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Sasha update!

What a difference modern medicine makes.

J. woke up this morning to find Sasha standing by the side of the bed, panting and wobbly again. Clearly the drugs wore off. We gave her another dose and offered water, she turned her nose up at it.

J. had to take the car for service (inspection due), so he left her with me. After about an hour of lying quietly, she indicated she wanted to go out. Once I carried her outside, she just stood there, then lay down in the grass. (Note, she hadn’t done her ‘business’ in about 16hours.) After a few minutes I carried her inside again. We did this in and out thing three times, and my back was starting to hurt. So I got a long towel, folded it twice and slung it under her chest. Lifting it and pulling forward, she walked.

Apparently she needed to know she wouldn’t hurt if she moved, because then she ran to the side of the house and up to the front door, then around to the back door — where J. had just come home (via the front door). She was all bouncy and happy and like her usual self. Then she did business (!!!)

When the meds wear off, she is in pain, but we’ve got a good cycle going and the vet feels that a week will allow the pulled muscle to heal.

So, we have puppy care, but its no longer so desperate. Thank goodness!!!!!

Sunday update

I’m hurrying to write this before my dilaudid ‘kicks in’ and I become illiterate once again.

I think I got an infection in my breast yesterday — it was hot to the touch, slightly swollen, and red, like sunburned. We called my surgeon (they have a service that puts you through to him directly if he can take the call — very cool) and he put me back on an antibiotic. Took two last night, along with a lot of visualization, and I’m noticeably better today. Whew. (The only ‘fix’ for an infection with a breast implant is to remove the implant and wait several months for the tie to heal, and then re-insert the implant. NO WAY.)

I’ve been feeling a lot of pain, even with dilaudid, and so I’ve been using the hypnotic WAV my psych. taped at our last session. It’s a profound difference. I’m starting to alter it to add in ‘you will feel less pain each day as you heal completely’ because the dilaudid runs out tomorrow and I already know that OTC drugs are not going to work.

But I will be so glad to get off the narcotic. I like the lack of pain, but hate the side effects of fuzzy thinking, lack of motivation, and physical  . . .  blockage. (I don’t want to say more, but its the most common side effects of narcotics, ok?)

I’m looking forward to going for a walk, maybe even two today. That will be a big step forward. Ambien is working to help me sleep, so I’m back to 8+ hours/night, thank goodness. Soon normality will return. At least for a while.

Interesting spam

No, really. As a comment to an earlier post, I received this:

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

This is a worthwhile sentiment, and inspiring at this time in my life. But it came from a spammer (the supposed sender is a rugby player; I just went to the site again to check specifics and it was flagged as ‘Warning Unsafe content’ and had been taken down).

Weirdness of the day.

Victory for Free Speech!

Happy news for all of us out there on the ‘Net and Web — in a ruling on Lentz v. Universal (aka the ‘Dancing Baby’ case):

Judge Jeremy Fogel held that content owners must consider fair use before sending takedown notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). . . . [A] fair use is a lawful use of a copyright. Accordingly, in order for a copyright owner to proceed under the DMCA with “a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law,” the owner must evaluate whether the material makes fair use of the copyright. . . . A good faith consideration of whether a particular use is fair use is consistent with the purpose of the statute. Requiring owners to consider fair use will help “ensure[] that the efficiency of the Internet will continue to improve and that the variety and quality of services on the Internet will expand” without compromising “the movies, music, software and literary works that are the fruit of American creative genius.”

Big congratulations to Ms. McSherry of the EFF for her work on this case.

Green v Wetlands: responses

Lupabitch replied:

I think if you can sufficiently hide the doo in the wetlands so nobody complains, that would be the best option. Otherwise, if you have to use a bag, get a small garbage can with a tight lid and keep it outdoors. Empty the little bag into it, and toss the whole thing weekly–that will at least help cut down on plastic to an extent.

and ysabetwordsmith as well:

First, go study the field. Do birds or bunnies nest there? Is there any water in it at any time of the year, and if so, does the water contain fish or amphibians? Are there any plants or animals that might be disturbed by people or pets? Do other people let their pets eliminate there? Traffic is more likely to prove harmful than waste, considering that wetland animals have to eliminate also. But a lot of dogs in one small space will quickly turn it into a giant outhouse, which is the point of scooping in the first place. > My sweetie has started taking the puppy to the wetlands and letting her eliminate in there as an alternative to using a doggy-do bag. Also look for other alternatives. Plastic is pretty bad. There are biodegradable scooper bags: http://www.pethealthandnutritioncenter.com/shopscript/index.php?productID=398 An even better idea would be to compost the pet waste; a group of people cooperating can share the cost and labor, making this much more practical than plastic bags. Here are some resources:

http://www.uaf.edu/coop-ext/compost/dogs.html http://dogs.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_to_do_with_doggy_poo http://www.composters.com/vermiculture-worms/pet-poo-converter_53_4.php

Birds do nest there, and so do rabbits. I once saw a possum run by, but I suspect it was heading from non-developed area to non-developed area in an attempt to get to the nature preserve nearby. (I say that because it has never reappeared and the habitat is much to small to keep it fed). Other dogs do not seem to eliminate in there.

No standing water, even in the wet season (winter), although the ground can get pretty soggy. Sadly, no composting allowed — nor do I have anything more than a back porch on which to do said composting. But it is the future choice (along with that backyard — I plan to train her to do her ‘big business’ in one specific area) with a pooper scooper to pick it up and dump it in the compost — me that is, not her 🙂

Two people isn’t a large response, but the hideous nature of plastic is starting to seriously outweigh the problems associated with her eliminating in the wetlands. I do think I’ll see if the HOA will switch the current brand of doggy do bags to biodegrable ones. That would be the best overall positive change.