Green Courage

On Wednesday, the last time i wrote, i told you about Sanford, the friendly neighborhood anole lizard.

And i told you that i might try to get pictures of the herd for my next post.

Well, on Thursday, as it was pouring down more and more icy cold drenching rain, and my hyper dogs were losing their minds on my porch, i decided to get some pictures.


Here's Barney. Isn't he sweet! Such a darling...




Here's Charlie. You can't tell it so much from the pictures, but they're very very different. Charlie is more friendly than Barney, but Barney has depth. =)




Here's Charlie trying to bite the camera.



Here's the two of them trying to look sweet. They're very photogenic.





Here's where they forget about the camera and start fighting with each other.




And here's where they decide to attack the cat. Poor Stanley!





Anyway, after i took all those pictures, i came back inside and thought, "hey, i could add another picture of Sanford!" It was 1 - something in the afternoon. I had glanced in the bathroom several times during the morning to see if Sanford was up on the glass, but i hadn't seen him. So i thought i would go do a more diligent search. It was then that i realized that the window was closed. And then i remembered that James had been in the shower early this morning - and that i hadn't told him that the reason why i had left the bathroom window ajar was so that i wouldn't catch Sanford in the rubber stripping. And then i found him (reader discretion is advised). Sanford was pinned at the bottom of the window, holding perfectly still.

Big breath! The window is loose enough that i was able to pull on the section that moves to let my lizard friend out. I wasn't sure if he was going to move, but he did. He pulled himself out of the window and onto the window sill. And i started crying. Poor Sanford was still moving, but he was breathing awfully hard, and while it looked like his torso was in tact, Sanford was having to support one lifeless injured leg, and his tail was now just a bloody nub. Oh Sanford!

I was surprised by my own very emotional reaction. Who knew i was so attached to this little vagrant lizard! But apparently i was. I kept thinking that he must be in horrible pain. First i got online, looking for someone to tell me if i could give him a tiny piece of aspirin or something - but there was nothing. Then i started calling veterinarians. I called four veterinarians, finally being referred to Texas Parks and Wildlife, who took a message. By then, i couldn't even find Sanford; he had found some hiding place in the cavity beneath the window, and i feared i he had just gone away to die. Oh sadness.

Friday morning, i found a chair to stand on - and a pair of tweezers - and set about to discover Sanford's tiny body in my window. He was in the cavity beneath where i thought he was, and when i poked him a little, he didn't move. So i took another deep breath and started to pull his leathery body out of the cavity by the neck - to which Sanford greatly resisted! Woohoo! He's alive. I had prayed for Sanford the day before, and i had begged him to live. I didn't have a lot of confidence that Sanford heard me, and i knew God heard me, but i wasn't sure that the life of this little guy was in God's agenda.

By the end of the day yesterday, Sanford had moved to the other side of the window (where it's easier to see him), and he was sometimes poking his little nose up like he was getting some fresh air. Before i went to bed, i put a lamp on the window sill, hoping it would make the window a little warmer, several times i sprinkled the window with water, hoping Sanford would drink some.

This morning (very late morning) when i woke up, Sanford was out of the cavity and on the window sill, soaking up some sun. And when i took a picture of him, he ran very fast for a lizard with a gimp leg. And i was delighted.

Well, i can't very well put Sanford out into the wild now. I've crippled the poor guy, and i'm not even sure whether he can climb anymore. I think he might need some rehab.

So i'm making plans to make him a little habitat. He's a courageous little guy as lizards go and as far as my knowledge extends, and i want him to have a happy life, as happiness goes for lizards. Maybe we'll even find him a Mrs. Sanford.

Oh, here's the picture. It's a happy picture now because he's getting better. Viewer discretion is advised.