Hibbs and Heeks Pet Center Blog offers commentary, articles, pet care tips, pet news and stories from other pet owners. You are encouraged to offer comments and stories of your pets for others to enjoy. We look forward to hearing from you.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Pet Duck
I received this in an email this morning, I do not know who wrote it, there was no author attached to it. I could not resist passing it on! Donna
A woman brought a very limp duck into a veterinary surgeon. As she lay her pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest. After a moment or two, the vet shook his head sadly and said, "I'm so sorry, your pet has passed away." The distressed owner wailed, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I'm sure. The duck is dead," he replied. "How can you be so sure?" she protested. "I mean, you haven't done any testing or anything. He might just be in a coma or something." The vet rolled his eyes, turned his head and left the room. He returned a few moments later with a black Labrador Retriever. As the duck's owner looked on in amazement, the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked at the vet with sad eyes and shook his head. The vet patted the dog, took it out and returned a few moments later with a beautiful cat. The cat jumped up on the table and also sniffed the bird from its beak to its tail and back again. The cat sat back on its haunches, shook its head, meowed softly, jumped down and strolled out of the room. The vet looked at the woman and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck." Then the vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill, which he handed to the woman. The duck's owner, still in shock, took the bill. "$150!" she cried."$150 just to tell me my duck is dead?!!" The vet shrugged. "I'm sorry. If you'd taken my word for it, the bill would have been $20. But with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it all adds up.
I don't often comment on the news but this week I can't help but comment on the Terry Shivo case. In my opinion putting our pets, who are old and very sick or dying is done in a much more humane manner than Terry Shivo is being treated. When I had to put my over fifteen year old cat to sleep years ago they first gave him a shot to put him to sleep and then they gave him the shot that ended his life. He had cancer and could not eat anymore. The poor cat was suffering and there was nothing to be done for him. Instead of letting him starve to death because the cancer was in his mouth we did the humane thing and had our beloved cat put down.
Even convicted murders who are given the death penalty are treated more humanely with the fatal injection than Terry Shivo is being treated. The doctors are saying she can not feel anything but how do they really know that? They cannot read her mind. She may not be totally aware of what is happening around her but her family feels she has some consciousness. How does anyone know that she is not screaming inside her head, screaming to be given something to eat or drink. I can't stop thinking about this poor woman and her situation. She has people who are willing to care for her in her condition and keep her as comfortable as possible for however much longer she may have to live with the feeding tube yet she is not being given that consideration. In my opinion it was more humane to put my beloved cat to sleep they way they did than the way Terry Shivo is having to end her existence.
This story was passed along to me today in an email. I don't have any information on who originally told the story but I liked it and the lesson it conveys so I thought I would pass it on. Donna
A man was flying from Seattle to San Francisco.Unexpectedly, the plane stopped in Sacramento along the way. The flight attendant explained that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes. Everybody got off the plane except one gentleman who was blind. The man had noticed him as he walked by and could tell the gentleman was blind because his seeing eye dog lay quietly underneath the seats infront of him throughout the entire flight. He could also tell he had flown this very flight before because thepilot approached him, and calling him by name, said, "Bill, we're in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretchyour legs? "The blind man replied, "No thanks, but maybe my dog would like to stretch his legs."Picture this:All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw the pilot walk off the plane with a Seeing Eye dog! The pilot was even wearing sunglasses. People scattered. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines! True story... Have a great day and remember... things aren't always as they appear.
This morning on Good Morning America on ABC they did a short segment on traveling with your pet. Did you know that some airlines are now offering frequent flyer miles for your pet? To read more about this go to http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Travel/story?id=594202&page=1
The also have a short piece on places to stay when you bring your pet and some of the amenities offered at these places. To find out more about that you can go to http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Business/story?id=598100
I buy dog bone treats for my dogs in a large five pound package. I leave them in my back hall because it is cold out there and they keep well. I buy different flavors, beef basted, plain, small bones assorted, large bones assorted and peanut butter bones. They are like milk bones but put out by a different company. I don't always have all the flavors on hand but I mix them up so that the dogs get a variety. They usually get one in the morning and one at night.
Last Saturday I bought a new package of peanut butter bones. They have been getting one peanut butter bone, per day, at the most this past week. The package usually lasts at least a month around here. This morning I went to get them one and the bag is nearly empty. I asked my husband if he had moved some of the bones. He did not. Sometimes we transfer some into a box to put in the cabinet in the house. The last time I took a couple out of the bag it was full. That was day before yesterday. My husband gave the dogs a peanut butter bone the other day and said the bag was full too. Hmmmm....
There is no way the dogs ate all those bones in a couple of days. The bones are flat so the bag fits at least fifty bones. Hibbs was in the hallway by himself yesterday for a while when my three year old grandson was here but there is no way Hibbs could have eaten all those bones and he would have left a mess of crumbs behind if he had done that. The dogs always leave some crumbs behind. I don't even think Hibbs belly could hold four pounds of bones anyway.
My grandson was in the hall for a few moments yesterday while he was visiting me but that was only for a few moments so he would not have had time to move the bones. They would have had to be moved in a pile because the bag is still there. I asked him if he had moved the bones and he said no. At three he would not have the coordination to carry a bunch of bones all at same time and he just did not have enough time to do anything like that. My husband and I have searched all around the house to see if the bones were moved somewhere else and have found no sign of them anywhere.
I do not think any animal got in the back hall. If that were so there would be some sign of the entry. If a person came into our house why would they take only the peanut butter bones and nothing else? Did I get up, sleepwalk and move the bones during the night? Where would I have put them and why on earth would I do that? I don't think I have ever sleepwalked, by the way. What could have happened to four pounds of bones? This is bugging me. There is no explanation that is plausible. What the heck! Any ideas?
It seems Alaska would be one of the most appropriate places to have a pet reindeer. This town in Alaska is used to seeing a reindeer and his human strolling down the streets for a walk. To read more about this story you can go to http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/11072061.htm
It is a short tale that I thought was cute and interesting. Enjoy!
My daughter often tells me that my dogs look like me. Huh! She says that we have the same hairdo. I suppose it is true to some extent. There may be an explaination for that according to this article I found on PetNewsService. The article offers information on studies done on this issue. To find out more got to http://www.petsforum.com/petnews/060204a.htm
This site also offers other pet news items of interest if you want to browse.
Donna
Do you think you may resemble your pet? At Gardenflags.com you might find a flag that resembles you both. Just a suggestion for a little fun!
Two more dogs receive electric shocks on the streets of Boston.
Two dogs were shocked on the sidewalks in Boston in the past two days. The first one was out walking with his teenage owner yesterday when he yelped and fell to the ground. The dog was rushed to a Veteranary clinic but ended up dying. He was only 16 months old. Another dog received a shock today on a different street and fortunately seems to be alright. This is something that has happened in the past as well in Boston. It has something to do with electical wires or currents under the manhole covers. You can read more about this and find more details on the causes of these tragedies by going to the Boston Channel.com link listed here.
Apparently the snow and ice along with electrical currents under the ground are the cause for these happening. These incidents are something to keep in mind when walking your dog or something to mention to your dog walker. Try to keep your dog off of manhole covers whenever possible.
My name is Donna. Hibbs and Heeks Pet Center blog is here for people like myself who are interested in pets. I will add commentary, links, pictures and more with pets as the focus. Hibbs and Heeks are real dogs, Tash and Totay are real kittens and Hooey is a real Amazon Parrot. Holly was also a frequent subject on this blog but she has since passed on. If you have any stories, comments or thoughts about pets please feel free to comment. I am sure that readers of this blog would enjoy hearing from you as I would myself.
