Cold wet noses, sandpaper tongues, and burrowing scales

I just want to take a moment to talk about how much I appreciate the love of my smaller animals friends. God knows, with many of them getting into their old age and others very young I certainly run the gamut of animal maladies to handle around here. They are financially and emotionally draining at times. Sammy the Siamese eats a small pharmacy every morning for breakfast. Ice (one of the ferrets) scares us constantly with his insulinoma and blood sugar issues. He's been prone in the bottom of his cage, frothing at the mouth, eyes fixed and dilated, and/or in seizures recently. He requires prednisalone, diazoxide, and often other supporting medication 2x a day and he's less than happy about it. We're on a constant search for the perfect ferret treat to keep his interest in his medication. Recently his meds made him so nauseous he refused to eat for days and got so close to dying from low blood sugar that we've been hiding his meds in chicken flavored baby food in the mornings. Getting ready for work is a zoo circus of me stumbling outside with the Husky puppy Nutmeg ( now around 7 months old) and coaxing her to poo at some ungodly hour before dawn, then coming inside and cajoling Sammy to PLEASE eat her pill pockets with the crunchy pharmacy of pills inside them, then begging Sushi the Siamese to hold still while I put his asthma mask on and give him his inhalers, then grabbing Ice out of his cage, putting together his meds on a plate, mixing them with baby food and trying hard not to get scratched while I dangle him above the dish forcing him to do nothing else but concentrate on eating. Lastly, I hand Ice and his plate off to Joe who is sitting at the computer in the mornings while I'm tending The Zoo and he's playing Mafia Wars. He sits with the ferret and clicks away while I try to tempt the bearded dragon Ziggy to eat his veggies and hand feed him pieces of kale and mango to get him started. Really, Hailey (the other ferret) is the only non-complicated animal in the morning.

Of course if anything throws a cog in the wheel of animal husbandry in the AM it throws the whole balance of time off. I find myself racing to work with the pedal of the Prius mashed to the floorboards because Ice was being fussy and refusing to eat his meds, Sammy didn't like the treats I gave her and I ended up having to pop a cocktail of Lasix, methimazole, aspirin, and enterinix down her throat by force (she is anywhere between 17 and 20 years old and has a weak heart and hyperthyroidism), Sushi kept tearing his mask off with his claws, or the dog, who we have been battling a 5 week battle of diarrhea with--likely giardia or whipworms, and now also a possible food allergy as the protocol for whipworm and giardia treatment has not completely cleared her up--refuses to poo in the yard and sits defiantly at my feet for the THIRD try that morning knowing full well we will be coming home to a crate full of diarrhea and a proud tail-wagging, howling puppy who has PLAYED in it all day.

So why in the hell do I put up with this craziness and having to make payments on what seems like increasing frequency of vet bills and medicines? Surely my time and money could be going to something much more rewarding. But, on days like today where I have Sammy purring on my pillow behind my head, Sushi curled up next to me trying to give me little sandpaper kisses, the dog walking up and noodging me with her cold wet nose to be petted and rubbing on me like a cat, Hailey scratching at her cage and begging to be held for a moment while she curls up in my arms and licks my hand, and Ziggy doing his cricket dance to be fed, begging for attention and then riding around on my shoulder or burrowing comfortably into my shirt to cuddle and stay warm I realize why I put so much of my day aside for all of them. It is a bit overwhelming, and I am at a true threshold that I DO NOT want any more animals right now. The fact they are all getting old or sick at the same time is just draining. I feel like I cannot split my time and attention appropriately between them all and give them each the love and attention they deserve individually. But, they couldn't have more spoiled lives in comparison to the horror you see in so many animal rescue cases. I am a good caretaker of my little furry (and now one scaly) friends and they return the care with complete love and attention back. Its the mornings waking up smiling to sandpaper tongues, cold wet noses and burrowing scales that make it worth it all in the end. I dote and worry over each of them, and they all are happy and love me back in return. Now, if I could only get ANY 2 of the species to get along, it would be utopia ;)

Red Shoudered Hawk in the pasture today!

It was a great photography day--we got to see a red shouldered hawk by the pasture today. We were able to get very close to it before it flew across the street. Just had to post some of Joe's pics :-)