This morning, I dropped off Jelly at the vet hospital for her scheduled ultrasound. She’s been prone to bladder infections over the past couple of years and, lately, in the past few weeks, has been having an alarming number of “accidents” in the house. She’s going to be fourteen this February so, yes, she is getting on in years and that may account for it, but these recent developments have come on so suddenly that I thought it best to get her checked out just in case.
As I always do whenever one of my dogs is about to undergo a procedure, I have someone run me through the specifics. No anesthesia, I was informed. She’d be brought into a dark, quiet room where the ultrasound device would use high frequency sound waves to create an image of her stomach and bladder. It would be relaxed, non-invasive and, at the end of the day, perhaps one of the more pleasant of diagnostics. It sounded so nice I was tempted to make an appointment for myself as well!
I was told they would phone me with the results and a pick-up time for Jelly, so I drove back home and had just sat down to catch up on my emails when I noticed the breaking story on the news feeds. Shocking and incredibly sad. While I’m sure this incident will reignite the long-standing debate on gun control, I think the bigger issue should be mental health and what, if anything, can be done to protect the general population from individuals with obvious psychological issues.
Today’s shooting comes on the heels of a report that an ex-doctor who murdered his own children, aged 5 and 3, during a bitter dispute with his wife, has been released after spending four years in a psychiatric facility. Four years! Ex-doctor’s release proves need for new law, minister says. Just last week here in Vancouver, a man who had been seeing a hospital psychiatrist, attacked three random elderly women, two of whom remain in critical condition. I’m not sure what the answer is but, clearly, the system we have in place isn’t working. I feel as though we just had this conversation (November 29, 2012: Soliciting your opinions on parental responsibility and time travel opportunities! and November 30, 2012: On parental responsibility and time travel II!).
Anyway, today’s events were horrific. And only ten days from Christmas. I can’t imagine what the grieving parents must be going through. Heartbreaking.
Suffice it to say, I found it difficult to accomplish much today outside of following the news reports. I picked up Jelly later this afternoon and, about an hour later, received a call from the vet. On the one hand, there was no sign of any mass in her bladder (a worst case possibility they had warned me about), but something in the results set off, well, if not alarm bells then let’s call them pre-alarm bells. She told me it wasn’t necessarily the case, but there was a chance Jelly could have developed Cushing’s Syndrome, an overproduction of the hormone cortisol, usually the result of a tumor in either adrenal or pituitary gland. The disease is apparently more common in older dogs and treatment can be tricky because, in many cases, the side effects of the treatment are often worse than the disease itself. She asked me whether I’d noticed some recent changes in Jelly’s behavior…
Is she drinking a lot more water? Is she peeing more? Does she pant a lot? Does she always seem very hungry? Well, she’s a pug. As for the other three symptoms – yes, yes, and yes. Perhaps more alarming is the fact that these self-same symptoms have cropped up in Lulu lately. In the past couple of weeks, she just can’t seem to get enough water. Or food. She’ll park herself in front of the wok kitchen where I store the dog food and barks until she gets a some kibble. Very unusual for her. And, yes, she’s been doing A LOT of heavy panting at night.
Jelly is scheduled to go in for some follow-up tests next week and I’m considering bringing Lulu in as well.
I’d received the call from the vet while Akemi and I were out shopping for groceries and, as I explained the situation to her, the older woman walking in front of us informed me that her brother died of Cushings. He had mistakenly been diagnosed with diabetes – apparently the symptoms are similar – and was treated with insulin. In this case, the cure contributed to his death. A sad story but she seemed spirited if not a little wistful. She stopped at the bus shelter. I noticed the roller bag sitting beside her. “Come on,”I said. “Let me give you a lift.” She thanked me for the offer but informed me that her destination was well out of my way – a good twenty minute drive from where we were. But, given the type of day I’d had, I actually looked forward to a leisurely ride through a new neighborhood.
And so, I popped her stuff in the trunk and gave her a lift. She was delightful company, an Irish transplant who shares my mom’s affinity for dogs and Maeve Binchy books.
Sure, it was twenty minutes out of my way – and I did get lost on the way back home – but it was, nevertheless, the high point of my day.
Very sad indeed it’s not the gun but the maniac wielding the gun. truth is there is no help out there for people with mental problems. They go on without treatment or diagnosis.
Hard to comprehend the horror of what happened today in Connecticut. For myself, I don’t think it should be so damn easy here in the States to buy so many guns.(Right now it’s about as difficult as me buying my allergy medication. Except there are more limits on much medication I can buy. Seriously.) But regardless of people’s views on gun control, given the common denominator in so many of these tragedies, doesn’t it make some sense that the most heavily-armed wealthy nation in the world maybe should also strive to have the best mental health care system?
Those poor kids, and teachers, and staff, and all their families…
I hope Jelly and Lulu will be OK.
And thanks for giving a lift to the elderly woman at the bus stop. It’s not so much the life-changing pivotal moments, but our day-to-day actions that define who we are. And here I was just reading something saying that Vancouver was an “unfriendly” city. (I didn’t believe it anyway — Have never lived there but have visited often and never thought the people unfriendly.)
– KB
A sad day indeed; we’re praying for the families that were affected.
And I had the same thought; that we just talked about this (on your blog). I also wondered about how such disturbed people escape the system.
When doing a homeless mission in DC twenty years ago, I observed that many (maybe half?) of the people we helped were mentally disturbed in some fashion. These were the hardcore homeless (refusing to stay in shelters, not allowing placement help, and generally behaving in anti-social ways). A number were downright scary and a few, without a doubt, should have been institutionalized. Yet when we talked to social services about such individuals, it became clear they would do nothing.
I don’t think much has changed from 20 years ago, and I don’t see the media discussing this aspect of the problem, so I don’t really think things will change on how we deal with such dangerous, unstable people, but I hope I’m wrong.
On your dogs, I hope the symptoms are just old age incontinence and maybe dry winter weather making them more thirsty, but you’re doing the right thing to get it checked out. Our dog had a spell of something similar which turned out in the end to be a series of bladder infections.
And lastly, I like your response to a bad day…helping someone else. Your heart is in the right place!
Sorry your dogs aren’t doing well. I hope they are able to figure out what needs to be done and get them better.
Yeah, things like this… sheesh. I honestly wonder why people do that? Most motives for murder I can at least comprehend. Even killing for fun I could get–but not if the person killed himself, thus negating the ability to experience fun. They really just honestly must be insane. So yeah, that needs to be addressed. People who want to hurt others will always find guns (or another weapon). It’s not like countries with gun control are magically free of gun-related violence. But finding out why people go on these sprees, seeing the signs of that potential future behavior before it escalates to murder, and making it a priority to keep dangerous psychopaths away from the rest of society… that’s what I’d like to see the government focus on. Take the stick away from the raving madman and he’ll still be a raving madman. He’ll just find another stick. At some point, it’s not even about trying to get help for insane people. When they’re that dangerous, it’s about protecting the rest of the population. Even the ones that aren’t going to go out and murder people can be really dangerous to bystanders and to the people trying to take care of them.
Hope your dogs get better soon Joe.
As said on your other entry, it’s stuff like this that really drives home the point that monsters aren’t just make belief, they exist, they’re not the stuff from story books used to scare people, no, they’re the people that cause misery and harm to others, the people that bring absolute despair to others and commit acts of absolute evil.
There are lots of monsters in this world, it’s quite frightening the kind of world we live in to be honest.
Today has been devastating. I think everyone is in shock.
For the dogs, another possibility is simply that older spayed bitches and sometimes males develop hormone incontinence resulting in a lack of closure of the urethra. Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) is the most common medicine and it works magically. However, incontinence that responds to it typically are those dogs that do more leaking/flooding when lying down, not just random pottying in the house. It is a bit disconcerting to me that 2 dogs are showing issues– possibly, hopefully, Luly is peeing because she smells Jellys; and the excessive drinking– is the house hotter? Do you have a humidifier or is the air really dry? anyway, just throwing out ideas I commonly see. Hope it turns out okay.
G’day Joe
Do not know what what to say on the topic of the shootings. Just that my thoughts and prayers are with the families affected. Could not imagine anything happening to my kids like that. You would think that when dropping your child at school to be able to collect them at the end of the school day. So sad.
You are a good man Joe. Taking care of your babies and giving complete strangers a lift.
Elderly dogs have lots of problems, but then so do elderly people. Mine did. She died at 16. My house looked like a dog nursing home. I’d take Lulu in with Jelly. Read up on it. May be natural things you can do for them.
Sweet of you to give a ride to that woman. I work alot with the elderly now. Giving rides, calling, visiting, etc. I spent 20 years teaching 1st graders. That is why I just watch and cry during all the news coverage about the school children. Kindergarteners are just babies. Why did he have to shoot them? He made a special trip to school just for that. The kids expressions as they are leaving school, the reunions with parents, and then the parents that have lost their kids is just so so very sad.
“I’m not sure what the answer is but, clearly, the system we have in place isn’t working.”
I’m starting to think the parents are overwhelmed with mentally ill children. Maybe we should not blame them. They receive no help. They are asked to be a psychiatrist, therapist, and councelor for their kids. And you’ve got to be rich to afford all the medication these mentally ill kids need. Back when I was growing up there were homes, and facilities for a mentally ill child to go and live. Is it time to bring back the asylums? All the old ones are shut down and full of ghosts. Why has the care of a mentally ill person been shifted to family? They don’t know what to do. It’s a tough subject.
JeffW said, “I also wondered about how such disturbed people escape the system.”
What system? Exactly my point. What system? There is nothing for a parent to do. There is no help out there.
i hope your dogs will be alright! always have hope that your dogs will be alright and vets are doing everything they can!!
ah guns…seriously, there should be better gun control… first thing i saw on the news when i woke up was a massacre shooting at connecticut… reminds me of what happened to my brother’s school on wednesday. wasn’t a nation wide coverage but his school was on lockdown for 8 hours cause of five armed robbery suspect. fortunately no one was hurt but still…to hear that something like this, at any school especially an elementary, is scary! i really wish there was a better system… but we all do our best to protect each other and have hope in any situation
Joe, here is a link to a wonderful site that explains Cushing’s very well.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/cushing_s_disease.html
Treatment for Cushing’s can go really great when the right dose of medication is found. My older brothers dog had it and after her meds were at the right level, she did great and lived 6 more years, longer then he though she would.
One thing, getting the correct diagnosis is the trick…sometimes it can take 2 or 3 tests before it shows.
I hope everything turns out fine.
Aww, geez, Joe, I hope the pups will be ok. Nothing to add, what a crappy day.
It’s like that saying. “In helping others, we also help ourselves.”
You did a good deed, something that would have given that old lady a lift in more ways than one. And…after the day you’ve had, I think in talking to her you also gained some peace.
As for your dogs, from the symptoms you describe I think my old dog has the same ailment. But for now he’s still enjoying his life. So…unless things drastically change, I won’t be putting him through anything that will cause him to suffer in his last days.
Best of luck to you and your dogs.
I teach in Connecticut…about an hour away from where this happened…and the state is devastated…those teachers were heroes….
The need for a conversation on gun violence, especially in the US, is always that needs to happen, and always one that everyone says needs to happen. Except when the violence has just happened, and then you hear all the same voices saying that it shouldn’t be political. Or in other words, it shouldn’t be discussed, and specifically, the NRA shouldn’t be questioned. The fetishization of weapons continues and then we have another massacre and it starts all over again. If the healthcare system in the US is a shambles, is it any surprise that the mental healthcare system follows suit?
All my good thoughts to Jelly (and the rest of your furkids!).
Hi Joe. So nice to see your lovely puppies. Such sweet babies. 🙂
This whole tragedy sickens me. I just wanna cry everytime I think about all those dear children lost. I am sick to stomach over this. I just pray for all those dear families who have to idenitfy their little ones who were lost to them.
Thankfully I’ve missed most of the coverage of the shootings. I don’t need to see the media leeches latching on and sucking dry these poor people that just need to be left alone and start grieving.
Having lived in Australia, New Zealand and the UK where gun control laws are quite strict I think it’s really the only solution. 9 people in every 100,000 in the US are going to be killed by a gun each year (over 31,000 people so far this year). In the UK it’s 0.22 people per 100,000 [1]. You can say that it’s not the gun’s fault, it’s the crazy person using the gun but if the guns are much, much harder to obtain then when the crazy person snaps it’s harder to take people with them.
While yesterday’s shootings are tragic spare a thought for the families of the nearly 3000 children and teenagers that are shot and killed each year in the US [2].
I hope the dogs are OK, Joe. My 14 year old cat, Bella, was diagnosed with mouth cancer this week. The only real option for treatment is a 2-3 hour drive to the nearest clinic for radiotherapy and a less than 50-50 chance that it will work. And for a cat that is paralysed with terror for the 10 minute drive to the vet I don’t think we could do that to her. So it’s gonna be a matter of making her comfortable at home, managing her pain, and waiting for the inevitable. 🙁
Well done offering the lady a ride home. While it might have been the high point of the day for you I’m sure it was definitely the high point for her! Just think, you could have offered that poor man with the flat tyre the other night a ride home too.
Cushing’s? I’ve been scared of that disease every time the docs put me on steroids. People can get Cushing’s when they are on steroids. I’m not sure how dogs get it. When I was a vet tech, we mainly saw poodles with Cushing’s disease. Those poodles all seemed to do well with medications. I remember their thinning hair and the pot belly mainly. I’m sure there were adjustments at home. It may be one reason why doggie diapers were developed. You have good vets, so if you have any questions about misdiagnosis then ask them about it. Most vets love questions. It makes them feel like you are interested and listening to them. Hugs to Jelly. She seems like such a lady in the videos you post.
About CT shootings: Yes, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around that kind of destruction. All the ripples from one event…. All those survivors who have to find a way to gone on. What to do? Mental illness has so many mysteries. Doctors don’t really understand migraines, let alone mental illness.
Not a good day yesterday. My first thought after hearing about the shootings was that the US needs better gun control. It won’t solve the problem of the people who are mentally unstable, but making it tougher for just about anyone to walk in to a shop and buy automatic weapons has to be a step in the right direction. Giving guns to everyone is asking for trouble, either by arming the troubled people or for accidents to happen. Here in Saskatchewan there are rifles in the windows of pickups all over our little town, farmers and hunters carry them, and they all belong to the Wildlife Federation. I think these guys and maybe a few women are taught from an early age to respect the weapon and the life and not to use the guns except when necessary or to hunt game for food. (It still makes me uneasy, but that’s me.) Haven’t heard of any violence or accidents in many years, and certainly not on the scale of what happened in Connecticut or Aurora or Colombine or any of the other recent shootings. Those poor people of Newtown. 🙁
You should definitely get Lulu to a vet. Excessive thirst on its own could be attributed to diabetes, thyroid or kidney issues. None of those are something to overlook. It could be as simple as the temperature in the house or she got into something salty. Have you given them any new kinds of treats lately? Good luck with Lulu and your older gal Jelly. Scritches and kisses to both of them, and to Bubba, just because.
You are a good man, Mr. Mallozzi.
I’m sorry to hear about the possibility of Cushing’s disease in your dogs. It can be really hard to face that sort of thing. Growing up my best friend was a Keeshond who lived for many years. Cushing’s is one of the things that they can get, but he lived long enough that he was diagnosed with a K9 form of something along the lines of Alzheimers. Life is a cycle, that’s for sure.
Anyway, best wishes for all of you.
I hope the dogs are all okay. Cushing’s was one of the possible diagnoses the vet gave for my dog Aisha when she was found to have abnormal liver enzymes on her pre-anesthesia blood test. Her liver ultrasound was normal, no tumors and she is currently on a medication called Denamarin, a milk-thistle derivative, that is supposed to improve liver function. It is working very well so far and her liver function is normal again.
Ponytail is right. there is no system for the mentally ill. It is tough and expensive for parents to get help for their kids. And once they are 16 you cannot force them to do anything like go to a doctor or psychiatrist, for example.. Or get access to any of their records without their written permission. And JeffW, the reason that the mentally ill make up such a huge part of the homeless population is that they were all dumped on the street when the state-run institutions closed up years ago and those who became ill after that had nowhere to go. There are just not enough half-way houses and other facilities to accommodate them. Very sad.
Gun control: don’t get me started. Grrrrrr.
Sending hugs and good thoughts for your pups. 🙂
~prayers for all those affected by the tragedy in CT.
I’m sorry to hear about the dogs. I know the vets are doing everything they can.
I agree with everyone who said there needs to be more support for mental illness in the United States. You would not believe some of the costs for treatment and medication that I have heard about. We’re praying for everyone who was affected yesterday.
Take care.
I am very much worried about that released doctor’s ex-wife. The law not to kill children didn’t mean anything to him and that’s how the ex-wife should feel about him having release conditions. He’s spent four years honing the skills to fool authorities.
—
We’re going to encounter more of the aberrantly violent as the population gets denser and all I can see changing is us learning how to recognize it earlier and deal with people gathering differently. I do see the trend for people to educate themselves about psychopathy as a positive step, but the difficulty in treating the mentally ill is a tough problem. We may find ourselves excluding psychopaths from their usual perches and driving them out in the open where we encounter this side of them more often. They become so much more dangerous when they know you have their number and they might as well stop pretending.
We can re-think the way we gather to make us less vulnerable, or we can do it the same. The same is an option as partially subverting the purpose of every gathering to consider defense won’t always make sense.
I don’t know how the mental health system is to be improved. The asylums were horrible and a venue for violence to be perpetrated on the patients. It’s hard to provide treatment to patients who don’t want it, too, and that’s a form of violence in itself, to coerce people into accepting what they don’t want. Not that we have answers to force on people with such difficult problems anyway.
Joe,
I understand the ups and downs with your kids (your dogs). This has been a rough couple of years for my daughter Bethany. She is finally finding some relief for her IBS and her anxiety. She has had some great doctors at Riley’s Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis. I am thankful that she has been able to do 8th grade through Hoosier Academy Virtual School. I’m taking next semester off of school and then will finish my degree next fall.
I can’t imagine what the parents are going through in Connecticut. I don’t think gun control is the answer. I think we need to enforce our laws better and our medical services need to be improved. Having a mental illness can be costly. They need to be given more benefits and more treatment options. I don’t know what this guy’s home life was like but they are saying he had mental issues. Was he medicated? Was he receiving some type of counseling? How did he get a hold of his mom’s guns? Did she have them in a gun safe? Answers we may find out about in the next few weeks or maybe never. The only thing we can do is pray for the families of the victims and pray for this guy’s family.
Much love to your pups. Goo don ya for offering the lady a ride, little things like that matters.
As for the shootings … there’s nothing coherent I can add to the discussion just now. Just love and hugs.
So glad you had a chance to commit a random act of kindness on such a terrible awful very bad no good day. Hugs for you and Akemi and the pups.
Giving guns to everyone is asking for trouble, either by arming the troubled people or for accidents to happen.
It might help for people not from the US (and those who are from here and don’t know their history) to know why the right to bear arms was given to US citizens in the first place. We’re a country brought about by revolution against a government. The people who did that wanted to make sure that if in the future the government ever got that oppressive again, the people would be able to rise up and rebel against it. Of course, it was probably a little too idealistic of them to think that way, since obviously any government becoming so oppressive that it was worth staging an armed revolution against would have found some way to disarm the citizens before taking the more drastic steps. I’m sure the people back then who gave us the right to bear arms would be as horrified by what happened recently as we are, but I don’t think it would have made them rethink giving us that right.
I’m not saying times and needs don’t change, but I think it’s good to keep in mind the reason a law was instituted in the first place if we’re to discuss repealing it.
CNN just did a very touching musical montage of voices expressing grief…along with pictures.
I have two daughters that are teachers and four children with little ones in school. I believe it is hard to imagine how a tragedy like this reaches deep into our hearts. If you have spent any time at all with 6-7 year olds…you know the innocence.
I don’t worry about our little ones because their parents were raised to love and know a true sense of right and wrong…and they are also raised in that environment. I am very blessed.
Nancy Lanza owned the guns. Yes…I believe this tragedy began with her…often took her children target shooting. 😕
{{{{hugs}}}}
*crawls back under rock*
das
“Perhaps more alarming is the fact that these self-same symptoms have cropped up in Lulu lately.”
Coincidence? Not sure… = You can do an internet search on the brand of dog food and kibble you have been feeding the dogs. See if other pet owners have also noticed anything strange with their pets and posted online about it. Can contact your dog food and kibble manufacturers to ask them if they have received any dog illness inquiries from other pet owners. The F.D.A. puts out pet food recall info for the USA, found this site for Canada but not many results when I search it for “dog” “dog food”, or “pet food recall”, etc.:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/sr//search?q=pet&btnG=Search&entqr=0&btnSubmit=Search&output=xml_no_dtd&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&client=wcms4_e&ud=1&oe=ISO-8859-1&ie=utf8&proxystylesheet=wcms4_e&hl=fr&site=ex_recall
@Line Noise:
I’m sure you will be able to make Bella as comfortable as anyone can. Enjoy the time you have with her as I’m sure you have had a lot of nice times with her during those 14 years. (hugs)
Joe, thanks for letting us know about the doggie kids. I agree with others; let your good vet check out Lulu, just to dot the is and cross the ts. Many times, with our animals or ourselves, there are simpler explanations, and a big relief with them. Hugs and kisses to the kids.
Bless your heart for giving that nice lady a ride home! I totally get why you did it. Not only was she helpful and supportive with info re: Cushings, but she was understanding, and spoke up, rather than walk away. Also, when the world goes so wrong, the best medicine is to redeem part of it and make it right again.
On Facebook today, many are sharing a story about Mr. Rogers and how his mother taught him to deal with tragedy. He explained, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ “ Thank you, Joe, for being one of the helpers, and showing “Mrs. X” that people still care about her, even strangers.
——————————
I so appreciate everyone’s comments today, from mental illness, to navigating that world without much help. We might be a little bit closer to understanding what PBMom and others have to deal with in caring for their children. I did think I remember hearing that “the system” was dismantled while I was still in school. Ponytail, Sparrow, and DP, it couldn’t have been said better. Reports about the CT shooter are coming out that his mother used to teach at the school, but left a year ago in order to take care of her son. That poor woman…
My heart is still breaking for the babies/children, the adults who tried to save them, their families, the first-responders, and on, and on. Literally the world is mourning their loss. I’ve seen comments from Australia, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Tehran, and that was just a first wave.
People are comparing this with Columbine, Aurora, Virginia Tech, etc. But I’m also thinking of the Amish school shooting in PA. They did not condone the evil act, but they reached out to the shooter’s family, and provided spiritual help in dealing with the aftermath. The family got much needed healing, as well as the English and Amish communities. The school was torn down, and “New Hope School” was built nearby, but in a different location. Classes resumed 6 months after the tragic day. The Amish would not let despair or powerlessness set in, but immediately set to work.
The Amish did what all of us can do, as a country, a community, or each in our own way, like Joe did. We can do it to remember the children of Sandy Hook, and to take back our society. We have to do it together, but…
We can Overcome Evil with Good.
For background:
Romans 12:17-21 (NIV) —
17) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18) If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19) Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20) On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[b]
21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
[a] Romans 12:19 Deut. 32:35
[b] Romans 12:20 Prov. 25:21,22
I’m still left wondering why the guys mother needed 2 handguns and a rifle in this day and age. Sorry but no self respecting family needs to be armed to fight in a war if it ever occurs. If people need a handgun in America to feel safe and they’re licensed to carry it, so be it. But to have a mini Arsenal is just ugh wrong. Had the mother not made such a mistake(Which cost her and those poor kids/teachers their lives) this tragic event never would of happened.
I was watching the Piers Morgan thing on CNN and he said the exact same thing, why in the world did she have all those weapons, especially considering how troubled the Son was?
I stand by my original comment that the guy is a monster for what he did. Nothing will change that. Those poor kids had their lives cruelly taken away from them.
What a kind and thoughtful act that you and Akemi did for a stranger on such a sad day.
I’m still a bit teary-eyed when I think of all the ones who were killed, especially the little ones. Six and seven years old… they’re practically still babies.
As for mental health, I do believe that there isn’t enough help for the mentally ill, nor for their parents/caregivers. Certainly much more support could be provided.
As for gun control, I’m Canadian, so of course I’m a staunch advocate for it. I’m all for stricter laws against gun ownership.
My sister had a horse that had issues with Cushings. Had no idea dogs or people could get that too! It’s been a while since I’ve been here to the blog (too angry re SGA to check out anyone that had to do with the show. sorry!) and it’s startling to see how much your babies have changed. I wish only the best for Jelly & Lulu. I won’t touch on the rest as I’m still too outraged with all of the wrong responses to the incident. (pssst… gun control only works on the people willing to follow the rules…)
Hey Joe, a little late catching up since I’ve been away for the weekend. Sending my best thoughts re the dogs – luckily they have such kind and thoughtful owners, so I’m sure they’ll be okay.
Not much to say about the shooting that hasn’t already been said. I do think gun control is PART of the answer, since mentally disturbed people can do so much more damage with them and so quickly than with other weapons. People are clearly falling through the “cracks” (or should we say chasms) in the system. I’m not sure what kind of event has to happen though for either of those things to be dealt with.
I only liked because of the kindness you did for the woman. I had Cushing’s. My life was miserable. It was not until I was taken off steroids completely (the ones I had been taking for my asthma) did I start feeling better, losing weight, getting energy back. It’s hard to say what were my Cushing’s symptoms and what were the steroid side effects. Praying for some good news for you.