Dog Days

Awhile back I wrote an editorial in the Toledo Blade about animal healthcare versus human healthcare. I got some pointed comments from several physicians I visited who internalized the criticisms and took the letter personally. There was absolutely no understanding derived from my futile attempt to say "Dogs and cats get better care from their vets than we get from our docs." DUH.

I will again try to drive the point home that our furry friends have caring and loving vets and we are not always that lucky. I don't know what occurs in med school versus veterinary school, but the average human doc is on a mission to get you in and out of the examining room in minutes flat. There is little small talk other than hello and what seems to be the problem. The human physician is busy scrawling information on a script sheet or chatting into a recorder while the person on the table gets increasingly antsy. It is not always a very happy visit.

Now my dog's experience goes like this: The vet tech makes her first appearance to assess the situation. She/he compliments Cozby on his shiny fur and usually calls him a "pretty boy." The first treat of the day is dispensed when Coz is being cooperative.

The next step involves the actual vet with the vet tech. Nine out of ten times, the vet will sit on the floor and hug and pet my dog. She/he has been known to tell Cozby again that he is a. a good boy b. handsome boy or all of the above. Treats or cookies all around but only for the four legged friend variety. While the dog is munching the exam begins but he is clueless to whatever is transpiring. If a lab visit is required, then the peanut butter appears as a reward for standing still while blood is drawn. Nails and anal gland checked? Well, how about another cookie???

See what I mean? Compliments, food and hugs....not bad. Pet meds always seem to work in wondrous ways while my prescriptions pale in comparison. Cozby and I both have arthritis. Cozby takes a huge Omega 3 pill daily...I dose myself with two. The first month my pup exhibited puppy like behavior again, his fur was glossy and his toenails stronger than nails. I have yet to notice any type of medical or cosmetic changes. I would steal his mega pill but because it is larger than life, I tried one morning and choked. Never again. His vitamin has super powers for sure.

Last winter he and I both had lower back issues. I made an appointment with my family doc and got muscle relaxers and pain pills. Cozby's visit consisted of a back ex-ray, muscle relaxants and steroids. He bounced back within two days and I limped around for two weeks. The vet's office called three days later to see how their little patient was doing....I am still waiting for my call.

Another daily pill has been added to Cozby's stash....Glucosamine. While Glucosamine never did a thing for me (my doc told me it takes monthes to kick in)...of course the dog took off literally running with this new med. I recently read the ingredients on the back and one was creatine (used to beef up muscles)....they suggested he take a big dose for 4-6 wks since it takes a while to accumulate in your system. Why didn't my physician tell me this?

The comparisons are more like contrasts. I love my animal but I have to wonder why he gets all the good stuff and all the attention. Both the human doc and the animal doc are expensive but my pal with the tail gets more bang for his buck.

In my letter to the editor I commented how canine cancer patients are treated. A survivor wall was created with pictures of dogs "beating the disease." When was the last time you saw such a wall in any hospital or doctor's office?

At the risk of pissing off the medical community for the second time, I will not blog on this subject again. My gynecologist had cut the letter out, the staff had read it and I was interrogated about it during my examination. A few days later I was picking dog food up at the vet's and when I spoke my last name an employee yelled "Is your name Rose?" The vet came out as did the rest of the techs, I was the client of the month!!!

This is a chilling account of what really happend. I have drawn one conclusion from this craziness. The vet and vet's staff are happy well adjusted people who like their jobs. I will leave you to conclude on behalf of the human docs and staffs.

The Spring Finales Lead into Ho Hum Summer Viewing

I never claimed to hold high standards for myself. The last time I mentioned that I watch one soap daily the table of people I was just introduced to raised their collective eyebrows at me. Sorry. I have satellite and hundreds of channels, I am not one of those people who claims not to have cable.....and 3 channels. Good luck with digital TV folks.

I mentioned ( a few blogs ago) my weekly TV shows that I am addicted to. Well, Grey's Anatomy managed to baffle us all by having George dragged by a bus and unrecognizable in the emergency room at the end of the episode. Izzie who is clinging to life after brain surgery and George meet in an elevator in the last scene....last stop Heaven. The cliffhanger involves who is really dead or shall I say are they both?

The Lostees were last seen trying to explode the hydrogen bomb on the Island. Juliet was sucked into a shaft with the bomb and attempted to detonate it....white screen at the end of finale. Was there an explosion or did all the strandees time travel back to 2009? We won't have clarity on that for 7 monthes.

Dancing with the Stars was very entertaining this season. Although I wanted Melissa to win, I wasn't surprised as she was voted off during the final show. That Shawn won the whole thing was huge to me. I never considered her a serious contender for the mirror ball trophy!! LOL

And just ask me about the goings on in Pine Valley on All My Children. The mogul Adam Chandler was thought to be dead, but his twin took the bullet.Crazy Annie is back and last seen kidnapping her daughter. Kendall and Zach's son was pronounced dead at the hospital and revived but wait...K and Z still thought Ian had passed away and were last seen headed for the Chandler mansion with guns to get some pay back from Adam. What a week!!!

Now for the summer season....I promised myself I will not watch that Japanese remake of people jumping over obstacles in water. The foreign version was awful and I am sure the American one sucks too. On the do not watch list is Jon and Kate plus 8....too much drama and tension. Also Big Brother will not be followed . The Goodes or the Goode Family appears to be horrible also...too many references to gays, minorities etc. NOT FUNNY.

I see that Curb Your Enthusiasm will be back !!! Yay!!! Larry David is always great. Other than that, it looks like I will be watching the Food Network for the next 3 monthes.

The Relay for Life

I just returned home from our annual Relay for Life. We walked in the lap for Drew our youngest son's friend who died in December. At exactly 5:55 the lap began and there were so many familiar faces in our group.

Leading the masses were the college boys who played baseball with Drew in high school and who attended every relay year after year as Drew's Crew. This was the first year their friend was not with them physically, although we all know he made the walk tonight.

There was alot of hugging going on during the lap, alot of smiling and some tears. Parents, grandparents and kids.Three years ago this was a fraternity of sorts....the boys' senior year...the culmination of many years of being bleacher friends in baseball. The bond still exists. The friends still come out when needed. They were all present and accounted for in December to plan the food at the funeral home, the luncheon after, to attend the funeral and to go grave side. The 2006 baseball team served as pall bearers.

When these friends pull together it is a beautiful sight to behold. Isn't this the way it is supposed to be? I for one feel very lucky to be a part of this circle . I know that Drew and now Drew's memory has been the glue holding everyone so closely together. Maybe that was his destiny.

Mother's Day is not just for biological moms

Bringing three healthy sons into the world years ago was a feat of sorts. I did all the usual responsibilities of potty training, teaching right from wrong,loving them unconditionally, spending long evenings overseeing homework, healing broken hearts and then sending them away to college. I did it all.

When I resumed my teaching career the women I taught beside taught me the true meaning of unselfishness.You see the majority of these women made the decision not to marry and not to have biological children of their own. They gave daily of themselves to the central city child who needed extra maternal love, discipline and stability. These ladies provided a safe and nurturing environment for hundreds of kids struggling with broken homes and parents with addiction problems. They gave lessons in conscience, friendship, consequences and of course the three r's.

Anyone can give birth to a child but it takes a special person to step up to the plate and mother children in their care year after year. In most cases there is no immediate pay back...no thank you's. Sometimes if the teacher is lucky, the child visits yearly to show a great report card or an honor that was bestowed on him/her. Sometimes the effort is rewarded by a surprise visit years later by a boy or a girl wanting to just hug a favorite mentor. In most cases all the care and concern goes unheralded.

To all these extraordinary individuals....have a Happy Mother's Day!!! Without your daily dedication year after year, our urban children would not have the opportunities to flourish.

The Kent State Massacre

The Kent State shootings are also known as the Kent State Massacre. Today is the 39th anniversary of this event....May 4th 1970. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded, one suffered permanent paralysis. They were shot by the Ohio National Guard.

Some of the students who were shot were protesting against the American invasion of Cambodia which President Richard Nixon directed. However, some of the wounded were just walking nearby or observing the protest from afar.

On May 4th 1970 I was a freshman at Bowling Green State University. In response to the shootings, BGSU closed as anti war sentiment was high. Rallies, and the seizing of the administration all occurred on May 5th 1970. The rallies were led by anti war activists who commanded huge audiences.

Nothing was ever the same after May 4th and 5th. Our feelings against the war became even more intense as events at various universities spun out of control. Returning Vietnam vets returned home to booing crowds,and draft card and flag burning. It was a great time to be alive but also an era of emotional turmoil.

As I left college and became a working adult, I met a variety of people. My first boss was a Vietnam veteran with a host of problems resulting from his tour. This was the first time I actually felt compassion for anyone in the armed forces because it had taken such a physical and mental toll on him. It was my ah ha moment.

I was left with this take on war. It was wrong for Washington to play political games with our armed force's lives. LBJ and Nixon knew we would inevitably lose this war but continued to deploy troops overseas . That was unforgivable.

On this 5th of May I will pray for the students who died 39 years ago and the ones who were wounded. Prayers will also be offered for our Vietnam vets who still struggle with their own personal battles after all this time. God bless us all.

Quotable Quotes of the Week

"Having people is better than having no people at all " Dr. Alex Kariv
Grey's Anatomy


" Organized religion is for people who fear hell, spiritualism is for people who have been to hell and back" Eric Schweig, actor

"Don't defend the shoe to me." Tim Gunn Project Runaway

" It's not an Island. It is a place where miracles happen. Lie to them, Jack. If you do it half as well as you lie to yourself, they will believe you." John Locke LOST

"Nobody in football can be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." Joe Theisman, football commentator and former player

"I think one of the greatest things about modern America is the computerization of medical records. As a volunteer sheriff I can look up anyone psychiatric records or surgical histories. Yeast infections..there is a huge number of yeast infections in our country. Probably because we are downriver from the old bread factory."
Dwight Schrute The Office episode Email Surveillance

"An eye for an eye and the whole world would be blind." Kahlil Gibran, poet

The Other Side

I was brought up by a host of Polish aunts , a mother and a grandmother to believe that when you die there is still contact with loved ones . At an early age I would listen intently as the women in my family dished about neighbors, friends and family communicating from the Other Side.

The Polish neighborhood in the Nebraska Ave. area in Toledo evidently had an active spiritual and supernatural life. It was the custom upon death to notify someone in the immediate block. Stories of actual sightings of a dead neighbor or a random push shortly after someone died were common place. My grandma explained that it was what they did.

My grandmother's sister who had small children was taken at a very young age. The Aunt Kate story unfolds in my grandmother's bedroom one evening after Kate's funeral. My grandmother woke in the middle of the night to see a glowing orb floating by her ceiling. She explained that it was a very bright light and she had to shield her eyes. Kate's voice was heard to say "Take care of my children." In nights to follow a tearful Kate appeared to her sister in the same bedroom and she had to same request "Take care of my children." Needless to say, Kate's two children came to live with my grandmother and grandfather shortly there after.

In 1985 my grandmother was dying of cancer in a local nursing home.A month prior to her death , my aunt saw my deceased grandfather standing in her garage.She was shocked and shaken because his face was drawn and very sad. The family definitely believed that death was on her heels.

Years later, the same aunt lost her husband of many years. My cousin Kevin who never "believed" like the women was shaken to his core one night in his home. He had just gone to bed when he heard his father's voice say "Take care of your mother." And take care of her he did. He built an apartment on his property for my aunt who lived there in style until her death.

But no one in our family could "see" the Other Side as well as my son Nick. At the age of 4 he would say "There is something wrong with my eyes." It wasn't until he told me that he could see our beloved dead Lab that I understood what he meant. The hair stood up on my arms as he explained that Barclay walked the halls at night as a shadowy creature and laid down on the carpet by the boys' bedrooms.He mentioned the dog so casually, and I did not want to scare him.

Nick would continue to have these visions and would only mention the biggest of the big ones. An example of a big one was in 7th grade at a travel baseball game...Nick would ask me after the game " Who was that dark skinned man standing in back of Dad at the game?" Well my husband sat in a lawn chair usually by himself to not be disturbed by talking....I had glanced over that day and no one was standing by him. It finally occurred to us days later that the man Nick saw was my husband's father..."Blackie" who had the dark swarthy skin of an Italian.And yes he was dead and Nick had never met him. In showing Nick pictures of the family, he identified the man as his grandfather. He would "see" this man again in 9th grade in Ann Arbor MI as he put his football equipment in the bus. His grandfather walked by and looks were exchanged. He wore the same green shirt which we later found in my oldest son's closet.....his bowling shirt. The third and last time he was seen was in our garage Nick's senior year before a varsity baseball game.

As Nick progressed in college his visions became far and few between. I remember over the last 2 years maybe twice....a man standing by his bedroom window at home at night and bright lights flashing in front of our door also at night after I had surgery. He has learned to ignore the unusual and just get on with his life.





Now my sister has always been of the school of disbelief. I on the other hand believe that if you are open to the notion, you have a better chance of hearing or seeing something or someone. I have never "seen" anyone like my son has but I have heard voices and dog barking. The dog barking usually occurs in the wee hours of the morning and no it is not an outside animal making the noise, it comes from our downstairs. The voices...well usually I am startled by someone calling my name early in the a.m. of the day while still in bed. It has happened enough to not write it off as a dream.








My sister the disbeliever was startled one afternoon after my Dad passed away. She had come home from work tired and decided to lay down on her bed. While fidgeting to become comfortable, she heard a male voice shout out her full given name. Thinking that my brother-in-law had just walked in, she called to him. Nothing. No one else was home. She was sure afterwards that it was Dad. She has had a few similar episodes since...see what I mean about being open to this?





It is not a real popular subject to be bringing up in public. People tend to think your oars are not completely in the water. Someone I worked with suggested that Nick start taking vitamins and have a complete physical....now I am leery to share these things.



I am a big fan of Sylvia Browne and have read a good deal of her books. She is a psychic and has explained alot of spiritual matters. Von Pragh and Edwards are good also....Edwards sees symbols not the person as he is doing a reading. Interesting stuff. I find it comforting that people we knew and maybe loved continue to communicate with us from the Other Side