Did I tell you about the baby reindeer?

Just wanted to tell you about the sweet little baby reindeer my friend Millie and I found in May. I know I mentioned it to some of you on the phone, but here are the pictures. My friend Millie and I took a nice walk on the new Glacier Creek Road just outside of town. It was just a week or so after my diagnosis so we did a lot of talking. The weather was cool, but nice, the scenery to die for. So beautiful. After our walk, we took a little drive down the road and there on the side of the road was a teeny tiny little reindeer. No mother, no other in sight. We had no idea what to do. This little thing was so weak it could barely stand up. When it did stand and try to walk for just a moment, it came toward us with a sheep like cry. It was nudging at us to try to find something to eat. It was so skinny and just looked to be on the brink of its demise. She even still had her umbilical cord. So sad. Millie had seen this same reindeer in the same spot yesterday. It was being attacked by ravens and Millie said that she sadly turned her head and imagined that nature would take its course. But, when this little girl was there again, obviously having survived the night and more, we felt that something had to be done. We did feel wrong about taking it, but we definitely didn't feel right about leaving it either. Reindeer run in herds and are not exactly wild here. Although they do roam, they are domesticated on some level. Humans care for them and assure their survival. They live a nice life before they are harvested.

There are a few folks in town that actually keep them as pets. My neighbor, Carl, has one named Velvet and she goes everywhere in the back of his little toyota truck. . .

Ultimately, we decided that we just couldn't let this little girl stay there to die when she had clearly been abandoned. So, along with Duke and Henry, we loaded up another furry friend. I held the little reindeer in the front seat for the ride home. She did pretty well. She nustled up to me and was trying to suckle at my neck. Her little muzzle was so darn soft. She was just precious. When we got her home,the first call was to the local vet to find out what to feed her. He suggested a mixture of whole milk and butter, warmed up and in a bottle. Millie went to the store, and I found a friend with a bottle. I started her with the skim milk and margarine that I had at home. She took it, but not extremely well. When Millie got back with the good stuff, then she really started eating.

We were out on the deck and it was so sunny and nice. The breeze had stopped so we all enjoyed the warm sun. . . Duke, Henry, Millie, I, and who we now called Lily. We made some calls to find out who owned the herd in that area and finally got in touch with them. They were less than thrilled about having to come and rescue one of the little babies. After almost 5 hours and several phone calls, someone finally came. In the meantime, Millie and I racked our brains about where else Lily could go.
I called my mom and asked if she would take her on Almosta Farm. Millie and her husband Andy contemplated whether or not they could keep it here in Nome. Andy called to see if his brother, who has a ranch in Washington, would take it.
And, we found a friend here in Nome that lives out of town, who said he would be willing to take care of it until it was old enough and strong enough to return to the herd. Lily already had lots of people willing to help. But, alas, the herd owners finally came to get her. By that time we were all feeling very concerned about what they were going to do with her. They said that they would get her back to the herd and she would be fine. I can't really think too much about it, because it just makes me feel sad, but I have no idea what Lily's future became.
Hopefully, she is happy and healthy with the herd, but considering the human interaction that she had it does seem unlikely that she would be accepted back, especially after being abandoned in the first place. But, Millie and I decided that at least she enjoyed a good moment in the sun with warm milk and some love. She had fun with Duke and Henry too. Although I think they were much more excited about her then she was about them. Espcially Duke. . . he was in love.

She absolutely helped me out that day too. After so much being on my mind in the previous week, her presence made everything vanish for a little while. She was just this sweet little baby that needed something from us (or at least we thought she did) that we were able to give her, if even for a moment.