More about Arnie.

Even though he is wethered, (neutered) I am finding it a bit daunting to stand eye to horn with a goat, especially when I know very little of his history.

We discovered that he does not like kids. Not boy anyway.

My grandsons were over on the weekend and wanted to go see Arnie. Thank goodness I told them they are not to go in with him without me.
I went in first and the boys followed. Arnie took one look at them and his eyes and posture changed immediately. His head went downwards and sideways as he turned to go for them.
I told the boys to get behind me and head for the gate. Arnie wasn't overly impressed that the boys got away so he stood between me and the gate not wanting to let me out!
A stern voice calmed him and he seems to accept that I am the 'dominant being' around here.

I don't know when the poor fellow had his hooves trimmed last, they look like never.
They are so overgrown, He doesn't walk around very much and I think he is in pain because of the lack of foot care.

A lady from the goat association is coming over tomorrow to tattoo Hey Babe and Jenny. She said she would have a look at Arnie for me while she is here. She said she will also trim his hooves for me as that is something I am still not comfortable doing.
It will be interesting to get her opinion about him.

I will post more about him as time goes by.

I was at the feed store a couple of days ago and the clerk was asking me if I knew if the SPCA took goats.
One thing led to another and she told me the story of Arnie, her neighbors goat.
The neighbor got Arnie about a year ago to clear an area of blackberry bushes on his property.
Goats are herd animals, they need company, they get lonely, Getting one goat is never a good idea.

A few months ago the clerk thought that Arnie was looking a little thin.
More time pasted and she realised she hadn't seen anyone tending to Arnie for a while.
A few weeks later she hadn't seen Arnie come out of his stall for a day or two.
Her husband went to investigate and found Arnie too weak to walk and his owner nowhere to be found.

Arnie had no grain, hay, or fresh water and was laying in his own feces. They took immediate action and got him fresh hay and water, then started cleaning out his stall.

After two weeks Arnie was starting to get his strength back. The clerks husband talked with the owner who was going through some rough times and told him he needed to find a new home for Arnie where he would be properly cared for.

Always a sucker for a sob story, that's me, Yep, you guessed it, I now have a very large, very thin, Nubian cross goat.

I took my last 2 male rabbits into the vet to get fixed.
Benjamin has been living in his run next to the female rabbits for about a year. Poor boy, it must have been very frustrating for him to be so close but not able to get to them!
Also I was feeling sorry for him because he had to live on his own. By getting him fixed I can take the dividing fence down and he can live with the girls and I won't have to worry about him breeding with them.

Spot, the other male lives free on the property, along with Simon.
Simon has been here the longest and has also been fixed.

All the girls have been caught and have been living in pens for quite a while.

I thought all was finally well in Bunny land, until Spot figured out how to get into one of the pens with the girls.
On a previous post I showed pictures of the 4 baby rabbits that resulted.

I will let Spot run free again once he is over the surgery because that is all he has known.
Benjamin can go in with the girls and finally have some companionship.

About Bridgett.

I haven't written much about Bridgett. She is my Lhasa Apso.
I got her when she was about 6 years old.

She was owned by an older lady who had dementia. She wasn't deliberately abusive to Bridgett but her treatment non the less was abuse.
Bridgetts only defence against the rough treatment was to bite and growl at all who approached her.
When her owner needed extra care she was placed in the home of a caregiver who reluctantly allowed Bridgett to stay with her.

Eventually her owner needed to go to a more intensive care facility where Bridgett could not go.
The care giver that was left with the dog decided the only option for a 'Nasty little dog like her' was to have her put down.

A friend of mine was the dog walker for Bridgett.
She asked the care giver to give her some time and she would try to find a good home for Bridgett.
I told my friend to let me know if I could do anything to help.

Next thing I know my friend called to say the care giver has had enough. Bridgett had thrown up on the carpet and bit he, both on the same day.

I heard myself saying to my friend "I will foster her until you find a permanent home for her"
Yeah Right. That was about 8 years ago.

She is still an impossible grumpy little dog. Most people who visit know to leave her alone.
It took a while but I can pet her, pick her up, bath and groom her. All impossible when I first got her. She loves car rides and sleeps on the bed with us.
She is deaf now and after an altercation with one of our other dogs only has one eye.
Miserable as she still is, I have no regrets for getting her.

For the longest time we had a blanket folded in the corner for Ben to lay on.
Sam, our other Greyhound, prefers the couch!
I got a bit fed up looking at the crumpled blanket on the floor and decided I should break down and treat Ben to a proper dog bed.
He seems to like it even though it is a bit on the small side for him.
Problem is, He has to share it with Bridgett, our Lhasa Apso, Who also likes it.

One evening last week I noticed one of our rabbits was starting to build a nest. She had pulled her belly hair out and was adding straw to the pile.
I was a bit concerned for the babies because last month I found 4 frozen little bodies that had gone under the boards in the same corner as this nest was being built.
I was undecided if I should let nature take it course or if I should intervene, I came into the house and knew I would feel awful if I found her babies dead in the morning.

I prepared a cage for the soon to be mum and went back outside to bring her in.
I was only inside for a short time but that was all she needed to have 4 little babies.

I am so glad I decided to intervene. While I was gone the water bucket had been tipped over and the little nest was right in the path of the spilt water. With the temperature below freezing they would not have survived the night in the cold wet nest that they were in.

This is a picture that I took yesterday. They are a week old. Eyes are still closed but they are just getting thier fur.

After the previous post, My smarty pants friend Sharon, wants to know when I go the the first class on ROOSTERS 101...!lol