animals

Residents in the area of Adams Street, Batavia, complained over the weekend about a fox that would not leave the area.

A Batavia police officer investigated and found a fox that appeared to be suffering from an injury or illness lying near the side of the road.

The Department of Environmental Conservation was contacted. The DEC advised, according to Batavia PD Chief Randy Baker, that the fox be destroyed.

The animal was killed and taken to DPW for disposal.

The nature of its injury or illness is unknown.

A six-point buck reportedly ran into the door of Batavia Middle School a short time ago.

Police were dispatched because classes are about to be let out.

A second report says the buck has also run into a car.

A police officer on scene reports that parents are complaining about blood on the door, asking that the school clean up the blood before children are released from classes.

After nearly two decades of caring for unwanted equines, Mike and Chris Dodge are finding it a bit harder to carry on. Since they started their efforts, initially in Ventura, Calif., they have so far saved 400 horses.

Now in declining health and grappling with a 40-percent drop in donations, the Dodge's are still doing what they can to keep their horse rescue in Pavilion going.

Sunday, they and a group of supporters and volunteers held an open house at the rescue on Dow Road. While there were many new faces, attendance was down from previous years, Mike Dodge said.

"Donations are down because of the economy, but it's that way with every non-profit," Dodge said. "Without those donations, though, we don't have the money to do what we have to with these guys."

There are 24 horses on the ranch and it costs $125 per month -- $3,000 a month total -- just to feed them. Plus there are medical bills and other expenses associated with operating the rescue.

The pasture out back hasn't been mowed for a while because the lawn mower broke.

Volunteers help, but many of them are students at SUNY Geneseo, so when school is out, there are fewer hands to clean stables and feed and water the horses.

Dodge noted that some of his volunteers have been kids who learned to ride at commercial stables and think they might to own their own horse. What they learn in volunteering, Dodge said, is that "90 percent of the care of a horse is on the ground."

Mike and Chris started horse rescue in Ventura County 18 years ago because they thought the humane society near their home didn't do a very good job.

Mike said they would put down a horse as dangerous if it kicked up its rear legs.

"That's just a horse having fun," Dodge said.

They stayed there for eight years before moving to Pavilion so Chris could be closer to her family.

In an era when many people who thought they could afford horses, now find they can't, as many as a 100,000 horses are sent to slaughter each year -- slaughtered in Mexico or Canada, because environmental regulations make it tough to run a commercial horse slaughter anywhere in the United States.

The Dodges have two horses on their way out for adoption, which is helping to make room for one horse that can no longer be cared for by its owners.

"This little girl has been riding him every day for four years, but they couldn't find a place to board him, so we're bringing him here," Dodge said. "She's a nice little girl."

While some horses do go out for adoption, so many of the animals brought to the rescue are hard to place because they're old (one horse at the rescue is 41 years old, which is like 123 to you or me), feeble (the white horse with spots pictured below is blind, but just about the friendliest horse you'll ever meet) or too ornery for hobby owners.

"Everybody wants a horse that's easy to handle," Dodge said.

Anybody who can care for the animal, handle the $125-per-month feed bill and provide it adequate pasture and shelter, is eligible to adopt a horse.

Every horse saved is another that can be saved, and that's what keeps Chris and Mike going.

"It’s strictly for the horses," Mike said. "They can’t speak for themselves. Just like dogs and cats, they need someone to speak for them, to be their voice."

The next closest rescue in New York is in Lima, where 12 horses are boarded; otherwise, there's no other horse rescue in Western New York.

Mike said he realizes with all of the horses that have been sent to slaughter over the years, 400 rescued is "just a drop in the bucket," but it's still worthwhile.

"It sure means a lot to that one horse."

Here's a video produced by somebody in Buffalo about the rescue:

For more information, visit the rescue's website.

Remember the wayward snake on State Street Road on Saturday? Through diligent investigative journalism, we acquired a picture of it.

The snake, believed to be a ball python, is holed up at a secret, undisclosed location (well, at least, I don't know where it is) awaiting possible recovery by its rightful owner.

The python is described as a little over 3-feet long.

Whoever first said "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" never met Morgan Harrington.

For Morgan, life is about butterflies.

The Elba 9-year-old has taken the lead in a family project to find and catalogue as many types of caterpillars at the Harrington Greenhouses as possible.

There are 72 different species of butterflies and moths in Genesee County, and the Harringtons would like to find all 72.

"Now that we started this, we find that when we go through the nursery, we find them everywhere," said Morgan's dad, Aaron. "We're going to learn what we can about each of them."

Morgan -- who is assisted by her  8-year-old sister Madison -- uses field books to identify each kind of caterpillar, butterfly and moth she comes across. She keeps a log of each discovery, from the date of the find up through each stage of life for the insect -- from larva to caterpillar to winged creature.

"I really like it because I started doing it after one of my pets died," Morgan said.

Her simple explanation belies her obvious enthusiasm for the project. She can teach you more about butterflies in 30 minutes than you could learn in a high school biology class. Morgan can talk intelligently about each stage in the life cycle and identify on sight a dozen or more species, including what they eat and where they live.

"We decided to do this because we didn't want our kids growing up not understanding how things work in life," said Aaron, who runs the greenhouse business with his wife, Danielle.

The business in its current incarnation is 25 years old and was started by his father, though there was a greenhouse business on the same North Byron Road location years before that.

The Harrington's raise a variety of annuals, perennials, shrubs, bushes and trees, as much as possible without pesticides (though with non-native species of insects, pesticides are about the only option), and the butterfly project has made Madison and Morgan more aware of the insect species around them.

"It's good for them to learn the different types of beneficial and non-beneficial types of animals," Aaron said.

Even some caterpillars -- such as the rose saw fly -- are far too destructive to host plants, Aaron noted, but of course, monarch butterflies are beautiful and help spread pollen.

The girls have found a couple dozen monarch caterpillars, a few of which are already curled up in cocoons. When the butterflies emerge, Morgan said, she will take them to a nearby milkweed patch and release them (monarchs eat milkweed because the plant's sap produces a toxin in the caterpillars that birds avoid).

All of the caterpillars live in a shared aquarium where they can munch on preferred clippings of milkweed, walnut or willow leaves.

The shared housing has led to another lesson -- one variety of caterpillar will eat its siblings if given a chance.

"I always say I don't want my kids growing up to think fish comes square and already breaded," Aaron said. "I want them to see an animal's life cycle from beginning to end learn about it."

Lindsay Kuhn, of Smoke Ridge Organics and Butterflies, visited the Richmond Memorial Library on Friday afternoon for the children's summer reading program. Kuhn brought with her a box of butterflies -- 55 of them stored in wax envelopes ready for release into the wild by the children. After about a 20-minute talk on the different kinds of butterflies, why they're important to the environment and their life cycles, each child was given a butterfly to release.

A silver SUV on Maltby Road reportedly struck two dogs and kept on going.

A deputy is dispatched to the area.

Submitted by Pamela Fry.

The above photo is a soon-to-be Cecropia moth. My husband found this in East Pembroke where he works. I have never seen a caterpillar like this before so I did some research on Google.

The scientific name for this creature is a Hyalophora cecropia, which is North America's largest native moth. These caterpillars molt four times during their life span. The picture above is the caterpillar's fifth instar so he/she will be spinning its cocoon very soon.

In a few weeks, the Cepropia moth will come out of the cocoon (see picture below). Since these types of moths do not have mouth parts, they are unable to eat. As a result, the lifespan of an adult Cecropia moth is typically only 7-10 days in the wild.

I found this creature to be very interesting and thought I would share it with you!

Karen, a Kingsbury Avenue resident, reports that yesterday around 1:15 p.m. her green Quaker parrot flew the coup.

She's worried about him and hoping an area resident might spot the parrot and, if not able to capture the bird, at least help her track him down.

The parrot has a red band with initials Y?B on it, plus a serial number.

Karen can be reached at 585-356-0191 or e-mail scmho_child@hotmail.com.

This beagle appeared late this afternoon on the porch of residents on Lyon Street. They're hoping to locate the little guy's masters. Call 813-7362 or 201-1128.

UPDATE 8:16 p.m.: Thanks, readers. The dog's owners have been found.

Reader Dana Barrett submitted this photo.

A bear was spotted in the area of Ham and Knowlesville roads, Alabama, this afternoon.

The reader who saw it didn't have a camera at the moment, but is keeping an eye out in case a photo opportunity presents itself.

Reader Jane Johnson said this pooch appeared in their yard this morning, very friendly, loves being around kids and had a collar and rabies tags.

But she has no idea who owns the dog.

The owner can contact Johns at 739-0378.

A bear seemed to be in the market for a new set of tires yesterday evening, paying a visit to Sloat Tires on Clinton Street Road, Batavia.

The photos were taken by Diane Scott and provided by Todd Sloat.

CORRECTION: The bear was actually shopping for tires THIS MORNING. Yesterday evening, it was reportedly seen checking into the educational opportunities at GCC.

Booboo is the cherished companion of Jennifer McDonald, of Pavilion, and Booboo has been missing since this past weekend.

Apparently Booboo got out when Jennifer's husband left a door open.

Booboo, who was recently groomed, so his hair is shorter than in this picture, was last seen on Route 19 near the fire hall.

Both Jennifer and her husband, Mel, work at Mancuso Limousine and according to David Mancuso, Mel is in the doghouse even at work (though Jennifer adds, "he really does feel bad about it"). So Mancuso is stepping in to do what he can to help. He's offering $100 cash or a free ride in a limo to whomever finds and returns Booboo.

UPDATE: Booboo is back home.

Submitted by Pamela Fry:

For the past six days, a ferret has been living in our backyard. It is a very friendly critter which leads me to believe that it's a pet of somebody's. My neighbor next door has been kind enough to keep the ferret safe in her garage with food and water for the time being.

If you have lost your ferret, or, if you are interested in keeping this ferret as your own pet, please let me know so we can get this ferret a safe home.

UPDATE: A home has been found for the ferret.

Sam Ferris of Judge Road in South Alabama called me this morning and said there were a pair of large butterflies hanging out in his yard and he thought it might make an interesting picture.

A butterfly with a six-inch wing span? Sounds pretty interesting and I had a little time this morning, so I drove out there.

After getting a picture, I drove out to the Interpretive Center at Genesee County Park to cover an event there. When talking with volunteers there, I mentioned the large butterfly and pulled the picture up on my camera.

A volunteer said, "That's not a butterfly. That's a moth."

It turns out it's a Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora Cecropia). I learned that the moth has no digestive system. Tonight, it will probably fly off, find a mate and then die. Typically, once they molt, they live about three days.

This black crow is sitting on a fence on Maple Street near Jackson Street, Batavia. It's been sitting there all day, according to a neighbor.

I was able to walk up close enough that I could have touched it if I wanted. I shot this with a short focal length lens, no zoom, which gives you some idea how close I got to it.

Its eyes are bright and alert, so I'm not thinking illness, but it's also not normal. So what does one do about a sick or injured crow?

So I headed out to Francis Road this morning to see if I could get a picture of an intrepid deputy rounding up cows.

There were no cows, but there was this lost beagle. 

Deputy Lonnie Nati picked him up and delivered him to the animal shelter.

The beagle was wandering about 3/4 of a mile south of Lei-Ti Campground. It was a good distance from any nearby home, so not sure where he belongs (could be a she, I didn't check).

No tags. The pooch, very friendly and calm, has a large softball seized growth on its left rear hindquarter.  

For the first time this spring, Billie and I were able to sit on our back deck, and of course, I had my camera with me, at the ready, when this squirrel stopped by for a visit.