Never a dull moment out here. Friday evening I was planning to have a quiet, relaxing evening as Kent was gone with the band that night. Before I sat down I wanted to burn off the weeds that had grown in our fire pit so I could dig the ashes out of there. I had a large cardboard box that I set on top of the weeds and lit it on fire. Everything was burning nicely when I heard screams coming from the fire pit and saw a baby bunny’s head coming up through some of the charred area. I had to get him/her out of there so reached in and pulled him to safety but still heard crying. I ended up pulling 3 more baby rabbits out of the ash and fire. I felt terrible that I had destroyed their nest but had no idea they were in there. Fortunately their mother had dug fairly deeply or they certainly would have died. They had a couple of singed patches of fur but seemed okay otherwise but what to do with them. Beauty and Gadget the barn cats were already alerted by the crying and stalking around the area where I had laid the bunnies down. I knew they were too little to just let loose outside and I knew not to handle them too much.

I gathered them up and took them in the house, put them in a box with a heating pad and hit the internet to look for help. I knew they needed someone with experience to take care of them. Fortunately I found a link to an emergency vet clinic that said they helped with wildlife rehab. They in turn gave me the number of the Four Lakes Wildlife Rehab Center which was open until 9 p.m. I rushed the baby bunnies in to town and got them to the center before it closed. They applied ointment to their burns but felt the bunnies would be okay. Their eyes were open and they were jumping around when touched. Hopefully the little guys will do fine and end up released back into the wild. Next time I burn anything I’m going to do a thorough check for nests under the weeds or brush!

Foster, the foal that our mare Cookie is fostering, will be 2 months old tomorrow! Cookie is doing a wonderful job mothering/raising him and he is huge now. When he first came to us he could literally walk right under Cookie’s belly. He is about 6 or 7 inches taller now.

Foster is like a clean slate waiting to be written on. He is very curious and has to taste almost anything that is in his environment. His owners come often and Foster has been introduced to many things over the last few weeks — having a halter put on and learning to be led around and walk nicely, having a towel draped and rubbed over him, having his feet picked up and cleaned, being brushed, moving away from pressure, doing a little circling, eating small amounts of grain, grass and hay, etc. He will be here until he is weaned. The timing will be whatever is best for him. IN the meantime we are really enjoying him.

Classes are half way through for this session. The beginners is full so if you are interested in a beginning agility class later this summer please contact me as I am starting a waiting list. If you are at an intermediate to advanced level you are welcome to drop in the next 3 Tuesdays at 7:45 and join our class. Class is held rain or shine as we do have the indoor arena we can use in case of rain.

Our two little foster horses, Sugar and Spice, have been with us for one year now and we have made good progress with them, especially with Spice. Today the farrier that trims the horses for Spirit Horse Equine Rescue, Stacy, came out to trim Spice. Spice was a very good girl and let Stacy trim all 4 of her hooves in about 15 minutes! Sugar is still not at the point where we can pick up and clean her hooves and Stacy said they actually look fine right now so no hurry. I don’t want to traumatize her by tranquilizing her and risk ruining the bit of trust she does have in us so we will be patient and keep working with her with the goal of having her trimmed sometime this summer.

Our paint mare, Cookie, was due to foal in late April/early May. We had originally planned the breeding 2 years ago and last year she was bred to a handsome Quarter Horse stallion, Obviously Wincredible. We were so excited when the first and then later a second ultrasound showed she was indeed expecting and thoughts of our pending new arrival are what helped us get through the long winter and Kent’s recovery from his heart attack.

As the first possible due date arrived we started checking on Cookie late at night, in the middle of the night, early in the a.m., had friends stopping by, etc. We could feel and then see the foal moving. He would get hiccoughs which shook Cookie’s whole body and made me laugh. We were so eager to finally meet him. Foal watch continued for two weeks. Early the morning of May 3rd we went down to the barn, opened the door to Cookie’s stall and there he was, a big perfect stud colt, no movement, no breathing, still damp and warm. I tried to get him breathing but no luck. Cookie was nudging him and would even touch him with her foot gently as if to wake him up. We were stunned to say the least. This just wasn’t happening after all our waiting. We called the vet who came out and said the foal may have been in the birth canal too long (because he was so big) and the cord compressed too long depriving him of oxygen. At least Cookie was basically fine except for a few small tears from the delivery. We and Cookie were heartbroken. The vet kindly suggested we move the foal outside where Cookie would be spending the day so she could grieve for him. Cookie would not leave his side and occasionally would nudge him. We were in tears.

I called a couple of people who had been helping us watch over Cookie during the day while we were at work. Shortly after that one of them got a call from a neighbor whose mare was rejecting (and trying to harm) her 4 day old foal. She had to be caught and tied up in order to let him nurse even for a short time but now she wouldn’t let them catch her. That friend suggested they call us. When I got a call asking if we would consider letting our mare foster a rejected foal I was still numb from our loss but how could I say no? So they brought the foal over.

Somehow I managed to think through how to introduce this foal to Cookie so she would accept it. I had my husband and one of the other foal’s owners carry Cookie’s dead foal out the barnyard gate and out of her sight. Once he was out there they rubbed towels on him then rubbed them on the live foal. After that they brought the live foal back through that same gate. I was holding on to Cookie. She must have heard or smelled the foal coming as she picked up her head and started whinnying as they came around the corner. I wish I could know her exact thoughts at the moment. I wonder if she thought they had revived her foal yet I think when she smelled him she knew he wasn’t hers but made the choice to accept him. He was the same color and sex as her deceased foal but even at 4 days of age he was smaller. I held onto her while he tried to nurse. He was a bit afraid of her since his own mom had bit him and picked him up by his back and flung him against a wall but once he tasted her milk he became more confident. I rubbed his back then rubbed his scent on Cookie’s nose. After that as far as she was concerned he was her foal. When she accepted him and let him nurse we all had tears streaming down our faces. This was going to be a healing thing for us and Cookie.

After a few days (and a few suggestions from my Facebook friends) the foal was named “Foster”. He is growing and thriving. His owners come over daily to visit and we are starting to halter him and teach him to lead by walking him behind Cookie. That is a 3 person job right now but getting better! He already has 4 teeth with 3 more (including a molar) coming in so he is already nibbling small amounts of grass, hay and grain.
I still have periods of tears when I spend time with him and Cookie but I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason and have to accept that this was meant to be. I am glad I have a foal to watch grow and to be around even if it is for just a few months. Something good has come out of a very sad event.

I know I haven’t updated about our little foster horses in quite some time. The last couple of months progress had seemed to be slower with the two foster mares but now, in looking back, having to put them in a stall most nights since December has further helped socialize them. They have gotten used to a routine and gotten to watch the other horses and mini donkeys being handled by us. They have gotten used to all sorts of different noises and activities while inside and we’ve been able to go in the stall with them and touch/brush them more.

Two weekends ago it was a bit warmer out and my husband and I each took one of the fosters to work with. He took Sugar, the least confident of the two, into the stall and just hung out with her. He had a halter and lead rope with him and played with having her touch it and giving her treats when she did.

I took Spice, the bolder of the two, who I have been able to halter now, into another stall. I worked on teaching Spice to be tied and it went really well. She basically showed no resistance to being tied, even stepped on the rope and did not freak out. I was able to brush her and touch her all over her body and legs and even pick up her front feet and for the first time actually clean out those hooves. Then I led her out of the barn and walked around with her. Because she was doing so well I asked Kent to try walking her as he hasn’t handled her much and to my surprise she did great.

The next weekend I played with her a bit more and decided to start doing more of the Parelli 7 games with her. A good description of what these games are can be found here. Well little Spice has made huge strides in the past 2 weeks. She now moves sideways with slight pressure, has learned the “yo yo game” where you ask the horse to back away from you then come back to you and the “circle game”. She even trotted on the circling a bit and tonight we tried “the squeeze game” for the very first time — success! Tonight in the pasture she walked up to me and let me put the halter on her then lead her around the pasture even with the other horses present.

The “polite and passive persistence practiced in the proper position” (a Pat Parelli quote) has really paid off with this little horse. Yes, we could have lasso’d her, tied her to a post and forced her to accept our attention but doing it a more natural way has built her confidence and eased her fears. She is doing well enough that an adopter could take her and move on from here with her nicely. Sugar will take a bit more time but she does seek attention, allows some touching/brushing and nicely takes treats so eventually she will come around.

Today Nessie (formally Champion Honorbright Legend of DMarsh TD, JH, RN) would have been 15 years old. I had really hoped to be celebrating this birthday with her here on earth but sadly I had to make the decision to release her spirit back on January 29th. This is a tribute to her that I wrote that day.

CH Honorbright Legend of DMarsh TD, JH, RN, WC
4/1/95 to 1/29/10
Nessie left me to go retrieve ducks and bumpers in heaven. Recently she was falling over a lot and having trouble using one of her front legs. I promised not to let her lose her dignity and not sure I totally met that promise but did the best I could. I realized when she laid down on the blanket at the vets’ that she hadn’t been wagging her tail any more and usually she did not like going to the vet but laid down in the sun in the exam room and never picked her head up again while I petted her and the vet helped her leave.

She was my first CH, my first tracking dog (earned at the tender age of 8 months) and the Queen Bee here. She is the mother of my Ali and Cori, grandmother of Jazz and Zamboni, great grandmother of River. For a few months I had 4 generations of my beloved Labs here. I adored her and would have done anything to have her another week, year, lifetime but I could not let her go on and suffer just for me…….She is now with her co-Queen Bee, my beloved Lily Pug. She is so missed.

This post doesn’t have to do with people romance but rather the loss of our beloved animal companions. Since I own a lot of dogs I also have to deal with this loss more frequently than many pet owners do. Each time I have had a particularly hard loss it seems that a needy dog has appeared, perhaps sent by the other one from across the Rainbow Bridge.

Buster is one of those who I believe was sent for a reason. Buster is a pug that I meant to foster for the pug rescue and find him the right forever home. I was still grieving for my Lily (my first ever pug) even though it had been months since her death. Buster was rapidly dumped off at our home by his previous (and 3rd) owner and it was apparent the frequent switching of homes had left him with some baggage. Despite the baggage (upset/screaming if crated, separation anxiety, hanging on your legs when you tried to go through a door, etc.) he had redeeming qualities, too. He loved to play with my big dogs once he adjusted to them but wasn’t too interested in my other pugs. He was immediately retrieving balls and playing “tug” with toys. A dog like this needs a job, not to sit on someone’s lap and I think my husband expressed the thought first that we really should just keep him. The very first night we had Buster he was so distressed I decided to take him to bed with us and he snuggled up against me in the same spot Lily always did. I realized he had been sent by her to comfort me but I didn’t want to let myself love him. I took him to a couple of obedience classes and then I took him to an agility class. He took to it immediately although we had to work through the distractions of other dogs working and him wanting to just run off and do his own thing. We switched to a smaller class which helped a lot with his focus. At this point he is improving on being crated, we have gone to matches, done some agility demos and even been in a couple of trials now. He has his first agility title but we are still working on being a team.

Today we went to another agility match. He has trialed at this same place and often tries to run out of the ring so I was prepared to deal with that and give him positive reinforcement for coming back to me. Much to my surprise and delight not only did he run both courses fast and accurately but he never once tried to leave the ring. When we left the building after his second run I felt like I now had an agility teammate. I realized that loving Buster does not take away from the love I have for my Lily but it does help her loss not hurt so badly now.

As we got to the car I heard a sandhill crane in the distance. This is in town and I’ve not heard sandhills at that place before. Soon it was closer and it was then I felt my Lily’s presence. Ironically this week was the 4 year anniversary since she left me. I think she was telling me “I’m still watching over you, good job.”. I’m glad no one saw me crying out by the car.

If you are interested, these are two other blog posts about the messengers who my dogs have sent to me in the past.

Messengers From Beyond

Turbo Now Has Wings

Swiss Finishing School (or SFS) is actually a quilter’s retreat held each year at a hotel in the village of New Glarus, WI, a town founded by Swiss immigrants. Each year about a dozen quilters gather to work on their UFO’s (unfinished objects) and give each other encouragement to finish those projects. This retreat is traditionally held in the winter and is a nice getaway as the hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub where we meet in the evening to discuss our projects (or maybe have a glass of wine!).

At this year’s retreat we had some gorgeous quilts get finished or almost finished. Some of us also started on new projects. My project was a retirement quilt that I and a co-worker were making for another co-worker who just retired. Although it wasn’t finished at the retreat it did get finished just in time for this past week’s retirement party.

The memory quilt had star blocks done in colors that we knew our co-worker liked and blocks with photos of people in our department.
In the center of most of the stars were plain squares that we had everyone in our department sign.

LABMED, a 501c3 charity that helps fund vet bills for Labrador Retrievers/Lab mixes in rescue situations so they can become healthy and adoptable, now has a blog. I designed it for them. Check it out!
LABMED’s Blog.