Dances With Dogs

Cookie

      We have a family acquaintance, who has two Old English Mastiffs, a male and a female. Not to worry. The lady has the land and the financial means to support and protect her animals. Someday she would like to breed the pair. All good. Here is what I want to say to her. To breed mastiffs any sane owner would retire from his/her career. The government will not give FMLA leave, which would be the only other alternative. Next, once your female has produced a litter or two of fine puppies, have her spayed. Have your female spayed with as little delay as humanly possible.  
     Please pay attention to my story, because it is a cautionary tale. Not all of us have pedigreed dogs. I have a creeping feeling those who have dogs free of inbreeding, are the more fortunate among us. Your mutt is probably rocket scientist material, by comparison to many purebreds. My gorgeous, pedigreed, Irish setter, Mike, was a good example. Outside of field work, where his intelligence was nothing short of phenomenal, he was sweet, but goofy. When I lost Mike, my entire world collapsed. I wanted nothing to do with dogs for decades, outside of rescuing a young Labrador from a downtown planter box. I could not keep him, but he eventually went to an excellent home.
     More decades passed without pets in my life. Eventually, though, I bought a tiny puppy. The breeder, my neighbor, was in the end stage of HIV/AIDS. Unprepared though I was, my little foundling  taught me all I needed to know about terriers. I named her Cookie, after my temperamental Irish mother. I adored my little dog, but found that part of the territory was genetic defect, in Cookie's case,  a collapsing trachea. Nor had she been spayed, when I bought her, because she was a show quality bitch. 
     Spay surgery seemed a poor choice, given Cookie's choking episodes. I was worried, however, about disease. We went from one vet to another. A particular doctor seemed an excellent choice. She specialized in toy breeds, and owned a Yorkshire terrier female.  In her opinion Pyometra would be something worrisome, as would breast cancer. However, she  feels  Pyometra is an uncommon canine killer. She is not alone in that assessment. Also called Stump Pyometra, even veterinary colleges don't seem to agree about how common it is. So the good lady advised me to simply be a responsible owner (i.e., to breed only by intention.) No problem -- my silky did not like other dogs, particularly males. She did not care for strangers or their children, unless they had really good manners. She was not above teaching people how to behave. My question was how one would manage to breed silky terriers, intentionally or otherwise!
     At 13 years, Cookie was a fierce beauty and in glowing health. What an engaging little creature, smart and sassy! A famous lady in her own right, people everywhere in Denver recognized her, many of whom could not recall my name! Not long after the photo above was taken, I came home from a meeting, to find Cookie quite ill. It was not alarming, but she was having a digestive issue, and seemed uneasy. It was late, so I waited for morning to call the veterinarian's office. Dr. Smith was unavailable. I began to panic, ultimately reaching a vet who would make a house call. By the time he arrived, tiny Cookie was overwhelmed by infection, due to Pyometra. Her organs were shutting down. 
     Dr. Larry Magnuson had to euthanize Cookie, a tranquil, if untimely, death. I have never recovered ... not really. Dr. Manuson made a memorial contribution in Cookie's name to Pyometra research. I've made donations to rescues in her name. Meanwhile everything I have read on the subject of spaying and Pyometra contradicts what my "favorite" veterinarian told me. It is not so uncommon, as a bitch ages. Nor does it matter whether she has or has not produced litters. Don't take the chance. This is a painful, overwhelming disease. It does not matter the breed or size of the bitch. Do not delay. Spay your animal, because, if she dies of this condition, you will be heartbroken.
      Spaying and neutering are absolutely necessary for the health of pets. That said, I encounter so many owners who don't take care of this. I find myself wanting to say, "Come on, you know you aren't going to show or breed this animal!" I stay silent most of the time, because it is not my decision ... none of my business. 
     If you do not have the stomach for having the surgery (albeit routine and very safe) performed, adopt. Adopt anyway! Never think you cannot adopt a pedigreed companion, if that is what you desire. I helped a friend find an apricot poodle from an online source. She insisted it was the only breed she had ever owned, or wanted to own. She is ecstatic, and the poodle, thriving. A huge bonus of adoption is that the pet will have been ( or will be ) neutered or spayed, as a condition of ownership. Buying a dog, from a breeder you don't know personally, is not a good idea, but buying from a store is a horrible idea. As a consumer, a prospective pet owner, you play a vital role in preventing animal cruelty. 

-Me? I'm still dancing with terriers. My dog is a toy fox terrier, surprisingly calm and generous by nature.    

That Was Then ...

   

Signing Social Security Act

     Unlike a certain Supreme Court Justice, before discussing the pros and cons of any legislation, I like to read it. I want to know, not only the verbiage, but the spirit of the legislation. It is always a good idea to know the opposition's arguments ... so here goes. I'll revisit Social Security and the Roosevelt Administration's intentions, to begin yet another discussion about "fixing" Social Security.
     What could Franklin Delano Roosevelt have been thinking? To say he was a fiscal conservative does not go quite far enough. Roosevelt was a complicated man; as the Nation's President in 1935, he was faced with a hornet's nest of socio-economic issues. The citizenry was still recovering from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years, with millions of Americans dispossessed and/or unemployed. Anyone running for the highest office in the land would have to offer creative solutions for the immediate present and for the future. Here is a partial quote from President Roosevelt, upon signing the Social Security Act:

...This social security measure gives at least some protection to thirty millions of our citizens who will reap direct benefits through unemployment compensation, through old-age pensions and through increased services for the protection of children and the prevention of ill health.
   We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.

     In looking at the numbered photo of those present at the signing of the Act, it is important to note that some of these legislators were fiscal conservatives, who had voiced opposition to the legislation. They stepped up and did the right thing; they compromised. I believe they showed the courage of their convictions (and of FDR's conviction,) something exceedingly rare in today's political climate. (See the Social Security Administration's history site, to see who was who at the signing: http://www.ssa.gov/history/)
     While the vicissitudes of life remain unchanged, the landscape has changed, as has the legislation. To suggest Social Security cannot or should not change again, is to deny history and avoid reality. One reality check came to millions of Americans in the form of what I call the Big Lies; 1) the Social Security Trust is backed by worthless securities and 2) the Trust is broke. The Social Security Trust is funded by United States Treasury Bonds; the bonds are not liquefiable, true; however, they are, by no means, worthless. The reason for funding the trust with treasury bonds is the same as the reason many Americans choose to invest in them. Interest on the bonds has remained reliable. More myths abound in the political rhetoric concerning Social Security, never mind generalities that do nothing to accurately spell out the issues. However one problem looms large on the horizon. It pertains to disabled Social Security beneficiaries (SSI recipients,) as discussed in the 2014 Social Security Trustees' Report: "Social Security’s Disability Insurance (DI) program satisfies neither the Trustees’ long-range test of close actuarial balance nor their short-range test of financial adequacy and faces the most immediate financing shortfall of any of the separate trust funds." Should you feel the need for a translation, the effect will be reductions in benefits to SSI beneficiaries and prospective beneficiaries by 2016. May I say that again? Substantial cuts in disability benefits will take effect in 2016, failing action on the part of Congress and the Senate. THE CLOCK IS TICKING. Am I screaming?
     What can be done to "fix" Social Security, if we have legislators who will act on behalf of both beneficiaries taxpayers? (Keep in mind, a certain amount of courage and a number of compromises will be required. Neither the courage of conviction to do what is right, nor the ability to compromise and garner bipartisan support is easily found in Washington D.C. these days.) Here is some of the change experts recommend:

• Incorporate all of Social Security into the disability insurance (SSI.) That would combine the funds, changing the window of insolvency for SSI to 2033 (per the 2013 Trustees.) This would ensure benefits for something over eleven million disabled workers.
• Lift or eliminate the payroll tax cap, now fixed at $117,000. This change packs a large dollar wallop for the fund.
• Increase the payroll taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare, incorporating contributions of employees with those of employers and a modest (approximately) 3 percent for most taxpayers.
• Raise the retirement age for collecting full Social Security benefits. The retirement age is currently set at 67 for Americans born in 1960 and beyond. 
• Means test Social Security. This would reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits for people who have other incomes above a certain amount. 

Meanwhile it is important to know other measures actually have worked in certain parts of the country. I'll try to tackle this topic in subsequent posts.

Hysteria Over Ebola

Rainforest Development

The world of worriers has a new face. It is the face of the Ebola virus, and, yes, Ebola evolved long ago into an airborne disease, right here in the U.S. Certain primates in a federal lab and holding facility in Reston, Virginia, died of what was found to be Ebola. Workers in the facility became infected, but with a less deadly form of Ebola. Researchers believed the virus was spread to the workers by means of the building's ventilation system, but had mutated into a flu-like illness, Ebola Reston. The discovery of Ebola Reston dates back a quarter century. 

      There are five known strains of Ebola, including Reston, and outbreaks of the more serious strains have historically been confined to rainforest areas of Africa. The original host species is the fruit bat. Imagine, for a moment, the numbers of African fruit bats!  In it's deadlier forms Ebola is greatly to be feared, because, aside from nasty, painful, symptoms and 90% fatality,  Ebola has a long incubation period (21 days.) 

     Fear, as opposed to outright hysteria, is a natural reaction. Does anyone else, though, find it remarkable that people worldwide have been so rapid to spread hysteria regarding a potential Ebola outbreak on American soil?  On the other hand, we have been less than slow to react to the effects of Earth's load of toxic waste caused by overpopulation (not to mention obscene levels of  consumption in the developed world.)                                

     Understanding viral disease may help to dispel, if not the fear of Ebola, some of the nonsense we hear promulgated by ignorant politicians and in various media. Viruses are the natural world's supreme opportunists, so, yes, a virus infects rapidly, reproducing in overwhelming numbers; this allows a viral disease to skip from one species and one victim to the next with ferocious efficiency. We know the spread of Ebola to humans in West Africa has been assisted by the development of roads and places of human habitation; workers in remote areas were exposed by animal species, such as primates. Human to human transmission was exacerbated by traditional African burial and by lack of knowledge and consequent lack of precautions in medical facilities.

Here is link to Ebola facts from WHO (the World Health Organization:)

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs103/en/

      
...the chief cause for the impending collapse of the world - the cause sufficient in and by itself - is the enormous growth of the human population: the human flood. The worst enemy of life is too much life: the excess of human life. ― Pentti Linkola,  Can Life Prevail - A Radical Approach to the Environmental Crisis     
  

     As to whether Ebola was originally developed as a biological weapon by the United States, or is now part of our weapons arsenal, I'd be hesitant to speculate. More likely I would be very concerned about the CDC, which undoubtedly  possesses sample strains of deadly Ebola. The fear is whether the CDC is worthy of implicit trust, given recent discoveries of neglected Anthrax samples, to mention just one messy incident.

      Preventing Ebola from entering the United States is a non-issue. The possibility of global pandemic is more to be feared. Among other aspects of the problem is International air travel. Travelers are not screened for viral diseases. I have to wonder whether it would even be possible, to do so. In any event, it would be preposterous to suggest a country might seal itself off from emerging infectious disease ... even an exceedingly virulent disease with high mortality. 

      What is there to take away from all this? In discussing a potential pandemic we are discussing human overpopulation and the exploitation of remote, wild places. Immigrants entering the U.S. by means of the southern border aren't likely to bring us Ebola (not unless they are bringing African monkeys in tow.) 

      This is really an issue of an immutable rule of nature; life will find a way. Humans, my friends, are a very badly behaved species, spreading like cancer. The concept that mankind can and, possibly, will be sloughed off the planet, like so many bad cells, offends the sensibilities. After all so many religions proclaim the supremacy of humankind. Believe me, religion aside, the issues are  worthy of humility of thought and a factual, not to say, mindful, approach.