Camel Toe(nails)

So yesterday Dr. Moo had to euthanize both a newborn alpaca (it's a camelid, which means it breathes through its nose, only its nose wasn't working, which meant it had to breathe through its mouth, so it couldn't breathe while eating and would have suffered a slow death from lung issues) and a sheep that hadn't stood up in five days.

Dr. Moo offered the sheep a final carrot because he looked up at her when she came in and was all, "say, what'd you bring me?" and what was she going to say, really -- "I brought you death"? She also yelled (a little) at the husband of the alpaca-owning married couple, for making fun of his wife for crying over the alpaca.

I told Moo again that I could never be a vet because I am way too emotional. Last night the elderly lady downstairs was taken away in an ambulance and I cried a little about that, though I later realized I was crying for Babcia. Dr. Moo says she does cry sometimes when she's euthanizing an animal, especially when the owners are crying. But it's always the best decision for the animal in the end.

Anyhoo, on to the less depressing bit: At the sheep farm there is also a camel named Oliver. He's a two-humper, and his owners use his fur as part of their wool production process. (It doesn't hurt him to get it; you just pluck it out while he's standing there.)

Oliver came running over when my sister showed up, looking for a treat. She gave him a carrot from her lunch. His owner wanted Dr. Moo to take a look at his toenails, which she thought were getting a little long. Moo agreed that they were, but the toenail trimming will take place at a later date.

Oliver also chose yesterday as his annual day to test the electric fence, with his schnoz. He bent down and touched it and got zapped and then ran, as fast as his long and spindly camel legs could carry him, across the field and into the barn. Camels are tall and can step over many fences. Oliver in particular can open latches. So it's good he gets a beak buzz every year, otherwise Moo would be out shooting runaway camels with a tranq gun in the middle of the night.