Wild Animals

It was a crazy week for me with wild animals.

I rescued TWO birds from my sticky pad in my garage. They were both alive and trying to fly away. More feathers were stuck to the pad then bird. I always get so nervous touching them, so I put on rubber gloves and try my best to not hurt their fragile and skinny legs when peeling.

I was driving to the Inn-n-Out burger for a dinner stop with my boys off of I-1o and Dysart Rd in Avondale. What did I see? A goat running alongside the freeway, with a german shepard as a sidekick. I guess they wanted a bite to eat as well. The Inn-n-Out workers grabbed them, called up animal rescue, while me and the boys petted them and thought about how cute they were together.

On my way to the gym, I passed by THREE horses happily munching away on some grass in someone's front yard! That was a surprise for sure. I wasn't sure if I was seeing them correctly, but they were not fenced in, and did not have any reins or saddles on. I am glad that they didn't dart out in front of me or I surely would've hit one. I told myself that if they were still there on my way back, I would call for help. Although, how the heck would I manage to keep three horses in one spot while help arrived? Those animals are huge and intimidating! Fortunately, they were gone by the time I got back...hopefully safely corraled back to wherever they had come from.

Now the big event...that same day on my way to visit April Ashton, I saw this huge African Desert Tortoise cruising alongside the road, headed towards the Waddell intersection. She was at least 50 lbs and maintaining a pretty quick speed! That was another huge surprise. I live out in the boonies, so there was no one around and I had no idea where she had come from either. What to do? The boys and I hopped out of our cars to try and pin her to a corner. She didn't care though, she would just turn in a different direction, go pee, eat some grass, and keep on crawling. My boys were thrilled to see her so they petted her, and even tried to go for a ride (I stopped that one). But, I didn't know what to do! I couldn't just leave her to go get hit by a car! Fortunately, I flagged down a passing truck, and my own dad happened to be driving by. So, we loaded up the tortoise in her truck (dad was a bit nervous with those flapping arms and legs), and April tortoise-watched until we could find the right people.

That tortoise was a hit with all of our kids! We got some great pictures together and she was so happy in that backyard with the water and grass...and even made herself welcome by going inside April's home! That was soon stopped and it was pretty crazy seeing such a large "wild" animal in person. Jared told me that he had remembered a neighbor with tortoises, so we tracked down the realtor that was showing his home (he has since moved), and he was able to come and rescue his pet. I guess she creeped out while the landscapers were working. I am just grateful that we could help her find her home again and not get lost in this hot desert!

So...from birds to a goat to a dog to horses and to a tortoise, it was a full week!