 I missed the moose discussion, was offline for two weeks (and suffered from blog withdrawl!)This is MacDermott early in the 1988 season on Carson and Barnes, didn't want Jim Anderson to have to take my word for it!. Browse was indeed an important part of his diet, along with vegtables and a pellet which I had specially made. I cut the browse daily on the way to the lot, cottonwood and willow were his favorites. I believe the harness moose are plausible. My best photos of him are in a storage room in Wyoming, but I'll send along these three so everyone knows I'm not telling tall tales! Pat White Photos by Jim Cole.  |
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
MacDermott Moose #1 (From Pat White)
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12 comments:
You must have put a considerable effort into caring for this Moose in many ways .
It's interesting to see these unusual photos & naration of them , keep em comen -
The most important part of caring for exotic animals is not where they are housed, but who is caring for them. I think this a perfect example.
Thank you for the photos Pat!
Don Bloomer
Just Great Pat. Never fear that you will ever be accused of TALL TALES. We have too many experts on the blog to let anyone get away with anything. You made a great effort here to care for your MOOSE. That says and means everything. Actually doing the work is very different from reading and hearing about such a feat. Proud of you girl for making an effort. Thats how we learn.
How long did you have him Pat? And what was his age when he was done?
Thanks, folks. MacDermott was really special. Everybody loved him, and I loved him most of all.
(I goofed. I meant to say "...so Jim ALEXANDER doesn't have to take my word for it." I recall conversations from 25 years ago verbatim, but can't remember what I read 5 minutes ago. There's a name for this condition, but I've forgotten what it is.)
I have so many stories about how this remarkable fellow touched my life. But I'd like to say something about his demise in the spring of '89.
He was a little orphan 5 months old when I got him. His mother had been hit by a car, and he'd been taken to a game farm in Canada.
After I'd bought him and before I picked him up, I got a phone call. He had slipped on the ice, and injured his right front leg. Did I still want him? The attending vet said he did not think it was serious, so of course I brought him to Hugo. The vet was wrong.
Eight months and 11 veterinarians later, the University of Colorado in Ft. Collins finally correctly diagnosed his injury. He had surgery there, and I had high hopes he'd make a full recovery.
I worked carefully on his diet, and by the winter of '88-89' he was 15 1/2 hands high, his weight was perfect, beautiful shiny coat, bright eyes and a dewlap nearly to his chest. He was gorgeous. His first set of antlers weren't too impressive, only one side paddled a bit, but I used to kid he could get 63 channels with his 'antennae.'
He was not ill. One morning I walked out to find him in a natural resting position, his head forward, nose in the dirt. He seemed to expire in an instant.
The veterinarian who examined him following his death found no obstructions, his rumen was fine, and said: "With the exception of him being dead, this animal is perfectly healthy."
He speculated that perhaps a clot had formed near the site of the surgery, and travelled to his brain, causing him to just shut down.
I could not in good conscience try again, being unsure exactly why he'd died. But I think it was something other than his diet. I'll never know for sure.
It broke my heart, but I sleep soundly knowing I did everything I could to try and give the orphan baby moose the best life I could provide. He was marvelous, and sure had a lot of friends, both animal and human. I still miss him. He would have been 20 this year.
Thanks for sharing these photos with us Pat.
Pat,
If I had a nickel for everytime someone called me Jim Anderson I'd be living in a bigger house.
As a zoo guy who's been around a lot of shows I have to tip my hat to the animal care I usually find. Life is easy when you just call the commissary and they deliver your food requests. Caring for an animal with special needs on the road, specially the "blue highways", is impressive. Thanks for you account of the life of MacDermott.
Thank you, Pat! I remember seeing MacD in the menagerie when the show played Cody, WY in '88. Seems like it was just last summer.
You're all very welcome, my pleasure to talk about him again. And thank you, Buckles, for providing a venue to share these memories.
Gary: I had him less than two years. He hadn't had his third birthday before he passed away.
The browse was willow, cottonwood, aspen, maple and never ever oak. His pellets were alfalfa based, with supplemental nutrients to balance his lack of aquatic plants. He also ate carrots (with the greens), apples, potatoes, pears, onions, rutabagas, beets, bread and loved bananas for a treat. He always had hay too, but he preferred the browse.
Though I never rode him, I could put a saddle on him and cinch it up. I used a rubber covered snaffle on his bridle. With care always taken for his leg, he would mount a pedestal, kneel, and give me a kiss (when I cheated and had a shortbread cookie between my teeth!) I could take him anyplace. We even went swimming together in Lake Michigan. One day he strolled through the tack room from his stall- and ended up in the living quarters, and played with the faucet in the kitchen sink! He was always full of surprises, and I wouldn't trade the treasured memories of him for a million dollars.
Curious, gentle (except during rut) clever, funny, eager to learn, adaptable, and able to steal a heart with one silly glance. That was MacDermott.
And Paul, you're right. It sure does seem like just last summer.
P.S. I also remember buying umpteen bundles of fresh spinach every week. He liked that too.
Quite surprising.
Camels, which are somewhat similar, can thrive on tumbleweed and poison ivy.
That sure would have made things less complicated. But on the other hand, it would have been as tough to find tumbleweed in Toledo, Ohio as it was to find willow in Bullhead City, Arizona!
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