But They’re Only Chickens!

Popcorn and Henny Penny

I can’t believe that I am experiencing grief about losing my chickens – they were just plain old, run-of-the-mill chickens, for heaven’s sake!

I have no idea how old our chickens were as we inherited them from a friend, but I think they were getting on in years. Chickens only having a laying period of about two years, and one of mine called Popcorn (yes, we gave them names!) hasn’t laid an egg for months so I guess she was past her “used by” date.
The other one, Henny Penny, gave us an egg every day without fail.

However, I noticed one day that Henny Penny was limping quite badly on one of her legs, and if she attempted to put it to the floor, she fell over. Her wings were outstretched and her mouth was open as if she couldn’t get enough air; her breathing was quite rapid.
When I picked her up to investigate, I felt a large lump on the side of her chest, about the size of a golf ball.
Needless to say, I was worried so I took her over to my neighbour to check her out (he used to be a farmer), and on checking her, he said it was probably a cancerous growth. He offered to put her out of her misery and I was horrified – I didn’t expect that. I told him I would think about it and see how she went that day.

She really didn’t look well, and I had noticed a few days previous that Popcorn had started to peck at Henny; there were a lot of feathers missing around her head area. Apparently, this is what chickens do – if there is a weak or sick chicken in their midst, they peck at the poor bird, sometimes until it dies, so with this in mind, I separated them to keep Henny from being pecked to death.
However, during the course of the day, she got worse and I realized that I was facing the inevitable.
But I also knew I had to make another decision – whether to keep Popcorn or not. She hadn’t laid an egg for months and we were feeding her for nothing. Also, because of her considerable age, I knew she wouldn’t be with us much longer anyway. I knew what I had to do, but I had to put my emotions to one side otherwise I wouldn’t be able to carry it through.

It seems cold but farmers don’t treat their livestock as pets – they are livestock, period. I have to harden up!

Chickens are funny little creatures – they don’t accept new chicks into the coup, and we wanted to get some new ones eventually. Popcorn would have attacked any new chicks we introduced into the chicken coup and probably killed them.
So when our next door neighbour came over to take Henny, we told him to take Popcorn too; he said we were doing the right thing and took them both back to his place to do the dirty deed. He is a farmer and is used to doing things like that. I’m glad he was there to help us out, because neither I nor my husband could have done it.

My heart lurched as I saw them go, and even our dog was stressed – she didn’t like it any more than we did! My instinct was to run and take them from my neighbour, and I had to fight that feeling, it was very strong. But common sense took over and I walked away heavy hearted.
Someone said to me later, “But they’re only chickens”.  I felt hurt. ONLY chickens? They lived and breathed, and were part of our brood. We were as passionate about them as we are about our dogs. However, I was shocked by my own feelings at losing them;I wouldn’t have thought I could feel so sad at losing plain old farmyard chickens, but it seems I’m wrong – even they have that “pet power”!

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©passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com

How To Cope With The Loss of a Much Loved Pet

There is no doubt that people just love their pets to pieces – we share everything with them, include them in family holidays, and have a very special relationship with them.

Losing a pet is just as hard as losing a child; our pets are a part of the family, and we form strong bonds with them. They are  involved in every single day of our busy lives,  and their passing leaves us with an awful feeling emptiness – both in our heart and in our home.

When we lose a pet through old age or sickness, we are devastated and we go through the process of intense sadness, disbelief, anger that they have left us – and even feelings of frustration that we could have perhaps done more for them, or saved them somehow.  The slightest mention of our pet brings us to tears again and again.  We are heart-broken.

It’s hard to take in – no more rushing to greet you when you arrive home from work or waking you up in the morning because they need to go out! I would gladly get up at any time now without complaining, if only I could have my dog back.
So how do we get through this painful and heart-breaking time?

My Sweet Penny

We all cope with loss differently, and on seeing my distress and heartbreak when we lost our dog Penny recently, a dear friend of mine made a brilliant and constructive suggestion to me, and I would like to share it here.
My friend suggested that one way that might help is to start a scrapbook of your pet’s life - the aim being to make the book a happy remembrance, not a sad one.  In other words, a celebration of your pet’s life, remembering not with sadness, but with joy – for all the happy times you had together, and the memories you now have to fall back on.  Those memories will be a lifeline for you.

The main thing you are going to need for a Scrapbook of course is photographs of your pet from when he/she first came into your life.  Sorting though the photographs will be very hard at first, as memories will come flooding back of your years together.

Tears will be shed yet again and sometimes the pain might be too much for you to bear.  You may feel like you just can’t do it, but try to persevere – it will get easier as the days go by, and in time, you will be able to look at a photograph of your pet with a smile instead of a tear.
Gradually, you discover that you can actually start to talk about your pet without falling to pieces in a heap of tears as you first did.
It will be good therapy, and it will be well worth it in the end.

Follow these 8 steps to create your Scrapbook.

1. Sort the photographs of your pet into date order; this will help you to chronicle your pet’s          life from the first day you brought him/her home, right on through your years together.
2. Add little stories or comments to the photographs, explaining what the photo is about.
3. Pets make us laugh with their funny little antics, so pick out some humorous pictures of your pet and add a comment – this makes it more personal and meaningful.

4. Tell funny stories about your friends’ pets.

5. Add photos of your pet’s own little animal ‘friends’, with comments about them.

6. Add poems you have found about pets, some funny, some sad.

7. Include pictures of some of your own special friends with your pet and theirs; this will make it very personal indeed, and make it more interesting for anyone looking at your Scrapbook because they will feel involved.

8. Make a Friends Comments section at the end of the book (perhaps two or three pages), so that your friends can leave their own personal comments and thoughts about your pet.

They will feel involved, and it will be good therapy for you to read their comments later.  You will experience warm feelings when you read what other people have to say about your beloved pet – and be prepared to be surprised by some of the comments, because your friends remember things about your pet that you might not know!

Creating a scrapbook will be the best therapy you could have for your grief; not only will it keep you busy and positive, but it will help you to keep your goal in mind . . .  a special and unique book of your beloved pet’s life – one filled with wonderful memories of your years together, to treasure forever - and a book that will give you a chance to share special moments of your pet’s life with family and friends.

My own Scrapbook is now complete – it has done the rounds of family and friends to add their own comments. I can now open it without tears or a heavy heart and see my beautiful Penny, remembering the joy she brought into our lives.

And so, the healing process begins  . . .

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©passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com

Interesting Dog Facts

Let’s Talk About Man’s Best Friend – Dogs

Most people want to know as much as possible about their dog or the
particular breed, so that they can give their pet the best possible care.

Have you been asking questions about your dog which haven’t been
answered – for one reason or another?
You are not on your own – most people have some unanswered questions.
so I thought it would not only be helpful, but also beneficial
to draw up a list of some of the most commonly asked questions (with answers)
so we can be more informed about our furry little friends!

Am I adorable or what!

1. How many bones does a dog have in it’s body?

• A dog has an average of 319 bones in their body.

2. Can dogs get sunburned?

• Yes they can. Light-colored dogs, especially ones with pink skin, are particularly at risk.

3. What is the average lifespan of a small breed dog?

• Anywhere from 12 to 18 years.

4. What is the average lifespan of a large breed dog?

• Anywhere from 7 to 12 years. As a general rule, the larger the breed, the shorter the lifespan.

5. What is the normal temperature of a dog and how does that compare to a human?

• Normal body temperature of a dog is higher than that of a human, and ranges between 100.5 degrees F to 101.5 degrees F. Human temperature is 98.6 degrees F.

6. What is the normal heart rate of a dog and how does that compare to a human heart rate?

• The normal heart rate of a dog is anywhere from 80 to 120 beats per minute (depending on the breed/size of the dog). Most humans have a heart rate of about 60 to 80 beats per minute. A dog’s heart beats twice as fast as a human heart.

7. How many vocal sounds can a dog make and how does that compare to a cat?

• Dogs can only make 10 vocal sounds, compared to a cat which can make about 100 vocal sounds.

8. How old was the oldest living dog?

• The oldest living dog on record was an Australian Cattle dog called Bluey; he lived in Australia and worked among cattle and sheep for nearly twenty years. Bluey lived to the ripe old age of 29.

9. How does a dog’s sense of smell compare to human sense of smell?

• Dogs have over 200 million scent receptors in their nasal folds compared to 5 million in humans. Because of their keen sense of smell, they are used as tracker dogs to sniff out drugs, explosives, food, people (both alive and dead).

10. Of all the dog senses, which one does he trust the least?

• Dogs trust their sense of sight the least.

11. Do dogs see in color?

• Dogs do see in color – but mostly in shades of grey. They cannot distinguish between red, orange, yellow or green. They can see some shades of blue but blues are often seen as shades of grey.

12. How does a dog’s sense of taste compare to humans?

• Humans have six times as many taste buds as dogs. Most of a dog’s taste buds are located only on the tip of the tongue. Dogs can detect sweet, sour, bitter and salty tastes. A dog smells rather than tastes.

13. What percentage of dogs are thought to be overweight?

• USA – 45% of all American household pets
• UK – 59% of all British pets
• AUSTRALIA – 41% of all Australian pets

14. What is the World’s Most Popular Breed of Dog?

• Labrador Retriever

15. What is the World’s Most Smartest Breed of Dog?

• Border Collie (followed closely in second place by the Poodle).

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Did you find the answer you have been looking for?
If not, send in your questions and I will do my best to find an answer for you.

Enjoy your dog – he adores you!

©passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com

I’m Posting Every Week in 2011!

I’ve decided I want to blog more.

A friend of mine has been encouraging me to take up this  challenge for the past 3 weeks now;
she has been a true inspiration to me (thanks R), so rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting now
- and even though it’s almost the end of January  - I promise I will catch up!
I will be posting on this blog once a week for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful.
Therefore I’m promising to make use of TheDailyPost and the community of other bloggers with similar goals,
to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Signed

Barb Taylor

©passionateaboutpets.wordpress.com