False Cape, VA

Lately in my crippled sated I live vicariously through my brother who is an avid camper/hiker nature type person.  He recently got back from a trip to False Cape, VA which is a tad down the coast from Back Bay where we camped a lot as kids.  The place looks amazing.

It's gone to the dogs....

I'm a slacker blogger, ah well. Lately my life is played out in 3 hour increments playing mother to an orphan puppy.  My life is eat, sleep, work, puppy (scramble order for fun), so my blog is going to the dogs too. I'm going to periodically post puppy updates, mostly to keep track and for entertainment purposes for the 2 of you that read this blog.

It's a bit sketchy where the puppy came from and exactly how she got like she is, she however ended up at the rescue of a friend (supposedly 8 days old) after being saved from euthanasia.  I think she is a tad younger as we are still waiting for her eyes to open on day 15.  Her mother supposedly chewed off her back legs which was not noticed by the "breeder" for a day or so. I'm not exactly sure that is the case because it is a rather clean "chew", like no extra teeth marks and a mother dog would probably have broken or crushed the whole leg if she had been "chewing".  I think it is more likely a birth defect, probably caused by poor positioning in the uterus or tangled umbilical cord.  Peg Leg Sue my cat came w/ one leg like that, complete w/ dried up umbilical cord when I got her at 1 day old.  She has what I call kitty downs syndrome but is perfectly happy.

But back to the puppy... regardless of how it happened, she is missing both back feet up to mid hock. I'm not quite sure how that is going to work out for her, but I know animals have an amazing ability to adapt to things people would find life ending. 

I've also no idea what breed she is.  I've emailed the DNA company to see how young they can test her and when I come up w/ an extra $40 I might get her tested. She is small and brown and slightly fuzzy... because of that and her tenacity so far, I've named her Unsinkable Molly Brown... ah welll I've come up w/ worse names.

 

LuLu is fascinated w/ her and spends every feeding staring at me to see if I'll let the puppy play with her yet. 

Everyone deserves a 2nd chance

You do the crime, you do the time. God forgives.  I recently had a discussion with my mother about Michael Vick which brought up phrases like that.  She went on and on and on about how everyone deserves a 2nd chance and that he had done his time and should be allowed another chance.  I agree.  People can change (except sexual predators, but thats another blog), people do bad things, serve jail time and come out changed people.  They then go one to live in 1/2 way houses, scrape by below poverty level and work cleaning up others trash.  It's a long haul out of jail onto making something of yourself. 

What 99% of people who serve jail time are NOT given are million dollar "jobs" the don't have to work at.  They are not given sponsorships, drafted onto chosen teams, given fancy cars and clothes and houses for playing football.  Most convicted felons are not given a silver platter while on probation, most of them have to work for it.

Michael Vick is just another example of our countries screwed view on celebrities and their above the law status....

Really? (todays post not safe for children)

I know children are a ton of work, especially the unhousebroken ones you still have to feed by hand.  However I don't get why one that can feed and dress themselves, get themselves to and from school, is relatively well behaved, does their schoolwork and chores is so hard for R's ex to keep up with. 

Apparently the bff of the ex called R today to let him know how it is.  Ex is doing fun things like leaving the 13yr old alone for entire weekends at a time (including while a friend is also staying over), forgetting to do things like buy groceries, deliberately not making food for bff of 13yr old when 13yr old has bff over,  drinking and staying out till 2am 7 days a week, buying slutty clothes for 13yr old (I'm sure to make up for the fact that ex is an ugly fat a$$ who  wishes she could wear them).  Clothes apparently so bad she gets pulled aside by friends or sent home to change and am sure doesn't understand why her mother told her it was normal and she looked great.  The ex tell bff, kid etc that her "dates" buy her drinks & shares her escapades.  Apparently most of the ex's friends have tired of hearing of her "dates" so now ex wants to share them with the kid.  I've seen supermodels have to buy their own drinks, much less someone who fell off the ugly truck.  Guess she isn't using that child support to pay bills now is she.

How hard is it for ex to realize that if she acts like a stupid drunk whore around her impressionable teenager, she is 99% likely to do the same thing?  Two weekends a month with us isn't going to cut that out of her head.

I get the pleasure of meeting ex for the first time next weekend. Someone should save bail money for when I have to smack her upside her head.

This makes me feel old

I've been saying a lot of "back when I was that age" lately with R having a teenager.  Mostly to things like endless hours texting while watching youtube.  I really can't remember how I entertained myself at that age but it wasn't with TV.  We had one phone and one TV and I had to share, so that wasn't it. I had a part time job by that time, which seems like a good idea to me....

But that wasn't my point with this.  What gets me lately is the emotional maturity or lack thereof of people these days.  Perhaps it has always been that way but I'm noticing it more and more.  Perhaps I will become wise in my old age :)  People 8, 9 and 10 years younger than me. People fully capable of driving a vehicle, being married, owning or renting their own home, feeding themselves and paying bills who are totally incapable of behaving on an emotional level of anything above a 12 year old.  People who run around telling every secret to anyone who will listen in an effort to have the best secret and therefor be the most popular.  People who are so incapable of getting themselves out of an unhappy miserable home life that they decide to try and make everyone else miserable.  People who run to the "boss" anytime anyone looks at them sideways.

I want to run after them yelling... mommmyyyy mommmmyyy he poked me....  I want to show them that it's ok to wipe your own a$$, that it's ok to act like an adult and that your job isn't a popularity contest, but I don't think it will work.  I'm afraid emotional maturity has gone the way of common sense.  Perhaps it is being bred out of people, I don't know.  I just find it a sad.

Back from the dead

which it appears I have been.  I've no fancy blog to come back with, though a few are swirling around in my head.  Who knows, this may last a few months like last time or I really may be back for real.

So yesterday I was heading out of the house about noon to grab a few groceries for the kid this weekend.  It was strangely quiet outside, and then I heard these huge wings flapping, I look up and there is a giant vulture.  I watch for a while, mostly because I'm strangely fascinated by big wild birds.  We have a pair of Cooper's Hawks that live around here killing birds but really I live in the middle of suburbia so I'm allowed to enjoy wildlife other than the feral cats.  So I watch the vulture for a while and its soon joined by another. I keep staring because I want to make sure they are stalking a dead cat or something.  Eventually, I got in my car and followed them around, finally pulling over to watch them eat a dead possum in the abandoned house behind me....

I really need to get a life....

In Soviet Russia

I’m sure the rules started something like this.  I’ve tended to step away from many things involving Animal Control because when I walked away from my job there I needed it to be a complete break for mental reasons.  Up this year however are a few changes to the animal ordinances that were perhaps though up by someone without democracy in mind. 

For starters it is the “enforcement” of an ordinance that has been on the books for years.  I’m not going to bore you with the details but it basically says you cannot color or dye an animal.  The wording leans toward the color for sale and is based on when they used to dye baby chickens and bunnies to sell for Easter.  I’m all for not doing that, however it should end there, not handing out $250 citations for what you do to your own pet.  In this day and age there is a plethora of fun products made for our pets, which people treat like children. Fancy clothes, collars and more recently pet friendly dye.  The stuff is safe, non toxic and you could eat the whole jar without a problem.  However Jacksonville FL would like to write you a citation for using it on your pet despite the fact that it isn’t harmful.  However you can feel free to cut and dye your children’s hair an whatever style you choose, allow their ears to be pierced by an untrained teenager in the mall while you hold them down and dress them however you please.  You can even skip giving them essential live saving vaccines on communicable diseases, again something you can’t do with your pet, which by the way is still considered property in their eyes.  I only rant about this citation because I KNOW they are neglecting real problems and real abuse.  I can rattle off a handful of hoarders the likes of which TV wouldn’t dare to show due to the horror, convicted animal abusers and neglectors who call themselves rescues who are not only allowed to continue their transgressions but given animals by the shelter in the name of “saving” them.  It’s all a numbers game.

Now however they have decided to try and force private businesses to sell rabies license tags.  This money does not go to the private business (vet) but to the city.  While I’m all for licensing your pet if required it’s not because it’s the law, it’s because I know the $ goes to help the animal at the shelter. (Well maybe 1$ of the $15 but still).  What I am against is the government forcing private business to sell for free something profitable to them.  Private business will also be forced to report anyone who refuses to purchase said license. Vets will be fined for refusal to comply.  While it sounds simple enough to comply, it is several hours a month of work, all to be “donated” to the city in lieu of not being “fined”.  Really Jacksonville, have we resorted to the days where you pay the mob for protection or perhaps the Nazi “Party Program” of the 1920s? 

I’d like to go on about some other “brilliant” additions to the ordinance that to me is the start of things like breed bans, but I’m going make some blackberry waffles.

(c) All veterinarians conducting business, whether permanently or temporarily, within the City of Jacksonville shall be required to sell a City pet tag, to all Duval County residents and/or part-time residents, for all animals vaccinated against rabies . Copies of Rabies certificates, records of license numbers sold and remittance of funds shall be made within thirty (30) days of the vaccination. If a client declines to purchase the license the veterinary clinic shall write “REFUSED” in the space on the rabies certificate where a pet license number is normally entered

(d) Veterinary Clinics may add a surcharge of up to two dollars ($2) per license sold to cover administrative costs as long as the surcharge is not added to the cost of the license and is invoiced on a separate line.

 (e) Failure to sell the City license shall be considered separate and distinct violation for each week in which licenses are not actively sold/offered for sale to every Duval County resident receiving a rabies vaccination and subject to a fine of not less than the amount designated in Chapter 462, Part 18. It shall be a separate and distinct violation for each location that the rabies vaccine is provided to the public, each month. Repeat violations of six (6) or more offenses within any calendar year may result in the suspension, revocation, or non-renewal of the City Occupational License.