I'd forgotten about the blindfold trick. Haven't been around large animals in years.
Have you ever met our shelter cat Joey? She was stepped on by a pot-bellied pig at about 5 weeks old, mostly paralyzing her hindquarters. She's almost 4 years old now, and does just great at the shelter. She can climb the scratching post, get into the window napper, on the desk, and despite having very little use of her back legs, that cat can MOVE! She even caught a hamster that excaped one night.
As for the moose, the whole thing was one lousy situation. Her hindquarters were not terribly useful, but they weren't completely dead, either. Very much like Joey. And also like Joey, that moose could still move quite enough to warrant a healthy dose of caution. Getting very close to her wasn't an option. I couldn't really tell how close the deputy got, as I was in my car up on the road, trying to keep headlights aimed and doing some good. And it was at the very edge of my high-beams limit too. Part of me wonders if we shouldn't have just left her alone. But then again, the real and natural world isn't the safe little world of the shelter where Joey lives. I'm surprised the coyotes didn't get her the first night, but they almost certainly would have the next night, as she was moving up the ridge closer to the treeline.
Yes, I will agree that it would have been much better if the responding deputy had more skills and experience in this matter. But considering that the sheriff's office had been recieving calls on this moose for over 24 hours, I'm just glad somebody finally responded at all!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-07 08:28 pm (UTC)Have you ever met our shelter cat Joey? She was stepped on by a pot-bellied pig at about 5 weeks old, mostly paralyzing her hindquarters. She's almost 4 years old now, and does just great at the shelter. She can climb the scratching post, get into the window napper, on the desk, and despite having very little use of her back legs, that cat can MOVE! She even caught a hamster that excaped one night.
As for the moose, the whole thing was one lousy situation. Her hindquarters were not terribly useful, but they weren't completely dead, either. Very much like Joey. And also like Joey, that moose could still move quite enough to warrant a healthy dose of caution. Getting very close to her wasn't an option. I couldn't really tell how close the deputy got, as I was in my car up on the road, trying to keep headlights aimed and doing some good. And it was at the very edge of my high-beams limit too. Part of me wonders if we shouldn't have just left her alone. But then again, the real and natural world isn't the safe little world of the shelter where Joey lives. I'm surprised the coyotes didn't get her the first night, but they almost certainly would have the next night, as she was moving up the ridge closer to the treeline.
Yes, I will agree that it would have been much better if the responding deputy had more skills and experience in this matter. But considering that the sheriff's office had been recieving calls on this moose for over 24 hours, I'm just glad somebody finally responded at all!