I worried a bit last night about Carlos. I really just wanted him to fit in and sleep well in the shelter with everyone else. I went out about 11 and sure enough, he was warm and cozy in there with the others. I slept well knowing that he was going to be fine. I got up this morning and gave some hay, they all shared like they had always been there together. That made me happy for sure. My husband came home today and I had him send me pics so I knew he was still ok. Neurotic?? Maybe.. or maybe I just care too much. Whatever it is, I have a need to make sure all of my animals are good and taken care of. They all deserve to be loved and spoiled a bit. Carlos had a loving home, so he deserves to have that continued. I got home late tonight and so it was pitch black outside. Ronnie had fed and watered for me, but I had to go check on them all anyway. Carlos came out of the shelter and right to me. He is fitting in nicely already. That warms my soul. I was able to love on him more tonight. It really does make me happy that he is doing so well.

Oh Brutus. Everyone loves Brutus. He was the runt of a liter and was going to be dumped to make more room for more babies. I have no proof of this. Just what was said. He was so tiny that I just couldn’t leave him. I still have nightmares about the other 7 that I had to leave. My heart was so broken that day that I can’t even explain the pain I went through that day. I still wish I could have saved them all. I went to save one and ended up with two. That’s normal for me but that day I wasn’t prepared to take in 9 more when I already had 5. That would have not had good results. Anyway, back to the story. My mom and my daughter both love him. He has always been the smallest. However, he s catching up in size to his sibling and the others. I’m glad of that since cold weather s hitting. Jodie, the daughter came by last week and she was finally able to hold him and love on him. It was only a few seconds but totally worth it to see the look on her face. Now, my mom.. she has really been wanting to at least pet him. She had neck surgery recently and can’t go in the pen because it’s muddy in areas and really slippery. I was able to let her pet him this past weekend and the look on her face was priceless. Made her day and mine!!

I got a call from a friend of mine the other day. She was telling me about a goat that needed a new home. He has been attacked by a bobcat and his buddy had been killed by the bobcat. He needed a new home because he was lonely and they were afraid he was going to be attacked again by the same bobcat. I talked to my husband and he said well sure, we have plenty of room in that pen and it’s not another pig. Lol!! He was kidding. Anyway. I let them know I would take the goat. I knew he was injured and missing an ear. Poor thing. So, the owner’s son brought the goat to me tonight. It was very obvious to me that they loved this goat. They treated him like family and they hated to have rehome him. He brought him in the pen with the other goats and stayed for a bit to make sure he was ok. When he knew he was going to be okay, he left. I was talking with his mom the whole time letting her know it was going to be okay. After the owner left, the goat, Carlos, really had a hard time. He cried for a long time and was looking for his owner. It was obvious they loved each other. That’s the hardest part of this for me. They rehomed him to avoid him being killed but they had a bond. I stayed out with Carlos and the others a long time to keep an eye out for him. He did some exploring and getting to know his new friends. It was a little rough at first, but they were getting along when I came in, well after dark. My goats shared food with him and were almost showing him around. This poor little goat has really been through it. The bobcat did take one ear completely off and part of the other one. He does have some puncture wounds on his body and looks like he has a wound near his rectum and part of his nose is scabbed over. I know he has been through a lot lately so I will keep an extra good eye on him and give him some extra love. He is the sweetest thing. So loving even after all he has been through. Animals are so wonderful. I hope he is happy here and that’s all I care about. I know it’s hard on him and his owners, but I will take good care of him. Probably time to get my 501c3. Hahahahaha!!

I want to say that the last week or two has been a little stressful for me with 3 of my animals not feeling well. Bubba, my cat, started urinating in places he shouldn’t. He only does that when he is sick. I gave him a natural spray and I haven’t had another problem with him. Romeo has been having a terrible side with worms. He has been wormed and is better. He never stopped eating or drinking so that was a good sign. And then Maggie. You saw horrible pics of her wounds. She also is having difficulty with holding her bladder with the meds she is on. She only has a few more days of the meds and her wounds are looking so much better. It has been crazy but they seem to all be on the mend, finally. I hate when my animals are so sick. I just hate it for them.

A few weeks ago, Ronnie and I went on a trip. While we were gone, we boarded the dogs at the vet. Poor pepper was badly matted due to her very long hair. We normally shave her in the summer but we didn’t this past summer since we didn’t go on vacation. So, we had her shaved even though it’s not the right time of year to do that. It has been colder outside. She is an inside dog but obviously has to go outside. She has been coming back inside shivering and acting cold. I felt bad for her, so I bought her a sweater. I have never done that. She is so cute with it on though and doesn’t act like it bothers her at all. She is the sweetest little thing. She is not cold anymore for sure. 

I still have nothing good or funny to report. The cat is better, gave him some spray in his mouth for UTI. It’s a natural supplement and it works well. He hasn’t had anymore problems today. Maggie is still having issues, but I know it’s the steroids she is on along with the antibiotic. Romeo is a different subject all together. He is not doing well at all. I do know it’s worms and I have been treating him. Ronnie has been home the last few days and has been helping me. However, he is still not doing well. He is usually a really friendly and loving goat, but not today. I know he doesn’t feel well and I was trying to clean him up due to fecal matter all over him... he was not having it. He is not doing well. Looks like he needs more than wormer so I’m working on that. I don’t want to lose him. He is eating and drinking but you can tell he is not doing well. Prayer he is going to get better. I’m a little worried about him. Well, more than a little.

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Maggie has been sick and on antibiotics for almost a week. Her wound is better but it’s messing with her kidneys and bladder. She is literally urinating on herself and acts like she doesn’t know she has done it and lays in it. I know she is miserable and I just don’t know what to do for her. Romeo has had a bad case of worms and is literally using the bathroom all over himself also. I have wormed him and he is doing a little better but still not great. Now, Bubba, one of my cats has a bladder infection and is urinating in the floor also. I am treating him now, too. Good grief. What is happening around here. I have been getting home late this week, so I haven’t spent much time with the animals but it’s been crazy around here. Pray these guys feel better and I don’t lose my mind.

Had myself a freak out moment last night. Hold on to your seat. I was really nervous. Let me set the scene for you so you can share this moment... it’s not a great moment though. I live in the country. Yes, I’m aware there are wild animals out here. Yes, it freaks me out when I hear them. There are usually bawling cows out in the pasture close to my house, no big deal. Yes, there are lots of barking dogs in the area and one of those dogs is mine, again, no big deal. I have been hearing coyotes lately after the weather started getting colder. That does scare me because of all of my animals. So, I’m sitting on the couch and decided to go to bed early because I was so tired. I turned off the tv and was about to get up to go to bed. My dog had been barking all night but that’s normal. All of a sudden, out  of no where, I hear a gun shot and an animal scream the scream of death. I sat here in a moment of terror because all of the dogs in the area became silent at once. There was no sound anywhere. The death cry was one from a coyote. I have never experienced that and really don’t want to experience that again. I was almost paralyzed with fear for a moment. Am I being dramatic, probably but that is truly how I felt in the moment. Life in the country.

Maggie is doing better. I think Romeo is doing better. Neither of them are a hundred percent yet but they are better. They are making me tired. Lol!! They are worth it though. The other guys I have are all good right now. I do worry about the pigs a bit since the weather has been so cold and now it’s back in the 70s. I’m hoping and praying they do not get pneumonia. Now, I keep putting straw in all three pens, so my question is... where does the straw go?? What do they do with it. So weird. About time to get some more before the weather gets really cold again. All of these animals are loving the sunshine the last few days. I tell you, these guys keep me on my toes but in a good way. I didn’t know I would love having these animals as much as I do.

So, crazy story in my somewhat crazy life. I had rescued a pig for a friend of mine and took him to her. She messaged me on Friday while I was at the vet giving me a number about a pot belly pig needing a new home. I text the guy about the pig and he has already been to my house since he is a neighbor of mine. ( If that doesn’t show you how small the world is. I actually don’t know him personally but when he told me where he lived, I knew exactly where it was.) We talked a bit. The pig was not his but someone had shown up at his work looking for him because he has farm pigs. Long story a little shorter, the guy was the ex boyfriend of the lady with the pig. All the guy I talked to knew was that the lady couldn’t care for the pig anymore, she was a pretty big pig and she was a year old. That’s all the info I got. Not much to work with. So, I got her number. I did want to help. I contacted the lady the next day. She broke my heart. The conversation started with not being able to care for her. As we continued, she said she just didn’t have time. I understand that. So, I told her a bit about our farm and me working full time, going to school and managing the animals. As we talked longer, she said, I would be able to keep her if she would stop getting out of her spot. Bingo!! I then told her about pigs being social animals and how they bond closely with their owner’s and how they get so depressed without them when they go to a new home. No, I wasn’t trying to make her feel bad, I was trying to help educate. We talked a bit longer and I told her I would come help her and show her what needed to be done to help keep her in. No, I’m not an expert but with the pig population the way it is, I felt like it would be better to help her keep her pig. So, we scheduled for today but something came up and she couldn’t meet. No big deal. And, by the time I talked to her today, she had figured it all out and was putting things into action. I am going to meet up with her next week!! I’m excited and so happy for her. She was so heartbroken about her pig and now she can keep her!!

Talked to the husband tonight. I was telling him the mouse story and how I have thrown 2 out in the last 2 days. I haven’t seen evidence of anymore thank goodness. He laughed at me and said, it was probably the same mouse. I was like, no it wasn’t. The first was sweet and the second one wasn’t. He laughed again and said that’s because you threw it out in the cold. Hmmm.... maybe. So, the advice he gave me was to mark it with a sharpie to see if it came back again. And the only other thing he asked was that he didn’t come home and find a pet mouse at the house. Said he would get me another pig before he was okay with that. That was really a funny conversation tonight. Must be the old married couple thing. Hahahaha!!!

I’m not sure who exactly reads these, so I’m going to talk about this here. If anyone knows anyone that can help, let me know!!

Ok, I’ve lost my mind. I think I have posted on this before but it has happened again. It’s cold out and so all the little critters are trying to come in. My cats have been chasing a mouse for a few days. I finally saw them chasing it tonight. This thing is a baby... hopefully I don’t have a ton more in the house. I have only seen this one so far in awhile. As they were chasing that tiny mouse, I intervened. I caught the mouse. This thing was breathing so hard and so scared. Not sure why I felt so bad for it but it is a living breathing thing. I used to have a rat as a pet and I loved that crazy rat til he finally was paralyzed by old age and I had to have him put to sleep. Anyway. I rescued the mouse and then put it outside. I just don’t have it in me to kill it and my cats are obviously useless with that also. I know, I’m a mess. I washed my hands throughly after I put the mouse outside in the cold.

Whew... this weather is brutal for me. I’m not a cold weather gal and looks like my animals aren’t either, but who could blame them?? The water bowls are frozen in the mornings but I am able to bust it up and they are fine with that. These guys are taking it pretty well. They just bundle up in the shelters together to stay warm. Of course they only come out to eat and go back in. They are troopers for sure. I’m praying the whole winter isn’t like this. I’m freezing my tail end feeding them and making sure they have water but I wouldn’t change it. These guys make me so happy. I was out of the home 12 hours today so they weren’t happy with me, but they got over it as soon as I fed them. They let me love on them. That’s all I needed.

Update on Maggie. This poor girl is miserable but is eating and drinking. She is warm to the touch and still uncomfortable. I was able to use more antiseptic spray and she is taking her antibiotics well. She let me exam her wound and it is from her chewing on matted hair after getting a bath. I am going to start cutting it away as soon as she lets me. She was better about it tonight. She was laying in my lap so I could look and feel the area. She is still feeling terrible but she is better than yesterday. I’m still concerned and if she isn’t better, I will be taking her to the vet. This poor girl. I feel so bad for her. And pepper, one of my other dogs is really concerned and won’t leave her side. They have been together since they were just a few months old. They are 9 years old now and still inseparable. I’m hoping Maggie continues to improve.

Maggie didn’t eat tonight. She did eat this morning. I noticed last night she wasn’t getting around well but didn’t think much of it. Tonight she didn’t eat. When an animal doesn’t eat, it usually means something is wrong. I noticed her in the dog house outside and brought her in... all of my dogs are inside dogs, they were only out to eat and do their business. When she crawl out of the dog house, daisy got close to her and she cried out. Again, didn’t think much of it. I went on and fed the outside animals. Came back in and Maggie was laying down and I could see a huge raw spot on her. I got close and she jumped up and screamed. She then started pacing the floor. This poor dog has been through so much lately. This just adds to it. She has a seizure disorder and a few months ago, her eye started looking like it was going to pop out, that is much better but there is obvious something is going on. The vet didn’t give us much info but she is on meds. Then, this summer she had a snake bite or something and I really thought we would loose her, it was awful. I just sat with her in the floor and cried. She made it though. When I first looked at the wound, I thought it just looked raw. I still haven’t gotten a good look at it. She was at the vet for a few days while we were out of town. She was given a bath there and I see a lot of matted hair in the raw spots. Wondering if the soap didn’t get washed out. Regardless of what has happened, she is raw and bloody. I put some blue antiseptic on her in the wound and she was screaming in pain. I started her on some antibiotics and she is now resting. She did finally come to me and let me pet her. Poor thing is so miserable. Say a prayer for my sweet old dog!!! If she isn’t better in the next day or so, we will be headed to the vet.

All the animals made it through the night. I knew they would since they have those shelters. Not sure they would without the shelters. Poor little things might freeze. I got up a little earlier today since I knew it was going to be so cold, I figured the water bowls would freeze. And that they did. I knew I couldn’t go to work with all their water frozen. I don’t think they drank much of it though, it’s so cold. I was able to bust through the ice so they would have that water today. Came home from work and fed the animals. That’s the only way they will come out of the shelter. They get finished and go right back in. I still don’t blame them. I didn’t want to stay out either. I did get to pet all 7 pigs tonight as they ate. But that was it. Even the donkey and goats didn’t want to be bothered. They just wanted back in the warmest corner they could find. Hopefully tomorrow is warmer.