The scales of life

I am a veterinary technician.  It is what I went to school for, and even though in the last 17 years I had other side careers in between, teching is what I always did.  Working in this field all of these years, I have seen many things - from helping to bring puppies into this world, to helping old friends pass on to the next.  The latter never gets easier and there are always some that I secretly have a spot for in my heart.  I do believe in humane euthanasia.  When an animal is sick beyond any reasonable help, when quality of life is close to zero, when you see the pain in their eyes or when the light they used to house there dims, you know it is time.
A recent encounter made me look a little deeper into all of this.  While driving home from an outing in Burlington, we spotted what looked like what I thought was a dog running towards us along the opposite edge of road.  As the distance between us and the critter closed a bit, we realized it was a coyote, and a pretty decently sized one.  We also noticed it had a noticeable left front leg limp.  My first response, after being awestruck by such a magnificent looking animal, was to take out my phone and take it's picture.

My second response was how could we help it?  Logically, we could not just take a leash and lure it into our car and get it some medical attention... although the thought did briefly enter our minds.  I did not know of any wildlife rescues who would come way out where we live for a coyote.  Plus, the fact that the coyote was running on three legs, would make it impossible for anyone to catch up with it.  Being it was the weekend,  I called Vermont Wildlife and left a message, and asked for other ideas on Facebook.  Some suggested doing what we had done, but not much else.  We just hoped the creature did not get hit by a car, or suffer much.  Thoughts of hunters shooting it and putting out of it's misery made me shudder, because aside from it's bum leg, it looked like a healthy and strong animal.  I am not sure how a pack animal can survive on its own, but shouldn't it be left up to coyote?  If nothing else could be done to help it, shouldn't we see if nature will wrap her arms around him and either help him find his way in the world, or return him to the earth?  
As a technician, I wish we could have helped... as a human, I wished we could have helped... but I feel that death is not the answer we need to give to a being still so filled with life.
I have had the pleasure of having creatures come into my life who were so close to death.  My first was Misty, a 6 month old chihuahua with horrendous demodex mange.  Her owners could not afford the money or time to treat, so were going to put her to sleep.  An intervention occurred and we acquired her, and I fell in puppy love with her.  After many baths and months of medication, she was all healed.

Misty as a young pup.

Then there was the stray kitten brought into the ER by a good samaritan late one evening.  The kitten's left leg was almost completely severed, but he still purred and cuddled as if nothing was wrong.  Being he had no owner, and a severe injury, he was going to be euthanized... until my co-workers and I convinced ourselves otherwise and went into giving this little 5-6 week old kitten a chance - even though it was against work policy to do so.  After finishing off the amputation and closing him up, only antibiotics and time would tell if he would make it.  After a small infection scare and longer antibiotics, his wounds healed and he made his way into my heart.   Five years later, he is a tough, fast, mouse catching, dog ambushing, three-legged cat.

Nibo at home post-op.

Nibo and I,  a couple of years after the amputation.

And more recently, we found a couple of pups at a rescue.  One of which was missing her right eye.  We are not sure how she lost it, or why she was at a kill shelter in North Carolina, but we are happy she is home with us. 

Ahnah at obedience graduation.

The creatures that are alive and in this world deserve a chance.  If their will, bodies and souls are strong enough, why not give them that opportunity?  The human race should never dismiss them as being just a "mangy dog", a "worthless cat", or a "bothersome coyote".  We should walk their steps, see through their eyes, feel their pain... then we can really call ourselves human(e).

"The measure of a society can be how well its people treat its animals." ~Mohandas Gandhi

The intricate and delicate thing that is life

Saturday was a bone chilling day. Windy with temperatures in the single digits, which meant it actually felt colder than it read.  Whatever heat the lake was holding onto, evaporated into the crisp air.  As I sat there gaming my brains out on Batman: Arkham City, I heard a thud come from the vicinity of the picture window.  With it being a sunny and crisp day, the chances of birds hitting the window are higher than normal, so I ran to the window to make sure there weren't any casualties.  Scanning the snow covered ground, I spot a little sparrow on it's back, shaking it's head free from the snow.  I quickly grab the first boots I see, which are my girlfriend's hefty Sorel snow boots, and I stumble out in my sweat pants and t-shirt to perform a search and rescue.  I pick up the stunned bird in my hands, shielding it from the wind, and check to see if it is still alive.  Eyes, slowly blinking and gaining focus, start to look around, but the sparrow is still on it's side, immobilized by it's accident. I pet it's feathers and brush off the snow from it's beak while it's eyes continue to focus. Standing out there, wind at my back, I realize how cold it really is out here and I start to blow warm air on the bird.  Fingers tingling from the cold, I brush the last few noticeable snowflakes from it's wings before blowing more warm air on it's body.  Sitting the bird up in my palms, I notice it try to grasp hold of my finger with it's left foot.  The right foot still is not getting the messages from it's brain yet to do the same.  I start to walk towards the sliding glass door, and am quickly reminded of our 3 cats and 2 dogs, who would love to have a little poultry snack, and instead walked towards the lilac bush.  The warm air I supplied, appeared to awaken my little feathered friend, causing it's eyes to regain focus and awareness of it's surroundings.  It's right leg received the delayed messages and began to grasp my fingers.  Once it was able to hold on with a good grip, I gently encouraged it into the lilac bush, and I watched it until it fluttered to the higher branches, but not before I ran in to get my camera and take a picture of it before it was gone for good.

Standing out there in the arctic-like elements, I am at awe at how these little feathered beings survive with what their bodies provide them. They must eat and keep moving to survive this type of cold, but how well would someone of my species handle the cold with just what our bodies supply us with?  Just the short amount of time I was outside, my fingers were starting to hurt from the cold and my face and ears felt like they were going to slide off my skull.  The heartiness and the natural survival abilities of the non-human animal kingdom amaze me.  There is so much we don't know about them, what they feel, what they think, because deep in the recesses of our minds, we all know they do - and maybe we can all learn from them.

Resurrected

I used to have a little online journal thing going on Livejournal. Time passed and I no longer had the time to continue that medium, plus I started to lose interest and become discouraged when it became a festering pool for spammers to post weird things. A couple of years later, as my girlfriend is beginning to, and enjoy, blogging, I find myself wanting a place to put down my thoughts, aside for my own personal therapy in my written journal.
A little note about myself... I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Enjoyed city life and the urban jungle, but I have always longed for the beauty and wilderness that only mother nature can provide.  As I age, I tend to appreciate and become more aware of my natural surroundings - and am continuously in awe of every detail life decides to present to me.  Having finally moved to a state I had only dreamed of moving to since I visited back in the late 80's, early 90's while on a school trip, I look forward to exploring Vermont and all she has to offer.
As 2012 starts gearing up to be another great year, I look forward to putting my thoughts down, sharing some of my life's experiences and taking photos along the way.