Please think first about securing pets--and skipping fireworks

The Lexington Humane Society shared this sad but important story from the Bowling Green/Warren County Humane Society on Facebook. Please put your pets up during the upcoming holiday. And rather than fireworks, celebrate the Fourth of July by donating to a shelter. Fireworks are over in minutes, but go on all night (and other ones too) with pets assailed by large, scary sounds. And like Moose, many get out and run at the sound, sometimes to be found, often not. This family found Moose, but it was too late.

"Hi friends. As some of you know, my name is Moose. It was around this time last year that my mom and dad went to hang out with their friends one Sunday night. They knew how much I loved playing outside, so they let me and my brothers stay outside in the fenced-in yard while they were gone because we were cool big boys like that. We were having the best time running and playing with each other. My mom would probably croak if she knew how many holes we dug. I was definitely going to blame that on my brothers though. As we were outside, we started to hear these loud booms, and loud noises usually didn’t bother me because I’m a cool pup like that. I thought they would stop, but they didn’t. I kept hearing the booms and saw big flashing lights in the sky. That started to really scare me. That was different than the other loud noises I had heard before. I couldn’t seem to get away from them so I jumped over our fence and took off running. I kept running but when I looked up after the booms had stopped, I didn’t know where I was. I tried for 7 days to find my way back home as my mom and dad and so many kind people looked for me. After so many days of trying to find my way back home, I got so tired and I just couldn’t go any longer. I laid down and went to sleep. When I woke up, I had crossed the rainbow bridge. It was the prettiest place I had ever seen. There were so many other dogs there for me to play with. I can still see my mom and dad and all the people that loved me, just from a different angle now. I really wish those booms didn’t scare me. If they hadn’t, I would still be there playing with my new human brother. He would have loved me, because who didn’t? I just wanted to remind you guys that fireworks (I think that’s what Mom called them) are really cool to you guys, but very scary for us. Please keep that in mind and keep your furry, 4-legged babies inside as much as you can for the next few weeks. When the booms are gone, they can go outside and play as much as they want. If you promise to watch over your furry friends down there, I promise to watch over them from up here. Love and miss you guys.

-Moose

“Most of y’all remember my baby Moose. We had him since he was 5 days old. We bottle-fed him and he immediately became a crucial part of my family. He was the best snuggler and best brother to our other pups. He was so loyal and committed to protecting and loving his family hard, including his newborn human brother. We miss Moose terribly and it still seems so unfair. I still blame myself for thinking it was okay to leave him outside because loud noises didn’t bother him. Never in a million years would I have ever have thought we would lose him so soon. We came home one night and he was gone. We found him a week later in a field, and the only way we could identify him was by his collar which had his name tag and his microchip tag on it. I would give anything to go back and redo that night. I will never leave my dogs outside during this time of year ever again. Please trust me, and keep your sweet babies inside during these weeks and use a leash while taking them out to potty, even if they have never needed one before. I don’t want anyone to go through what we went through. We will never be able to thank you all enough for helping us look for our sweet Moose. We love you guys.”

-Maddie, Moose’s Mom

Thank you for reading this small part of Moose and Maddie's story. They're very special to us and when we asked Maddie to share this story, she said that it was hard to write and share, but if it prevented even one other pet and pet parent from going through this, it will be so worth it. Please share this post, keep your animals inside as much as you can these next few weeks, and take them out on a leash. We'll share some additional tips this afternoon to help you keep your pets safe during this time. ❤

This had me in stitches

But seriously, make sure your pets are secure. They get scared and go under fences, get out, whatever, and we always see a spike of lost pets on the local Facebook pages for reuniting lost pets with their owners, and I think it's the number one day for pet loss.

Dogs Raise Firework Threat Level To ‘Gray' (the accompanying graphic is great!)

There's also this, from The Onion: Nation’s Dogs Vow To Keep Their Shit Together During 4th Of July Fireworks

I spent awhile last night with a small black and white dog pressed against my under my legs for comfort while the fireworks went off.

Dogs always look a bit more content than cats in costume

15 Adorably Bookish Pet Costumes

Some of these are quite amazing.

This was making the rounds on Facebook, not sure of the original source

but it is so true! Adopting a pet should be for life. :)



Thanks to Deana Full for sharing.

Last night

I wound up totally absorbed in putting something together and testing it out for about three hours. I let my phone, which had a low battery, totally go down to the point it turned off, then couldn't find it for about fifteen minutes when I finally did tear myself away, realising that it was after midnight and time to go to bed. I had several calls and texts, but it was too late to respond to either. I did send an email to the person who'd called, saying it was okay to call back if he wanted, which he did so later that night, and we talked for about an hour. The person who texted and I caught up with each other this evening and had a good 'text conversation'. The project meant I messed the house up a bit. In fact, I need to redo a bit of the living room entirely to really incorporate things nicely. This will have the added advantage of giving me more room at the computer At the moment, a small bookshelf is slightly in my way and I sit at an odd angle, which isn't quite comfortable and would be less so for anyone else who isn't used to it, especially a guy. Since most people who might come over and use my computer are, in fact guys, at least one of which is left-handed, which would be even more cramped (and that's my setup as well), it would be nice to revamp things. I probably should have done that tonight, as I was home. Instead I had a quiet evening of relaxation while I planned inside my head.

The nice thing is that I always think my setup in the living room involves a computer desk and entertainment center that between them have bedrails upon which books sit as a double-decker shelving, when in fact, the weight is borne by the computer desk and a matching bookshelf. The entertainment center is separate, with books above it. It has to come out, and can do so without disturbing the majority of the books, and then I can move the table currently dividing the living area from the dining area over where it has been, and then I can stack the four half-bookshelves together in that divider, giving the computer room. The end result would be losing the entertainment center, which is very battered and over 25 years old (and it was a Sauder pressboard product to begin with, It is actually a relic of my marriage.) But things would be streamlined.

This was all set into place because I finally bought a television that is flat-screened and it is just a bit longer than the entertainment center allotment. It's not huge by any means, it's 32 inches diagonally, but it can stream Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Pandora, among other things. The old TV, a cathode ray tube television my grandmother gave me used before she died in 1993, is clunky but still working, so I moved that to the bedroom, along with the Roku box, so I can stream those services in there (I don't have a second cable hookup, but I can watch or listen to plenty of things just with Roku). I'm going to see about hooking up an old DVD player there as well. I discovered tonight as I was texting with Brandon that it was very pleasant to have Pandora streaming while I had my feet up in bed. I eventually fell asleep, and then woke up about 12:30 am and came out to take care of things like turning the aquarium light to night time use and taking my insulin. The rearrangement is tempting to start, but I think I'll save it for later in the week. I wanted to go ahead and get something while I could. It wasn't terribly expensive (I got it through Amazon, on six-month financing). But that will be the last major purchase for awhile, I think. And for now, I'll keep my cable TV, which fortunately I was already paying for an HD cable box (not sure why), so nothing increased and all I had to do was plug in an HDMI cable to use it to its fullest extent.

I made my appointment for a colonoscopy for next Tuesday, October 1st. The reality of it is really hitting me. Before that it was all in the theoretical category. When I went by the pharmacy today I quizzed them on different preparations. So Monday night I'll probably not be blogging, or if so, it'll be from the tablet or phone, and Tuesday I'm off from work and will probably be out of it. This is all contingent on whether Brenda can take me that day. Hopefully that will be a yes. I originally scheduled for arrival by 7:30 am and then called back and chose a later appointment since although I live just across a major road, she's coming from out of county to take me. I kind of want to get it over with. I have a lot of appointments coming up. There's finalising and signing my will and related documents (which to be honest it would have been nice to have that done before the colonoscopy, but alas, it's a couple of days later). There's a mammogramme, a trip to my regular doctor, a trip back to the gynaecologist, and on Halloween I go back to the endocrinologist. I'm also supposed to be starting physical therapy for my back, but that's only going to happen if I can do it after work. I am obviously breaking down and getting older. On the other hand, that should get most appointments for the year out of the way. I do still need to do a cleaning at the dentist; I'll wait until December on that one so that if they find anything, I'll have a full flexible spending card come January for anything pricey.

Our benefits enrolment is coming up soon, in mid-October. I'm interested in seeing how the health insurance changes. There have been several rumours flying around, and we got a required notice on health exchanges today as a result of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which I gather we will not be eligible for because we will still have adequate insurance. But I am interested in any changes. This major benefit is one of the reasons I stuck with my present job through thick and thin and even when it was only 20 hours a week, because I got full health insurance even at that amount and it was very good insurance. It's eroded a bit over the years (higher co-pays for stuff like outpatient surgeries that we didn't used to have, etc., but it's been pretty good and I don't need referrals to see anyone who takes my insurance, so I've been really happy with it.

Last year I had gone to the benefits fair and then the very next day I was hit by a car. It's amazing to me that it's nearly been a year. The anniversary is in nineteen days. I am so lucky it wasn't worse. Another anniversary that I'm marking, yes, even now, is the death of my last pet, my beloved dog, on the 24th of September. She gave me sixteen great years of companionship. It's hard to believe it's been six years since she passed. I only have goldfish and a betta (not in the same tank) these days. All in all, that's good. I don't really have a great deal of time to devote to a pet and I'm allergic to both cats and dogs. But still...I never thought I'd go this long without one. Also, it's hard to believe, but tomorrow would have been my grandfather's 90th birthday. (Sorry YKWIA, I know you hate it when people dwell on that.) It's hard to believe it's been nearly 14 years since he died. I wish he hadn't smoked like he had; he really might have lived to see 90. Most of the people in my family live to be close to that; the only ones who didn't either died of smoking-related diseases, accidents, or in one case, a severe case of diabetes before we had better treatments.

Speaking of which, I really need to see about going to visit my grandmother soon. With all that's going on this month it will be a stretch to do, but I should.

Okay, I've babbled on longer than usual, and I've been up for an hour in the middle of the night. Good night.

I just made four pies

under direction, and with pre-made crusts (which seemed to bake up quite lovely--they were by Marie Callender, and I chose them because they had to have vegetable oil instead of lard). They were a Derby-style pie (I say that because I think someone actually trademarked the term Derby Pie, which is insane, in my humble opinion.)

Anyway, I helped with that and then came on home, getting here right before dark. The cat was intrigued by the crackle of the seal around the pie crust. He loves to play with plastic like that. You also find it on those boxes of salad or various greens. But he soon got bored, and the other cat snubbed the piece of plastic. The dogs were rambunctious as ever. So I had a nice visit on top of helping with the pies. And I even got a couple of chocolate chips for my work. :)

Today I came in and found a care package on my desk. It was a large gift bag with food in it. I'd been asked why I wasn't coming down to lunch and admitted that I really wasn't eating because I was so low on money (I have exactly $4.54 in the bank, if you count both accounts, plus some pennies at work and at home.) I don't know who gave it to me (I only told a couple of people), but I really appreciate it, although it's kind of sad that I have to sometimes rely on the charity of people around me. I've been doing much better and I thought the worry of where my next meal came from was behind me. Apparently not. Fortunately we get paid Thursday.

I could go on about the creepy guy on the bus or the car buyers looking at the Jaguar in the lot as if it were on sale, when it was parked in an employee area, but I am very tired and am nearly falling to sleep in my chair. I'll type more tomorrow--I'm off from any of my normal Saturday activities, so I'll just wing it and enjoy a day with no major stuff to do. I have to game notes, and a few mild chores, but otherwise it is mine to do as I wish. Mu-hahahahah. Okay, definitely time to get some sleep. Good night.

Strange things people do with technology and pets

I suppose that if one has an exotic pet that eats insects for a living, and a device upon which to play 'Ant Smasher', then it's not surprising one might film the pet doing this. But I think the guy with the bullfrog definitely got more than he bargained for...



but the bullfrog gets the big one...


Thanks to the ever-great George Takei for sharing both of these.

I also found this picture

Spock was already 12 by this time. His Star Trek-shaped grey spot on his forehead, from which he got his name (hey, pointed ears?) had faded by then. His right eye was blue, hence the reflection from the flash. He was the sweetest cat I've ever met, and also the dumbest. Sweet and dumb seem to go hand in hand. He was the one animal I did not have to have put down; he died in my arms at the age of 17. I think he was a little cross at wearing a bow, or at least as cross as he ever got.

There was one more cat, but he never came out when I had company, for the most part. It wasn't until maybe the last four years or so he'd come out to be with me; he was a very shy, retiring cat. That was Darius. He came to me in the backyard as a kitten while I was giving my monthly libation, meowing to be let in. She (Hekate) is known for a connexion with dogs, but hey, I decided to take it as a sign and took the little fellow in. Oddly enough, he bonded like glue with Cerys, and to her dismay took to sitting on her often.

In my adult life, I've only had one other pet, Basil, a beagle-basset cross that I found wandering in the Chevy Chase area. I had to eventually find a home for him, because he was absolutely incapable of being housebroken. Cerys was much happier, too. It broke my rule that pets are for life, but there you go. I gave him to a family that could be with him longer hours of the day and walk him more frequently, and did disclose his issues. I hope it worked out. I have to admit, there was a lot of relief on my end. I hope they did not curse my name too much afterwards.

For the first time since I was about 13, I am petless, unless you count a few goldfish. Sometimes I think of getting a kitten, but I'm not ready yet. And I don't know if any dog could be such a good match for me as Cerys was. Plus, Cerys came to me at 8 months, already housebroken and past (most) of the destructive stage. I'm not sure I have the energy for a puppy. :) But maybe a kitten. Someday.

Bad blogger, no cookie!

Listening to: 'I'll Be Waiting' by Lenny Kravitz--who I didn't realise is older than I am; he wears it well--(sorry, can't embed)

I haven't written since Wednesday night, a much longer hiatus than I'd prefer. Mostly I've been sore and exhausted when I came in, so I just didn't feel up to writing. Here's what you missed:

Wednesday I was off from both jobs so I could go to the dentist. I need a crown to fix a broken tooth that had had a root canal; I go in for that on Thursday. Joy! I also did animal wrangling and transport for a small herd. Given that I fell Monday, that and animal wrangling left me a little sore.

Thursday we had an ice storm. It wasn't as bad as the one we had several years ago that shut down the town for a week; however it was a bloody nuisance, glazing everything. I thought it would be bad to drive in, but actually it wasn't. However, I fell twice--once down the three steps from the parking lot to my apartment before working the truck, and once on a walkway at a house afterwards. Fortuantely I did not fall at work, since the paperwork is always a pain any time I've done so at a job. Each time I bounced on my butt, which fortunately has lots of padding but also lots of room for bruising. And at some point I must have hit my elbow. So I'm sore and feel rather like I've been in a minor car accident. It hurts to turn the ignition in my car, and a little when I've sat for any length of time, because I get stiff. Mind you, that was three falls in one week, the first being a trip over a dog onto hardwood--better than concrete, I suppose, but still...I'm really beginning to think it might be time to go to a chiropractor again; I must check and see if my insurance covers it. The funniest thing about the ice? Having a friend have to scoot into his house on his butt to avoid falling, and throwing the mayonnaise we'd bought at the store inside so I wouldn't have to do the same.

Friday:

What did I do Friday? Oh, I had to get up V-E-R-Y early, about 5 am for something. Then I worked at the hospital, did notes, primed some shelves, and did some dishes, then came home early and sat in my comfy recliner with the massage cushion going, then picked a friend up from work, delievered him, and came back to fall right to sleep. I got nine hours' sleep plus a bit of a nap in last night. Woo-hoo!

Saturday:

I worked at the store, but only until 4 pm. I had someone who had been calling maniacally apologise because he misunderstood a situation, which was nice. I had firmly been following company policy and he was freaking, then realised there was no reason to freak, and called back to apologise. Score one for the day. Then I escaped and did a major grocery run with a friend and then notes, and I did some mopping. Now I'm home, and I'm going to go to bed early because I have to be over for game preparation at 7 am tomorrow. But first I may run that massage cushion for about a half hour.

Hope that catches you up. I know my life is fairly boring, so thanks for reading anyway.

I can't imagine just abandoning an animal in a house

surely even a kill shelter is better than that...

Foreclosures Lead to Abandoned Animals

Well, the other downside they don't mention is the poop issue

You Would Be a Pet Bird

You're intelligent and witty, yet surprisingly low maintenance. You charm people easily, and they usually love you a lot more than you love them. You resent anyone who tries to own or control you. You refuse to be fenced in. Why you would make a great pet: You're very smart and entertaining Why you would make a bad pet: You're not interested in being anyone's pet! What you would love about being a bird: Flying, obviously What you would hate about being a bird: Being caged

What Kind of Pet Would You Be?

Now they're saying it may be in dry food

and the various labs are disputing what substance caused the deaths in pets--aminopterin, as announced last week, or melamine, a Chinese fertilizer that may have contaminated wheat gluten. No word on what types of dry food may have been affected as of yet, if any. Menu Foods had a press conference earlier today discussing the melamine development. According to that, they only manufacture wet food, so if there is dry food contaminated, it may be another manufacturer.

I hope they get all this resolved soon!

FDA Tests Show Chemical in Pet Food

Scary for pet lovers

Millions of Dog and Cat Food Containers Recalled Amid Reports of Kidney Failure, Deaths

For details of which specific brands are involved, click this link:http://www.menufoods.com/recall/. It's mostly store propietary brands in the can or pouches. They include major stores (Kroger, Meijer, Save-a-Lot, Winn-Dixie) and also premium foods such as Iams and Eukanuba.