Head Acres is the land of misfit critters

We could learn a lot from the animal kingdom.

Hundreds of critters have passed through the gates of Head Acres over the years. We’ve had Spanish bulls, emus, hogs, ducks, horses, snakes, chickens, lots and lots of chickens, chickens, feral cats, and most recently a “not-my-peacock” named Chicky.

Chicky’s screeches did take some getting used to but now we look forward to his call.

Some of our animal friends were destined to go on to rescue; we were a safe albeit temporary place for them to land. Others were destined to stay, whether they were too medically fragile, too afraid, or otherwise “unadoptable.”

Head Acres is the land of misfit critters.

Some of our residents started out as rescues but didn’t make the cut. Quincy, an odd mix of Jack Russell, pit bull, retriever, and swamp rat, was adopted. Twice. And he was returned. Twice. We understood his eccentricities, but not everyone could appreciate them like we did. He’s the resident old man now, nicknamed Meatball.

Our newest resident, SassyPants, is about 100 pounds of “ohmygoshdon’thitme!” packaged in a Great Pyrenees body. She’s a bull in a China closet; when she knocks into you, you know you’ve been knocked around. She ended up here because, as a puppy, people down the road were shooting giant fireworks at her. The puppy came screaming down the road as I was screaming at my husband Wayne to get her.

SassyPants was about 6 months old, and had a puppycrush on OtterPup, another senior citizen out here. OtterPup had been grieving for a few weeks, since the death of his mom, Singer.

We didn’t plan to keep another pup, but the universe – and OtterPup – had different plans. Otter became much more puppylike, and happy. We hadn’t seen him like that since Singer died. OtterPup would whack SassyPants around like nobody’s business.

Wayne would warn him, off and on, that pretty soon she was going to be bigger than he was and then there’d be pyr-heck to pay.

OtterPup didn’t listen. And sure enough, the first time SassyPants realized she could send OtterPup rolling with one of her ham hock paws, I’m not sure who was more surprised. Now we don’t see one without the other being within touching distance.

Thelma and Louise roamed the hospital fields for months before we caught them. These two rambunctious puppies had a fan club, several of whom had been putting out food and water for months trying to get them. We were part of that crew, stalking these two little pups. We finally did manage to get them, but only because Louise had been shot.

We rushed out there and Wayne held the crate while I begged Louise to not bite my face while I picked her up. She didn’t. She just looked at me, almost as if she was mocking me: “What took you so long?”

Because we had Louise safe in a crate, it was a bit easier to get Thelma. And then we made an emergency run to the vet’s. It took a few months to get them healthy, so they turned into permanent residents.

Despite the circumstances of all the critters who’ve landed here, they are trusting and loving. I think they know they’re OK here. They just needed a safe place to land and a little kindness. Don’t we all?

Patti Dobson writes about faith for The Eastern New Mexico News and Quay County Sun. Contact her at:

[email protected]