Lincoln and the Missing Paw

It started out as a case of the fleas. We found the little bloodsuckers in October and went on a kill and destroy mission for months. There is nothing weirder than seeing this bug on the belly of a dog. It looks like they are swimming or skating on the skin in swirling patterns, almost hypnotic but very creepy. They are fast and hide well and make you feel itchy from afar. Nasty little creatures but crunch very satisfactorily between your nails. After a vet visit and two applications of a flea control medication the bugs were gone. Then a sore appeared on Lincoln's belly. I thought it was a fleabite that was infected so I applied an antibiotic cream to it and it disappeared. Much later I noticed more crusty spots, personally it looked like bird crap on a redden area. I bathed Lincoln incase it was a reaction to the flea medication. It seemed to help but not totally. I got a special antibiotic shampoo and made poor Lincoln endure weekly baths. I even got him a spray to treat the itchiness, which he hated and he would run and hide to avoid the strong smell.

Then I had a dream that he lost all the hair from his neck down except a fringe around his lower torso. In the dream I saw him walking around near hairless when his left front paw fell off. There he was walking on a leg bone with a dried out paw sitting on the floor. I cried non-stop till I finally woke up. That day I booked an appointment for the vet.

We planned the visit like a kidnapping. Get Lincoln in the van, he is happy relaxed, pick up my nephew Kevin, close to the vet snap on the lead, park in front of the vet office, slide open the van door, run Lincoln straight in then park the van. On the home, reverse it so the van sits in front motor running and Kevin runs out to the van with the dog pushes him in and the van takes off towards a parking lot while I pay the bill. Very co-coordinated, all that was missing was the ransom note.

For the actually visit Lincoln has a bacterial skin infection, nothing contagious, and fixed by a week of antibiotics. Lincoln was very good there but shook like a leaf the entire time. He even lay down with his belly showing for the vet to look at his under carriage. He got his dog shots, got weighed, needs to lose a pound or two and it was back to the van and home again.

Next week is the follow up appointment. Must book the get away car. 

Finding Trista

There is nothing like the panic, the horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach when you get a call asking if you have heard from a family member. The exchange of "No I haven't, what's going on, what has been done so far." - over the phone is excruciating. Trista went on a visit and should have been home safe in Hamilton hours ago but a frantic call from her boyfriend Sean shattered the calm of a pleasant Sunday evening. I checked the train station for delays as there had been white out conditions throughout the province and messaged her mom about Trista's whereabouts. While waiting, I sent out Angels to protect her, psychic energy towards her, tried to make a mental connection with her, anything rather than sit there and worry of all the horrible possibilities that could befall her. To add to the worry, my brother David, his wife Elaine & son Quinton were on the road going back to the farm driving on snow covered roads and dealing with white out conditions. 

We get the call that Trista is all right and safe at home. She fell asleep on the train. Such relief that it immediately relaxes all those tight muscles. I phone my brothers' family to tell them the good news and to check how they made out driving back to the farm. I am told of a near miss on the highway where a car was bearing down on them apparently drifting off to their side of the road and the road disappearing with snow blinding them on and off.  

I decided to look up some resources on the internet after feeling helpless on what to do for Trista.  As for the road conditions we have the Weather Network that updates often and has road conditions for the province. I know it is lame to say I can't imagine what a family goes through when they are waiting for news but I got a tiny taste of it and my heart goes out to all those families. 

Dreams

Some dreams I can not figure out. I will look up what the symbols are, what is the feeling of the dream, what has been going on that brought on the dream. Even with all that sometimes I am left wondering about the dream. Lately I have been having more vivid dreams. Some brillant, beautiful full of rich textures and colours. The odd one vivid but disturbing. It would be a lot easier if the symbols were straight forward. Better still, seeing the winning numbers to the lottery. 

I have been developing a plan for dealing with winning the lottery. I still want to look after my group home, after all it is like a second family. Of course my immediate family would be taken care of financially. Then my friends. This is what we debate about at the group home. How do you divide up the money? What is fair? Do you have to divide up the money? Would your friends give you any money if they won? Would they even tell you? Would you tell them? First to answer those questions I would have to win the lottery.

The Mental Shaking off of a Bad Situation and the Marlies

How do you get rid of a pain in the butt? I am trying to be the better person. I give out great advice about how to deal with the situation. I try to take the higher road, give the person the benefit of the doubt. The whole thing should have died a natural whimpering death, I even admitted that it did not affect me emotionally. Not anymore. The person is no longer in my work world but the tentacles of his poison are still winding it's way through the group home. Time to take a hot shower and cleanse myself of the entire situation.
On a lighter note I went to see the Toronto Marlies play on January 4th as a birthday gift. What a time, it's nice to see our team win consistently. The fans there are loud and boisterous. I got a kick out of the people seated in the goal zone area, with their orange clapper sticks (I'm sure there is another name for them). The banging would start out strong and loud but there was always one point where it could not sustain itself and it would slowly lose the beat and fade away. Me & my sister Arlene started listening for that exact moment. I think we chatted non stop inbetween yelling for the Marlies. There is nothing like hearing the scratch of ice skates on the ice, the sound of the puck on stick and boards and the occasional body hit.