The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

Goodbyes are never easy. I've lost a lot of animals over the years, and each one brings its own pain: Oscar, the white fallow deer whose presence changed my life. Wesley, my first bouvier dog who left a hole so big in my heart it will never be filled. And now Walter.

Walter died on Mother's Day. He and I fought for his life for almost 7 months. It was a hard fight marked by ups and downs, and finally surrender.

I guess the truth of it is that Walter was dead when I brought him home, but neither of us knew it.

I bought Walter online. I was told he was "on the small side". When I picked him up in Oregon, I knew he was more than just small: He was underweight and stunted, the size of a yearling, but Walter was 3 years old. And I almost changed my mind. But there was a moment when I looked in his eyes and we agreed to fight. And so it was that Walter made the trip home with me.

Seeing him next to my other camels kind of put the exclamation point on just how small he was. His hump was barely there. Every rib showed. His hip bones were pronounced. But his legs were huge, and that was a clue I overlooked for about a month.

Walter had no appetite when he arrived. It is not uncommon for an animal to go off his feed when faced with change and separation, so everyone at the ranch made sure Walter had plenty of food and water available and we all waited for his appetite to pick up. He seldom stood up and when he did, he had no energy. Still, it looked like a little depression due to the change in his life.

A week later, with no increase in appetite, I called my vet for guidance. He suggested we worm Walter, and so we did. Within a few days, he seemed to perk up a bit and finally began to eat. We added supplements to his feed: Beet pulp, alfalfa pellets, sweet feed, anything we thought would get him eating and feeling better. We were hand feeding him and he seemed to love the attention.

With Walter eating a little better and looking a little more comfortable, I left for a 4 day camel training clinic in Texas. I knew that everyone at the ranch cared as much about Walter as I did and that he was in good hands.

And then I got the call: All Walter had eaten that day was a peanut butter sandwich. The drive home from Texas was so long. All I could do was get there and get help. I had had the opportunity to talk with a REAL camel vet at the clinic and he had given me some advice to help Walter: He said Walter needed stomach fluids from a healthy animal to help get his rumen working. So I took advantage of my drive time to try to find someone to pump my yak's stomach and put the fluids into Walter.

My regular vet couldn't do it, so I contacted a vet I know up near Davis to arrange to have Walter there for a while under her care. I got home and Walter looked so miserable. I was so glad I had a plan. Next morning he and I were to leave for Davis and the help I knew was waiting. But when I loaded him for the trip, I looked in his eyes and just knew he would never

make it.

And so I did the only thing I could think to do: I called Dr. Larry Bosma at North Valley Veterinarian Clinic in Lancaster. Dr. Bosma takes care for my dogs. I am relatively certain he had never worked on a camel before, but he was my only option. I was crying when I made the call. Panicking because I knew this was the only option. And the voice on the other end of the phone said "Bring him in."

At the clinic, the vet techs rushed to get Walter out of the trailer, and there in the parking lot, they went to work drawing blood, collecting fecals, giving fluids to help a dehydrated camel. I can tell you Walter stopped a lot of traffic there on Sierra Highway. I stood to the side watching and waiting for some sign of hope.

And then came the word that Walter's blood count was a 6. I immediately texted the vet in Davis and she called me. As soon as I answered the phone, she said hand your phone to Dr. Bosma. There was a long conversation and next thing I knew, Walter was back in the trailer and we were on the way home accompanied by three vet techs and all sorts of paraphernalia.

Once at the ranch, I was instructed to get one of the other camels. I hooked up Mac and brought him to the fence by the Test Drive where I kooshed him. The vet techs gave him something to relax him and began to draw blood. Lots of blood.

Walter was getting a transfusion. His normal blood count should have been 28. He was at 6. Critical is 10. Walter was at death's door. Those big legs? They were swollen due to lack of protein and poor circulation. Not standing was probably a reaction to the swelling. It hurt. Poor Walter.

Walter was so full of parasites that he could not eat enough to feed them, let alone himself, so he had given up. He was just sick and in pain and being eaten alive from the inside out. With the blood transfusion done, we began an aggressive program of anti-parasitics. Five days in a row on this one. Every other day on that one. Then back to the first one.

And it seemed to be helping. Walter looked more relaxed. He began to eat. But his legs were still swollen. He needed to walk to improve his circulation but we could not get him up. And so, we brought in a fork life once a week. We would lift him, then walk him for a while, then return him to his pen. In the beginning, he would go down as soon as we let him. But eventually, he would remain standing.

The following few months, Walter got another blood transfusion. Because he was so weak, his immune system crashed. He was covered with warts and ringworm. We started him on antibiotics, but he was unresponsive. And so we decided to do a plasma transfusion. This would help with the protein levels and also give his immune system a boost. And it seemed to help. The warts disappeared. The ringworm dried up and healed. And Walter began to get up and down on his own. No more forklift!

We were so hopeful. His blood count went to 26 after the second blood transfusion. His appetite came back and he was eating. His fecal count went from almost 300,000 parts per gram to 70 parts per gram. And finally the swelling in his legs was gone.

We were witnessing a small miracle, but we were told to be cautious. There was no way to know if the parasite infestation had caused permanent damage.

So we watched and Walter began to put on weight. He even had a bit of a hump. But something was not right. He seemed dehydrated. He strained to urinate. And he seemed bloated. His belly was hard. There were more anitbiotics and IV fluids. More trips to the vet. More blood draws. We were planning to have an ultrasound done.

And then, he stopped eating. And then, he was gone.

I need answers when something like this happens. I need to know it will never happen again. And so, the day after Mother's Day, right here at Windswept, we did an autopsy. We found a hole in Walters bladder.

Research has shown me that in humans, holes in the bladder (fistules) can be caused by prolonged intestinal problems. I believe that probably was the case with Walter. What was probably years of an infestation had left him stunted, weak and underweight. There is no doubt in my mind that Walter died from neglect, plain and simple.

Walter's life and death should be a lesson to all of us that simple and basic animal husbandry is necessary to ensure a quality life for the animals we are entrusted with. I choose to do periodic fecals on my animals rather than worm them. I would never take an anti-parasitic myself. It is, after all, poison. Why would I give poison to my animals unless it was necessary. My fecals are clean: Zero parasites.

Whether you choose a regimen of anti-parasitics, or to de fecals as I do, this small and relatively inexpensive process would have prevented Walter's suffering and death. You have the ability to protect your animals, please choose to do so.

And while there is sadness here at Windswept, we find joy in the small things. A new baby alpaca. Camels learning to give rides. Friendly zebra. Life and death at the ranch are inevitable. Sharing these amazing animals is a joy.

Come out and meet the critters. You will be celebrating Walter's life.

We are open Saturdays from 10-4p.m.

See our ad on page 20 for directions and more information.