Hector

Since the accident last Saturday in which DW?s car hit a deer we have both modified our driving pattern. During the late afternoon and evening hours we take a route home that stays off the rural two-lane roads (of the type where the accident occurred) and we drive a route that involves an Interstate highway and a major four-lane road. The latter route is far less likely to have deer on the roadway, although that can still happen. The deer-safe route is about 25 miles to our daughter?s house, whereas the deer-risky route is only 12 miles. The extra driving is worth it if we don?t hit any deer. The two-lane deer-risky roads in our area have a speed limit of 40 mph. But EVERYBODY drives them at 50 mph all the time, and there is absolutely no law enforcement of the speed limit. But even at the legal speed of 40 mph it would be very difficult to avoid a deer that suddenly enters the highway ahead of one?s car. A safe speed would be more like 25 mph. But the ?road rage? factor of other drivers would be extreme if they were slowed to 25 mph when they are accustomed to driving at 50 mph. That would simply not be an acceptable speed to drive on the local two-lane roads. Of course there are no natural predators (cougars) here to keep the deer population in check. And the number of hunters is obviously not controlling the deer numbers. So the problem of cars hitting deer in this area seems to defy any simple solution. The best idea that we can come up with is to stay off the two-lane roads during high-risk time periods. As I already mentioned that usually means a doubling of the miles driven. That?s what we are currently doing for the next month. But that is not a solution open to everyone. I don?t see any way to really solve the deer-car accident problem.

Some people get mean and aggressive when drunk, others are jovial and friendly. Your drunk sounds more like the latter, but then a person shouldn't be in a vulnerable position while trying to assess the situation. Obviously individual dogs react differently to a stranger who is acting strange. My first dog Pattycake, an Elkhound-Lab-X (weight 70 lbs.) was a serious watchdog and protector of me and our property. One time she was in the back yard and I heard her barking ferociously. I went out to check on the situation and I found that the power company meter reader was trying to walk aross the back yard to get to the meter. Pattycake was standing the man off at a distance of about fifteen feet, and he wasn't about to go one step further. Plus the man didn't know whether it was safe to try a retreat or not. I grabbed the dog's collar and held her while the meter reader did his thing. She was snarling and pulling very hard as I held her. I was really impressed with Pattycake's performace. She hadn't attacked the man, but she made it perfectly clear that he had better freeze in his tracks and advance no further. If someone came on the front porch and rang the doorbell, Pattycake would go to the door and bark very loud and ferociously. When she was in that mode nobody would have challenged her unless they had a gun. And meanwhile I kept my .38 Magnum handy in case the "visitor" happened to be an armed assailant. I had a concealed carry permit and was trained by NRA-certified instructors in defensive handgun use. A large aggressive dog is a great first line of defense but it is highly useful to be able to back up the dog in the event that an intruder is hostile and armed. My current dog Bailey is the same size as Pattycake and Bailey is also an excellent watchdog. If some unexpected visitor were to come to the house, especially at night, Bailey would warn me. I would NOT open the door to look out, as that would leave me vulnerable to an attack. Instead I get my gun and have it ready. I don't open the door or even walk up to it, as an assailant could shoot through the door. I may carefully look out a window to see if the visitor is someone I know, but generally my policy is to never answer the door to an unknown caller, especially at night. That approach will avoid 99.9% of possible problems as very few would-be assailants are about to try anything with Bailey barking at them. In the situation that Beth described, with a drunk out singing on the front lawn, Bailey would be going off big-time. If the drunk had any sense at all he would be looking for another lawn as a singing venue. The only situation where I might use my gun would be if an intruder gained entry to the house by kicking the door in or coming through the window. Lethal force is only justified when you are defending your own life. The odds of ever having to do that are very low, but it is nice to be in a position where you can defend your life if necessary.

That's doubly sad when you lose a great companion and your protector dog. My heart goes out to you. We had a Elkhound/Lab-X for 13 years and she was a wonderful companion and an excellent watchdog/protector. Soon after her passing, we got Bailey, a BC/Sighthound-X from a rescue group. Bailey ended up being a 75-pound dog and he is a really good protector. He detects any unusual noise in or around the house and goes off with a ferocious bark. Nobody in their right mind would want to tangle with him. From a personality/behavior standpoint, the Sighthound part is a lot more dominant than the BC part. That means Bailey is really interested in doing his job as a watchdog, and he doesn't care much about playing. So he has filled our needs really well. BAILEY ON DUTY AS OUR WATCHDOG

Saturday about dusk, DW was driving her Honda CR-V and a deer appeared from nowhere. She hit it at about 35 mph without touching the brakes. The doe was killed instantly, and in the process it did $6300 damage to the car. The car was taken by truck to the repair shop where it will take 2 - 3 weeks to repair. The good news is that DW wasn't injured. This was the third deer collision we have had in the past 13 years. The other two were me driving. One was in a demo car from a Subaru dealer ($2800 damage), the other was in a rental Toyota Prius ($400 damage). That type of damage is covered under the vehicles comprehensive coverage. In both my cases I carried zero deductible comprehesive so those didn't cost me anything. DW will have to pay the $250 deductible for the latest deer incident. November is the worst month for car-deer collisions, and the worst time of day is at dusk. So statistically DW's incident was at the prime time for deer collisions. About three years ago a niece of ours was in a crash where a car coming from the opposite direction hit a deer and then swerved across the center line and hit the niece's car head-on. She was able to walk away from that one but needed chiropractor care for six months (she was stupidly not wearing a seat belt!). So anyway, deer on roadways are a real hazard this time of year. It is best to minimize travel on rural roads where deer are likely to be, especially in the late-afternoon and early-evening hours. It's bad news to hit a deer.

Joe Anne -- I'm so sorry for your losses. I understand how much you love your critter friends and how hard it must be to lose one. I grew up in a household with no pets of any kind. So I never had to deal with the loss of a pet. But I also totally missed out on the joy and fun of having them around. So that's the trade-off. Having all the positives of companion animals means having to deal with their demise. As unfair as it may seem, that's just the way things are. Back 25 years ago when our kids were growing up, we had two parakeets. My wife bought them for the kids, without asking me about it. I ended up taking care of those birds for a ten year period. I was glad to have them around, as they were cheerful little souls. Over time I grew very fond of them. So I understand well how much a parakeet can mean to you. I hope you find comfort in the happy memories of your departed friends, even though you miss them very much. Try to find happiness in the fact that you gave them a good life and shared abundant good times together. Bailey says "Hello" to you. He is a good dog and is doing well. The training you gave us has been very helpful. Hector

This is very sad. If the authorities find the owner(s) of those pit bulls then I hope they are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. IMO they deserves to spend multiple years in the Big House.

I suggest a good pepper-spray that is intended for bears: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0005570223460a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=bear+spray&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=m ode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=bear+spray&noImage=0://http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...spray&noImage=0 This has the potency to protect against big mean dogs.

Sorry that you are having this health problem. Sounds like you have a good doctor and everything will be alright. One question -- are you taking Fosamax or did your doc mention anything about that? I have been taking Fosamax for five years now and it has in fact reversed my bone loss to some extent. Hector

Wow! Scarey! So glad Loki is back without any harm. And congratulations on getting the job! I had a leash clip break off at the point where it swivels. Fortunately my dog did not take off and there was no problem. But yes, leashes do fail. Here is a leash idea that is about as safe as is possible. Start with an oval-shaped caribiner of the type that rock/mountain climbers use in climbing. You can buy one online at REI. Use a lasso-type loop on the nylon strap and put that around one end of the caribiner. With this setup there is no metal in the attachment of the nylon leash to the caribiner. Then clip the caribiner around the dog's collar. As long as the dog's collar stays on, you will not have any failure of this leash. I started using it AFTER the time that my leash failed and I have never had a problem since then.

I worked for a life insurance company for 12 years. From that experience I learned this: a person should always have insurance to cover possible financially catastrophic losses, plus legally mandated insurance. Examples are house insurance, car insurance, and life insurance on people whose job income supports the family. Insurance is optional in areas where losses are most likely to be relatively small, and that would normally include pet insurance. In those areas it makes more sense to self-insure by putting away some money in a savings account and having that available for emergency medical bills. Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. The catastrophic claims are relatively few in number and the individual person is not able to bear such losses. The smaller claims are usually a lot more frequent and the individual should be able to cover such expenses by planning ahead and putting money away in advance. Keep in mind that insurance companies don't manufacture money. They must take in enough insurance premium money to pay for all claims, all their business operation expenses, plus return a profit to the company owner(s). Pet insurance companies try to keep claims expense down by having significant exclusions and deductibles. This is not to say that nobody should have pet insurance. Some pet owners will come out ahead on that insurance. But like all insurance, that is a gamble. Most people with pet insurance end up receiving less in claims benefit than they pay out in premiums. If that were not true the company could not stay in business.

Last Friday Skiziks (my border kitty) was lethargic all day. And that evening I determined that he had diarrhea. This was the fourth time in seven months. So first thing Saturday we went to the vet. A test of a stool sample showed coccidia. Prior stool samples were "negative", but I suspect he has had coccidia all along. The treatment is a daily dose of Albon (5% suspension) for 12 days. Fortunately I can mix that with his bland canned cat food. By last evening he was clearly feeling well. And I think the medication hyped him up. He was charging around like a little rocket. He would run from the living room to the dining room (about 30 feet) and back at absolutely full speed. He was a blur going by. He would do that for five minutes straight till he ran out of energy and needed to rest for a while. Then he was play-attacking our 75 pound BC-X, who mostly ignored the cat unless the cat hurt him, in which case it was time for the cat to run for his *life*, figuratively speaking. Hopefully this will be the end of the cat diarrhea.

While wandering around the great Internet I came upon Life's Abundance Premium Pet Food. They tell a good story, and it sounds like they have very high quality products. As would be expected they are a bit pricey -- over $2.00 a pound for dry kibble food. They have a sample kit for $2.95 and I bought one of those. It looks good, my pet likes it. Just wondering if anyone here has tried that or regularly uses it? I am wondering if spending that much for pet food results in noticeably better health?

Glad to hear that. Sounds like they both got their needed exercise. Here is a link to another possible solution -- Dog Trolly System We had one of those installed at our prior house and it allowed a lot of range for the dog. Now we have a fenced area for the dogs to stay in.

Aw shucky-durnit -- I did not think you'd recognize me. I have to save money on my car to be able to pay for my boat.

Very nice pictures. Tess looks so focused and efficient. I bet it is really fun to watch Tess at work! Thanks for the pictures.

Very nice pictures. I really like the third one. Tess is so good and protective. That is very sweet.

Very nice picture! They are both Sweethearts!

I got Bailey, our BC/Sighthound-X, through a rescue group. That group is part of a low-cost veterinary clinic and I knew the people there because of taking our previous dog for vet services. Bailey was an 8-week-old pup when I got him. I spent just a short time with him and liked his friendliness and outgoing personality. He turned into a great dog and the overall experience of getting him through rescue was very positive.

Sandra -- that is a very nice picture album of Kessie. You have a nice variety of pictures taken in very scenic places. Pretty hard to beat the Dolomites. I like the outdoors better, but Skiziks is an "Indoors Cat" so all my Skiziks pictures are taken indoors. Mr. Tiki -- Here is my "best" technical advice. I think I know what I am talking about but I don't guarantee it! It is my understanding that Jalbum uses FTP (File Transfer Protocol?) to transfer the pictures to the remote website. It is also my understanding that a website must be set up to accommodate FTP. If a website isn't setup for that kind of access then FTP won't work. You could inquire to the site manager. I had previously used FTP with my website at Verizon before I tried using the Jalbum Publishing (file transfer) feature. Here is a link to a website that offers a free FTP program with a GUI interface. http://www.smartftp.com/ You may want to download their free program and see if you can get FTP running under that program. You could just transfer a few files as a test. Once that is running, then you could deal with getting Jalbum to properly do an FTP transfer. Good luck.

Post has been cleared.

LOL. That's really good, Mr. Tiki. There had to be a counterpart so I am glad to read it.

Subject: Installing Husband 1.0 Software Dear Tech Support, Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1. Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do? Signed, Desperate ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Desperate: First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System. Please enter the command: "http: I Thought You Loved Me.html" and try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta. Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 (it runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources). Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7. Good Luck, Tech Support

Kyla is just beautiful, and she sounds like a wonderful addition to your "pack". Glad to hear that your mum and Kyla found each other and that you and Kessie are enjoying Kyla so much.

Glad to hear Raven has arrived. (Did she get her Frequent Flier miles?) Ah yes, and already she has figured out how to be a BIG help -- puppy on the keyboard will definitely exercise your proof-reading skills. Sounds like you guys are in for a lot of fun.