Now a mother of two boys, I still spend countless hours at the lake in Gleannloch or my mother's bayou. Every summer, we set up a summer aquarium for all the boys' catches.
I have always loved animals and wanted to be a veterinarian back in the days when women weren't vets. I have a tendency to rescue any lost, abandoned or injured creature. Thankfully, my husband is a softy too and goes along with all my escapades. He usually just rolls his eyes. He now calls me "cat lady."
Since we moved to Gleannloch Farms two years ago, I have made many rescues. Last November, I was called about a litter of four week old kittens left in the cold without food. They were dumped at a home-site and covered in wet concrete. We couldn't resist keeping one of them, Miss Minnie. The other two were adopted by wonderful families.
Last winter, a feral kitten and its mother sought shelter in our garage. The mother was tame, but the kitten very wild. We were able to get the mom a home. After being attacked by kitten, we ended up taking it to the SPCA.
All seemed quiet until this spring. While driving down Louetta near Cutten Rd. I noticed an old golden lab and dachshund crossing the road. They were exhausted. I dropped my son at school and returned to see if they were still around. A wonderful lady agreed to hold onto them until I could get my van to pick them up. They were muddy from running in the bayou. I looked for signs, but never found any. The golden lab's leg was injured and needed medical attention. I called local lab and dachshund rescue groups who were willing to take them. I decided to try one more time to find the owners. I started calling all the signs I saw in the neighborhood even if the description didn't match. Sure enough, one of the gentlemen mentioned someone was missing their dogs and put me in contact with the grateful owners. They were picked up immediately.
Mother's Day came and we spent it with my mom. The boys spent their day in the bayou bringing us all their finds. I was shocked when my oldest brought me a 7 inch tadpole. Then came a 6 1/2 inch tadpole. I knew it must be a rare occurrence and noted deep gouges on their backs from the torrential flood waters earlier that week. We brought them home to heal and do research. After a lot of effort, we were able to get in contact with a research scientist in Nova Scotia who had done extensive research on gigantism in tadpoles. We tied the record for the largest tadpole! This scientist had actually put tadpoles in space with NASA! We set up a conference time to discuss them so we headed back to the bayou to see if we could find any more tadpoles and to check out their habitat. A storm was quickly approaching when my oldest son noticed a young kitten being swept away by the water. When he approached it, the kitten bolted into a 4 inch drainage pipe and wedged itself. Out slithered a water moccasin. I sent the boys back for a box, a towel, and heavy gloves. The kitten came out easily. It was extremely exhausted from its experience, nearly starved, and covered in fleas. We actually missed our conference with the scientist, but we were able to get word to him and he completely understood. The kitten was given lots of love and was quickly adopted by a wonderful family with two doting daughters.
A few days later and all dressed up for my son's spring program, I noticed a 12 inch female Cooter turtle trying to cross Spring Cypress by the Wal-Mart. I saw her brush with near death as a car raced by her. I wasn't even aware the car had actually hit her. I picked her up to get her across the road when I noticed she lost her eye and her under shell had been slightly cracked. Otherwise, she was in good shape. I looked on line certain there was some facility that would rehab injured turtles. Sure enough, I found a turtle rescue and rehab facility. They actually repaired her shell with epoxy, stitched up a gash behind her legs, gave her antibiotics and let her heal. She is doing fine.
Summer was fast approaching when a neighbor contacted me about a feral cat in someone's garage. After a week, they were able to trap it. I brought it home to see if I could work with it. If not, perhaps I could place it with a feral cat rescue. Unfortunately, no one had room and I had to turn the kitten over to the SPCA. Unfortunately, we cannot save them all, but we can do what is right and responsible.
About 3 weeks ago, I read the email about a mamma cat and 5 kittens born in the shrubs near the canoe house/lake. I went to take a look. The mother was extremely thin and panting from the heat. Two of the kittens looked like they might not make it in the heat. Another neighbor was able to get one of the kittens a home and offered to take the mom once her babies were weaned. I took them home and made several contacts to rescue facilities. Purrfect Pets was very gracious in supplying me with flea treatments, de-worming treatments, and food. They too were full, but wanted to extend a helping hand. Since I went on vacation, I was able to place the kittens with another neighbor. I still have the mother though. She is in need of a good home.
In a nutshell, since moving to Gleannloch Farms, I have made 8 rescues that spared 15 lives. It certainly isn't always the easy thing to do, but it is so rewarding. It's the right thing to do to. I love letting people know about all the rescue facilities that are there to help. I think if people were more aware of the rescue organizations available, I think they would be more willing to help.
Currently, we have 2 adopted cats, 1 adopted dog, 2 adopted birds, and an aquarium full of fish.
