Outside pets inside tonight? Brrrrr.

I have confidence in you too, williamhenry3.
osso

At -20F and less, I hope all living creatures find some kid of warm shelter.

New Haven, you're so right about that. We've been having 'cold weather alerts' here - that means you're to call a special number if you see someone sleeping outside - normally they'd just leave the folks alone - but during an alert, special efforts are made to bring them in for the night - sometimes the vans stay near someone all night if they won't come in.

Oh, it's bad enough thinking there are dogs and cats out there, but maybe it's possible for them to find a warm place. But, a human? I've never seen this, actually, before. It almost kills me to see people in refugee camps, etc. on TV.

My oldest son at about age 12 brought a baby blue jay into the house. We wedged a tree branch between the walls of our veeeery small half-bath and there he sat until he seemed big enough to get outside, then he sat on a tree branch on the patio. We fed him Hills dog food (read that it works) the whole time. At first forced fed him (wow, what a mess) then every time he chirped. Same outside, every time he chirped - they have a very loud chirp.

The first time we found him missing from the patio perch we heard this huge CHIRP, followed it, fed him, continued this until we could no longer hear our very own baby's CHIRP.

Couple times I've placed a bird that seemed OK back in a tree and he just flew away. Love the way a dozen birds willl be chirping, then you see the baby on the ground close to a cat or something. Maybe their aunts & uncles?

WilliamHenry my neighbor just got a min. poodle and never makes a sound, is an angel and already trained. He stayed in a motel with them over weekend and didn't let anybody know he was there.
Pomeranians are excellent housepets, too - very funny and active - don't mind being kept in, SMART. Careful they don't have those muscular problems though with stupid breeding. They don't really have to be sooo tiny.

The Puppies have a "Doggie Door" arrangement via the basement ... The stairwell is exterior, but roofed, and there are regular doors at top and bottom, one accessing the back yard, the other the basement exit/entrance. Each door has its own dual-flap "Doggie Door", which comprises what we call "The Puppy Lock". As long as the upper door's flap is not blocked by snow, they have free access to the back yard if they desire it, without requiring human intervention. The back yard, fully fenced, strikes them as a less desireable place to be than outside the fence, but if they really want to be outside the house, they make the choice.

Frank (The Husky) spends most of his "Behind Doors" time outside, even in the coldest, snowiest weather. He's not real fond of rain, which is good, 'cause his luxurious double coat takes forever to dry ... and, well, he's a pretty husky fellow, and nothing quite smells more like a lot of wet dog than a lot of wet dog. From our own bathroom window, we can see the upper basement door, and much of the back yard. When it gets VERY cold, the yellow snow becomes proportionately less far from the house.

Frank, however, may "Disappear" during a heavy snowfall. A shout of his name will bring a sleepy head up out of a snow mound. If he wants to come in, he'll get up, stretch langorously, yawn, look around a bit, shake off energetically, then saunter to the door and come in. If he doesn't want to come in, he sort of "Gruph"s acknowledgement, turns away, and intently gazes off in some other direction.


The Ponies have pretty much free access from their stalls to the fenced paddock, and the barn isn't heated. They and the chickens do fine with just shelter from the elements, and wander in and out as they please. They're fat right now, and their coats are thick and shaggy. A real blizzard always drives them in, but heavy rains don't necessarily have the same effect. They are noticeably unfond of nearby lightning, however. That sometimes results in fence repair or carpentry.


Oh, yeah ... that "Confining", fenced-in back yard The Puppies don't particularly like ... its just under 2/3 of an acre. Ingrates. Humph.



timber

I can see how The Puppies might feel 'trapped' with so little space to roam. Sheesh!

Tex-star, both of my rescues are spitz-crosses. One is thought to be sheltie/buhund, the other pom with something - with the somethings suggested being as far apart as chihuahua and chow.

When we were at the groomers, we met a young couple bringing in a bichon for grooming - also a rescue dog. The women at the groomers say they see a lot of small dogs - poms, min poodles, bichon, shih tzu etc., as rescued dogs. Older people get them because they're small and easier to care for, and then the dogs outlive them. I know that i see a lot of American Eskimo dogs at the local animal rescue site. Probably what I'll add to the pack - as i'm a huge fan of the foxy spitz intelligence. Gotta love poodles - except they're sooo smart, they can cause trouble if not challenged.

WilliamHenry, I have no doubt that fate has a new friend lying in wait for you. It always seems to happen that way.

Talking about baby birds, we had a nest of western blue jays in our very large evergreen tree last spring. One got an independant streak too early, and we found it out on the street. My SO picked it up while I tried to keep the very concerned parents at bay. He held the little bird for awhile, as it was cold and very wobbly when he picked it up. After a rest, we placed the little bird amongst our rose bushes, thinking that any wayward cats wouldn't look for him amongst the thorns.

The next morning, the little bird was quietly nestled amid the rose bushes. Mom and dad visited with breakfast.

The next few days, we found the little bird in various places in the yard, but in the mornings, he/she was always in the rose bushes. The two siblings were not far behind, and we delighted at watching them grow throughout the season.

The parents loved my SO's pasttime of sitting on the front steps eating peanuts. He would toss a few to them, which they scurried off with. In the early evenings, you could hear their very loud announcement that they were ready for their treat. I started keeping a container of nuts near the front door, and would throw a few out when they came calling. It didn't take long for the youngsters to join in.

We haven't seen much of them this winter, but occasionally they stop in for a snack. Some of the Jays will come very close, I assume those are the ones that are familiar with us.

That is neat, Sublime.

We are forever making peanut butter and birdseed pinecombs, and have amassed quite a following of Cardinals.

Much happiness developing relationships with wildlife.

Many deer walk through the yard, and I have had to force myself not to put out a deer lick. Hate to set them up for hunters...

Lash, that sounds like paradise. No deer here, but we are in a residential area.

Care to share your "recipe" for the birdseed pine cones?

e-beth, we have only one dog so can only have one more. Can't really handle more than 2. So, how can we EVER make a decision between all the lost & abandoned dogs we see? We solve that by volunteering for the SPCA - mainly keeping litters of puppies til they're well and healthy again, ready for adoption. I get to hug puppies for a few weeks. Or, small dogs, we've had a Chihuahua and a Corgi but people buy those within days. Going to have to make a decision soon. Bandit wants some company.

Timber, when we lived in Michigan we kept two horses in a small Mr. Ed barn. For the longest time we brought the horses, or ponies sometimes, in through the back sliding doors (open to pasture). But, as we became more knowledgeable we just left the doors open so there was access to the pasture night and day. But, I missed throwing open those sliding doors and the two Jack Russells chasing the horses, who bounded out running round the pasture. Too funny.

Here in TX we have a community barn for neighborhood, but pastures with no shelter, so we must walk them in when its wet or below 35. We all do our own work, buy the food etc.

Guess I'll have to say the happiest I've ever seen horses is when there's a deep snow, the sun shining. Best ride ever, too, through the snow on a still, sunshiney day about 50 degrees.

The Pet Psychic was on TV for 3 hours Sunday, what an orgy. Most of the pets were rescued. The sweetest lady ever, communicates with people's pets dead or alive. Really good for rescued pets when we don't understand some odd behavior.

Tex-Star