Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Thursday's Children 5/30/13

Inspired by animals ...
A weekly blog hop
where writers share their inspirations.
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I love animals. All animals. They have an innocent quality about them. Well, except cats. Cats are rarely innocent. But I love them anyway.
We've had a cat for 16 years. Her name is Mouse. She's not pictured here. Click here to see her and the poem she inspired. I must confess, my real love for cats didn't happen until 2 years ago. This isn't a secret, Mouse knows why.

So, what happened 2 years ago?

I met this little girl. We adopted her from a shelter. Her name is Dr. Penelope Puddles, MD. She specializes in ear, nose and throat. We call her Penny for short.
But her full name is on the records at the vet. I love getting the post card reminder. "Dr. Penelope Puddles, MD is due for her rabies shot."
A month after adopting Penny, we had to stop in at the shelter to prepay for her spay appointment.



That's when this little guy, Jeffrey, ambushed us. That's right. Ambushed. My daughters and I were standing at the front counter, and all of a sudden this little guy is climbing up my leg. Some of the older cats are allowed to wander the shelter, but not the kittens. They are kept separate.
Anyway, I pick him up and say, "Where'd you come from?"
The lady behind the counter was surprised. She had no idea how he got out. She scooped him up and put him back in his enclosure.
About a minute later he was back at my feet, meowing with the tiniest, squeakiest, cutest meow I've ever heard.



A couple of months later our area suffered massive floods and devastation. Many animals were among the displaced.
This little girl. Wanda, was found under a car in a parking lot, barely three weeks old. She was listless when we brought her home. We immediately got formula in her mouth using a syringe, and were relieved when she started perking up.
Over the next few days my daughters and I found three more cats and kittens. We nursed them all back to health and found each of them homes. 



Here are Jeffrey and Wanda, now.
They are so much fun.




We've rescued a lot of animals over the years.


This is a red eared slider that was bought on the streets of NYC, by a teacher in my daughter's school. The teacher (whom was not my daughter's) bought two for her classroom. They were about an inch and a half at the time. If you're not aware, it is illegal to sell them under 4 inches long. And the streets of NYC is NO PLACE TO BUY A TURTLE. I'm not going to rant. *unclenches fists* 
Big surprise, within a day one turtle was dead and the other was not doing well. I picked my daughter up from school that day. She was sobbing when she got in the car. She told me about the turtle situation. So, I marched up to the classroom, and demanded the turtle. "I'll give you twenty bucks for the turtle." It got slightly complicated and ugly. But I got the turtle. We had him for about three years, until he was of legal and safe size, and found him a nice home. By the way, in those three years he had two ear infections. Did you know they had ears? Did you know they could get ear infections? lol. I didn't. And surgery is the only way to treat them. Yes, surgery. Twice.    



This is a mud turtle that someone found IN THE WILD while visiting Georgia, and decided it was a good idea to bring home as a pet. They had him in a plastic container. He's a cute little guy, however he is trying to bite me in this picture. lol.






For about a year we were involved with Mainley Rat Rescue, fostering rescued rats until they found a home.
Rats are very sweet, and make good pets.






We adopted two greyhounds through Monica's Heart greyhound rescue. They are the BEST.

Davinci and Newton





Not all of the animals we've had were rescues.
For instance, the button quail that my oldest daughter decided to hatch herself. lol.

What's cuter than a tiny button quail?







Five tiny button quail
in your hand.







I love tiny things.
Like this toad that
we got as a tadpole.






And this crested gecko
eating from a spoon.






I even surprised myself by falling in love with this sand boa. Never thought I would like a snake.










Chinchillas! Ohmigosh, I love my chinchillas!

Janice Tripplehorn



Helen Merriweather
We have three saltwater tanks. It's surprising how relaxing it can be just watching the fish and other critters in there.


The reef tank is probably my favorite.


Here I am with a fennec fox, a prairie dog, and a coatimundi. Oh boy, did I want to take each of them home! :(





There's no better way to relieve stress than spending time with a beloved pet. 
Do your pets, or animals, inspire you?

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22 comments:

  1. OMG ADORABLE CHINCHILLA!! I'm an animal lover too (except for cats... they just make me break out in hives), so I think your pics are amazing. We have zero pets now though, mostly because we travel too much to make it possible. This post is making me rethink that choice though! Especially OMG CHINCHILLA!

    Good for you for doing this and having such a big heart for furry and scaly brothers and sisters!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I have always wanted a chinchilla. My daughter got me my first one this past Christmas. BEST PRESENT EVER! They are sweet little things, and make great pets. They don't smell or have sharp little nails --two things that can be a problem with a lot of small animals. I enjoy them so much.
      And yes, it is definitely hard for us to travel. :(
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. Your animal family is adorable! I've had cats, fish, hamsters, mice, a horse, dogs and will definitely stop to help snapping turtles trying to cross the road, baby birds fallen out of trees etc. My mom was very much an animal lover and animal rights activist. And no, I had no idea turtles could get ear infections or that surgery is required to fix them. Your vet must LOVE you, lol.

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    1. Oh my, I've gotten myself so upset by helping every lost or wounded animal I find, because they don't always make it. But I always feel better for trying. My vet loves me. lol. $300-400 spent on that darn turtle. I didn't mention that I also had to give him daily antibiotics by injection in his tiny little arm. (He was the size pictured above.)

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  3. Oh. My. Cuteness. Great post! I'm a total sucker for kittens. We visited our local shelter yesterday and played with one and so help me I wanted to bring her home with us!

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  4. Don't you wish they could stay kittens forever? :) You may already know, but, it's better if you can get two. They tend to be less destructive, because they have each other to keep them occupied. Not to mention how fun it is to watch them run and play.
    Thanks for stopping by!
    PS - go get the kitten. You know you want to. lol.

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  5. Oh goodness! I love all of your pictures and the personalities of your rescued friends. Sweet post. We rescued a kitten that we named Kitt--short for . . . kitten (it was a temp name cuz we weren't sure we would keep her for the long haul and it stuck), but now we mostly call her Pie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We weren't supposed to keep Wanda either, but I couldn't let her go. She's my little shadow.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  6. Yep Michaele,
    You're speaking to me. I've two writing kitties who give me joy daily.
    Thanks for sharing your pet stories.

    http://www.miaceleste.com/?p=341

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think having furry friends is good for one's mental health. :)
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  7. Oh my, all the cuties!!! Adorable. I love this post :)

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  8. Bahaha! I thought our cat was the only little weirdo who tried to put her head in her hooman's mouth. She's my little writing buddy, too. What would we do without them, eh?
    ~Dannie @ Left to Write

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    Replies
    1. Your cat does it too?! That's so funny.
      Life would be boring without them.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Wow... your place is a zoo! :) Loved reading about all the animals in your life and seeing them in action, too. Thanks for sharing this!

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    Replies
    1. It is a zoo. Haha! Thank goodness we have a big house.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. I love cats, but my immune system things they are evil and need to be destroyed with sneezes. I love all your photos though. :)

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    1. My sympathy goes out to people with animal allergies. Hope you're not allergic to chocolate too? lol
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  11. Oh my goodness--LOVE you! We are animal lovers. I'm the crazy lady in NYC who walks by the turtle tanks yelling obscenities at the sellers. Or fur wearers. Etc. but your family is my hero! Wish we could pack more animals into our 800sq ft apt. I dream of a owning a rescue farm. :D

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    Replies
    1. Love you too! I think we'd make good friends --I always go for the crazies. Haha!
      Good luck with the rescue farm.

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  12. While your animals inspire you, you inspire me by your open heart to helping so many of them!

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