Hawk spotting

As we took the little dogs out into the backyard this afternoon, I looked up and saw a small-but-unusual bird fly over our house.  I wondered if it was a hawk, as the brown and white striped patterns covering its body and wings were so distinctive, and it definitely wasn’t our garden-variety finch or dove.  The rest of the birds in the area gave me my answer, as they all suddenly scattered off in all directions, leaving roof tops, walls, and our neighbour’s bird feeding stations.  The interloper flew across the road, did a couple of aerobatic maneuvers, and then dove straight down at the ground, shaped like a missile.  I didn’t see the bird emerge again, so he either did a kamikaze move and hit the earth, or he made off with a fistful of lunch.  I came inside and checked my bird book, and it was indeed a hawk, although I can’t say what kind.  Not a red-tailed hawk, as those are so distinctive, but something like a Swainson’s hawk, which is considered common here in Vegas, especially during this time of year.  I hope he was swooping down to eat a roach and not a finch.  I plan to have my bird feeder up and running in the next week or so, and while I do believe all creatures deserve to eat, I don’t want my feeder to be a carnivore’s buffet.

We took Phoenix to the vet today, and after a long discussion, decided against trying her on Atopica for now.  Our vet felt that there wasn’t enough long-term anecdotal evidence to prove that Atopica would be safer than prednisone, and seeing as Phoenix is doing fine on pred, there’s really no pressing reason to switch her right now.  If her liver is irritated by the pred in the future, Atopica will still be an option for us, but in the interim I appreciate her caution.  I think she wants to avoid an “Ibuprofen vs. Vioxx” type of problem, where Vioxx was designed to be safer than Ibuprofen (because it was more targeted), but ended up having its own set of side-effects.  Our vet definitely would have given us the Atopica prescription if we’d had our minds made up about it, but Phoenix is doing pretty well right now on her injections and her pred, and by not using Atopica, we’re saving about $100 per month.  In a year or two if Phoenix’s allergies are still an issue and the drug continues to work well for others, I think we’ll end up trying it.  Our vet didn’t mention Dr. Plechner, and I didn’t bring him up, but she did say that she’s seen dogs who’ve been on huge doses of pred for years and who show no negative effects whatsoever, so that made me feel more confident about Phoenix’s small every-other-day dose and her good bloodwork.

A very nice but troubled young woman was in the waiting room at the vet’s office with us today.  I was a bit confused as to why she had a cat with her, yet the cat wasn’t confined in a crate or a box, and the woman refused to pick the cat up.  It turns out it wasn’t really her cat, but was a stray which had been hit by a car.  It was a cute cat who needed a few good meals, and had a nice disposition, especially considering it had terrible abrasions under one leg, almost like a degloving, and the vet had recommended the leg be amputated.  I hadn’t noticed any of that as the cat wandered the waiting room.  The cat’s new guardian couldn’t afford the $900 for the amputation, so was going to take the cat home for a trial run of ointment, antibiotics, and bandages, with the bandages being changed at the vet’s every couple of days.  I really felt sorry for the woman, who obviously loved animals, but who had a troubled life.  She was slim and young and pretty and well-dressed, yet told some pretty horrible stories about her creepy boyfriend and his animal abuse and her missing shih-tzu/pomeranian mix.  I wish we could have just picked up the tab on the cat’s bill to ease the woman’s burden, but we’ve unfortunately got our own financial burdens right now and that would be impossible.  Still, her stories made us realize what a wonderful, peaceful life we have.  It’s sad that so many other people are in relationships full of fear and anger.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/10 at 09:08 PM

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  1. How sad about the kitty who was hit by a car. I hope that the cat will be safe, as it has already experience enough non safe enviroments in it’s short life. *sigh

    Posted by DEBRA  on  11/12  at  11:22 AM
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