But before I begin, could there be a more pathetic looking pet?
He started chewing on body parts after I picked him up Thursday, and yesterday he zeroed in on his left paw. Gnawing is what he was doing to it. I went to sleep with the sound of him going at it, and woke this morning at 5:30 am to the same.
So, off to the vet we go. $156 bucks later, here's the poor little guy. Two antihistamines, one anti-biotic, and a topical spray. All because my wonderdog couldn't stop worrying his foot.
Dang gum it.
Of course, I'm taking him back to the boarder's tomorrow, because I'm going to The Institute for Equity in Education for the next few days up in Santa Ynez. Our school district wants all its teachers to attend it within a five-year period.
I'll let you know how it comes out, although I don't have high expectations. What's frustrating for me, is that race becomes the only topic at these types of things. Not that I'm discounting it as a factor in the "Achievement Gap" in education, but parenting and socio-economic class always seem to be left out of these discussions.
Perhaps I'm being simplistic here, but if I have one student whose parents both went to college and have middle-class or higher jobs, that student, no matter what his or her race, is going to do better (most of the time) than another student whose parents have only a high school education or less, and live below the poverty line.
Yes, the kid in the first group tends to be white, and the kid in the second group tends to be brown, but not always. Limiting a discussion like this to race isn't enough.
Gah. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Oh no.
I just realized after getting all serious there, talking about poop just wouldn't work.
Sorry. It'll have to wait.
Heh.
He started chewing on body parts after I picked him up Thursday, and yesterday he zeroed in on his left paw. Gnawing is what he was doing to it. I went to sleep with the sound of him going at it, and woke this morning at 5:30 am to the same.
So, off to the vet we go. $156 bucks later, here's the poor little guy. Two antihistamines, one anti-biotic, and a topical spray. All because my wonderdog couldn't stop worrying his foot.
Dang gum it.
Of course, I'm taking him back to the boarder's tomorrow, because I'm going to The Institute for Equity in Education for the next few days up in Santa Ynez. Our school district wants all its teachers to attend it within a five-year period.I'll let you know how it comes out, although I don't have high expectations. What's frustrating for me, is that race becomes the only topic at these types of things. Not that I'm discounting it as a factor in the "Achievement Gap" in education, but parenting and socio-economic class always seem to be left out of these discussions.
Perhaps I'm being simplistic here, but if I have one student whose parents both went to college and have middle-class or higher jobs, that student, no matter what his or her race, is going to do better (most of the time) than another student whose parents have only a high school education or less, and live below the poverty line.
Yes, the kid in the first group tends to be white, and the kid in the second group tends to be brown, but not always. Limiting a discussion like this to race isn't enough.
Gah. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Oh no.
I just realized after getting all serious there, talking about poop just wouldn't work.
Sorry. It'll have to wait.
Heh.
Update: I just got home from dinner with a friend, and this is what I found:
Somehow he had gotten his head out of the dreaded cone to chew off one of the tabs, and quite a bit more of the thing.
Sigh.
6 comments:
Wait -- You mean not everybody in the United States is middle class? I am shocked -- SHOCKED. ;)
Did you hear how Oprah said she was surprised to hear that not everyone had health care in the US? She said she thought because she had health care, everyone had health care.
It doesn't matter what color skin you have, it's where you come from and how hard you are willing to work to rise out of it that makes the difference.
Oh and poor Charlie boy! OMG! Murphy's dog is a self-mutilator too, it's annoying for us AND them. I hope he feels better and I hope going to the boarder doesn't traumatize him further.
Did the vet say anything about why he is chewing? Like what the anti-histamines are for? Our lab went through this, and changing his food to one without grain in it made a huge difference.
I agree with your statement about socio-economics. I got into a special program at my university because I was the first person in my family to go to college. While they did record my race, it was not limited by that - it was open to all students in the same boat.
We got extra guidance counseling and career planning, special tutors that were available just for participants in the program, etc. I met with a counselor each quarter to map out where I was in my major and how many other classes I needed to take.
Have fun!!!
charlie is quite the escape artist.
That dog certainly can chew!
The first time I saw a dog in one of those things, I thought the owner was playing a joke with a lamp shade. I seemed so humiliating and mean.
My dog used to lick her leg and create what the vet called a "hot spot" One time it got so bad it created a temp bump on her leg. Funny, she did this during a period in my life when I was going through a severe depression. It was as if she felt my pain and was acting out her own. I tried putting a drop or two of St. Johns Wort in her water to cheer her up, she didn't like th taste. She was always very in tune with my feelings, in a odd sense. It bordered on uncanny the way she always knew if I was down. Looking back upon our life together I feel guilty for putting her through that stormy period in my life. She suffered just as much as I did.
The education thing fascinates me. I hope they do look at the valid points you've made.
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