Monday, December 23, 2013
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Dova Now
I'm in hospital in dire straits at the moment as my swallowing has shut down. So tube feeding and waiting for yet more endless tests.
But, a current picture of glorious Dova. I have this one my desktop in hospital so she meets my eye every time I start it up.
But, a current picture of glorious Dova. I have this one my desktop in hospital so she meets my eye every time I start it up.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Borzoi Puppy Dova Arrives
Our hearts kept hemorrhaging after losing our Lily, so much so when I told a friend and doggie expert the whole sorry tale, she told me about a top quality borzoi puppy that was available up in Queensland. She knew I had always loved borzois, and having a show quality puppy I could get me hands on was too much to pass up.
Dova has come in to our family and stopped up the holes and made me laugh more than cry.
She was transported door to door, and was a bit tired and confused as she was let out of her crate, but didn't take long to get some food into her and enjoying a cuddle.
She is a delight, with a gentle temperament, wicked puppy ways and huge intelligence. She is growing like a weed and has passed her standard poodle house mate Zara. I am sure when she gets up each morning, she has grown a few more centimetres.
Her close female relative in Queensland is just over 2 years old and has reached 31 inches at the shoulder. That's the height of the average dining table, so she is going to be a big girl.
Dova has come in to our family and stopped up the holes and made me laugh more than cry.
She was transported door to door, and was a bit tired and confused as she was let out of her crate, but didn't take long to get some food into her and enjoying a cuddle.
She is a delight, with a gentle temperament, wicked puppy ways and huge intelligence. She is growing like a weed and has passed her standard poodle house mate Zara. I am sure when she gets up each morning, she has grown a few more centimetres.
Her close female relative in Queensland is just over 2 years old and has reached 31 inches at the shoulder. That's the height of the average dining table, so she is going to be a big girl.
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| Soon after she arrived |
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| Loves her squeakies |
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| Sneaking a snooze on the chair - not allowed! |
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| Racing around with Zara |
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| Taken yesterday for the Breeder to see how she's developing |
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
"Where to Bury a Good Dog"
Put in my post box today in a card by a dear friend.
.... "There are various places within which a dog may be buried. We are thinking now of a setter, whose coat was flame in the sunshine, and who, so far as we are aware, never entertained a mean or an unworthy thought. This setter is buried beneath a cherry tree, under four feet of garden loam, and at its proper season the cherry strews petals on the green lawn of his grave.
Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple, or any flowering shrub of the garden, is an excellent place to bury a good dog. Beneath such trees, such shrubs, he slept in the drowsy summer, or gnawed at a flavourous bone, or lifted head to challenge some strange intruder. These are good places, in life or in death. Yet it is a small matter, and it touches sentiment more than anything else.
For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes he leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, questing, asking, laughing, begging, it matters not at all where that dog sleeps at long and at last. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land, where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is all one to the dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained, and nothing lost -- if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog. One place that is best of all.
If you bury him in this spot, the secret of which you must already have, he will come to you when you call -- come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path, and to your side again. And though you call a dozen living dogs to heel they should not growl at him, nor resent his coming, for he is yours and he belongs there.
People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his footfall, who hear no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never really have had a dog. Smile at them then, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing.
The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master."
..........by Ben Hur Lampman
.... "There are various places within which a dog may be buried. We are thinking now of a setter, whose coat was flame in the sunshine, and who, so far as we are aware, never entertained a mean or an unworthy thought. This setter is buried beneath a cherry tree, under four feet of garden loam, and at its proper season the cherry strews petals on the green lawn of his grave.
Beneath a cherry tree, or an apple, or any flowering shrub of the garden, is an excellent place to bury a good dog. Beneath such trees, such shrubs, he slept in the drowsy summer, or gnawed at a flavourous bone, or lifted head to challenge some strange intruder. These are good places, in life or in death. Yet it is a small matter, and it touches sentiment more than anything else.
For if the dog be well remembered, if sometimes he leaps through your dreams actual as in life, eyes kindling, questing, asking, laughing, begging, it matters not at all where that dog sleeps at long and at last. On a hill where the wind is unrebuked and the trees are roaring, or beside a stream he knew in puppyhood, or somewhere in the flatness of a pasture land, where most exhilarating cattle graze. It is all one to the dog, and all one to you, and nothing is gained, and nothing lost -- if memory lives. But there is one best place to bury a dog. One place that is best of all.
If you bury him in this spot, the secret of which you must already have, he will come to you when you call -- come to you over the grim, dim frontiers of death, and down the well-remembered path, and to your side again. And though you call a dozen living dogs to heel they should not growl at him, nor resent his coming, for he is yours and he belongs there.
People may scoff at you, who see no lightest blade of grass bent by his footfall, who hear no whimper pitched too fine for mere audition, people who may never really have had a dog. Smile at them then, for you shall know something that is hidden from them, and which is well worth the knowing.
The one best place to bury a good dog is in the heart of his master."
..........by Ben Hur Lampman
Friday, February 8, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Peace at Last
Cuddled gently in my arms, Lily slipped quietly into doggie heaven at 2.30am this morning, assisted by an exceptionally caring vet.
Woken by a massive seizure and seriously disoriented for a long while afterwards, it was a blessed release for us to help her end her suffering.
I got up early and went down to where my lovely man buried Lily at 3am.
The sun was just up, the breeze was still, the dappled sunlight trickling through our little forest onto the fresh turned earth.
My funny old lady sheepies came and stood around me, sensing something profound had happened,
and Chevy came and nibbled my fingers.
We all stood there together and listened to the birds' early morning chatter, and watched a kookaburra swoop low over her grave. Perfect peace and all is well in the world.
R.I.P. my darling girl. ♥ ♥ ♥
Woken by a massive seizure and seriously disoriented for a long while afterwards, it was a blessed release for us to help her end her suffering.
I got up early and went down to where my lovely man buried Lily at 3am.
The sun was just up, the breeze was still, the dappled sunlight trickling through our little forest onto the fresh turned earth.
My funny old lady sheepies came and stood around me, sensing something profound had happened,
and Chevy came and nibbled my fingers.
We all stood there together and listened to the birds' early morning chatter, and watched a kookaburra swoop low over her grave. Perfect peace and all is well in the world.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
MRI Shows the Damage
Painted on Art Rage while I waited for the neurologist to call after her first seizure..
Lily's condition has worsened over the last month, and after seeing specialist DM at the Melbourne Veterinary Specialist Centre on the 11th of January, she continued to decline. The anti-convulsants she was prescribed made no difference, so he upped the dose.
I took her to have a trial acupuncture at Prahran Vet Hospital in the hope of settling the facial twitching, and we took home herbal tablets as well.
The next day, Thursday 31st January, she had two grand mal seizures, her back legs were no longer co-ordinated so she fell heavily over and over, and her facial twitching was almost non-stop. The specialist was contacted immediately and we made plans for her to see her neurologist when he returned on Wednesday.
The next morning, she had deteriorated so much I believed she would die if we didn't do something immediately, and after a desperate call, the Specialist Centre said to bring her straight down.
She went in for a CSF test and a MRI of her head, which showed a white flare over the optic nerve for her removed eye, indicating inflammation/ infection from the surgery. She has been so brave considering that she has had this simmering away since last July. Dogs are.....
Specialist Kate Heading is getting a radiologist in Sydney to view them to get a more definitive idea on Lily's condition.
She has been put on antibiotics and cortisone and we have decided to put her to sleep if we can't get her some stress and pain free life ahead of her.
We are getting some heartening results so far, her seizures have stopped, the twitching lessened, and she has regained the use of her hind legs, though she dropped like she had been shot after a big jolt this morning, poor dear girl.
The financial cost to us this past week is mounting fast, not counting numerous long trips from West Gippsland to Melbourne, but I am really pleased we decided to go the extra mile, and hopefully given her another chance.
This past week has been the most horrifying to me for a long time, watching my dog suffering the way she has. I never knew I had so many tears in me.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
I was browsing through an old newspaper site the other night, put my old dad’s
name in and came up with this!
1955 at Oakleigh. We lived there then and I was five. Talk about a weird serendipity!
Look at the gorgeous ad at the bottom right....
It just amazes me that you can put a name in and up will come some obscure photo from 58 years ago. Who works quietly in the background trawling through and archiving all this?
My dad's been gone since 1988, and he would have been amazed, and thrilled to have been in the news like that. I wonder whether he knew.
It just amazes me that you can put a name in and up will come some obscure photo from 58 years ago. Who works quietly in the background trawling through and archiving all this?
My dad's been gone since 1988, and he would have been amazed, and thrilled to have been in the news like that. I wonder whether he knew.
Trip Home
We went to see the movie 'Hitchcock' on Sunday afternoon, and to
dinner with a much loved friend and hubby for her birthday. It was dusk
on the trip home, and I was enthralled by the beauty of our countryside
as we drove home. I memorised the colours, determined to reproduce them
in AR today. I think I got it reasonably right.
Done on Digital painting program Art Rage, which I find very inspiring!
If you're interested, follow this link below to see where posting this work on the Art Rage Forums led. Lots of lovely people and a gorgeous poem by Lord Byron.
http://www2.ambientdesign.com/forums/showthread.php?43081-Trip-home
Done on Digital painting program Art Rage, which I find very inspiring!
If you're interested, follow this link below to see where posting this work on the Art Rage Forums led. Lots of lovely people and a gorgeous poem by Lord Byron.
http://www2.ambientdesign.com/forums/showthread.php?43081-Trip-home
Monday, January 21, 2013
What you see is not always what you get.
Well, the dispute with the vets is ongoing, and I am learning a lot about what seemingly decent educated people will do to get out of admitting that they handled things badly.
Lily exhibited what I called 'startling' as soon as the anesthetic wore off, and was stumbling and falling, twitching and behaving quite strangely quite a few times through the days and now months that followed. At first I thought she was having trouble adapting to having only one eye, so just watched her and calmed her when she needed comfort.
She no longer had the courage to come upstairs to sleep, and sadly put herself to bed in the lounge while her mate slept upstairs with me. She had a few slips on the timber steps, which left her very unsettled about falling all the way down. Indeed, she did come a clanger every now and again before she gave up totally, poor love.
I had emergency surgery with my thyroid coming out less than a month afterwards, so it took a while for me to focus fully on her again, but I was concerned to see that the symptoms were escalating.
To cut a long story short, it really became obvious on a hot day recently, when we flopped around in front of the telly, and I filmed her while her left side of her face was jumping and twitching. Huge jolts would jar her whole body, and they would be the ones that have caused her to stumble and fall so soon after the surgery.
I did a lot of research on the net, and consulted with a terrific online vet who advised me about what it might or might not be.
My research came up with Trigeminal Neuralgia, caused most likely from the surgery. In humans, it can be terribly painful, and the symptoms were identical to Lily's.
I made an appointment with a neurologist and took my poor little lady down to see him. Her symptoms escalated with the long trip and the stress, so he was able to watch it first hand. He was marvelous, and we spent a really interesting hour and half, tossing symptoms, possible diagnoses and treatments back and forth. He agrees with me that she has nerve damage. She has been put on anti-convulsant drugs and we are hoping to see some improvement soon, though 10 days later, she is still as bad.
I did find some references to using Botox in humans, and it has been used safely on dogs for other reasons, so I have asked the specialist to look into that if the meds don't work.
I hate watching her, as she is really miserable at times, and her only relief is when she is heavily asleep, so I tiptoe around when she's dozing.
Back to the vets... They have been truly, truly disgusting, twisting facts, making up things that never happened, and trying to discredit me and protect themselves. I was lucky to get hold of their case notes, which displayed just how low they will stoop to get out of taking responsibility for this disaster. Fortunately I have lots of ways to disprove them.
My final submission is going in this week, but sadly, none of this will get Lily's eye back, or take away her suffering.
Lily exhibited what I called 'startling' as soon as the anesthetic wore off, and was stumbling and falling, twitching and behaving quite strangely quite a few times through the days and now months that followed. At first I thought she was having trouble adapting to having only one eye, so just watched her and calmed her when she needed comfort.
She no longer had the courage to come upstairs to sleep, and sadly put herself to bed in the lounge while her mate slept upstairs with me. She had a few slips on the timber steps, which left her very unsettled about falling all the way down. Indeed, she did come a clanger every now and again before she gave up totally, poor love.
I had emergency surgery with my thyroid coming out less than a month afterwards, so it took a while for me to focus fully on her again, but I was concerned to see that the symptoms were escalating.
To cut a long story short, it really became obvious on a hot day recently, when we flopped around in front of the telly, and I filmed her while her left side of her face was jumping and twitching. Huge jolts would jar her whole body, and they would be the ones that have caused her to stumble and fall so soon after the surgery.
I did a lot of research on the net, and consulted with a terrific online vet who advised me about what it might or might not be.
My research came up with Trigeminal Neuralgia, caused most likely from the surgery. In humans, it can be terribly painful, and the symptoms were identical to Lily's.
I made an appointment with a neurologist and took my poor little lady down to see him. Her symptoms escalated with the long trip and the stress, so he was able to watch it first hand. He was marvelous, and we spent a really interesting hour and half, tossing symptoms, possible diagnoses and treatments back and forth. He agrees with me that she has nerve damage. She has been put on anti-convulsant drugs and we are hoping to see some improvement soon, though 10 days later, she is still as bad.
I did find some references to using Botox in humans, and it has been used safely on dogs for other reasons, so I have asked the specialist to look into that if the meds don't work.
I hate watching her, as she is really miserable at times, and her only relief is when she is heavily asleep, so I tiptoe around when she's dozing.
Back to the vets... They have been truly, truly disgusting, twisting facts, making up things that never happened, and trying to discredit me and protect themselves. I was lucky to get hold of their case notes, which displayed just how low they will stoop to get out of taking responsibility for this disaster. Fortunately I have lots of ways to disprove them.
My final submission is going in this week, but sadly, none of this will get Lily's eye back, or take away her suffering.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Christmas Eve
It's going to a be funny Christmas this year. Mr Bliss has ridden off down the driveway this morning to travel to Merimbula and spend it with two of his children and their significant others, and his one grandson.
I could have gone, but am a bit antisocial at the moment, and the dogs need looking after. I am quite happy 'home alone', doing just what I feel like ..... and no Christmas food to prepare.
I am being spoiled by my ex-sister-in-law, and am going down there tomorrow lunch time for food and family. After I divorced her brother-in-law, I kept up a long standing friendship with her, and we are great pals.
So, my ex-family is like real family and all will be there. Ninety two y.o. mum, hubby, two adult kids and assorted grand children. My daughter and her 5 y.o.son will also be there as she was the catalyst that got us all together when she was twelve and friends with Nicole.
There will be heaps of food, as they love to cook. Jim, who is American, always makes a big event out of stuffing the ('goddamn') turkey, and Kath gets the Bain Marie out and fills it with far too much.
I'm a vegetarian, but I know she is thoughtfully catering to my preference, promising lots of variety for me to tuck in.
So, bring it on! Just some wrapping of presents, no Christmas Tree to fuss over, and being spoiled tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
We had a disaster unfold yesterday, with one of
our sheep found cast upside down along the fence. I thought she was
dead, and then a leg moved. She had a big hole in her chest and it
looked flyblown. We begged our shearer to come around ASAP to clean
it up and have a look. He'd just finished a day's shearing miles away and must have been exhausted, but I pleaded and he relented.
She's OK, but has a 4 inch jagged, deep tear in her chest. Maggots were just hatching out in the wool, but she wasn't flyblown, thank heavens.
Nev's just clipped that area off with hand shears, and is coming tonight to do the rest of her and the others. Rain is predicted, but I hope he will arrive and do the job before it does.
I am so GLAD I went round to check on them and do their water, otherwise she probably wouldn't have lasted until tomorrow. Poor little gal!
Weeksie hasn't been the easiest of our little flock. Apart from being very short in the legs, her wool grows all over her face and she becomes wool blind if we don't trim it. She has tiny little horns that she likes to poke us with in close quarters, and she is always the one to make a break for it when we are moving them around, taking the rest off down the hill with her. But we do love her, for all her faults.
Here she is a few years back with her tiny brand new twinnies.
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Post Script:
Poor Weeksie was attacked by a domestic dog, as we discovered when she was shorn all over. Bite wounds around her face and neck, a huge rip down one shoulder and a large three cornered tear on her rump made it very obvious the poor little girl has had a terrible time. We felt sick, and still do!
The vet is coming this morning to look at the largest wound on her chest. She has lasted this long, but I think antibiotics are in order.
I have done a letterbox drop to all local neighbours with dogs, letting them know what has happened, that we may be laying baits, and any dogs seen wandering near or property will be shot on sight. Trying to get the correct wording to put the wind up everyone, but not insult them, took a bit of work, but I think I got it right.
Hopefully this is a one-off event. Sheep farmers up on the borders of forest have many many sheep killed and mauled by wild and domestic dogs. It must be the worst discovery you could make as a farmer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPS. We have all survived nearly a week later. We had the vet for a check over, and cleaned her up each day and picked maggots out of the deep holes. Maggots are actually useful as they only eat dead flesh and leave the living. They apparently secrete an enzyme which dissolves only the dead stuff so they can lap it up, I have discovered thanks to Google.
She has been very brave .... quite passive really, as she is usually a bit difficult. Last night as we did our final check and injected her with antibiotics, she began to play up again.. a sure sign she is feeling better. So much trauma and pain, for a sheep, she's been very understanding that we were helping her.
Everything is now sealed over, so there's nothing more than time can help. It's been less than a week since I found her and the HUGE hole in her chest is mostly filled in and the tear through the shoulder muscle is nearly there too.
Now I can get on and enjoy Christmas......... :0)
She's OK, but has a 4 inch jagged, deep tear in her chest. Maggots were just hatching out in the wool, but she wasn't flyblown, thank heavens.
Nev's just clipped that area off with hand shears, and is coming tonight to do the rest of her and the others. Rain is predicted, but I hope he will arrive and do the job before it does.
I am so GLAD I went round to check on them and do their water, otherwise she probably wouldn't have lasted until tomorrow. Poor little gal!
Weeksie hasn't been the easiest of our little flock. Apart from being very short in the legs, her wool grows all over her face and she becomes wool blind if we don't trim it. She has tiny little horns that she likes to poke us with in close quarters, and she is always the one to make a break for it when we are moving them around, taking the rest off down the hill with her. But we do love her, for all her faults.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post Script:
Poor Weeksie was attacked by a domestic dog, as we discovered when she was shorn all over. Bite wounds around her face and neck, a huge rip down one shoulder and a large three cornered tear on her rump made it very obvious the poor little girl has had a terrible time. We felt sick, and still do!
The vet is coming this morning to look at the largest wound on her chest. She has lasted this long, but I think antibiotics are in order.
I have done a letterbox drop to all local neighbours with dogs, letting them know what has happened, that we may be laying baits, and any dogs seen wandering near or property will be shot on sight. Trying to get the correct wording to put the wind up everyone, but not insult them, took a bit of work, but I think I got it right.
Hopefully this is a one-off event. Sheep farmers up on the borders of forest have many many sheep killed and mauled by wild and domestic dogs. It must be the worst discovery you could make as a farmer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPS. We have all survived nearly a week later. We had the vet for a check over, and cleaned her up each day and picked maggots out of the deep holes. Maggots are actually useful as they only eat dead flesh and leave the living. They apparently secrete an enzyme which dissolves only the dead stuff so they can lap it up, I have discovered thanks to Google.
She has been very brave .... quite passive really, as she is usually a bit difficult. Last night as we did our final check and injected her with antibiotics, she began to play up again.. a sure sign she is feeling better. So much trauma and pain, for a sheep, she's been very understanding that we were helping her.
Everything is now sealed over, so there's nothing more than time can help. It's been less than a week since I found her and the HUGE hole in her chest is mostly filled in and the tear through the shoulder muscle is nearly there too.
Now I can get on and enjoy Christmas......... :0)
End of the World?
I just couldn't help passing these on ....
from Facebook's https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Stop Live Export Petition Launched
I am a passionate supporter of ending this vile trade, and contribute everywhere I can to push for change. I have just launched a petition with Avaaz, a 15 million member petition group, which has brought about major change in many areas of need worldwide.
I also write to the local newspaper whenever a new LE disaster surfaces, to politicians, on blogs, Face Book Pages, and donate to Animals Australia. We try to keep the pressure on government for change.
I like this..... "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." Robert Kennedy, 1966.
This is the content of my Avaas petition:
"Australia has developed a long standing industry of exporting thousands of cows, sheep and goats onto tightly packed ships and transporting them for sometimes up to a month to as far away as the Middle East.
They suffer and can be injured from inclement weather on the water and extreme temperatures they are not used to. They can sicken or starve, and thousands die, to be thrown overboard, which has been said to mess with the ocean ecology.
If they reach their destination intact, they are then subjected to often cruel handling and brutal slaughter without stunning that would not be allowed in Australia and many countries around the world.
Australians have been horrified time and time again by vision of extreme cruelty in Live Export destinations, but the government refuses to budge as it is seen as a financially valuable industry. Month by month, new horror stories emerge to shock the nation.
Please add your voice to help end this cruel trade."
Please consider signing on this link:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_Live_Animal_Export_from_Australia/?pv=0
I also write to the local newspaper whenever a new LE disaster surfaces, to politicians, on blogs, Face Book Pages, and donate to Animals Australia. We try to keep the pressure on government for change.
I like this..... "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation." Robert Kennedy, 1966.
This is the content of my Avaas petition:
"Australia has developed a long standing industry of exporting thousands of cows, sheep and goats onto tightly packed ships and transporting them for sometimes up to a month to as far away as the Middle East.
They suffer and can be injured from inclement weather on the water and extreme temperatures they are not used to. They can sicken or starve, and thousands die, to be thrown overboard, which has been said to mess with the ocean ecology.
If they reach their destination intact, they are then subjected to often cruel handling and brutal slaughter without stunning that would not be allowed in Australia and many countries around the world.
Australians have been horrified time and time again by vision of extreme cruelty in Live Export destinations, but the government refuses to budge as it is seen as a financially valuable industry. Month by month, new horror stories emerge to shock the nation.
Please add your voice to help end this cruel trade."
Please consider signing on this link:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Stop_Live_Animal_Export_from_Australia/?pv=0
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Vets in Trouble with Pannus
Lily's eye was removed in July, and now it seems it was not necessary. Her other eye flared up a few months back with the same symptoms as the first. I took her to the vet (not the same one, but the same vet clinic) and it was immediately diagnosed as Pannus. We used Cortisone Drops and anti-inflammatories and it improved overnight.
I got onto the internet and did lots of research and found it was an hereditary condition and always affects both eyes .... though not necessarily at the same time. It cannot be cured, but can be controlled, as her remaining eye is now.
That led me to the conclusion that the first vet, who was pretty unpleasant to deal with, had not dealt with Lily correctly by not trying everything that could be tried before removing the eye.
I called a meeting with her and the senior vet. She apologised if I felt that she had been judgemental about me, but would not admit she could have done better. The senior vet said they had done nothing wrong and had provided me with all the options I needed. He also made a throwaway comment that 'Lily's eye was shot anyway', even though he had not seen the dog for nearly a year. He was in no position to make such a judgement. Luckily, I found a photo of Lily with a nearly clear eye only 7 weeks before the surgery, so that blows his theory out of the water, and gives me proof.
To cut a long story short, I have made a complaint to the Veterinary Board, they have accepted it and sent my submission on to the vets involved. They will send a reply back and it will be sent on to me for my comments. Finally, if we can't reach an agreement, it will go to a formal meeting.
Sometimes it pays to make a stand, as I am now. They are probably protecting themselves from litigation, but that was never on my agenda. I asked for my money back, and then said I would accept half in the spirit of compromise.... and they have refused. We'll see. The vet board doesn't make judgements about money, just the professional behaviour of vets.
I'm just rattling the bars of their cage a bit at this stage, but I'm pretty upset.
I got onto the internet and did lots of research and found it was an hereditary condition and always affects both eyes .... though not necessarily at the same time. It cannot be cured, but can be controlled, as her remaining eye is now.
That led me to the conclusion that the first vet, who was pretty unpleasant to deal with, had not dealt with Lily correctly by not trying everything that could be tried before removing the eye.
I called a meeting with her and the senior vet. She apologised if I felt that she had been judgemental about me, but would not admit she could have done better. The senior vet said they had done nothing wrong and had provided me with all the options I needed. He also made a throwaway comment that 'Lily's eye was shot anyway', even though he had not seen the dog for nearly a year. He was in no position to make such a judgement. Luckily, I found a photo of Lily with a nearly clear eye only 7 weeks before the surgery, so that blows his theory out of the water, and gives me proof.
To cut a long story short, I have made a complaint to the Veterinary Board, they have accepted it and sent my submission on to the vets involved. They will send a reply back and it will be sent on to me for my comments. Finally, if we can't reach an agreement, it will go to a formal meeting.
Sometimes it pays to make a stand, as I am now. They are probably protecting themselves from litigation, but that was never on my agenda. I asked for my money back, and then said I would accept half in the spirit of compromise.... and they have refused. We'll see. The vet board doesn't make judgements about money, just the professional behaviour of vets.
I'm just rattling the bars of their cage a bit at this stage, but I'm pretty upset.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Big Dell Arriving!
I have a whacking great Dell 27" Touchscreen All-In-One computer arriving this morning (hopefully), so am very excited. I will write further about my wonderful journey into Digital Art as I go along. Yes, I am back, and promise to stay for a while this time!
I love painting and drawing on my computer, and for a while now, have used a Wacom Pen Tablet connected via a USB to my 15" laptop. Art Rage is a fabulous drawing/ painting program, simulating the process so closely, that with a bit of practice, you forget you are not scratching away on paper or canvas, and there no cleaning up or studio/storage space needed for your work.
Next, I lashed out on a 12.1" touchscreen notepad that swivels the screen around and converts into a tablet. I take that away with me on holidays and drives to draw and paint, to my Life Drawing group, and just for a quiet on-my-lap paint at home. People are fascinated, though the normal tablets, iPads and Android, can do that now. But mine is a bit bigger and the version of Art Rage is more comprehensive. Life Drawing has been a real buzz, and I have developed a method of getting a sketch down quickly, and have sold quite a few prints of my favourites.
So how to convert these computer files in to quality hard copies? I bought a beautiful Epson R3000 A3 printer, and now print on to Archival Artist paper with pigmented inks for longevity. This creates glorious prints with high definition and depth of colour. Calibrating my screen, colour matching and soft proofing has been a steep learning curve, and I still get it wrong sometimes, but I throw them away and practice some more.
We have an Artist Market through the summer months in Warragul, and I have been there for the first 2, and sold well at both. At around $20 - $25 for an individually signed A4 artist print, I am very happy with that. Selling art is harder work than it was a few years ago, and the friendly interaction with appreciative buyers has been really rewarding.
I am still working hard to spend my winnings on Hot Seat Millionaire (..... gosh, that's been fun!), and want a BIG touchscreen computer to paint on, so here comes the Dell. I think it will loosen up my painting process because it will mimic a canvas on an easel. So watch this space.
I love painting and drawing on my computer, and for a while now, have used a Wacom Pen Tablet connected via a USB to my 15" laptop. Art Rage is a fabulous drawing/ painting program, simulating the process so closely, that with a bit of practice, you forget you are not scratching away on paper or canvas, and there no cleaning up or studio/storage space needed for your work.
Next, I lashed out on a 12.1" touchscreen notepad that swivels the screen around and converts into a tablet. I take that away with me on holidays and drives to draw and paint, to my Life Drawing group, and just for a quiet on-my-lap paint at home. People are fascinated, though the normal tablets, iPads and Android, can do that now. But mine is a bit bigger and the version of Art Rage is more comprehensive. Life Drawing has been a real buzz, and I have developed a method of getting a sketch down quickly, and have sold quite a few prints of my favourites.
We have an Artist Market through the summer months in Warragul, and I have been there for the first 2, and sold well at both. At around $20 - $25 for an individually signed A4 artist print, I am very happy with that. Selling art is harder work than it was a few years ago, and the friendly interaction with appreciative buyers has been really rewarding.
I am still working hard to spend my winnings on Hot Seat Millionaire (..... gosh, that's been fun!), and want a BIG touchscreen computer to paint on, so here comes the Dell. I think it will loosen up my painting process because it will mimic a canvas on an easel. So watch this space.
Monday Morning
It's a new week and lots going on. We went for a lovely luncheon at Cloudehill in the Dandenong Ranges yesterday. The spectacular gardens are at their best right now, with verdant clipped hedges and great banks of spring flowers. I have made a post about this wonderful place a few years back, so query on that post and have a look. Sadly, I didn't take my camera, so no new photos. Great food, ambiance, service and company made for a beautiful day.
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I am trialling contact lenses at the moment, after years of finding glasses extremely uncomfortable. Specsavers in our local town have been really friendly, helpful and professional .... and patient, taking all the time I needed to learn to install, remove and clean, etc. I was getting quite good at it, but at some stage on Saturday afternoon, I rubbed my eye, and then realised that one had disappeared. I might add, it took me a while to work that out, just thinking I was a bit cloudy because my eye was irritated!
So, thinking I had rubbed it out and lost it, I scoured the house trying to find it, to no avail. Great puzzlement.
I wore glasses all yesterday and last night.
This morning, I thought my eye felt a little odd, and wondering as I always do, got onto Google and asked whether your contacts can get lost in your eye. Yes, they can.
To cut a long story short, I rolled my eyeball and eyelid around, and there it was!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Big Wind
A trip through the hills for lunch yesterday turned into a nightmare/marathon! Weather predictions warned us there would be gale force winds, and they weren't wrong. Here is a tale of my exploits yesterday after a simple luncheon out turned into a major adventure.
There was wind and debris all along the road and then a tree down, so I had to wait for the nearby council backhoe to clear it. Then along further, more trees down, but I could creep around them. Finally, a few hundred metres from my destination, another big wattle totally blocked the road, so Sheryl came and picked me and Susan up (leaving our cars there), and we stayed for our 2 hour lunch.
Afterwards we drove back to the cars and the tree has been cleared, but another was down a little way on, so we held the branches back for each other, just enough to creep through. On ahead to another tree, I spent 10 minutes breaking off branches and clearing a path, then next, on to the power lines draped across the road, with just enough room to sneak under (ribbons tied on so SP Austnet knew). The backhoe appeared again, so I pointed him to the last tree I had navigated through. He was having a big day.
Onwards, dodging lots of debris and more light trees dropped here and there, to finally half a km from home, there was a huge cypress right across the road.
I had to give up, but fortunately a neighbour's house was right there, so I went up and left the car, had a quick chat and commiserations, and walked home the last stretch in the ROARING wind and spitting rain. The power was out, of course, because of the dropped power lines. Mr Bliss rang, so I said could he pick up a pizza from Korumburra on his way through (as we are all electric)? He rang again after a time and said the whole town had no power and he was nearly out of fuel because the bowsers weren't working.
On the drive home he got a flat tyre, so had to change it in the roaring wind and rain, but did make it home with little fuel.
No power, so no hot dinner (or water). We drained a couple of buckets of water out of our tank to drink and wash with. After picking up my car, we toasted bread over the fire with an excellent built-on-the-spot wire fork and lit the candles and the kerosene lamp loaned to us by the neighbour. Mr Bliss went off to bed to read his Kindle, and I got my little laptop out and drew the lamp and candles, see:
The power came back on at 9pm. All's well and I'm exhausted! There's nothing like living in the hills.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Dear Old Lily
She has been going blue in that eye for time, so her vision wasn't good enough for her to dodge twigs in the garden. She damaged it once last October, we treated it and over some time, it healed. After a few days staying at the kennels, she came home weeping a bit from that eye again. Sure enough she had done it again. I had ointment, so kept putting that in everyday, but it would come good for a few days, then regress. I had a family tragedy arise that slowed my attention to a crawl for time, but finally it got bad enough to warrant taking her to the vet.
My usual lovely vet was on holidays, and the one I saw instead dragged me heavily through a guilt trip, inferring that she hadn't healed from the 2011 issue. It didn't matter how I protested, she wouldn't relent, and suggested I take Lily to see an eye specialist down in Malvern East to try to save the eye. On ringing their offices, I couldn't get an appointment at Moe, who has only one day per month there, so would have to wait a while for the Malvern appointment. Lily was obviously uncomfortable, and I was getting no constructive advice from my vet, so felt it probably should be removed to stop the serial relapses and her suffering. I did ring the night before hoping for some different medication that might help it, but Megan said no, there wasn't.
I had no choice but to use Megan for the surgery, as my lovely vet was still away, but she toned down my guilt trip to a manageable level.
Lily has been brave and dignified through the whole process, but the sight of her stumbling out to me with her topknot clipped off and huge stitches over that side, took my breath away. Such a visual shock! I sobbed loudly all the way home in the car.
She had her stitches out last week and never moved a muscle, earning a dried liver treat from Megan.
I still look at her and am surprised to see her winking, but when her topknot grows back, I will scissor the hair into a fetching Greta Garbo look, and hopefully we'll barely notice. What a girl!
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