All Life Is Local: Still Life with Robin: The Cleveland Park Listies Nominations in the Category of BEST ANIMAL STORY

by Peggy Robin

Here are the five nominees in the category of Best Animal Story.

1. The new year kicked off with a scary coyote enounter in a back yard on Porter Street. Mary G. posted this public service warning on Jan 1:

"This is quite SERIOUS about COYOTES on our doorstep. Very close to the house (w/in 8 inches of back glass door). I have a 5 lb 2 year old pup who would be a tasty bite!

A couple nights ago I turned on the garden light and looking down, was just about to put my dog on his lead. Looked up at two very pretty, reddish coyotes staring at me. They looked me in the eyes and continued leisurely foraging in the garden, unperturbed by my presence. I hazed them by banging on the glass door until they ran straight up the terraced garden.

The encounter shook me because I know coyotes are opportunistic eaters and with snouts like German Shepherds, if one had gotten Toti, with the other there, I don’t know if I would have been able to wrest him from its grip.

I also wanted to note how well- nourished and healthy they looked and hope no one has been feeding them. I have coyotes at my place in Maine that look very skinny and not pretty! And they would never venture this close to a home....

Since that night I have walked Toti and at night put his lead in front nearer to human interaction. Be on the lookout!"

2. Coyotes, again. This nominee is also about coyotes, but these are neither pretty nor healthy. It's a plea to help our unfortunate, mange-afflicted coyotes. Anyone picturing Wile E. Coyote? Take a look at one of these poor, skinny beasts:

The plea for compassionate action was posted by animal lover Carol G. on August 1, Message #216323

"Mange is easily treated. All it takes is one dose of Bravecto for a 40-lb. animal to cure a coyote of mange mites for 3 months.... Neighbors’ help is needed to locate the animal(s). It would be extremely helpful if anyone who spots the animal(s) to immediately write down exactly where you saw him or her and at what time. You can either email your information to me directly, or you can post the sighting on this Listserv where I will see it."

Very pleased to note that Carol's follow-up message (#216370 ) on August 4) by Carol reported progress in the task: "The Cleveland Park Listerv and the Chevy Chase Listserv are fantastic! Several people have responded with sightings of the Linnean/Nevada/Broad Branch-area mangy coyote — as well as the Chevy Chase mangy coyote. Because of these responses from the community, we have located the denning site of the Chevy Chase mangy coyote (Coyote #1) and are monitoring her/him with cameras. Attempts are being made over the next few days to medicate this animal."

3. Nesting mourning doves is a "nice problem to have," writes Steve S. in Message #213953 (May 22). "We have a nesting pair of mourning doves that have given birth to one offspring this year from a perch inside our garage. We weren't aware of their presence until after one of the hatchlings hatched and lived with them in co-existence by keeping the garage door ajar. This was nerve-wracking in that thieves would have had easier access to our garage. That hatchling is now living its dove life. The problem is this couple continues to wait outside the garage to build another nest - we had to take one out - and refuses to move on to another spot. It does seem they want to have another brood but we would prefer them to live elsewhere. Our strategy has been to keep the garage closed. If it is open for a moment, they will fly in and seek to re-establish residence."

Steve was looking for suggestios to enourage the lovey-doveys to move a more dove-welcoming sort of neigbhorhood. Nobody responded with what I would have thought would be the surefire method to get them to move: Set up a motion-activated sound system in the garage that that blares heavy metal music whenever they're there. That oughta convince any mature couple to seek a quieter neighborhood!

4. The Lost Parakeet Saga needed three messages to tell the complete story. First came the message from Pam H. on another Listserv about a lost parakeet named Nico. I wasn't able to contact the poster and ask her whether she wanted it on the Cleveland Park Listserv, so I reposted it myself without naming her. It's Message #210056 on Jan 28. Then I made contact and she joined the Listserv to make sure our readers were in the loop. (It wasn't her parakeet - she was simply a good samaritan.) Amazingly, just two days later, the parakeet was found, recaptured, and returned to its owner -- and she sent in the good news, found in Message #210109 on Jan 30. Finally, on Feb 3, Pam sent in a nice follow-up, with more details about the homecoming, including this charming report, based on her talk with Nico's "mom," who said that "...little Nico is starting to get back to his playful, funny self again!" Pam continues: "It must have quite a stress on that little parakeet when first getting lost. She [Nico's 'mom') said that he began 'talking' again yesterday, when he engaged in chatter '"with the lid of the half' n' half as she poured the cream into her coffee! LOL" -- but the larger part of her message was taken up with a comprehensive list of pet-recovery resources that anyone would be glad to have when trying to recover a lost parakeet -- or any other animal member of the family. The full message (should you ever need it) is in our searchable archives at Message #210239 .

Here's the prodigal budgie:

Can't get enough of the clever birdie? You can view a short, funny video of Nico at Message #210239 - scroll down to the bottom of the message and click on the attachment: 2024-01-30_17-27-35_000.mov to download the video clip to your media player.

5. Acrobat raccoon. This last nominee is a bit of a ringer, as the poster, Marcy, did not submit it to the Cleveland Park Listserv herself. I saw it on Popville and was so taken with it that on March 18 I reposted it on the Listserv as Message #211623 with the express intention of getting it on the Listserv so that it could qualify for a Listy nomination. Marcy calls it: "Weird animal tricks raccons walking on their hands!"