:Sunday afternoon at the movies
Posted: July 27, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados, DRambles on Black Mountain Leave a commentGuess what? Kathy didn’t send me Grandma’s Hands. At least not our Kathy. The original email was a forward from ‘Kathy’s niece’. I assumed it was our Kathy. Not so. It was from my cousin Kathy. I didn’t recognize the address because we haven’t corresponded since…. ??? the Dark Ages.
Our Kathy did, however, send her favorite version of Grandma’s Hands by Bill Withers.
And A Fable for Our Time. As Kathy mentioned, It boggles the mind and is
a beautiful story of animal friendship.
My friend Jonette shared the next two with me.
I continue to be amazed by Mother Nature. While the above story isn’t in the movie, it gives you a hint of the content. Who would have thought the mothering instinct can overpower the predator instinct between foes in nature. There are a number of species portrayed. Watch Extraordinary Mothers.
The photo is of George Adamsom and Christian. The video is of the reunion between the lion, Christian, and the people who raised him prior to him being relocated into the wild. He was purchased in 1969 from Harrods department store. Two stars of the film Born Free visited the furniture store owned by lion’s caretakers. They suggested asking Adamson to help them rehabilitate Christian into the wild at his compound at Kora National Reserve.
Adamson slowly introduced Christian to an older lion ‘Boy’ and subsequently to a female cub in order to form the nucleus of a new pride. This approach was successful and over the course of several years the pride established itself in the region around Kora. When Rendall and Bourke were informed by Adamson of the successful result, they traveled to Kenya to pay one last visit to Christian.
:Mountain Gorillas
Posted: July 14, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain 1 CommentI love gorillas. I cannot look at them in the zoos because they haunt me. I hate when other people tease them, trying to get a rise out of them as if they are cute little spider monkeys apparently happy to entertain the crowds. A while back, in the Morris Animal Foundation newsletter, I came upon the following, scheduled to start today.
Excerpted from Morris Animal Foundation’s animalnews…
Visit the mountain gorillas of Africa
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July web cast brings the experience home
For decades, poaching, war and political instability have threatened the highly endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Cong. In February, these three African nations agreed for the first time to cooperate on a new 10-year plan to save these primates. Still, these magnificent animals face an uphill battle for survival – one that Morris Animal Foundation has been helping them fight for more than 20 years through its funding of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project (MGVP). The MGVP provides in-field veterinary care, which along with other conservation efforts has helped to increase the population to about 720 gorillas.
We’ll give you an inside look into the lives of these amazing creatures as MAF COO John Taylor heads to the Virunga Mountains of Africa to see the project firsthand. Through a special Web feature, you can read articles, look at photos and watch video footage of the mountain gorillas. We’ll also host a Web cast where John and MGVP Director Mike Cranfield talk about their trip. Visit www.MorrisAnimalFoundation.org for details.
:Be A Clown
Posted: July 9, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain Leave a commentMy mom probably wouldn’t have found this funny, but I think this is really fun! Talk about target marketing. I don’t s’pose he has problems with his teen-age kids wanting to borrow his vehicle…
:Questions and the Travelin’ Man
Posted: July 2, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain | Tags: Debby Rothman 5 CommentsSusan and I have exchanged lots of posts, along with a phone call, in the past few days. I prefer to keep the following, sent on Sunday in the forefront of my mind.
Susan wrote…You’d never think from looking at them that there was anything amiss,
now would you?
The news from yesterday’s vet appointment wasn’t surprising:
upper left jaw.
We will try to keep him as comfortable as possible for as long as possible.At least it looks like he’s gonna make it to his 6-month anniversary
here, which is on Friday.
On Thursday I will take him in for some alternative energy therapy that
the vet thinks will help him with the transition.
a time.
During our phone conversation Sunday morning, I tried to ‘ask the questions’. The questions that would help guide Susan’s decisions with her own answers. To arrive at the right questions is simply an ability I have, including the Big Question. In Champ’s case, the Big Question was ‘if Champ could be back to how he was last Wednesday before the tentative diagnosis, would you and he want that?’ The answer to that guides the next questions. Susan said other than sneezing when he ate, he was fine. The sneezing, while annoying to both of them, wasn’t that big of a deal.
To me, then it was clear that the dental extractions and tumor removal were causing his extreme discomfort, never mind the pain of getting the anti-inflammatory, pain-killer and antibiotic through his sore mouth and into his system. And if Susan and Champ could get him back to last Wednesday’s status quo, then he very well could have quality time left. It is very, very hard emotionally to cause further pain giving medication. The words from a song come to mind. “You’ve got to be cruel to be kind.” One might ask if meds were needed. In this case, there’s no question in my mind. Yes! I’m fairly conservative when it comes to drugs, but the body often heals faster with some assistance from western medicine. Take advantage of drugs if appropriate!
In the early dawn this morning, two things were floating around in my mind. What has really changed for Champ with the knowledge of the neoplasm… My ability to ask The Questions – will it come back to haunt me.
A year ago last Christmas holiday, I received a phone call from Faye at 2:30 in the morning. When the caller ID on the phone lite up, I knew something was very, very wrong. It was too early for Allie’s puppies to come into this world. Faye was at the emergency clinic with a comatose Allie. I asked Faye if they had her hooked to fluids. She replied not yet, I need to sign for treatment. Hang up the phone now! Go sign the forms! Call me back when that’s done! And so the night and into the next morning it went. I was clinical. I asked the questions. I was there for Faye. I boxed away my own emotions. Inside my heart was dying. Not only was Allie in very grave danger, but her puppies, her Manny puppies were most likely dead. I was looking forward to those puppies, to sharing the trials, tribulations and triumphs of those puppies with Faye. I kept that all to myself. My emotions weren’t going to help Faye. She needed a rock, not a puddle.
A day or three later it occurred to me that my approach had previously gotten me into big trouble, was one of the building blocks – or would that be wrecking crane – of a long-ago relationship with another dog person. My ability to be clinical, to ask the right questions for decision making, to be a rock was misinterpreted. I was accused of being uncaring, cold.
It is the ability to accept each other for who we are that ultimately decides who our friends are.
Allie survived an emergency ovariohysterectomy. Her uterus contained two dead, rotting puppies. I’d asked the right questions. Faye made the right decisions. I hope my questions continue to guide Susan down the path she’s travelin’ right now with our Travelin’ Man.
:Time…there’s enough time.
Posted: June 26, 2008 Filed under: Apso Aficionados, DRambles on Black Mountain 12 CommentsAsteya. A yogic principle shared by Athena last night during yoga class. Athena is my friend, first and foremost. I met her years and years ago, back when Mountain Pet Grooming was still in the yellow house. She is the reason I can still groom. All those years ago, she opened my mind, showing me the possibilities of….ummm…body awareness.
Asteya is the yogic principle that teaches us to be at peace with ourselves, out family and community, to be grateful for our things, our time and our health. There’s enough time. It may not be all the time *I* want, but there’s enough time. I can tell you, that’s a lesson I need to master. Not to actually make more time, but simply to realize there’s enough time.
So, here’s the sequence of photos I mentioned sharing yesterday, if only I had enough time. 🙂 Magoo is the Apso. He is blind. He was found wandering a country road outside of Pueblo, both eyes missing and turned over to ApsoRescueColorado. He remained with Vickie until he was placed in his forever home. Prior to placement, Vickie wrote Lessons From A Blind Dog which was published in her local newspaper. That piece touched hearts. One thing led to the next. Magoo found a home.
His confidence, self-assurance was evident as he approached our gathering Saturday. He walked in front of his owner. Look at him approach Christi..
..accepting a scratch on his cheek.
Just a point of canine body language. Notice his head and Christi’s hand in the above photo. He is ‘up’ in posture, enjoying her touch. In the photo below, her hand has moved to the top of his neck. He has moved his head downward, in a gesture of slight avoidance.
I hadn’t realized this body language until just now, but what the heck. I have time!! to comment. Dogs prefer to be petted from underneath. There’s an interesting series of photos in Pat McConnell’s The Other End of the Leash. All photos are taken from behind. The first photo shows a couple of chimpanzees, sitting side by side, expressing affection with an arm around each other. The second photo is the same, only the species changed to human beings. The third photo shows a young man and his dog, with the young man’s arm around the dog, over the dog’s back. The creatures in the top two photos are obviously at ease with the gesture. The dog, however, is obviously not comfortable with the gesture. To a dog, a front leg over another’s shoulder is a display of social status. I see the gesture between my dogs, always meant to remind the ‘lesser’ dog exactly where s/he stands. It’s not a mean gesture, it’s simply a reminder. Sorta like when I used to give Nate the ol’ “mom’s eye”…..watch it!!
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 