No shame

Basil is a very naughty cat.  He destroys everything he can, and often starts fights with his cat siblings.  He 'breaks into' any food items left out.  I decided to participate in the pet shaming trend, and grabbed a handful of the many items Basil has chewed up lately.  As L & I were trying to get the items set up around him to take the photo, he started chewing.  He was not even a little bit ashamed.

I just received great news!  The gray squirrel that we took to Four Lakes Rehab a couple of weeks ago is doing fantastically.  He was in really, really bad shape when we took him, so I was surprised to get the update that he is energetic and healthy.  He had to have some toes amputated, but is still going to be released when he has fully recovered.

We had an unexpected incident Tuesday evening, which serves to again remind me that I am most certainly not in control of my life or my schedule--nature is.  When I returned home from my last class, as always, I checked on all of the animals when I got home, then started the afternoon chores.  In the five minutes between the time I took all of the birds' water dishes out of the room and washed them out in the kitchen and returned the herbivore room, I returned to a room with blood all over the floor.  It looked like a murder scene! 

I was near panic trying to find which of the birds, rabbits or guinea pigs was the source of the blood.  I finally tracked it down to Blossom, our oldest piggy (7-ish years old), who had surgery to remove a large tumor just a few months ago.  When I picked her up, I was totally expected to find a huge gash, or guts hanging out, but saw a nasty, bloody mess on her front foot instead.  It was swollen, with a large gaping, bleeding section, and I was horrified that I hadn't noticed.  Strangely enough, she was still running around like nothing was wrong, whistling and following me around waiting for her greens (the high point of her day).  I had been checking her for tumors by running my hands all over her body, but I hadn't been picking her up and flipping her over (which piggies HATE) to check her feet.  It just never crossed my mind. :(

Our main vet (Mark Nelson) was able to get us in right away, so I wrapped her up and called my parents for a ride.  M & L were on a long dog walk, and he wasn't answering his phone, and I had no time to wait!  After several Xrays and a thorough exam, we found that the large swollen mass on her foot was either a benign tumor or a granuloma, but it was also infected.  We left with antibiotics and an antiseptic that she soaks her foot in once a day.  She doesn't mind the soak, as we give her produce to munch while she soaks.  When she has food, nothing else matters.  Her antibiotics are in pill form, however, which has not been easy to get her to take.  I've crushed it up and dissolved it in many foods and liquids--all of which she spit out or refused to take.  I think I came up with a mix last night that I was able to pull into a syringe and get the majority of down her.  Our fingers are crossed that she will recover fully and quickly, though at her age, we are probably going to have many more health issues to come.

I hate liars.  Paul Ryan has proven himself repeatedly to be a huge liar.  If he is speaking, he is lying.  I couldn't watch the debate for that reason--lies infuriate me.  Anyway, I had the misfortune of attending school with him.  He was one year behind me.  He was a smarmy liar then too.  My husband and daughter (L) decided to brighten my day by creating and posting this little piece of art on our refrigerator.  It's funny, because that's exactly how I see him.  They nailed it! ;)