Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘animal’

Veterinary Nurses

This past week my husband and I have been veterinary nurses for our older (about 13 years old) cat Josie. The vets diagnosed her with rhinitis, sinusitis, and gastritis. Yikes! I can’t figure our how she got the infections; she’s an indoor cat living with one other indoor car and my husband and me.

The whole week has been a great exercise in patience: giving the cat pills (4 to 5 a day), feeding her liquified cat food through a syringe (3 to 5 times a day), and cleaning up the ugly messes she makes at her water bowl. She was drooling a lot and her eyes and nose were a mess.

My husband is an angel in the patience department. He has gotten several scratches. I was ready to give up half way through the week, and he said, “Why are you so negative?”

One can debate about how much time and money to spend on a pet, but as long as there’s reasonable hope of recovery, which the vet thinks there is, we can keep going, unless it interferes with higher concerns (grandkids, etc.). Of course, we are retired so we have the time, but even before this, I don’t know if I’ve ever had so many physical tasks (the vegetable garden, for one, and except maybe when the kids were young) in my life. I suppose that the one time we had a renter living with us was also a lot of work.

God does care about animals. Were not many of them saved on Noah’s ark? But humans have priority.

“For every animal of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. (Psalm 50:10-12)

“Should I not also have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 people, who do not know the difference between their right hand and their left, as well as many animals?” (Jonah 4:11)

“Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

‘Then he said to them, “If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?”’ (Luke 14:5)

About ten days after the first symptoms, Josie is starting to eat on her own again. The extra care is paying off! We’ll keep it up.

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The Creature Chorus

In dead of night, in silent places,
The deer creep out and take their places
For midnight dancing, their footsteps prancing.

They circle round a leafless tree,
For now it’s winter, though they might be
There other times — in summer, maybe.

Soon rabbits join them, an inner ring,
If you have ears, you hear them sing,
The lilting rabbit Hopping Song.

Next squirrels join in; it’s quite a din
To hear their tch-tch, as they grin
And join the creature chorus.

Don’t leave out mice; you must look twice
To see their little bodies quiver —
A dancing river.

So don’t disturb the animal fiesta —
You thought they would be taking siesta —
But to your wonder, you found their frolic.

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The Animal Chorus

We don’t live in the wilderness
But, nevertheless,
Plenty of creatures entertain us
‘Round ‘bout my house

Seagulls and crows –
Didn’t think they’d mix
But they’re up to tricks
Like picking our roof apart

They congregate in noisy flocks
They roost in the ash and redwood trees
They wheel and turn in the chill, clear sky

(Once when the wind was rising
In the California summer
And fires began to rage in the distance
The crows wheeled ominously above
With loud and raucous screeching)

Squirrels add their voice to the chorus
With angry squawking at my cat
Or spiraling up (or down) the trees,
Chasing each other

Butterflies bring silent rest notes
To the symphony

I hear a hum – nothing less
Than a hummingbird
Doing acrobatic dips and swirls

And in summer
The fence lizard skitters shyly away

The animal chorus –
Perhaps out of tune,
But welcome in the silence

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