I have to tell you another sad story about a freak accident with a pet.
Its longish.
My Uncle died unexpectedly, and among other things that we, his only family, had to do, was find and round up his herd of mostly wild horses. My sister considers herself a horse person, and had friends who actually were, so off we went.
First to Corpus Christi to pick up a trailer. I left my daughter and my neice with my friend, Charlene. Charlene's son is, or was at the time, a horse trainer - and he was coming along.
Charlene's son had this mare that he had been training. He had been grousing for months about how fat and lazy she was...
So off we went to our round up adventure - which is a longer tale for a different time, on Saturday morning.
Sunday evening, when we reappeared in civilization, the horse had a SURPRISE foal. My daughter and niece were there for the event. It was big fun -- and the little thing was hopeless. Undersized, frail, born in the cold.
We got back to Corpus Christi on Tuesday, and wandered over to the barn to look at the foal, and I was in love. Its white and brown face was so alert and trusting... what a goodie.
I called her "Boo" and the name stuck.
I paid $300 for Boo. Which is what you pay for a good foal, not a runt. But I wanted the foal to have value in the eyes of its keepers.
After piddling a day or so, we left her with her mother at Charlene's.
So, in the cold part of winter, Boo slipped and fell in the mud. Charlene took Boo to Texas A&M - a long and expensive drive, where they xrayed and pontificated. Because of her pre-natal starvation, Boo had brittle bones, and had cracked her pelvis in a place that couldn't be repaired. She was put to sleep.
I didn't have her for long - but would I pay $300 for Boo again? You BETCHA!
We are better people for loving good...