Sunday, May 19, 2013

Just odds and ends

 Guiness doing the happy zoomies. Miley ears are saying she is worried. LOL




 We are on an island so Guiness can run free off leash.  I made the dogs cross the river, they werent happy. But it was really hot and they were all panting hard so it was needed.

The vet Ive been going to is having to close her practice. She didnt have enough small animal business. At least Im assuming she is closing because she is never there. Three times Ive needed something and no answer or call back for days. Ugh. Its been stressful because Mickey need more phenobarb medication. Lucky my old vet saw him quickly and ordered the medication so he didnt miss a dose.  That would have been bad after taking it for the last 8 years. But now I need heart worm medication and I dont want to have to retest all my dogs. So Im going to try one more time to get in touch with her. It really ashame because I do like her. She is easy to get along with and didnt have a problem with me not giving shots every year.  Dentals were way cheaper then the old vet but I guess thats the way it goes. I think she is going to keep doing large animal practice,  where she goes to farms. She operates out of her truck for that.

Ive been working hard with Miley trying to teach her to keep the bars up. I think she if finally getting it. No dropped bars tonight especially on the tight turns. But now Java is dropping bars.  I dont know if its me and bad timing that is causing it or if its her trying to figure out her body over the jumps. It has me worried because this has just started to come up. But Im having her do more difficult course work.  Then she gets frustrated with me and slows down trying to be right.

 
I went to a seminar this weekend on concussions.  The doctor's part was very interesting.  Did you know that there are 6 genes that they have identified that make you likely to have a concussion. And that one of those genes is a genetic marker for Alzheimer's.  Interesting huh? Then he went through what happens when you get a concussion. I know that the  brain bounced off the inside of the skull but I didnt know about all the chemical changes.  That potassium leaves the brain cells and a bunch of Calcium goes in. And there is a huge release of serotonin. which is why you get sleepy later on after all the serotonin has left.  So now the cells cant work properly.  If normally a small area of the brain is used to do a math problem.  But because of the concussion, it now takes the whole brain to do that same  simple math problem. The kid may seem normal but his brain is having to work so much harder to do simple school work.  It takes about 10 days for the chemicals to  get back to normal.
 
Stephanie came home this weekend. She didnt want to go back. I felt bad for her. School is over but the university hired her to work as a graphic designer. She is working on brochers, magnets, t-shirts and posters.  I think its hard right now because no one is on campus.  She is lonely. In a few more weeks the rest of the orientation leaders come to school and then they started the summer orientation program for  freshman. (She was also hired to be a Orientation leader for the summer). So it will get better. Then the school advertised on twitter about bikes for sale. They were ones that were left on campus.  In the picture, she saw her bike. Oops. She was upset but contacted the right person and they pulled her bike from the sale and she got it back tonight.  Good thing she was on twitter.
 
My husband is in a bike race tomorrow. Its up Mt. Mitchell.  102 miles with an 11,000 foot elevation change. So basically all up hill. It will take between 10-12 hours. I hope it goes ok.
 
This weekend I go to an AKC trial. Its been 6 weeks since we have trialed. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully Java will get her last novice standard leg and get out of novice.

5 comments:

Kim said...

Great pictures!!

There is a really good documentary about concussions in athletes. It's called "Head Games". Worth watching if it is something you are interested in.

Sara said...

I'm really scared for my students who are football players. They already have learning disabilities, I can only imagine what a head injury will do to their ability to learn.

Good luck finding a new vet! And good luck to Lou today! My dad rode 82 miles this weekend, but he only climbed 2500 feet, which I still think is nuts!

Unknown said...

The last picture of Miley is amazing! What a great shot!

Cowspotdog said...

We are creatures of habit - I know I hate changing vets and I like only seeing one at the practice we go go to. You shouldn't have to get a retest of the heartworm if you have a copy of the last time you had it done and it is within the dates required.

Chris and Ricky said...

We are vet-less. Still hoping our original vet finds another office to work from.

Guiness looks so happy to be zooming around!