I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

otter

Oh, Bren, ... I was waiting for that one!

Supper is yet undetermined.  It's my turn, but I lack motivation (except I am going to get off my butt and walk the 1/2 mile out to our mailbox to get the mail).  Hubs wants fish for supper, so maybe he'll do that part and I can take care of the rest.  I will report back later.

otter

Alpal

Maybe he'll do that part - as in catching the fish?? Don't otters catch fish? Bin - good one!

bluedahlia

Home made pizza....but this time I bought the dough.

annettek

No, I think he has two vaginas.

Anonymous

E- does the chewing dog get enough exercise?  Does he have a good quality (USA MADE - not China) Giant Rawhide bone ??  Good tip on Tuffs.  KONG makes some neat toys that can keep dogs occupied - you hide treats inside and it can take a couple of hours to get them all out

leggo

Penne with feta and roasted red peppers. Mmmmmm feta!

Anonymous

This was brought up awhile back.  The disease only transmits to certain animals - NOT humans.  Much of the research to date has been on very small samples

I heard horses could get EPM from opossums. True?

Answer:  Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a neurological disorder caused by a parasite. The opossum and a parasite called Sarcocystis neurona have been implicated although current research suggests other hosts and other parasites may be involved in disease transmission. The infective form of the parasite is passed in the feces. If a horse eats contaminated feces then it could develop neurological signs. It should be noted that the majority of opossums are probably not shedding the infective parasite and that of the horses exposed to the parasite, very few will develop EPM.

Anonymous

The few studies I have read on this (because of my doggies and cat) on small samples, only 5% of opossums were infected,  it seems to be a problem on the west coast only so far. 

It dosen't seem to add up - there must be a missing factor somewhere.

lewing

Homemade pizza for dinner here, too -- made the dough in the food processer this morning and left it to rise in a cool place (the attic stairwell, aka refrigerator annex, if you must know) all day.  The pizza was my daughter's fave  . . . no tomato sauce, shamelessly catering to her ridiculous tomato aversion . . . topped with thin slices of potato, mozzarella and pancetta.

On the topic of opossums, is their, um, unusual genitalia a marsupial thing, or strictly an opossum thing?  Do the possums in Australia have the same set-up?  (I think the Australian spelling is without the "o," but am not sure.)

Linda

otter

Ooooo, good question!  And, Linda, you and I know someone we could ask!  I nominate you.

otter

Enjoyful

Erica -

I walk DOG about an hour a day, and we play games and work on training too.  She also has rawhide bones that we fill with peanut butter, rawhide chewies, and hedgehog squeaky toys (her personal favorite!).  I wonder if she went after the blanket because of separation anxiety - she doesn't like it when her mommy goes away for a while.

My guinea pig, however, is the perfect pet.  No separation anxiety, no destructive behavior.  Just warm quiet fuzziness.  :-)

E

ananda8

Great Wiki article on possums.  Evidently all possums have the same types of genitalia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

At the wildlife center, young possums that are rescued are usually injured so we put the on a course of antibiotics.  Possums love the taste of Amoxicillin so much that they open their mouths when ever the see the syringe.   If only cats were so cooperative.

Anonymous

Enjoy -

I have a VERY shy dog (she flunked the temperamental testing because of shyness) AND the plastic crazed cat.

The last time I was at the vet, he suggested a very small dose of Prozac for both.  I declined because I did not think I had major problems.  He did say Prozac was around for dogs a lot longer that it has been for humans.  It can treat a variety of problems including anxiety. 

Just a thought - you can't have your new carpeting ruined

Anonymous

Erica - BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Anonymous

LAURA - BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH  !!!

otter

[I am deleting my post because I, too, thought Erica was making a joke ...  but maybe not???]

annettek

apparently there are a number of women that suffer from odd "equipment"...sheesh...ok..i am done commenting on that but it was nice to be distracted..

As for dogs on Prozac...yep, little kids as young as 4 are now on it too...it is way over-prescribed and its original prescription for peeps was for a 90-day course of treatment...to kind of open up a person to deal with whatever was ailing them...then the person was to be weaned off...over time it definitely changes brain chemistry...creating a catch22 once it is removed from system...the brain needs it now...so back to the drug or one of the many other variations...I have been offered prozac or one of the others numerous times over the years...one that sticks out is when I was bleeding too long and too heavy...the ob/gyn suggested it...I said how about you fix the bleeding and I won't be depressed? Same drill after my dad died...same drill when my kiddo was diagnosed with autism...same drill when I was diagnosed with BC...Listen, I am not saying that in its original clinical form and course of treatment, it is a bad drug...just that it was never intended as a cure...it was to help someone work through whatever was impacting them...now, that has gone by the wayside...I am also not saying that some people do suffer true chemical imbalances that require medication...another scary damn thing is the fact of the traces of this and all other drugs that show up in our water system...argh...people "flush" old drugs..both from their "system" and tossing old drugs down the toilet...I wrote an article a year or so back about it...as I researched it I freaked at the levels in the water tables around hospitals and such....you name it, it was in the water ok...enough of my sunday sermon...it just amazes me...

Bren-2007

Thought about giving my dog Prozac at one time.  He's very grouchy and temperamental.  Just never got around to it.  Poor bastard seems happy being a butthead.  So, I just let him be himself.

Bren

Alpal

Hahahaha! "Poor bastard seems happy being a butthead. So, I just let him be himself." Perfect descripton of some humans!

Bren-2007

Winston .. the grouchy little bastard!

rosemary-b

Alpal

There are humans in my life like that too. I have thought of prozac in the water supply before but not as a problem; maybe a cure. Too bad I'm not the criminal type.

Bren-2007

Winston tolerating Tank.

Yep .. know lots of people who could use a dose of Prozac!

1Athena1

Laughing at animals on Prozac - it sounds awful, but, as others here say, it is done. Poor Oscar, my counsin's orange tabby, was put on it for a while to address the scratching, but he kept throwing up so it was withdrawn.

....and don't get me started on the topic of psychiatric over-diagnosing and the over-medicating of children....As least puppies don't get anti-psychotics for non-psychotic behaviors - yet. Mental illness is so serious and it angers me when it gets trivialized and everybody gets pronounced sick or worthy of medication, sometimes leading to the poor person's life being ruined by treatment itself. There are many reason why this happens, of course, ranging from the lack of clarity in the diagnostic criteria (which is currently being revised and may end up causing more confusion than they attempt to resolve) to the paucity of scientific knowledge in this still-emerging field and the fact that non-specialists do most of the prescribing. 

Second possibility for a rant (and I am in a good mood this lovely Sunday morning, although you would never notice!): Now, dogs are being put on treadmills to exercise. And you also see more obese animals whose sole reason for being obese is that they are being overfed. That is abuse. 

So a merry morning to you all.  

1Athena1

Bren!!! That is too sweet - I missed your picture.

rosemary-b

Seriously though, medications in the water supply are a problem. I was most awrare of that every time I flushed the toilet after chemo. The only solutions I can see are proper disposal of meds (not down the toilet) and only taking what is really necessary, because if it doesn't go in it can't come out.

That is hard because modern western medicine is so medication based.

1Athena1

Rosemary - another huge problem, yes. My very progressive city became the first in the country last year to charge for the use of shopping bags at grocery stores and drug stores. The funds collected (five cents per bag) go towards the cleanup of the Potomac, which is so polluted that some of the male fish have female characteristics. I wonder if that helped to fuel my cancer. I have been drinking filtered water since a few months after dx. 

Enjoyful

Erica -

Thanks for the suggestion!  I'll certainly mention it to my sister.  She does use Clomicalm (sp?) occasionally, when needed, but we didn't think she'd eat a blanket as long as a human was staying with her.  However, my ex certainly drove me to the point of blanket-eating a time or two, so I should have figured....  ;-)

E

bluedahlia

Just watch Cesar Milan......you won't need drugs for pets. 

Bren-2007

Morning Blue!  I love the Dog Whisperer!  Great show.  I've learned a lot about how to deal with my butthead Winston .. and it works!

hugs,

Bren

BarbaraA

Morning gals. It is a lovely day here in FL so I am taking myself to the beach (after stopping at Peg's Cafe for Eggs Floretine). Later!