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Help! My Husband and Kids Still Have Not been Adopted.
They only have until tomorrow afternoon to find them their new home. After that, they'll go to the shelter and we all know what happens there.
I'm really doing what's best for all of them. 2 weeks ago I brought a new boyfriend home. Apparently, my boyfriend and husband don't get along at all. They do nothing, but fight and I'm afraid someone is going to get hurt! So I've decided to keep my cute, new boyfriend and place my older husband with a new family.
As to the kids, I just found out I'm allergic to them. I've only been around them for 18+ yrs, but all of the sudden, I'm allergic. They are giving me headaches so they'll need to go.
My boyfriend and I are going to start a new family someday soon. I'm not allergic to babies, just the teenagers I already have. Besides, the new house I rented is too small for everyone, there's just enough room for me and my boyfriend.
One woman was interested in adopting my daughter, but she said if she paid the entire adoption fee (which includes braces and contact lenses), she wouldn't have any money left to buy new toys for her.
My youngest son was almost adopted too, but they found out he digs holes in the yard, bangs against the fence and makes lots of noise when you leave him alone for more than 12 hrs. They decided not to take him.
Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. I know I'm doing what's best for everyone. I'm going to be doing lots of traveling and it just wouldn't be fair to keep my current family. I just don't have enough time to spend with them.
Please, please, please adopt my husband and kids before they go to the shelter! You'll really love them a lot.
PS Don't criticize me. I couldn't possibly rent the house with the old carpet that was big enough and would allow the rest of my family, the tan carpet really doesn't go well with my furniture.
I could never give up my new boyfriend either. He's just too cute and I want to keep him for myself! He's much more fun than my old husband is.
I could never think of anyone or anything else EXCEPT MYSELF!!
Signed, Karma
By Rick Callahan Associated Press Writer December 3, 2004 7:13 PM [Indianapolis Star online 5 December 2005]
INDIANAPOLIS -- Dogs with paralyzed hind legs regained the ability to walk
after getting a shot of a chemical cousin of antifreeze that helped repair
nerve cells in their damaged spinal cords, scientists reported.
Purdue University researchers who led the project hope the approach can soon
be tried in people, but caution that there are significant differences between
human and canine spinal cords.
The treatment only worked on dogs given the injections within about three days
of their injury. Some dogs not given the injections eventually walked again,
but those getting the new treatment had a dramatically higher recovery rate.
In one case, a dachshund named Oscar was initially sent home with a wheel cart
and little hope of recovery after a serious injury.
Soon after the dog got the chemical treatment, he began walking, although his
back legs work in unison, giving him an unusual gait.
"I used to make fun of him, saying he walks like a drunken sailor," said
Oscar's owner, Dan Paulin of Boonville, Ind. "I don't think he'll ever
be normal, but at least he's not confined to the wheel cart."
In the study, 19 paraplegic dogs were injected with polyethylene glycol, or
PEG _ a nontoxic liquid polymer composed of long strings of the same type of
molecules found in antifreeze.
Within eight weeks, 13 of the 19 canines, about 68 percent, regained the use
of their hind legs and were able to walk, some almost as well as before their
injury.
The dogs were injected twice with PEG, first soon after their owners brought
them to the researchers' labs and then after standard surgery and steroids
to reduce inflammation.
Among a group of 24 dogs that received just the standard surgery and rehabilitation
therapies, only about 25 percent regained the same level of mobility, feeling
and bodily functions, with about 62 percent remaining paraplegic.
The study's findings appear in the December issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma.
Scientists at Purdue, Indiana University's Indianapolis campus and Texas A&M
University took part in the research on dogs ages 2 to 8 between 2001-03.
Richard Borgens, the Purdue professor of neuroscience who oversaw the study,
said his West Lafayette, Ind., lab had previously used PEG to repair damaged
spinal cords in guinea pigs with about a 90 percent success rate.
His team has even fused severed guinea pig spinal cords using PEG, although
the dogs in the study had spinal disc ruptures that crushed, but did not sever,
their spinal cords.
Although exactly how PEG works remains unclear, Borgens said it appears to
act as a sort of "molecular Band-Aid" that forms a temporary seal
over breaches in nerve cells in the spinal cord, aiding their healing process.
"This stuff is kind of like a radiator stop-leak for the nervous system.
The polymer spreads out and forms a seal over the damaged areas in the nerve
cells and allows the membrane below to reconstruct itself," said Borgens,
director of Purdue's Center for Paralysis Research.
He said PEG also appears to prevent secondary tissue death that often causes
more damage than the original injury. Borgens said the agent only covers damaged
cells and tissues when injected into the blood stream.
Purdue has enlisted a yet-to-be-announced corporate sponsor that will make
PEG in a form suitable for human clinical trials. Pending federal approval,
Borgens hopes those trials can begin within about 18 months on people with
hours-old or days-old spinal injuries.
W. Dalton Dietrich, the scientific director of The Miami Project To Cure Paralysis,
said the rapid improvements in the dogs are intriguing, but point to the need
for follow-up work to learn more about how PEG works and evaluate its safety. "Although
the results are very provocative, additional studies are required," he
said.
Karen Kline, an associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Iowa State
University's College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames, Iowa, called the findings
promising. She said PEG, which she plans to test on dogs at her lab, appears
to stabilize damaged tissue to allow more rapid healing than typically occurs
naturally.
"It has such promise, but I think we need to look at more animals and
make sure that we're getting a positive outcome," Kline
said.
On the Net: Purdue Center for Paralysis Research: http://www.vet.purdue.edu/cpr/
Everyone knows Americans are getting fatter. And so are our pets. Along with other health problems, overweight dogs are prime candidates for a ruptured CCL, the canine equivalent of the ACL tear that sidelines so many human athletes. Both the ACL and CCL (anterior and cranial cruciate ligaments, found in the knee) can be repaired with surgery. CCLs rupture gradually, so take note if your dog starts holding up the injured leg and avoids climbing stairs. Lameness that comes and goes is another telltale sign, says Dr Darryl Millis of the University of Tennessee's College of veterinary medicine. Vets recommend surgery for most large dogs (more than 25 to 35 pounds) in good health, but be sure to ask your vet which procedure is right ($800 to $3000). The key to prevention is weight control. So go toss a Frisbee with your dog - it'll benefit both of you - Olivia Ma (Newsweek 19 July 2004, page 62
". . . By World War I, pit bull terriers had become America's dog. Their strong bodies, sweet temperaments, dependability, and loyalty made them the nation's canine mascot on war posters. They were used in countless advertising campaigns in the following decades.
"Victor, RCA's famous canine riveted by his master's recorded voice, was a pit bull. And a pit bull 'sold' shoes for Buster Brown. They were the dog of choice for legions of celebrities, from Thomas Edison to Fred Astaire to Woodrow Wilson. And they became celebrities themselves. Petey, the Little Rascals mascot, romped alongside his grade-school pals with their parents'blessing. They knew the dog was their friend. He would never do them harm.
"How times have changed . . . "
That's an excerpt from our article about pit bulls in the November edition
of Best Friends Magazine. What went wrong? Can it ever be put right? If you
don't get the magazine or haven't received your copy yet, you can read the article (and also the earlier Part One on the subject of "Dangerous Breeds")
on the Best Friends website at:
http://www.bestfriends.org/allthegoodnews/magazine/badrap_p2.cfm
[Source: Best Friends online Newsletter 11/1/2004]