OT July Chit Chat

[agate]

Look out, Sam. You're living with a pistol-packin cat daddy there.

I've never been near a gun except that my brother wangled a .22 for Christmas once, and I vaguely recall seeing it. I still wonder how he ever managed to coax our parents into giving it to him. They must have been truly desperate to please him.

[Howie]

My parents gave me a .22 rifle for Christmas when I was about 13 I guess. But I had already been shooting with my dad, and in the Boy Scouts by then. Safety was taught by both, first lesson, before you ever held a gun.

I've seen TV shows about hunting, and two men are walking side by side, and one guys rifle is pointing right at the other guys head. And these were "professionals". I think they missed a lesson or two.

[Howie]

Well, I checked my finances again, and there is money for beer. (And they said arithmetic would never be used in real life) So I just ran to the store, and....Cheers!

[Frog42]

Hey Howie... you could get matching thongs for you and Sam!

[Howie]

We could get two of each color so we both can have matching thongs!!! I'll take two of each please.

[Howie]

Ticks in the news.
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I didn't trust the site, but it was about something called the Nile Virus spread by tick bites.

[nuthatch]

West Nile Virus is usually spread by mosquitos, and Lyme disease is usually spread by ticks. Both mosquitos and ticks are blood suckers, so maybe?

Must have been some nasty little spider that bit me up and down my arm the other night while I was sleeping. Tiny little bumps, itching like crazy any my whole arm has ached for days now. Aspirin helped me sleep some last night after a sleepless night the day before. I hate biting bugs!

[Howie]

You could try something like "Off" if you can stand the odor yourself.

[Howie]

And it was a new virus called the Bourbon Virus, not the Nile Virus. My mistake.

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[Howie]

AND, I just saw they make OFF in an unscented lotion.

[Virginia]

Back to raccoons and possums - one of them nearly killed my dog one time. It attacked her with it's teeth down her little face and also bit a hole in her throat. The one on the face was long and started at the eye, just barely missing her eye. She made her way home. I called my husband and he told me not to touch her. It was in the summer and she came in and laid down on the cool tile floor. I could see the blood. My husband got there so quick, he picked her up and took her to the vet. He kept her a couple of days and she came home with those large staples down her face. It healed so that you could not tell it. I was very upset.

[nuthatch]

That sounds awful, Virginia. Were you there when it happened? Dogs are usually the aggressor when it comes to squirrels, cats, birds or chickens, possums, raccoons or most wild animals unless they have been raised around them. Wild animals have the instinct to fight for their lives if attacked, probably because they often are. The dog often looses the fight.

Years ago we had a collie mix dog. She got along great with our cat. They even played together chasing each other around the back yard. One day a neighbor stopped by with his beautiful white husky type dog on a leash. My dog and cat were out in front with my DH, so the neighbor stopped to talk to him. The dogs were fine together, but the other dog was not familiar with cats. After a good 5 minutes, that dog decided to suddenly lunge at the cat. My sweet protective dog jumped between my cat and other dog just as the cat's claws flew. My dog caught a claw in the eyeball! It was awful, her eyeball deflated like a water balloon! I was very upset and mad that my dog was the one that got hurt!
Needless to say an emergency trip to the vets was made. The vet stitched her eye shut, filled her with antibiotics and sent us home with lots of pills, salve and one of those "satellite dish collars" on the dog. Told us the eye would heal itself and reinflate with fluid. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later she was good as new. No scaring or damage!

[Sunshine]

Smart not to touch her. If raccoon had rabies, it'd be in the saliva in your dogs wound.

Raccoons will attack, especially if they have rabies.

[Virginia]

Nuthatch, I never knew her to attack another animal. She liked to chase a cat up a tree and sit at the bottom so the cat couldn't come down, but when they did she would not attack. If a wild animal got in our yard she would bark and that was about the only time. She was useless as a guard dog because she just had no killer instinct at all.

One night after husband passed away I went out and when I came home I heard her barking on the back deck. I told the friend I was with that something was bad wrong. I went in and went to back door and the biggest, fattest possum was up against the door. She was standing across the deck barking but not making any attempt to attack or come close. Finally, the possum just sauntered off the deck, taking his time, not at all afraid of my dog. I got her in as quick as I could and didn't let her out again that night.

[Jeanie Z]

:) Virginia I hope you have a wonderful birthday tomorrow and a great year. With love, Jeanie :)