Cats and dogs

With all the snow and bitter cold this winter, each long visit to the barn left  my toes feeling like they were about to break off.  I had a wonderful pair of boots last year, but the zipper wouldn't stay up so I returned them.  This year I treated myself to a pair that looked exactly what I needed, and so they were: a pair of Sorel Bear boots. Oh, they are warm!  The kicker, though, the bonus unlooked for, was the box.

My sister's dogs and cats are staying with me for a while, and Roar, aka Hambone, loves boxes.  Little did I know!  As I was trying on the boots, Hambone was trying out the box.  The dogs were fascinated.

There's something in there!

I think it's a cat.

Someone shone a light in the box and startled Roar..

Okay, I'm done.

Zoë and Lilly have to check him over.

Omigosh!  Now the box and the cat are in the living room!

A cat just can't find a private place with two dogs around.

Zoë's going to stay till the bitter end.

Time for a well-deserved rest.

The ghost of winters past

With all the brouhaha over the impending storm, I''ve been trying to find out just how much we might get here.  While looking on various websites, I found this reference to the infamous Blizzard of '78. Hoo boy! Do I remember that one! I lived with my 8 year old son in Canton, Massachusetts, a mile from Route 128.

Route 128, Blizzard of '78, from www.weather.com

Sometime during the storm, I heard a knock on my door and opened it to find Scott, our church home teacher, and one of his employees, who'd gotten stranded on 128 and walked to my house. Scott managed to call his wife before the phone went out, but they were camped out on the floor until the storm blew over and the streets were somewhat cleared. 

The next morning, my dog Jody needed to go out.  I opened the back door--which, thankfully, opened inward, for we found a drift across the door leaving scant inches of daylight at the top.  Poor Jody! She was practically standing with her legs crossed by the time we got the doorway dug out.  Finally, out she went--a white dog, all that showed were her eyes, two black dots bounding across the snow.

Scott and his friend dug out my front and back and, as I recall, they set out for home, by foot, as soon as the road was plowed enough to allow foot travel.  It took a week for 128 to be cleared and traffic to be allowed even on the local roads.

As I look back on it, it was a cozy time.  Neighbors got to know neighbors, and we walked everywhere.  The snow was piled high, but so were our spirits.  

My first winter in Colorado brought with it another blizzard.  I was snowed in for days, loving every minute.  I dug my way out to the barn, fed and watered the horses, and gloried in the beauty of the snow.  Everyone who had a tractor pitched in to dig out everyone else.  My little Ford 9N was busy, busy, busy as I drove it here and there, the brisk air brushing my skin, my cheeks flushed and rosy.  Snowmobiles were everywhere, collecting people who couldn't get home, bringing supplies to those who needed them, everyone helping everyone else.  Afterwards I set up my watercolor easle and painted, the sunlight streaming into my living room.  It was a glorious time!

I'm older now and the thought of a blizzard both warms and chills my heart.  Since we don't have a wood stove here, if the electricity goes out, it will become mighty cold.  the storm is supposed to start sometime tomorrow night, so I'll lock the horses in the barn, the goats in their stalls, make sure there's plenty of hay and water available, and put my truck out of the way of the plowing.  If we lose electricity, it shouldn't take too long to set up the generator--once I get a path dug.  Then I think I might just dig out my sketch pad.  Blizzards bring out the best in me.

 

Of desperation and its outcome

A couple of weeks ago, Zoe was scratching so much, and had so many fleas, that in desperation, I used Frontline Plus on her. Now, I used it once or twice last year, but it's not something I'm fond of. I hate using any kind of chemicals, but the herbal spray I was using didn't seem to be doing much. About a week later, Zoe broke out, in one afternoon, with hot spots all over her body. The sores were angry red and weepy, and ranged from the size of a dime to larger than a half-dollar. No itching, just real evidence of toxins in her body.

I wasn't sure what it was from at first, and started ticking off all the things that she might have gotten into.  We live on a farm, after all, so maybe she had found something in the shed and rolled in it?  Nope, the door was closed.  Allergic reaction to sweat bees or ground bees?  Maybe.  Reaction to deer flies?  Possibly.  Then I remembered the Frontline Plus and after some searching online, found a discussion group on Amazon.  Though Zoe's particular reaction wasn't described, I did read about  hot spots at the application site.  Well, one of the spots is definitely there.

I took Zoe to the local vet, who diagnosed Acute Moist Dermatitis, aka hot spots, and prescribed Benadril and steroidal cream.  In other words, to fix the problem, let's shut down the immune system.  I paid the bill, thanked the vet, and went home to email Dr. Glen Dupree.  I love this vet; he never fails to come through.  Apis, he said, and apply Calendula tincture (10 drops per ounce of water, sprayed on) or green tea or Aloe juice.  By the next morning her hot spots were pink and healing instead of raw and red.  Another homeopathic remedy followed.  In the meantime, I mixed up some Calendula ointment, Aloe gel, and Vitamin E and applied that to the hot spots that weren't too sore to touch. For five days, Zoe just lay on "her" chair and rarely moved.  She went outside when she needed to, but had no appetite--my little dog who could eat her meal, mine, and yours and look for more!. 

It was amazing to see how quickly the lesions healed.  I've had other dogs that got an occasional hot spot, but none ever cleared up that quickly.  I knew she had turned the corner on day 5 when someone came to the door and she lept off the chair to greet them.

She's looking lots better now.  Her hair is growing back, but so far as Frontline Plus is concerned, I'll never use any spot- on chemical (poison) again.  Instead, I'm using a growth inhibitor for fleas on the carpets and stuffed furniture, boric acid crystals as well, and adding Flea Free herbal/garlic food supplement to her food every day.  I may also add Brewers yeast, and apple cider vinegar to her water.  Perhaps she won't be so tasty, then.

Oh, and did I mention?  She still has fleas.