giadog

Clearly Pearl and Future have a gigantic magnet hidden somewhere, that they use to levitate Bones out of the Xpen by his metal plate. Haven't you guys seen Marvin the Martian?? Sheesh!!! Glad to see he's feeling much better!

Maybe you've already posted an update on this long ago, but how is Ryan's health? He looks like he's frolicking pretty well on that beach? Did they ever figure out what was wrong with him, or did it clear up on it's own?

No...just realistic. Living in a Snow White dream world where all the animals live in peace and lions don't eat baby gazelle and humans don't eat cows doesn't accomplish anything to help real animals in this world. When AR folks start touting that "one generation and out" or "a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy" stuff it completely turns off the majority of people. Most people want to have their lifesaving drugs, their Sunday night steak dinner and cute little fluffy laying at their feet every evening chewing on a rawhide. They don't want to be told that this particular law which will actually make a difference in the suffering of animals is just one step closer to an ultimate goal of forced vegan lifestyles for everyone. Animal welfare should not be a slippery slope that eventually ends with no one having pets and dogs being returned to the wild. As a society, we have a responsibility to punish those who abuse, torture and neglect animals. We have an obligation to say determine what a reasonable minimum standard of care is for domesticated animals, research animals and livestock. Does that mean we give animals rights like we give humans? I dont' think so. My pets are my property. I have no problem considering them so. I pay for them, I take care of them....I know "property" isn't as touchy-feely and warm-fuzzy as "companion or guardian" but whatever word you want to use, it doesn't change the fact that I own them. You can't come take my dogs...they aren't open to the public...you can't tell me what food to feed them...my neigbor can't decide to take them for a walk...they can't come and go as they please like the wild bunny that sometimes visits our front yard or the birds that fly overhead. They are mine. I make those decisions. If something happens to them, I'm responsible. The fact that they are legally considered property doesn't change how much I love them or what I would sacrifice for them. It's simply a legal definition. +1, and very well written.

I think the current laws we have regarding animal cruelty and neglect need to be changed, but I don't think it would do any good to give the animals 'rights'. Regardless of whether or not they have rights, the animals cannot speak for themselves or use the laws themselves. It will still come down to the human intervention to dictate whether or not their rights are being met. However, changing and enforcing the laws surrounding animals would give the humans, acting on their behalf, more impetus and opportunity to offer the animals the treatment and respect they deserve.

I'm sorry to hear about Emmy's diagnosis, but it sounds like you have such a fabulous outlook on the situation that I'm sure it will make the adjustment much easier! Best wishes to you all!

Happy Bridge anniversary, Skittles...I hope you made it through the day alright, Devon, and there was enough laughter and love to comfort you.

448. Have a good trip!

Oh my god, I'm so JEALOUS!!! I would LOVE to be a picker, but none of the pups have them!! Do you think if I rubbed them down with olive oil every night, they'd develop some???

So glad to see he's home!! It must feel much better for both of you!!

I just want to ask to make sure...if the dog can poo successfully, does that definitively mean it's NOT bloat?

Bah, 00Poo will NOT be taken down by a mere ear infection!! There must be nefarious evil-doers involved to do any harm to the Poodle! Sending good thoughts that he'll be feeling better soon!

Karen; Is it a lump, like under the skin tumory lump, or like a ingrown hair/zit lump? Butkus occasionally gets blood-filled ingrown-hair type lumps on his shaft, and I just pop them and throw some bacitracin on and they're fine...just a thought!! (Yes, I just admitted that I pop my dog's penis bumps. What, it's better than taking him to the vet to do it!!! )

No advice, just hoping for the best. Have they had any bowel movements yet? normal/abnormal?

Somehow, despite all of our efforts to the otherwise, the pups always manage to find a way to hurt themselves. Yesterday afternoon, they got into the medicine cabinet and, between the 3 of them, ate 1 - 1.5 prescription strength (800 mg) Ibuprofen. I called the e-vet, who said that those levels shouldn't be toxic, and they told me what symptoms to look for. We think they got into them sometime between 2 and 5 yesterday afternoon, and so far no one is showing any symptoms. They're not lethargic or anemic (gums are still pink), they're having normal urinary/bowel movements (no bloody or blackish bowels/urine, and they have no abdomen pain. Does anyone have any experience with dogs/ibuprofen who could give me some advice? I'm not sure when we'll be in the clear. I know that ibuprofen has a half life of 5 hours, so it should be mostly cleared out of their system at this point, but I'd like to know when/if i can stop worrying.

Sending good thoughts and hoping for an update!

Hahaha!! Ok, if teeth chattering seems to span all breeds and species, I won't worry about it so much. Just in case, I'll ask our vet about it when we go in to get him retested for heartworm on Friday, but it sounds like it's not much to worry about.

Does anyone know anything about teeth chattering in a non-greyhound? Our AB has started 'chattering'...slightly opening and closing his mouth over and over. It's not as quick, natural, or smooth as when greyhounds do it. I can't tell if it's sort of, "Oh, cute, he's trying to be a greyhound!" or, "Oh, crap, he's got a brain tumor!" Has anyone seen anything like this?

Oh, robinM, that's terrible!! I know how it is with the sensitive ones, too...My Po'boy is the sweetest most sensitive boy in the world, and he's always the one getting the brunt of it from the other pups. It just hurts you to see them that way! But like the others said, they can come home even with drains in. Just make sure you throw an old blanket over anything they're laying on.

Just last night DF asked me, 'Why does Po'boy have nipples if he's a boy?' The only response I could think of was, "I don't know....why do YOU have them??'

Good luck to Hannah, and at least she'll get turkey leftovers while she recovers....any other time of year, and it would have just been stinky baloney!

At times like this, I play the "What if He Were My Boyfriend" game...Pretend the vet is a boyfriend. If he's a great boyfriend, incredibly attentive, has all the great qualities you said about your vet, but, as your boyfriend, had this explosion......Would you dump him? If you wouldn't dump the boyfriend, keep the vet. If you would, dump the vet, too! I think it helps to think that way, because when you think about your boyfriend yelling, you usually think about the fact that he had a long day at work, or his aunt just died, or any other number of personal attributes that we generally don't lend to people in a professional business field.

Po'boy is our stoic boy....a couple weekends ago when he got in the fight with his brother, he had a hole clear through his cheek, a hole that went through 3 spots around his eye, and one bite that slightly punctured his skull. But he was so quiet that my DF didn't think he was hurt enough to require a visit to the e-vet. (Of course, I was smart enough to insist!) I think he just has classic 'middle child' syndrome....Gia, his older sister, and Butkus, his annoying younger brother are such in-your-face drama queens that he just tries to occupy as little space and cause as little trouble as possible. Poor boy...I know how he feels!!!

Multiplicity; I'm just seeing this now, but I'm so glad that things look like they're on the upswing!! Sending healing thoughts to your pup!

We had this happen to Gia once, and someone suggested putting a pink foam curler around the tip of her tail and bandaging it on like crazy. We kept it like that for about a week or so, and it healed right up.

Jennifer, my heart sank when I saw this. I can't say enough how sorry I am.