The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
I got some sad news yesterday. And did something stupid today. But before we get to all that, let’s cheer me up with some playground pictures.
Mads for example. It’s been quite cold lately. Yesterday I decided to put on my gloves. And Mads quite liked them.
My mother knitted them for me a couple of years ago.
Not only did Mads like to nibble and chew on them, he also seemed to like the feel of them. He was rubbing his face against them. And loved when I was stroking and scratching him with them.
That last one looks kinda like a knockout in a boxing match, doesn’t it? Today I kept the gloves in my pocket, and he still tried to dig them out.
I love that crazy goat. Even though he’s trying to escape from the Kodak Moment.
And Vanilje. I love little Vanilje. She is still small enough to jump up in my lap and stand on my legs. And she generally likes jumping up. Often I’ll be standing with my back to her, looking at my camera or just doing something else, and then I’ll feel her legs up on me. She’ll jump up and see if she can poke through my pockets or something.
She is a little sweetheart. It’s hard not getting sympathy for her when Magnethe and Mads boss her around. Then I get protective and if I can then I’ll pick her up and hold her and give her some treats.
They keep me sane.
The stupid thing I did today was not going to the appointment with the doc at the clinic. Yes, yes, I know. I’m an idiot. It’s not the end of the world though. I’ll call her on Monday. We can do it over the phone anyway. She asked me last time I was there if I wanted to come see her again or just call her. So calling her is okay. And over the phone I’m sure we’ll agree that I take the double dosage of meds. And everything will be fine.
It has been a rough week. I have slept too much. Which is probably why I feel so tired. Sad and tired and useless.
My mother has gone to Copenhagen to visit relatives. I like being alone. But sometimes it brings negative thoughts too. The feeling of isolation. Plus I have a bad habit of getting suicidal thoughts when I’m all alone. Not because I don’t like being alone in the house, but just because it seems like a “good opportunity”. No chances of intervention, if something goes wrong then I won’t be rushed to the hospital because I am found. It must be easier to kill yourself if there is no one around.
But no no, I promise I won’t do anything like that. Honest. I will survive.
That leaves us just with the sad news. They are from the playground. I will unfortunately be saying goodbye to another animal. Mrs Piggy. Yvonne. She is not doing too well. She is sick. Can barely get on her feet. And I guess at this point she is just too old and sick. The best thing is to let her get peace. She will be slaughtered (god, I still hate that word). They’re trying to upgrade her condition with medication at the moment. They’re hoping they can get her well enough so she’ll be able to walk out on her own. I guess that’s just for practical reasons. She’s a really giant pig, it would be hard to transport her out if she can’t walk. And they can’t just kill her at the playground. So she’s staying for a while yet. I think Pernille said 28 days. Something like that.
She’s lying down most of the time now. Poor girl. I can’t say I am as close to her as I am to the goats. But it’s still very sad. As long as I have been going to the playground she has been there. And I really do think she’s beautiful, even if it’s in a slightly unconventional way. You can maybe get a sense of it from the pictures, but unless you have met her in person then you can’t really tell how huge and impressive she is. And she always had such cute and beautiful piglets.
It’s going to be strange not to have her there anymore. She is sweet. I have gotten to know her better since I started feeding the animals in the weekends. It always impresses me how she can follow my instructions to back away when I’m filling her trough. She’s so impatient and if I don’t start feeding her immediately then she’ll start groaning and chewing at the fence. But when I do come over with her food and ask her to back away then she does it so politely.
It’s not fair that humans live longer than animals. Who came up with that stupid idea? Humans are the most destructive race, figures it’s us who get to overpopulate the world. Imagine if goats overpopulated the world? That would be awesome. We could just keep enough humans around to keep planting plants so the goats didn’t make the Earth a barren wasteland. I wish I could get to design my own world. I’d make it good and I’d make you love it.
But there you go. I think Yvonne has had a pretty good life. Adored, loved and well taken care off. With her own mud hole that she can go out and have a roll in whenever she wants. What more could a pig want?
Heck, I’d be happy to settle for that.
November 11th, 2006 at 1:01
Such sad news to hear on both ends of the spectrum, human and animal. You musn’t miss anymore appointments with the doctor. But at least you were able to have contact with her to increase the dosage. It is important to find the correct combination so that the body can use it to make you feel better. It takes time, but it can be done.
And you are right about Miss Piggy. She’s had a wonderful life that most pigs will never have. I do hope she gets better in those 28 days left. That’s the hazard of loving animals. They don’t tend to live as long as humans, and once they’re gone it takes a long time to not feel sad.
I guess that’s why I envy those who have cats and dogs as pets. I can’t. I lost my little black mixed mutt named Olive years ago and I refuse to have another pet. I’m not that brave of a person. Losing a pet is just something I can’t handle anymore.
November 12th, 2006 at 4:57
Hugs for you, dear Plume!
November 13th, 2006 at 21:45
Luis – I haven’t actually called the doc yet. Well, I did today but she wasn’t there. So I’ll have to do it tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll all be okay.
I hope the best for Miss Piggy too. Sometimes I get these flashes/nightmares of Mads dying. I know he’s not going to live as long as I will. And it scares me. I don’t know how I’m going to survive that. It’s hard enough with the animals that I’m less close to. But I will focus on enjoying the time we have.
Milla – Milla! Hugs for you too!
November 14th, 2006 at 5:42
Sorry to hear about Miss Piggy. She looks like she has had a very happy life, probably better than most pigs. We’ll miss seeing pictures of her.
Your gloves look to be a similar color to Mads. Did your Mom use goat hair yarn? Maybe that’s why Mads likes them so much! Reminds him of a little girl goat he once knew.
November 14th, 2006 at 21:31
Deb – I will miss taking pictures of her.
Hmm, I don’t think the gloves are made of goat hair. Although that would explain a lot yes. Sometimes I wonder if he sees me as a goat. Maybe if I knitted myself a goat costume hehe.