week, I'll make it.
Or, maybe, one day, this week.

These sweet creatures, brought into over-population by the irresponsibility of people, need love, time and attention.
Hey! Maybe I'm one of them & don't know it? Have been called a bitch at least a few times. Hmmm.
Don't we all live, grow, learn better from love, time, attention?
Here's a shocker ~ I will admit that I do better at everything when I have that in my life. Okay, so, maybe, it's not a shocker!

A year ago, I rescued 2 kittens that were born & lived under my home with a feral mother. They were so CUTE! I knew that if I took them to the animal shelter, because they were only a couple weeks old, they would probably be put down. So, I kept them, fed them watered down baby formula until they could eat solid kitten food. I litter box trained them, which was surprisingly easy, they mostly did it automatically. At first they were a bit unsteady on their feet, probably around 2 - 3 weeks old. I kept them until they were eating regular cat food, using the litter box with no accidents and had grown a bit bigger. One was a white & grey tabby, the other was all black. The black one was very sweet, purring constantly. She always wanted to be on my shoulder when I was sitting & stitching or watching a flik or working at my laptop. Not on my lap, not on my chest, always on my shoulder, softly purring right into my ear. It was such an adorable attribute.

Both kittens were around 3 months old when I took them to the animal shelter. Checking on them every time I went there, they were adopted within 1 month. They were both "fixed". YAY!
Fewer feral cats out there.
I felt a little sad, yet, happy that they went to a forever home. During this time, in my life, I'm loving the low responsibility. As much as I love all animals, the commitment it takes to have one is something that is more than I would be able to honor.
Seeing all these people who have so many cats, dogs, birds, fish, and so on, good for them. I like my freedom.

The sweetness of most animals is a wonderful attribute, sometimes found in rare people. People are just so flaky, so complicated in today's world. 3 of my 4 grown children are even so flaky, I have given up on those three. Have always been one to only go where I am wanted, loved, appreciated. 
I only feel that from 1 of my 4 kiddos. Sad commentary on people in today's world. I taught all 4 of them better than that.
1 out of 4 is what I have, it's who I will love & appreciate.

THE PUPPY PRINCIPLE!

Horses, oh, horses! Love, love, love horses. The first horse I rode extensively was Buttermilk. He was a palomino gelding, about 10 years old. He was such a great horse! He went straight from a walking gait to canter. Such a smooth ride!
There was another horse I really loved ~ Dudley. He was one of 100 or so horses stabled at Bald Mountain Stables, a place to ride for $10. per hour. Dudley was huge! The first time I went to the stables, when I told the stable hands which horse I wanted, they were a bit surprised. Dudley was a gentle giant, I was 12 years old, skinny, small for my age. I was unafraid of Dudley. He seemed to like me, too!
Whenever my mother would take me to the stables, she would drop me off, then come back later to pick me up. Before leaving for the stables, I would go out to the garden, pull up a couple carrots for Dudley, grab some from the refridgerator.
One day, my mother was in a really good mood, I had received $25. from babysitting, so, I asked her to take me to the stables. When I got there, Dudley wasn't standing at the hitching post, saddled & ready. I went to the ranch hand to ask for Dudley. The ranch hand said Dudley wasn't available. Then, he just walked away. I went to the office where the people knew me, to ask about Dudley. There were 3 people there. When I asked, they looked at each other kinda funny. 
One of them, a slender woman of probably 70 years, said to the others, I'll take care of this. She came over, draped her slender arm across my back in a kinda side hug.
She said, "Dudley won't be available any more."
I had to know why! So, I asked her.
She told me that a group of rowdy people took a few horses on a ride, ran them too hard, Dudley had broken his leg.
I felt my heart pounding!
Still, I asked her if I could just see him if he was there.
She went into the office, made a phone call, came out, motioned for me to come with her.
We went into the barn, to Dudley's stall. He was laying down, panting. She said that they were giving him pain meds until the Vet could come and send him to "horsey heaven." OH NO! I knew what that meant. My chest began to ache, like my heart was breaking for this wonderful horse that I had grown to love.

To  let him know I was there, I began clucking & saying his name, he tried to get up. I asked the woman if I could please just sit with him in the stall. My mother wasn't going to be back for another hour. She looked at me with a very sad, kind expression, told me it would be okay.
I moved very very slowly, into the stall and sat on the hay next to Dudley's head. He was a big horse, but, laying down, on his side, he looked even more massive, he almost filled up the entire stall.
He saw me, his ears pricked forward, I knelt down, put my cheek on his soft nose. I rubbed his cheek softly with my nose. Loved the scent of a horse as I still do. I petted his dark coarse mane, formed the hair into braids. His ears stayed pricked forward the whole time. The ranch hand said if Dudley would eat the carrots I brought that I could give them to him in small pieces. He had never refused any carrots or apples I brought.
I sat up, broke 1 carrot into 6 pieces. He smelled the carrot, lifted his head, slightly. I held the small piece to his lips, he took it. After 3 pieces of carrot, he wouldn't take any more. Just watching him was enough for me, that day, just to be with him. It didn't have to be a long ride.

Laying there, in his stall with him, I knew it was the last time I would see him. I laid there, softly humming to him, stroking his face, playing with his mane. A few tears trickled out of the corner of my left eye followed by many more. I was imprinting that time on my memory, the last moments with Dudley. 2 hours had passed, finally one of the ranch hands came in to check on Dudley. When he saw me, he told me that a woman with bright red hair was looking for me. My mother.
When I came out, she was angry that I had kept her waiting. She told me she would NEVER bring me to the stables ever again.
I said, "That's okay, I don't want to come back, anyway."
Even now, I remember that gentle giant and the time we had.

Maybe, when my dream happens, I will find a horse like Dudley or Buttermilk. Maybe I will find or build my sweet little house, myself. 
Maybe I will find a great dog, like Sammy.

*Dreams do, often, come true*