January 25th

MEET DURANGO

We got an email from the county shelter last week. A family had surrendered their young male GSD because he had diarrhea and "the pills weren't working". The shelter vet staff wouldn't allow him to stay, so either he had to go to a rescue or be put to sleep. We evaluated him, and he passed his dog-to-dog and people tests, so I took him. He is a complete sweetie pie. He loves my other dogs, loves me, loves being alive.

He reportedly had a history of giardia, which is a parasite that can keep coming back, so the shelter vets put him on Flagyl. It's not even the best thing to kill the parasite but vets like to hand it out for any little case of runny poo, so I will give him the rest of the pills. I have him eating raw chicken, and am giving him probiotics and slippery elm bark powder. He's very skinny-you can see every rib and feel every bone in his spine.

After less than 48 hours with me, sweet Mr. Durango took a good, solid poop.

If anyone saw me they would think I was absolutely loony for doing a happy dance over dog shit.

January 17th

In the jungle...

FIXING THINGS

Usually my attempts to repair things don't work out. As a matter of fact, many times I make things worse. So, I was quite upset with myself for breaking one of the nose pieces off of my glasses. Having to get a new pair right now wouldn't be good for my finances. But, I thought I'd at least try. I carefully observed how the nose pieces attached, and noted that the part on the frame was still intact. I went to the store and bought some cheap sunglasses that had nose pieces attached with screws. Removed one, and attached it to my glasses. It worked! I'm quite pleased with myself. Until the next time I try to fix something and totally mess things up anyway.

GRAMMAR GRIPE

Transition is a noun! You can make a transition, but you cannot transition. The new-speak nonsense where people say things like "As we transition into the new business plan..." is just plain wrong. Also, breath is a noun, not a verb. I want to strangle people who write "I couldn't breath." That's like saying "I couldn't chair."

January 10th

MY LATEST FOSTER

Lightfoot is an almost perfect dog. Housebroken, mellow, doesn't chew things up. He is a counter surfer, and he needs some work on his leash manners. But, he's pretty much an all around good boy. He has a family coming to meet him tomorrow.

And this is Missy. I got her out of the shelter yesterday. The shelter vets thought that she had hip dysplasia. Turns out she has an injury, probably was hit by a car. Her pelvis was broken, but is all in place and is healing. So, we got a very beautiful GSD, obviously with show line breeding who we will find a wonderful home for.

THE FUNERAL IS TOMORROW

I am mourning the death of the adverb. Even advertising professionals (who you would hope have a college education and a basic grasp of proper grammar) come up with things like "Change begins small." Small is an adjective, and the sentence would only be proper if it was "Change is small." Of course, that doesn't make any sense. Unless Change is a person of diminutive stature.

And, the one that truly drives me crazy in many variations: "eat healthy". Healthy is an adjective and cannot be eaten because it isn't a thing. The adverb is "healthily", but I'll admit that's awkward. So, it would be correct to say "eat healthy food", but trying to eat healthy would be like trying to eat blue. Unless you had a cow and named it Healthy, then you could eat Healthy.