Finder of the Lost

I hate being the local "finder of the lost."  I exhaust myself with worry, I go where a lot of people won't go, I sometimes dig into nasty areas, and I see some pretty gruesome sights.  Yesterday I received an e-mail from a good client, whom I've worked with/for over ten years.  First they had a dog and a cat; the dog passed away, and then it was the cat only.  The cat stays pretty much inside during the winter, but has always gone out in the afternoons when there's no snow on the ground.  The owner acquired the cat (then a kitten) at her job, more than 12 years ago, when a co-worker came inside and asked if she'd seen the kitten the crow was trying to eat in the parking lot.  The kitten had compound fractures of both hind legs, and was very much alive.  My friend took the kitten to the emergency vet, and she soon had a beautiful cat named Maggie May.
   Maggie went out, as usual, about 2 in the afternoon on Monday.  I very rarely saw her outside her own property line, other than liking to poop in the next door neighbor's flower border, which is right on the property line.  Maggie was usually sitting at the patio door by 5:30 each afternoon, waiting to be allowed back inside - and she usually had an offering for whomever opened the door. Sunday it was a baby cottontail, but usually it was a mouse or vole.  She did not come home Monday evening.  The owners waited until yesterday evening to contact me.  This morning, Darcie took her bike around the neighborhood at 7, calling for Maggie; yesterday evening, Steve, her husband, had walked the neighborhood fence lines, looking and calling for Maggie.
   I drove over there this morning and thoroughly checked their yard.  Then I went over to the nearby creek, which is currently dry, and walked the creek bed, and checked out several dens that I know belong to fox and coyotes.  No new bones outside any of the dens.  Last night, I had dreamed about Leslie Kinder's cat - she had gone missing, and I had found half of the cat in Leslie Lomas' back yard. So I walked over to Leslie's and I started quartering her yard.  Near the far back area of her yard is a low-lying spot that has a tendency to flood in heavy rains.  Leslie has made a berm of mulch around that area, so the whole yard doesn't flood.  As I approached the berm, I saw a patch of grey fur - too long to be a squirrel's.  I crossed over the berm, and found what was left of Maggie May.
  So I went to Leslie's door, told her what I had found, and got a couple of bags.  There wasn't much left - a front leg, the lower part of a hind leg, her head, one ear, the end of her tail, and, curiously, an untouched lung.  But there was fur everywhere....  (The bite marks to the skull showed coyote dentition and jaw form, and not the local bobcats, which I was afraid of.)  I picked up all the large and small pieces and 90% of the fur.  Then I went to Maggie's house, let myself in, and called Darcie.
   I left Maggie's remains inside the bags in a cooler in the garage.  Steve will bury her this afternoon.  I think the worst part was hearing Darcie sobbing on the phone, and, at the same time, thanking me. Because I gave her closure...  I cried all the way home, and am still tearing up...  It's nice to give closure, but it still hurts like hell.

Sick Person in New York State

Disgusting!  The first news item I saw this morning was a report from Yonkers, New York.  Sanitation workers walk through wooded areas once a year, in the spring, to pick up trash and discarded items.  This has been done for the past 15 years.  Yesterday, workers found 25 plastic bags, mostly large, heavy-weight dark plastic, tied to a series of tree branches.  The plastic bags themselves were tightly knotted around the limbs.  Each bag contained the remains of a dead cat.  So far, there is nothing to tie the cats to one another - they were of various ages, and are in different states of decomposition.  Most of the cats were already dead when placed inside the bag.  None were micro-chipped.  It is possible that they were feral cats, killed by a single person.  In any way, I think it is very sick, sad and disgusting.  Anyone with any information is asked to call detectives at 914-377-7724, or call the SPCA's Animal Cruelty Hotline at 914-941-7797.  This person should be stopped as quickly as possible!
   Here in Boulder, a coyote grabbed a small dog and disappeared with it yesterday afternoon on the Bear Creek Trail.  The dog was a Coton de Tulear, a small breed from Madagascar, which is normally less than 12 inches tall at the shoulder, and has a coat like combed cotton.  The owner allowed her dog off leash in an area where a leash is required, because she didn't want to encounter bushes at the edge of a creek, where her dog wanted to drink.  So she removed the leash, the dog trotted to the creek, and while it was drinking, a coyote picked it up by the scruff of the neck and ran with it.  -  It's spring time in the Rockies, people. Wild creatures are prowling and establishing their territories.  There are black bears, mountain lions, bobcats, and large numbers of coyotes on the move, and seeking a suitable summer home.  If you want to keep your pet safe, keep it on a leash or inside.  Allowing your dogs and cats to roam in brushy country with predators around is a very stupid choice to make.
   It's 7 days until the Kentucky Oaks will be run, and 8 days to wait for the Kentucky Derby.  I'm looking at the pedigrees of the entrants, their photos, and their jockeys...  I'll let you know next week about my choices - once Post position has been drawn and announced.

Coyotes Attack Young Man

Yesterday morning, a 22-year-old man was walking along a trail near Niwot (6 miles to the northeast of Boulder); it was just before dawn and he was thinking about grabbing a quick breakfast before heading off to work.  He heard a noise off to one side, and turned his head - just in time to see three coyotes launch themselves at him.  He managed to fight them off, while yelling loudly.  He then called 911 and was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for puncture wounds, bites and scratches and then released.  No apparent lasting damage was done, but the young man was bleeding from his face, ears, neck, arms, hands and one bite on his stomach.  Two of the three coyotes suspected of attacking him have been killed, and authorities are still seeking the third culprit.
  I am not happy about the coyotes attacking the man without reason - they should be leery of man, and should shy away from him.  But people are feeding the coyotes and desensitizing them to man.  I don't want coyotes in a neighborhood where I live, and I will actively police against them, if they are seen where I live. But...  But they are a natural scavenger and are local denizens of the area.  I don't like it when the big guy in Githens Acres (where I walk dogs and house-sit) trots around in broad daylight, looking fat and content, and unafraid of the people and animals who live there.  Then again, I can't, personally, kill him, either.
  That's the problem with civilization today; people keep encroaching upon territory that has belonged to the wild creatures.  We both need space.  Coyotes are smart animals, known to the Native Americans as "the Trickster," and they adapt easily to new and changing environment.  The problem is with those of us who live with smaller domesticated pets - cats, dogs, rabbits.  We want our beloved pets to be able to run loose in the yard without having to worry about predators, like coyotes.  We expect the wild animals, whom we admire for being wild, to respect our civilized feelings and not even consider our pets as a food source.  That is completely foolhardy.  I love my two cats, and I allow them to play in my back yard when I am home.  I tell myself that I have a good excuse for doing so - I live in a 500-square-foot studio apartment, and my kits need to be able to run and get exercise.  I will be terribly upset if anything happens to my pets to hurt or kill them while they are outside - but that is the risk I have decided to take simply by allowing them outside.  I know that I can't have my cake and eat it, too.  I am aware of the risks.  But most pet owners do not think about or acknowledge them.
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Second half of my trip to Oklahoma City will appear tomorrow...