Making strides

It has been a little challenging getting used to having two dogs and a cat but we are slowly making strides. I should really say one dog because Tontolin (his temporary name) is still elusive and wont come near me.

I have only had one dog in my entire life but I have had a long string of cats. What can I say?...I am a cat person so it has been an adjustment for me as well.

Yesterday was the last sunny day in the 70's which we will have for a while.  I took the opportunity to wash clothes and hung them up in the clothesline.  Spent a lot of time outside and bonded a little more with Pedrito.

Remember I felt sorry for him for having a bum leg?  Turns out it might have been his own fault. He likes to chase cars as they go by.  I gave him a stern talking to!  Tontolin likes to do the same.

Ralph has been by every single day since they have been here.  Seems he does not want to lose any ground to the dogs and wants to maintain his status as the favorite pet at the Del Rio branch of Terlingua Dreams. :D

I did not keep my word of not feeding them.  Ended up buying a large bag of dog food. Sure wish Pedrito would share some of it with Tontolin like he did the first time I fed them both.

While not best pals at least Ralph and Pedrito are trying to get along.

This afternoon I went to check on Walter and both Ralph and Pedrito followed me.  I wish I had had my camera handy and taken a picture of the three of them :-)

Thank you for dropping by.

Meet Pedrito's sidekick

The first time I noticed Pedrito hiding behind the shed/garage I thought he was alone.  It did not take long to notice that another dog was with him.  I can't be 100 percent sure it is a male but I sure hope it is!

Except for one occasion when I fed both of them...his sidekick takes off when he sees me.  I have tried to talk to him in a soft voice but he wont get near me.  All I know is that Pedrito pretty much calls the shots and he does what he tells him.

I was impressed with Pedrito the first time I fed him because he saved some food for his friend but lately it has not been that way...he eats the whole darn thing.  I have tried to feed him when the Pedrito is sleeping but again he takes off :-(

The only pictures I have of him were taken through the kitchen window.

Thinking he is male...which he might be, I thought of calling him Tomas, Tomacito or Tommie but I have been calling him Tontolin lately.  Tontolin is a non-offensive Spanish word for someone that is not very bright.  I know, that is mean...perhaps he is just shy?

Meet Pedrito

This is Pedrito, I named him in honor of Pedro Sola a commentator of an entertainment show that is beamed to the border from Mexico City called Ventaneando.  While most shows in Mexico will replace you in the blink of an eye, especially if you happen to be older...TV Azteca the network he works for...has chosen to keep him in their ranks.

In Spanish when you use ita (for a female) or ito (for a male) it is a term of endearment. For example I would be Belindita. Though I have been calling him Pedro a lot lately! Pedrito is an older dog and he seems to have had a hard life.  He does not mind very well and he tends to growl.

He has a bum leg but he still manages to follow me wherever I go.  Ralph likes to follow me too and there in lies the problem.  Being a stray dog he does not care for cats and though Ralph was raised with a dog...he does not like Pedrito.

I have set Pedrito straight and told him he better not harm Ralph nor growl at him menacingly.  I hope I have gotten through to him.

Here Ralph keeps a watchful eye on him from his favorite place...on top of dad's old car.

I am just now noticing how chunky little Ralph is getting...he is starting to resemble a butterball turkey :D

Dogs with a limp :-(

We have always had a problem with stray dogs in this area.  It is compounded by the fact that the County ceased to have an Animal Control unit due to budget restrains.

It seems that all of mother's neighbors have dogs and even though they bark at night none of their owner come outside to shut them up. Last week during the morning some of them were going crazy and I went outside to see why.

There were about six or seven dogs traveling in a pack strutting down the street paying no mind. Later that afternoon I saw one come into the yard and stop to drink water from the large container I set out for Walter and which I had not had a chance to empty since he went back home,

I watched him from the kitchen window and I felt so sorry for the poor dog.  He walked with a limp and he looked like he had had a hard life.  I will never deny an animal water so instead of emptying Walter's water I refilled it.

It did not take long for his other friends to get wind of it and they came to get a drink too. Sunday I went to the backyard and ran into one of the dogs.  As soon as he saw me he ran off like he was afraid I was going to hurt him.  He too was limping. I talked softly to him and told him not to go.

I had a can of dog food that I have had for some time now and decided to give it to him. That is when I noticed that another dog was hiding in back of the shed/garage looking at us. I called out to him as well but he took off. Again this poor dog also walked with a limp.  Is it because people throw rocks at them? That really made me sad.

What impressed me about the first dog I fed was that he could have easily eaten all I gave him but he left some for the other dog!  Got another bucket and placed it closer to him so he does not have to go far for a drink and he wont be as evident to the two dogs in the corner who are vicious as well as the dog across from mom's.

This morning I saw that both were asleep in the back of the shed/garage.  When I went outside they looked up and were fixing to run but again I spoke softly to them and they seemed to understand. Got two aluminum containers from my KFC pot pies and gave them some of Ralph's cat food.  They gobbled it up and went back to sleep.

This evening I looked out the window and another one of their friends had joined them.  They were just laying around having a good time.  With the down fence and all the weeds having been mowed courtesy of Walter anyone can walk into the yard.  Maybe these strays will patrol the house at night.

Ralph does not seem to mind them as it appears he grew up around dogs.  When I was feeding him on top of dad's old car, the dogs hid but were watching like peeping Toms from the corner, lol :D

I miss my big guy

It is going on almost a week since Walter left and I sure do miss him.  Sometimes I wonder if his owner somehow got a wind of this blog and reads it...rather doubtful but nonetheless possible.

The conditions in the corral remain the same so the possibility that his owner got written up by the powers that be are almost null.

I am at a loss how he can not remove all this crap (literally) from inside the corral...is he blind?

Wish my big guy would come back :(

Thank you for dropping by.

Walter went home

I did not go to bed until 7:30 a.m. this morning...the telephone rang at 9:30 a.m. and woke me up. Seems my mother's friends knocked on the door this morning but we were both asleep and did not hear a thing.  Her friend said he left something for her by the door.

Went to bring it in but I was still sleepy as all get out so much so, that when I opened the door I did not see Ralph running into the covered porch.  It wasn't until he started meowing that I became aware of his presence. Darn Ralph, I fed you good last night and you are already here?

I prefer to feed him in the porch so the other cats that roam the property don't smell the food and then get into a fight with him.  As he ate I went outside to check on Walter but it did not take long to see that he was back in his corral once more.  It was good having him here...I will miss him :-(

This afternoon I saw his owner opening a new bag of horse pellets and pouring them into the container they keep by the bale of hay.  I watched him give him a good portion of hay to both Dulcinea and Walter.  At least I know he had a good meal today.

This afternoon as I was serving mother dinner Ralph jumped up on top of dad's old car and started meowing.  He usually does not come around for both breakfast and dinner.  I told him he had to wait   He actually threw himself on the window to get my attention.

Needless to say I went outside and fed him dinner even before I ate my own.  Wonder if he has parasites?  He is always hungry and he eats a lot!  It is no wonder he looks like an orange ball :D

I am at a loss...

While I love that Walter has been at Mom's for about a month now...I am at a loss as to why?  It seems odd that his owner would let him stay this long.  Did the cops issue him a ticket for the filthy conditions of his corral?  Is he even in town?

As you know, while I get up early to give mother her medication...for me bedtime is 5:00 a.m. and I usually do not go outside until 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. unless it is trash day.  By his body language I can pretty much tell if he has been fed.  What I have witnessed is that lately he has been given a very small amount of hay usually around noon.  The big bale of hay his owner bought last month remains covered and untouched.

Last week before we left for Uvalde, I made sure I filled up his water container and having this sixth sense that I do...I filled up an additional tub for him.  Glad we made it back home after our near run in with the deer and the eighteen wheeler...but what if we had not?  Poor Walter would have run out of water by now and his owners would not have had a clue.

Friday, I saw that he appeared to be eating and I went to check it out. It once again broke my heart that he was eating his own feces.  We got back late Thursday after stopping at the grocery store and as upset as I was with what happened I forgot all about Walter!

Got in my car and immediately headed to buy him his horse pellets.  He was famished and devoured them!  His owner is well aware that there is no more native grasses or anything for Walter to graze on.  What little he feeds him is not enough for a horse his size.

Dulcinea looked hungry too but I can not take on two horses and besides she has an owner that cares a little more than Walter's.

The guys at the store put his 50 lb bag of pellets in my trunk but I have to tear it open and take down a little at a time until I fill up my five gallon food grade buckets with the corresponding gamma seals to help preserve its freshness.

Walter is a smart horse and he realizes that there is food in my trunk. He has been smelling and licking the outside of my car since then. Today, I was finally able to get down the last of the pellets but the smells still lingers.

Every time I go outside he comes running up to me expecting to be fed, lol, he is starting to act like Ralph.

Speaking of Ralph, yesterday I saw him coming into the yard.  Did not jump on the washing machine or on top of dad's old car to meow.  Wondered what was wrong? Looked out the window and he was grooming himself like he tends to do after he eats...jajajaja...wonder who fed him now?  :D

Today as I was feeding Walter on the north side of the property so his owners would not see (they are on the south side) and become even more irresponsible...Ralph came up to my pant leg meowing and expecting to be fed as well.  No free meals at the neighbors today Ralph?

Made him wait but fed him a good meal as another cold front will arrive tonight and besides he has been sneezing a lot lately :(

Ralph...the opportunist!

Today started as a nice sunny day.  However, I already knew that a strong cold front was headed this way. Had to get ready for it and bring in the plants.  I also remove anything that might become a flying object as well as cover the exposed pipes.

Managed to wash some hand washables that the strong wind helped accelerate its drying time.  All this time I was looking for and calling out to Ralph but obtained no response.

Of course as soon as I got busy Ralph showed up and jumped on top of dad's old car and started meowing to get my attention.  He is very smart and knows I hang out in the kitchen.  I had other more pressing things to attend to so told him he had to wait.

When I finally went outside to feed him, he was nowhere to be found.  Walked around the front and I could hear a meow but could not tell where it was coming from.  Lucky for me, I had my newer glasses on and saw this orange ball in the neighbors front porch on top of a blue ice chest meowing in their window!  WTH?  I yelled out to him to get down and come eat...he was back in mom's yard in a flash!

I swear that little Ralph is an opportunist just looking for a free handout.  I am sure he has successfully tried this trick before!  Thank goodness mom's neighbors were still at work.  I am sure they think he is ours and that we do not feed him!

Since it is going to be cold this evening (cold for this part of Texas, 28 degrees) I gave him a full can of cat food plus some dry cat food for extra measure...he gobbled it all up.

I am rather surprised that Walter has been here since before the beginning of the New Year. They fed him a small portion of hay this morning but none this evening.  I am so glad he is here and not in his nasty corral.

Cat Haven

This weekend has been beautiful, we finally got to see the sun and Walter has been here the whole time.

Yesterday little Ralph finally made an appearance.  I was getting worried about him! Goodness he looks a little on the hefty side, at least I know someone has been feeding him :D

Even though we do not own any cats...mother's house is a favorite destination for all the neighborhood's strays.  We now have a rather different looking white cat with a black tail and black ears.  Every time I see her I never happen to have my camera on me.

Still running off that bully gray cat that beat up Ralph but he never learns.....grrrrrrr!!!!  Yesterday there was this black cat that for some reason I think could be Ralph's brother stretching to reach the water bucket I set out for Walter.  I did not run him off as I will never deny an animal a drink of water.

Here are some pictures I took back on December 27th of Ralph and Dulcinea.  In this first one he appears to be checking HER out.

In this other one, it appears she is checking HIM out :)

Had not really noticed until right now but their coloring is similiar.

A milestone was reached

It was a cold and wet day.  Once again Walter spent his time by the fence bordering the corral.  Saw when his owner using a pitch fork threw some hay his way. Today he did not put it by his feeding station as that would have required his owner having to go into that soggy corral.

It was 2:45 p.m. when he did that so I am pretty certain he had not been fed since yesterday.  There is very little to graze on at mom's property, he has pretty much eaten all there is to eat.  I went to check his water and noting that it was low, I once again hooked up the water hose to fill it up.

Tomorrow the weatherman says we will finally see the sun, for Walter and Dulcinea's sake I sure hope so!

Another day that Ralph does not come by.

A new milestone was reached today...Walter's blog received 10,000 visits.  Thank you!