Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Oh Deer!

I should go to bed, but I am sort of having a little freak out. This evening... holy crap. CRAZY. I was meeting with this girl, V, who is very cool and wanted to adopt Marco, who is going a little CRAZY, so it is REALLY good to get her someone to REALLY love and bond with her. Psycho cat totally shredded my Mom's legs out of boredom and wild cattitude! It was really bad. So, yeah, very good to place her officially.

However, while she was trying to find the house (the Padres', we were meeting there), more animal drama was going on there. Did I tell you that 2 or 3 days ago a buck DIED in our yard?! Actually, I am really asking. DID I tell you? I am going to go check and finish this, more educated, tomorrow... errr... later today in the hours of Non-Zombies.

So, I checked. I DIDN'T blog about it (but told The Roomie, Fresno, and maybe CC?) A couple days ago (after the fawns) my mom looked out the window to see a very disturbing sight. There was a young (but big) buck in the yard (not unusual or disturbing... as I have said, the deer claimed the yard pretty much the day my Cassie died.)... but he looked like he was TALKING. His mouth was just going like crazy. Then he layed down on our back porch, still "talking" and DIED!!!! It scared my mom but also was really sickening. This was a Friday evening. She called Fish and Game (because while they just let BABY deer die, we could at least trust them with an already DEAD one.) to come get a DEAD dear out of the yard. Well, guess what the genuises there said to my mother?
"I am sorry, we are really busy. If you could have called us this MORNING we could come get it."
"It wasn't HERE this morning."
"I am sorry, Ma'am. But you need to call earlier in the day."
"But it JUST DIED. It is on my porch! I can see it!"
"We can come out Monday, if you'd like?"

My mom was so annoyed she hung up. A big dead buck... over a hot weekend. GREAT. She called animal control and they said "I am sorry, but you REALLY need to call Fish and Game."
"They told me I had to call AHEAD OF TIME!"
The man laughed at that and said "if you HAD they'd have ticketed you for KILLING it!" He was nice and came and took the corpse away that night.

But you see, that is only BACK story. Because I was over to the Padres to meet with V and was driving down from the U and I was trying to play with Marco enough to TIRE HER OUT (IMPOSSIBLE. If I could PACKAGE that energy and sell it, I would be rich. But I am pretty sure it is just another version of Meth.) so a car ride wouldn't make her nutso. So I was over there when a neighbor called and said she had been hearing the remaining twin (K-Lee) crying all day and knew my Mom had been watching out for her to call the rehabber Mr. Coffee to take HER too if Mama wasn't doing her job. Mom started to say so when the lady said "the mom just died above your house."

We ran outside to find the baby. We are pretty sure both the mama and that buck were poisoned. MAYBE by some new plant put in one of the landscaping houses going on. But, and maybe this is just my suspicious mind, I think there is a chance that, as the deer have been pissing people off a LOT lately eating their plants, I think someone DID it.

And when we FOUND K-Lee she was trying desperately to NURSE off her dead, poisoned mother and crying. She was still very hard to catch, though. She was so frightened. With the stress, and drinking what is, likely, poisoned milk from her mother... I don't think she has much chance. But Mr. Coffee will TRY at least. Mr. Coffee is my new hero. He looks like SANTA... but he reminds me of Brother Mayhood from Texas. I LOVED Brother Mayhood.

Catching her took most of the evening... and several NEIGHBORS! One guy (very cool) even LASSOED her!!!!! And another (who seems really young and nobody even knew his name) offered to DRIVE her to Mr. Coffee's reserve in Heber. I want to know who that was. He was cute, too, and SO sweet with the fawn. He should date the Roomie.

And V came in the middle of all this. She was actually really excited to see the deer once we had her bedded down in a box for the ride. She just kept saying "Wow. You guys really DO do rescues." I kept telling her THAT was not normal. At ALL. But she DID fall head over heals for Marco and did take her home. Marco is, if possible, even MORE nuts than before but I think having more one-on-one time will help. And I think she and her new Mama, V, will get along VERY well. For one thing because I was talking about how she still needed some time to get tame and she said "oh, I hope she doesn't get TOO tame though." I laughed and said I didn't think THAT would happen.

V is cool. She is a rape counselor at the U of U and a very sweet girl. I like her! She said she's keep me updated with pics and stories and that made me feel better too. And she seemed fully enchanted with the kitten (as well she SHOULD be! hee hee!)

So, yeah. It's been a really crazy day. Tragedies and Triumphs... but even the triumphs, well, I just don't know. I will miss Marco, but I believe V will love her and take care of her right. I don't think there is much luck for K-Lee. McKell died yesterday, too. I wonder if they ever had a chance or not. Sometimes they just DIE. But how long was the Mama sick for? When were they poisoned? And by what? (And, to take the more maudlin route by WHOM?)

I just can't believe that the wildlife people wouldn't at least do a BASIC necropsy. I mean, at least check their STOMACH as to what was last eaten! I know they don't care. As they told my mom when she asked "we are not worried about the deer population." I mean, to me, I think screw the POPULATION... what happened to THESE 2 INDIVIDUALS? They have faces and names, you know! Okay, so the buck didn't. But the doe was Ashley. She had babies that needed her. But POPULATION... But what about the NEIGHBORHOOD population? How do they know there isn't something in that neighborhood that could kill family pets? Or KIDS? At least CHECK.

GRRRRRRRRRR...

Where is James Herriot when you need him? Or Dr. Doolittle? Or Noah? Or St. Francis of Assisi?

Or Brother Mayhood?

4 comments:

  1. OH my gosh. That sucks horribly.

    But yay for Marco! BTW, I told hubby about Marco after you had someone lined up to adopt her. lol. He just shook his head at me and said no. Now, I'm half wishing I'd pushed the issue since the kids are so bored ...

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  2. or Dick Gephart....

    anyway, no... you never told me.

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  3. I can't believe all of this is happening in your area... where both you and your parents live seem to be suburban, yes?? Oh my goodness, Kipluck, this is the saddest blog I have ever read. You're right about nature... heartbreaking.

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  4. Yes, right in the suburbs. Because my parents are close to the foothills the PRESENCE of the deer isn't surprising.

    What shocks me is that deer are dying from something IN their suburban neighborhood and they don't care. I just can't help but think there is something that may hurt something else... in the neighborhood! Why is that not a problem?

    But yeah, I have been having vivid nightmares about deer every night since.

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