Raising a coyote pup

Last spring I bottle fed a group of what I thought might be puppies that Animal control picked up from an old woman who said her grandchildren had found them outside in a stump.

Never in my life had I seen "puppies" that looked like they did. They were reddish brown and had very long necks for dogs. They were less than four days old...their umbilical cords were barely dry. I had my doubts about what they were, but I set about warming them, getting them to eat and helping them to eliminate. Puppy formula (esbilac) didn't work. I ended up raising them on Goat's Milk and despite my efforts, four died and only one little girl survived.

I quickly fell in love with her being the only survivor. Should I keep her? That is a question I ask myself (and everyone else) each and every time I bring a foster pet into my home. If I kept all of them, I'd end up on the news as one of those crazy cat ladies with just as many dogs.

When she was big enough, I decided that she was probably a coyote and wouldn't it be fun to pair her up with a cute little kitten. You've seen the videos and pictures of all kinds of animals with a kitten curled up on their side. That wasn't to be the case with this little beauty. She quickly established that kittens were best for dinner.

What was I going to do with her then? Now was she imprinted on humans and would never survive in the wild? I had a problem. Luckily, our Director at the shelter had a friend in northern Iowa that had raised many coyote pups and she agreed to take her. I sent her off to live her life and have worried about her every day since. I hate to be one of those pesky people that calls a hundred times to see how things are going. Thankfully, the lady sent an update when Zuba (the name she gave to the pup) was about four months old. She had been released and was doing quite well.

I hadn't heard anything since until late last week I received the picuture of her all grown up. It caught my breath to see such a beautiful creature! I am amazed that she survived and looks so good.

Introduction

My name is Cindy and I'm from Iowa. Well, actually I was born in Omaha Nebraska but moved from there when I was 4, so the only place I've ever called home is wonderful Iowa. I 'grew up' in Carroll and then journeyed out of my element to the big city of Des Moines. From there I tried Marshalltown, which may be lovely to some, but I didn't flourish there. Back to Des Moines, and finally settling in the little town of Melcher-Dallas to raise my children and see what I could contribute to my section of the world.

I am 40. A year and a half ago I had bariatric surgery. "Roux en Y" done laproscopically. I've lost around 120 lbs. I wonder how I've made it this far. In a flash it has all gone by and I've come to know many things.

I have three children who are the most amazing people on the planet. Each is different in their own way and surely it's not because of me. Despite me, maybe. At any rate...I feel confident in saying that they are truly great people who will do wonderful things.

I am single. Divorced, widowed...does it really matter what has happened in the past? Most certainly not. It does shapes who I am. Will the past repeat itself? I try hard not to let it. Moving forward.

I found the job of my dreams. I work for an animal shelter currently as the shelter personnel supervisor. I've been a care tech, a health tech, a supervisor of medical, the 'front desk, and caretechs and now Soon to be animal control person. My boss says I have ADD. Finally!! Someone has a diagnosis for why I am never satisfied for more than a couple of years. Onward and upward. Before I would skip from job to job and really enjoy those experiences but would soon tire of the same routine day after day. Here I have been able to switch jobs within a job and never tire of it. I want to make the lives of animals better. I took this job because people used to really annoy me and I didn't want to deal with them. Anymore I've discovered that people are everywhere (amazingly enough) and they aren't all really so bad. We're all ignorant of something and we all have something to contribute to the next person's experience along the road of life. The shelter has been a wonderful place for me and I wish to tell everyone in the world that they should adopt their next pet from a shelter.