Dogs

First, my heart ultrasound happened this past week, but no one called me with results, just like last time.  SO, I decided NOT to look at the results on line, because of the anxiety that caused me the last time, and I will just find out when I go to the oncologist on Tuesday.

I might be getting a treatment that day, and I might not. NO idea.

and now....for the main part of my story for this week....

UGH!  This is the summer of animals....apparently....

Transcribed and edited from my Facebook posts:

SO... here's the story....

Our young, Mexican next door neighbors, to whom we have given many, many things, and much help, have abandoned their rental house.

Most of the junk on the front porch, and in the back yard....AND ONE of their three dogs, have been left behind.

The three dogs (two female, and one male chihuahua) have been there for years, living in the back yard full time.

From what we have been told, many people in the Mexican culture do not believe that animals should ever be allowed inside the home. They think of them as dirty.

At one point, a few years ago, the tenants were reported (not by us) for neglecting the dogs during killing cold weather. The guy immediately provided two shelters (a homemade dog house, with a heat lamp inside -that's not a fire hazard -and a big dog carrier) in their back yard for the pups.

There was also a problem with them leaving their gate open, and allowing the dogs to wander the neighborhood.

The oldest one would often lie down in the middle of the street to rest. Good thing it's not a busy street!

They would also come into our yard through the "cat gate," or a hole in the fence in the back, and eat the cat food we put out for the feral tribe.

We were able to close up the fence in the back, but the cat gate can't be closed, because it's how our ferals get to us for safety and food.

Several weeks ago, the lady across the street was out talking to the woman next door about the dogs being a nuisance. The weather was nice, then, so our screens were all open, and I overheard her say "I have a dog too, but I don't let him wander in the street!"

But now this....

For the past two and a half weeks, or so, the house has been empty of people. The woman and daughters had been gone for weeks, and Carlos, the man, was still there, until more recently.

At first, they had left all three dogs alone at the house, for a few days. The dogs were wandering the neighborhood, as usual, and managed to not get run over.

The woman and her small daughters, and someone who looks like she must be her sister, showed up for a few minutes, on Wednesday, perhaps putting food out.

They also closed their gate, so the dogs could not get out anymore.

But then, the same women and girls showed up again last weekend, and took two of the three dogs.

(We'd started paying close attention to any activity next door, and I saw the second woman with two leashes in her hand, so they clearly intended to leave one dog behind.)

We know nothing about where the people have gone, but they left one dog. He was howling pitifully all day last Sunday.

How did they decide which one to sacrifice? I can't even.....

Dave went over to check that night, and they left no food or water out for the remaining dog.

They clearly were planning to let him die, with this awful heat wave we are enduring here.

Dave had called the city animal control number the previous week, but they never called him back.

SO, after Dave confirmed that the dog had been left to die, I sent a text to the "action center," on Monday, and THAT got results.

Animal control came out Wednesday, and again yesterday. I managed to catch them yesterday, and spoke with the officer at great length.

When they came Wednesday, she told me that she had put a warning on the door.

The woman, her daughters, and a man, showed up Wednesday night, though, and took the refrigerator, removed the warning from the door, and DID NOT set foot in the back yard, possibly assuming that the dog was already dead, or hoping that he would be soon.

So, since last Sunday, we have been trespassing, going INTO the back yard, and providing food and water to the dog --usually going after sunset. We waited for them to leave Wednesday, and fed him then, figuring the coast was clear at that point.

SO ... since I talked to the city officer yesterday, and gave her my id and phone number, now there's a formal report, and a plan.

We are to continue to put out food (which the city is now providing to us) and water for the dog over this weekend.

When an investigator takes the case (WE HOPE on Monday), they will call me for any updates, and notify me when we are to stop feeding.

They will take over feeding and watering, at that point, and monitor the property to be sure that they are the only ones feeding the dog.

The neighbors on the other side were also throwing food over the fence, and Dave went yesterday to tell them the situation, and to ask them to stop feeding the dog.

Once the investigator can verify that they are the only ones feeding the dog, they will file a warrant to remove the dog.

A second warning was also posted on the door of the house yesterday....

But then, last night, 4 adults (the woman, and three others) showed up, after dark, with two vehicles to take more stuff out of the house, and off of the back patio.

They took the kids' bikes, and a bunch of other stuff.

They were there for hours. It was dark, though, so the only person we recognized was the woman who lives(d) there. They WERE out on the patio a lot, though, and we'd hoped that they had read the warning, and taken the dog with them.

Dave went over early this morning, though, and confirmed that the dog is still there, and that the only food and water was what WE put out for him yesterday.

The second warning from the city was also removed from the front door.

In all this time, we have not seen Carlos at all (his was the only name we knew, as he had mowed our lawn for cash a couple of times).

We suspect he went back to Mexico, but another neighbor (our handy man guy, who makes it his business to know what's going on in the neighborhood) suggested that he had gotten into drugs, and that the marriage is broken up.

We had already figured out that Carlos had lost his job back in the spring, because he was home 24/7 for a couple of months before he disappeared. Always banging on something, or running his air compressor, or his mower.... driving Dave crazy, as he works from home.

Also, the woman and daughters had been gone all that time, too, possibly having left him. Who knows?

The gist is that the house is not being lived in, and they left one dog to die, and we are not letting it happen.

Addendum: Right after I posted this, animal control came back, and put a third warning on the door. The officer today asked if we had seen anyone, and I told them what I just told you... that there were people there last night, but they left the dog, and did not feed him.

So.

Hopefully, I will have good news for you by next weekend, in both the condition of my heart, AND the condition of the dog next door.

Have a good week!

Kittens

 Well, mama Sammie moved the kittens somewhere else WELL before our appointment with the Humane Society.

We were afraid that would happen, because that's instinctual for cats.  We have no idea where she took them, and now, she has probably moved them again.

So, we were not able to rescue them.  She is still coming for meals, though, so we know she's still close by...just not on our property.

In other kitten news, I found someone to adopt Sora, and that was completed this past Monday. She is now happily in her forever home!

Quite frankly, I got tired of the delays and the foot dragging, and took control of the situation. 

Fortunately, a friend of a friend was looking to adopt a kitten, and we really liked her, so she got to take Sora home.

A "cool" front came through, so it's been below 90 degrees the past two days.  We need to get the yard work done today, and then later, I am going to do some Japanese style chicken on the grill.

My next echocardiogram is on Wednesday (thanks to me advocating for myself again, because my doctor's office never sent the order like they were supposed to).  

Please send all of the good wishes that my heart is not in any worse shape.

Have a good week!

Kitten-ea

 Well, our one "regular visitor" feral cat, who is just a year old, and partially socialized (we can pet her, and put flea meds on her), decided to have her second littler of kittens here, on our anniversary.

INSIDE of our chiminea. We shall now, and forever more, call this object the Kittenea.

Fortunately, she is staying here, so far.  We are doing our best to take care of her, and protect her kindle of tiny babies.

She gave birth to seven, but there are only six left.  I will not go into gory detail.

The first couple of days were dangerously hot, so we had my umbrella in the chimney part of the Kittenea, and were dousing it with water, and wrapping cold, wet towels around the fire pot part.  Every half hour.

All...Day....

Thursday night, there was a violent storm, with a literal deluge of rain.  We had placed a concrete paver on top of the chimney, which we do anyway, to keep the rain out.... We were so scared that the babies would drown...but they did not.

After work on Friday, we went out and spent $75 we hadn't planned on spending, and bought a pop up canopy tent and tent weights.

That has been helping to keep the bizarre nighttime rains out of the nursery, and to keep the sun off for most of the day.  We also bought a fly for the western side of the tent, and will get that put on today, because it's the westering sun that is the most intense, and there is no protection from it for the Kittenea.

Dave contacted Oklahoma Humane here in OKC, and they are willing to assess the cats.... we just have to bring them in for an appointment on Wednesday. Yes, we have to deliver them ourselves....

SO...we are now feeding mama Sammie in the Have-a-Heart trap.  Hopefully, she will continue to be compliant with staying here, AND eating in the trap, so that we can "spring" it on Wednesday morning.  Then, I can reach in and gather the babies, and put them into a carrier.

We have taken the morning off to do this.

Please wish us all of the luck, and that they will accept this family into their program...

Because if they are rejected, and we have to bring her and the kittens back here as they are now, she will take them away....and the jerk on the other side of the block (who, we just found out from a neighbor, traps our ferals and drives them out to the country to let them go) could remove her from her babies, and they would die. 

In other news, my second treatment was Tuesday, and our 15th wedding anniversary was Wednesday.

It was an interesting week.  

So far, I feel fine, let's hope it stays that way.  I should be hearing from the cardiologist to set up my ECG appointment for next week some time.

Have a good week! 

Monsoon

 We ended up having Sora Beth with us all week, with even one overnight stay here.

Our cats had gotten so used to her that we felt it was safe for her to stay.  

The friend who found her initially picked her up on Friday after work, and has her this weekend.  I think Dave will probably have her on Monday, while I am at the office.

She is slated to go to her forever home some time this coming week, as I have successfully weaned her.

It's been a privilege to do the vast majority of the fostering work with her.  Her other foster mommies have cuddled her a lot, but I taught her how to do all of the things, from grooming herself, to using the litter box, to eating food.

In other news, I have been faithfully taking my new heart medication, and have been avoiding taking sudafed as much as possible, and have none of the symptoms we were warned to watch for.

My second treatment is Tuesday, and I will have another echocardiogram some time in the three weeks after that treatment.

I have a lot of anxiety about proceeding, but I trust my doctors.

This past week, we have had more weird weather, with flooding rains and high winds.  We had no power (AGAIN) on Friday, so Dave hooked up the generator, and we were able to work.  

Today, he is going to change the oil in the genny, and this coming week, he is going to talk to a plumber about an estimate to get a natural gas hookup put on the back of the house.  

This generator can run on either gasoline, or natural gas.  The natural gas option is far more efficient, and consistent, and we don't have to keep a big container full of gasoline on our property!

It rained in torrents again very early this morning.  If my garden hadn't already died, it would be rotted and dead now from too much rain.

The nice part is that it's been cooler, but that will end this coming week, when the temps will soar back up to the insufferable level.

Right now, it's time for me to make pancakes for breakfast.  Have a good week!

Sum-sum-summertime

 We have had insufferable heat the past week or so, but yesterday and today have been more moderate.

Like, maybe even good for Dave to get out and mow the grass, and do some edging, etc.

Not much to report for this past week.  I had a day of horrible vertigo, after lots of pressure changes, and a heat migraine.

That was awful.... but I didn't vomit this time, so that was good.  I managed to work for 3 hours, but then had to take the rest of the day off because just tipping my head to look at my keyboard, or my screens, was too much.

I am very grateful that aggressive use of decongestants (which I am no longer supposed to take, because they raise my heart rate) did the trick.

I am thinking that I need to get some kind of medical advice about what I can take/do when my sinuses are plugged up, and my ears don't work, because it's a chronic issue for me, living here.

I can't use a neti pot, as the water goes up, but does not come down.  It's most unpleasant, and makes things worse.

We took tomorrow off for a long July 4th weekend.  We had planned to go spend some money, and stay at the Price Tower hotel (Frank Lloyd Wright's only actualized "sky scraper," in Bartlesville, OK), but since their restaurant was closed, we decided not to go.

Instead, we went out to the country, where our friend is house sitting, and did a little cook out last evening.

Dave's anxiety was really triggered yesterday, for some reason. Sadly, he was just not into hanging out.  He insisted that we get home before dark, so we did.

I'd like to go back again some time, when we can enjoy it more.  I had really wanted to be there at dusk to see the deer come out of the woods, the fireflies, and to hear the katy dids.

Little kitten was there, too, so that was a bonus. 

The homeowners are obsessive collectors of Le Creuset cookware.... I was almost drooling at their shelves full of things I can only dream of ever owning.  Sigh.

My dear friend Margaret and I got our matching tattoos on Thursday.  She, in Michigan, and myself, here.

We had started talking about it last year, but have not been able to arrange to get them done while we were together, so she suggested a date between our two birthdays, and we just went ahead and did it.

The design is a vine with roses.  The designs are virtually identical, but the colors we chose are different, and we got them on opposite legs. Roses are significant to both of us, and the idea of putting them on our legs signifies how many "miles" we have walked together as friends through this life.

There's more to it, but that's enough to give you an idea of the meaning.

Tomorrow, we will babysit little kitten Sora Beth, and our friend Julie is coming over for a cook out, and to meet the kitty.

My friend Nancy, back in Illinois, has also sent Sora Beth a plush toy that we will hopefully get tomorrow, so we can introduce her to it. 

She's growing SO FAST!  She's now interested in playing, and walks around on the floor like a big kitty! Her ears have grown since we had her last! 

It won't be much longer before she goes to her forever home.  It's been such a gift to help raise her.

Nothing else to report.  Happy July 4th... I miss being able to celebrate it like my family does, but Dave hates it, so that's just something I have sacrificed since coming down here.  

He puts up with all of my halloween and christmas festivities, after all.... 

Have a good week!