I just had to dig up this old thread after reading a couple of cool stories recently. :) Fastest Known Muscles Found in Songbirds' Throats - I bet Olive could give them a run for their money when she's yelling at Barry. LOL And Rescued Cow Doesn't Know She's a Cow - I wish Milkshake could come live with me!! :) Brenda

Kathy, Usually a mama copperhead gives birth to 10 or 12 snakelets (snakelings? snakettes?) at one time, but sometimes up to 14. The most I've ever seen, though, together in one place was one mama and 7 or 8 babies. I sure would check the ordinances on pit bulls (and also on how many dogs are allowed on one piece of residential property)! Some friends of ours in Marietta had their little English bulldog killed by a pit bull about 3 or 4 years ago....and that pit had come onto their property and attacked and killed their dog. They loved that little dog and were grief-stricken. Just a couple of weeks ago, their daughter stopped by the house to tell us that her parents' "new" dog that replaced the murdered dog had also been attacked and killed by a pit bull. Again, just like the other time, the pit came onto their property and killed their dog. It is just so wrong! We had neighbors (fortunately, their house is not terribly close to ours....more than a mile away as the crow flies) that raised pit bulls. Those dogs were always running loose and scared me to death. It was not uncommon for their dogs to turn on and kill one another. I don't think they have pit bulls any more, and I think the reason was because the dogs kept killing each other. Here, there are dog ordinances in town, but in the county there are no dog ordinances and so the sherriff's policy basically is "do what you have to do" to protect yourself. Most people out here, though, won't shoot a dog unless they catch it attacking a human, an agricultural animal or a pet. Celaena, A red-tailed hawk picked up my cousin's cat once and carried it off some distance, and it was a big old tomcat. She figured the cat was a goner. A couple of days later the cat showed up, scraped up and cut up but alive! We don't have many owl problems here because the crows dog them mercilessly. We used to have a barn owl and a little screech owl who hung out together and hunted on our property at night, but I haven't seen or heard them much the last couple of years. Dorothy, I know your cat had a safe spot to retreat to, and do feel the snakebite contributed to its inability to fend off the stray dog (or whatever other critter might have gotten it). It is just such a shame that it happened.(sigh) And, y'all, remember the "copperhead crossing" area I mentioned above? Well, this morning DS and I went for a 30-minute fitness walk (no dogs). On our way back to the house, we saw a dead rattlesnake in the middle of the road....a little one about 15" long. Guess where he was? Right there at the copperhead crossing! I laughed out loud and then had to explain to DS that I was laughing 'cause I had JUST written about the copperhead crossing this morning, and here it was....occupied by a rattler! Dawn

Grew up on a dairy farm in ohio and learned to dive a team of belgian draft horses (1 ton each)when i was 6yrs old. Served two enlistments in the U.S.A.F. from 1966 till 1973(Viet Nam Era). Stood on a guard detail in front of the Loraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn the morning after MLK was assasinated. Was on a detail that rode an Air Force C-130 for four days, continually flying west around the world twice and every time they stopped for fuel it was breakfast time...LOL..finally returned to where we started and to this day none of us know what that was about. Got spit on by hippie protesters in both Cleveland and Chicago while traveling from one base to another. Did two tours in Viet Nam (during my second tour i was pulled out early because my mother protested through the Red Cross. It seems i was combat exempt because I was the sole surviving son of a combat veteran). Spent four years in Germany and travelled throughout Europe. Was a Scoutmaster for military dependant boys in Germany and lead an 8 day 50 mile hike from Bitburg, Germany to Bastogne, Belium. Took up photography as a hobby while in Germany and later got into it professionally for a couple years with a newspaper. Now I do it as a retirement hobby. Drove an 18 wheeler that had two transmissions, one behind the other with two gear shifts and a total of 24 gears. Hauled a 162ft bridge beam from Elyria, Ohio to lower Manhattan in New York City. After truck driving I worked in construction and attended night school. Got certified to Journeyman level in 5 different building trades. Spent 54 days in pretrial confinement awaiting trial on a misdemeanor offence that has a maximum penalty of 10days, and i was found not guilty at trial. Back in my truck driving days in the mid 70's I was living in Massachusetts and I rented a room from Jan & Ken. Jan was working civil service at the base where I finally discharged and she had just been assigned to work in the area where I had worked. I spent months sitting at the kitchen table helping her with her paperwork and teaching her the job. About a year later I moved away and we were out of touch until three years ago. I found out that she retired with 36yrs service on the base. I was living in Ohio and Jan and I talked on the phone a couple times a week for over a year, until last August when I moved to Mass and she and I are now together and havig a blast.

Wow...someone just gave me the link to this post, and I am both happy and sad at what I've read. How can ANYONE say that humans are *above* animals??? These are not just pets...they are souls. And who is anyone to say or know that animals are "below" us? Just because we can talk and have jobs and blah blah blah? No...that's just plain wrong. Animals are extremely special, and if anything, THEY are more superious than us! As for pets, if someone looks at a dog or cat as "just a pet" that can be easily replaced, then don't get one! Because a time will come when you may have to make a very important decision about healthcare, and that "pet" is better off with someone who will make the right decision. Now, I am in no means a rich person. FAR from it! But my dog (a labrador retriever) was diagnosed with cancer when she was 6 years old (3 years ago). I know most people would not give the dog treatment, and if you don't have the means, then I can completely understand. But for those that say "my dog/cat is part of the family".....would you let your son or daughter suffer and eventually die from cancer without even doing anything to help them, even if it put you in debt?? I don't think so! Then either take out a loan for your dog/cat, or STOP saying they are part of your family. Needless to say, I did the treatment. Yes, I know she wasn't a puppy...but she still had years of life ahead of her, and she deserved those years. She still thanks me every single day for what I did for her...in her own little way. The treatment consisted of spinal surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 3 weeks of radiation treatment. The cost? Altogether it was $12,000. Now, many of you may think I'm crazy, but my dog is still here with me, and she is the most amazing creature I've ever known. There are people that spend that kind of money on materialistic things in a year's time. I mean, who here has more than $12,000 in credit card debt? Who here has that debt from clothes/furniture/etc? Here's my point: Most people don't have to face the decision I had to make. But I hope you can look at what I did and realize that a few hundred dollars for treatment or even just a "check-up" isn't too much if you really love your animal. If you TRULY can't afford treatment for your pet, fine. But really THINK about whether or not you can really *afford* it.....I'll bet you can, you just don't want to, or you can find better things to spend the money on. Thanks for letting me "vent".