The Old Folks Home

[Peep_Show]

I had a friend that had frog-themed stuff all over his house. He wasn't "collecting" frogs; people just gave them to him for some reason.

- - - -

Oh, wow. My mother was a "theme-ist." The kitchen was strawberries. The condo was ducks. The other condo had been owls. Guests would spend their idle time counting all of them (which included playing cards, towels, etc) At least it wasn't (quite) like Disneyland where the TP is embossed with little Mickeys.

(I am trying not to be a chicken theme-ist, but it is hard, very hard.)

 

[LindaB220]

Very hard day yesterday. Spent most it at the emergency vets. Very long story short. Had an appointment for next week with my regular vet, couldn't get me in sooner. I had found a lump on the side of her head and she was running a low fever. In the morning she put her paws on my chair and looked up at me. I looked into her eyes (definitely know they were fine the day before) and choked a scream, yelled at my DH we are heading for the vet's NOW while he was trying to figure out what just happened I was diving for my going to town pants. One of her eyes was totally clouded over and the other looked "fuzzy". I knew something was very, very wrong.

Several hours and $600 later we had no clear answers what it was but a few of what it wasn't. Could be Blastomycosis or an aggressive Lymphoma. Third possibility is acute Leukemia. Fourth possibility ??????? Vet admits she's stumped, but not for lack of searching for an answer. The Hematology results were bazaar. After the bloodwork and looking at biopsy from the lump under the microscope were inconclusive, Blasto is looking less likely but another biopsy, along with a urine sample, went off to the state vet lab anyway. If nothing else, it will narrow the search.

She was given several different drugs and we were sent home with more while we wait for more results. The old "shotgun" approach until we know what we are fighting. Within hours of coming home both eyes were completely white. My poor little baby girl. I am fighting to be strong for her but my heart is breaking as I hold her. She's just 5 years old.
Please pray. I know, she's just a dog, but no she's not,,,, not to me.

Update. She is happy this morning and doesn't seem to be in any pain. Still has the fever and appears to only be seeing shadows now. I just pray my vet has been doing her research and has some answers for us tomorrow.

my little snow dog

So sorry, honey, keep us updated. A very frightening time.

 

[Peep_Show]

Sending out prayers to the God of all things dog. How very scary for you! I hope you have answers soonly.

 

[ozexpat]

Thank you Oz. Yep. That's my fear as well. Rapid onset, acute, could very well mean rapid "resolution" before we can figure out what's going on. At least she is in no obvious pain at this point and seems more comfortable this morning, tho sleeping more.

I hope that I did not sound callous. I am hoping the problem is resolved quickly and your baby is curred but if not, may her demise not be protracted.

My wife and I had an amazing dog that we loved more than I ever thought we could love an animal. I feel your pain.

 

[Bunnylady]

Quote: Years ago, my family vacationed in a beach house that was owned by some Jimmy Buffett fans; the house was Buffet themed. There were references to his songs all over the house - "cheeseburger" on the menu board in the kitchen, a palm tree floor lamp with fixtures that looked like coconuts, that kind of thing; the house itself was named "Banana Wind."

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Disclaimer: I used to work for a mobile phone manufacturer.

Nokia?

Lacy, no, this cat went to a nice field. In this area, no songs birds in there.. if you can call a sparrow a song bird, then ok, poor sparrow. Not! I can't stand all of the sparrows around here! They eat, drink and poo in my chickens food and water. The song birds hang close to our fruit trees up here, and the marshes. Barns? I've talked to folks out there, they won't keep chickens, I offered.. unless, they are completely caged in. Too many raccoons, ferrets, skunks, hawks. Now mice and rats on the other hand. I've seen folks asking for cats to be dropped off at their barns to keep the critters down. Out in the flat area where the alfalfa grows, is a pretty good place for a cat. I won't kill the kitty. :/

Hence humans are destined to destroy the natural planet.

Don't get me wrong, I like cats. I think they're cool animals. I've owned cats and we have a cat now, but all have been confined indoors.
People like to believe that Norway rats and invasive sparrows are the target kill of cats. It just doesn't make sense that they would discriminate. The truth is, based on many research papers, the vast majority of animals killed are native wildlife. Data shows that cats are the largest single source of anthropogenic mortality of native species. Anthropogenic means environmental damage originating in human activity.

It's not just my opinion.

This is an interview with a Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute scientist on the research.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/killer-cats-take-down-billions-of-birds-report-says-1.1312489


http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/killer-cats-threaten-songbirds-small-mammals-1.1393193

There have been over 20 scientific studies that demonstrate both feral and domestic house cats allowed to roam are the most significant threat.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...te-change-habitat-loss-science-united-states/

Fish and Wildlife service.
http://www.fws.gov/birds/mortality-fact-sheet.pdf

As for your sparrows, you may be thinking of the old world invasive sparrows the house sparrow. We have those as well as the Eurasian tree sparrow. I hate 'em too.
The native sparrows however, consist of 21 species and though only 2 are threatened, they still belong here and not on a cat's diet.
Songbirds aren't just sparrows and natives in danger include many migratory birds.
If all the prairie where the cat went has are invasive sparrows, then where did all the other 500+ bird species native to Utah go?
http://www.utahbirds.org/checklistUtah.htm

Birds eat a lot of insects so are a very important control of invertebrates. I have several species of lizards here. They eat a lot of insects as well and the cats kill them too.

http://endangeredspecies.about.com/od/howyoucanhelp/a/Do-Cats-Kill-Endangered-Species.htm

Hubby decided to not "allow" me to do something ONCE shortly after we were married. Smiling, I called him the next day and told him I will come home whenever he decides I'm his wife, not a Golden Retriever. He never tried that one again and I have never done the same to him.
20 years of happy marriage.
...

Great story.

People don't get it unless it's their ox being gored. I worked nights for many years. I worked 10+ hours a night getting off between 4 and 6 AM. IF I got off at 4, made it home by 4:30 or later, wind down and maybe get to sleep by 5:30 or 6 AM. To get 8 hours sleep, I wouldn't wake up till well into the afternoon.
My dad used to call me between 9 and 10 AM almost every morning. He'd say "you still in bed sleepy head?". Every day, I'd explain what time I got home, what time I got to sleep and what time I would need to sleep till in order to get enough sleep. He'd say, "oh yeah that's right" - but he still didn't internalize it. I would then go back to sleep after having my REM sleep disrupted.
I finally got tired of it. I would wait till my second break after lunch which was between 1 and 3:30 AM. I would then call him and wake him up. When he'd answer, I'd day "you still in bed sleepy head?" He'd just chuckle a bit and I'd talk to him long enough so he couldn't doze right back to sleep. After 4 nights of that, he never called before 1 in the afternoon again.

I guess the guilty by association myth is busted. Nobody has been banned by interacting with me. So u paranoid old timers can rest easy. There is no threat of the thread being shut down. Im being good. Although i have been bored out of my mind,,, i am filtering my posts.. .

I'm paranoid and good for you for being good. It's almost as much fun.

 

[vehve]

@ChickenCanoe Yeah, did a 8 month stint as a "summer trainee" there last year, until our team was shut down in December and the work transferred to Beijing. Still, got to spend a week in China, pretty good for a summer job.

 

[Sylviaanne]

Very hard day yesterday. Spent most it at the emergency vets. Very long story short. Had an appointment for next week with my regular vet, couldn't get me in sooner. I had found a lump on the side of her head and she was running a low fever. In the morning she put her paws on my chair and looked up at me. I looked into her eyes (definitely know they were fine the day before) and choked a scream, yelled at my DH we are heading for the vet's NOW while he was trying to figure out what just happened I was diving for my going to town pants. One of her eyes was totally clouded over and the other looked "fuzzy". I knew something was very, very wrong.

Several hours and $600 later we had no clear answers what it was but a few of what it wasn't. Could be Blastomycosis or an aggressive Lymphoma. Third possibility is acute Leukemia. Fourth possibility ??????? Vet admits she's stumped, but not for lack of searching for an answer. The Hematology results were bazaar. After the bloodwork and looking at biopsy from the lump under the microscope were inconclusive, Blasto is looking less likely but another biopsy, along with a urine sample, went off to the state vet lab anyway. If nothing else, it will narrow the search.

She was given several different drugs and we were sent home with more while we wait for more results. The old "shotgun" approach until we know what we are fighting. Within hours of coming home both eyes were completely white. My poor little baby girl. I am fighting to be strong for her but my heart is breaking as I hold her. She's just 5 years old.
Please pray. I know, she's just a dog, but no she's not,,,, not to me.

Update. She is happy this morning and doesn't seem to be in any pain. Still has the fever and appears to only be seeing shadows now. I just pray my vet has been doing her research and has some answers for us tomorrow.

my little snow dog

My prayers are with you, your family and your baby. I pray that it is just something passing through her system and that she will be fine.
I have been through a similar situation when I was far away from my baby. She is fine now but it was expensive to save her life. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
Keep your spirits high and don't leave her side.

 

[vehve]

We went to a farm about 50km from here earlier in the week and picked up some organic domestically grown chicken feed that they mix themselves. Today we fashioned some new feeders and a waterer for the flock, and gave them some of the new feed. They loved it.

 

[bamadude]

I was joking about eating possum and armadillo the other day lol. I read those links about the dangers of eating roadkill that a few of u pmed. I appreciate yall looking out for my health...but i was just joking