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Tiffany
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09-07-2020, 01:50 PM
1

Escaped Animals

I wonder if anyone has had in their garden, or found, animals that have escaped from owners?

Over the years we have had several.

A Spaniel got into the garden from the lane behind, I was in the garden, friendly chap, he romped around me & wanted to play, his owner was in the lane, so I called out to her to call him, lifted him back onto the hedge bank & pointed him in the right direction & he left.

Another time I 'found' a Jill ferret, or rather, she found the dog Brandy while we were out for a walk & I took her home, never did find an owner, but the hunt kennels took her to live with their ferrets.

Son was outside the front in the garage when an elderly Golden Retriever appeared with a stone & dropped that at his feet, we took the dog to the animal rescue, but never heard if he got back to his owner.

We had another ferret out in the front garden & that one got taken to the rescue as well, by then the kennels had moved several miles away.

The best one was the African Grey parrot. Perched in the Oak tree I heard this strange bird sound & spotted it, Son & I went out in the garden & tried to get him down, didn't like me, but was friendly with my Son. He couldn't get him though. A few minutes later we heard someone calling, presumed the birds name. Have you lost a parrot, yes, came the answer from the lane. He's in our Oak tree I replied & told the man how to get to me. A few seconds later he was in our garden. We had a ladder so he used that & managed to reach the bird. Put him in the portable cage he'd brought with him & all was well. Later we got wine & chocolates for helping him. The bird was valuable, he & his mate & was left free most of the time, but he forgot feathers do grow back & the bird suddenly found he could fly further than usual & up & went. His mate had looked on in astonishment. The man told us this later & he was so grateful to get him back.

So does anyone else have a tale ot two to tell?
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09-07-2020, 03:41 PM
2

Re: Escaped Animals

We always used to attract the sick and old and wounded wildlife.

My favourite was an elderly squirrel with a very thin and wispy bent tail .... he lived up the top of the fir tree. Then there was the magpie with one eye who spent his retirement and old age in the garden too.

Domestic furry beasts?

I remember walking into the kitchen once, from the lounge , and there was this small strange puppy dog sitting infront of the fridge like he was waiting for his tea ..... Mr M had left the front door open. He was a nice friendly chap. Fortunately he had his address on his collar.

The funniest one was when we saw a cat stuck up a tree across the road , (and I've never seen a cat since with such massive paws) .. we got a ladder and tried to get him down.
He seemed shy, scared and didn't help one bit .. and eventually us, a neighbour and a motorist who stopped and aided and abetted us by kindly clambering along a branch 15 foot up the tree ...we managed to rescue him, let him down to the grass and he ran off into the field. Safe.

This took almost an hour to do and congratulating ourselves on a job well done we went back in the house, made some toast for breakfast, sat down to enjoy it .... and saw the cat snoozing, curled on a branch on the next tree along.
Hmm ... methinks not every cat needs rescuing.
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09-07-2020, 04:00 PM
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Re: Escaped Animals

We had a poorly Crow, he couldn't fly but wouldn't be caught, so I put food out for him & at night he managed to scramble up into the plum tree. He did this for a few weeks, then one day he flew the length of the garden, he could fly, we named him Hoppy. Soon after he left fully fit again.
Good you found the dogs owner.
I had a chuckle over the cat story. I wonder how many stuck cats actually aren't stuck at all.
A neighbours cat went up our tree in the front garden, yelled 'help I'm stuck', so we rescued her, only for her to go up the tree again. She certainly had a sense of humour.
I have a lot of stories like these. We have lived here for nearly 50 years.
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09-07-2020, 04:04 PM
4

Re: Escaped Animals

It's all amazing to watch isn't it ....
I've spotted something else over the years that you might have noticed too .... cats nearly always walk along the paths made for humans and keep of the grass.
That always makes me laugh.
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09-07-2020, 04:39 PM
5

Re: Escaped Animals

Originally Posted by Morticia ->
It's all amazing to watch isn't it ....
I've spotted something else over the years that you might have noticed too .... cats nearly always walk along the paths made for humans and keep of the grass.
That always makes me laugh.
Yes they do. Every cat who comes in the garden does that & it would be so much quicker for them to cut across the grass.

Talking of cats, the number who have strayed here & want to stay is amazing. Not to us, though a couple probably would have settled with us, but to next door who are fanatical cat lovers. They took them on as they had the food etc. We did find out most of their original owners, but next door with the original owners permission did adopt them. The cats had no intention of going back. They left for various reasons, Ginger, we think was dumped. Floyd because they got a dog, Felix because they got a new cat & he hated it, the latest, Tango, who they have now had for 10 years, also because of a new cat. They also feed a few stray cats with no owner before & those are really feral. I think one lives under our shed.
I think I have photo's of most of these mentioned.
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09-07-2020, 05:35 PM
6

Re: Escaped Animals

About 5 years ago I was driving down my lane and saw a beautiful white cat in the middle of the lane. I beeped my horn but it took no notice & seemed confused, so I put it in my car and took it home... we get a few heavy lorries down the lane.
I advised all the local vets, put a few notices in relevant spots and continued to care for the cat at home.
After 2 days I had a phone call from a man who lived 200 yards away. He described the cat & told me that it was deaf. They had it for a few years but the day they lost it, they think it had squeezed through a small hole in the fence that they used, to prevent him going on the road.
I said I would take him home & the elderly man said he would be waiting. When I arrived the man was in tears & gave me a big hug, because the cat had never left their garden before & they were surprised to get him back.... because it couldn't hear traffic on the roads.
He called me the next day to say the cat was now in an escape free section of the garden.
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09-07-2020, 06:21 PM
7

Re: Escaped Animals

Hi

Not in my garden, but when I lived in the village we had a huge escaped owl around.
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09-07-2020, 07:36 PM
8

Re: Escaped Animals

We had children when we had various animals. Most were pets/domestic. Cats and rabbits mostly. But a couple of snakes. One hid for ages under a dressing table.
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Tiffany
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09-07-2020, 07:49 PM
9

Re: Escaped Animals

Originally Posted by Twink55 ->
About 5 years ago I was driving down my lane and saw a beautiful white cat in the middle of the lane. I beeped my horn but it took no notice & seemed confused, so I put it in my car and took it home... we get a few heavy lorries down the lane.
I advised all the local vets, put a few notices in relevant spots and continued to care for the cat at home.
After 2 days I had a phone call from a man who lived 200 yards away. He described the cat & told me that it was deaf. They had it for a few years but the day they lost it, they think it had squeezed through a small hole in the fence that they used, to prevent him going on the road.
I said I would take him home & the elderly man said he would be waiting. When I arrived the man was in tears & gave me a big hug, because the cat had never left their garden before & they were surprised to get him back.... because it couldn't hear traffic on the roads.
He called me the next day to say the cat was now in an escape free section of the garden.
That was lovely to read, Twink, so glad the cat was safe after. I have heard that white cats are often deaf.

Originally Posted by swimfeeders ->
Hi

Not in my garden, but when I lived in the village we had a huge escaped owl around.
Do you know what breed of owl?

Originally Posted by Besoeker ->
We had children when we had various animals. Most were pets/domestic. Cats and rabbits mostly. But a couple of snakes. One hid for ages under a dressing table.
How did the snake get loose? Was it a Corn snake?
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09-07-2020, 07:59 PM
10

Re: Escaped Animals

Originally Posted by Tiffany ->

How did the snake get loose? Was it a Corn snake?
Think one the girls was cleaning it. And yes, I think it was a Corn snake.
 
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