Swine Flu and a Ramble

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Swine Flu and a Ramble

I do not fear swine flue AT ALL. If I did get it, I'd conquer it easily. Almost definitely won't, though. I've decided not to get sick anymore. Works out pretty well.

I'm sure whatever you do will work well for you. They tell me when you get something which spreads easily, you get fed Pizza. That's the only thing which will easily slide under the door. :)

[Lucas Davies]

Re: Swine Flu and a Ramble

I do not fear swine flue AT ALL. If I did get it, I'd conquer it easily. Almost definitely won't, though. I've decided not to get sick anymore. Works out pretty well.

[Heather Carbone (Nickolof)]

Re: Swine Flu and a Ramble

Crap,Gary I'm sorry if you have to take more tests.My father-in-law Steve Nickoloff has been going through this since 2004.On another note,your description of avoiding the license fees makes me laugh.When we told one of ours that our pup was only 4mos. old and did not require same,he actually checked her teeth.When we lived in North Bay,across from the lake,our landlord was great.Most people in the complex had two dogs while our quota rose to four and we had no problems.There is no bylaw at present in North Bay limiting the number of pets.We over the years had three ferrets in addition to the dogs,several cats,two rats,two degus and a pet pigeon(domestic) which Bryon housed in a $300.00 parrot cage replete with toys.Oh the memories-lol !After our landlord became ill,his daughter,Rosemary the Hun took over and announced no more pets.Since she couldn't evict us because of it, she initiated a reign of terror.Life became miserable so Rodney decided we should be living in the country.You could say we brought this house (128.8 acres) for our dogs.Bryon would be smiling but anyone sane would consider having us committed.I was distraught when Bryon died and ,in my fear and grief I told him I wanted to go with him.Ever the pragmatist,his response:who is going to look after the animals?

[Gary Ruben]

Re: Swine Flu and a Ramble

That's a long wait for the H1N1 shot. I heard on radio today they were accelerating things so possibly the date will turn out to be sooner. In this area they are giving them at the local mall.

Collies seem to be have problems with teeth. My last Collie, bought from a different breeder, lived about 13 years. I had to have about a dozen of her teeth pulled. There were so many teeth missing I'm sure she inhaled her kibble. The Cocker Spaniel I had at the same time never needed to have dental work done. That dog was epileptic and I gave her two pills a day for almost 10 years. My Bichon is about a year younger than this Collie and hasn't needed any work done on her teeth. No kidding, vets have gotten so expensive I could have bought a show quality puppy for the price of that bill. It's the same place I've been taking them for years because they cost less than most vets.

I've been dodging the guys who sell dog licenses for the past couple of decades. I've always been lucky. The door has been closed and they hadn't actually seen the dogs. I used to cite Lassie or Rin Tin Tin on TV or tell the guy or gal I didn't hear anything. Sometimes I'd use the "just dog sitting for a few days" routine. This time the dogs beat me to the door. The old guy selling the licenses wasn't going to take "no" for an answer. It was pretty much either buy the license or a bylaw infraction. So I bought the licenses.

When he asked Beware's name I told him Mardi Gras, which is the registered name. He asked what I called her so I told him Mardi Gras. He chucked as he wrote it on the receipt. I wish breeders would give dogs more macho names before they register them. Of course, it was for show purposes. It's a very good looking Blue Merle Collie which was already 4 months old when I bought her. Hard to tell if a pup is what I want at 6 or 8 weeks.

It's probably a good thing he didn't come when I was breeding Cockatiels.

I think they had the other problem under control for awhile but my readings have slowly been getting higher again. He's talking about doing more tests which are not very nice to have done.

[Heather Carbone (Nickolof)]

Re: Swine Flu and a Ramble

Lol-a fellow rambler ! We're not getting our H1N1 until Nov 25 up here.The visiting nurse practitioner will deliver it to our door and administer it as we have an 86 yr old in poor health living with us.Speaking of dogs,Annie our Great Dane will be 11 in March(ancient for a dane).The vet tells me her teeth are in better shape than his.We never fed her soft food ( She does however partake of human food when she can coerce Nora ).She must have her rawhide chews and chicken jerky or there is no living with her and I would be remiss if I did not include her monster bones on our regular shopping list.Speaking of health Gary,how are you doing lately with the battle ?

[Gary Ruben]

I wonder how the onset of this years Swine Flu, renamed H1N1 to protect farm pets, will effect chess events. I've been listening to the tragedy of the deaths of young people from that strain of flu.

I'm old enough to recall the polio outbreaks before there was a vaccination. Many were stricken with that and many did not survive. We pretty much wiped out polio with the vaccination. It was particularly bad in Winnipeg back then. Possibly living in Winnipeg, it only seemed that way as it hit many other cities and towns across Canada.

Yesterday my wife and I got our Swine Flu vaccination. They must have given thousands of them in this area.

I'm one of those people who thinks when government tells me the situation is bad, it's probably worse than that. When we start getting reports of so many people dying so quickly from a flu, many more are likely also ill and it's not all reported due to volume.

Besides, I'd hate to get the flu and pass it on to my pet birds.

Speaking of pets, and I am rambling as the subject line says, I had Beware to the dentist. You don't even want to know how much that cost. Beware is now over 8. The dog was lying down and moaning. Always a sign of a tooth ache. Anyhow, the veteranarian cleaned the teeth and pulled 6. He gave me the teeth in a pill bottle. I told him to keep them and show them to the next guy, which made him laugh. The problem with dental work on a dog like Beware is that the dog has to be put to sleep. Anyhow, after a couple of weeks of soft canned food and antibiotics, Beware is now back to her playful old self again. Beware is definately not a lap dog but has become much more rambunctious.

All great stuff I'm sure you're glad I told you. :)