The Angel With The Crooked Legs (Horse)

The Angel With The Crooked Legs

One day our Veternarian called and told us about a little Thoroughbred filly who had very crooked legs. She felt this baby could be saved but the rancher who had her didn't have the time to devote to the filly because of the demands ranching puts on one. The Vet. asked if we would like to try helping this baby. She was only 3-4 weeks old. I love giving babies or animals who need a little hand up to live a happy life. My husband and I talked it over. We had plenty of room and wanted to help if we could. So I called the vet. back and we began discussing when and how to get the baby to our place. The rancher turned out to be a very nice lady and she took us to where the filly was stabled with her mother.

The mare was very well built but was run down and too thin for my tast. Not really enough to consider a neglect case or anything but a little TLC would go a long way. I also noticed how gentle and tolerant she was considering strangers were entering her area when she had such a young foal with her. In my book any animal is well within it's rights if it tries to defend it's young.

We took our time in catching the filly and as we did I began stroking the mare's neck to reassure her a bit. Well, it was instant love but we were there for the foal. I felt soooo bad taking this sweet lady's baby from her I almost wanted to cry. It wasn't until we managed to get the tiny filly into the horse trailer that the lady mentioned that she was going to sell the momma. My heart jumped!

I knew this had been a successful race horse and they had been breeding her for racing colts. We didn't give a hoot about racing horses but she was such a sweet, lovely tempered lady. I just had to ask how much they wanted for this sweet momma. My husband gave me a sideward glance. The rancher said that she didn't want the mare to go back to the tracks, it was time she had her chance to a good life. She gave us a rediculously low price but still far more than we had to give at the moment. My husband said, "Let's see how this one does first, Honey." I agreed for the moment but knew I just had to have that mare.

I got into the trailer with little Angel both to calm her as much as I could and to make sure the bumpy ride didn't cause her to fall with those bad legs. No baby animal wants to be separated from it's mother, certainly now when they are so very young. As we pulled away from the barn I could hear Angel's mother crying to her. I sent her a mental message that we would take good care of her and not to worry, I was coming back to get her too just as soon as I could!

Under such a traumatic circumstance Angel did very well but we did hit one huge bump in the ranch road that caused the front legs to give. You have to understand true "ranch roads". Hubby wasn't even doing 5 mph but the ride in back was so rough it was hard for me to stand, much less this little filly. I could hold onto the sides of the trailer but she had nothing, not even a decent leg to stand on...literally!

I had tightened her halter rope fairly close to keep little Angel from backing up too far and getting tangled or trying to turn around. I knew she was frightened and at her age would never wander more than a few feet from her mother if she were able. As the legs buckled and she went down the rope served to keep her little head from bashing against the front panel of the trailer. I braced her, trying to help her stay up but wasn't able to actually hold her up. I threw my hand between her vulnerable little eyes and the side of the trailer. Between the lead rope and my bracing her she didn't fall very hard and had kept the bad legs in good enough position not to injure them further.

I slammed my foot on the sides of the trailer several times so hubby would know we needed help...NOW. There was no way he could see us from inside the Bronco. He slowly stopped, not knowing what might be wrong and trying not to make things any worse. I'm sure he could imagine anything from little Angel having fallen on top of me to my just wanting a hand with the rope.

With my husband's' wonderful strength and a little ingenuity we managed to get the litte one back on her feet and she had remained pretty calm through out it all. Our next stop was at the Vet.s office so Becky could take a look at the legs and Angel's general condition. Becky was quite upset that the rancher hadn't brought this baby in sooner and now said she wasn't sure just what the outcome might be. She just shook her head in what I could tell was frustration mixed with a bit of anger at having let this go so long. She gave us initial instructions for creating braces for Angel and asked we keep her as quiet as possible and in as small a pen as possible.

We managed to make the rest of the trip home without incident. When we unloaded Angel she was crying for her momma and very anxious. We had expected this though and we knew how tough it was on her but it was better than the fate that had awaited her otherwise. Hubby went right to work creating the badly needed braces. Their function was both for support of her weight and to prevent further bending.

Please go to "All Creatures Great And Small"
Under the Links Area for more on Angel's story

Saint Francis the fawn

Dear Deer St. Francis

One day my husband and I were at work (we are nurses)when one of our co-workers named Hilda got a phone call from a brother of hers. He told her that he had been out plowing a field and had come across a little problem. He had seen a doe as she sprinted away but then discovered she had left her newborn fawn laying in the field right where he had to plow. He told Hilda that he had brought it to his house but had no idea what to do with it. He knew it would die quickly without help. This particular co-worker knew us pretty well and told her brother, "Bring it up here to work. I know exactly what to do." After she got off the phone she found us and told us that her brother was bringing something for us. We had no idea what in the world she was talking about. We didn't even know her brother but we trusted Hilda.

A few minutes later her brother walks in with one of the most precious sites I have ever seen. A white tail deer fawn so tiny and fragile it looked like it would shatter if you even touched it. Huge eyes that could melt any heart and tiny thin twigs for legs. His huge ears fluttered back and forth like butterfly wings. His little hooves were still even a bit soft he was so new to this world. Everything about him truly made you feel as though you were gazing upon the purest of innosence and fragility.

The young man said when he found the fawn it was so new that it was still actually wet. We explained to the young man that the best thing to do in such a situation is to not touch the baby and leave the area. The mother would be watching from a safe distance and would return to her baby as soon as she felt it was safe. He said he couldn't, that he had been paid to plow the field and this little one was right in the big middle of it.

My husband and I just looked at each other. We both knew that this was a real chalenge. We also knew it meant bottle feeding every 2 hours and a lot of TLC if this delicate darling was going to have any hopes of living. After just looking into eachother's eyes for a moment more we both just smilled, we knew the answer was "Yes. We can at least try to save him."

I called our head of nursing and explained the situation to her. I asked if I could go home and try to help the fawn. Shift change wasn't far away by then anyway but for the fawn every minute counted right then. She agreed without even hesitating.

We wrapped the baby gently but tightly in a blanket to help calm it, keep it warm and keep it from struggling too much on the ride home. Once there I started hunting through all our little stash of stuff to help baby animals. I knew it was going to be a long night but I also knew it was going to be one I would never forget.

When hubby got home he pitched in and it wasn't long before the fawn had a little food in his belly and he was sleeping comfortably on a heating pad. Hubby and I began wondering what we should name our unusual little friend. I remembered a statue I had seen in front of a church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was a statue of Saint Francis and at his feet was a fawn. We figured this little guy could use all the help he could get so we named him St. Francis. We set the alarm clock for 2 hours and went to get what sleep we could.

My husband and I took turns feeding and caring for St. Francis for the first few critical days to come. When my son found out about St. Francis he pitched in and helped too. He cared for St. Francis while we were at work.

We had made him a little box with warm bedding to sleep in but that didn't last long. By the third day he had decided he liked sleeping on the floor on my side of the bed. We didn't need to set an alarm clock at night anymore because St. Francis would take one of those fragile looking front feet and begin tapping me on the arm or leg just like any human might try to wake someone up. No, I'm honestly not kidding, he really did!

He turned our old dog into his playmate and loved romping around the house. He would go running at old Lobo then leap right over his back. He would run up and down the hall jumping, bouncing and kicking. It was so awsome to see. He could easily melt anyones heart. It was like watching a little miracle somehow and very humbling. Each day I would take him outside to learn how it felt to run in the grass and give him a chance to get some real exercise.

Another favorite game was to play on our waterbed. He would leap into the air and come flying back down onto the bed. The point of the game was to make a 4-point landing, which he rarely managed to do. He was hysterical to watch and totally endearing! His whole little world was his playground and if he wasn't eating or sleeping he was playing with all his heart. St. Francis didn't do anything half way.

He grew so very fast. Our time with him was really very fleeting but so full of joy and magic that there just aren't any words to express it.

When he reached about 5 months old our dear, deer St. Francis went to live in a special ranch run by the state government precisely set up to care for little orphans like him. It was time he learned what it meant to be a deer. I cried buckets and cried for days to come I missed him so badly but I knew it was the best thing for him. Deer were never meant to be captive pets but wild and part of Mother Natures plan. My husband and I will always be grateful for those few months that St. Francis came to live with us.

I want to end this story with a request from St. Francis. If you ever come across a fawn laying in the grass please don't touch him. Quietly walk away so his mother can come back to her baby and raise it in the wild as nature intended. Deer do grow at an amazing rate and they are wild animals. As they mature they become more and more difficult to handle and can even hurt you.

Thank you, St. Francis, for the magic you brought into our lives.

Misty Heart and Texas Snow

I was one of those kids who brought home every stray dog or cat I could find. My mother swore the first word I ever spoke was not "Mommy" or "Daddy" it was "Horsey". I was blessed beyond words to have had my own horse as a child.

We now live on a little ranch in New Mexico. Thanks to having a little land my husband and I can surround ourselves with various types of animals. Sometimes I think the place really could pass for a petting zoo yet each member of this little zoo has it's own personality and way of viewing the world. Through them I have learned far more than can ever be put into books (or a blog). Currently we have two dogs, one wolf-cross, 3 cats, my horse, peafoul (plural for peacock), and are expecting a new batch of baby chicks any day now. But I am going to back up a little and tell the stories of some past zoo members, special members who's wonderful stories still warm my heart.

Texas Snow and Misty Heart


When we found out that we were going to be able to build our home here in New Mexico one of the first things I told my husband was, "Ok, if we are going to do this I want a dog big enough I can pet it without even bending over." He looked at me like I had lost my mind. My husband couldn't imagine such a dog but I knew exactly what I was thinking about.

Many years ago, long before my husband and I had met, I stumbled across a beautiful fawn, male Great Dane in the local "pound". Back then they didn't call them animal shelters, just "pounds". He was in horrid condition and so covered with ticks that they were weakening him. I took that tick and flee infested, half starved beauty home with me. From the first instant I looked into those big eyes I knew he was special no matter what shape he was in. I named him Duke and he quickly turned into my best friend. The years passed by and finally Duke left this world. I loved him so much that I had wanted another Dane for years after his passing but things were just never right for one. Here, on the ranch, was my chance. Even though my husband is also an animal lover it took a little convincing but it wasn't long before we were beginning to locate legitimate breeders.

We found a very responsible breeder who lived about 400 miles away. That sounds like an extremely long way to go for a dog but Danes aren't exactly around every corner and although we wanted one only as a pet we wanted one who was well bred enough to avoid any of the health problems that poor breeding can bring about.

When we contacted the breeder she turned out to be a very sweet lady and she said she had a current litter almost ready to leave their mother. She sent us photos of the whole litter. When hubby and I got the photos all of them were precious but one of the photos stood out from the rest. It was a photo with one adorable puppy who had a white heart on her forehead and sitting right behind her was one just as white as snow! They were obviously saying, "We go together." I had never seen a white Dane in my life! She was just beautiful with big blue eyes.

We called the breeder and told her that we had originally only planned on one dog but now we just had to have those two. She immediatly told us that the white was not for sale. She told us that we wouldn't want her because she was deaf. She said this pup carried the deafness gene so she would not be sold. I actually argued with this poor lady. She was trying to do what was right for this pup and Danes in general. I knew it but I also knew this baby belonged with us. I explained to her that we could handle all her special needs, that we had the background and experience for it. After a rather drawn out conversation she finally gave in and both pups were to be ours.

It seemed like we had to wait forever but the two were finally weaned and we went to pick them up. On the way home each pup decided which human belonged to which. The little white one slept half way in my husband's lap and the other did her best to fit into mine. Even a baby Dane is big...LOL We named one of them Misty Heart, for the blue grey of her coat and her little heart and the other Texas Snow because she was as rare as "snow in Texas".

I began working with them and training them from the day they got home. Naturally, potty training was at the top of the list because when a Great Dane makes a mistake it isn't a puddle, it's a lake.

Misty and Snow were very quick to pick up on the fine arts of toiletry and as their little bodies grew we began to move on to bigger lessons. We already knew that these two were going to be traveling with us a great deal and had a lot to learn.

Once each morning and once each evening I would put their leashes on and we would go out in the front yard. The first few days this was simply to expose them to the strange sights and sounds of cars, children at play and other activity. Misty could hear all the strange new noises as well as take in the sites but Snow had to go strictly with what she could see and smell. Suprisingly it was Misty who turned out to be a bit shy while Snow would walk right up to anything or anyone. Even at this early age I could also tell that Snow was going to be the larger and stocky one. Misty had more of her mother's delicate build.

The little Maltese in the right corner is Casper, KK for short. I will tell his story later.

Their evenings were always spent relaxing in front of the old wood burning stove. They loved that stove so much we ended up moving it to our new home with us and we still have it today.

When we began to learn more difficult lessons I would take both of the girls out in the yard and while I taught Misty a command Snow would watch on the side. We started with very short lessons to accomodate very short puppy attention spans. I used some pretty unusual hand signals along with my voice commands. The hand signals were more exagerated or different than you would use with most dogs. This was for Snow's sake.

Evening Meditation

Misty proved to be a fast learner but it was Snow who truly suprised me. She quickly learned her sign language and even began glancing at me from time to time just to see if I was signaling her. Together they learned sit, lie down, stay, back, heal, jump, and more. Snow learned that if I jiggled her leash just the least bit she should look at me for a signal. During this time the girls also created a complex system of communication with each other which later became a strong telepathic link like I had never seen in any animal or human before.

For the rest of their lives Misty was the brain and the ears and Snow was the muscle and the back-up. Misty even began motioning to Snow if I gave a command and Snow wasn't facing me. All this time they were growing so fast it seemed like they were putting on five pounds every night.

We were both still working but left plenty of time in our days for the girls. It was during this time that something strange started happening. Every day when we would get home from work every pillow in the house would be on the floor when we walked in. We knew this was simply part of raising pups and a little bit of separation anxiety. We would scold them a bit but we weren't sure which one was doing it. Misty would just look at us with these big brown inocent eyes but poor Snow would get this guilty look on her face so we suspected it might be her. When the problem continued my husband decided to set up our camcorder to see if it would tell us what was happening in our absence. We left the house as usual and just let the camera record the living room area. When we got home and view the film we were in for quite a suprise. The tape showed that we hadn't even pulled out of the garage before Misty started pulling down pillows and playing with them as Snow sat quietly watching her! Misty, the little stinker, was the culprit and letting her sister take the blame! When she realized her little game had been discovered she stopped doing it.

We were still preparing to open the ranch but we needed some place to live while the house was being built. We had always loved camping so rather than pay big motel bills we decided to invest in a little pop up camper. It would serve as home sweet home until a real home could be built. We started taking the girls on short rides in the car in preparation for all the trips back and forth between our old home and the new place in New Mexico, about 300 miles away. I started letting them sit in the camper and watch while I loaded things into it for the first of many trips back and forth.

By the time we started traveling the girls were 12 weeks old.They were the perfect travelers, taking everything in stride. We had the front seat and they had the back. One of their favorite things was when we would stop in a town called Roswell, about half way between our old home and the ranch. We always stopped in at a Dairy Queen there to grab a bite to eat. By our second trip the manager had fallen in love with the girls. Every time we stopped the manager would just give each of the girls a small ice cream cone. Those two soon started looking forward to their ice cream cones long before we even approached Roswell. We would start hearing the doggy version of, "Are we there yet Mommy? Are we there yet? How much farther?"

Please join us as Snow and Misty help us build a new home. Look for "The Danes Of Dome-InGo" coming soon.

All Creatures Great And Small

These pages are dedicated to all those wonderful animals who have so deeply touched my life over the years. I used to think that animals had a way of finding us when they needed us. Now I know that they find us when we need them.

Since my childhood I have been blessed to walk through this world with animals always at my side. They have shared my joy, laughter, life lessons and tears. Each individual animal was a true blessing to know and I give thanks for their sharing through the years.

Not all of the family members you see here are still with us. Some of them have gone on ahead but I am still with them in dreamtime and I know I will see them again someday at a place I call Rainbow Bridge. They are forever in my heart.

Within these pages I hope to share the lives and some of the spirit of these beloved friends. They deserve it. We have been blessed by every kind of companion from deer to skunk, raven to wolf-cross and llamas to Great Danes. Every one of them brought us a magic of their very own.

Few things in this world can give a child the precious gifts that animals can. They teach lessons of responsibility, honesty, love, respect, patience, self-worth, honor and fair play just to name a few. As a person gets to be old enough animals begin leading them into ecology, conservation and respect for all of Mother Earth's gifts.