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07/18/2003 Archived Entry: "OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS"

OUR ANIMAL FRIENDS

Everyone has a preference when it comes to pets. Or they prefer no pet at all. Pets come slinky, furry, slimy, greasy, hairy, bug-eyed, leggy, wet, feathered and slithery and anyway you like. Anything qualifies. Every pet rocks are acceptable as pets, preferable to some.

One came to my attention the other day that seems almost unimaginable. Monte Hudson, who lives on the outskirts of Kanopolis, has a pet badger. He didn't plan it that way, but being a Good Samaritan, he rescued one off the highway that was clinging to its mom’s body after an accident

Monte took the badger home and nursed it back to health. That was a good deed. But now the badger is growing to adulthood, it’s getting to be a lot to handle. It’s a playful thing, love kids and wanders freely, or it did until a wire fence seemed to be in order. The fence rings his woodpile home.

Badgers are carnivorous burrowing animals with little ole’ short legs and long claws on the front feet that intimidate animals many times larger. It clawed its way under the fence without giving it a thought. Their coats do not induce cuddling. They are nasty, fierce creatures when they are angry. But Monte’s badger is gentle and plays with everyone like he’s a puppy. It’s those claws you have to watch. And he’ll gently put his teeth around your finger, but he doesn’t clamp down to remove it, as he easily could. Maybe he just hasn’t thought of it yet.

Speaking of puppies, as I was, the badger soon discovered the doggy door to Monte’s house and loved the freedom of exploring inside. There were people to play with and lots of objects to explore. I expect badgers are very indiscriminate in their choice of playthings and the inside of a house should be a source of endless wonder for a badger.

In order to put an end to that, Monte put a screen door in front of the doggy door, assuming at the time, it would deter the badger. Well, after the screen door was ripped to shreds, Monte gave serious consideration to a relocation site and took Madge the Badge about a mile away where she could establish her own territory and build her own house.

The next day those little legs on that critter had carried her back to her favorite hangout, Monte’s woodpile.

I’m not sure where this story is going, but I think we’ll be following the badger’s life rather closely. I wonder if it’s a he or she? Madge seems a good name. Or Marge in Charge might work.