A Day at Pueo Ranch
Bobcats, Cookies, and the Arroyo
I wake up at around 7 this morning in my casita, a little house a few hundred feet from my sister and brother-in-law’s “big” house here in Arrroyo Seco, New Mexico, altitude 7,634 feet. Kathleen calls to ask if my little guy is with me. She is referring to Zorro, my chihuahua mix, and I say yes he is. She asks because she and Jim have just spotted a bobcat ambling away from our digs. Damn. I let Zorro out for his morning constitutional but keep him close. He smells it immediately — never seen his hackles so high. He goes back into the casita for his second sleep while I drink my coffee on the porch.
When I return I do not find him in the bed, but on the floor gazing in amazement at the cookie package he has just emptied. Stunned with sugar. This dog gets pancreatitis and I feed him special low-fat food which I buy at the vet’s office. It is not cheap, but the condition is potentially fatal so that’s how we roll. Well I wonder when he will start throwing up, guess I can’t go skiing today, and while I wait I google “bobcat” and I find that ”its preference is for mammals weighing about … 1+1⁄2–12+1⁄2 lb.“ Zorro weighs 11 pounds. Outdoor danger bobcats, indoor danger cookies.
Another call from Kathleen. Raven has gotten stuck in an arroyo (ditch). It is muddy from snowmelt. Raven is a lovely horse, 26-years-old and retired, likes to be left alone most of the time but loves certain people and table scraps in addition to his hay and feed. His favorite is the bagels Kathleen makes every Sunday morning. I dress and trot over to see if I can help and am aghast to see Raven on his back in the arroyo, feet in the air. We don’t know how long he has been there, last spotted yesterday evening, and he is alive but exhausted. We are wedging boards under his head and neck to give him some leverage, but it is not working.
Kathleen calls Linda who lives next door. Linda is a friend of Raven (he chooses his friends carefully), and she rushes over, in tears when she sees him. She starts soothing him in English and in Spanish. We wedge more boards, lift Raven’s head with our hands. Linda’s partner comes over to help. We keep at it, rope around back legs to truck to try and nudge him to a shallower spot. Slight movement. More boards, rope around bottom of his neck this time, and Jim has an insight. Kathleen fetches the good shovel and Jim, with great care, begins to remove the snow-softened soil from around Raven’s belly. All of a sudden everything comes together and as we watch he scrambles out. It is a great moment. He is staggering a bit and lets loose gallons of urine, we have to get the rope off quickly before he gets tangled in it.
Raven has a great heart. We will watch him today, fortunately it is not too cold but he has been through a lot. We will also keep an eye on the 11 pound pets. Zorro is holding steady. Tully the cat is relieved that his friend is free. Probably no skiing today, best not to push our luck, but that is just fine.
