And Just Because....

After Nursing for 35 years this coming year, forgive me if I like animals way better than people sometimes.....

Watch this dog's reaction when His Owner plays the guitar...

Electronics for Christmas: Beware!

Ok, when you are cheating when playing a game on your iPhone......using an animal......

Expect the animal to not understand.......and get even........!

Sad news:

Everyone has seen this video of the otters floating while holding hands at the Vancouver aquarium:



Nyac was rescued from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

That's the year I moved to California.

She was rescued, one of the very few who survived and managed to live out her life at the Vancouver Aquarium. She was the only one to have a live pup. In 2008 she was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia - a known cancer in other animals, related to petroleum exposure - and died.

Sad news is, the second of the pair - Milo -  has also now been found to have cancer and is losing weight. Apparently, news reports say he is undergoing "chemotherapy".



As much as I loved my cat who had cancer and died almost one year ago, I don't think I would have the heart to give her chemotherapy. Prognosis isn't good, and in her  case, would have been inhumane treatment.

Of course, unless the definition of "chemotherapy" in this case is pain medication or antibiotics.....

Welcome to Canada!

Congratulations to "An American Yankee in Canada"....who was *just* granted her permanent resident card.   I know how difficult and tedious the process is, since my husband and I went through the same thing approximately 3 years ago!

In honor of the occasion - here is our National Animal to welcome you:

This makes me cry.

Yes, humans are suffering.

But animals don't have a voice or a choice.

SPCA of BC is one of the charities I support.

So does our local gal, Sarah.

An "Awww Cute!" Saturday AM

(not that I like the idea of animals confined in zoos too much... )

Meanwhile, bear with me as I tweak colors and design with my blog!

Of Knitting Needles and Bears

We get home from camping and there's a message from my mom on my phone.

"This is your mother calling....give me a call....I need to ask you something..."

Sounds serious.

The message was left on Friday - and here it is Sunday night. 

I tried to brush off the panic.  Wouldn't she have emailed me if it were important??

I give her a call.

"Hey mom, what's up?"

Apparently when she sat down on the couch, she forgot she tucked her knitting needles in between the seat cushion and the arm of the couch - sharp ends sticking up.

this is the way they should have
been stuck into the couch...

Seems she impaled her arm with a knitting needle.*  Needless to say it bled profusely.   

After she described the injury to me - "It went in about two inches"....she tried to reassure me, "Don't worry, I took care of it....I took a couple pills from the dentist -  and it's not bleeding anymore."

So now I am curious.  "What pills?" I ask. 

Do I really want to know???

"Oh, it's just some pills the dentist gave me when I was going to get my teeth done"

"What? Did you just have something done at the dentist?"

"Well, no, I cancelled the dentist, but he had given me some antibiotics because of my hip replacement - I was supposed to take before the procedure - and after"

"Don't tell me you took the antibiotics"

"No....I didn't ....I only took two..."

"MOM! That's even worse....you never ever take antibiotics unless you take the whole course of it.  And you don't take them unless your doc says to. That's how we get our superbugs....Never mind now you don't have enough antibiotics now for when you have your dental procedure...."

*sigh*

I know I have preached the antibiotics sermon to my entire family....how could this have happened???

Mom and Dad insist on living in the middle of nowhere....too far away from any of our family to go and save them from themselves.

While I am thinking that perhaps they are soon in need of closer supervision ....mom is yelling at dad in the background...."Bill, come quick! The bear is back!! Come look!!"

they can wreck your house
in less than a minute...

To me, she says " There's a small bear at our sliding glass door!"

Back to dad - "Bill! close that door!"

Right about now I am picturing a bear being let into the house, mauling my parents.

Me: "Mom, for Pete's sake, tell dad to keep the door closed.  What the.....  don't you know how dangerous those bears are???"

Mom: "Well that second one is a baby...."

Me: "Mom!!!! The babies are dangerous!! SCARE THEM OFF!!! With noise!!! LOTS of noise!!!  The mother will get angry if she sees you - and then you're toast.... there isn't any window or sliding glass door that is going to stop her....!!!!!"

Mom: "Oh no....they don't bother us....they just come and visit the compost...and the bird feeders...and leave paw prints on the windows...."

Me: "Oh for cripes sake....geezzzz mom....you know you shouldn't compost so close to the house if at all!!! That's rule number ONE!!!  No wonder they come around all the time!!! And take down those feeders!!!! Or at least move them away from the window....!"

Mom: "OK....I gotta go....[Bill! Close that door~!!] Gotta go! Bye..."

Me: "But....MOM!!!!....wait...."

*click*  Mom hangs up.

Honestly. 

I am so stressed, I think I need a propanolol.

More chest pains.

*sigh*

No point in worrying.  By the time I drive up there to their place, they'd be some bear's lunch.

Can't think about it.

It's like having kids.

Unfortunately, I never had kids....so it's all new territory to me.

Sad really.

Funny how things flip.

Mom and Dad used to be the one telling me what to do.....but, only difference is.....

I used to listen.

this is what I think of those bears... cute my butt!
"Knitting needles"

*No, mom wasn't up to date with her tetanus either. I sent her for follow-up with her MD.....if she listened to me.....

This is SO CUTE!!!

I really needed a laugh today, and this fit the bill nicely:

Check it out!

Warm Fuzzy for the Day - Motherly love

On the tube for not quite 6 days, and it has almost 17 million hits!!

Spring is getting here s-l-o-w-l-y............

Love the spring.  Here is a peek at what's in our yard!

The Clematis blossoms are cascading off our fence...but you can still see the snow on the mountaintops!



There are soooo many blossoms!!!

Apple blossoms.  We have a "apple hedge" that grows 4 different types of apples!

A dead honeybee hangs from a spider's web.  Notice the spider blends into the blossom!

Then there is the Evergreen Clematis that grows around our house.....

The bleeding hearts have been out for a month now!

And in the local park nearby....



Little  families are coming out!



Canada geese and their babies!

...and at least a dozen of these big boys sitting on the log sunning themselves. (western painted turtle)




Nothing more beautiful than nature!
**************************

Mother's Day Past...

This was sent to me.

I am sure that most people have seen it since it is 2 years old already....but it bears a repeat play.



How sweet.

Hope all you Mothers out there had a great weekend past.

Now it's time to head home after spending the weekend with my own mother.

A Mom's instinct

It's raining in White Rock where the Eagle's nest is.

Take a look at what the Eagle Mom is doing.

A photo I took of the eagle cam. - When you click on the cam, Expand the view to fit your entire screen!

On the nest, she spreads her wings out so the rain, when it runs off her waterproof feathers, will trickle off - rather than just underneath her - further away from her eggs!

Isn't nature amazing!

By the way, we were watching the eagle on the wide angle shot last night...and at approximately 8 pm, there was a gorgeous sunset!!!

More Nocturnal Animals Visiting during the Day!

One night a couple years ago, a raccoon wandered into our backyard and up onto our porch.  It was a HUGE sucker - about the size of a medium size dog.  It didn't scare easily.

Then, this past fall, while we were relaxing in the hot tub minding our own business, I felt a pair of eyes looking at me over the fence.  A Raccoon was peeking over from the neighbor's yard while perched on their divider fence running perpendicular to ours - not 3 feet away.  I shooed it away quite easily with a splash of water.

These raccoons are quite a nuisance in these parts.

My cousin had trouble with raccoons invading her yard at night, fishing in her koi pond and grabbing her glass floating fish ornaments - smashing them to smithereens.  I guess they thought they were real fish.

Then, last evening, just when I thought the raccoons had decided to go elsewhere permanently - there he was - this little rascal! 

I think he is a young one - he seemed all nervous to see us, but not nervous enough to run off.

My husband had to crawl out on the roof and with broom in hand, guide the little guy off the roof.  The raccoon grabbed the downspout and swung himself down to the ground Tarzan-like and ran off down the street - probably ended up in the forest. 

I felt sorry for him, but wild animals are not to be encouraged, ever.  Here is the video I took from our bathroom window:

He was sleeping in the dry corner under the eaves

He hears me open the window, at first didn't move, then thought better of it

Although he is looking ferocious, he really is just yawning and stretching...

Cute little guy, just doesn't know what to do!





Our place has a plethora of wild animals hanging about.
It's been exciting lately!

Speaking of Owls.... giving a Hoot!



my own photo

 In the morning I heard a ruckus outside our front door.

This is who we saw! 

I have since identified it as a "Barred Owl".  It is also known as the "Rain Owl" or the "Hoot Owl".   

They are an aggressive species of the Owl family and they thrive in suburban areas as opposed to thick forest. 

They are a threat to the Northern Spotted Owl which is on the endangered species list.  There has been a real drive in the southern interior of our province to save the Spotted Owl, so the fact that this Barred Owl has moved further north and west - may be considered a threat to the poor old Spotted Owl of which there are only 6 known pairs left in the wild in B.C.*

We were surprised to see an owl during the daylight hours (it was approx 9:45 am) but of all the owls, I understand that this species is the most apt to be seen during the day - usually around dawn and dusk.

The crows didn't like the fact that this Owl was around.  Can you spot the crow just beyond the owl in the photo?  They were making such a noise - and unfortunately, you can only barely hear them on the movie I uploaded, since the movie was taken through our heavy glass door. 

Had I just waited a couple more minutes, I would have had a movie of the owl flying into the forest across the street.

We didn't hear the Owl hooting,  but they say it is a series of eight hoots with a downward pitch at the end as in "oo-aw".   The mnemonic of their hoot would be - "Who cooks for you. Who cooks for you all".


I just love living next door to our Forest! 

I appreciate the fact that the developer took pains to preserve most of the huge old trees in the area - the wildlife we see outside our windows and around our yard is amazing.





*The US Fish and Wildlife Federation proposes killing these Barred Owls in an experiment to see if it will affect the Spotted Owl population.

Remember the Owl cam last year?

This is the Eagle Cam in Norfolk, Virginia.

Some of the chicks are hatched. The latest one - just yesterday.   I have always loved armchair nature-ogling.

Watch them grow!


Addendum:  Here is the Eagle's Nest Blog website. Very interesting photos up close and personal with explanations.  You can also track where the eagles go....

Save the cam and the blog to your *Favorites*

And here I thought it was Over with...

Isn't it about time for spring?

Not that we have had much snow. The weather has been very mild, with only two small snowfalls late last year.

Not enough for my husband to bring out his brand new snowblower.

Yes, a snowblower. It was supposed to be an "la Nina" year, so in anticipation, my husband ran out and bought a snowblower last fall.

Used it once.

*sigh*

Today our cat decided to make use of the snow and build his version of a "snowman". No - he didn't do his *business* in the snow. He actually does do this just for the fun of it.

Weird cat.

Reindeer Games and MRSA



...notice the antlers....(inside joke for those who have been reading
my blog all the way along....)

 I had to laugh the other day.  My niece posted this on her Facebook:

"The only reason the other reindeer loved Rudolph was because he drove Santa's sleigh. No wonder we have so many self-esteem issues in our society. Would someone please write a song where the reindeer decide to be kind and love Rudolph after getting to know who he is really is as a reindeer?"

And then I read this: Rudolph Had Low Self-esteem Issues.  I have read stories of how traumatized he was and that his co-dependent behavior was cause for concern.  Here are some scenarios as to how it all might have played out.

***********

In real life though, I had a patient once that had the hugest MRSA infection on his nose.  It was just around Christmas time and he was wondering what to do about it.  He said all his friends at work were laughing at him and calling him names....specifically "Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer" and the like.

Telling all kinds of Reindeer and Santa jokes - ad nauseum. 

It wasn't very funny, really.  His nose was painful, red, swollen and shiny....  and it was going to take a powerful antibiotic to clear it up.

Meanwhile, I am thinking his co-workers could lay off the jokes already.  MRSA is a serious infection and can develop to the life threatening stage if not treated properly and promptly.

Borrowed from the www. It's the best
I could do.....

Come on! After all - It's Christmas for pete's sake!!!

Another Birth Story: this time Human but with a mention of Animals

The last story reminded me of a gal I looked after in labor once.

I attended the birth of another very nice couple.   She just happened to be a veterinarian assistant.

The labor went well, the delivery was uneventful and baby was laid on mom's chest.

"Ohhhhhh......does he need to be suctioned??" she asked

"No...he's perfect, just a little mucus....but you can see that he is doing ok....his nostrils aren't flaring - and his color will get better as his circulation improves to his hands and feet....he's a normal little guy."

 She probably had all kinds of experience with animal deliveries.  It got me thinking....

"What do you do when you deliver a baby animal....say -  a puppy - if they are mucusy?"

"Oh - well - we swing it between our legs.....and that helps to drain the mucus....!"

I think I did a double-take to see if she was really serious.  "Hmmm......I can certainly tell you, we won't be doing that today or at any time here....!"

I always wondered about that....so I looked around to see if I could find  information on this.....and found the information that confirmed my suspicions about this practice:

"At birth, resuscitation efforts were instituted because of a lack of spontaneous breathing and bradycardia. In an effort to remove amniotic fluid from the airways, the puppy was "swung" by an experienced attendee in an arch from mid-abdomen height to knee height while cradled in both hands with the head stabilized. Initial evaluation of the puppy revealed normal blood glucose and no ultrasonographic evidence of hydrocephalus. Because of continued seizure activity, euthanasia and necropsy were elected. At necropsy, there was gross evidence of subdural hematoma formation. Subsequent histopathology of the brain, liver, lung, spleen, small intestine, colon, and kidney revealed subdural and intracerebral hemorrhage. Findings were consistent with high-velocity deceleration trauma ("shaken baby syndrome"). Traditional neonatal resuscitation via "swinging" is a dangerous and potentially lethal practice capable of inducing significant brain trauma in the canine neonate."

Seems there is a lot we have in common with our animal friends....

The Worst Delivery I have seen: Graphic story Warning.

I once dated a guy - let's just call him "Farmer MacDonald" -  who subsequently owned a farm and subsequently -  lots of animals of the bovine type.  Knowing that I was a Labor and Delivery RN, he thought he would show off his skills in the delivery area. 

I should have known better.

He told me that he had a mother cow in the barn obviously in labor for several hours.

"You came just at the right time" he shouted over his shoulder. "Let's go!"  He strutted off in the direction of the barn and pompously ordered about a few of the Hispanic workers for good measure. (yes, he was a bit of an ass...)

I followed him into the barn and stayed my safe distance on the other side of the corral fence,  ready to watch the show. Having once owned 4 Morgan horses, I tend to steer clear of ginormous animals with feet that could be weapons.  Especially ginormous animals with weaponous** feet in pain.

The poor cow was mooing and moaning......Farmer Mac reached inside her up to his elbow and pulled, trying to help the calf out.  Apparently she had been in labor for a while, and he was impatient to get it over and done with. (sound familiar?)

Anyway, it seems that the calf was "stuck" and he needed help getting it out.  He got out a rope and tied it around the leg of the calf.  Pulled.  Nothing. Yanked on the feet. Nada.

By this time several more farm workers gathered around, trying to help him out.    The poor cow, by this time was bawling away, creating a restlessness among the other cows in the barn.   She was in obvious distress, and the group of men around her were making her extremely jumpy.

Chains with handles were secured around the two front feet visible and Farmer Mac pulled on them with all his might (not unlike some OBs I have seen do, only without the chains....)

The poor cow shied away and rammed up against the fence and I jumped out of the way.  Shouting and pushing ensued....and the workers scrambled to get a foothold..... (not unlike what I have seen happen in some deliveries)

A bar was placed between the parallel fence boards and under the cow's abdomen and the farmer pushed down hard on the end of the bar on the outer side of the fence, trying to use leverage to move the calf up and out (supra pubic pressure anyone?)

Finally, after approximately an hour of scuffling around and still just the legs hanging out and no head to be seen....it was determined that the calf was dead.  Apparently, the nose, which usually follows the front feet with delivery, was twisted so it pointed toward the feet.  A malpresentation.  At this point, Farmer Mac was clearly pissed off, and continued to bark orders in the direction of the migrant workers.... (again -sound familiar??)

A wire appeared from his "Vet cupboard".   He looped  around the calf's head in utero and Farmer Mac proceeded to saw OFF the head with the wire and remove the calf in bits and pieces.

When it was all over and done with he said "Well, I guess you really didn't need to see that, did you".   Matter of factly.

Me: slightly in shock. ( ya think??)

"Ummmm.....well....it definitely isn't the way we do it......." I stated, rolling my eyes.

The guy had too much of an attitude ( like many of the OBs that I had worked with in the past.....) and his total disregard and lack of respect for animals (in general) spoke volumes to me.

 I punted him soon thereafter.
>>>>>>>>

This is, btw, the way it is supposed to happen.

This is what he was trying to do.   (although the actual way is to alternate pressure on each leg to walk it out)

Sometimes they use "forceps" - or a "rocker" in farm language.  :(

Look who comes in to help resuscitate....!

Applying support to the perineum in an odd way.



**is this a word?? :)

Christmas Menagerie

Not that the posting of the Hallelujah Chorus the other day inspired this,  of course,  but since animals were all involved in the first Christmas in some way or other -  or so says the song - "The Friendly Beasts" -  that I learned in elementary school  -

I Just Couldn't Resist posting This :