dawgdoc

Was she allergy tested to find out about the dust mite allergy?  I ask because most of the confirmed allergy dogs that I have seen have multiple allergies to tree and weed pollens, grasses, and a variety of stuff.  There may still be a product that you spray on bedding to break down the dust mite proteins (I haven't seen it in a while, and I can't remember the name).  Usually we test dogs if we are planning on using desensitization therapy; I personally have not tested many animals because the cost can be high for my clients. Often we have a suspicion of seasonal allergies (atopy) versus food allergies based on the pattern of itching and time of year when it occurs.  Also, all secondary infections have to be treated because thast will perpetuate the itching.   For years, the cornerstone of allergy treatment has been steroids, which are usually very effective, but come with lots of side effects.  As for antihistamines, I usually recommend Zyrtec (citirizine) first because in a clinical study, it was the only antihistamine with measurable effect, and even then it only helped 20% of dogs.  However, the dermatologists will recommend trying an antihistamine (Zyrtec, Claritin, Allegra, Bendaryl, Tavist, chorpheniramine) for 2 weeks; if you don't see any effect, then you probably won't ever.  Sometimes we get lucky and that particular dog responds to just one specific antihistamine.  (Caveat:  generics are ok, but make sure to get products that only contain antihistamines; no decongestants).   It sounds like your dog probably gets steroid shots.  When I use steroids, I usually use prednisone because if there are side effects, the drug can be withdrawn.  In your case, maybe the vet could dispense or prescribe prednisone (assuming the office is still in contact with him while he is at home).     Omega fatty acids are useful to decrease the number of chemicals that lead to inflammation, but that is more of a long-term, ancillary treatment.   Just recently (as in, introduced in the last month), Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health) introduced a drug called Apoquel.  According to all the vets (regular vets and dermatologists) who have got to use it in the pre-release period, it is a miracle drug.  At least that is what the clients are telling the vets because it stops the itching just as good as steroids, but does not have all the side effects.  I have only been using it for 2 weeks, so my personal experience is low, but all the vets I hear from are enthusiastic about it.  They are comparing the introduction of this drug to the time when heartworm prevention changed from daily to monthly administration; it is supposed to that type of dramatic paradigm shift.  The insert lists various side effects required by the FDA, but in practical experience, they are seeing no side effects.  In the dogs that I have used it on, I have not seen any side effects.   Apoquel, being a new drug, is going to more expensive than prednisone, but a lot cheaper than Atopica, which until recently was one of the only other treatments for atopy.  I believe, however, that Apoquel is going to be cheaper than an office visit combined with steroid injections for many people, regardless of their vet's prices.  That's a good thing because steroid injections should be used a lot less frequently than they are; my dermatology professors literally said, "DON'T use the drugs in dogs!"   If your vet is completely out of contact, and there are other vets in town, you might consider a visit to one of them and see if Apoquel is available.  I especially worry about steroids of any kind in senior dogs due to potential side effects.   Edit:  I forgot to add that garlic is toxic to dogs.  It causes a certain type of anemia.  Every "dose" of garlic a dog eat results in the destruction of some red blood cells. Obviously your dog is still alive, but it may only be because the bone marrow is producing enough red blood cells to replace the ones lost each day.  My recommendation would be to not feed any garlic (or onions) at all.  It's hard to not sound like I am criticizing another vet, but I think the majority of the modern-educated vets would agree that garlic is not good for dogs.  To quote a noted veterinary toxicologist from the Veterinary Information Network:  " ALL ingested garlic/onion will cause some degree of hemolysis in dogs and cats."  In other words, there is no safe, therapeutic dose for garlic.  The only veterinary use that I have heard of is for flea control, and it doesn't work for that.

I thought (but don't know for sure) that Chattanooga originally opted out of the law (thereby prohibiting guns) for all their parks.  Therefore, if the law passed (without the onerous amendments recently added on), it should make it legal.     I would assume it is currently prohibited just because it is in Chattanooga, but maybe someone else knows for sure.

When I first started coming here, I noticed that compared to GeorgiaPacking, there seemed to be less open-carry advocates.  My behavior has been altered by Tennessee law.  In Georgia, I often use an OWB hoslter that is covered by a shirt or jacket.  In Tennessee, I am much more likely to use my Remora because an LC9 is virtually invisible (short of doing a handstand).  I started doing that just because of the sign law; the school event thing just one more nail in the coffin for open carry.  Not that I mind open carry; I just won't be doing it much myself.   In Georgia, the government doesn't trust us to carry in church, but all parks are ok, although I have seen debate about a similar school function wording (the park does not become off-limits, but you can't be part of the school group that is there).  In Tennessee, they think we will shoot up the parks, but churches are just fine.  Instead of looking toward their neighbor and seeing that it's not the Wild West or "blood running in the streets" and change their laws accordingly, each state strives to keep what is off-limit as the status quo.     The anti's down here act like we are extreme for wanting to protect ourselves in church, even though our closet neighboring states haven't had any problem.  Likewise, they proclaim that if Tennessee allows carrying in their parks, there will be constant gun fights, even though I am willing to be that the illegal gun use in parks is probably not much different in each state.  It belies the anti-gun movement's true motive to restrict guns from as many places as possible rather than being concerned about their particular church or park.

In Chattanooga, there was a gang-related shooting in Coolidge Park.  Their response was to post more signs.   Reminds me of Apu on a "Simpsons" episode once--"Please do not do that or I will have to ask you not to do that again."

The Times-Free Press article indicates it will have the taxidermy animals.  

When you say "we need to sue," is there an organization that actually represents Tennessee gun owners that would challenge the constitutionality of a new law?  Because being penalized for being in a place that does not become prohibited until a school group shows up seems to be really insanely stupid and unconstitutional.  It literally seems like a trap to capture innocent gun toters.     From what I understood from another thread, anywhere a school group shows up becomes a "school function" and prohibited, correct?  With laws like this, it's no wonder that I trusted my instinct to carry concealed when in Tennessee even before I started coming to this board.  I had thought that I had a good handle on the Tennessee carry laws, but it's things like this that throw me for a loop.  It's almost like the government doesn't want people to actually exercise their rights.   :lol:

7 inches near Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia.  Melting real fast on the roads right now.

They are putting it in the perfect place--next to Costco on the first Georgia exit off I-75.  Convenient to Chattanooga, but Georgia sales tax.  

That failed zombie killing is a scene straight out of the comic book; I think it showed that they had got complacent while protected in the prison when zombies were more of a nuisance than a threat anymore.  Of course, according to the CDC guy, supposedly only one small part of the brain re-animates, yet almost any head trauma seems to take them out.   They should have left out that dialogue in the CDC, or come up with some other explanation as to why just about any type of head shot incapacitates a walker.  That is, until this episode, in which both Rick and Carl fail to stop a zombie with a head blow (I believe one of Carl's shots seemed to actually hit the zombie who took his shoe, but it glanced off the side of his head or something).   I'm not really complaining, but I think it was one of those things they could have left out, or just simplified to, "part of the brain re-animates, so you must destroy the brain."  

OK.  I usually check here at least once a day.  Right now, the weather is calling for snow and not ice here, so hopefully I will still have power after tonight.

I'm a veterinarian; what exactly do you need?

Y'all are lucky.  The state of Georgia forbids me from carrying in any house of worship in the state.  Even if the pastor/priest/church leaders wanted to carry a gun themselves, the law completely forbids it.  This last Sunday I wore an empty holster while the gun stayed in the car.   GeorgiaCarry.Org is working to change it so that churches are treated like any other private property.  It's amazing how many of the shepherds act like sheep and want the government to tell them what do in their sanctuaries.  I think it's because they don't want to have to face the issue and have to "unwelcome" some of their parishioners who might choose to carry.  I bet if the state made a law that specified which hymns could be sung, which version of the bible could be used, or prohibited the use of sacramental wine, the churches would be howling.

Rick Dyer is a former correctional officer who is unfortunately from Georgia.  I really think he must have a mental illness; not because he says he killed bigfoot, but because he was already caught in the exact same hoax, outed on a national level, and still tries the same thing again.  It's like he just wants the attention, even if the attention is everyone calling him a liar again.

ggwilde--Thanks; sent a new one.

When you write to the lawmakers, you can point out that Georgia has had preemption over local governments for several years now, and there have been no rivers of blood.  When I write Georgia lawmakers about campus carry or church carry, I tend to point out that Alabama allows that without any problems (with the unwritten implication that surely we do as good as Alabama).     A small amount of state pride "anything you can do, I can do better" might influence some lawmakers when logic and reasoning does not prevail.  At the very least, it provides a real world example from a state with roughly similar culture and gun laws.  

I already got back a robo reply from Senator Kelsey, but I got what seems like a personal e-mail from Senator Campfield (or his staff).  He said he supports our rights 100% and suggested also sending letters to major newspapers in the state.  Since he is the sponsor of the bill, I suppose he can be trusted. :)      I also got a failure to deliver notice from Mark Green; anyone else have a problem with his e-mail address?

The only way I have gotten any .22LR in the last year has been by going to Academy at opening time.  The last time I went, there were 10-12 guys there when I arrived 5 minutes before opening.  We formed a polite, single-file line as we walked back to the gun counter.  The large bulk packs went first; I was the second to last in line and got a 550 round box.  They still had several 100 round CCI Mini-Mags when I left at 9:30 am.  From the conversations that I overheard, I don't think most (or possibly any) of the other guys were re sellers.  There seemed to be a general sentiment of how hard .22s are to find.  I have only done that a few times in the last year, so I don't know if any of those guys were regulars.  I do remember that one time there was no one waiting, and it turned out they did not get much of a shipment that day.  It made me wonder if everyone but me has an inside source that sends out the "come and get it" call.     I sold a SR22 because it's become easier to replace the 9 mm I use than .22.  I had originally bought the SR22 1 year before the Great Panic as a lower cost practice option, but that went out the window in the last year.

I got a Bose Solo for Christmas.  The sound is good, and it's good for limited space situations.  However, in the last month, there have been 6 separate instances in which it was on and no sound was heard.  Unplugging and plugging back in it rectified the problem, but I shouldn't have to reset it so frequently (or at all).  It happened twice this weekend, and Bose has no customer service on Sundays.  The last time I called Bose, he said it had to stay unplugged for 5 minutes to reset the internal computer stuff.  Not exactly convenient when you want to watch tv right now.   I will be calling Bose again this week because I'm afraid I have a lemon.   Edit:  Now I'm sure I have a lemon.  I downloaded a software update this morning, and the sound was out this afternoon.  Spent 20 minutes on hold waiting for customer support.  Hung up and then called their return lines--its going back under their 90 day trial free return period for this particular product.   Looks like I'll be looking for sound bars now also.  Does anyone have a sound bar that also has a headphone jack or RCA audio out jacks?

Here in northeast Georgia, all I ever see is the "NO .22LR" sign (they recently switched from hand lettered to typed).  I used to get vague answers whenever I asked about when ammo comes in.  One guy, who no longer works there, would give hints (such as, "I might get here between 7 and 7:30 am").  Even when I have gone on my day off, I have only seen one 50 round box of Remington, and that was actually in the case.  I only use Walmart to get 9 mm or .223 now, and only when I'm there for other shopping.  I got tired of making early-morning special trips.  All the big box stores are 10-20 minutes in the wrong direction, but Walmart is on the way to work.   I understand that we live in a capitalist country, and people are free to do this, but I do wish there was a more level playing field.  I might be happy to stand in line, as long as I knew when the line forms.   The only luck that I have had in the last year is going to Academy at opening.  Usually there are 10-12 people already there when I arrive about 5 minutes before opening.  I have never gotten a big bulk pack, but I at least got a 550 round box when I needed it.  My impression was that those guys waiting at Academy were buying for personal use.  The manager at Academy was very open about their shipments--this store always gets new ammo on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday, so I can plan my trips.  Walmart seems to be random, or I just don't get there early enough.

Even though I am not a Tennessee voter, I am a frequent visitor and tax payer ($400/year privilege tax in order to practice as a veterinarian), so I wrote to them all.  I didn't actually mention that I'm from Georgia.

It amazes me how we hear similar stories all the time.  That is, if you allow a local government the ability to regulate something, they just run with it.  You would think that local governments would be most responsive to the people and easiest to change, but it's like they get elected and become petty dictators.  Even when faces with how screwy one of their laws is, it seems to take way too long for them to change.  

  This almost exactly what I do.  I didn't know you could mount an antenna in the attic until I started researching cutting the cord.  My antenna is the typical aluminum outdoor multi-spoked kind mounted in the attic and connected to the old cable coaxial hub.   We use a Roku to stream the three shows that I actually cared about on cable:  The Walking Dead, Falling Skies, and Sons of Anarchy.  They cost about $1.79 to $1.99 per episode, so it is as close to a la carte programming as you can get currently.  We also got Amazon Prime this year, which has been worth it between the free instant videos and free shipping.  Because we have Amazon Prime, my son got hooked on Doctor Who, and we have watched all the new ones in about a 3 month period.     I had Netflix once, I think Amazon Prime has about the same movies included as the "free" instant streaming, but it has been awhile since I last used Netflix.     As for using someone else's (such as a relative) cable provider login to watch their streaming channels, I would keep that low key and maybe not talk about it too much.  It is probably in some fine print that the cable subscriber can't loan out the login, and if it becomes wide spread, the companies are going to try to use the force of law to punish those who get around the system.

Every time I buy a new DSL modem it goes bad faster than the one that proceeded it.  I think its because, other than being Chinese-made crap, that modems and routers basically stay on all the time and burn up their insides.  The last DSL modem I had was a Motorola, it went kaput way too fast.  I now have a Netgear.  The most that I can say is that it is still working and it doesn't drop the connection like previous modems seemed to do a lot. I think I had a Linksys something that also went bad fast.   The problem I had was finding a stand alone modem.  So many of them are combined with a router.  I like having separate components because I reason that any combination product (TV and DVD player, Microwave with vent hood), one part is going to give out before the other, and then you have to replace both.

I have two 50 gallon rain barrels, but I made a 5-gallon bucket sand and charcoal filter to clean it if I get to the point of needing to drink it.   I have various qualities of water stored.  For a short-term problem like in West Virginia, I have a bunch of 1 gallon sealed distilled water jugs.  I then have a bunch of re-used water and other jugs that I filled with tap water.  I figure these would be for flushing toilets, pet water, washing hands, cleaning, and human consumption after boiling (in case anything was growing because they aren't hermetically sealed).  If I really needed to flush the toilets, but I thought the water would be off for a while, I would use rain barrel water for that and save any of the safer water.     The rain barrels are mainly for the garden, but I think the water could be safe if filtered by the sand filter or a hiking filter and then boiled.  For any long-term disruption, it will either be the rain barrels or a bit of a hike to a nearby creek.   The problem I see with those connected barrels is cleaning them.  If the pipes are sealed to the barrels, then its hard to tip them over and clean them each year.  I have one barrel's overflow going into the next barrel so that they share the same downspout but are not physically connected.  It requires that the second barrel be lower than the first, but the grade of the yard allows it.

I just saw this story on the news ticker this morning:  http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/24454404/tn-legislature-loads-up-on-gun-proposals   Forgive me if this already being discussed, but I couldn't find it on here today.  Not being from Tennessee, I would like y'all's opinions on these proposals.  From the brief descriptions given in the story, they sound good (except the last one about not enforcing federal gun laws, which probably has a snowball's chance of doing anything).    I decided to go ahead and write the Rep and Senator from the area where I work.  I know my voice literally has less meaning to them than one of their voting constituents, but I thought I could at least give some rational arguments for overturning the ban on carrying in parks.  At least in the Chattanooga area, it seems like all the local governments have "opted out" and ban guns in their parks.