Friday, January 2, 2009

Strays.....

OK...over the years I've dealt with many....MANY...strays. Be it cats or dogs they always seem to know how to find me...I must emit a "sucker" beacon over many miles, or however that works. I've taken in and re-homed more stray cats than I care to count. I also have dogs show up unexpectedly, usually just runaways...Last year I had the neighbors dog barking outside my basement window...a couple of years back my brother-in-law's dog showed up in my back yard. What I'm saying, is that yes, I am a magnet for animals that are down on their luck, lost or just bored. But I wasn't expecting this.
How does one attract a stray COW?? I think I've taken my whole "want to have a farm" dream a little too far if livestock is inexplicitly showing up, and LIVING, on my property. Maybe I should tone down on the "putting the energy out there" if this is what is going to happen. I mean, who's cow is this?? Ive seen the tracks up next to the chicken coop for the past few weeks, so he's been missing for awhile. I think it's one of the cows from the group that was across the road this summer. Perhaps they couldn't catch him...last time they couldn't catch a cow they had someone go down and shoot it..and the guy accidentally shot the neighbors prize ox instead. The aftermath wasn't pretty, well, I'm sure the actual DEED wasn't either, but I'm pretty sure the words exchanged after the infamous "ox shooting" were enough to make paint peel off the side of a barn. But to leave a wayward steer to wander the winter, alone, hungry, cold...it makes me sad and a little pissed off. So....the sucker is headed to the feed store to pick up chicken grain...and some hay...and maybe some cow grain....because..yes..I said I'm a sucker! and, I don't want the poor thing dying on my property and stinking up the entire hill. I mean, eventually it's going to get warm enough to open the windows again...right?

2 comments:

Kimberly said...

Does it have any kind of brand or tag on it? or even a tattoo? If not, I guess you've heard the saying that "possession is 9/10 of the law"!

Looks like he's MOOOOOO-ving in!


My beacon draws in the wounded animals of the world. All of my neighbors find birds, squirrels, rabbits, turtles, hamsters, guinea pigs, and even a tiny baby rat (they thought it was a squirrel), and they show up at my door with them. They know that I will either nurse it back to health or tell them who can. I grew up on a farm, helping my mom feed baby rabbits and baby opossums that would be brought home by our cat.

Jess said...

All I can come up with to say is "wow, a cow?".