Pet Friendly Shelters. 10 Halloween Hazards for Pets. Baby Squirrels. Stock Market Crashes. Suez Crisis. John Glenn.

 

For “Mammal Monday”:

Pet friendly evacuation shelters for Hurricane Sandy

Following is a list of locations accepting animals in the path of Hurricane Sandy: http://www.examiner.com/article/pet-friendly-evacuation-shelters-for-hurricane-sandy?CID=examiner_alerts_article

 

Prepping your dog and cat for Sandy

“The time to ready your animal for evacuation is not when you are leaving and locking the door. Stage your animal for evacuation so there is less chance for a disaster within the disaster. It is not uncommon for an animal to bolt out the door when there is bad weather approaching or any type of commotion.”  http://www.examiner.com/article/prepping-your-dog-and-cat-for-sandy

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10 Halloween Hazards for Pets

“Halloween 2012 is nearly upon us, and we want to make sure your pets wake up happy and healthy on November 1st.

There are several pet hazards related to this fall holiday, so we hope a quick review of our top 10 list of Halloween dangers will help you keep your furry family member out of harm’s way:

Opportunity to escape out an open
front door

Many shelters experience an increase in lost pets in the days following Halloween. The front door opening and closing for trick-or-treaters, coupled with the over-stimulation of the evening, can be a recipe for a lost pet.
Make sure your pet's ID tag and microchip, if applicable, are up-to-date. And take necessary precautions to prevent your pet from bolting out the front door and into the night.

 

 

 

Candy, especially chocolate

Chocolate is toxic to both cats and dogs, and the darker the chocolate, the more toxic. Chocolate contains a caffeine-like stimulant substance that when ingested by your pet can cause vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, racing pulse and seizures.
Candy in general is a problem for pets because it's loaded with sugar and fat, which can lead to serious GI issues and pancreatitis.

 

 

 

Halloween goodies containing xylitol

Xylitol is a sugar substitute that is showing up in all kinds of products, including sugar-free candy, gum, mints and baked goods.
A small amount of xylitol can cause a rapid and dangerous blood sugar drop in dogs, as well as acute liver failure. Xylitol's effect on cats is not known, but I would recommend keeping it far away from kitties as well.

 

 

 

 

Candy wrappers

Empty candy wrappers smell like what was in them, which can entice your pet. If your dog or cat eats foil or cellophane candy wrappers, the result can be a life-threatening bowel obstruction requiring surgery.

 

 

 

 

 

Raisins

Some well-meaning folks hand out those tiny boxes of raisins instead of candy on Halloween. Or small bags of trail mix containing raisins.
Unfortunately, raisins are toxic to dogs and cats and can potentially cause kidney failure in very small amounts. Chocolate covered raisins pose an even bigger risk.

 

 

 

 

Jack-O-Lanterns and candles

These are fire hazards... especially when a fearful cat jumps on or over a table decorated with lit candles... or an excited dog crashes into a carved pumpkin.
Make sure all these types of hazards are well outside your pet's reach.

 

 

 

 

 

Glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark jewelry

These items have increased in popularity the last few years, and pets — especially cats — love to gnaw on them. The substance that creates the glow is actually phenol, which can leak out and burn your pet's tongue. Choking is another concern.

 

 

 

 

 

Pet costumes

Costumes can be hazardous to your pet's health. Depending on the outfit, the temperature, and the type of fur on your furry companion, it's easier than you might think for him to overheat inside that costume. Pets have also been injured when their range of motion, vision or hearing is restricted by a costume. Injuries also occur when pets try frantically to remove a costume. Buttons, bows and other small accessories can be pulled off and choked on or swallowed.

 

 

 

Stress from a constantly ringing
doorbell, knocks at the door, strangers at the door

Some pets become anxious, fearful or even aggressive at the sound of the doorbell, the door knocker, or when visitors are at the front door. If your pet tends to find these things stressful, it's best to secure her in quiet, safe spot before the little ghouls and goblins appear at your door.

 

 

 

 

People wearing scary costumes

Some pets become very fearful or aggressive at the sight of certain Halloween costumes. If you suspect your dog or cat might be one of them, I recommend you take precautions to keep your pet and trick-or-treaters safe.”

From: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/10/24/10-halloween-pet-hazards.aspx

 

 

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There's a bumper crop of abandoned baby squirrels

“It's noon, and the small army of volunteers and staff has been mobilized. One by one, the caregivers lift the tiny baby squirrels out of their cages, insert small syringes filled with squirrel formula into their little mouths and begin to slowly pump the white liquid.

It's a typical day in an anything-but-typical year at the Wildlife Center of Texas, which shares a building, and much more, with the Houston SPCA out on Old Katy Road.

Since the beginning of September, the center has taken in some 400 abandoned baby squirrels, the most in three decades, if you leave out the Ike year.

Right now the center is home to 250 baby squirrels, carefully organized by age and health, and 50 more are outside waiting to be put back in the wild. "For now, we're Mom," says Debbie Mitchell, an operations manager.

The squirrels range from hairless little wigglers the size of a thumb to solid-food-eating bruisers who look ready to take on a bird feeder. Some are the high-energy gray squirrels (white tummies), some the larger and more laid-back fox squirrels (reddish tummies) and a few are flying squirrels, with extra flaps of skin that allow them to glide, not fly.”  More at:  http://www.chron.com/life/kyrie/article/There-s-a-bumper-crop-of-abandoned-baby-squirrels-3933204.php#photo-3567606

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 Nature Helping Nature: Conservation Canines.

“A team of four-legged researchers sniff out critical conservation data to help New Mexico's forests adapt to a changing climate.”

Published on Oct 22, 2012 by natureconservancy

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On This Day:

Stock market crashes, Oct 29, 1929:

“Black Tuesday hits Wall Street as investors trade 16,410,030 shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors, and stock tickers ran hours behind because the machinery could not handle the tremendous volume of trading. In the aftermath of Black Tuesday, America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression.

During the 1920s, the U.S. stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929, a period of wild speculation. By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stocks in great excess of their real value. Among the other causes of the eventual market collapse were low wages, the proliferation of debt, a weak agriculture, and an excess of large bank loans that could not be liquidated.

Stock prices began to decline in September and early October 1929, and on October 18 the fall began. Panic set in, and on October 24—Black Thursday—a record 12,894,650 shares were traded. Investment companies and leading bankers attempted to stabilize the market by buying up great blocks of stock, producing a moderate rally on Friday. On Monday, however, the storm broke anew, and the market went into free fall. Black Monday was followed by Black Tuesday, in which stock prices collapsed completely.

After October 29, 1929, stock prices had nowhere to go but up, so there was considerable recovery during succeeding weeks. Overall, however, prices continued to drop as the United States slumped into the Great Depression, and by 1932 stocks were worth only about 20 percent of their value in the summer of 1929. The stock market crash of 1929 was not the sole cause of the Great Depression, but it did act to accelerate the global economic collapse of which it was also a symptom. By 1933, nearly half of America's banks had failed, and unemployment was approaching 15 million people, or 30 percent of the workforce. It would take World War II, and the massive level of armaments production taken on by the United States, to finally bring the country out of the Depression after a decade of suffering.”

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Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins, Oct 29, 1956:

“Israeli armed forces push into Egypt toward the Suez Canal, initiating the Suez Crisis. They would soon be joined by French and British forces, creating a serious Cold War problem in the Middle East.

The Soviet Union began to issue ominous threats about coming to Egypt's aid. A dangerous situation developed quickly, one that the Eisenhower administration hoped to defuse before it turned into a Soviet-U.S. confrontation. Though the United States sternly warned the Soviet Union to stay out of the situation, Eisenhower also pressured the British, French, and Israeli governments to withdraw their troops. They eventually did so in late 1956 and early 1957.”

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John Glenn returns to space, Oct 29, 1998:

“Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Hershel Glenn, Jr., is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging.

On February 20, 1962, NASA and Colonel John Glenn was on the flight of Friendship 7, a spacecraft that made three orbits of the Earth in five hours. Glenn was hailed as a national hero, and on February 23 President John F. Kennedy visited him at Cape Canaveral. Glenn later addressed Congress and was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City.  In 1999, he retired from his U.S. Senate seat after four consecutive terms in office, a record for the state of Ohio.”

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Yesterday:

It was still too cold for Prime to go out on the screen porch, we need to get the vinyl panels back up in there.  Jay had said that he wouldn’t be going to work in Houston, so he would help me, as several jobs needed doing.  The hedge needs clipped, and the yard mowed, plus the home-made computer desk needed to be dismantled as we needed to make room for the 220v. heater, to keep the kitten warm.

So Misty and I went to get him, and we had to wear coats for her walk-about.  Jay said that we needed to go over to Section 2 in this subdivision as he needed to measure something, first.  Well, as they are rebuilding the bridge which goes between Section 1, 2, and 3, that meant we had to get out on the road, and go 2 miles around to the back gate.  We came back here, I dropped off Misty, and we went in the van, as the Puddle Jumper is not street legal. 

After we had measured the space between some posts on a lot, he said we needed to stop one more place. There was a 4-wheel ATV there, and he made a deal with the owner to buy it, and said he would have to go home to get the money.  He wanted me to tow my utility trailer over there, (with expired tags) to pick up the ATV.  I refused, so he called someone with a pick-up truck, and I took him home.  He said would be back here, and by this time I was really antsy, as I wanted us to get my jobs done, too.  He could have waited until the afternoon to do his jobs with the guy and the pick-up.   When I saw them coming back into the subdivision with the ATV on the truck, I drove down to Jay’s to make sure he came back, helped them unload it, and brought Jay back here before he could start washing the ATV.

Finally, we dismantled the two desktop computers and the desk, got the 220v. cord plugged in behind the corner cabinet, and put my main computer on a small computer desk that I bought a while back.  That made room for the heater, so now the kitten will be warm.

I moved my router back into the old computer area, so now I can have a desktop and laptop working in there, as sometimes I have to have 2 going at once.  Then we still had to get in my van to go get him some gas for his 4-wheeler, so he put some in my can for the Puddle Jumper. 

After Jay had left, I had the task of hooking up all the wires to the main computer, but I couldn’t get online for a while.  Then I found out one of the Ethernet cords wasn’t working right, so after changing that out, I was all set.  Always something!

Just as I was doing this, my ex-daughter-in-law Becky showed up, it was good to see her again.  She has had a terrible time with the oncologists, and finally had her double mastectomy.   She just finished her radiation treatments, and has been going to work all along.  We discussed diet, and I gave her one of my juicers, so she is going to buy some fresh veggies and fruit today.