Monday, July 30, 2007 , the wee hours

Local superhero to have laser eye surgery

I apologize because I haven’t written a blog entry since Spiderman went to the vet on Friday.  The weekend has been a non-stop whirlwind of activity, much of it health-related and all of it exhausting, and I’ve hit a point where it feels as though I’ve got a case of the flu.  I’m sure I don’t—I think I’m feeling the side-effects of four intense chiropractic treatments called ”Bio Cranial”—and I hope my body is just flushing toxins and will feel marvelous tomorrow.  Or maybe the next day.  If you’d like to read about my weekend of Bio Cranial mania, please check out the Tired Girls blog, because I’ll eventually write about it there.  Eventually!  I’ve been so busy that I don’t think I’ve even sat down in my computer chair since Friday, but I wanted to let everyone know how Spiderman fared at his first veterinary ophthalmologist exam.

Spiderman is a sweet, sweet boy, but he doesn’t enjoy car rides.  He likes them even less when the trip is about 20 miles away, and it’s 110 degrees outside.  Flippy and I will definitely be packing ear plugs the next time we take him in the car, because the trip itself was a bit unbearable.  Eli was also in the car, and she was well-behaved, but she’s also 100 lbs. and is always blocking the view out the back window, so these trips are never stress-free.  Gah, I’m tired all over again just thinking about it and I want a nap.

Eli had her exam first, and she was fine.  She’s got pannus, and I worried that her condition may have backslid a few months ago when I decided to try giving her eyedrops every other day, instead of once a day.  The vet had suggested I try that routine a year ago, but I didn’t want to mess with a system that was working.  Nevertheless, I messed with it (the Optimmune ointment is pretty pricey, and I thought it could save a lot of money), but Eli had a big pannus flare-up within two weeks.  That was back in April, when we didn’t have our current intense sunlight, either, so I’m glad I caught the relapse quickly and put her back on her once-a-day dosing.  On Friday, the vet assured me that Eli’s eyes looked as good as they did at her appointment last July, so I’m relieved and satisfied.  The one sad thing about the visit was seeing how much strength Eli has lost in her back legs since last year—it’s really noticeable when she gets in and out of the car.  I think I can help her with that by having her go up and down the stairs a couple of times each day, but it’s still sad to see her getting older.  I wish she’d consider going into the pool, but she wants nothing to do with it (and I don’t think Flippy relishes the thought of trying to remove hair from the filters, either).

So, on to Spiderman.  Dr. Brinkmann was impressed with Spiderman’s gargantuan head and eyeballs, even though he’s seen a few similar cases.  From what the vet explained, Spiderman had congenital glaucoma which started when he was a kitten, while he was still flexible and growing.  The disorder isn’t uncommon in young cats, but the way Spiderman’s body compensated was unusual.  Instead of the eyeballs growing out and forward as they got larger and filled with excessive fluid, the orbital bones (and the skull bones in general), stretched and widened to accomodate the large eyes.  Even the eyelids grew larger, so Spiderman doesn’t have dry eye issues which plague many cats with glaucoma.  Spiderman sort of looks like he has a big bobblehead on a small body, but that’s because his head grew in response to specific stimuli that left the rest of his body unaffected.  The slow stretching off all the tissues during important formative stages even means that the retina in at least one of his eyes was able to stretch and remain attached.  That’s the eye where he still has a bit of vision, although the lens is clearly floating around in that eye, and he’s not going to have vision forever.  The vet explained that Spiderman’s “blue” eye was caused when the lens in that eye detached after its anchors were stretched/snapped, and then the free-floating lens rubbed against the inner epithelial layer of the eyeball, permanently damaging it.  There’s only one thin layer of cells there, and they don’t regenerate, so the blue eye truly has lost all ability to function.  The same injury may eventually happen to his “good” eye, or the thin connection to the retina may eventually wear away.  Ultimately, Spiderman will be totally blind, and there’s nothing which can be done to prevent that.  The best thing for him will be to get him into a “forever home” as soon as possible, so he can learn his new surroundings and build confidence with the vision he has left, and then as his remaining vision slowly fades away, he may not even notice.

So, what can be done for Spiderman right now?  His totally blind blue eye is still producing non-draining fluid, and the surface of the eyeball has a lot of edema and is prone to scrapes and infections.  The eye may not feel comfortable because of the swelling, either, although Spiderman doesn’t act like he’s in pain.  The vet is opposed to eye removal except as a last resort, because he feels that organs may serve purposes we don’t completely understand, and that we shouldn’t just remove things if there are other options.  So, his recommendation was a special laser eye surgery for Spiderman’s blue eye.  The surgery will shoot a laser beam through a number of spots on the outside edges of that eye, and the laser will “kill” the mechanism in the eye which produces the fluid which isn’t draining.  In other words, it will stop the glaucoma from progressing.  Over time, the body will absorb some of the excess fluid from the eyeball, relieving pressure, adding comfort, and making the eye less prone to injury and infection.  The shrinkage of the eye probably won’t be hugely noticeable, (the eye won’t shrivel up into a raisin or anything), so Spiderman will maintain his Superhero appearance and continue to fight for truth, justice, and the American way.

That option sounded fine to me, but if we do the same thing to the eye that still has some vision, the laser will definitely leave him blind.  For this eye, the vet suggested a different type of laser procedure, one where he make just a couple of small holes to drain eye fluid, but doesn’t do anything to affect the lens or retina.  That will also give Spiderman more comfort in his healthier eye, and maybe it will even help it stay healthier for longer.

So, Spiderman is going to have laser eye surgery!  The vet charges about the same for the laser procedure as he does for an eye removal, so finances don’t have to play into the decision.  And the vet promised he was basing his decision on what he’d do if it was his cat, and if money was no object.  Best of all, the vet will donate his services for free, so it will reduce the cost of the surgery in half, to less than $500.  Our quote was just a rough, “between $400 and $500, but less than $500”.

I definitely want to go ahead and get this done, obviously, as it will greatly increase Spiderman’s chances of being adopted.  I’ll be able to say that he’s healthy and pain-free and requires no special maintenance for his eye issues, and I’m sure many potential adopters will find that a relief.  The initial eye exam Spiderman had cost $199, so in total, this cat’s medical expenses will run about $700.  We’ve had some fabulous folks donate $350, but I’m pretty much out of breathing room on my credit cards, so I’m going to hold off on the surgery until I raise another $350.  This may be from me working, or selling some stuff on eBay (sadly, I think it’s time for my massive collection of Starbucks bears to leave the nest), from more donations, or even from selling some “Spiderman the cat” collectables (if I can ever get our dye sublimation system functioning).  I’d scheduled the surgery for this coming Wednesday, but I’m going to cancel it today and push it forward to the end of August, and hopefully we’ll be in better financial condition then.  Maybe the vet will offer special financing arrangements if I call and cancel for financial reasons—I should find out tomorrow.

So, that’s all the good news about Spiderman!  He will have a really cutting-edge surgery, he’ll be more comfortable, and he’ll still look cool.  Thanks to everyone who’s been asking about him and who’s sent in donations to help out—I promise they all go straight into the “Wee Paws Veterinary Expense Account”.  If you’d like to know more about Spiderman’s vet and surgeon, you can see him and his great staff at Veterinary Ophthalmology Services.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/30 at 01:55 AM
The Litterbox • (2) Comments • Permalink

Friday, July 27, 2007 , terribly early in the morning

Off to the vet, and free dog and cat food

Today’s the day we find out what’s wrong with Spiderman’s vision!  I’m pretty excited about it, because he’s a wonderfully sweet cat and he deserves to be as healthy and comfortable as possible.  I’ve spent quite a bit of time in my “office/spare cat room” with him and his brother, Greg, this week, and I know anyone who adopts them will be very happy with them.  They’re so easy to handle, and they enjoy sitting beside you or in your lap constantly.  They’ve even been playing a bit with Carlo and Bunny, our current set of feline ambassadors.

When I get home today, I’ll address the terrible cat rescue situation going on currently in Pahrump.  I’ve been meaning to write about it, but it’s so complicated, and the situation isn’t just cut and dried as media reports might suggest.  I’ll go into it a bit more this evening.  Speaking of cat rescue, however, Purina has an offer for free PurinaOne dog and cat food via their website, and it’s just the kind of thing that you could order and then donate to your favourite local rescue group.  Even if you don’t use the brand, you could request your free bag(s) and it would be great for feeding dogs at a shelter or feral cats in a colony (dry food is just so much more practical in those types of situations).  You can order one bag each of dog and cat food, so I encourage you to do it before the promotion ends.

I’m sadly still working on Harry Potter—I’ve been under the weather all week and have fallen asleep each time I’ve tried to read.  I’m on chapter 8, and trying desperately to remain unspoiled by skipping any and all blog or newspaper articles about the book.  We’ll see how long I can avoid knowing the ending, and how long I can avoid finding out who was kicked off, “So You Think You Can Dance” last night (it’s on TiVo).

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/27 at 05:57 AM
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Monday, July 23, 2007 , terribly early in the morning

Trouble sleeping?  Try catnip.

The Toronto Star had a little article about growing fresh catnip for your kitty friends.  Surprisingly, it also suggested making the leaves into a tea for yourself if you have trouble sleeping.  Just wait… the FDA will be banning catnip in the United States as soon as they get wind of that.  I bought a little container of fresh catnip at Petco or Petsmart recently, and the cats really do enjoy eating it fresh.  Frank was chewing on the entire plant this morning, until I cut off a few sprigs for him, and Missy Mae ate an entire sprig, sans stem, when I presented it to her.  The other treat they enjoy is fresh wheatgrass, which is sold by the container for $1.69 at the grocery store.  When I posted a couple of days ago and asked for suggestions for an empty aquarium, Georg suggested I plant herbs.  Given how much the cats love their fresh snacks, it’s definitely something I should investigate.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/23 at 03:11 AM
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Saturday, July 21, 2007 , the wee hours

Harry’s arriving today…

...no contact with the outside world until I’m done reading!

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I’m still not done (it’s been a busy weekend), but here’s a photo of the book’s great Amazon.com packaging.  I really appreciate the effort they took into making the delivery such a special event:

harrypotter7

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/21 at 02:13 AM
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Thursday, July 19, 2007 , early evening

What to do with an empty aquarium

About eight years ago I won a jumbo gift certificate to Petsmart.  I used it to buy an 80 gallon aquarium, because I’d grown up with aquariums and always loved them (my father used to breed angelfish).  The aquarium has beautiful maple trim and cabinetry, and looks really nice, but I’ve lost interest in the upkeep.  It’s got two massive filters and a UV light to kill microscopic bad things, yet it still feels like I’m always cleaning it.  There are no fish in it right now (the last one died about six months ago), and I don’t want to fill it with fancy goldfish (I get too attached and they’re fragile fish), and it would cost a fortune to tweak the aquarium for a community tank.  I removed all the gravel and keep the tank very “minimalist” because goldfish are so messy and hard to keep clean, so without fish, it’s just a big glass box filled with water.  One of the problems with keeping an aquarium here is the dry air, because the tank loses about half an inch of water per day, so it’s not even a full glass box of water at the moment.

I just don’t know what to do with it from this point forward.  I don’t want to get rid of it, but I have neither time nor inclination to maintain an aquarium.  Our water here is so bad that it’s killed a couple of fish, too, so it almost seems unethical to subject fish to that again.  I can’t put the aquarium “in storage”, because it’s just too big and would take up room we don’t have.  It’s set up in the living room, the first room you see when you come through the door, so it doesn’t look very good when it’s just full of water and hard water deposits.  I was leaning towards a terrarium setup, aka, a glass tank filled with dirt and plants, but I want it to be a reptile/amphibian-free terrarium.  Just plants.

Are there any terrarium experts on board?  Is it even called a “terrarium” if it doesn’t have animals in it?  I’d love to fill the tank with different types of orchids (it’s so easy to control the lighting, I think orchids would do well), but returning to our hard water issue, I’d never be able to “flush” the orchids completely, and I’d eventually have quite a buildup of minerals and salts in the soil.  I don’t know if any plants can handle that, or if there’s anything I could do about it.  I did some reading and some folks will just keep the plants in their pots, adding some moss to disguise the ugly parts, but I think I’d like something more permanent.  Here’s a photo of a ‘Wardian case” (those orchid folks need to make up fancy names), but it’s just not as natural-looking as I’d like:  Wardian case.  To me, it looks like a science fair project.

I’m doing some web searches as I write this, and evidently a terrarium has plants, and a vivarium has plants and creatures.  I thought I’d pass that along, in case you didn’t know, either.

If you know of any good websites or books about terrariums, or have any experiences (good or bad), I’d love to hear them.  I wish I could just close my eyes and wiggle my ears and have the project completed… I want a nice centerpiece for the livingroom, and I don’t feel like doing the work on it right now.  At the very least, this weekend I guess I’ll take all the filters apart, wash them, drain them, make notes of what replacement parts I’d need in the future, etc.  It could take me weeks of scrubbing to take care of the hard water deposits, so I’d might as well start to tackle those as quickly as possible.

It’s sort of sad and funny that of all the pets we’ve had, “Bob the oranda” made the deepest impression on me.  It was Bob’s illness, and my inability to help him, which has turned me off owning goldfish.  I guess there should be a few “fish vets” in town because of all the aquariums at the casinos, but I wasn’t able to find one when I wanted to do surgery on Bob to treat his swim bladder problems.  I think goldfish are adorable, but I can’t watch any more of them die as I stand by helplessly.  When my terrarium is done, I’ll have to name it “Bob Memorial Gardens” or something.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/19 at 07:59 PM
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Tuesday, July 17, 2007 , terribly early in the morning

Wee Paws donations

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve now set up the Wee Paws donation button on this blog.  I just can’t live in a vacuum anymore, working multiple jobs to makes ends meet, when I know there are many kind folks who have a few dollars to spare every now and again.  I was reading yet another news story today about public animal shelters being overwhelmed and overcrowded, and I believe it was the head of the ACC in New York City who said that they rely on private rescue to help ease their burden and to help save lives.  I know what I’ve started is just small (and it has to be, because that’s all I can afford right now), but I also know that I’ve saved at least a dozen cats from certain death at the hands of our city shelter.  Really, that’s not a half bad start.  With every passing day I learn more, I get more efficient, I’m learning about new resources, and I think I’ve got the groundwork set for a small but useful private sanctuary where I’ll be able to help the ones that I think need it most.

The donation button isn’t aimed at you, my friends… all your kinds words of support are enough to keep me motivated!  I hope the donation button might instead catch the eye of someone who adopted a kitten from me a year or so ago and happens to pass by to see old kitten pictures, or maybe it will appeal to someone looking for an answer to a health-related question.  Or maybe Warren Buffett will stop by and realize he just didn’t give enough away!  No matter who sees it, it does me no good if I keep it hidden.  And maybe it will inspire someone else to start their own private sanctuary, too.  If I can figure this stuff out, trust me, you can do it too.

I can’t believe nobody owns the Bissell SpotBot!  You need to all put it on your list for Santa.

One last thing… I may be able to get my hands on some 1 lb. sample sizes of Wild Kitty food kits.  Would any of you be interested in trying it?  I already have one that I could give away, but I may be able to have more.  If you’re one of the regular readers here and you would genuinely be interested in making your own cat food, please leave me a note in my comments and I’ll get back to you about sending you a sample.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/17 at 03:32 AM
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Sunday, July 15, 2007 , the wee hours

Bissell SpotBot

I spotted this online, and developed a crush:

image

It’s a Bissell SpotBot, and I dream of having one to clean up dog vomit, dog pee, cat vomit… and spilled red wine from all the garden parties we host.  Does anyone have one, and can you report back on how well it works?  I do a fine job of stain removal with OxyClean, towels, and elbow grease, but I do love a handy gadget.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/15 at 12:25 AM
Rampant Consumerism • (5) Comments • Permalink

Saturday, July 14, 2007 , the wee hours

Raw food:  it’s what’s for dinner (and breakfast)

I’ve been raving about my love for Wild Kitty cat food kits for the last month and a half.  I’ve been ordering the kits where I add my own ground, cooked chicken meat, and the cats have loved the meals.  It’s been less expensive than “premium” canned food, it’s fresher, and I have more control over the ingredients.  The cats poop less, and they just overall stink less… even their pee is less noticeable.  Our house practically smells like a bouquet of roses.  I’ve just loved the way they all eat so enthusiastically, too—it makes my heart swell to see fussy Chelsea licking all the corners of her dish and asking for more.

Wild Kitty makes another kit, one where you add freshly ground raw chicken, with bones.  I’ve wanted to try it because the raw meat with bones is less expensive, but I’ve been hesitant for all the reasons people worry about raw food.  I’m concerned about hygiene issues, I’m concerned about the bones in the food, and I’m concerned the cats won’t want to eat raw meat.  Nevertheless, the cooked kits have gone over so well I figured I’d order a couple of raw ones, and they arrived two days ago.  I used two kits for my batch of food, which meant I had to grind 8 lbs. of raw chicken with bones.  The package recommended either grinding a whole chicken, or just using legs, but I had thighs available so I thought those would be okay.  I double-ground them, first on the largest setting, then on the tiniest one, and the meat came out smooth and looking fresh.  I’ve been so impressed with my Waring meat grinder… that thing is a real workhorse, and I already feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of it just in what I’ve saved by making my own cat food.

I mixed my 8 lbs. of ground raw meat and bones with water and the Wild Kitty mix, portioned it out, and stuck it in the refrigerator.  I had an awful lot of cat company while I was assembling the food, which I thought was a coincidence, but as soon as I turned my back both Tie and Frank jumped up on the kitchen counter to try to lick the bowl I was using.  Later that evening I fed the cats the raw food for the first time, and they all devoured it like little savages.  Even Chelsea, again, was pawing at me and yelling at me to hurry up and dish the food out, and she’s been cleaning her dish.  The cats have had raw food for two days so far, and I’m not noticing anything negative (or even, anything different).  I haven’t detected any bones as I dish the food out, and it looks very fresh and healthy.  The food has small dried pieces of carrots and broccoli which reconstitute themselves when you add water to the mix, so you know if you have cats eagerly downing food with carrots and broccoli, it must be something pretty special.

I’m really happy with how well Carlo and Bunny eat this food, because I think it will be especially healthy for Carlo.  I can see that he’s getting stronger, and although he still gets some cramping, I no longer have to give him sucralfate for diarrhea.  He honestly was not gaining weight until I started to feed the homemade food, so I think he’s metabolizing it very easily.  I tried giving a bit of raw food to our houseguests, Greg and Spiderman, but they would have none of it.  Turned up their noses and walked away.  They eat kibble, which I despise, but I offered them some Natural Balance, and they would have none of that, either.  They want their Meow Mix, ugh.  I’ll give it to them, of course, because I want them to feel at home, but I’d love to see a bit of food transitioning for them in the near future.  Especially for long-haired cats, I think food quality is reflected in their coat quality and the amount of shedding.

I know I want to keep feeding Wild Kitty permanently.  I feel so good about it, all the cats love it, and we’re saving tons of money.  I couldn’t have asked to stumble across anything better, because it allows me to feed homemade without hunting down obscure ingredients like chicken hearts, powdered taurine, etc.  All that work has been done for me.  What I don’t know is if I’ll stick to cooked or raw.  The size limitations of our kitchen and refrigerator are revealing themselves because I need to make about 100 pounds of cat food each month (counting Greg and Spidey), and that means I’m making a new batch of cat food every two or three days.  If I had another fridge and/or chest freezer, and some huge stockpots, I could do a month’s worth of food in one day and just store it, but I only have the means to store a few day’s worth of food right now.  Because I have to cook so often, I’m leaning away from raw food—it would mean following stringent hygiene and safety procedures almost constantly, and I think I’d go crazy from the smell of bleach and disinfectant!  Cooking the meat is a much lazier process, although it also costs more, so I’d pay for the convenience.  One complaint I have about the Waring grinder is that you can’t wash the parts in the dishwasher, so that’s another chore to add if I want to grind raw meat a few times per week.

I still have a lot of questions to ask, and maybe there are ways to make the food creation process easier.  Maybe the grocery store would pre-grind all my meat if I ordered 100 lbs. of it and paid for it in advance.  I’m sure I’ll be able to streamline the assembly line eventually, but I’m still in the learning phase.

Speaking of learning, I rarely write about my education lately, but I’m still cramming in some classes here and there!  I just completed a course in Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease (identifying and treating), and that class covered a lot of litterbox behavioural issues.  It was quite interesting, although it was one of those classes taught by Hills, so the solution to any crystals in feline urine was to put the cat on one of Hills’ Veterinary Diets.  If I asked about raw diets or homecooked diets, I was given the standard line that only Hills’ foods (and one other brand) have gone through clinical trials and are proven to help prevent struvite and calcium oxalate crystals.  Blah, blah, blah.  I really wanted to know if cats who are fed homemade and/or raw diets present with FLUTD as often as cats fed kibble, or really, any commercial diet.  I have a feeling they don’t, but of course no one has studied it, because why would a commercial pet food company want to fund that sort of study?  I think it’s a disservice to pets if their caregivers and veterinary professionals don’t think outside the box when trying to solve problems, but I know that no one is offering money to think outside the box.  Hills is offering money to think about Hills and their pet food, period.  They do a lot of wonderful research and have made many advances in pet health, but it could be so much better if they were driven to produce the very best food, and not just the most economical.  It saddens me that I’ve yet to see any course involving nutrition which isn’t paid for by a pet food company.

I also recently completed a course called “Pain Management of the Canine and Feline”.  It was so challenging, and I learned so much, and felt very proud when I aced my final.  I certainly don’t know everything about the topic, but I know a lot more than I once did!  This Sunday, I start a new course in “Triage and CPR”.  Obviously, learning CPR over the Internet is limiting, but I think I’ll pick up some good pointers and it will lay a foundation for future classes I can take in person.  I’m tempted by the course offering, “Canine Dermatology”, but the courses can be expensive and we don’t have any money to spare right now, so I’m going to pass on it.  Apparently if I volunteer for the organization which teaches the classes I can attend classes for free, so I’m definitely going to apply to be a volunteer.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/14 at 02:54 AM
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Friday, July 13, 2007 , the wee hours

Spiderpig, Spiderpig

Boy, show me one clip from The Simpsons Movie and I turn into a drone, faithfully reciting all the funny lines and singing nonsense like, ”Spiderpig”.  In today’s case I was just doing it to relieve stress, because we unfortunately now have Spiderman the cat and his brother, Greg, living in our guest bedroom/office.  The vet who wanted Spiderman refused to take Greg in as well, even just to foster him, and the idea of splitting them up upset their former owner and really annoyed me.  The vet wasn’t even willing to allow the cats to be together while nearly-blind Spiderman adjusted to his new surroundings, and she was very abrupt and unfeeling about the situation.  I brought the cats to our house to assess them, because I wanted to see how bonded they are, and the vet will still take Spiderman if decide that it would be okay.  I’m definitely hoping for other options, though.

My initial observations are that Greg is very outgoing and curious, and maybe even a bit pushy about getting affection.  He’s not fond of being brushed, but he’s got a few hair mats so obviously isn’t used to being brushed, either.  Spiderman is very timid in his new surroundings, but just loves to be held and cuddled.  He seems to have vision in one eye, as long as an object is just a few inches away from him (he played with a little red toy mouse, but put his head down near the floor to peer at it).  He doesn’t seem to have any depth perception, and cried after climbing up on a cat tree because he was afraid to come down.  He’ll do fine in an environment which is consistent and unchanging, but the transitions ahead of him will be challenging.  Both cats have very tidy litterbox habits.  To my surprise, both cats are declawed—no one ever mentioned that to me.  I’ll have to take a couple of photos tomorrow, both for Petfinder, and for posting here.  Spiderman has one funky eye that really makes him look like a superhero.

It’s late now, but in the morning I’m going to put the donation button for Wee Paws on this blog.  I’ve avoided it because I feel that it’s tacky, and I don’t want to solicit donations from people I’m not actively helping.  There are lots of folks who take up a lot of my time through email, as I help them place their cats up for adoption or help them with behavioural issues, and those are the people who should be donating (the never do).  Regardless, the animal care bills around here are reaching a crisis point.  I may have an adopter for Missy Mae, but she lives downstairs so she’s not part of the regular “hoard”.  Otherwise, I have concerns about Carlo’s continued litterbox and bowel issues, and I have no idea how long Greg and Spiderman will be around.  Spiderman is going to the eye vet on the 27th, and he’s offering a discount, but if the cat needs one or both eyes removed I don’t know how I’ll pay for it.  We’ve got about four more “special needs” cats than we can afford right now (especially as we’re sort of “special needs” ourselves!), so I want to make the donation option more prominent.  I’m finally going to have our dye sublimation setup working this weekend (cross your fingers), and if that goes well, I’ll start selling some products for animal lovers, like t-shirts, mugs, etc.  Fundraising bites… it’s the worst part of doing anything “nonprofit”.

Maybe I should dress up Spiderman in a pig costume and we’ll make personal appearances for a fee.  Spiderpig, Spiderpig…

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I’m editing to add photos.  Here’s Greg:

greg

Here’s Spiderman.  Don’t be alarmed by his eyes, which look especially horrible in this photo.  He was also just shaved at the vet’s office because he was matted, so he’s even more pathetic looking.  That blue eye of his really does look blue in person.  My favourite thing about him is his nose—it’s like a leather teddy bear nose:

spiderman

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/13 at 02:38 AM
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Cool news from afar, and from the bathroom counter

I’ve seen a couple of cool news stories in the past few days, and thought I’d share:

-- A ghost orchid has been found blooming in Florida.  This type of orchid is an endangered species, and this particular plant is unusual because it features nine blooms, and is located in a cypress tree about 150 feet off the ground!  I’ve been fascinated by orchids ever since I read, ”The Orchid Thief” (a book which would probably make my list of my top ten favourite books).  The book inspired me to buy my first orchid about four years ago, but it’s never bloomed.  At least I haven’t killed it.

-- A group of explorers from TIGHAR are on their way to the South Pacific to look for the remains of Amelia Earhart and her plane.  From what I’ve read, this group has made the biggest advances in finding out what happened to Earhart, and their hypothesis is very practical and logical.  This expedition is called “Niku V”.  It’s very sad that bones which were probably Earhart’s remains were “lost” in the 1940’s, but this expedition hopes to find other evidence of her presence in a place called Gardner Island.  Women’s shoes were discovered there years ago, so who knows what other evidence is lurking?  Good luck to them and I hope they find what they’re looking for… it must be a very exciting event to participate in.  If you want to know more about TIGHAR’s previous missions to the island, check out the book, ”Finding Amelia”. 

-- This isn’t conventional “news”, but about two weeks ago, my beloved Sonicare toothbrush died.  It had been used daily since 1998, so I can’t complain about its lifespan, but I do kind of resent the inability to replace the rechargable battery with a new one.  Regardless, we needed a new toothbrush, and a couple of nights of “conventional” toothbrush usage left me with no doubt that I wanted another Sonicare.  We ended up with the Sonicare Elite 9500 because we got a good deal on it, and I’m now in oral hygiene heaven.  It’s more powerful than our old Sonicare, and it does such an amazing job of getting teeth clean.  I’m a flosser, so I can tell what gunk the toothbrush leaves behind, and this one is doing a super job.  The “ultrasonic” sensation takes some getting used to, but it’s soooooo worth it.  Neither Flippy nor I have dental insurance, so it’s a medical expense which gets overlooked for years at a time, and I’ve no doubt that the Sonicare people have saved us much more in dentistry expenses than we’ve ever spent on their products.  If we can get another eight years out of this brush, that will be wonderful.

-- This isn’t news either, but… is there anything better than, “So You Think You Can Dance?” I love the show so much, I think I might even love it more than “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor” and “American Idol”.  It’s the only TV show Flippy and I are actively following this summer, although we’ve watched a couple of episodes of “Hey Paula” just for the horrific thrill.  I never had an opinion about Paula Abdul—I didn’t love her, I didn’t hate her, she was just a fairly pleasant judge on AI.  After seeing “Hey Paula”, not only do I think she’s a train wreck, I don’t like her at all.  If she agreed to this show to “improve” her public image, it’s not working.  She whines, she has tantrums, and she doesn’t seem to have the slightest ability to take care of herself or to deal with any sort of setback or conflict.  Worst of all, she seriously says things like, “Why don’t people treat me like the gift that I am?” Can you imagine saying that about yourself?  In just three half-hour episodes, her entire personal staff seems to have turned over, proving how much fun she is to work for.  The only redeeming quality she seems to have is that she loves her dogs and treats them well, but other than that, she needs to get a grip.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 07/13 at 01:45 AM
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