Innehållsförteckning för March/April 2020 från All Creatures

ON JANUARY 26, 2019, tragedy struck our family. My husband and I were out of town. A friend was taking care of our 15 rescued cats at our second home. Our friend wasn’t in the house when an electrical fire started. The place was destroyed, and 12 of our fur babies perished. I was heartbroken. Every one of them—Buddy, Tag, Tigger, Little Bit, Nubs, Lovie, Hitchhiker, Smoke, Friendly, Guy, Joey and Blue—had a story. Some were rescued from the county shelter, others were found on the street. A few were feral cats that had come to trust us over time. Each of them was precious, with their own unique personality. We’ve had many pets cross the Rainbow Bridge over the years, and I bought garden flags printed with their photos…

EDWINA PERKINS Orlando, Florida THE SOUND of whimpering woke me in the middle of the night. It was our 11-month-old bichon-poodle puppy, Beethoven. He sniffed at our closed bedroom door. He had never done that before. You already went outside, I thought. What could it be now—an upset tummy? I rose to take him downstairs for another bathroom break, when I heard a noise in the hallway. I opened the door. My mother-in-law, Stevie, stood there, looking confused. Mom had moved in with us a couple of days earlier, and the house was still new to her. She was totally healthy except for her memory—she had dementia. We had planned to move her into a care facility in her hometown of Seattle, but she refused to go. “I think God…

JENNA HAD SPEECH DIFFICULTIES even before she started school. By sixth grade she had completely lost her self-confidence in the classroom. She felt shy when the teacher called on her, and presentations were torture. Her grades suffered. When she came home in tears one day, I didn’t know how to console her. I feel helpless, Lord. Could you lend a hand? Not long after, Jenna came home happier than I’d seen her all year. “Our class got a pet hedgehog named Shadow,” she announced. “But we all have to work extra hard to keep him.” Jenna studied harder than ever, her grades came up, and she progressed in speech therapy. School became something to look forward to again. Shadow had been some confidence booster! The last week of school, Jenna…

Seven years ago Shelby Madere heard about a four-month-old potbellied pig who needed to be rehomed. Shelby knew she could care for him at her Southern California home, even with two rescue dogs. “The dogs were curious about Chowder,” she says, “and I worked hard to help them not only coexist but also become family.” Three more rescue dogs joined the family, and Chowder and his five canine siblings have grown up together. “We relocated to south Texas so I could give them a country life with room to run,” Shelby says. The bonded pack takes full advantage of the open land, playing together and posing for pictures. Their favorite activity is walking the property alongside Shelby. “It brings me so much joy to see them happy together.”…

NATIONAL PUPPY DAY MARCH 23 Do you know what it takes to foster puppies and kittens? Check out a day in the life of the Ilcken family (page 32). WORLD RAT DAY APRIL 4 Find out how Abby Chesnut’s therapy rats help people in schools, nursing homes and other places reduce stress and increase confidence (page 44). NATIONAL ADOPT FROM A SHELTER DAY APRIL 30 Thinking of adopting a small pet? Peggy Frezon has all the information you need about guinea pigs, rabbits, birds and more (page 46).…

“MOM, CAN YOU HELP ME?” my 10-year-old son, Nathan, asked, shoving part of a Lego figurine in my face. “There’s a wasp stuck in my Spider-Man’s head.” Sure enough, a wasp’s hind end was sticking out of the Lego piece. “I don’t know how to get him out without getting stung,” I said. “Because when he does get out, he’s going to be mad.” “Mad at who? He went in there all by himself,” Nathan said. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll still be mad.” We decided to go outside and shake the Lego hard to dislodge the wasp. “If you see him fly out, run back into the house,” I told Nathan. I held the piece away from my body and shook it. Nothing happened. “Maybe we can throw it into…

out to pasture MY HORSE, REBEL, looked like a smaller version of the Belgian breed. He was handsome, sweet and coolheaded, and closing in on 35 years. He had just returned to the boarding facility from a two-week stay at a veterinary hospital after a severe case of choke (blocked esophagus). Rebel had healed well, but then he came down with acute laminitis, which inflames a horse’s feet and makes it painfully difficult to stand or walk. It was my day to care for the seven horses at the boarding facility. I had fed them all and taken them to their respective pastures when I noticed Rebel walking in circles in his stall, sweating profusely. He had an urgency to get out, so I led him from the barn toward…

FUN FACTS: Camels blow into each other’s faces to say hello. Mothers and their young hum to one another. Camels can go for weeks without water, thanks to their oval-shaped red blood cells, which are more elastic and allow blood to flow easily when water is scarce. Three sets of eyelids and two rows of eyelashes, and an ability to completely close their nostrils at will, help camels withstand desert sandstorms. Send Us Your Camel: Remove the back cover and mail your finished coloring to All Creatures, 110 William Street, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038.…

WILD RUMPUS BOOKS Minneapolis, Minnesota Eartha Kitt Though usually a spunky cat, Eartha, who joined the Wild Rumpus family in March 2019, sometimes falls asleep next to books. Newbery Newbery the chinchilla enjoys running on his wheel and is a champion snuggler. Neil and Iggy Talk about a welcome committee! Beloved by visitors, Neil (top) has even laid eggs in the store. Atticus Books With a Past Glenwood, Maryland This kitty is known to nap throughout the shop, where he has his own shelf of book recommendations. Opie, Marlee and Sparky with Ann Parnassus Books Nashville, Tennessee Novelist and co-owner Ann Patchett sits with three of her four-legged associates. Her dog, Sparky (far right), will always accept belly rubs. Sophie John K. King Used & Rare Books Detroit, Michigan Owner…

With his long shaggy hair, graying beard and muscle T-shirt, Mike Stura looks like a biker or a truck driver. Yes, he rides a motorcycle and drove trucks for years. But he’s also a vegan who runs an animal sanctuary and calls a cow, Jimmy, his best friend. His passion for saving animals takes him down new roads—and he’s not looking back. Did you grow up with animals? I grew up in the little town of Pomp-ton Lakes, New Jersey. We had a bunch of dogs and other pets too, but we didn’t have farm animals. I’ve always loved being around animals, although I didn’t make them my job until later in life. I was a car mechanic and then spent 27 years as a truck driver. When did you…

It’s feeding time on the farm. Our two camels, Sybil and Nadia, trot over to their individual feed buckets when they see me coming. “Hello, pretty girls,” I say, reaching up to pet their necks. Sybil nuzzles me; she loves being close. “Steady,” I tell her, which prompts her to stay. I hook each girl up to a lead rope to keep them in place until they finish eating. Then I set them free and they mosey off into the pasture. I marvel at how docile and obedient they are. Caring for these two camels has been an unexpected joy for me. Feeding, bathing (can you imagine giving a 1,000-pound camel a bath?) and grooming them—it’s given us time to bond. We’ve learned a lot about one another over the…

OUR HOUSE IS ON a large plot of land surrounded by tall pine trees. It’s beautiful, but it comes at a price. The needles carpet everything, and pinecones fall more often than rain. It’s a big problem for our rain gutters, which become clogged quickly. My husband, Butch, and I are uncomfortable climbing a ladder, so we used to hire a handyman, Dennis, to clean out the gutters several times a year. He always did a great job. When he retired we were at a loss. “Where are we going to find someone like Dennis?” Butch asked. “Maybe we should pray on it?” I suggested. Days later, I glanced out the window just as a shower of pinecones came tumbling down. I thought nothing of it. Butch and I drove…