Grateful Dead

oh and... SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS! and also Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die!

only 4 cats and they call you the crazy cat lady??? peace.

i know thats what i say!

i have a dog named tiger ....i got him from a shelter when he was 8 monrths old he is now 12 years old....i take him wherever i go we have gone crosscountry 4 times together he even flew back once while i took the train.... he has gone to plenty of shows with me... when my son was born he came in jumped on the bed and licked him on his head (we had a home birth)...i couldn't imagine life with out him when my wife first moved in together he got jellous and ate a small pile of my clothes the vet said he neede surgery...i didn't have the money with out even a second thought my wife (then girlfriend) wipped out her credit card...later on she said she knew i would be a good father cause i treat tiger so good.

a girlfriend who whips out the credit card to save your dog=priceless! Sounds like a good family you've got there.

all dogs deserve guardian angels like that!!

About a month ago some mean hunters near our village here in France shot a mama wild boar who had with her at least 4 little babies . One of our neighbours managed to rescue one of the piglets and we spent ages trying to find the others but without success :-( Anyway the little baby boar was name Noelle and another neighbour offered to raise her. The funny thing is that he is himself a dedicated hunter, but he does not hold with killing animals with young. So he and his wife spent nights bottle feeding this tiny fierce, frightened stripy piglet, while their gang of 9 hunting dogs and adopted strays looked on. Now a few weeks later little Noelle the wild pig thinks she's a dog. She sleeps in big pile with them, shares their food and water and runs around with them. One of the dogs in particular has adopted little Noelle and looks out for her..and he is a specially bred pig hunting dog! It’s crazy and amazing. I will try to post a picture.

As promised here is a pic of Noelle the baby Sanglier (wild boar). I will try to get one of her with her dog friends!

Thanks for the picture, cosmicbadger, perfect way to start the day.

Well isn't that the cutest looking thing iv'e ever seen. I like the stripes on the fur.Phatmoye

Thank you Badger, makes my day! (This reminds me that, thanks to the Asterix books of my college days, Sanglier is one of relatively few French words I know. One result of this is that back in the '70s we had a little catfish in our aquarium whose job it was to eat all the crud, and because of his burrowing ways we called him Yves Sanglier, after Yves St. Laurent. I'd forgotten all about this till I went to the Yves St. Laurent exhibition at the De Young the other week--and let me earnestly recommend that you check it out if it comes to your town. Really brought back the memories.)

we must hear more of the exploits of this remarkable piglet!

Noelle is growing up now but is still cute and stripey. She now goes off on expeditions to the forest with her gang of hunting dog friends who still look after her. It’s very odd to come across them all when we are out on a walk...she roots around for acorns while they sniff around for...err wild pigs. However our dog is not at all fooled by the pig that thinks it’s a dog...when Noelle and chums come onto our land he sets off in hot pursuit and chases the imposter pig over the stone wall and back into the neighbours field, snapping at its cute little tail. Last time I went over to see little Noelle I asked our neighbour what she will do when Noelle is fully grown and weights 40kg! She said that wild boar females remain very tame and can live more than 20 years..the males though get wild when they grow up and are dangerous with their tusks. All I can say is that she had better stay out of our vegetable patch and flower beds or I’ll be checking out my recipe books....

Keep us updated about Noelle's fascinating life, when you can, ok?? Is a wonderful tale you told and an adorable photo!********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

I can see it now, the Noelle the Sanglier fan club...

Who is a grumpy, senile old dude of 17, had been worrying us all winter. Seemed like he was wasting away, getting thinner by the day. BUT All of the sudden he seems to have Spring Fever. He has been going out this week, and even brought home a mouse yesterday (hadn't hunted in ages). Collective sigh of relief. ********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

2 nights ago my little kitten (ok so she's not a kitten anymore, but I can think that) went on an adventure. Trying to air out the house, one of our windows was open, because I hadn't cleaned it yet (snow/ice problems), she got when I was gone. When I finally got home she had been missing for a little while (according to others in the house). Looking at Casey (animal shelter kitty, hand shy but truly an attention-whore, very cuddly) I ask her where her best friend went, and I saw in her eyes "outdoors". Believe me when I say I'd rather have her outdoors, but not with a busy street right next to the homestead. So I looked around the building and didn't find her....oh well, I thought, she'll come back. I was sad or more worried about the drunken driver car people. Knowing that she was brought up right, I just trusted her....cabin fever jaunt maybe. So I go to bed with the window open (can you just do that anytime here? NO, it's usually too cold or too hot) and about 3:30am I'm sleeping away with my ears atuned to the outdoors....MEOW (in a soft yet not-to-subtle Sierrah tone) and instantly I woke up. Hey baby, there you are....I walk outside and click-call her right into my arms. This is not the first cat, nor dog, that has done this indoors or out. Yet I always know they will find their way home because if you bring them up right, they just know! Amazing kitty. _____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

I consider it a real honor to have a mouse at my door. Glad to see China Cat still has some spunk!_____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

Really, it was. Wind howling, rain pelting. My (not yet) wife and I were living on the third floor of an apartment building. Her tom cat Ebony (yes, a black cat) had recently moved in with us after having spent some time in the country. He was very much an outdoor cat, and we were not in a great outdoor cat place, but we had a fire escape off our bedroom window, and he figured out how to get up and down it to go prowling. So, the dark and stormy night...wasn't stormy when we went to bed. The thunder woke us up, and my (not yet) wife said "I think I hear Ebony at the window." Which was my cue to get out of bed and let him in. Looked out the window, couldn't see ANYTHING, but I opened it anyway. The wind and rain came rushing in, practically knocking back off my feet. Lightning flashed, lit up the open window, and there was the black cat, letting out a howl. His front legs were shredded, and blood was dripping out of his mouth. Ok, I screamed. This poor cat looked like something out of Pet Semetary, really and truly. Given that we were living just a mile from Stephen King's house made the possibility all the more likely. Ebony used up a few of his lives that night, but he lived on to have numerous other adventures. And getting to live a scene from a horror movie used up a few of mine as well. Eb was a pretty cool cat, all-in-all. We've had all of our cats (and dogs) spayed or neutered ever since.

By popular request here is our favourite little pig with one of her friends

here she is with Tosca, who is recovering from being gored by a wild boar while hunting a month ago!! [URL=http://img12.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc0625h.jpg][IMG]http://img12…]

Awsome pic...can she catch a frisbee?

To a Javelina? Badger....love the trotting pic by the way ~peace~ _____________________________________________ Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!

those big brown eyes! that cute little grin! those stripes! and so fond of her canine family!

to answer Canyon Critter's question, Noelle is a Eurasian Wild Boar (Latin: Sus scrofa) and so is a relative of the American Javelina (or Peccary) but not the same. Wild boars are very common around here despite the hunting and can cause a lot of agricultural damage; the males can grow to up to 250 pounds and are very scary. They are mostly nocturnal in the wild, but Noelle keeps the same time as her canine friends. The other day I saw Noelle curled up asleep in the sunshine with her friend Tosca, who is still recovering from being badly tusked by a boar on a hunting trip in the winter! She comes when you call her name, is somewhat shy, but loves being tickled on her belly. When you do that she just rolls over and goes into a trance of delight.

Love the Noelle Tales and photos, keep em coming please, when you can. ********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

between wanting the whole world to know of the lovely Noelle and thinking Badger's village should remain in bucolic peace sans hordes of admiring visitors. Is Noelle showing signs of being as smart as pigs are reputed to be, given half a chance?

None of it is true anyway, I just dream it up and fool around with photoshop :-)

us metropolitan Suidae visitors may show up anyways... "right outside this lazy summer home" and when we do, we'll sleep on your couch and eat your food, and quite possible root around in your garden with our snouts... "and sometimes we visit your country and live in your home" peace.

we should get Noelle a tie-dye t-shirt. To wear in the woods so hunters don't mistake her for one of those other wild pigs!

about the tie-dye... i would hate to see noelle on the dinner plate

My she has grown. She has lost her baby stripes and now weighs over 30kg. She still likes to have her belly tickled as you can see in the picture. She begs for treats like a puppy and still hangs out with her hunting dog friends every day. She is going to get a dayglo waistcoat before the hunting season starts and maybe her own enclosure just to keep her safe on hunting days.

Quickpost this image to Myspace, Digg, Facebook, and others!

they grow up so fast! She looks like a pretty contented sanglier. Stay away from those hunters, Noelle!

She did get big, I know you told us about the males, but how big or how much will she way when shes full grown?Forever Grateful, Forever Dead, Peace- Moye

I am very sad to have to tell you that Noelle the orphan wild boar is dead. Last week (while I was away) some government wildlife officials visited our neighbours and told them that they could not keep a wild animal without a licence. Despite pleading for leniency they served notice that they would return in 2 days to collect Noelle and take her away to be slaughtered. There followed two days of frantic searching for a way out. It was not possible to get the required licence in time and no zoos or animal parks wanted her. It was impossible to let her go, as she is so tame she would walk up to the first dog or human she met and soon be killed, or might even starve in the wild. Mrs Badger offered to hide her at our place but that was seen to be only delaying the inevitable. So after many many tears and heart searching discussions late into the night, and hours before the government men came back, it was decided that there was only one option. No one wanted her to experience the terror of being taken away to some slaughterhouse. After everyone had said good bye to her (including me over the phone) Noelle was sent swiftly, painlessly and unknowingly to the hereafter by our neighbour. He had tears in his eyes I am told, and he a dedicated hunter with 20 years service in the Special Forces (if it is ever discovered who turned her in I think they might share a similar fate). We all miss her, the dogs are looking for her and the place is not the same without her. It is hard and Noelle's 'mum' is still crying, but we are happy that she was saved the fate of starving in the woods as a tiny orphan and had the chance to enjoy for 6 months the most carefree happy, loving life a little boar could ever dream of. So say goodbye to the little sanglier who thought she was a dog and charmed every other being she met in her short life. :-(

poor poor Noelle! Story made me cry too. RIP Noelle, and a curse on the men who wanted to take you to slaughter!!!!!!!!!!********************************** Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Mark Twain

or does the notion of licensing to sustain the presence of a native indigenous species on one's property not seem like the height of warrantless government intrusion and human arrogance? Where does it end, licensing for the worms in the dirt? From what I've been able to gather, and admittedly I'm not in possession of all the facts, it appears that a member of this species of indigenous fauna chose to establish a range that included Badger's friends property and was free to leave any time she chose to. The fact that she chose to socialize with the more domesticated species also present in that range says more about her desire to harmoniously co-exist with other species than anything else, and should be an instructive lesson for those wanking government nabobs with nothing better to do than tick boxes on their forms and disrupt the natural order around them. I will remember Noelle as a brave and open minded soul, pointlessly martyred in the continuing struggle for freedom due to the short-sightedness of ignorant idiots who should have their own licenses revoked. My heartfelt condolences to all who were lucky enough to have been befriended by this wonderful creature. Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.

Pid! forgot to add my condolances too. Is just heartbreaking. ********************************** Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Mark Twain

my heart felt condolances go out to all friends of noelle..i will miss reading about her adventers...right on mr pid...

i am so very sorry for your loss, that sux to no end......rest assured, god will take care of the rotten, lowlife, scum, bastard, fink, s.o.b. that turned in poor little noelle....but if you hear that the aforementioned slime happens to be in my area, pls let me know....justice will be swift, i promise you!!

and get there sooner rather than later. Murderous evil thugs. Please give my deepest condolences to Noelle's family.

I've been relating the story of Noelle to my wife, animal-lover extraordinaire but a non-Head and not too fond of computers. I think that I'll not tell her this part of the story...she's likely to jump on a plane, hunt down the evil-doers and...well, do something. Condolences from both of us, even if the Mrs doesn't know she's sending them. (Can't believe that I just referred to her as "the Mrs". She better never see this post...)

En art comme en amour, Ii'nstinct suffit.

in the Bible, the lion lying down with the lamb heralds the dawn of a new era where things work in peace and harmony, free of all the evils with which humans and their behavior and trips and general creepiness have blighted the planet since the dawn of time. We did not get the lion lying down with the lamb, but the hounds lying down with the sanglier works for me. Every day I could look at Noelle's picture and know that somewhere in some unknown corner of France, things were working as they ought to work all the time, and that maybe there was hope. It goes without saying that some twit organization regarded its institutionalized authoritarian power and the preservation thereof as more important than this miracle and saw the miracle as a threat to their soulless domination, and refused to see any option that did not involve the utter destruction of this threatening miracle. Their stupid creepy evil power trip was more important than this baby's life or the well-being of those who loved her. I'm sitting here dropping tears onto the keyboard. I cannot express the anger and despair this is causing me. I can't imagine what it's like for her loved ones.

Unfortunately laws are needed about keeping wild animals because of the macho idiots who decide they want to keep dangerous animals such bears and wolves, who encourage trade in endangered species and who often mistreat these creatures when they become demanding and troublesome. What makes me so sad and angry in Noelle's case is that those mean officials followed the letter of the law not the spirit, and did not allow us more time to find a more suitable and kinder solution. They could see that she was not dangerous and she was beautifully cared for. If they had given us a month we could have got a licence or found somewhere to take her or would have at least had more choices. It is so touching how many of you have expressed your feelings about this and how many have offered all sorts of help. Thank you. I will pass on your sympathies to Noelle's family. If you want to pay tribute to little Noelle then please make a donation or volunteer your time for your local animal shelter or do what you can to help wild creatures wherever you are. Actually this little corner of France has a terrible history of unimaginable atrocities by ‘authorities’ against the local population: by the Knights Templar when they were Cathars, by the forces of the King when they were protestants and by the SS in WW2. Country people learn how to dry their eyes, pick up the pieces and carry on. But they also have long memories.

RIP, Noelle. may the 4 winds blow you safely home. ********************** "Why else would you concoct such a delicious revenge? It must be a gesture of love." - Rostand

I'm not sure where to introduce myself but I'm new here. I'm a single mom who lives in Connecticut with 2 daughters. I enjoy the dead music, but enjoy the community more. i like to meet new people and I love live bands. My name is Mari.

posted in the wrong forum, i'm new here, and not sure how to move or edit this topic. Well since it is about our animal friends, I'm a crazy cat lady with 8 cats and a Geico. Recently I lost 2 of my precious kitties and I think about them every day and hope to see them one day on the other side. I just read the story of Noelle and it is completely heartbreaking. I am at a loss for words.

no need to apologise, Mari, and welcome to the forum. once posted, you can not move anything, but it don't really matter. by the by, there ain't nothing crazy about being a cat lady. love and peace, cc (crazy cat)

bring any cake?.....or cookies?