Christmas is Coming and so are new Pets!

With Christmas coming, people are out looking for that perfect gift.  A gift that keeps on giving is a pet.  However, in my experience, it is best to let the pet choose the person.  This means that going out and buying the dog or cat or bird that YOU like will not determine that your loved one will feel the same way.  Letting your loved one accompany you and letting the magic happen between your loved one and the pet that is chosen is important.

Happy Valentine's Day 1999

I’ve received ‘gift certificates’ from my husband for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and Christmas with permission to get an animal that my husband thinks that I’ve researched sufficiently (because I’ve been talking about the animal for some period of time with books and articles all over the house).  Even with the research I do, there are always surprises!  So, before you take your friend or family member out to look at the pet that they think they want, it is important that everyone does the homework!!  How big will that puppy get?  Most German Shepherds are in rescues because the people didn’t realize that they ‘would get THAT big.  How energetic will your adult dog be?  While people seem to be able to put up with puppy energy, they expect that once the puppy grows up it will calm down – which is why there are so many Border Collies in rescues or humane societies.  How loud is that bird anyway?  While parrots can make great pets (please research the kind of parrot that will fit what you expect), they can be VERY noisy in the morning and evening when they call to their flock (that would be the people in the house).  They can also be noisy when they hear company upstairs and they want to be part of things.  And they need a LOT of stimulation. 

Happy birthday 2009

Also realize that there are many bills associated with pets.  They need appropriate food.  Cats and dogs need vaccinations.  Dogs need training.  Bearded dragons need crickets (it is surprising how many crickets such a little lizard can consume!!).  Parrots and rabbits need claws trimmed (and some people have the parrot’s wings clipped) and appropriate housing.  Rabbit cages sold in most stores are NOT big enough to house your rabbit full-time.  All animals need toys and some rabbits need specific things to chew on so they won’t consume their cage or your furniture!!  And it seems that rodents and rabbits go straight for electric cords, so you may have to pet proof your home or at least an area in which you will let them run around to play.

Merry Christmas 2000

If you do your homework and know what you want and what to expect you and your pet will be a lot happier!  I also suggest that you check out rescue organizations and humane societies in your area.  There are also rehab places for birds.  These organizations can help you find the pet that will fit your lifestyle.  It saddens me to see the pets listed on Craigslist and Petfinder that are being ‘rehomed’ at six weeks or two years old.  In many cases the reason people are getting rid of the pet that they say they really love is because they did NOT do their homework or they weren’t willing to put in time training or working with the animal listed.  Don’t let that happen to you or your loved one!!

Happy birthday 2012

If a pet is being added to your household I hope that it brings you and your loved one joy and that you bring security and love to the special animal that is chosen!

Life, Death, and Adoption on the GEE Funny Farm

I know you haven’t heard from me in awhile, but don’t you worry: I, Asimov, remain abroad in the land, happily, joyfully at home at the GEE Funny Farm. Unfortunately, however, we recently had another loss. This time it was Boaz the lop-eared bunny. It’s possible that you begin to wonder what’s going on over here with fowl and bunnies kicking the bucket, but that’s the nature of a farm—life and death are all part of the program. Well, not our actual program (I mean, you won’t be seeing anybody kick the bucket on your penny . . . or I mean I hope not), but it just simply can’t be avoided in the everyday life of a farm. It’s unfortunate because Boaz was really quite pleasant, despite not being (ah hem) me. He invaded the GEE Funny Farm from the Humane Animal Welfare Society in Waukesha. For a rabbit, he wasn’t bad. He was quiet. He didn’t mind our music or movies, and when he was out of his cage he was too big to climb into our cage. He tried because, in spite of being a bunny, I suspect he was part pig.  He sure did want our pellets.  Sometimes, as I foraged, I’d throw some down to him.  He thought it was out of kindness, but it was usually some pellet I didn’t like – one bird’s garbage is another animal’s treasure, right?

Boaz, the laid-back lop-eared bunny, we will miss you!

 But, as I mentioned, we have both death and life here on the farm. The black silkie chick had a flock of little ones. They have survived surprisingly well, considering that everyone likes chicken as you’ll remember from our former post about something lurking in the woods. I mean, truthfully, even I like chicken, though I’m more civilized and take mine cooked not raw like wild beasts in the woods. You people get confused and think this is cannibalistic but I would like to clarify that it is NOT cannibalism! You eat other mammals and nobody calls that cannibalism. I don’t eat parrots! So there! Anyway, as far as little chirping feathered munchkins go, the chicks are fairly cute and cuddly.

The dad (rooster) is the black guy by the gate.  Hmm, I can see the mom and seven chicks (all those black dots).  The brown hen is a faverolle, not a silkie.

 

The mom chick, the hen, is leading her babies around --
Now I can see all eight, can you?

 

I see one chick in front of its mom, can you? 
The others are UNDER the hen (mom) to stay warm.



If you haven't had enough of the little darlings, here is a short video.

 I've had enough of chickens!! 

Also, new life with animals (and with people, as I understand it) sometimes comes in the form of adoption, not simply birth. So we’ve had that kind too because Kathy went out and got herself another rabbit from the Humane Animal Welfare Society.  Unlike Boaz who was a lop-eared bunny, Alma is a PEW (pink-eyed white) bunny.  Sometimes his eyes seem to glow in the dark -- ugh!

Alma the pink eyed bunny -- nice background, don't cha think?

 Kathy is talking about adopting some other small pets– I wonder where they will live and what they will be. Maybe they’ll be lucky enough to be in my company at least while they’re young.

 The poor Patagonian cavy, Mary, has been moved away from me. Can you imagine the emotional devastation this must have caused her? You’d think she would be very depressed about it, but I hear rumors that she was dancing in the grass when she was moved out to her own pen adjacent to the wallaby pen. This can’t be true because who, honestly, would prefer to be anywhere other than near my precious little white personage?

Mary the Patagonian cavy dancing in her new digs -- I'm pretty sure the picture has been fixed!

It’s a little strange in here without Mary's company. She was an interesting little critter (okay, she’s bigger than I am, don’t rub it in). She would pick up her pen with her teeth and move it wherever she wanted to go. I was taking mental note of her technique before she got moved so that I could figure out a way I could manipulate my cage because I sure do wish I could do that. I’m afraid, though, that I’ve been in Kathy’s capable hands too long to manage too much cage manipulation. My work in that regard involved opening doors and escaping (not moving the cage itself), but those days seem to be long past since Kathy discovered the padlock. Ah, but what fun it was to put her children into a panic . . . *contented sigh.*

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To Adopt or to Buy

Our sweet lop-eared rabbit, Boaz, passed away a month ago.  It was quite a shock since he seemed fine in the morning, meeting me for a carrot, and was gone in the afternoon, looking like he was sleeping peacefully.  We mourned his passing, but thought that we really needed a bunny in our menagerie.  It is so easy to check Craigslist.com and several pet stores still carry rabbits -- and you can get a baby, sigh.  However, there are always rabbits that need adoption at the Humane Society or at several rescues.  What to do...

I went by the Humane Animal Welfare Society (HAWS) in Waukesha.  That is where I found Boaz a few years ago.  I walked along cages and most of the rabbits ran to the far side.  Boaz had come and leaned into my hand -- it was love at first sight!  None of the bunnies were THAT friendly, but one white bunny with pink eyes did hold still and let me pet him.  It turns out that he had been there for almost a year.  According to HAWS, people don't like white rabbits with pink eyes.  Poor baby.

I dragged David in and we spent an hour with 'Downy.'  He hopped onto our laps (we were sitting on the floor) and he liked being pet.  He was a little up-tight about being handled, but by the end of the hour he had relaxed a lot.  So, I filled out the paperwork while David snoozed (he can snooze sitting upright in a chair -- amazing!).  And the next day, after HAWS checked up on us, I was able to bring 'Downey' home.

He has settled in quite nicely and is less jumpy every day (at first he was startled when we walked into the room, when we opened the cage, etc.).  Now, we just need to think of a name...

It isn't always easy to decide to adopt rather than to buy.  On Craigslist.com it drives me crazy when the 'seller' is 'rehoming' a 6 week or 6 month old 'pet.'  It sounds like the pet has not yet been 'homed'.  It is sad that there are so many people breeding or buying animals that they have to find home for in a few weeks or a few months.  It is important that you know what you're getting so your new pet doesn't end up on the list!

If you do adopt, it is okay to look for a pet that meets your criteria.  Our criteria for a rabbit is one that likes attention and is healthy.  When I was looking at Border Collies I was able to find one that had quite a lot of training -- he passed his Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog International tests within a month of coming home with me.  There are advantages to adopting an older pet, too.  They are less likely to do the puppy dog chew or to piddle on your floor.  There are a lot of great animals out there that need homes.  So, do your research about the animal you are thinking about so you will know what to expect in temperament and size (yes, German Shepherds CAN get up to 75 pounds, Border Collies ARE hyper, cute little chicks grow into messy chickens, etc.) and think about adopting.