Steve'sMom
New member
I have this nagging ache in my heart lately....and I'm not sure what to do about it. It comes from the stories I keep hearing from people I know about animals, wild or escaped pets, that die or suffer for no other reason but the simple fact that they didn't know what to do about it....or worse, they thought it had to die because of some stupid superstition they have. Everyone tells me to just leave these people alone, you can't save everything and they'll never learn. But I can't accept that. I hate people who just go around saying "oh well, that's just how it is, you'll have to live with it or ignore it". Where has anyone ever gotten with that attitude? Maybe it's easier to just let things be as they are, but I don't think they should be, if there is a way to make them better.
A friend at work came in one day saying he found a snake in his garage. It was early winter, here in Wisconsin, and there was a little snow on the ground. He said he was looking it up on the internet and thought it was a young burm. I said I definately don't want to keep it if it is, but I'd take it anyway and find it a home. That night, we went to his house and, unfortunately, he had just put a box over it and left it in the garage because he was scared of it. I lifted the box, and there was a little ball.....python! It was freezing, but alive. I bundled it up in my coat as I drove home. It was a bit thin for a ball, but still much fatter than a corn. It had scars all over it (looked like burns?) and some kind of abcess on it's head. I kept it for a couple months, it gained weight and lost it's scars as it shed. I took it to the vet, and was told as long as I hadn't seen the swell on it's face get bigger, I should leave it alone. I did, and it too, started to get smaller. I was going to keep it, but I was living with my mom, and it had bit me once and she hated it. So I got sick of her complaining and found it a home with someone who already had experience with balls. The thing that really bothered me about the whole situation, was that the guy who found it had been calling around all weekend looking for someone to take it....and no one would. He called the animal shelter, nature centers, animal control, police, all the local pet stores....no one would even offer a suggestion much less take it off his hands! If he didn't know me, he would have killed it.
Then last weekend, we went to my boyfriend's brother's place. He has a really nice house out in the country and it's completely surrounded by forest that they use for hunting. I would give anything to just sit on their back porch all day and just listen to nature....but not their kids (16 and 13). All they care about is killing stuff. Now, I'm not against hunting, especially when it is used for food. But they have absolutely no respect for nature. Every time I visit, I over hear something that just makes me want to cry....and makes me seriously mad. But I can't say anything, because I can't have the b/f's family not liking me so early in the relationship. One time they said they were trying to kill a woodpecker (can't think of the species...but the big crow-sized ones with the red crest) because it was making noise all the time! Last time I was there, Chris' cousin had just come back in from deer-hunting and said he almost got "that @#$$ing fox". I asked what fox? He said the one that keeps killing rabbits. He said about 12 of them ran by his stand, and then the fox after them. "Why in the world would you kill a fox for killing rabbits????" I said. (That's just as dumb as when their mom said she killed a mom and whole litter of pine snakes in her garage....and now she's complaining that there's mice all over it!) The kids chimed in that they wanted to hunt the rabbits and it pissed them off that the fox was getting some, so they had been trying to kill it. I was so enraged I had to go outside and I just started balling. Of course I knew there was nothing I could do about it...obviously their parents had raised them that way and they think I'm one of those animal rights freaks. I told them not to tell me if they ever got it, cause I guarantee I'd get way more pissed than I am now. I've also heard them talking about killing other snakes (like hog-noses, pines, garters) because they might bite, catching fish and putting fire-crackers in their mouths, and quite often when we go fishing, they keep everything in a bucket then dump it out later when they decide not to keep it, even though the fish are way past any chance of surviving. I told them if they ever find a snake again that they don't want on their property, to put it in a bucket or something and call me. I even told the kids I'd give them a few bucks for it. I hope they will listen, because I know any time they see a snake, it gets a shovel to the head. At least I could go get it and take it to a local nature preserve or something. As for their rodent problem? I guess they deserve it, right? Unfortunately, I don't know about other places, but here in WI, there are lots of people like this. They call themselves "outdoorsmen", they love the wilderness, but don't think any of the animals in it should be allowed to inconvenience them in any way.
It just kills me that there's nothing I can do. I thought about trying to educate kids....but then when I read about it, it seemed so complicated. You can get sued...if any kid happens to get sick, it will be blamed on your animal. You have to have a reptile handler's permit (for a corn snake???),....blah blah blah. Obviously all of society sees wildlife as the enemy and I'm greatly outnumbered.
Anyways, just had to vent. Not many people want to listen to me about my concerns for animals....even my family. I pretty much get the "oh come on, just shut up about it" attitude. If I had any money, I'd start a rescue...but I can't afford to take on needy animals and take them to the vet and stuff. I don't understand why no one around here has done this though.
A friend at work came in one day saying he found a snake in his garage. It was early winter, here in Wisconsin, and there was a little snow on the ground. He said he was looking it up on the internet and thought it was a young burm. I said I definately don't want to keep it if it is, but I'd take it anyway and find it a home. That night, we went to his house and, unfortunately, he had just put a box over it and left it in the garage because he was scared of it. I lifted the box, and there was a little ball.....python! It was freezing, but alive. I bundled it up in my coat as I drove home. It was a bit thin for a ball, but still much fatter than a corn. It had scars all over it (looked like burns?) and some kind of abcess on it's head. I kept it for a couple months, it gained weight and lost it's scars as it shed. I took it to the vet, and was told as long as I hadn't seen the swell on it's face get bigger, I should leave it alone. I did, and it too, started to get smaller. I was going to keep it, but I was living with my mom, and it had bit me once and she hated it. So I got sick of her complaining and found it a home with someone who already had experience with balls. The thing that really bothered me about the whole situation, was that the guy who found it had been calling around all weekend looking for someone to take it....and no one would. He called the animal shelter, nature centers, animal control, police, all the local pet stores....no one would even offer a suggestion much less take it off his hands! If he didn't know me, he would have killed it.
Then last weekend, we went to my boyfriend's brother's place. He has a really nice house out in the country and it's completely surrounded by forest that they use for hunting. I would give anything to just sit on their back porch all day and just listen to nature....but not their kids (16 and 13). All they care about is killing stuff. Now, I'm not against hunting, especially when it is used for food. But they have absolutely no respect for nature. Every time I visit, I over hear something that just makes me want to cry....and makes me seriously mad. But I can't say anything, because I can't have the b/f's family not liking me so early in the relationship. One time they said they were trying to kill a woodpecker (can't think of the species...but the big crow-sized ones with the red crest) because it was making noise all the time! Last time I was there, Chris' cousin had just come back in from deer-hunting and said he almost got "that @#$$ing fox". I asked what fox? He said the one that keeps killing rabbits. He said about 12 of them ran by his stand, and then the fox after them. "Why in the world would you kill a fox for killing rabbits????" I said. (That's just as dumb as when their mom said she killed a mom and whole litter of pine snakes in her garage....and now she's complaining that there's mice all over it!) The kids chimed in that they wanted to hunt the rabbits and it pissed them off that the fox was getting some, so they had been trying to kill it. I was so enraged I had to go outside and I just started balling. Of course I knew there was nothing I could do about it...obviously their parents had raised them that way and they think I'm one of those animal rights freaks. I told them not to tell me if they ever got it, cause I guarantee I'd get way more pissed than I am now. I've also heard them talking about killing other snakes (like hog-noses, pines, garters) because they might bite, catching fish and putting fire-crackers in their mouths, and quite often when we go fishing, they keep everything in a bucket then dump it out later when they decide not to keep it, even though the fish are way past any chance of surviving. I told them if they ever find a snake again that they don't want on their property, to put it in a bucket or something and call me. I even told the kids I'd give them a few bucks for it. I hope they will listen, because I know any time they see a snake, it gets a shovel to the head. At least I could go get it and take it to a local nature preserve or something. As for their rodent problem? I guess they deserve it, right? Unfortunately, I don't know about other places, but here in WI, there are lots of people like this. They call themselves "outdoorsmen", they love the wilderness, but don't think any of the animals in it should be allowed to inconvenience them in any way.
It just kills me that there's nothing I can do. I thought about trying to educate kids....but then when I read about it, it seemed so complicated. You can get sued...if any kid happens to get sick, it will be blamed on your animal. You have to have a reptile handler's permit (for a corn snake???),....blah blah blah. Obviously all of society sees wildlife as the enemy and I'm greatly outnumbered.
Anyways, just had to vent. Not many people want to listen to me about my concerns for animals....even my family. I pretty much get the "oh come on, just shut up about it" attitude. If I had any money, I'd start a rescue...but I can't afford to take on needy animals and take them to the vet and stuff. I don't understand why no one around here has done this though.
