A feeding shift in the spring orphan grind at Wild Heart Ranch. This is too much fun!

It's pretty quiet in the wildlife clinic. 55 Texas hurricane Ike squirrels have been taken back to Texas. The release was a hoot! They scattered into the trees at my Dad's place in Mt. Pleasant. Thank you Robyn and Sandy for all you did to make this rescue possible! It felt good to help in some small way, and this was one we could handle!

Right now I am raising two barn owls that were brought from Blackwell to Claremore. They were fuzzy little balls of fear when they arrived, but are now acting like typical "I HATE YOU SO FEED ME" barn owls. A young doe who broke her back and hip when she was hit by a car is now using her legs, building her strength again. Her name is Barbie Doe. It suits her. She is so grateful for all the work it takes to get her through a day, in and out of her sling, lots of food, anything she wants. Her will to live is just as important as the medical support. So far she is a fighter, and her determination is humbling. Barbie just has to recover. She has come so far. From total paralasys to standing on her own in just a few months, but we still hold our breath for those first steps...Only then have we saved her!

A raccoon, hit by a car is recovering. He is very much the wild child, but allows me to clean his cage and change his bowls each day. If I move too fast or get too close, he reminds me he is a wild thing and is in charge! He will go soon. His head injury is nearly healed and his pupils are finally working properly. His appetite has been unreal. He is packing on some extra winter fat while he is here. Its a good time for it. Its getting cold, and we are starting to get the ranch ready for ice. (ugh...I hate ice!!)

A baby pygmy goat and his mother are enjoying the warm clinic. "Frosty" was brought to me in bad shape. Nearly frozen, the day old 6 inch baby had gotten too cold for too long when his first time mom delivered him and his brother in the cold of the night, unknown to their owners. Frosty's brother didnt survive, but this little boy fought his condition and within hours of arriving here, his hypothermia was reversing and he began to show signs of life and hunger. We had his owners bring his mother the next day, and now mother and son are cozy in their pen in the clinic, Frosty's typical "bouncy boy" antics are all on schedule. They could probably go home now, but I am still very protective of him. A little more time, a little more growth to ensure our little man doesnt ever get too cold again. My little miracle!

The fawn herd from spring is growing fat and sassy! We are beginning to plan their relocation to a relase site with more protection from poachers. After the illegal slaughter a few years ago, 20 feet from my front yard, I am no longer comfortable letting my babies leave from here. We will miss watching them grow up and leave home, but they will be safer somewhere else. We get offers to take them regularly, but I've never been compelled, but this time I picked the site. It was a gut feeling about someone I hadnt met, their property just "felt" safe, and when I saw her beautiful, healthy animals, I knew "this is the place". I cant wait to see them running free!

Turning 40 in a few weeks. Blows my mind. They say life begins at 40. If thats the case, Im going to be VERY tired! I am reflecting back on my youth. It didnt all go my way, but Im pretty proud of the way I handled all that I encountered. At the end of the day, its what you have done to make the world a better place for others, and that includes people as well as animals. This Thanksgiving I am thankfull for the friends I have that carry me so I can work hard and provide for my charges who have no one, thankfull for a husband who has never complained about how many dogs I have, how many wild animals I take in or how much money it costs to care for them, I am grateful for relatively good health, good fun when I need it, and the wisdom to know that it's all in my hands every day. Peace be with all during the Holidays, and if the Holidays depress you, find a way to volunteer your time to make someone else's day brighter. In the spirit of giving, we ALWAYS receive!!!

Annette

 www.wildheartranch.org

It's Saturday..the day my crew all come out and catch me up for the coming week. No rest for this rehabilitator. The clinic is getting loaded quickly due to severe weather we have already dealt with. Lots of ice storm orphans as broken trees are trimmed and baby squirrels come tumbling down. Hard to relocate with mom when she bails. We had thirty something squirrels this year. Strange thing is, most were grays. Only 11 fox squirrels. That is a first in over a decade.

Baby beaver kits are little piggies, 3 raccoon orphans, WAY too many domestic animals here getting help. Oh my! I have a hard time saying "no", so I now have my share of needy kiddos who will most likely increase the permanant population.

I have a crow. He is absolulely hysterical. He is in for a wing injury. I feed him mice (killed thank you) and other things, and he has a routine that I find interesting and so grotesque! I watched Braveheart last night, and the connection made me name him "Wallace". (you will see why)

Wallace takes his mouse, pokes a hole in the belly, removes all the intestines, slings them all over his crate, then repeatedly dips the mouse in his water bowl, creating a "mouse ojous" and each piece is also dipped. NASTY!

He's a dork.

Anyway, if youve ever seen Braveheart, and still dont get the connection, its the end when they torture him. They dont show it, but we all know what they are doing to him. Makes me sick just thinking about it. This was a sick world back then.

Shooting Wildlife

There's more to me than fur

Which may come as a surprise

I know you'd see a spirit in me

If you looked into my eyes

My head is here to guide me

Not to decorate your wall

If you want to use a part of me

You had better need it all

There's more to me than beauty

I have a purpose and a will

I have responsibilities and things to do

That I must continue to fulfill

Your weapon, it may kill me

And my children and my mate

When I don't return with food tonight

You've sealed my family's fate

There's more to me than mystery

My life no different than you

I live to survive the best that I can

Hoping the day will see me through

So when you have me in your crosshairs

I ask, I beg, I pray...

Take only from me a photograph

And let me go about my way

For the Wild Ones,

Annette King-Tucker

1-06

 "Angels Have Paws"

They often find me when my life has got me down

I have purpose when I know that they're around

In every pair of eyes, there's an angel in disguise

For the joy they bring makes it impossible to frown

Sometimes they know me better than I do

When I'm feeling a little sad, lonely and blue

They insist I stop to play, and my blues just fade away

And I'm thankful for a friend so smart and true

And when my little angels get old and gray

And their light on Earth begins to fade away

The hole within my heart is left gaping when they part

But they always seem to fill it with a stray

We say we care for them, but I know better

Every furry friend and bird of every feather

They come into our life, an end to loneliness and strife

Creating purpose, hope and memories we treasure

So when that aching need for a friend begins to smart

A purchase isn't where you need to start

A rescue is a place where an angel has a face

'Adoption' means "Chosen by the heart"

Now if you don't believe in Angels or their cause

I ask you reconsider and take pause

They are around us every day, disguised as lost or stray

And will find you not on wings, but tired paws.

written by:

Annette King-Tucker

www.wildheartranch.org

Dec. 2005

How cruel a world for those who trust

Who's gentle heart turns cold

When all is denied to nourish you

Leaving you weak and looking old

Once glory to sit upon your back

A gentle mouth took heed

They used you once upon a time

And now, deny your need

Your coat has lost its shimmer

Your bones tell us the tale

Your eyes once bright, are hollow

Your feet are long, your gums are pale

You stagger when you once could run

You move with arthritic pain

Your heart still beats, your mind still longs

For a fresh drink, for grass for grain.

I'm here to take you home with me

You will suffer never more

Green pasture and fresh water

And a barn for you in store

We will find your flesh returning

We will trim your teeth and feet

We will grain you every single day

All you care to eat

Someday when your body mends

And you are fit and fat and sound

I will sit with pride upon your back

And we will fly across the ground

For this that I am certain

Though your world had fell apart

I can see through your shaggy coat and bones

To the starvation of your heart

My love will fill it up again

My care will make you strong

My hands will be on you every day

You are now wanted and belong

For every horse who has lived hungry

And for those who give relief

You couldn't be more supported

In this monumental grief

May your pastures grow green and free of thorns

And many blessings fill your day

May your bonds be tied with miracles

And all the hungry horses ride away

Annette King-Tucker

www.wildheartranch.org

FINALLY! Wild Heart has high speed internet! (Thanks Sandy!) and new computers that dont suck! (Thanks again Sandy!) Sooo I can finally maintain a MySpace site without having a stroke!

We survived the ice and the falling trees, and though our place looks like, well, like it went through an ice storm! Time to get ready for babies coming up in February! We will start getting in baby squirrels, then the opossums and birds, then the raccoons and finally fawns. During all this, skunks, beaver, raptors, bats, marmots, turtles..oh you name it, will come in for care. Formula is bought and the clinic is being put back together after the two week long black out nightmare! READY FOR ACTION!