The week of May 22-26

• I just stopped writing to rescue a large snake and our canine buddies from each other. The snake is now working about in the tall grass down the road from us.
• It has been an eventful day. Gay and I returned from Northern Mississippi at nearly 4am. We had finished up with a cruelty/seizure case we began last Thursday, May 25. We seized exactly 100 young birds (ducks, chickens, geese and turkeys). Others had already died; 31 more young chicks would.
• The case was settled out of court because there were several parties responsible for the temporary care of the animals. This made the water too murky for a solid prosecution. Because the woman who kept the birds depended on them to supplement her income, we hurt her in the best spot. I arranged for her to sign a statement of surrender for the animals. Included in the document was an acknowledgement that this incident would be presented if she were prosecuted for neglect in the future. (I signed an affidavit with the Justice Court, which was remanded to the Court file - to be introduced as a new case if necessary.) I was up at 6:14am with Pumpkin, an orange and white kitten we were desperately trying to save. Two days ago he was rushed to us in a pitiful condition. He had so much fight we wanted to do everything possible to save him. Just after 7:00 Pumpkin died. I buried him with one of the ducks that did not pull through.
• Where's the good news? The little geese and ducks are loving their bright blue pool. The 8 ducks and 2 gees were crammed into a 2 ft by 2 1/2 ft metal crate, which was on top of a similar crate mounded with feces. The other birds are wildly ravaging cantaloupe and other goodies.
• Ace, the precious cocker spaniel that Anni of Allpets.com commissioned
  us to bring from Nashville, is doing awesomely. Ace was in 4 homes that we know of. He had problems with the people being too pushy with their expectations of a cocker with a cocker mind-set. He loves us and we love him. We just simply must find him a perfect home before yet another separation makes him distrustful of humans.
• I have several cases to work on today. The sanctuary has been cleaned and everyone is doing their thing. There simply is a crisis here every day.
• Trips to the vet's, cruelty cases (too many and too gross to talk about this week), pulling everything together for our big move next door, everything...
• We have a case going to court June 29. I talked last week about the 6 dogs and 2 horses we took May 4. We still have the dogs. The horses have been moved to a lush pasture that was arranged for their rehabilitation.
• Oh yes, I have poison oak all over my face and hands.

Past diary entries