All Creatures March/April 2021

DON’T GET ME WRONG, winter has its moments. The deer quietly leaving prints in the snow blanketing my yard, icicles like crystals hanging from the roof gutters, birds of all kinds flocking to a neighbor’s feeder. Nature, frozen and glistening, hides flower bulbs waiting to burst. My beagle-basset mix, Charlie, waits too. Perched atop my couch cushions, he alternates between snoring and watching us move about the house. He’s had plenty of romps in the snow, but at eight years old, he prefers to keep his paws dry. He’s holding out for milder weather. Come March, there may still be a nip in the air, but the ground thaws and we see signs of a new season. Charlie’s ears perk up at the sounds of kids riding their bikes again.…

A piglet was found on the side of the road in North Caro lina, bruised and scared after falling off the back of a slaughterhouse truck. Little Marley was taken to Sisu Refuge, but they were at full capacity. Luckily, their friend Jason Bolalek, of Destination Liberation, was driving a two-week-old bull calf from a Vermont dairy to Critter Creek Farm Sanctuary in Gainesville, Florida. Eli was given up because he can’t produce milk. Jason agreed to pick up Marley along the way. The piglet had a calming effect on the nervous calf. By the end of the long drive, they’d totally bonded. Now Marley and Eli will spend the rest of their days together in the sun. There are plenty of other cows and pigs at the sanctuary, but…

Full “House” The Oliver family’s RV may be tiny, but it houses a large crew! There’s Ryan, an Army veteran turned photographer, and Rachel, a former teacher who now homeschools their sons, Maddox and Tate. Plus, there are their four animals: Murphy the bernedoodle, Lanie the Jack Russell, Maddie the dachshund and Ozzie the Amazon parrot. “There’s no need for screen overload. We read a lot, and the kids ride bikes and fish,” says Ryan, who sought a simpler, less stressful life for his family in 2019. The pets have also adjusted well to full-time RV life—especially Ozzie, who can be found napping on the pot rack hanging over the kitchen sink when he’s not re fusing to come down from a tree. “We’re so much happier,” Ryan says. “Animals…

The Duckling Drop IN APRIL 2018 a mallard built a nest on the second-floor balcony of Nathaniel Peters’s Seattle apartment building. “It’s a good, safe place to build a nest,” he says. Then the ducklings hatched and the mother was unable to get her babies to water. So Nathaniel and several friends rigged a plastic bin with ropes and herded the ducklings into it. As the mother waited on the street below, they carefully lowered the bin. The nearest water in their Ballard neighborhood was 10 blocks away. Nathaniel and his crew decided to escort the mallard family there. “We formed a ring around them, but the mother was the one leading the way. It was one of the best days of my life.” Nathaniel has spearheaded what is now…

Q My dog eats a lot of grass, and I think it’s strange. Why does he do this, and is it harmful? —Jaylin Rumph, Danbury, Connecticut A This is a question veterinarians are frequently asked, but not one to which there is a simple answer. Grass or plant eating is a common behavior seen in dogs. In a small study published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science in May 2008, 79 percent of dog owners reported that their dogs ate grass or other plant material. Popular theories as to why dogs do this include boredom, dietary deficiency and to induce vomiting when they have an upset stomach. The idea that a nutritional deficiency causes dogs to seek grass is not scientifically valid. Nevertheless, there have been anecdotal reports in…

NATIONAL PUPPY DAY MARCH 23 “I’m too old for a puppy,” writer Lou Dean insisted. But Dell proved her wrong (page 22). EASTER APRIL 4 Isabel Wolseley Torrey’s chicken, Henney Penney, gave her Sunday school class an Easter they would never forget (page 26). EARTH DAY APRIL 22 What are some small changes you can make that help the earth and, in turn, all its creatures? Find out on page 46.…