Cruel and inhumane treatment; law must change

Wednesday, June 29, 2011, as I sat under the gazebo watching my son practice his routine on the trampoline, a young buck, probably not more than a year old,  came wandering down the driveway nibbling at the tall grass as he came closer. He stopped for a few minutes to observe the activity as if amazed by the sight before him.

Young Buck

This young buck is standing just 10 feet from where he will die, 2 days later.

He was an enchanting creature with velvety antlers  that seemed to  enjoy the sound of my voice, as I spoke to him in soothing tones.   This was not his first visit, his mother brought him by when he was just a wee fawn. I can still remember their last visit together. It was a touching moment and I didn’t understand what was happening at the time.

One  afternoon,  around 4 p.m.,  I sat alone on the deck, as if entranced, while four older fawns haltingly approached our yard. They were nosing around in the grass and eating bird seed, of all things. They played around a little and moved along. As the fawns were leaving, 4 mothers followed not far behind, they were chatting each other up and sparring a little, all while keeping a watchful eye on the fawns.

That was the last time they visited as a large group. It was as if the mothers were showing them the rounds, so they could care for themselves once they were out on their own. Sure enough, a few days later, a couple of fawns wandered through the yard and my lovely young buck would make the rounds every 2 or 3 days.

Velvet AntlersYesterday, the graceful buck was struck broadside by a passing motorist on the road, fracturing his left front shoulder and rear leg. My son and I were out for a walk, when he noticed the deer down a steep incline, on the side of the mountain overlooking our house. Under a great deal of brush –  he wasn’t moving.

He went to get his father (Shawn)  and I walked to the fireman’s house next door. I figured if anyone knew what to do, he would. He came down later to see what was wrong, but wasn’t able to help and left.

Shawn found the deer, amazingly enough, behind our house. It was obvious his leg and shoulder were broken, he was bleeding from his mouth and in undeniable distress. Shawn described him as  though he were a trout flopping around the boat, gasping for air.  Another neighbor, a former police officer from San Leandro, advised us to call animal control; so we did.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the case may be, I had the number handy. My cat disappeared only Wednesday evening and I had called to report her absence the day before. It was after hours at animal control. The recorded message told us to call the Sheriff’s dispatch, which  I did.

California Department of Fish and Game

Dispatch informed us their officers were busy (4th of July weekend traffic stops), but  she would send someone out as soon as possible. Two hours and 30 minutes  later I called back and was apprised that an officer was in route and should arrive momentarily. Over 3 hours had passed from the time we discovered the deer until the Sheriff actually put  him down.

While I waited, I tried to comfort the suffering buck. I spoke to him as I always have, trying to help calm him. I sang to him, prayed for him and cried for him while we waited.

I mentioned yesterday,  in  Ohio Modern Day Heroes that I used to have a farm, we would kill and butcher most of the animals ourselves. Our animals led a happy life, with good healthy food, music, freedom to wander, kids to play with (if they wanted to) and when it was time to put them down, we did everything in our power to do the deed as quickly and painlessly as possible. We loved our animals. They brought us great joy and happiness: they were giving their lives for us and we respected them for that. That is the natural way of life. But it broke my heart to stand and watch this magnificent creature die a slow and agonizing death, while I could do little more than stand helplessly by and watch.

The Sheriff informed us of what he was going to do – he had to put the deer out of its misery, which all agreed was for the best, and he informed us that it was a holiday weekend; he could shoot the deer but he was going to leave it IN OUR YARD. (If you have never smelled a rotting carcass, consider yourself blessed beyond measure.) We were fine with that. I’ve always believed in using every part of an animal and not to waste anything. My son even  taught himself how to tan hides, a long and complicated process.

We were also informed by the Sheriff that he couldn’t give us permission to keep it. I’m not exactly sure  what  he thought we were going to do with it. I knew one thing for sure, he did not  give his life for nothing. We covered him in a sheet, moved him to another location and  started watching video’s on how to dress out a deer. Neither of us had ever cleaned a deer but we  didn’t have much choice did we?  After all, it was 9:00 p.m., the deer had been shot, IN OUR YARD and left to decay.

My patient husband spent the next five hours cleaning the buck and preparing it for  processing. We called Dee’s Meats in Galt,  after hearing our story, the woman  from Dee’s told us to bring it in, they were open until noon. Perfect! We cleaned up and finally made it to bed around  2:00 a.m.; we were all back up at  8:30 a.m.,  with just enough time to load up the SUV and  make the long drive to Galt.  We arrived just in time — we thought —  as we  pulled into the parking lot at  11:50 a.m., only to be told they  could be closed down for processing our  deer  because we needed a tag from the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG).

I was really getting worried now, the temperature in Galt was a sticky 102 °F, or more. Working as quickly as possible Shawn and I both began dialing our cell phones, trying to talk to someone — anyone — at the Department of Fish and Game, to no avail. It was Saturday afternoon on a busy holiday weekend. There were police everywhere, but we couldn’t reach one single human being at the DFG. How could that be? Aren’t they supposed to be on duty, especially when people  head to the mountains, streams, lakes and rivers  in droves?

English: A white-tailed deer

Finally, we were given directions to  the house of a DFG  employee, who lived nearby. As luck (or not) would have it, he was home. The first thing he did was inform Shawn that he could charge him with taking a deer illegally, and that transporting it was yet another broken law. What? You’ve got to be kidding me! What kind of place is this? Who could be so cruel as to threaten to charge a man who had gone to such efforts; missing out on hours of work and sleep, to ensure that this deer was honored in his death.

I don’t blame this young DFG  employee. He was just doing his job, right? He was nice enough but just as quickly informed my husband that he couldn’t let us keep the deer. He continued that if a motorist hits a deer, he’s not allowed to keep it. They take that deer and donate it to the zoo or an animal refuge, like PAWS. Now, don’t misunderstand me, I love animals but this was our deer. He came here to our house to die or for comfort. He was shot here (by the Sheriff) and left IN OUR YARD. We didn’t keep the antlers because I couldn’t stand to look at them, knowing where they came from and their owner was dead but the meat would have provided for our family many nourishing meals. Aren’t people supposed to eat, too?

Why was no one available to help when this animal was suffering? We would have put the deer down ourselves, to keep him from suffering but we knew we would go to jail or at the very least be fined. We tried to do the right thing, but someone wasn’t on the job. This should not have happened and I don’t ever want to experience anything of this nature again. It’s  far too painful and completely unnecessary. I don’t want to live where people pay lip service about caring for animals and yet, a  living breathing animal is allowed to suffer for hours and die a painful death.

These asinine  laws must change. I can’t even claim that California cares more about its animals than it does people. It’s apparent that only caged animals deserve dignity, respect and care. I hate seeing animals in cages, it’s just plain cruel and any law that allows any animal to lie in pain is wrong. Please write your legislators and share my story if you care about the deer,  mountain lions, bears, cougars, etc…

Gee, I’m happy that the zoo animals will eat tonight but what about my family? Who will feed us? My husband works all night every Friday night, he took five hours out of his schedule and instead of sleeping, he cleaned a deer that was LEFT IN OUR YARD. We spent $60 in gas to drive to Galt to have the deer processed. That, California, is food that came out of my son’s mouth. Do we have to leave California to be treated fairly?

Update: It’s come to our attention that there’s a local organization, Rose Wolf Wildlife, that may have been able to assist us immediately with helping out this poor young buck. The next time this happens (and we’re sure it will), we’ll definitely give them a call.

 

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Ohio Modern Day Heroes!

Pro-Life marchers heading to the Supreme Court.

Pro-Life marchers heading to the Supreme Court

After the many years I spent picketing, rallying and rescuing Ohio infants at the Center for Choice II, in Toledo, Ohio, I never dreamed I would live to see the day that the children might some day be saved  from certain death. If you haven’t heard the news, let me be the first to share a much cherished moment.

The headline reads: “Ohio House approves abortion ban after heartbeat,” when Reuters announced that the Ohio House of Representatives had voted to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can be as early as six weeks.

Reuters — Columbus, Ohio reported…

By Jo Ingles
Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:56pm EDT

COLUMBUS (Reuters) – The Ohio House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can be as early as six weeks.

The House voted 54 to 43 for the ban, along party lines, with most Republicans voting in favor.

If enacted, the law would be a challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling which upheld a woman’s right to an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb, usually at 22-24 weeks.

Republican Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder said he knows this bill will face a court challenge.

“We’re writing bills for courts,” he said.

The bill now goes to the Republican-dominated Ohio Senate.

The Ohio House also passed two other abortion restrictions Tuesday, one that would ban late-term abortions after 20 weeks if a doctor determines that the fetus is viable outside the womb. Another bill excludes abortion coverage from the state insurance exchange created by the federal health care law.

The late-term ban already was passed by the Ohio Senate.

Neither bill was as contentious as the heartbeat legislation, which does not contain exceptions for rape, incest or the life or health of the mother. [continue reading…]

Here I am living on the “Left Coast,” with these screwy laws and values, while the victory is being won in – of all places – The State of Ohio. We used to own a small family farm back in Curtice, Ohio. My daughter and I cared for over 300 French Angora Rabbits, they started out as a 4-H project but turned into much more. We used to raise our own pigs, chickens, ducks, turkeys and so many more, we had a goat once that was simply a riot.

We had those old metal rocking chairs sitting outside by the back door. It was common for us to go out and butcher 10 or  20-chickens and  invite friends over for a BBQ. We’d sit outside, the guys might play some touch football, the kids would play on the swing. As I sat in the chair the goat would come over and nuzzled  my hand trying to get me to pet him. He was a little Nubian goat and smart as  a whip. He would jump up in the chair next to mine and circle round and round, just as if he were trying to cop a squat (sit in the chair, with his legs over the edge)   to copy me. He was so cute.

Many members of our church, New Life Assembly of God, in Oregon, Ohio would picket, sidewalk councel and rescue (with Operation Rescue) unborn children  with peaceful demonstrations. Once we used kryptonite  bicycle locks and locks and chains to close the place down, until the police came. The leaders arranged  a truce, we unlocked our chains and went peacefully to jail. We were allowed to return to the rally after being booked, so long as we promised not to chain up again. We help up our end of the bargain.

A few weeks later the Center for Choice II sued the group collectively for $14 million in a RICO  suit, which the protestors won after a lengthy two-year battle. What a sweet victory it was. The people of Ohio are hardworking, honest folks who understand just how precious life is. God doesn’t make mistakes.

Last night I watched as a deer, who had been hit by a car near our house, suffered and died in agony for 2-hours waiting for the Sheriff to come and shoot it. Just two-days prior I had watch this magnificent young buck as he grazed  in our yard. I took pictures, which I will share in my next article. He struggled for hours trying to stand as he was pinned under some dead bushes in our yard. His front shoulder was fractured, he was frightened and bleeding from his mouth. I cried as I waited, unable to come to terms with his inevitable death. My heart is still broken.

Our business is here in California, we have friends here and have met some terrific people but this state has broken my heart. The laws here in California  are cruel and unfair. From where I am sitting, all I see are liberals who can’t seem to see past today. People who don’t understand business and the way economics work, should not be allowed to effect change that will be detrimental to ones own future well-being.

Tonight, I am celebrating along with the unborn children of Ohio. Bless their souls. I can’t count how many nights I’ve spent in prayer for the infants of this country. This is an answer to many prayers. Who knows, at the rate California children are slaughtered (believe me it is slaughter) Ohio may grow to become the most populated state in the country. Think about it.

I miss you Ohio! I may live in California but my heart remains with you.

According to a July 2, 2011 NPR article…

Statistics compiled by NARAL Pro-Choice America show that 29 governors – including Kansan Sam Brownback – now oppose abortion, up from 21 before the 2010 elections.

And 19 states have House and Senate memberships that are “solidly” opposed to abortion, up from 16 last year. Eight states have what NARAL characterizes as “solidly pro-choice” legislatures, down from 10. [continue reading…]

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The Untold Story

The Untold Story of Gun Confiscation After Katrina

The Untold Story of Gun Confiscation After Katrina

Video and testimonials on the travesty that occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when police and law enforcement confiscated lawfully-owned firearms–at precisely the time citizens needed them most for self-defense!


If this story doesn’t burn your biscuits, I don’t know what will. How is it that our government always ends up protecting criminals, instead of law-abiding citizens? This is a pattern that must be broken. After you have viewed this video, please pass it along to a friend and write your elected officials and tell them how outraged you are by this unlawful behavior.