Month 13 – Post-Spay

February 14, 2016

It has been nearly 3 weeks since angles surgery. She is doing great and healing well. The first thing I noticed about her is that she was elated about the loss of nearly 1 pound. So light on her feet she wanted to jump and climb as soon as she got out.

I have had to keep her from doing that but when I go to work I have found she has started to climb up everything she can. She even climbed the wall and I came home to jewelry and pictures on the floor. I was concerned about her pulling stiches loose, but she looks ok

Her wanting to cuddle diminished a bit, but I force her to lie with me for a half hour and just nap with her. She calms and it is a good thing for her to know that I love her and just want to hang.

He is allowing me to put my head close and lay it by hers now, something that after surgery she wanted no part of.

Surgery brought back a lot of old fears, and it is up to me to cast them aside.

I see a need to roam and move more. Possibly because she was so uncomfortable before and now appreciates the ability to move

I set up an area outside giving her more freedom and a shade cloth above. The overhead protection is what she likes. I am hoping to set up an iguana run from the house to her lounge so she can go out the window on her own in the morning like Babe used to do. I could trust Babe not to leave the yard, but this one has climbing trees on her mind.

I’ve been cleaning the yard and hope to have it done by spring.

Her food intake was enormous the first week but has tapered off to a bowl a day. She will eat treat foods viciously but I keep them down to a monument, she needs a balance diet.

I am going to the nursery to get some greens this weekend. Got some growing now, but need to get my garden seeds planted and the wine barrels ready for the spring ahead. It sure is nice to be able to go back there and pick them as I need them. Hoping to have enough so I can rely on what I grow. Will make a page about that.

I keep working on my book and website. All is good, Can’t wait to go to Reno next month, spring means the sunroom and the yard will be blooming. My friend is coming down to stay in the house when I leave which means I don’t have to worry about

Month 15 -April Angel Gets Lost!

Lost I did something really stupid today and I am paying the price. I left Angel on the Deck for 10 minutes and she is gone! I am frantic and my world has been torn apart!

Spring had brought about a sense of exploration for Angel and since we arrived in Reno I notice her eating had dropped to nearly nothing. It is quite unlike my boy Babe was. After mating season, he was tame and his appetite grew.

I saw her wanting to get out of the sunroom and thought a nice sunbath on the deck would be a nice change for her.

angel runs away manogue_0002_where angel escaped from 3527

I forgot to pack her harness and was going to make her a new one, so I opted to leave her leash free. Normally I will put her harness on, attach it to the retracable leash. At least if she gets out, she is dragging the bright red leash and is easily located. But not that day!

I left her for 10 minutes and she was gone!

I alerted my family and they all came out to look. I searched nearby, but she was no where. Their was no wind and the conditions were perfect for a search. I spent all day out side and into the evening, still no site or sound of her.

The next morning I was up early and got out binaoculor and sat on the deck. The night had dropped to 39 degrees. I was worried. Babe had survived colder temps but he was much larger. Still I know how durable iguanas are, so I knew she was most probably ok, just lost.

angel runs away manogue_0001_where angel excaped from 2 3352

I proceeded to search the yard in grid style, each 10 feet square, up and down, until I had searched the entire 1/3 acre.

I made flyers and talked to the neighbors. I was crying, it made me realize how much I would miss her, how much I had invested in my love for her, the website, just the emptiness that would proceed.

Every minute of today was spent outside, listening to the sounds, watching the trees, going over every square foot of th 1/3 acre the house sits on.

A lesson for me is how much she means to me, how my life would change without her. All the time invested in her, my website, how she helps me write my books, how empty life would be without her little face.

What was I thinking not putting her harness and leash on her? Well, first I had to make her a new bigger harness and that wasn’t ready yet, half done, but not all the way. I just wanted to give her some sunshine, just wanted her to have a nice lounge on the deck, and now she is gone!!

angel runs away manogue_0000_where angel spent the night DSCN0737Oh the pain of knowing it will be 39 degrees and she will be out in the wild, freezing, with all the preditors, I really can’t think of it right now. I have to get my mind off this and think of my plan tomorrow. Got to try to sleep

Didn’t sleep much, my dad was really worried, he stayed up all night and even went out with a flashlight and looked. Poor dad, he is so worried about me and angel.

Nothing, she is just not here. I blocked the yard into squared and looked at each square foot. Nothing. Got our the binoculars and looked in trees. She just isn’t here.

When I had taken her on walks, she had been trying to go under the fence to the neighbors yard, so I called him and asked if I could search in the morning. “Of course”, he said. He will leave his gate angel runs away manogue_0003_where angel was found N0727open tomorrow. Tomorrow is another day.

Got up early and went to church with mom and dad. Lite a candle and asked god for a miracle.

I knew she wouldn’t be up until it warmed probably around 11 am so I errands in the morning with my mom. I drove right by the high school behind me and gave them a few flyers. They said they came up with a plan involving the PE teams, groundskeepers and teams practicing on the field. I was elated and their support and kindness gave me hope.

It was watering day and the sprinkler were on. I just thought of how cold she must be.

I went to the neighbor’s yard and began to sing “Oh what a beautiful morning”, which has become our song. I searched everywhere. I had meditated on her and envisioned her by yellow flowers. There were plants in boths corners of the yard, I looked, but nothing.

I went on the deck and looked out with binoculars.

At about 11:30 I decided to expand my search and walked the block. I saw kids from the school on the other side of the fence and they were looking for my iguana for me!! It gave me hope.

I decided it was time for posting on craigslist, and the animal shelter. I was nearly done and the

phone rang. My brother said “you found the iguana?” I looked out to the back yard and saw the kids gathered by the corner of the yard.

 

angel runs away manogue_0004_BackgroundMy heart jumped with joy! They had found her where I had been an hour before, just laying there, flat and motionless, a meer feet away from where my mom prays the rosary. In hindsight she was probably wanting to get home but the fence was in the way.I gave them the reward money, though they didin’t want to take it and I found out later that they donated it.

I warmed her up and gave her a few sips of water, I was careful, the had been thru a lot and didn’t want to hurt her kidneys. After an hour I brought her to her little cubby which I had warmed and placed her inside.

She was still bery motionless with little movement. She seemed exhausted and dazed, but welcomed the comfort of her bed. I tucked her in and she slept until the morning.

The next day she was still not walking well. She was acting like she had fallen. Called the vet but in a few days my fear diminished as she recovered and began to eat once again!

Angel was back, my girl was home and life was OK again!!

Never, ever will she be outside without a harness and a leash!!

Thank you god for giving me back my little angel!!!