where my critters at?

Roll Call!



and



AND



and of course:



Sammy was asked to pose for a picture but attempted to take my face off.

One of the messiest and unusual of our critters:



Yeah he is the dogs play thing, while I am Alpha Mom.

Guess who he loves the most but who is the meanest?

You guessed it. Crash. But I still get the most lovin'

I wonder if this works?

I am curious to try this. As a African and American Indian Woman...
NOthing works on my hair.

Your CURLY HAIR can be FRIZZ FREE.check out www.mixedchicks.net

It's fitting that its rainng

Because that makes the fact that our car is currently being towed to Cerio's Auto even more appropriate.

This morning I went to drive Crash to wok and suddenly I heard a "PFFT!" when I went to use the brakes. I almost drove into the house. Apparently our brakes rusted or, have a leak in the line or something.

Thank goodness I had the forsight to include towing in my Geico package and get the emergency roadside assistance and renal coverage.

Now if we need a car we can re on for 5 dollars a day.

I wish the repair costs for fixing the brakes was included!

We had money for rent, and I finally got a job and suddenly this happens before my first payheck!

Seriously, life could suck more, I could not be starting work on Monday.

If I could just win 5,000 I would feel so much more on top of things. It seems like as my health has been getting worse, my employabiity and money hits the crapper too.

Seriously, when it comes t cap in my life, the fan is never off.

kJ

Its almost that time...

Where my knitting stash calls to me.

When the weather starts getting cooler, my UFO's start beckoning me and people start to need hats for baby heads.

I am about 1/4 of the way done with my clapotis and I keep feeling like I really want to pick it up again.

I might take it out and try to work on a row a night. Maybe I will have it done by Leaf changing time!

It would look HAUTE with my black jean jacket.

GROOOOWL!

RW

My little boy was attacked today...

Despite another sleepless night I started out so productive and upbeat, I thought "Hey! Things are looking up!" I found out the bagel HR lady was on vacation and that I should be hearing about my new job soon, I got to talk to a recruiter from Syracuse University about Part time work and starting school, and I got an appointment with medicaid to enroll and get my medication started.

Things were looking up and I was starting to feel positive again.

I was feeling really good until my fiance came home in a panic saying Kane my little boy (my Pit Bull) had been attacked on his walk by another Pit Bull/Labrador mix.

He'd been walking down the sidewalk with Crash when the Pit bull jumped out of the guys front porch and launched himself at Kane. Kane tried to run away until the other dog went after Crash, then Kane pinned the other dog down until Crash managed to pull them apart and get the other dog away from Kane by kicking it in the head.

By the end of the fight Crash had lost a shoe, got a cut on his lip, and been bitten by the other dog.
Kane has an open sore on his paw, a split lip, and a gash above his eye.

The entire time though despite Kane being a former Fighting Dog he only fought the other dog when the Dog went after Crash.

Crash separated them and called Kane off and Kane collapsed and began to cry and whimper and hyperventilate and Crash ended up running home 3 blocks home with Kane in his arms crying. (all 70 pounds)

Kane was hyperventilating and bleeding when he got home but despite being in enormous pain and panicked he only snapped at me once.

Yet then it was only to put his mouth on my hand so gently just to say "OK, That hurts really really REALLY bad, stop touching it." Then whimpered and collapsed again.

I called my friend who is a Vet and she came driving over like a bat outta hell with her sack and we began to try to get Kane calmed down and patched up.

I ended up having to put him in his dog crate on ice packs and making him drink Smart water from a sports bottle. The vet said he had some of the other dogs tooth stuck in his gums and lips.

We managed to get it out by dosing Kane with some Buprinex that I gave him orally to kill the pain and Kane didn't growl or bite or anything.

In fact the only thing that made it hard to get the bits of broken teeth out of his mouth were him trying to lick us. Kane luckily had no broken teeth and his gums look good after being rinsed with h202 and water. I gave him Clindamyacin and will see if that will work and if not we will start a stronger antibiotic. I think that since we cleaned him up and bathed him so fast after the fight that he will be OK.

After we cleaned up his cuts and super glued them together with 3M VetBond and I gave him a sedative that the vet had brought over.

He is currently sleeping in his crate on our memory foam mattress that we ended up making him out of our old mattress topper. Poor guy is beat. We ended up moving his crate next to our bed so we could hear him if he whimpers in the night to dose him with pain meds.

What pisses me off is that this other pit was a actual fighting dog, he was NOT on a leash, he didn't have his shots (thank god Kane does!) AND Kane was on his leash on the sidewalk and didn't instigate anything.

The owner was sorry and kept apologizing but didn't help break up the fight, didn't offer Crash a ride home, and didn't even offer him a towel for Kane;s blood or to pay for vet bills.

I went over there later with the vet and my two cop friends who investigate dog fighting and they demanded to check him dog with myself (a veterinary assistant) and the vet.

The dog was battered from other fights, had most of its teeth missing, had fleas and the beginnings of red mange, and had chains wrapped around its neck.

The cops immediately seized the dog and sadly the Vet decided with the owner that this dog was in rough shape (numerous broken ribs an eye infection, and skin tags hanging off its stomach) Plus he was absolutely petrified and aggressive toward the cops and bit his owner twice while we stood there talking to him. This dog was so far gone, there was no saving him. I felt homicidal toward the idiot who let this happen.

The Vet offered to Euthanize the dog for no charge and the owner immediately surrendered the dog and didn't even ask to come with to say goodbye.

So I went with the dog to the clinic, as did the two police officers which I was really moved by.

I went and held a paw, told him he was a good boy and this was not his fault, and he died surrounded by people who cared about him.

The guy doesn't know he is getting charged with assault (failure to contain a dog with a history of aggression, he should have been wearing a leader or basket muzzle, or on leash.) Failure to provide adequate care, gross neglect, and failure to comply because it was his third warning and he wasn't even supposed to OWN a dog after the stuff he'd done with his other dogs. He is getting arrested tomorrow AM as soon as the judge wakes up and signs the warrants. I get to sign an affidavit with the vet, I hope the guy gets 5,000 fine and has to go to jail.

The thing that pisses me off and alternately makes me the most upset is that if Kane had come to us any later, or to anyone else, he would be that dog. Dead, wasted away, and forgotten as a "bad Pit Bull"

But today decided me. If a former fighting dog that lost a fight and was dumped on our steps can learn to walk/run away from a fight and only fight back to protect his owner and then be so gentle with kids, cats, battered women, mentally retarded adults, and me the cripple? That dog deserves every single chance in the book because he is a symbol that despite horrible fate, there are great beings that can be compassionate despite overcoming terrible pain.

I have full faith that we can help Kane get over this and still work on being a good dog (which he has been miraculous in his learning curve and growth into a great house dog and leash dog) despite what happened tonight, anything is possible.

Now I owe it to both of those dogs to make sure no one forgets the power of kindness and a huge heart. I owe it to every dog to offer second chances, and remember those who never even got a first chance.

Rest in peace Unnamed Pit Bull. I'm just sorry you had to have that kind of life, and I promise Kane will never have that life.

For the love of Kane

We have a pit-bull named Kane who is a fighting dog that was thrown from a moving car into our yard. Despite the healed fractures and scars and obvious trauma. DESPITE the fact that he is petrified of loud noises and overly protective of me and the kids in the house, he is absolutely the sweetest most loving dog who just distrusts strangers and doesn't care for other dogs.

But he LOVES cats, kids, women, and his daddy.

I am a hopeless convert to the sweet temperament and forgiving nature and intelligence of the Pitbull. Having only grown up with Rotties, Dobies, German shepards, and Shetland collies I was unsure about most Pits and fed into the hype.I remember my Nana telling me how vicious they were and how one of them tore a woman's breast off because they were just naturally mean dogs. Now I see its exactly that Hype.

Having worked for more than 20 animal welfare, rescue, zoological and veterinary rehabilitation centers all over the world I can say I have been bitten by more cats, and small dogs but I have never once, not ONCE been bitten by a large breed dog or a PitBull (and I have worked to rehabilitate many of them) that were labeled as dangerous.

I was chased down and tree'd by a Dalmatian, I had a pant leg ripped off by a Standard poodle, and had a massive hand wound that required stitches given to me by a Black Lab. And was almost scarred for life when a pomeranian latched onto my face during an exam.

None of those dogs were EVER recommended to be euthanize'd.

I take Kane to the Vet and he has serious fear of new people and abandonment issues and growls at the vets and they immediately recommend that I put him to sleep because he is too aggressive. Mind you he was fine as long as I was holding him and he had a muzzle on.

Meanwhile a golden retriever in the same room grabs my pant leg growling and yanking on it and the Vets laugh and say its just playing.

As a former intern at two wolf centers I can assure you that was NOT playing.

So my unemployed self and my derelict dog continue to defy all reason and co-exist peacefully with 4 cats, 2 kids, and 3 adults. We know we will never be a two dog house, we know we will never be able to take him to a dog park ( I disagree with dog parks anyway) and I know he will probably always be overprotective.

But it is not a crime I am willing to punish with a death sentence.

Conversely, it makes me want to rescue another one if Kane decides to exit this mortal coil.

KJ

Sarah Palin: The voice of abstinence only?

So Sarah Palin is to be McCain's running mate. Now it has come to light that she has a daughter whom has been pregnant out of wedlock 5 months pregnant again at 17.

Said the politician when asked if she would continue to support abstinence only education that she would, and that she supports her daughters decision to keep the baby and get married.

a kid by 17?

Sounds like the young women around my neighborhood. However, Sarah Palin is also being championed because she applauded her daughters choice to keep the baby AND her own brave keeping of a baby with Down's Syndome.

As if, if one were ever planning to run for a major race, it could be easily covered up?

With a daughter whose education of abstinence only lead her to pregnant and married at 17 wouldn't you think that perhaps there was something wrong with your system?

Not all of women have a mother who has the means to help us support children. And a lot of 17 and younger girls whom are pregnant are having sex knowing full well they could become pregnant but without easily available contraceptives and open dialogue with a loved ones a taboo suddenly becomes irresistible.

I for one will not be voting for Sarah Palin, knowing what she is putting her daughter through in the name of the christian moral right if you can't mind your own children, how will you keep your finger to the pulse of a nation?

RW