(no subject)

I'm worried about my dog.

He's been having problems with his hind legs for a while; stiffness and soreness, that sort of thing. He's been getting around pretty well; he's just been slow on the stairs, and he sits and stands kind of gingerly. Lately, since right around Windycon, he's been having a harder time.

When my brother left the house on Sunday in the early afternoon, he left Kuma in his crate. (Kuma is usually in his crate when no one is in the house, and in fact, he loves it. It's his safe place, his den, and he happily trots in when you ask him to.) When we got home and I let him out, he was so stiff and sore that he couldn't walk at first. After a little time to stretch the old bones he was up and around again, but at first he would try to stand and he couldn't get his hind legs under him. As well, when I try and let him out of the house, he can't seem to make it down the stairs anymore. After he fell half way down a couple times, I've started picking him up to carry him down.

Unfortunately, there are a couple problems with doing it that way. First, picking him up seems to put enough pressure on his tummy that, when I put him down, he pees on me. Not so great. Secondly, he's too heavy for Moira to pick up at all, so we're not totally sure how she can get him out of the house if I'm not around.

I knew that this was coming for a while; he's been getting progressively less mobile. Regretfully, our house is not handicap accessible, for dogs or for people, and I never did figure out what I was going to do about it. Maybe I can fashion a sort of sling to put under him when he has to go outside and I can carry him down the front steps that way. Actually, I think I'm just going to order one of these today. Maybe if Moira or I can just help by taking a little weight off of his rear end, he'll be able to get himself up and down the stairs.

He seems ok other than his legs, still. He's still in pretty good shape for an old man.

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Speaking of family members (like my puppy-dog), here are a few pictures of more of them from the subway in New York. I shot these on the way out to Coney Island, and I really like them. I'm no portrait photographer, but once in a while I get images that at least make me smile and think of good times.



My brother No-LJ-James and his girlfriend being silly

( Two more behind the cut. )

(no subject)

From bookwurm

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Do you have any friends looking for a new, crate-trained dog? Please read the message that follows and pass along adoption info to anyone who might be interested. The Dairyland Greyhound Adoption Office can be reached at (262) 612-8256.

Dairyland Greyhound Racetrack in Kenosha, Wisconsin will be closing on December 31, 2009.

900 Greyhounds will need to be adopted otherwise they will be euthanized, now is a great time to consider adopting a Greyhound. They are very loving and laid back. They don't need the space people think they need. They are great for an active family because they have been crated almost all their lives and they sleep about 18 out of the 24 hours a day. They are just looking for someone to love them and supply them with a warm bed!!!!

They test the dogs to see if they are cat friendly and or small dog friendly. They also know if a dog should be a single dog or if they would be great in a 2, 3, or 4 dog house!!!

Please help me get the word out; we only have 6 weeks to get this task done!!
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Here's a link to the relevant post on Craigslist with contact info. Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested.

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/pet/1470426702.html

And here's a link to the official adoption page:

http://www.dairylandgreyhoundpark.com/adoption.asp

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Hmm; I'm not sure if there are really this many Greyhounds or what the situation is exactly. The only reference to that large a number I can find is that Craig's List post, and that seems pretty high to me for the closure of just one track. But I do know that the race track is closing down this year, so I'm sure there will be dogs that need homes.

(no subject)

Dog is not too bright sometimes.

I looked again at phones and decided I'd go with a Blackberry after all. That way I'd have included GPS support. I went through the ordering process. Then I poked around more online and realized that a number of things on a Blackberry won't work without the Blackberry data plan, which would cost more. I knew there was a reason I disliked those things. They're one of my least favorite things to deal with at work too.

So I called up Sprint and found that, even though I'd made the order about fifteen minutes ago, it already went to the warehouse. So they're going to ship the phone and a return kit. Once the return kit gets to me, I use it to ship the Blackberry back and they are supposed to credit my account and reinstate my upgrade discount eligibility. It ought to all be here by Monday.

Well, I'm not in a huge hurry; I can wait for it to get here, get back, and get credited before I pick another phone out.

I'm about done getting stuff together, so I think I'm going to go to bed. Before I do, here's a picture of Coney Island's Wonder Wheel.



The Famous Coney Island Wonder Wheel


Built in 1920 and standing a hundred and fifty feet tall, this is one of the older and larger Ferris wheels out there. It's also unusual in that some of it's cars are on tracks within in the wheel itself and will slide back and forth as the wheel makes its revolutions.