Unwelcome Critter

Two days ago as I was running around trying to remove debris before the storm hit, I saw this grayish skinny thin about a foot long wiggling around trying to eat some bird poop on the cement.  I stopped and looked at it from afar.  Apparently, he or she saw me too and wiggled away.

There were some things I needed to remove but there was no way I was going near the area.  It was probably a garden snake but it freaked me out just the same. I hate snakes of any kind and I know it is a phobia I have to overcome or I will never be able to move to Terlingua :-(

The chicken and her chicks no longer visit us. I do not know if our neighbor has moved them to the new lot he bought or if he has sold them to his Mexican partners in Ciudad Acuna.

Birds, Chicken, chicks and cats

I have to admit that I  miss the dogs more than I thought I would.  However, life goes on and other critters have noticed that dogs no longer roam around here.  Since bread and flour tortillas are not permitted in my daily diet and I no longer have Pedrito and Tammie to feed it to, I decided rather than throwing them away I would feed it to the birds.

What I did not count on was that it would be eaten by a black and orange cat who has been leaving his footprints all over my car.  We also have one of the neighbor's chickens and her little chicks free ranging on mom's property.  They have been here almost a month and her chicks are getting big.  I have no idea what poultry eat but they ate what the cat did not.

With the weeds being so tall you can barely
make out the white and black chicks

Last week two other cats came around, a fat tabby one and a skinny light orange one. The fat one did not stay long because the birds ganged up on him and started pecking him, so he quickly took off to another lot.

Guess there are other critters wanting to make Mom's house their home.

Dogless

I have no idea what is happening with the dogs.  First Pedrito never came back. Last week Oscar did not return.  Three days ago only Tammie showed up to eat dinner and even though she was limping she left after eating. Thought it was odd that she was by herself as Oscar always accompanies her. That is the last I saw of her. Now I am dogless.

Where is Pedrito?

The last time I saw Pedrito was after he finished eating dinner on Friday, May 5th. He left by himself and I have not seen him since. While he has left in the past, the most he stays gone is two to three days.

Monday, May 8th we were on our way to a doctor's appointment and took the back way out of the subdivision. The back way is a shortcut to the north part of the city where most of the commercial establishments, fast food, and restaurants are located. The road is narrow and in some spots, there is no shoulder to speak of.  I thought I saw a dog that resembled Pedrito but I had several cars in back of me and no place to pull over.  Anyhow that dog was heading back to our neighborhood.

Even if it had been him there is no way my mother was going to let me put him in the car, not that he would be willing to get in any way.  I could not leave him inside the car as we went in for her appointment, he would jump out if I left the window open and I would have to do that.

Returned home the same way just in case but did not see him. I had filled his water container to the brim so I could see if someone had drunk out of it but it was intact. Rode all over the neighborhood with lowered windows calling out his name.  He is the only one of the three that actually responds to the name I gave him.

Tuesday we had to go to San Antonio but I left food and water out just in case.  Neither he, Tammie or Oscar came around.

Wednesday I even went to the City of Del Rio Dog Pound but they told me that they do not pick up dogs from the county, something I already knew.  The lady worker told me that viewing hours were 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

I did not have a picture of him but remembered the blog, the only thing is that header pictures do not show up on cell phones.  I described him to her but she said the dogs they had did not match my description.

I walked around the places where I still could on mother's property but I did not smell any foul odors to indicate he had perished.  I am at a loss for what could have happened to him.  All I can hope is that he is safe and in a loving home.

Part-time dogs

I do not know what is wrong with these dogs. During the winter they were here all the time. However starting last month they have taken to leaving after supper and not coming back for a day or two.  Sometimes they come back together but mostly Tammie and Oscar stick together and Pedrito goes out on his own.

At first, I was upset that they left us unprotected at night but then I got to thinking that it is good that they look for food and shelter elsewhere and a bonus would be if they could find a forever home.

Tammie and Oscar were here all day, she is limping but as soon as I served them supper they took off. I have not seen Pedrito in two days hope he is ok.

Musical blankets

The dogs mainly stay in the covered area by the kitchen door.  There they can be sheltered from the sun and inclement weather except  if the rain comes with gusty winds out of the north or east as was the case a couple of days ago.

I have two cuchas for them and a little area with pillows and a blanket for Tammie.  All the bedding was soaked and stunk to high heaven.  Our clothesline is not strong enough to resist the weight of it all so a light bulb went off in my head.

 

I decided to dry them on top of the weeds and suffocate them with the help of the dogs who are now playing musical blankets.

I will try anything to keep from doing yard work :-(

Musical "Cuchas"

In the mornings when I go feed the dogs, I get a kick out of seeing who is sleeping in what cucha (Spanish term for a bed).

Up until now, Tammie had not shown an interest in sleeping in one but that has since changed. She saw Oscar get up from his and she quickly decided to try it out and fell asleep. He is a docile dog, so he let her as he took his place in the grass (weeds).

We have made a couple of trips to San Antonio this month so we have had no choice but to eat at fast food establishments.  Mother can never finish a complete meal so we bring the left-overs to the dogs. I, on the other hand, have no problem eating my portion but the doctor has potatoes in particular french fries banned from my diet.

We brought back so many french fries but I finally ran out of them today.  I am sure they will miss them, in particular, Pedrito.  That dog is getting fat though I have cut down on his portions.  I figured now that he is no longer tied up, he would take to the streets and loose weight but that has not happened at least not during the day.

Last night before turning in, I looked in on them as they sleep in the cover area by the kitchen door...they were nowhere to be found.  Came back an hour later and they were still missing in action...geeze some watch dogs I have!

January 2017 Critter Update

I can not believe I have not made a post in 2017.  We had rain about two weeks ago along with cold temperatures and since I have yet to purchase a doghouse for Pedrito, I did not want him exposed to the elements.

It was on Friday afternoon after the school kids had already made their way home that I finally decided to release him.  The first thing he did was run out the back down fence to the street behind the house.  I could hear the dogs on that street go crazy but what could I do?

I do not like to have him tied up but I do not want to face any lawsuits either. Though he is more bark than bite.  I moved his cucha to the covered area by the kitchen door but he paid no attention to it.  He installed himself behind the old washing machine where Oscar up to know slept.

He tried to bully Oscar but I quickly straighten him out.  I think he realized that he preferred to be loose and decided to mind me. Things never go as expected...then Oscar started to bully him!

The cucha went unused for a couple of days.  Then one morning as I came out to feed them, to my surprise Oscar had taken over it and up until today that remains the case.

Oscar with a swollen right jaw

I am worried about Oscar, he sleeps a lot and his cheek continues to be swollen.  I have been giving him the medication for swelling but it does not seem to be working.  I am going to somehow have to fit in a trip to the vet in my already full agenda.

I am surprised that Tammie continues to show no ill effects of her encounter with the porcupine. Unlike Oscar, she has a good appetite and now eats his food much like he used to eat hers prior to the attack.

Tammie

Pedrito seems to have a problem with itching, he scratches himself raw.  I get a lot of e-mails from 1-800-Pedmeds and I am surprised at all there is out there for pets.  I saw a shampoo but that would involve a bath...I do not think either one of us is ready for that step...at least not in winter.

The shampoo and other things for itching are on the expensive side, can only wonder how much more they sell for at the Vet's.  I was at Dollar Tree the other day and saw a dog oatmeal shampoo and almost bought it as the cheapest one I found online was $8.99 plus S&H.

Thinking perhaps he might have some allergies I gave him baby Benadryl but that does not seem to have helped him either.  Since I can not possibly take two dogs at once...in particular these two that do not like each other...I will have to program a separate trip for each to the vet :-(