Some days.....

This was one of those days. I know I said I wasn't going to talk about animals....apparently I lied...
We had to euthanize a cat today that should not have been in the condition that necessitated this decision. The animals we use at school are brought to the school on Monday morning by several different rescue groups and animal shelters and are returned to them on Thursday afternoon. In exchange for allowing the students to learn from them, we spay/neuter, vaccinate and deworm as well as treat any minor conditions, at no cost. We are not set up at school to treat anything more serious than minor little issues here and there so we will refuse any animal that is obviously ill. This morning, one of the animals brought to us was a young (~5years) long haired intact male cat. He was emaciated, lethargic and smelled horrible. The shelter worker said that he had been at the shelter for about 3 weeks and they hadn't brought him to us because he was too sick.One of the students was directed to check his temperature and when she lifted his tail to take the temp, (yes...that's where we take the temp...it's too hard to get them to hold the thermometer under their tongue...) the problem became very obvious. He had matted fur all around his backside that was full of fecal matter and it appeared that he had diarrhea. With clippers, I started to shave the mats away and realized that there was no skin underneath! Literally, the tissue was so infected that the skin simply sloughed off. In addition, there were areas that were ulcerated into the muscle. I can't begin to imagine how painful this must've  been. While this condition could be treated, it would require at least 3 weeks of very intensive nursing, $1000 or more and probably several months to heal completely. Sadly, this was just not possible because the shelter doesn't have the financial resources or manpower needed to provide this level of care. And certainly no money for it to be treated at a regular vet clinic. So the only alternative was to euthanize....Very, very sad. I gave my class the option of being present or not and bless them, they all stayed. I think for most of them this was the first time they had witnessed a euthanasia. I sincerely hope that I was able to convey to them the magnitude of being able to end a life and that they understand that each animal deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, no matter if they have an owner or not. And, it's ok to cry........Tough day...

If this has affected you in any way, please, consider making a donation to your local animal shelter. Keep in mind that local shelters struggle with day to day operations with limited funds and mostly volunteers. The Humane Society of the United States does not...let me say that again, DOES NOT give money to local shelters. In fact the majority of their money goes into lobbying, not animal care, despite what their commercials imply. In fact, recent documents (these are all public record) indicated that HSUS put $2 million into their employee retirement fund....$2 million.....donated money....So, please, give directly to your local humane society or rescue group.

And spay/neuter your dogs and cats!

Alright....I'm done preaching....I need to go take my blood pressure pills....:)

*listening to  "Overcome" - Live

From the dark side.....

Chapter 85 and the end of the weekend

So, I got a tweet on my phone that chapter 85 was up...and I'm sitting in a freakin' symposium! I had to wait all day to get home to read....ARGH!! And then when I got home, I still had to get the dang lawn mowed....All I could think about was getting done and getting to my laptop! Exercise in self control...So, now I've read it....and reread it...and re-reread it....And I'm sure that I'll be reading again several times...And then when the whole story is done (that's actually a really sad thought...the story will end eventually) I'm sure I'll be reading it over and over again. What is it about this story???? I dunno...go figure. If anyone has theories, I'm open to hearing them.

I'm staying away from the Sisterhood chat tonight....but I had a really good time last night. Looking forward to the next one already..... 

R.I.P. Ronnie James Dio. Heavy metal has lost an icon...He's actually credited with creating the heavy metal salute  \m/ >_< \m/

"No sign of the morning coming
You've been left on your own
Like a Rainbow in the Dark" - Dio

*listening to "Rainbow in the Dark" - Dio


From the Dark Side...

What would I do without....

Did you notice the new banner? Abso-fucking-lutely incredible! An original piece by the coolest Zealander on the planet!I  love it!!!!! Thanks BB!!! Love ya like a sister!

Too Lazy to Think of a Title....

I'm trying desperately to not fall asleep and do a face-plant on my keyboard...I'm getting too dang old for this all-nighter shit....And yet, given the same opportunity, I'd do it all over again. As my BFF Val is fond of saying, "get up! you can sleep when you're dead!"  Many more of these late nights and that might come sooner that I'd like. Once again, I'd like to thank the academy....no, wait...the sisterhood for making what I am today...TIRED!!!

I still haven't figured out what I want to blog about. The first thing that comes to mind is animals, but then it winds up being a veterinary Q&A.... "hey, my dog has this *insert anomaly here* on his *insert body part here*. Whaddaya think it is?" Sure, I can tell you without seeing it what it is, how severe it is, and whether or not it's likely to be fatal....right. So, probably not animals...I may sometimes get on my soapbox about certain animal-related issues. Fair warning...

39 hours without sleep...I think I'm doing pretty dang good...Contrary to popular belief, I can in fact find my ass with both hands....

So, on that note...I'm off

As always....from the Dark Side

* listening to "Meet Virginia" - Train

Well, shit.....My computer took powder last night while I was talking to the Sisterhood....Son of a low down, dirty, rotten, skanky bitch....And we were telling some really good stories...Let's recap...internet pajamas, verbal assault in the parking lot by a scary broad, cougars, pocket drawers, Quasimodo, crotch fire (not a rash!!) and.....Oh yeah, SMEXING!!!!!!!!!  OME...I was  laughing so hard.....And we know it's a successful chat when someone pees.......
So, since I didn't get to say goodnight last night....uh...goodnight and thanks for making me laugh until my face hurt! I love you guys! My sanity has been restored....ok, that's a stretch.....how about my sanity has been returned to it's normal state? More accurate....

I was going to complain about the crappy, rainy, COLD (40 freakin' degrees? Seriously?? It's MAY fer cryin' out loud!) weather today but then I saw that it snowed in Rapid City yesterday, so not complaining....At least you don't have to shovel rain....

I'm still trying to figure out what the purpose of my blog is going to be...I'm open to suggestions...I guess I could just be like Seinfeld and be about nothing in particular...I'm pretty good at nothing in particular...Or maybe some spectacular inspiration will hit me and I will find my purpose in life....ok, I'll settle for at least writing something worth reading...

*listening to: "Arena of Pleasure"- W.A.S.P.

From the Dark Side......

Welcome to the Dark Side

No, there are no cookies here...you want cookies, then bring yer own dang cookies! What I DO have is snarky comments, wiseass remarks, astute observations ....and the occassional brilliant insight. I'll be sure to highlight those so they don't go unnoticed....

So, why have a blog? Well, DUH!!!...because everyone else has a blog, right? I'm just keeping up.....'

Ok....learned something new today.....I now know what smexing means....I think......Not sure I could use it in a sentence though....Not sure that I would ever want to use it in a sentence...

So, welcome to my blog....Who knows what topics will  appear here....