Paws, Claws, and Hooves

"Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray." - Rumi

[pawsclawsandhooves]

It’s been a while! Checking back in with some pictures from this summer of me and Nimoy. 

[soontobedvm]

I like to handle life like I would like to handle mean alpacas. If it spits on you, spit back.

 Large Animal Veterinarian (via soontobedvm)

Solid advice, although mean alpacas scare the shit out of me to be honest.

[pawsclawsandhooves]

This is the last photo I took of Ghost. This is how I knew we were at the end of the road. I called my supervisor on the radio and let her know that he was ready to go, and he needed our help. We euthanized him last evening in his enclosure, in the last bit of sun from a warm day, with his companion watching. I held a dish of water up for him to take a last drink, and he lapped it up slowly and gladly. I sat with him and pet his head as he passed, told him he has done well, and let him know it was okay to give in. I am so selfishly sad yet so relieved for him. At times like this, giving the gift of release is the sweetest thing we can do for our friends, and I know it was the right thing. I have more to say, but I'll save it for a day when I'm reminiscing happily rather than missing him bitterly.

[pawsclawsandhooves]

“O hai, didnt see u there.”

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Angel, eating chicken. 

She lives up to her name, even if she looks like a goofy mess while snacking down on her dinner. She had a tumor removed on her right hip, and this nonsocial girl was left with no choice but to have us cleaning her incision site once a day and making sure she moved her leg enough for it to heal well. So, she's been getting a lot of attention, and although she isn’t thrilled by it, she’s been amazingly tolerant and sweet. Just look at that smile!

[pawsclawsandhooves]

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Meet Ghost!

Ghost is part of Wild Spirit’s “Westeros Pack”, named by George R.R. Martin’s wife, Parris! The Martins supported the rescue of 12 wolf-dogs from really heinous conditions in Iowa and named each of those rescues after characters from Game of Thrones. Without their generosity, these wolf-dogs would have spent the rest of their lives crammed into small cement-floored enclosures in groups of 4 or more, never touching the ground, never being adequately cleaned, and never receiving medical care of any kind. The breeder had passed, leaving his already mistreated and inbred animals alone and uncared for. It is truly a miracle that they were brought to our attention and that we were able to fund their rescue - an undertaking that required hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel expenses, enclosure construction, veterinary care, and of course, lifelong care at our sanctuary. 

Since arriving here, Ghost’s life has still been a bit tumultuous. Never socialized, he and his family members naturally were very fearful of people. Getting them healthy required vet visits, surgery, and medication, all of which was scary and stressful. Finally, they settled into packs, one of which was Ghost Pack: 5 animals living together, 4 of whom were girls, and the 5th was Ghost, who was also the Alpha. Ghost was neutered, but the girls remained intact (not spayed) due to fear that their age and poor health would result in them dying during surgery (neutering is far less invasive and generally easier for the animal to recover from).

In 2015, Ghost’s packmate Lady, the companion he was closest with and the Alpha female, ruptured a tumor that had been hidden by her winter coat. She was pulled from the pack, had the tumor removed, and then once she was on the mend about 2 weeks later, she returned to her pack. Only a few days later, during the night, the other girls seized the opportunity and killed and ate Lady. We were devastated, and the pack suffered, too. With Lady’s role as Alpha suddenly available, the girls began vying to be in charge. Eventually, Nymeria was injured badly enough to also be removed, leaving Ghost, Arya, and Brienne alone as a pack of three. 

This year, Brienne and Arya went into heat and tensions rose to a breaking point. Brienne was captured and moved in with a male wolf-dog named Summer, who was also part of the initial Iowa rescue. Ghost and Arya adjusted to life alone, and for a moment, we hoped things would finally be easy for them. Unfortunately, this past month Ghost went to the vet for difficulty eating, and what we had hoped was a dental issue turned out to be Stage 3 kidney failure. The hard reality is that Ghost is dying. 

As their caretaker, I’m working hard each day to get Ghost to eat anything at all. Everything makes him nauseous. We were having success with cooked chicken and kibble, but then that faded. Then he would only eat the chicken. Now he will only eat cooked hamburgers and not even look at the chicken. According to our vet, force-feeding or dialysis are the only two options for patients at this point, neither of which are possible for us. So I’m cooking all the different types of foods I can think of each day, hoping that one will tempt him. He sleeps a lot, and some days he doesn’t even get up to see what I have to offer. It’s breaking my heart.

Ghost is a sweet old guy, and unless you’re a man, he’ll ask for attention and come to greet you when you visit with him and Arya. He’s the kind of animal that just exudes gentleness and contentment, even though life has seriously wronged him. Poor Ghost should never have even existed, let alone the ways that he has, yet here he is. I hope I can help make his last days good ones, and I hope that when he goes, he feels happy and peaceful and safe, and that the rest of his story isn’t even a distant memory. And I hope that Arya will be ok. 

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Everyone has a secret to hide and a knife in his boot.

Steven Kotler, A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life

A book about dog rescue in a small town of New Mexico, or, a book that closely parallels my personal experience at the moment. 

[soontobedvm]

Reasons Why Your Cat May be Peeing/Pooping Outside of the Litter Box

-> MEDICAL! 

-> MEDICAL!

-> MEDICAL! Before you automatically assume your cat is peeing on your clothes because it is “mad” at you, TAKE YOUR CAT TO THE VET! There are SO many medical reasons why your cat is inappropriately eliminating. Your cat could have a UTI, it could be blocked (Is he straining to pee, peeing little bits all over, or screaming when he pees? THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!!!!!!!!), it could have arthritis and can’t jump or move to wherever the box is anymore.  There could be kidney disease, endocrine disease (hyperthyroid, diabetes), GI disease, etc. PLEASE, if you cat is suddenly peeing or pooping outside of the box when it has never done that before, GO TO YOUR VET. 

-> Stress: Cats normally don’t pee out of “spite”, but they can surely pee out of stress. Stressers can be any sudden change, new baby/pet, moving, etc.

-> Litter Box Aversion: Whether it be the box itself, the type of litter, or the location, cats can have aversions to these things and decide to eliminate elsewhere. One important thing to remember here is to frequently clean your box! This is simple solution that is easy to forget! 

-> Unable to access a box: Similar to the one before, but some questions to ask: Can your cat get to the box? Are there multiple litter boxes if in a multi-cat household? (A rule of thumb I always heard of is 2 litter boxes plus 1 for every extra cat). Is there a dominant cat or dog that is preventing the cat from getting into or out of the box?

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Helpful info for all cat owners!!

I’d like to add that cats that are blocked can DIE if they don’t receive treatment in time. Other conditions can cause serious lasting damage if they go untreated. Don’t fuck around with inappropriate urination - go see your vet!

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Howling: A How-To featuring Storm

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Visited with Nimoy this evening! He receives eye drops twice a day due to an eye condition called pannus. It's common in some breeds of dogs, like German Shepherds, and it's even more common in high altitude, very sunny areas, like the American high desert southwest (guess where we are???) Nimoy is such a buddy but he gets overexcited easily, especially with baby talking and high energy from his caretaker. He can get a bit carried away with his enthusiasm, so I try to keep my energy low. It's hard though, since he's so much fun and such a happy kiddo. Sometimes I just say "eff it" and let him get riled up and just keep my face out of tooth-way! Giving him eye drops can be tough when he's in particularly high spirits but we always manage to get it done, even if he's grumbly and growly during it.

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Hi, you're a veterinarian?? I know tumblr isn't really the place to ask questions but it's somewhat complicated and I need advice

Hi! I'm not sure when you sent that, but sorry if you've been waiting on a reply! I'm not a veterinarian, so I probably can't help anyways. I hope you find the help you need!

[pawsclawsandhooves]

Coyotes! One of the most under-appreciated animals in North America and yet one of the most resilient creatures that exists. They are opportunistic eaters and  therefore able to be flexible in their diets, their pack structure and litter sizes are ever-changing based on resources available in their area and the size of the current population, and they are incredibly intelligent. They have a variety of communication styles including barks, yelps, and howls, and they are extremely creative hunters, using tactics like diversions and scaring prey into traps to catch what they need with minimal risk or failure.

Pictured above are two of the coyotes at Wild Spirit, because in addition to wolves and wolf-dogs, we’re also home to many other wild canids in need of sanctuary. Lyla Rose, the female blond, and Jasa, the male redhead, have lived in captivity since they were pups. They were den-robbed by hunters who killed their parents, and of course, did not work well as “pets” in homes. So they’re here, lifelong partners as most coyotes are, and they are helping us teach people (particularly New Mexicans) about the importance of this species and the incredible gifts they carry.

[theget-awaygirl]

Rain and Nimoy. Loves of my life.

[theget-awaygirl]

This is Nimoy.  Nimoy is named after Leonard Nimoy, because his ears are so damn big. He’s grown into them, but they could still pick up radio signals. Sometimes I feel like he knows a radio call is coming in before my radio even makes a sound. Otherwise, he’s not that astute, but man, he’s a lot of fun.  Nimoy is a wolf-dog - he likes women, likes kids a little TOO much, loves his girlfriend (Rain), and has an eye condition called Pannus that is common in German Shepherds. He gets eye-drops twice daily and he likes to growl and show me his teeth while I do it. He’s not tough, but he talks a big game. 

Nimoy and Rain are a huge motivating factor for me to be here. They’re the main reason I came back. I kept photos of them around my home for over a year before I was able to return to Wild Spirit. They’re my foundation here; everything else has grown up from them. 

[pawsclawsandhooves]

I so wish my primary blog was this blog, instead of the one linked above. Anyone know if/how I could fix that?

[theget-awaygirl]

Zeus (the big white wolf-dog) was one of the first kids I took care of when I was at Wild Spirit for the first time in 2015. He lived alone and we never really interacted unless I had food. I found it very difficult to connect with him. I had no idea if he was happy, depressed, bored, or anything else. He’s a bit of a weirdo, and we don’t know much about him or what his life was like before coming here. Now he lives with Oni, who is a total goof. Getting to care for Zeus again with the addition of Oni is amazing! I’m seeing a whole new side of him come to life thanks to her, and compared to my experience with him last time, I feel like he might actually be pretty happy these days. #zeusandoni #animalsanctuary #wolfdog #wildanimals #animalrescue #sanctuary #notapet #didwejustbecomebestfriends #playtime #wolvesofinstagram #wolfdogsofinstagram (at Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary)

[pawsclawsandhooves]

I’ve hesitated to post this photo, and previously I’ve steered clear of a very sensitive issue in my posts about the elephants because I know I’ll receive a negative response, no matter what I say in my post. But it’s my blog, and there are things that need to be said, so here we go:

First, please note that in this photo I am riding Bo, the elephant, without a seat or any equipment beyond the rope around her midsection. Physically, Bo is completely capable of caring me like this. She’s also completely capable of carrying a seat, but for limited periods of time. (You wouldn’t keep a horse saddled all the time, and you shouldn’t have a seat on an elephant for an entire day either). Anatomically speaking, elephants are entirely able to carry people, move trees, perform heavy labor, etc. without negative side effects, provided that they are well-managed and their work hours are reasonable, they are properly fed, and veterinary care is available and accessed when needed. Bo is ~4 tons and she is incredibly powerful. 

The problem with elephant riding is not a physiological one. But yes, there IS a problem with elephant riding. Unfortunately, it cannot be solved by simply choosing not to participate in elephant riding as a tourist activity. 

In my opinion, the problem of elephant riding is multi-faceted. It’s rooted first in their training, a typically cruel method of literally beating the animal into submission when it’s young enough to be susceptible. The elephant is taken from it’s mother while it’s still young enough to be controllable, which means that it misses out on several years of nursing (elephants naturally nurse for 3-5 years), which are of course extremely important for overall health. The quickest way to train an elephant is to frighten it into listening to you. There are other training methods, more modern ones, but they aren’t as effective nor do they yield such quick results. 

Secondly, elephants are not domesticated. We haven’t bred them to select traits that are suited for our needs. They’re still wild animals, even if they are born in captivity. You cannot train an elephant like you would train a dog, because you have not selected the necessary traits to get those results (cue harsh, negative reinforcement training methods). 

Thirdly, there is still an entire culture of people who support themselves through owning elephants. They are called mahouts, and this “job” is passed from father to son, along with the animals. There are entire villages in Thailand where everyone’s livelihood is elephants. As we can see with the example of logging camps and the ivory trade, outlawing elephant-related activities does not make them stop, it just makes them more difficult to regulate. And with less regulation, there is less protection for the animals and fewer resources for their owners. 

Finally, elephants need stimulation, exercise, and enrichment. Working, when done properly, can be good for them. They cannot be “returned to the wild” because there is nowhere for them to go. Their natural habitat is dwindling, encroached on each day by the growing urban sprawl. Elephants need quite a bit of space to wander, and it’s shrinking. 

With proper management, good nutrition, veterinary care, and resources and education for the families of the mahouts, elephants can enjoy a successful, healthy life in captivity, even when working. However, the training methods that produce such elephants need to change, and the idea of “mahout” as a career that can financially support a family as well as a ~4 ton elephant need to change. The unfortunate reality is that cultural ideas about elephants in the communities where they are most commonly found are not aligned with what is best for the animals. It’s focused on what’s best for the people, who need a livelihood. And until the world starts providing access to better education in these extremely rural, low-income areas, these people will be left with no options or motivation to pursue different, more lucrative, and kinder career alternatives. And until we check our treatment of the world we live in and become more respectful of the animals that live in it (i.e. stop expanding into their space and diminishing their habitats) these beautiful giants will have no where to survive. 

I have so much more that I could say about this that won’t fit into this blog post, but please know that this is a limited portion of my outlook and not the entire thing, by any means.