Sunday, November 27
Nov. 28th, 2022 01:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Not too cold today, though it is now on it's way. There is a lot of wind, and it is likely bringing colder weather.
That I have warm blankets for the mares. I put those on them in preparation.
Fatty isn't doing any better. I am trying to be realistic about our situation. It is also very stressful to try to medicate him, and so on. I barely have the spoons to do anything else besides what I need to do.
It's been like this every time we have had a beloved animal with a chronic, likely palliative situation. There is so much guilt and sadness knowing that you likely have to make a decision very soon. Usually it is not even pleasant to try to hold the animal towards the end, as they are uncomfortable and you've been grabbing them and shoving meds down their throats for a while, so they don't want to relax.
I try to recognize that all creatures die, and that it is neither personal or unnatural in most cases. They would die in the wild, and likely far younger than in our care, and probably in pretty horrible circumstances. Most of the animals we have were in dire need of a home, and we have done our best to give them love, peace, and care.
I try not to feel horrible when it is time, but the grief is real. They are all close companions of ours. More intimate than most of our human relationships.
I feel sad thinking about pets that have passed, but I also got so much happiness from having them. So much purpose and love. They have pretty much been the focus of my life for a very long time.
I am already doing all I can in this moment.
I did go see River, though I was kind of not feeling it. The Sunday rider was there, and we talked for a while about Fatty.
If nothing else, I needed to put a warmer blanket on River.
We did ground work at Liberty mostly, and that went well. I want to start doing more with him without using a whip as the extension of my arm to make cues. I want him to respond from my body more, because I have noticed that he looks to cues from the whip almost entirely.
He will now draw (come in towards me) without a whip cue, and I can get him to stay beside me and rate my steps.
I came home, and vacuumed, and little else besides trying to get medication into Fatty.
I learned that crows (and several other kinds of birds too, but this page is about crows) often have several usually related individuals who help a mated pair raise their young.
Some helpers seem lazy, and don't do much to feed the young, but will take over a lot of the feeding if one of the mated pair is injured or dies.
https://corvidresearch.blog/tag/are-crows-monogamous/#:~:text=Cooperative%20breeding%20is%20defined%20as,to%20raise%20this%20year's%20brood.
Not too cold today, though it is now on it's way. There is a lot of wind, and it is likely bringing colder weather.
That I have warm blankets for the mares. I put those on them in preparation.
Fatty isn't doing any better. I am trying to be realistic about our situation. It is also very stressful to try to medicate him, and so on. I barely have the spoons to do anything else besides what I need to do.
It's been like this every time we have had a beloved animal with a chronic, likely palliative situation. There is so much guilt and sadness knowing that you likely have to make a decision very soon. Usually it is not even pleasant to try to hold the animal towards the end, as they are uncomfortable and you've been grabbing them and shoving meds down their throats for a while, so they don't want to relax.
I try to recognize that all creatures die, and that it is neither personal or unnatural in most cases. They would die in the wild, and likely far younger than in our care, and probably in pretty horrible circumstances. Most of the animals we have were in dire need of a home, and we have done our best to give them love, peace, and care.
I try not to feel horrible when it is time, but the grief is real. They are all close companions of ours. More intimate than most of our human relationships.
I feel sad thinking about pets that have passed, but I also got so much happiness from having them. So much purpose and love. They have pretty much been the focus of my life for a very long time.
I am already doing all I can in this moment.
I did go see River, though I was kind of not feeling it. The Sunday rider was there, and we talked for a while about Fatty.
If nothing else, I needed to put a warmer blanket on River.
We did ground work at Liberty mostly, and that went well. I want to start doing more with him without using a whip as the extension of my arm to make cues. I want him to respond from my body more, because I have noticed that he looks to cues from the whip almost entirely.
He will now draw (come in towards me) without a whip cue, and I can get him to stay beside me and rate my steps.
I came home, and vacuumed, and little else besides trying to get medication into Fatty.
I learned that crows (and several other kinds of birds too, but this page is about crows) often have several usually related individuals who help a mated pair raise their young.
Some helpers seem lazy, and don't do much to feed the young, but will take over a lot of the feeding if one of the mated pair is injured or dies.
https://corvidresearch.blog/tag/are-crows-monogamous/#:~:text=Cooperative%20breeding%20is%20defined%20as,to%20raise%20this%20year's%20brood.
no subject
Date: 2022-11-29 05:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-11-29 06:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-11-29 06:44 am (UTC)Two friends lost their dogs this week, and though both were on in years, it still comes as a surprise and is deeply saddening.