Maine Pets

Conversations with a Friend

The other morning I was reading my emails when I heard Shawn downstairs in the living room talking to Buddie, our African Grey parrot. Just the normal banter of “How you doing Buddie?” which usually elicits a response of a whistle and the happy dance. Then I heard Shawn ask “How did you get out?”

Out???

I holler down to Shawn to check if I heard right. Yep. You will want to bring the camera with you. I grab the camera and head downstairs. When I get downstairs I see the usual kitty suspects, Sebastian, Chloe and B.C. Being creatures of comfort, they had staked out great kitty spots in front of the wood stove. I notice that my beautiful Clivia plant had been taste-tested; apparently it was pretty good because a whole side had been nibbled. Oh, the wood trim must have looked yummy too since there are little pieces of gnawed wood all over the floor. By the looks of it all, Buddie must have been out most of the night. Then I spy Buddie standing on the floor close to Hannah, our ten year old kitty. Buddie takes a few steps closer to Hannah and cocks her head to one side and starts talking – Oh, a perfect picture! Click! The plant and wood trim are soon forgotten.

The Great Escape

There is never a dull moment on the farm.

Recently one Saturday morning, early morning, I was woken up by the phone ringing. What time is it? It¹s still dark. Panic. I answer the phone.

Is this Lora Malloy?
Yes.
This is Gorham Public Safety. Two of your alpacas are loose.
Shawn! Shawn! A couple of the girls are loose!
Shawn jumps out of bed and heads downstairs.
Okay, we¹ll be right there, I tell the woman.
Don¹t you want to know where they are?
Oh yeah (hey, it was still pretty early).

She tells me that they are in the next door neighbor¹s yard. Shawn and I put our coats on over our pajamas; grab a couple of flashlights, halters, leads and some carrots. We make a beeline run to where the critters are last spotted. The sky was clear, the stars were shining, and it was cold. There they are, under the Ginkgo tree. One, two, threeŠthere are eight of them! Six adults and two babies! And they aren¹t ours! Huh?

Shawn observes that the escapee alpacas are not ours, that they are in fact Farmer Tom¹s! Shawn then runs to Farmer Tom¹s house while I keep them entertained in the neighbor¹s yard. Shawn gets to Farmer Tom¹s house, bangs on the door and scares everyone awake. In a flash, Farmers Tom, Deb and Jim are at the scene. Shawn brings more halters, leads and food, a lot more food. We use a long rope to coral them together and halter them up. Some of them gave up peacefully, some gave quite a fight. In the end, everyone made it home safe and sound.