Will it ever end?

So, after the death of the Pygmy Marmoset Mom, "Mia", the injury of my African Pygmy Falcon, "Zuri", and all the other horrible injuries and deaths that my area has suffered over the last year, you would think it should be over for a while, right? No...not so much! On Friday the Cotton Top Tamarins and the White Faced Sakis were on exhibit together and had a pretty bad fight. The Cotton Tops being the smaller of the two monkeys, received all the injuries. Both the male and the female had several bite wounds all over them. The male, "Mikey", had the most bites on his tail, which x-rays told us, was broken! The female, "Minnie", had the most around her ankle, but luckily it wasn't broken, probably just badly sprained. Needless to say this will be the last time those two species share an exhibit together, especially since this is the second fight. About 10 months ago there was a fight between them where "Mikey" suffered a broken arm from a bite wound! On the bright side, at least they are not in the wild where they would die from these injuries by way of an infection, starvation or as an easy snack for a predator. Here they get pain meds, antibiotics and the best possible care from our vet staff.

Alright, well I am off to work to take care of my injured sweeties! Have a good day everyone!

My Way!

Yes, yes, I know it's been a while since I have posted anything to our blog, but there has been WAY too much stuff going on for me to even get on this thing and write.

Let's recap:

1. Audit at the bank
2. Test for Life and Health Exam
3. Dinner with co-workers
4. Appreciation Station at the Galleria
5. Afternoon meetings with our Area Manager
6. Boss leaving
7. Starting vacation!
8. GETTING A NEW JOB!!!!

That's right. Yesterday I officially accepted a job offer from Capital One Bank to be a Relationship Banker. Not only is it a promotion for me, but it is also a much needed pay rise...and a very healthy one at that. So, August 7th I will be ditching the blue and red of Citibank for the light green and silver of Capital One.

Let's see, what else!? Ah yes, my parents are in town for the entire week. They got in late Saturday night, and will be leaving sometime on Monday. We've had a busy couple of days so far with shopping, playing golf, sight-seeing, and lots of eating and napping! Today we are going to Martha's house for dinner, and hopefully, weather permitting, we will be watching Ruben play tonight out at the Woodlands. Tomorrow; possibly more golf and Lakewood Church at night. Other than that, the only thing set in stone is the Astros game Sunday night (my birthday) against St. Louis. It certainly has been relaxing, and there is no doubt it will continue to be. It's good to have them in town, and it is certainly much needed for me.

Other than that, not a whole lot else has been going on. It's been raining off and on, but luckily enough it's the typical Houston rain (20 minutes and then back up to 85 degrees). Good luck for the rest of the week to everyone, and have a very happy 4th of July!!!

A single dad with twins

As many of you have read, my Pygmy Marmoset couple had twins back in April. Yesterday, the mom passed away completely unexpectedly. Her name was 'Mia' and she was only 5 years old! She never showed one single sign of being sick, or not eating, or anything. Of course, I was the one to find her which made things even harder! She was such a good girl and an excellent mother. Her death was especially hard, not only because we didn't see it coming, but also because it now leaves dad with twins to care for on his own. They are almost 3 months old, and are eating a lot of solid food, but they may have still been nursing on occasion. We did some research and things are looking positive. At this age, even if dad abandoned them too, they should be able to survive on their own. That was great news as I was extremely worried about the welfare of the twins! However, it does not change the fact that Mia is no longer with us and that dad is now on his own. He had such a sad look on his face yesterday. For people who think animals don't show emotion, you are so wrong. It's never seen easier than in the face of a primate. Hopefully we will be able to introduce another female into this family group, but it of course will not be the same. Mia you will be missed!

After all this occurred, I began reflecting upon the last year and realized that we have lost 4 animals (3 primates and 1 acouchi), had to send 1 primate to a different zoo due to her partner's death, and 5 animals have gone through serious injury in just the past year. This was the hardest year of my career so far. I told my supervisor yesterday as I was in tears, that "I don't want to love animals anymore". It's just so hard when you lose them. And her response was, "that's why you can never stop doing this job"...and I never will.