Don't Get Me Started with Linda Sharp

Saying Goodbye

Hi Linda, 

I just wanted to let you know that we lost our sweet Otto last night... He was definitely declining over the last few days, but was still doing pretty well, eating, getting excited to see us, wagging his curly tail. Yesterday started out badly, and got progressively worse. Though he was still drinking, he refused to eat all day and hadn't taken any of his medications. He hadn't moved from where he was laying from about 9am until about 5pm when he got up to go outside... The way he looked at us, was just a look of defeat. We had made the decision to take him in today. He was now suffering, and it wasn't fair to him. 

As the evening progressed we sat with him and tried to comfort him, but his breathing just became more and more labored and his tongue was getting pale. We called our vet, who suggested we take him to the emergency vet where they could either give him some oxygen treatments or put him out of his suffering. We got him in the car, and were not even halfway up our street when I heard him cry, and then he was gone. We called our vet back, and she met us at her office, even though it was already 11:30... She really always was so wonderful to our boy... 

My baby died in my arms, doing his favorite thing - going for a ride. I wish he didn't have to suffer, but at least it was not for long. He knew he was loved by so many people, but his mama loved him the most. He was my first 'true love', and I am heartbroken. One of the hardest things was seeing Sally looking for him when we went to bed last night, and again this morning when I fed her breakfast and his bowls were gone. He definitely took a piece of me and a piece of our family with him, and our lives will never be the same... 

Thanks, 

Sharon

 

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Sharon - you gave Otto the gifts of unconditional love, compassion, and joy.  That he crossed over The Rainbow Bridge from the security and comfort of your arms was a blessing for him.  I know the DGMS blogmunity joins me in sending you hugs from our hearts to yours.

John's VIEW point

Best line, "Don't you people have any short term memory???"

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Was It Even Worth Getting Out Of Bed?

One news nightmare after another ... God, I feel tired already.

1.  Ellen leaving Idol.

2. J Lo and Steven Tyler coming to Idol?

and the worst...

3. Levi and Bristol on the rocks after it comes out he may have gotten his ex-girlfriend pregnant.

Someone get me some Ambien and wake me when this horror is over.

The Human DisgRACE

There is an anonymous quote that reads, "Half of mankind is a little lower than the angels, and the other half is a little higher than the apes."

Given today's story out of New Jersey, I'd say that is a serious insult to apes.

And no, I'm not referring to the bankrupt braintrust that is The Jersey Shore.

A man is dead.  An honest man.  A man who lived, loved, worked hard, kept his head down and tried to do the best he could for his family.

His name is Abelino Mazaniego. 

 
And that he was an immigrant means not a thing to me.  It does not make him less of a human being, or what happened to him less of a heinous, horrific, soulless crime.

Mr. Mazaniego had finished his shift on July 17th at the Indian restaurant in a New York suburb where he worked to support his family.  As he sat on a bench across from his place of employment, a group of teens approached.  (According to one in the group, there were upwards of 12, but only three participated in what happened.) And for no good reason - hell, there can be no BAD reason - they proceeded to beat him, all the while capturing the horror of the attack on a cell phone so they could share it with their equally miscreant friends afterwards.

Alex Ruiz, 19, the teen talking to press and police, has this beautiful nugget to offer in defense, "We never thought the guy would die."

According to Ruiz, and corroberated by police who have reviewed the video, the creatures threw a shirt over Abelino's head and began to beat him into unconsciousness, leaving him on the pavement where he was found and taken to the hospital.  He died three days later.

There are currently three POSes in police custody - a 19 year old, an 18 year old, and a 17 year old have been charged with manslaughter.  Details on the one who did the videoing honors have not been released by police.

(And as if it wasn't bad enough?  Mr. Mazaniego was robbed by a nurse in the hospital who helped himself to the $640 in the man's wallet.  Stephan Randolph, may you, too, rot in hell.)

As a parent I simply cannot fathom having a child who would be involved, even peripherally, in something like this.  ManSLAUGHTER is right - they slaughtered an innocent man just because they were bored assholes out roaming around on a Saturday night.

There is no defense of their behavior.  I don't want to hear their parents whine to the media that their sons are "good kids."

No.  No they're not. 

And what makes this even more disturbing - if that is even possible - is that another man, Divyendu Sinha - a former professor and scientist - was beaten in his front yard by a pack of marauding teens on June 25 in New Jersey.

As his wife and children watched helplessly. 

He died several days later as a result of massive head wounds.

Someone tell me what is going so very wrong in the human disgrace that teens have absolutely no compunction about beating an innocent person to death?   What component is so obviously missing in how some children are being raised?  Because something has to be seriously screwed for a person to not even think about the "what ifs" of their behavior in even entertaining this scenario.

These men are DEAD.  And I don't care how f*cked up a child's upbringing, you don't have to be a teen to know that DEAD is PERMANENT.  That DEAD is WRONG.  That repeatedly bashing another person in the skull might have some DEADLY repercussions.

I full well expect to receive the typical cowardly email dripping with ignorance, bigotry, and callousness because of Abelino Mazaniego's ethnicity and immigration status.  Comment boards are rife with this garbage tonight.  Bring it on.  Anyone who reads this story and instantly devalues the life that was taken simply because he wasn't born here or had the proper papers? 

You are no better than the teens who killed these men.  No better than the wretches who tore them from their families.

And you are certainly BELOW the apes mentioned in the quote at the beginning of this piece, and as far from the angels as is humanly possible.

May both Mr. Mazaniego and Mr. Sinha rest in peace.

And may their aggressors rot in jail.

Time To Celebrate Hailey! (Jamie's Daughter Turns 7 Today!)

Talk About A Bull(shit) Market

In what must certainly be a sign of the impending Apocalypse, the cast of The Jersey Shore rang the opening bell on Wall Street this morning.

While I'm sure it caused stocks in Bump-it and Mystic Tan to rise, my advice would be to SELL, SELL, SELL and get your affairs in order.

If anyone still held out hope for mankind, fuggedaboudit.  I realize everyone from Darth Vader to Boyz 2 Men have rung that bell, but allowing this oil slick to even ooze through the doors?  We have officially jumped the reality shark, and it's wearing hair gel.  (We're gonna need a bigger Bump-it...)

The effin' end is nigh, yo.

 

Do You Have Some Puppy Love To Spare?

Linda, 

Though I check the DGMS blog daily, I sometimes comment, rarely post. But I find myself in need of some support... 

My baby, Otto, was a happy, well adjusted dog. I got him as a puppy in July of 2001, and he's really been my rock ever since. I can't begin to count the number of times he's comforted me when I cried and celebrated with me when I was happy. He would greet us with a toy every time we walked through the door, even if we had just gone out to take out the trash, as though seeing us come back in the house was the highlight of his day. Until it came to dinnertime. Food was always THE highlight of the day - for sure!

My little man has has his share of struggles. At 4 years old he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. In January of 2009 he was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus, a condition in which the body is unable to absorb water properly on its own, leading him to drink large amounts of water, pee a lot, and potentially dehydrate if sufficient water wasn't available to him. Through testing and medications (which are not inexpensive) we've been able to control both conditions. We have always said that no matter what, we would always do whatever was necessary for Otto and his 'sister' Sally, regardless of cost. They are our 'children', they are family. We refer to them as the kids. Heck, we picked our wedding venue because it is a dog-friendly location because they are supposed to be our flower girl and ring bearer in April!

About a month ago, I noticed Otto wasn't acting right... He was drinking (and ultimately peeing) more, but we assumed this was a result of his diabetes, and, at the vet's instructions, increased his medication from 2 to 3 doses per day. This didn't do much to help, when suddenly he refused to eat his breakfast one morning. I called the vet, who said to bring him in immediately. She did some x-rays and some blood work, but nothing showed as being of great concern. A thought was that potentially he was experiencing some anxiety, as he is aging and some of his senses aren't as sharp as they used to be. We tried Valium for a few days, but his condition seemed to be worsening. Our vet referred us to a specialist in internal medicine. Luckily, we have a veterinary facility nearby with a number of specialists of every kind. 

After looking at the x-rays from a few weeks ago, the internist noticed an enlarged lymph node, which she thought could be a sign of cancer, and she would like to run some more tests, including an ultrasound, and, if the lymph node was still enlarged, or if there were any others, she would aspirate and send off for biopsy. I cried all the way to work that day, but tried to stay positive, telling myself that even if it was cancer, we'd give him so chemotherapy or radiation, and he'd get through this. 

I never could have prepared myself for what she had to tell us when we came back to pick Otto up. She ended up not running a majority of the tests she had planned to do. In the first x-ray she took, the lymph node was now severely enlarged, and his lungs were full of tumors, visible to the naked eye. Otto has cancer, and is far beyond the stage where any treatment will be beneficial. There were too many tumors and it was spreading too fast for anything to be effective.

My baby is broken again, and this time there is nothing I can do, and no amount of money that I can pay that will fix him; the only thing left for me to do is make him as happy and as comfortable as I can while I watch this horrible disease eats away at his insides, and try to decide when is the right time to put him out of his misery. This might be the hardest decision I have ever had to make, and I haven't stopped crying in 2 days (and nights). When is the right time to let go? 

Thanks, 

Sharon

 

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Sharon - sitting here looking at our little Oreo, my hearts just breaks at what you're facing.  It's part of that wonderful / awful deal we make with our hearts when we welcome a pet into our lives.  We give them our love, our devotion, our smiles, but ultimately, the most precious gift we can give them is our ability to grant them peace when they need to go.  Sending you and Otto hugs. ~ Linda

Good Thoughts "Knee"ded

Hi Linda,

I'm having knee surgery tomorrow (torn meniscus). Not a complicated surgery but I would love to feel the good vibes of my DGMS family.

Linda L 

 

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On their way, Linda!  This is the surgery Kendall had last summer, so let me know how it goes!  (Do they think they can snip out the torn part, or are they going to stitch it?)

What Would The Berenstains Think?

Ahhhhh, the peaceful nights in Colorado.  Fresh cool air, an expanse of stars, a honking horn...

Neighbors in Larkspur recently had their slumber interrupted by the sound of a horn honking repeatedly.  So they called police.

Officers traced the noise to a spot in the trees about 125 feet from the top of the Story family's driveway where their son had parked his Toyota Corolla.

Drunken thieves?  Prankster teenagers?  Emergency brake not used?

Nah. 

Inside they found a seriously perturbed black bear.  The bear had apparently been attracted to the remains of a peanut butter sandwich left on the back seat, and bears being bears, had opened the back door to help himself to the treat.

Imagine his surprise when the door shut on him. 

He, of course, tried his hardest to get out (see video of demolished interior), hitting both the horn and the gear shift in the process.  The car, once in neutral, began a ride backwards down the hill into the trees where police eventually found it.

In all, they estimate the hapless critter was stuck inside for two hours before police tied a rope to a door handle, pulled, and he bounded out.  He did leave behind a gift of thanks for his rescuers, however...

Does a bear shit in the woods?  One could surmise so.  But in this case, we can say with all certainty, it definitely shits in a Toyota.

When The Shit Hits The Band

Being a rock star is a hazardous job.

You must contend with profit hungry record execs, a fickle public, and hordes of Bumpit wearing groupies.

Well, Kings of Leon would like to add a new and dangerous hazard to the list.

Pigeons.

Particularly those who don't like the music put out by KoL.

They were performing last night in the Verizon Amphitheater in St. Louis when a passing music critic pigeon flew overhead and jettisoned a bad review into the mouth of bassist Jarod Followill.

Yeah.  In. his. mouth.

They had completed only three songs at that point, but left the stage.  An announcement then came on stating that "due to concerns over the band's safety, we are canceling the show. Please file out in an orderly fashion."

Apparently the bassist for opening band, the Postelles, was also a victim of the birds' rectal rampage during their set, however, he did not ingest his attacker's criticism.

Perhaps the bird that accosted poor Jarod was actually a fan that just did not quite understand the lyrics?  We human fans are guilty of that ALL THE TIME - one of Rudy's favorite anecdotes about lyric faux pas is a friend who thought the tune Midnight At The Oasis was actually Midnight After You're Wasted.

Maybe this is what that pigeon heard:

I've been roaming around, always looking down at all I see

Painting faces fill the palates I can reach

You know that I could poo somebody

You know that I could poo somebody

Someone like you...

Oh well, I guess if the shit hits the fan the show can go on, but when it chokes the bassist, not so much...