Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: RipSlider on December 28, 2007, 01:10:41 am
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OK, so some people thought that I was joking when I told you about Mrs Steve's bouncing cake ( I wasn't) , but to me it was just one of those crazy things that seems to happen to me a lot more than other people.
To prove this, let me compare a random chap off the street getting a dog to my own efforts to obtain one. This has actually happened and is all true. Either God puts idiocy in my way on purpose, of all the people I deal with are totally sane, and I'm the crazy one.
Normal chap getting a dog.
Walks into dogs home -> "Hello, please can I have a dog?" -> selects dog from those available -> home visit -> recieves dog.
See, it's easy isn't it. Sadly not for me.
Myself and Mrs Steve have wanted a dog for a while now. With a new, bigger house and lots of fields etc, and me working from home a lot more, we decided in early december that the time was right to go and get one, so we toddled off the a local dogs home in order to get a mutt.
A note here. I won't name the animal shelter, but it's in the Yor/Leeds area, and this place friggin *loves* me, as not only have I already got two cats from them, but I take in all the unwanted "oddities" that people dump on them, which mostly involves fish ( as I have a lot of fish tanks ) but also the odd rat, hamster, gerbil, ferret etc. For a while the old house was turning into a zoo in front of my eyes and my two cats were going spare either trying to eat or run away from the latest arrival. Now a days I just keep the fish, and re-home through friends the other animals.
Surfice to say, these people know me, I know them, and, seeing as someone usually drops a new match of fish around every week or 10 days, know the cats have a good home. So no house visit for me, as they already know a dog will be OK.
So, we arrive at the dogs home, and go for a trundle around the dogs. I see something in the corner which looks a little like a road accident on LSD, but actually turns out to be the ugliest dog you've ever seen. Bald spots every where, so skinny you can see every bone in his rib cage, and obviously very badly beaten up and scarred (although without a doubt this was a damn ugly dog to start off with).
Anyway, for some reason I'm taken with him, so me and Mrs Steve take him for a walk. no matter what he looks like, he's an excellently trained dog and by the time we take him back, we decide to take him.
So, we go to the front desk and ask about the dog. Turns out he needs a whole load of the vets time and meds in order to get properly healthy, and the amimal centre can't afford all the bills so have paid to get him stable, and the new owners will need to get him properly well. Add the ugliness to this, and no one wants him, and he's been there a horribly long time.
So, we say we'll take him, agree to cover vets bills etc. Woman at the desk is ecstatic, and runs off to get manager of the shelter. This causes a groan from me, as I'm not a fan of said woman. I swear, with my hand on my heart, that this is the most crazy, stupid woman you have ever met. This is a woman who is that dumb she could sit on the ground and manage to fall off.
So, out comes the loon, giving it the whole tears, snot and limp hugs routine, telling me what wonderful people Claire and I are, and that the dog is amazing lucky. I just nod and hope to christ she goes away, but she decides that she herself is going to do the paperwork for this dog.
All seems to be going as well as it can be with the paperwork, given who is filling it out ( apart from when she left the cap one the pen when she tried to write, and couldn't work out what was up until mrs Steve pointed the cap out to her...) until we get to the bit about the dogs name.
The current name of the dog is something dreadful like "Tango" or "Turner", or at least something equally as revolting beginning with a T. So she asks us
"Are you planning to change it's name, and if so, what to"
"Why yes" replies I "I *will* be changing it's name, we're going to call it "Dog"
"ha ha" says loon "What are you actually going to call it?"
"no really, it'll be called "Dog" " says me
This meets with much opposition. It turns out that, for some reason, it is cruel to call a dog "Dog".
"Why" I ask "Does the dog care what it's called by humans? I don't understand why this is an issue"
After much muttering, confering wih her juniors etc, she explains that it is demeaning to call a dog "Dog", and so they won't let the dog come home with us.
Cue snot and tears from Mrs Steve. I try to explain that I will pay all the vets bills, that the centre knows it's going to an excellent home, that they can't afford to get the poor swine better, and, most importantly, the dog truely won't care what it's name is, but still we're not allowed the dog.
In desperation, I say that I'll keep it's old name. Now the woman won't believe me, and STILL won't let us have the dog.
At this point, I decide to leave, but to appeal to the national group that runs the shelter. I write to them, explain the full situation with out bias, and ask them to interceed.
This morning I got a phone call. The issue had gone all the way to the exec board. They have decided too that calling the dog "Dog" would be degrading to the dog, which would harm it in ways unspecified, and that I can not adopt it. Along with this, they have said that becuase they do not believe that I will keep the name of any other dog I adopt, they "respectfully request" that I do not try and adopt any dog from any of their shelters.
At this point I am fully convinced that the world has gone mad.
Two hours later, I get a phone call from the same crazy manager lady from the animal shelter where all these issues started.
Some one has brought in a tame otter, and they can't get it re-homed until feburary. Please could I take it?
After establishing that she *was* actually talking about an otter, rather than, for example, a hamster, becuase lets face it she's not very bright, and I have never heard of a tame otter, I ask her why doesn't she take it to the river and release it. She explains that it was some ones pet ( who makes a pet out of a friggin otter??? They make polecats look tame and gentle!!) and doesn't know how to hunt. Oh, and do I know what food someone would feed a pet otter as it doesn't seem to be eating fish....
I ask her if she knows what has happened about the dog? She says yes, the exec council told her yesterday. I ask her how the dog is. She says it died a few days ago due to liver complications ( the same thing that the centre couldn't afford to treat, but I was willing to cover costs for...). I ask her if, given the situation and the news she's just given me, she thinks it's good form to ask me to take on animals from them at the moment?
Here quote, word for word:
"Well, otters are *sort* of like dogs... aren't they?"
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Question to the board, and be honest here:
Is it me who is stupid for not understanding that calling a dog "Dog" is degrading, or is it the animal centre who are full of madmen???
Seriously folks, what am I missing here???
Steve
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Hi Steve,
Good init.
I had a tropical fish the make of which was an oscar. I called him Oscar and he never complained.
Bob.
sad about the dog though.
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i use to call my shark, sharkie... animal people are nuts.....
Moderted
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Beaurocracy is nuts nowadays and there are too many idiots striving to be as politically correct as possible so much that they have lost all concept of common sense.
As far as I am concerned that woman has killed the dog and I would discus the situation with the RSPCA to see if they think she is fit for the job.
To object to calling an animal by a certain name is mindless in the extreem and is assuming that animals can understand language, which they obviously cannot. They simply respond to a known noise in a conditioned manner.
You should have said that you had reason to believe that it was a French dog and therefore it would only be demeaning if you called it "Chien".
The lunatics are certainly taking over the assylum here and everywhere else these days.
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Not you Ripslider, The damned woman wants sacking at the very least.....Have you thought of applying for her job??
Barry
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We were walking in Italy this year, starting from a very remote village. Just outside the village we were joined by a little village dog, we expected him to leave us after a mile or so, but he stuck with us, by five miles we felt responsible for the little fellow, whenever we lost sight of him, we just shouted 'dog dog ' and he would appear
He shared our lunch, drank a little water, and finally left us when we got back to the village, I suppose he had been with us for about 10 -12 miles, and seemed perfectly happy with his new name. I have no idea what 'dog dog' is in Italian, perhaps he didn't either.
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Now if you had called it "Cane!, Cane!" the dog may have found it demeaning and been offended.
This is actually all too stupid to talk about. The woman is an imbecile who has just been responsible for the death of a dog and she should be held accountable for it.
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We too went to get a dog from a very well known national animal shelter.
We didn't think there would be a problem as we had our last dog from them.
As I was working from home and there is my wife and 3 offspring, there is usually someone at home.
When I told them I had to be away overnight about 2 nights a week they refused us a dog.
It seems now I had to be at home 24/7.
Why only me, the rest of the family were home.
We did however notice an increase in the number of dogs in the centre.
I had a bit of a row, but they stuck to their new rules.
Do we have a dog now, of course we do.
My wife saw an advert in the free ads so we went and bought a Rottie.
The softest, daftest dog we have ever had.
We too will never go back there, the only ones who suffer are the dogs of course, they pay with their lives.
What these idiots are saying is yes you can have a rescue dog from us if you:
Never go shopping,
Don't work,
Don't have a day out
We have almost always had a dog in the house, my wife feels safer with a mutt when I am away.
Just seems daft to me, we didn't take it any further, just walked away.
Bob
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hi ya there Steve, hope you had a good Christmas - my wife has just read your posting about little 'Dog' and she wants to know if you are an Aries???? Because like you - love animals - she would love to know who that Rescue centre was....dear me....the world has gone mad!!!! I called one of our cats s**thead for long enough and my son, Andrew, called ithe cat ginger rat - but it never damaged the cat's brain! It didnt stop him damaging the wallpaper (the cat that is {-) )and the house is still full of battle scars from him - mind, having said that we miss him as he is not here now! But, back to that animal shelter - you should have called that woman - WOMAN !!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to know someone loves pets as much as us - and hates PEOPLE as much as us.
John
aye
bluebird
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I have read this story 3 times now and still can't believe it!!!!!! We have a dog we got from someone who could no longer care for her properly so she never got as far as the animal shelter, her name is Lottie, now is that degrading all the poor saps who are addicted to the national lottery (after all star trek fans are called trekkies!!! :D {-)) We could have called her b1tch as it is the proper term for a female dog, but i think we might have got a few strange looks calling her!!!!!
It is however alright for "celeb's" to call their kids peaches, heavenly hirani tiger lilly???, brooklyn, cruz, fifi trixibell and i could go on, why are the parents of said children not prosecuted for causing unneccesary suffering I can imagine the mickey taking they must get at school, kids can be so cruel!!!!
Mark.
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Mark,
The world has finally gone mad.
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Steve
Its official the world has gone PC mad. In my mind the dog having a good home out weighs what he is called, and how do they know it would effect the dog? Dogs will do anything for you all it takes is love, attention and food, not always in that order
Like bunkerbarge I think the woman killed the dog
Brian
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MY gold fish is called MR fish please don't tell that scary woman from the dogs home as i don't want him to go. I would say she is as thick as 2 short planks of wood But that might be offencive to 2 short planks of wood and might hurt the wood, thats of course forgeting in PC world wood has feelings and can talk English. Yep your right the world is now run by the people of the NUT HOME. ps what is now a PC name for a dog
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We now have to ask the canine (the word dog no longer allowed!!) what he or she wants to be called so here is a list of approved names:
Snarl
Woof
Bark
Growl
Whimper
Whine
Howl
Pant
{-) {-) {-) {-)
Mark.
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Mark sound about right
Dave
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As the chinese say (and I got this from my mother)
A Dog is not just for Christmas - there's always some left over for Boxing Day!
But I do suggest that the woman needs putting in a cage and asking if she'd rather live (and die) in the cage or be callled something she didn't understand
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Well my family have had lots of animals all with stupid names and they all lived to a ripe old age and as far as i am aware none suffered any ill effects.. Here are just a few.
Cat = Pussy Pur (liked to go for walks in Delemere Forrest)
Cat = Pussy Pie (Fat black Tom)
Cat = Stinky (loyal to the end)
Cat = Diddles
Cockatoo = Cocky ( 50+ when he fell off the perch no one seemed to know his real age)
Horse = Missala (before Indian Restaurants were well known)
5*Tortoises , Pedeta & Pedra , (can not remember the other 3 names but were on the same lines )
Must admit calling a Dog "Dog" does not quite go, perhaps Doggy might have been better.. Personally I would have sent your write up to the paper as it would give everybody a good laugh , especially as you seem to be used as an overflow for the centre.
Would be intersting to know if you would be allowed to have a cat on a very large leash , as we used to do as they had a habit of sitting in the middle of the road..Both Pie & Pur lived to about 15 which is a very good age ..Unlike are opposite neighbours who seem to loose about 2 a year .. Which would be considered cruel I wonder..
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Mark you forgot "Killer" I new somebody with a Dachshund called this..
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As an animal lover I no longer donate or give of my time to the RSPCA as they all seem to have gone loopy round here.
Talking of dogs names did anyone see the program on TV a few years ago about a chap who looked after a pack of hounds.
His party trick was to get visitors to point out a dog of their choice a few seconds later he would call `dog` and that particular one would come to him and all the others just carried on doing what dogs do.
No matter which dog was pointed out it never failed. It turns out that all the dogs used to look at him every couple of minutes for guidance and when the dog he wanted did this he would just call `dog` and over it came.
As far as I know not one dog or other animal was hurt, degraded or anything else during the making of the documentary.
I do find it very sad that people like the loopy women can be in charge of defenceless animals.
Colin H.
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I call my Lab 'Dogger' amongst other things, none of which are her registered name and she is still as nuts as she was as a pup - so - guess the dogs dont care!
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I do find it very sad that people like the loopy women can be in charge of defenceless animals.
I think this is a case of someone intellectually challenged and prone to anthropomorphic sentimentalism. (A bit thick and assigns human characteristics to animals)
The solution is to take her to the North Pole and introduce her to a lovable, cuddly polar bear called Snowy.
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All these years later , just found out the horse was named after someone in Ben-Hur..
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I thought it was Messala ::)
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It was Colin , I have just been spelling it incorrectly since 1976 , Oh well.. O0 (passed away to the great glue factory in the sky 1977)
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My brother had a cat called "cat". He would have been ashamed of going out at night and calling "tiddles" down the street.
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Perhaps she should go to San Francisco Zoo and practice her animal/people skills on the tigers?
http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/latest-world-news/2007/12/26/escaped-tiger-kills-zoo-visitor-91466-20287023/
The left-overs could be entered for the Darwin award. (Survival of the fittest, too stupid to survive dempnstration section)
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My brother had a cat called "cat". He would have been ashamed of going out at night and calling "tiddles" down the street.
This is exactly why I was planning to call it "dog".
Seeing as it was to be trained to gun dog standards, I'll have spent a lot of my time in fields and next to the river bank shouting for it, so calling it something like "rupert" or "fifi trixebell" was never going to cut it.
Have written a seething letter to the exec board, and copied in every corperate sponser I could find with links to them demanding loon is sacked and visciously beaten with an ice cold spoon until dead.
I know I've kind of made light of it, but I'm pretty angry about the dog. Poor wretch spent the last months of it's life on the street, and then in a place where they didn't have the budget to get him fixed up properly. It could well have been the case that I'd have got him and he would have died anyway, but I like to think not.
As cross as I am, I now find myself in a quandry about what to do with regards to future re-homing. The centre is simply not cut out to look after fish, and as I'm the main home provider for fish, a lot would die if I stop taking them.
That bl**dy otter has been playing on my mind as well this afternoon, as the wretched woman said it wasn't eating. I don't know squat about otters to be honest, but I'm part thinking that I could do a better job than the shelter would.
Om the other hand, they are horrible creatures, and there is a chance they'll catch and kill the cats, and they'll definately be taking chunks out of me and Mrs Steve. hmmm... needs more thinking about.
I've recieved a couple of e-mails from people asking which shelter it is and where it is. Also that I should complain to the police or some form of animal rights group about the death of the dog.
I *have* thought about this, but the way I'm looking at it is that, apart from the manager, the centre is mostly staffed with good people, trying to do a good job. And they do re-home a lot of animals. I think that if there was bad publicity in public, rather than complaints in private, it may have a negative effect of less people taking animals off them all together. This is why I have approached the exec board and the corperate sponsers, as both groups may take action, but will also keep it quiet.
Thanks for confirming I'm not crazy.
Steve
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Dog==Otter==Otter ===Dog yeah I can see the similarity..NOT...at the end of the day it appears that you are an animal Lover, so would be unfair to stop taking any from them..and its a shame that "Dog" could not have spent its last weeks/months/years in comfort and where it would have been well kept..
Suggest you are going to call the Otter, "otty"..that should solve the problem of them offering it to you..
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My dog will come to me no matter what he is called, his name is Jake but monster and oi! work just as well. He has never told me that he only wanted to be called Jake, and it upset him if I did not use his name.
I am worried now after work I will go home and only call him by his name that is unless he is sleeping on my bed or sofa then the little b!"£$%d will be called a lot of things but Jake ain't one of them ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Brian
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In his discworld series, Terry Pratchett had a convention about naming camels which started in "Pyramids". The theory was that any animal will consider its name to be whatever sounds are normally directed at it. Thus all camels have names like "You B*stard" and "Evil Smelling S&d".
My cat learned to respond to "Food".
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Hello,
So what are we to make of "Dog the Bounty Hunter ", who appears on the TV ???.
His name is "DOG" !!!.
John.
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Steve,
With our local rescue centre it got as far as letters to the Local Paper but the RSPCA wouldn't budge.
This has led to a drop in donations and an increase in the number of animals in their care, of which it has to be said they do a superb job.
But the only ones to suffer are the animals.
In your case as the Executive Committee chose to back their manager it taints the whole organisation.
This leaves you in somewhat of a quandary, if you withdraw from temp. homing the animals, it is only the animals that suffer.
Is there not another sanctuary nearby that you can offer your services to.
Round here there are lots.
If not can you turn your back on something that you obviously believe in which will only harm the defenceless animals.
She and the Executive Committee should all go round being called PRATT or something stronger.
If you carry on with that centre would it be seen as you condoning this stupid behaviour?
I am glad it isn't my problem to solve!!
Bob
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As the chinese say (and I got this from my mother)
A Dog is not just for Christmas - there's always some left over for Boxing Day!
But I do suggest that the woman needs putting in a cage and asking if she'd rather live (and die) in the cage or be callled something she didn't understand
The Chinese didn't call a dog Chow for no reason. (No offence intended!)
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Hi RipSlider,
A few years ago my wife and I had a similar experience with a jobsworth at a rescue centre, she wanted us to build an 8ft wall all round our garden!!
Needless to say we no longer have anything to do with that particular rescue centre.
We now share our lives with our Lab. His full name is Montgomery Regal Star, his home name is Monty but like most dogs he will answer to almost anything...For the manager at "your" rescue centre.....ITS ALL IN THE TONE STUPID!!!!
I share your sadness at the fate of the dog you describe and your anger at the Manager.
Perhaps she likes whelks; she certainly seems to have the I.Q. of one.
Very sad
Clegg
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When I want my mothers dog to come to me I usually shout "Oi, Stupid, come here!" and she invariably does.
I find myself now a bit concerned that if she reads this she may report me for mental abuse and bring some sort of action against me. I have to admit I am probably on thin ice as regards canine rights goes as I have been known to chastise her on numerous occasions calling into question her mental capacity. Well I mean to say if any of your dogs had chewed the beard of a "Winnie the Pooh Santa" you're not exactly going to call it "Bright" are you? Then there was the time she thought a rock was a rabbit and hit it at full belt removing one of her canine teeth and very nearly most of her jaw. I have to admit to questioning her eyesight after that one and for some time referred to her as "Oi, Ratter"
I'm worried though that all the times I have taken her out in the pouring rain for her last lamp post sniff or all the words of encouragement I have given her when she falls over when cocking her leg up (she thinks she's a dog but I haven't mentioned it to her for fear of causing her any anxiety attacks) may not be taken into consideration when weighing up the final verdict. Maybe I should give myself up now and claim extenuating circumstances such as a deprived childhood, taking second place in the food chain to an aggressive poodle.
There again maybe I should simply draw some comfort from the fact that when I return from my travels she bounces all over me and still spends most of her time trying to persuade me to either play with her or stroke her stomach.
Maybe she does love me after all O0
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I think you should take the Otter, call it 'dog', teach it to hunt and fish and release it to live it's natural life. Then go tell the idiot what you did just for a laugh! I can hear the gasp now! ;D
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Hi Jaydee, I think you will find "Dog" s real name is Dwayne which is a good reason to call youself Dog, can you imagine him turning up at a dangerous criminals house and shouting "my name is Dwayne come with me, your nicked"............. at least the crim's will be incapacitated, they will die laughing {-) {-) {-)
Mark.
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BE EVEN WORSE IF HIS NAME WAS "DWAYNE DIBLEY "..........Devotes of red dwarfwill get that one {-) {-) {-)
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If you decide to take on the otter, I suggest you call him KETTLE {-) {-) {-) that should really get their goat >>:-( >>:-(.
Yours Colin H
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If you decide to take on the otter, I suggest you call him KETTLE
.. or WATER...
Shall i get my coat?...
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All otters are called Tarka. ;)
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Just trying to think of a suitable name for the goat.
Colin H.
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Just trying to think of a suitable name for the goat.
Colin H.
Billy
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Oi Bunkerbarge, less of the flippancy, my Border Collie is named Billy! (named after Billy Connelly, "the big yin", as he was by far the largest pup in the litter!)
Danny
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Nothing wrong with calling a dog 'Dog'. In fact my brother is called 'Dog'. His real name is david, but he's always been known as 'Dog' and doesn't care. BTW, he is happily married and not a wanderer.....
I tried to get a cat via an animal rescue once. The woman in charge said I would need a home visit. The visit duly happened with a small blob of a woman in glasses-on-a-cvhain, hat and clipboard [plus tweedy clothes arrived. She looked around, said nothing. Then said I would hear from them. I ddin't get it because a) I am renting b) my garden is not cat proof and c) I am at work full time on and d) I am single........
Two years ago one of the community nurses I worked with rescued a cat that its owner was ill treating. Being the social worker I am, it ended up with me. It stayed over a year until some b**stard ran him over. I was called at work by a lady who witnessed the accident who told me the car driver had plenty of time to stop as you could clearly see the cat was crossing - but didn't. he simply ran over him and carried on going. The lady had covered him and placed him in my garden (there are some lovely people out there) and I took the day off to bury him in the garden under his favourite tree. During his lifetime with me he was well behaved, loved more than he ever had been.
I am still looking for a cat - but I know one thing. I will never go via an animal rescue place again. Those of us who love animals can offer them a good home, food and warmth but that, it seems, is not enough. What do they want? Blood?
The world has gone mad!
Jonty
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man this made for infuriating reading.
people like said "WOMAN" just shouldn't get these jobs.
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Sadly we live in a world where everything is done by numbers. It doesn't matter that the numbers are meaningless. It just means that there is an "agreed procedure" that covers the backs of anybody in the process. Again, the fact that it impossible to convert affection into a number has no meaning to the mindless cretins who think that this is possible. As someone wisely said a while ago about the PC brigade, "they work on the erroneous premise that it is possible to pick up a 'xxxxx' by the clean end". I hope the word nanny didn't muck that up too much.
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A principle called CMA
Cover My a55
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OK,
Installment two:
Cat 2 was killed on new years eve, which is a huge shame, as the reason I brought this house was specifically becuase of the 1,000 acres of fields directly behind it and the ultra-quiet, 10-cars-a-day road in front of it, but it still managed to get run over.
Cat 1 ( btw, their names are/were Cat and Cat, but have numbers when need to be distingushed ) is getting very sad as is a social sort of girl, so with trepidation we go back to the animal shelter.
Of cats we have have a bountiful choice, and it looks like we will soon be the new owners of a three legged cat who is currently named "hop-along", which frankly is far worse than calling a dog "dog" in my opinion. Very poor form.
Also go and have a look at this otter. It's about as skinny as a whippet, and is barely eating. However, this may because they have got it in a rabbit hutch sleeping on straw, and it has no access to water apart from one of those drip feeders that you give to rabbits. SWMBO did a bit of snivelling, and so it looks like an otter is coming to stay at the house for a while. (seriously --- someone brings an otter in to you. Surely you think to yourself "Hmmm... otters... probably could do with a big bowl of water to have a frolic in". However, this does not seem to have been a thought that has passed through the minds of ANY of the animal shelter staff...)
Now, this thing is NASTY, on account of it being an otter and a grumpy, starving one at that. So sunday see's me off to B+Q to buy wood and mesh to make an enclosure for it in the garden. Supposedly it's house trained but it'll kill the cat as soon as look at it.
God damn animals costing me a fluffing fortune! It's not even as thought I get to stroke the wretched thing. Have ordered a chain mail glove off the internet in case I have to go near it. Was tempted by an entire suit of armour, but the fluffing thing is costing me enough as it is...
Anywho, this is not the annoying part.
Around the base of a tree stump, the staff have made a globe type shape of wire mesh. On having a peer into said globe, I see that there is a male blackbird with a horribly broken wing with blood coming out of it. "Hmm..." thinks I "Must be waiting to see the vet". However, on asking about it, the bird has been there 2 weeks!!
So I ask why it hasn't been fixed. Answer is "You can't fix birds wings, so all you can do is feed them and leave them captive until they die. This I am told comes from the resident vet, not, as I suspected, the resident loony of a manager.
This isn't actually true at all, it's pretty simple to fix a bird with a broken wing. I explain this to the lady at the desk. We get into a bit of a "is", "isn't", "IS!", "ISN'T!!" type of argument.
Finally, vet is contacted on phone. I explain that the bird needs it's wing fixed, and that it is easy. Am told "Yes, it is easy, but it's hassle, so we leave it" "Why" i ask "Because we only really bother with cats and dogs" >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Lets put this into perspective. This is a person who has made the choice to give up 8 years of his life at Uni learning how to cure animals. He gives up his time, for free, to deal with sick animals at the shelter. His practice gives the shelter the medications at cost price, becuase he cares about the animals. However, he can't be fluffed to deal with "Only a bird" becuase "It's hassle" Seriously, there is something very wrong with this picture. I just don't get it at all.
This, as you can understand, caused me to start shouting. Bad words were said, some of which may have upset young children. Certainly the 3 year old kid with it's parents was cowering behind his Ma's knee when I'd finished, and his Ma was looking pretty distressed as well.
Up shot of situation is that I'm now also going to take charge of a male blackbird. In two weeks it will be set free flying as good as new. I will feed the otter and then take it to the otter sanctuary in Wales when it is fit again ( or shoot it, if it goes for my throat, and looking at it, it does have a touch of the vampire about it). I will re-home the cat.
From them on, I am having nothing more to do with this place. Not, I must make it clear, because it makes me incredibly angry, although it does, unbelievely so. Rather, becuase every time I deal with these people I feel like I'm entering a different dimension where the rules of common sense seem to be turned 180 degrees. I come out of that place feeling like the world has gone wrong and that some form of strange "stupidity dust" has got under my skin and my infect me.
Will post a picture of evil otter when it is behind 8 layers of wire mesh with addded mines and guard towers to stop it escaping and also a picture of a blackbird in a gimp suit having it's wing fixed in the next week or so.
In summing up
Animals: expensive, cause people to act stupidly, poo a lot.
Question: Worth it? I'm beginning to think not
Steve
p.s. if you can think of an alternative to fish to feed an incredibly aggressive otter that won't eat fish, please shout out. I am considering buying a few live moutain lions for it to hunt and mutilate....
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lord thats a crying shame. Why the discrimination against birds? Doesn't the sanctuary have ANIMAL written in big letters on the sign?
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Possibly, but not BIRDS, REPTILES, HUMANS etc.
Bob
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Steve
Does this sort of stuff always happen to you, or do you think you might have upset a gypsy recently. ;D ;D ;D ;D
SWMBO thinks some weird stuff happens to us, I think I should let her read some of your postings, your life seems belong under the heading " you could not make this stuff up".
Brian
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Hi Steve, I'm glad I read this post of yours especially the bit about the Blackbirds broken wing. I am a sucker for trying to save every injured animal I come across and I especially hate to see injured birds. Everyone I have spoken to tells me you can't fix a birds wing so if you know of a simple technique, I would love to hear it. Beyond simple first aid, I am not trained at animal repair techniques and if out of my depth, normally call the RSPCA or some such body for help or advice, but I am sure some of the birds I have handed over have simply had their necks wrung somewhere out of sight.
The story of the dog is particularly sad as it was so avoidable and certainly got my blood boiling. I am of the opinion you have shown great restraint in dealing with these pc cretins and you appear to be handling with it in a correct and level headed manner.... I'm not sure I could have done the same so full marks to you!
We had a dog for 20 years.. yes the same one! He was a slightly smaller version of a Border Collie and was fit almost up to the day I called the vet in and gave him his last big hug. I originally found him in the road during a storm, nearly ran him down it was so dark and wet, took him home and bathed him as he stunk of God knows what, fed him as he was starving and cuddled him to sleep.. it was the sleep of the Gods.
The kids wanted to keep him but I said NO as we were all out at work and school each day and it would be impossible. Took him to the Police station next day to register him as lost dog but opted to look after him over the weekend. We all fell in love with him and told the Police we would look after him if no-one claimed him... they didn't and he became a fully fledged member of the family for the next twenty years.
He learned to adjust to his way of life in our family very quickly and at the outset we called him Sparky.. on account of the hair around his ears which used to poke out and look like sparks.... which nicely brings me round to the thing about the dogs name. Over the the years he was called everything under the sun due to his mischevious ways but mainly it was variations of his name and he responded to all of them:
Sparky Sparkus, Spartikus, Parkus, Marcus, Barkus, Parky Poos and Little 5hit! As someone has already pointed out, it is all in the tone of voice. I could call his name in an agressive tone and he knew he was doing something wrong as his ears would go back and he would stop whatever he was doing, or alternatively in a soothing tone and he would come running.
He was a real member of this family and has been gone seven years now (under the willow tree at the bottom of the garden) and we all STILL miss him. We haven't replaced him and I daren't go into an animal sanctuary as I know my heart will melt and I will not want to leave empty handed. Given my affection for animals, I really don't think I would have coped with that moronic cow at the desk with the same restraint you have shown.
Chris
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Otters are carnivorous. They only eat a variety of foods, including fish, crustaceans, amphibians, snakes, water insects, snails, worms, small mammals, birds, and eggs, frogs, turtles, and any aquatic invertebrates when they are in the wild. When in captivity they eat horsemeat with vegetables, vitamins, minerals, mackerel, and occasionally crayfish. Their preferred diet is fish. They hunt for their food at night and sleep during the day. O0
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I know this is a serious subject But,
I have this mental picture of steve taking the otter
out for a sail with his boat similar to
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8028.0 (http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=8028.0)
colin
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Chingdevil:
Odd stuff does seem to happen to me more than most, well, my friends seem to think so. I'm a contract IT chappy, so go to a new job every few months. When I'm first getting to know people, they never really believe what my stories, but then equally odd stuff happens around them and they believe me. It has been suggested that I might have been a Mime in a previous life, and this is civilisations revenge on me.
Sheerline:
Procedure for sorting out a birds wing ( which is the same as dealing with a member of the parrot family that is pulling out all it's feathers (becuase it's been fed on junk food, has developed a salt addiction, and is getting at the salty fat at the base of it's feathers ))
What you do is get a piece of thin but tough material, such as a piece of chamios leather or kid skin leather ( SWMBO's gloves may have to be sacrificed ).
Then you make a "glove" for the bird out of it. This is fiddly, and you get pecked a bit, but the idea is that you make a pretty tight fitting jacket that enclosed the birds body and wings. you leave a hole for it's head to come out of the top, and another hole for it's legs, bottom and tail to stick out of.
You then sow the bird into this jacket, using strong thread, from the back, to avoid another pecking.
with a broken wing, you get the bones aligned roughly in the wing (gently - otherwise it'll die in your hands), and then very gently fold the wing back as if the bird had tucked them away when it had landed on a branch. Then you put the jacket on. Use a hole punch to make a series of small "breather" holes in the jacket, especially around the wing space ( before you put the jacket on, otherwise you'll have an exceptionally annoyed bird and blood on the carpet).
If there is blood and ooze from the broken wing, you need to ensure that no infection is present, so you let any bad cuts etc scab over first ( takes a day or two), and touch on a little neat "melafix" (from aquarium shops), using one of those things you clean your ear with to the wound to kill infection ( it's just tea tree old in a very pure, usually gel, form ).
The whole procedure annoys the hell out of the bird but in a few hours it's bouncin about looking for food, and doesn't seem overly bothered, and within a few weeks (depends really on the size of the bird ) the jacket can come off, and within a few days the bird is using it's wing again. A week later you can set it free.
Oh... and get a bowl with some "chincilla dust" or just some dusty soil if it's summer time. The bird needs to keep itself clean, and the dust is used as a substitue for water.
Second Oh: don't forget to feed and water it as well, other wise it defeats the point. The bird moves about fine in their jacket, so I feed live meal worm and mixed seeds to get plenty of good food into them. Try to make the bird keep working for food ( hide it behind twigs etc ), otherwise it gets tame, and it won't survive in the wild. And don't handle it too much, or leave it in your living room where it can get too used to humans. If I'm looking after a bird, the cage goes in the loft with a heater and the light on a timer to roughly replicate daylight hours. Most birds need to feed about 1/4 of their body weight a day.
Third Oh: If you find an injured bird, firstly make sure it IS actually injured. A number of birds, like blackbirds, partridges, robins etc, will imitate a broken wing in order to get the threat ( i.e you ) away from it's nest or chicks. at least 1/2 the "injuried" birds taken to vets are perfectly fine, but the chicks doe becuase of being seperated from their mother. And if it *is* injured, leave it in a cardboard box outside ( with some air holes ) for 24 hours, as many will die quickly anyway, and if you try to help them, it only makes them go quicker. If it makes it through 24 hours, then start to think about patching it up.
For broken legs, a wee piece of kebab skewer ( the stuff made out of bamboo ) and thin stips of electricians tape work just fine. ( still needs a jacket otherwise the bindings are cut off within minutes.)
Broken beaks: sadly, can't be fixed and usually the bird will starve if it's severe, so usually better to put it down.
Putting a badly injured bird down. Pick it up and hold it between each hand, as if you were catching a cricket ball. apply VERY gentle pressure, like you are holding a kitten or a half-cracked egg, and be more gentle than that. Just make a cacoon out of your hands. Bird will pass away in peace within a minute or two. ( works on injured mice etc that the cat brings in as well )
Why do I know this? My grandad used to look after virtually all the injured or mistreated birds within a 20 mile radius of southport. He converted his entire house ( a big victrorian 3 storey fella that is endemic to southport ) into avaries, and lived in two rooms on the ground floor. The RSCPA, along with all the local vets used to send birds of all sorts to him constantly. He patched up a bald headed eagle from a zoo once. There used to people coming to him at all hours of the day and night. ( If you lived in southport between 20 and 10 years ago, you will probably have read about him in the local paper, as he was in it quite a lot ). Anywho, much of my summer holidays for years were spent looking after all the birds while grandad went fishing.
As for your dog, you have my very deep sympathies, loosing a friend is horrible. However, I would say that it is important to remember that if you get another dog, then your not replacing, in any way, your previous one. A new cat is coming soon, but it won't replace Cat-2 who died recently, as no other cat is ever going to get in the bath or shower with me, or sit on my shoulder all day when I work from home and "help" me by clawing at my ear when it desired food or to look out of the window. Cat 3 will be a different cat, with a different personality. In no way will he fill a gap or be a replacement, but he will be a new friend, living in a better home than the shelter.
DickyD
thanks for that. Well, I have plenty of crayfish on tap for my fish. Also got a bed of green lipped mussels in a tank, so will see if it wants to break open a few of those. Mrs Steve has a horrific phobia of frogs, so probably won't try those. Have been doing some reading. Think I am going to "borrow" my god childrens blow up swimming pool and let it have a swim when it gets to it's fortified stockade.
Steve
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Hi Ripslider
Thoughts on the otter.
If the otter is 'tame' and was fed on a non-fish diet, the animal may not see fish as food. So as was suggested, try fresh meat, worms or even dog food. I am not saying dog food will be healthy for it. But if it is used to dog food, it will at least eat. It can then be weaned off dog food onto more healthy options when it has been fed up a bit.
Another thought is, with all the money you are spending, you could just drive up to Wales to the otter sanctuary and give them the otter with a large donation. This way you know the otter will be getting the most suitable treatment from day one.
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Hi Steve, thanks for your extremely well detailed description on the repair of birds wing, it made for excellent reading and I have made notes. I'm afraid that here in the countryside, most country folk don't seem to bother too much with the wildlife if it gets injured and simply ignore it or whack it round the back of the head. I hate the callous attitude displayed by drivers if they stike a bird as they simply ignore it and drive on, leaving the poor creature flappling around in the road to either die in agony or be run down by the next car. There have been countless occasions I have had to stop (safely) and run back to attend one of these poor unfortunates when I have witnessed this event. In almost everycase, these creatures are too badly damaged to survive but some are simply stunned and recover if placed in the undergrowth. On several occasions, after inspecting apparently undamaged birds, I have stood gaurd for a few minutes only to see them rally and take off across the fields... very rewarding.
As for Sparky, it truly was like losing a child as he was such a character and was so firmly embedded into everyones mind who came in contact with him.... It was 20 years of total fun and mind games....I could write a book!
I have always regarded animals as individuals with their own characters and traits and realised very early on that you can never 'replace' them but have to take on another anew, in the same way as one would with people. I have a great affinity with dogs and always seem to make friends with any I come into contact with... even nasty ones! Perhaps one day we will have another as the house still seems to be 'empty' in a sense but if we do, it will probably occur in a similar way to that in which we found Sparky... one will come along for one reason or another and we will take it under our wing.
It sounds like you're doing a grand job there but I don't envy you with that otter. I once tried to catch a squirrel which had run into a shop and was terrorising the staff. Knowing nothing about them, I went after it with a large cardboard box but the stance and attitude of this thing scared the living wotsit out of me. I swear blind if I had got close enough to it, it would have torn me to shreds! In the end , it left of its own accord whilst everone hid behind the counters!
My biggest success was saving a Badger which had been snared with a wire and was trapped in the base of a tree. The wire had begun to strangle the creature and was cutting into its neck. As I had no tools with which to cut it, but was wearing my motorcycle gloves and I spent around quarter of an hour working away at this cable flexing and bending it, always fearful that the trapper would come along and shoot me or whatever.
Whilst attempting to break the wire, the animal spent the time with its head pushed onto a hollow in the base of the tree.. I still hadn't seen its face at this point and once the wire was released, it didn't want to move so in ignorance I started hauling on its haunches in an effort to pull it away. After a few moments struggle I finally dragged it backwards, whereupon it spun around and lunged at me dog like, biting my right hand ! Fortunately the motorcycle gloves protected me and it didn't penetrate and the creature simply turned around and ambled off into the undergrowth.. poor thing must have been starving as well as terrified. I simply stood there bathed in sweat and shocked at the experience but I would do it again if I had to!
Good luck with your otter but it sounds as though you might need two chain mail gloves and another form of protection for your throat!
Best regards. Chris
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Good luck with your otter but it sounds as though you might need two chain mail gloves and another form of protection for your throat!
Cricket box might be a good idea as well.
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Good luck with your otter but it sounds as though you might need two chain mail gloves and another form of protection for your throat!
Cricket box might be a good idea as well.
The problem is, I just can't find one big enough......
Sheerline:
Being bitten is half the fun! have been bitten by a badger, ferrets, pole cats, rats, many kinds of birds and some of my fish. It's a good way to get talking to women in pubs... It's the ultimate way to open a conversation:
Lovely lady: "My dear, what happened to your hands and arms?"
Lovely Me: "I was attacked by an otter... let me get you a drink and tell you all about it...."
See, it's definately worth it.
however, worst attack I ever had was from a 4" long puffer fish. was feeding it, it went for the prawn, missed, and took a perfectly circular chunk out of my finger. Looked at the hole, saw white as it had got to the bone, then blood started to go everywhere. Puffers have a type of anti-coagulant in their mouth, and all sorts of other chemicals. Took 12 hours to stop the bleeding ( hospital eventually did it with a judiciously applied soldering iron ) and maybe 4 months before it stopped hurting.
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Steve Lurcher Link mate they always have dogs looking for good homes.
Andy. :)
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Steve, on a couple of occasions I have saved a couple of stunned owls out of the road, grabbed them from behind making sure talons went between the fingers and hands clamped firmly around the body to prevent flapping of wings. The last one was a big un and it was also a big mistake. I forgot they can rotate their heads around a fair way and this one was awake enough to take a dislike to me, it swivelled around took a lump out of the back of my hand causing me to partially release my grip, then up came a leg and in went a tallon right between my fingers! I let go owl with blood pouring out of hand, owl flies into tree and hangs from branch with one leg, staring back as if to say 'sod off'. Knowing what owls eat, I spent the next two hours driving to London sucking the wounds and spitting blood out of the car window.. disgusting!
Still here to tell the tale though and worth it to see them fly off. I will however think twice before I ever handle another one in this manner. O0