Family Sly capture attempt, take one
Today we had our first try in catching Sly, Sylvia and Caine.
We met, Dr. Caldwell doctored the food, and I put it out. We were trying to catch Sly first because he eats first, so we only put out enough for him. Then we settled across the road at the gas station to watch through binoculars. Finally the dogs showed up and Sly ate. Then we watched some more, but it didn't make him go to sleep, it just made him lie down and he was apparently groggy. Sylvia and Caine stayed near Sly most of the time, and Sly would lie there but his head was up so we knew he wasn't asleep, and every so often he would sit up or get up...and then lie back down. It was obvious that it had some effect on him, but not enough to put him under.
Finally Dr. Caldwell tried to sneak up on him with a loop/snare-type thing and he was SO close...so close that it looked like he got him from where we were, but he missed him...Sly jumped up and barked and ran away. :(
We all went over and tried to find him, but I saw him cross to the upper triangle so we were afraid he'd crossed to the rec center area. We went over there and looked and couldn't find him. Sylvia and Caine eventually showed back up, so I went and put out their regular food, and we drove around again to see if Sly came out but we didn't see him. We did this several times, and I finally stopped and put out some more food because I didn't want Sly to come back and not find any wet food. It's bad enough that he saw me with the people trying to catch him, I didn't want him to think that I didn't leave him any food either. :(
ETA: As I have said below...I wasn't clear in my post...he definitely saw me. It was just him and me for a brief moment, after he got away from Dr. Caldwell. I walked toward the point, and there he was, so I spoke to him, and he stopped, looked at me, listened to what I said, and then barked and crossed the ramp to the second grassy triangle. I'm just hoping he won't remember.
We're going to try again (not sure when yet, it's up to the doc), Dr. Caldwell said that the first time was more of a tryout to see how things would go, and apparently he didn't put a big enough dose of the medicine to make him go to sleep in the food. He thinks Sly might be part mastiff, and is heavier than we had thought. So he's going to let us know when we can try again. The good thing about all this is that now Dr. Caldwell has gotten a good look at all three of them, and a very close look at Sly, so he'll be better able to judge how much medicine it will take to knock them out. But he was sure that Sly would be ok with what he had eaten since he was able to get up and run around...he said Sly would probably sleep well for the rest of the day but would be all right.
The bad thing is that we didn't catch them, and Sly may be mad at me now. :(
This morning before we left, Jari and Scott came over and we - well, Jari mostly - got the pen out of the bigger pen, and got it set up in the new location. We didn't have time to do the catchpen, and we need to make sure that any holes near the bottom are blocked, but it's up. She brought me two doghouses, and I scrubbed them and got them set up in the new area.
Jari rode with me on the way home, so I got to see the 2.0 SlyPuppies. They are growing and adorable!!! Vinny also let me pet him, and Mariah gave me kisses, so I was able to tell Kalija and Princess Patty that I saw their mama, their daddy, their sister and two of their brothers today. :)
When I got home, I fed my gang and then worked on the puppies' pen some more. I had to dig tent stakes out where I'd used them on the first pen. We had moved their houses, food, and tarp over under the trees, so I put some cedar shavings over there to make it feel more like home. I moved the rope lights, too...I was able to pull the end into the pen and tie it to a branch of the cedar tree, which gives a little more light in the pen. Then I moved their lamp to try to shine it where we'd moved their houses. This is more complicated than it sounds because the lamp has to be where they can't play with it, and the cord definitely has to be out of their reach. Finally got all that done, came inside...and saw Kalija lying in the cedar shavings where their houses used to be. *headdesk* So I went back out, moved the lamp, went in the pen and moved their houses back where they had been. The puppies seemed happy with that, and it's not supposed to rain for a few days, so I'll get something done about the tarp as soon as I can. I left their big bowl of food under the tarp but put their little bowls back where they had been, too. And now my babies are all cuddled up under their lamp, Princess Patty with her head hanging out of one of the houses and Kalija cuddled up next to her head. :)
If all this sounds tiring, it was. My back hurts, my leg is still giving me lots of trouble (it's back-connected, there's nothing actually with the leg itself, just where it joins the hip), my foot is completely numb, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to walk tomorrow. I haven't eaten all day, and I still have to take a shower and wash my hair. After that, I'm going to use the massager and see if that helps some. Right now I'm going to take a pain pill.
Oh, and Polar's mom sent us some new pictures of him today, I'll try to get those posted soon!
ETA: Just so I'll have it for my record-keeping, today it was: Dr. Caldwell, Jari and Scott, Robin and John (Robin's husband), and me trying the Family Sly capture. What wonderful people to spend a long, frustrating, emotionally draining day with.
We met, Dr. Caldwell doctored the food, and I put it out. We were trying to catch Sly first because he eats first, so we only put out enough for him. Then we settled across the road at the gas station to watch through binoculars. Finally the dogs showed up and Sly ate. Then we watched some more, but it didn't make him go to sleep, it just made him lie down and he was apparently groggy. Sylvia and Caine stayed near Sly most of the time, and Sly would lie there but his head was up so we knew he wasn't asleep, and every so often he would sit up or get up...and then lie back down. It was obvious that it had some effect on him, but not enough to put him under.
Finally Dr. Caldwell tried to sneak up on him with a loop/snare-type thing and he was SO close...so close that it looked like he got him from where we were, but he missed him...Sly jumped up and barked and ran away. :(
We all went over and tried to find him, but I saw him cross to the upper triangle so we were afraid he'd crossed to the rec center area. We went over there and looked and couldn't find him. Sylvia and Caine eventually showed back up, so I went and put out their regular food, and we drove around again to see if Sly came out but we didn't see him. We did this several times, and I finally stopped and put out some more food because I didn't want Sly to come back and not find any wet food. It's bad enough that he saw me with the people trying to catch him, I didn't want him to think that I didn't leave him any food either. :(
ETA: As I have said below...I wasn't clear in my post...he definitely saw me. It was just him and me for a brief moment, after he got away from Dr. Caldwell. I walked toward the point, and there he was, so I spoke to him, and he stopped, looked at me, listened to what I said, and then barked and crossed the ramp to the second grassy triangle. I'm just hoping he won't remember.
We're going to try again (not sure when yet, it's up to the doc), Dr. Caldwell said that the first time was more of a tryout to see how things would go, and apparently he didn't put a big enough dose of the medicine to make him go to sleep in the food. He thinks Sly might be part mastiff, and is heavier than we had thought. So he's going to let us know when we can try again. The good thing about all this is that now Dr. Caldwell has gotten a good look at all three of them, and a very close look at Sly, so he'll be better able to judge how much medicine it will take to knock them out. But he was sure that Sly would be ok with what he had eaten since he was able to get up and run around...he said Sly would probably sleep well for the rest of the day but would be all right.
The bad thing is that we didn't catch them, and Sly may be mad at me now. :(
This morning before we left, Jari and Scott came over and we - well, Jari mostly - got the pen out of the bigger pen, and got it set up in the new location. We didn't have time to do the catchpen, and we need to make sure that any holes near the bottom are blocked, but it's up. She brought me two doghouses, and I scrubbed them and got them set up in the new area.
Jari rode with me on the way home, so I got to see the 2.0 SlyPuppies. They are growing and adorable!!! Vinny also let me pet him, and Mariah gave me kisses, so I was able to tell Kalija and Princess Patty that I saw their mama, their daddy, their sister and two of their brothers today. :)
When I got home, I fed my gang and then worked on the puppies' pen some more. I had to dig tent stakes out where I'd used them on the first pen. We had moved their houses, food, and tarp over under the trees, so I put some cedar shavings over there to make it feel more like home. I moved the rope lights, too...I was able to pull the end into the pen and tie it to a branch of the cedar tree, which gives a little more light in the pen. Then I moved their lamp to try to shine it where we'd moved their houses. This is more complicated than it sounds because the lamp has to be where they can't play with it, and the cord definitely has to be out of their reach. Finally got all that done, came inside...and saw Kalija lying in the cedar shavings where their houses used to be. *headdesk* So I went back out, moved the lamp, went in the pen and moved their houses back where they had been. The puppies seemed happy with that, and it's not supposed to rain for a few days, so I'll get something done about the tarp as soon as I can. I left their big bowl of food under the tarp but put their little bowls back where they had been, too. And now my babies are all cuddled up under their lamp, Princess Patty with her head hanging out of one of the houses and Kalija cuddled up next to her head. :)
If all this sounds tiring, it was. My back hurts, my leg is still giving me lots of trouble (it's back-connected, there's nothing actually with the leg itself, just where it joins the hip), my foot is completely numb, and I'm wondering if I'll be able to walk tomorrow. I haven't eaten all day, and I still have to take a shower and wash my hair. After that, I'm going to use the massager and see if that helps some. Right now I'm going to take a pain pill.
Oh, and Polar's mom sent us some new pictures of him today, I'll try to get those posted soon!
ETA: Just so I'll have it for my record-keeping, today it was: Dr. Caldwell, Jari and Scott, Robin and John (Robin's husband), and me trying the Family Sly capture. What wonderful people to spend a long, frustrating, emotionally draining day with.