Post Falls | KXLY

The piglets of Cable Creek Farm had their first peek of the world Wednesday morning. The farm welcomed over a dozen young ones to a life of pastures neighboring a llama, a milk cow and two hyper dogs.

We stopped by the farm to find Beth Tysdal, owner, sporting her Carhartt work clothes, fussing with two litters of piglets from two new mothers.

The sad fact of farming. These piggies will be bacon one day. They’re cute though. 

As I walked with Tysdal to the farm house to meet the piglet getting bottle-fed, she told me some of them didn’t make it. One was still born. Two others died at birth. One was stepped on by the mother, killing it. 

I asked, “Did you bury them?”

She responded, “No… We just threw them away.”

Life is tough on a farm.  

On that sad note, let’s talk about something positive. The Cable Creek Farm just got a milk cow which has come in handy for feeding some of the piglets who can’t seem to get the opportunity to nurse by their mothers.

From my notes: Keri Wilson’s chickens chase the cats.  “They’re not itty-bitty hens. They’re quite large and bossy,” Wilson described. They’re Jungle Fowl originally from Indonesia. Wilson says they eat anything that moves. They’re omnivores. “People want to believe that they’re these lovely little things they have at the fair, but they’re these fabulous surviving dinosaurs that have learned to make their way by eating everything.” One ate a mouse the other day. Yikes. That’s free-range for you. 
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From my notes:

Keri Wilson’s chickens chase the cats. 

“They’re not itty-bitty hens. They’re quite large and bossy,” Wilson described.

They’re Jungle Fowl originally from Indonesia. Wilson says they eat anything that moves. They’re omnivores.

“People want to believe that they’re these lovely little things they have at the fair, but they’re these fabulous surviving dinosaurs that have learned to make their way by eating everything.”

One ate a mouse the other day. Yikes. That’s free-range for you. 

Clarkston Chicken Lays Egg With A Secret

LC Valley | KXLY

Keri Wilson has seen a lot of weird things on her family’s farm Wilson Banner Ranch near Clarkston, but this is one incident she’ll never forget. While collecting her chicken’s eggs yesterday, they found a surprise - a rather large egg.

“I called my parents to come down to the house. With an egg that big, the chicken can damage their insides. It’s the equivalent to giving birth to a basketball,” Wilson said over the phone with a cringe. After a quick inspection, Wilson said all the girls were in good health.

Wilson and her husband inspected the egg last night, cracking it open into a pan.

“What was in there?” Wilson asked as she pondered the strange behavior of her chickens that she described them as just little dinosaurs and not the lovely little creatures they have at the fair.

Animals seized from Hillyard home by SpokAnimal

North Spokane | KXLY

The wafting smell of animal hoarding was evident from a street outside a Hillyard home on Wednesday morning. SpokAnimal was on scene seizing animals on a warrant for animal cruelty and neglect. About 30 animals, cats and dogs, were found in the barely livable home at the 3200 block of East Crown.

“We’ve given her every opportunity to get rid of the animals and clean up, but we get phone calls from residents asking: “Aren’t you going to do something about those animals?”,” Meyer added. “We have to do something. It’s not for the residents, it’s for the animals. You don’t lock up eight cats in one small cage and not clean them.”

Search continues for dog ejected from I-90 crash

(Updated 4:58 p.m.) - Atticus has been found safe. Chelsea’s father, Bob Jones, called to say he was found by a family who said he was taking food given to him from their front porch for the past few days. When they saw his story on KXLY, they picked him up and called him in. 

“There must have been so many people looking for that dog about a hour ago,” Bob told KXLY. “We really owe you guys. You clearly saved this dog’s life.”

Chelsea was driving home with Atticus asleep in the car when we spoke to her. She said, “He immediately recognized us and came running down the stairs with his whine. He was so glad to see us and he’s now asleep in the car. It was a great moment.”

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A dog’s family is trying everything they can to get him back. Atticus, a Catahoula breed, was ejected from a vehicle crash along I-90 on January 18th around 3 p.m. near mile marker 260 between the Tyler and Cheney exits.

Chelsea Jones, a Gonzaga student, says her boyfriend, Nathan Lawrence, was driving back to Western Washington to return to work as a firefighter. That’s when the accident happened. He was changing lanes around a semi when he fishtailed and then tipped over the guard rail. Atticus’ kennel simply popped open and he got out.

Lawrence is now taking time off just to stay in the area to search for Atticus.

“Saturday was the first day that we got tips,” Jones said. An employee with the county’s snow plowing crew spotted the dog near the accident area.

“Someone had spotted the dog right where the accident happened near the guard rail. He had been bedding down in that area, returning to the crash site,” Jones said. She continued, “A state patrolman also spotted him in the median. We were panicked about that.

Tips are streaming in about the missing dog. Jones says they’ve been busy going door to door in the area spreading flyers and their phone number, hoping that somebody will help get him back. At this point they’re even offering a $500 reward for his safe return.

“On the very first night, we went door to door in the area that it happened. The next day we spent four hours in the woods calling out for him, looking for signs,” Jones explained.

As far as they know, Atticus was not injured in the crash. He’s also microchipped. He’s described as a friendly and smart dog, but can be timid. If you have any information about his whereabouts, you’re asked to call Jones at (509) 951-3292.

A return of Spokane snowfall could mean return of PETA

The animal rights advocacy group, PETA, may be coming back to Spokane after the next snow fall with a lucrative offer for the city’s new mayor, David Condon.

PETA would like to clear the sidewalks around City Hall after the next snowstorm if Condon allows the group to stencil the same sidewalks with their latest advocacy message regarding anti-dog chaining laws. They announced their attentions in a letter received by the Mayor’s Office on Tuesday morning.

They hope Spokane adopts their own legislation to make sure dogs are not kept outside during extreme winter temperatures.

KXLY Meteorologist, Mark Peterson, says there is a chance for snow in the upcoming forecast. There’s a 30 percent chance of snow for Sunday increasing to 40 percent into Tuesday. Right now the system has been moving in from the Pacific at a snail’s pace. It could bring in - if anything - light amounts of snow for lower elevations in the Spokane area.

In past years, Spokane became known as a city with abundant snowfall, however this year it’s been dismal. We didn’t break any records in December, but the month was ranked 8th for least snowy. The airport only recorded 2.4” of snow.

Even if that small chance of snow blankets the city, would it be enough to shovel? It all depends on PETA’s definition of snowstorm.

Kristin Richards, media coordinator, says if the city would normally shovel or plow during the next snow accumulation, they’d like to be out there.

PETA’s letter was sent from the Mayor’s Office down to City Council for further discussion. Council President, Ben Stuckart, says they’ve received the document, but as of Tuesday evening he has been unable to discuss it with other council members. He says they’ll debate the topic further on Thursday afternoon at the council’s study session.

“I sent this to civil services, but I don’t think we can let volunteers do what the city already does,” Stuckart said. Though Stuckart is new as council president, he couldn’t recall a time the issue of anti-dog chaining laws had ever been addressed nor had anyone ever volunteered snow duties.

“I love animals, but I’ve never encountered anyone wanting to shovel our sidewalks,” Stuckart said. He continued, “More research still needs to be done on anti-chaining laws.”

The city was visited by PETA in September to protest a downtown restaurant, Sushi.com, for their hand in sushi - raw fish. PETA said fish don’t have the same rights as cats and dogs, but they should.

Grieving woman stands hopeful on a North Spokane street corner

The heart break of a missing pet is bringing a North Spokane woman to the streets to find Jesse, her 14-year-old Australian Shepherd.

Tonya Smith, 55, has been with her best friend since he was a puppy - looking after him his entire life. On December 10th, it was a day nobody wants to experience, but she did. Her step-father passed away that morning and when she returned to her Hawthorne and Highway 2 home, Jesse was gone.

“He had lost so much weight that his collar had been getting larger and larger on him, “ said Smith. “That night he slipped out of his collar and he was gone. I haven’t seen him since.”

Jesse suffers from congestive heart failure and poor eyesight. He depends on medication to survive.

Posting on Craigslist, hanging signs, checking shelters wasn’t enough for Smith. You may have seen her waving signs while clutching her walker. She waves to thousands of drivers each day near the North Point Shopping Center at the Holland and Highway 2 intersection. She’s hoping you’ve seen Jesse or may have a lead that will lead her to her lost friend.

“I thought if people can be out here with signs looking for money, I got the idea that I can be out here with signs looking for my dog,” said Smith. She continued, “At least it would get a lot of exposure. I know thousands of people have seen my sign.”

Passing drivers have seen her and they’ve been calling us to let us know she’s there. One of her Facebook friends based out of Virginia even contacted us to let her know about her loss.

The community has stopped by to support her in this time of need. As neighbors pass through the crosswalk, they stop and listen, and share their prayers.

“I had one nice lady bring me hot cocoa,” shared Smith.

She added: “That was nice.”

Earlier this year, Smith also loss her mother - making the disappearance of Jesse even harder this holiday season.

Considering the circumstances of Jesse’s age and health issues, reuniting him with his owner would be a miracle, but this is the holiday season and who knows what kind of miracles can happen. If you have any information that may help, contact KXLY, email: nicoleh@kxly.com.

Spokane Humane Society Takes In Animals Displaced By Arden Fire

A fire destroyed one facility at the Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary in Arden Wednesday morning.

The Spokane Humane Society were there at their side ready to help. The took in five dogs displaced by the fire that had killed one puppy and two cats in the fragile animal facility.

“We transfer animals from them frequently when they have overflow,” Jenna Carroll, Spokane Humane Society explained.

“But now with the fire — They called. They’re good people, completely volunteer-run,” Carroll shared. She continued, “At this point, this is what they needed. These guys need to be somewhere safe and warm.”

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