Horses

Posted on March 30, 2014March 30, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I reblogged the latest in the Connecticut Vicious Horse Case. I posted about it last fall after I heard talks about it at Equine Affaire.

Conn Court: Are Horses Vicious? is well written and I couldn’t have made the points any better. Please take a moment to read and share.

This is truly a case where man is trying to impose his standards on an animal. Common sense has fled. Whether an animal is inherently vicious or not, we need to respect their character and take precautions. Even big , cuddly creatures can inadvertently cause injury.

The case began in 2006 when a boy tried to pet a horse named Scuppy at a Milford farm. The animal stuck his neck out from behind a fence and bit the child on his right cheek, ‘‘removing a large chunk of it,’’ according to court papers.

What I find interesting is that no one is blaming the parents for letting the child approach the strange horse. There were signs saying “Do Not Pet” etc.

This litigious society that we live in today really upsets me. No one accepts responsibility for their own actions. It’s always someone else’s fault. Shame on us. 🙁

More Free Stuff in Vegas

Posted on March 28, 2014March 28, 2014 by Dusty Roads

More free stuff kept coming up as I roved the world wide web. The Sirens of TI, a Pyrotechnics extravaganza on a Pirate Ship sounded like an exciting if, borderline X rated show but the latest updates indicate that the show has been canceled, apparently quite suddenly.

M & M’s World is touted as Free and might be kind of cool to see . Looks like there’s be ton of places for photo ops still I got the impression it was really a huge M & M themed gift shop kind of like a Disney store for chocoholics.

But then a entry for wildlife caught my eye. Called Wildlife Habitat at the Flamingo it includes Flamingos of course.

Touted as one of the most unique and beloved attractions in Las Vegas, Flamingo’s Wildlife Habitat is a serene paradise. It is conveniently free of charge and open to the public daily. Nestled on the Flamingo hotel’s lush 15-acre grounds, the Habitat is stocked with exotic birds, fish and turtles.

A highlight is the Flamingo Island, home to a huge flock of Chilean flamingos. A colorful collection of other feathered friends such as Ring Tealed ducks and Sacred Ibis fascinate guests and populate the Habitat. In addition to our namesake, you’ll find swans, ducks, koi fish and turtles living at the Habitat. Two brown pelicans joined us from a pelican rescue in 2012.

All animals are carefully maintained. The species frolic on islands and streams surrounded by sparkling waterfalls and foliage. Spot hummingbirds zipping to their feeders, snap a few pictures of signature flamingos and watch the water animals at feeding time.

That sounds like my kind of experience.

Photo of the Week ~ 12

Posted on March 26, 2014March 26, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 12 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Smokey at 17 with a total of 31 points.

To order prints click here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h14e80fb2#h14e80fb2

Health Check ~ Smokey

Posted on March 23, 2014March 23, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s hard to believe that my Mr. Cranky Pants aka Smokey is 17 years old. The average age for a house cat is 13. Of course as you get older things stop working like they did when you were a kitten.

And so it is with Mr. Smokeymon. I always said he was like a little laid back Jamaican “mon”. He was always so calm and purrfectly friendly but as we know, with age comes “Crankiness” and Smokey has shown himself to be a bit more short tempered than in his younger days. Hisses are more common toward his roomies but he still likes me, his human. In fact he has become very possessive of me.

He is the cat that has to be in the same room at all times. He has begun to get a little senile and when he finds himself separated loud yowls disturb the peace until I can either get to him or get his attention. Then they stop immediately and turn to loud , rumbling purrs.

His annual check-up rolled around this week. He’s lost weight. At one time he was a rolly poly 13.5 lbs. but over the last couple of years he’s steadily lost weight (Wish I could say the same for me) until he’s now down to 10 lbs. 10 oz. Even so he can still make the other 2 cats in the house “toe the line”.

Because of the weight loss and our past scare with possible renal failure we ran blood panels. On the renal side he’s stable, very little change there. The vet also checked his thyroid, all the numbers were within normal range. Finally they took his blood pressure and found that to be fine too. For a very senior cat he is doing well.

(Meanwhile I was in sticker shock at the size of the vet bill!)

Even so the doctor suggested we follow him closely now with follow ups every 3 – 6 months, also switching to a senior diet.

With luck and my wallet,my creaky old pussy cat will be around for a number of years to come.

Photo of the week ~11

Posted on March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 11 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Wildlife at Oliver Mills (feral kitten) with a total of 31 points.