snow, blowing snow - a small blizzard. temps minus 10
Just heard from our friend Rhianna. She's adopted one of the black lab puppies that was abandoned not far from our home on Dec. 22nd. I hadn't heard anything about it until there was a dreadful report about the case. The mother and some of the pups had been shot in the head with a nail gun! Dear God, who does that? What makes a person into someone who would do that? thank heaven they were found. Some of the pups died, but most, along with Mom, survived. they've been treated and have now all been adopted. I wish we'd known! We'd have taken one. But now what we plan to do is add to the reward for catching whoever did this. As someone said, this person is dangerous. They'll clearly do it again - or do it to a person next.
I wonder if the person who shot those people in Arizona yesterday, including a 9 year old girl!!! - started by putting nails in dogs heads?
the dogs were found two dirt roads over from us - which I find horrifying. Funny of proximity somehow makes it worse. Thank heaven there're decent people including the 17 year old girl who discovered them by the side of the road.
In other animal news, Squirrel still with us. Heard him in the wall behind the bookcase a few minutes ago. One of the facebook readers suggested barking, as though a dog was about to get at it. Might scare it away. I must admit, we're so desperate, I tried. scared the hell out of Trudy, who was asleep. Probably scared Michael too, who has decided to ignore the barking wife for fear of encouraging it. and just when he thought things couldn't get odder. Little does he know.
busy day yesterday. Michael and I had an early breakfast with Cheryl and Gary - then went over to see their wonderful home that Gary is building in the woods. It's magical, and we're beyond thrilled for them. It really is a perfect home.
then while Cheryl drove Michael home I zipped back to the village to have coffee with Joan, and talk about Thomas Merton. Then home - and later a very early dinner with our friend Louise. In between, Tony came to see if he could see, and seal up, holes in the house. Now, we live in an 1869 united Empire loyalist home - a bit rambling. There are holes everywhere. Good ol' tony, though, went around and sealed whatever he could find.
We had high hopes, until the mad scrambling in the walls a few minutes ago. And the odd barking noise from the living room. I suspect Michael just blamed Trudy. We blame most things (missing carrot cake, smells) on her, why not this?
Off to offer help in finding out who did this dreadful thing to those dogs.
11 comments:
Pessimist that I am, I still believe there are more good people out there than evil- deranged- bad ones. But still. Be careful.
As for your squirrels; they can do a lot of damage, not the least of which is breeding. I think if you keep one opening open, and set a trap outside, it may leave the relative warmth of your attic for the goodie in the trap. Then get that last opening patched - fast!
As an Arizonan - the desert variety - I'm still trying to wrap my head around a 'small blizzard'! the word blizzard always sounds so horrifically large to me!
or maybe it's that as an Arizonan I'd rather focus on blizzard than on the horrific deed regarding the dogs ... too much violence - too close right now.
blessings to all who respond with act of kindness - and remember that no act of kindness is every small.
What's that very British expression: "barking mad"? No, no, just kidding. Couldn't resist.
A dear friend, now passed away, an M.D., would always be heard to say in situations like yours with the squirrel, "I wonder if it's a pregnant female?" and I would be freaking as a result.
Terrible what people do to animals, thinking of them as expendable. Maybe because those people have been treated the same way and are just practising, on their way to becoming abusers and killers of humans. It's particularly horrifying, in view of how defenceless and trusting animals are, and it seems to be happening more and more often. I wonder if public shaming would be useful -- maybe an animal abuser registry.
Discussing Thomas Merton, eh? He is a major spiritual inspiration for me; I have read probably 20 books of his, and still dip into them periodically for continuing spiritual support. One of these years I will make it down to Gethsemani for a retreat; just to walk the grounds and pray with the monks would be a profound experience. His premature death was a sad occasion.
John.
What a horrific story about the puppies, and, thankfully, some happy endings. I'm still appalled by the shootings in Arizona. Yes, the shooter may be disturbed, but why is it okay to do this? Lots of talk about toning down the vitriol in politics. We'll see.
By the way, in children, hurting small animals is one of the markers for serial killer triad, along with setting fires, and bed wetting. I'd rather think of you barking, and Trudy reacting, and Michael wondering. What a safe happy home you have-apparently the squirrel thinks so too. I hope it decides to leave home soon.
In the book "The Sociopath Next Door" the author tells of the definite association of animal cruelty with sociopathic/psychopathic behavior and the connection with future murder, abuse, etc.
It's an excellent book for character development, Louise! So glad the puppies are getting homes. I hope they have no permanent damage, other than a fear of humans, perhaps.
The two cats that have enriched our lives (and warmed our laps) for 16 years are two of a litter that were found in a shoebox in a plastic bag in an alley. The vet that deflead and dewormed them estimated that they were less than 2 weeks old. We bottle fed them, bathed them every other day and their paws did not touch the floor for weeks as they rode around on our shoulders. I hope the puppies reward their new caretakers with as much love as our babies have given us. how anyone could do such a thing is far out of my ability to comprehend-but it makes me fear for them and the people around them.
It was a terrible, awful story. I had a lovely black Lab that looked like the mother and it broke my heart to hear of it.
As for squirrels, you MUST be tough and get rid of them. It is NOT like having mice in the house. Squirrels will have litters who will ALL return to the site of their birth, over and over, like homing pigeons. Not only that, but squirrels are responsible for dozens of house fires in Quebec every year. They chew the wires.
In my house, they pulled out insulation, peed on the floor/ceiling, pulled off the siding, chewed a hole through the roof...it was awful. The dog barking won't work. I tried that. I put my cat in the attic. I tried a radio blaring Britney Spears (figuring surely THAT would do the trick.) I tried musk oil from a fox (bought at a hunting store) and those specialist noise machines and a fake owl and spicy mix called Critter Ridder. Nope. None of it worked.
Nothing worked except live traps called Havahart baited with peanut butter. You can probably buy them at Canadian Tire. Find their entrance into your house if you can. Look under the roof at the soffits, or for any other hole. They can squeeze into a tiny space. Watch when they're outside and see where they run on your house. Climb into the attic. I'm guessing they're in there. Mine started there and ran all through the house in the walls. My daughter heard them first, saying there was a "monster" in her room. We laughed, ooo ha ha, a MONSTER eh? Turns out she was right.
You will want to get rid of it/them sooner rather than later. Trust me on this one.
You can always put a trap in the attic and see what happens. Worry about the hole later.
And remember, if you do a live release, it must be at least 24 miles away. Good luck!
We never know from day to day what we may have to face. The story of the dogs is heartbreaking and very scary. And Arizona, so horrendous, so much suffering.
Thomas Merton. I'm with John. I've read all his books and found him to be inspirational. I too am planning a trip to Gesthamni one day.
Good luck with the squirrels. You have the right people working on it.
Your story about the abused dog and her puppies makes me sick. I can't stand animal abuse. I just don't understand how people can do that to animals.
I feel good about knowing you are helping the situation. And bless the girl that found them. She won't forget that anytime soon.
Good luck with the squirrel situation.
Take care.
Hi all,
I'm with you - sick people. but happily I also know for sure there are way more good people. You among them.
We (Pat) got the squirrel, and now it's running wild somewhere else (I hope). Hate to discover that while I'd thought the film of my life was a love story, it is actually a Disney film starring a persistent and plucky squirrel who even now is racing 'home'.
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