All the Creatures

When you hear the phrase “working animal” it probably conjurers up visions of either horses on a cattle drive or seeing eye dogs. We mostly think about dogs or horses doing the majority of “work” amongst domesticated animals. Would it surprise you that cats have played a major role in history with their “jobs?” Take for example the grain storage areas of ancient Egypt. Those grainerys were guarded by cats. It was no wonder that the cat was a treasured animal in those days. Looking at more recent times, the cat was often brought aboard ships to get rid of the Norwegian rats that ended up being taken all over the world by stowing away on those ships.

Many companies all over the world have a company cat or cats to roam their warehouses and keep the mice population in check. England is noted to have more cats “employed” by companies than most western countries.

Give a cat a job - it is truly a great “green” idea, better than rat poisons.

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Always give your pet a hug, kind word or praise. After all they are around because you wanted them to be there.

- Jan S. at All the Creatures

You get to finish that sentence. Spring time usually means to me, opening up all the windows and letting that nasty winter, cooped up smell out of the house. It also means time that all the horses start to shed. Our old grey horse sheds so much when I brush him it looks like a snow storm just hit the inside of the barn. After I sweep up the hair into a pile, that is when one of the dogs takes a mouthful of it and runs off.

Yep, spring when you find baby chicks on sale at the local feed store. For those of you who think that they are for sale just for Easter, then think again. They are raised for meat and eggs, not as pets. I think that too many city people thought they were on sale for pets and then they tried to protest the sale of the chicks rather than educate those that the baby chicks are not raised as pets. If more people would learn about chickens, springtime and the rural lifestyle then those city slickers would not be buying baby chicks as Easter pets only to abandon them when only a month old. Keep in mind that the chicks that are on sale are only a few days old and have special needs like a heat lamp and chick starter food.

Bunnies are also for sale, right along side the baby chicks. Unless you are planning on keeping a pet rabbit for the next 12 or so years or want to raise a rabbit for meat, then don’t buy one of them either.

Yes, the joys of spring……I can almost hear the shouts of “SPRING BREAK” now.

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Always give your pet a hug, kind word or praise. After all they are around because you wanted them to be there.

- Jan S. at All the Creatures

Today’s horse owners have it so easy when it comes to ridding their horse of worms. Just a simple paste wormer given orally once every 2-3 months and they are done. Some horse owners even use the pelleted type you add to the horses’ feed. Both of those methods are a far cry from what use to be done to a horse only a few short decades ago.

I am old enough to remember when horse articles appeared in national horse magazines that promoted the use of cigars, fed to the horse to rid them of worms. As late as the 1980’s horses were still “drenched” for worms. A vet would perform the drench. It consisted of about a gallon of chemicals pumped into the horses gut via a tube inserted up their nose. This was done once or twice a year. Even now I come across the words “horse drench” online and it is apparently still the common method to rid a horse of worms in some third world countries.

Thank goodness that health care of the horse has come a long way in the last 30 years. I wonder if that is the main reason why horses are now living longer?

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Always give your pet a hug, kind word or praise. After all they are around because you wanted them to be there.

- Jan S. at All the Creatures