Pets
My poor kid wants a pet. He really, really wants a pet. His first choice would be a cat. Second choice, a Chihuahua (those are practically cats, aren't they?) Third choice: any living creature that he can keep in the house.
Last week Peter found a lost baby bird in the yard. After Peter and Soren did some intense searching for the nest, the bird came in the house...to the elaborate fantasies of all the adventures they'd have together. We did modify those fantasies to let him know that we would only be keeping the bird safe until he could fend for himself.
Getting the bird (named Little Tweet) to eat was a major undertaking. Harnessing all our Google skills we came up with a variety of options, items, and techniques for getting him to eat. Most weren't great. But we managed to cram, er, I mean gently feed enough to keep him alive overnight.
Peter found a local lady who does wildlife rehabilitation so they brought the bird (a Tohee, as it turns out) to her so she could feed him and care for him properly. They'll be giving Soren a "Hero" certificate, plus they let him pet a baby squirrel, so he was ok with surrendering his little pet.
Pet #2 was a snake. Oy. Much to my horror Soren and Peter found a baby garter snake in the yard and decided that it was reasonable to let him live with us for awhile. Soren was delighted to find just how far away I wanted to stay from that snake and made it his mission to try to get me to hold it (for the record, he failed.)
Cinnamini, so named because he came to the house right when they were making cinnamon rolls, stayed with us for 4 days. But eating was his problem too. Despite the worms and grubs they put in his cage or dangled in front of him he didn't eat while he was with us. So back outside he went.
Soren is still begging for a dog. I actually bought a book about raising dogs this week (my first step with everything: buy the book first.) But I must say that has only increased my reluctance to take on the enormous task of dog ownership. I think we'll continue down the rescued yard animal route for awhile yet.
Last week Peter found a lost baby bird in the yard. After Peter and Soren did some intense searching for the nest, the bird came in the house...to the elaborate fantasies of all the adventures they'd have together. We did modify those fantasies to let him know that we would only be keeping the bird safe until he could fend for himself.
Getting the bird (named Little Tweet) to eat was a major undertaking. Harnessing all our Google skills we came up with a variety of options, items, and techniques for getting him to eat. Most weren't great. But we managed to cram, er, I mean gently feed enough to keep him alive overnight.
Peter found a local lady who does wildlife rehabilitation so they brought the bird (a Tohee, as it turns out) to her so she could feed him and care for him properly. They'll be giving Soren a "Hero" certificate, plus they let him pet a baby squirrel, so he was ok with surrendering his little pet.
Pet #2 was a snake. Oy. Much to my horror Soren and Peter found a baby garter snake in the yard and decided that it was reasonable to let him live with us for awhile. Soren was delighted to find just how far away I wanted to stay from that snake and made it his mission to try to get me to hold it (for the record, he failed.)
Cinnamini, so named because he came to the house right when they were making cinnamon rolls, stayed with us for 4 days. But eating was his problem too. Despite the worms and grubs they put in his cage or dangled in front of him he didn't eat while he was with us. So back outside he went.
Soren is still begging for a dog. I actually bought a book about raising dogs this week (my first step with everything: buy the book first.) But I must say that has only increased my reluctance to take on the enormous task of dog ownership. I think we'll continue down the rescued yard animal route for awhile yet.
You are a good mom to let him have a bird and a snake in the house. Don't get a dog...you guys travel too much. You'd spend a fortune kenneling it!
ReplyDeleteAMY!!
ReplyDeleteI was so glad to see your comment today. I mis you old friend. I have been thinking about you a lot these days. I thought you had not updated your blog in a while as it was not showing up as new posts on my list. I am heart broken to see all your posts I have been missing but excited to see that I have so much to read. Are you still headed to New Orleans in October? What is your schedule for the next few months?
Oh, and my vote is that every boy needs a dog. However, they do make traveling a lot harder so make sure you have someone willing to house sit or a dog sitter lined up before you take the plunge.