Guns Outside or Inside

Hi Humans,
I see in the news that the NRA and other gun bullies tried to challenge a New Jersey law that prevents individual humans from carrying guns outside of their homes except in certain circumstances. The NRA wants to turn the USA into a gun anarchy like Somalia. Actually, guns should be heavily taxed and regulated. All guns should be registered with the police (with a regular fee). All transfers of guns whether by sale or by gift should be registered with the police and should involve a significant tax. If a gun is lost for any reason, it should be reported immediately to the police. The registered owner of a gun should be held liable for any crime committed by that gun. We need to curb gun addiction. Gun addicts should be incarcerated in centers for psychiatric treatment.
Chloe

Diabetes

Hi Humans,

I have some distressing news to report. I have recently been diagnosed with diabetes. I feel OK. The only thing is that I began getting very thirsty, drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot. Daddy used to keep my doggie door closed during the night and open to the side yard during the day. I was able to hold my water during the night, but all of a sudden I could not hold it, and I peed on the laundry room (my bedroom) floor. So I was taken to the vet for an exam, and sure enough I have diabetes. My blood sugar was in the 500 range. At first Daddy and Mommy kind of freaked out. It meant a real change not just for me, but for the whole family. I have to get insulin shots 2 times a day. Not too much and not too little. Too little would not control my diabetes enough. Too much would give me hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) which in the short run is more dangerous than too much. Hypoglycemia could make me drowsy, or even put me into a coma. I now eat only special diabetic low fat dog food. That’s not bad. It actually tastes better than the supposedly good for you tasteless stuff that we used to get from the local pet store.

Having an illness is expensive. Doctor bills for the initial work up are like people costs. Daddy and Mommy have been paying into a pet health insurance plan, but now when the chips are down it turns out there are limits to what the plan will pay per illness which doesn’t really cover everything. Mommy and Daddy have insurance with a good HMO, but unfortunately that doesn’t apply to pets. If only Obamacare applied to pets as well as humans. Fortunately Daddy is a people physician. As a dermatologist, the care of diabetes is not his focus, but at least he has some knowledge of it. There are differences between dogs and humans, but Daddy has been reading up on it enough so that he can keep the cost down by doing as much as possible on his own.

Then there is the issue of what to do about traveling. I love to travel. When Mommy and Daddy go on short trips, they board me at the vet. So that won’t change. The problem is now that Daddy is semi-retired, we go back to Chicago for a month each year. I travel in my little carrier under the seat. I love the motion of the airplane, and I don’t bark. Besides it is an opportunity for me to be with the family. But I have to go for almost a whole day without food or water the day of the plane ride. That might be a problem now that I have diabetes.

Things are settling down. Daddy has gotten the hang of giving me my insulin injections. Two times a day, he feeds me 1 cup of diabetic dog food. He draws up 3 units of insulin in the syringe, picks me up and places me on the washing machine (a high surface), holds me down with his right elbow, pulls up a fold of skin on my upper back with his left hand, and plunges the insulin syringe at about a 45 degree angle into the fold. It’s a very small needle and does not really hurt. After 1 week, I went back to the vet to be tested and my sugars were almost back to normal, and my drinking and peeing were just about back to normal. Daddy bought a glucose meter and he's figuring out how to use it to test my blood. He tried getting blood from my ear yesterday, but did not get enough out. We’ll try again later. If one puts one’s mind to something, eventually it can be figured out.

As for airplane traveling, everyone has a different idea of what to do, but after exploring all the options, it turns out I will be going to Chicago with the family this year as always. There are just no good alternatives. Missing a meal and going light on the water for a day is not ideal, but life is not ideal for humans or for dogs. We’ll just make the best of it and I will get to be with Mommy and Daddy, not somewhere else for a month.

They say dogs with diabetes can have a normal life span with proper care. We’ll see. Anyway, I’ll keep on blogging for things I believe in like proper gun control. So look out NRA, Chloe is still around.

Chloe

Gun Addict Arrested in San Antonio

Hi Humans,
I see in the news that a 19 year old male human gun addict was arrested in San Antonio, Texas for carrying a loaded rifle on a public street inside the city limits which violates the laws of San Antonio. Well, it seems there are some islands of sanity in Texas. Of course, the gun bullies are demonstrating for the addict and against the local laws of San Antonio. They want gun anarchy everywhere in Texas. People of Texas, stand up to the NRA and throw the gun bullies out of office, including the governor.
Chloe

Emma Thompson / Boycott Shakespeare??

Hi Humans, particularly Ms. Emma Thompson,
Recently in the news, it was written that a number of British theater people objected to the Globe Theater inviting the Habima Theater of Israel to perform at the Globe Theater because a few of Habima's performance were at a Jewish West Bank settlement. Ms. Thompson, I am directing this letter specifically to you because I never heard of the other people listed, and I actually have enjoyed your movie performances and consider you a great actress.
Ms. Thompson, if one were to follow your logic, then one should boycott the writings of William Shakespeare. After all, Shakespeare wrote in 16th Century England at a time when England was colonizing far away lands, killing and enslaving their native inhabitants. I am not aware that Shakespeare did any protesting against those misdeeds. In fact, he glorified England. The misdeeds done by England at that time were not to protect the existence of England but rather for greed.
Israel is a small country surrounded by nations and people who demonize Jews in their schools and who believe a Jewish nation is an anomaly in their midst. Israelis look around them and see chaos and cruelty in their neighbors. I do not agree with some of the decisions made by the current Israeli government including expansion of settlements. But no nation in this world is always correct. I do not live in Israel and am not personally faced with the existential danger that Israel faces. To attack cultural and academic Israeli institutions is counterproductive and attacks the most progressive voices in Israel.
As a dog living in a Jewish home, I can only hope that at some future time the Israeli and Palestinian people will make the necessary compromises to make a better life for everyone concerned. But it will require painful compromises on both sides. Boycotts against either side will not cause it to happen.
Anyway, I will still appreciate the work of William Shakespeare because boycotting him won't change anything (and incidentally the play to be performed by Habima was written by Shakespeare). Even my little doggie brain knows that.
Chloe

Diplomacy and War

Hi Humans,
We dogs sometimes have disputes with each other as individuals, but not on the massive scale as you humans. Your disputes involve groups of millions of humans. We fight with claws and teeth. But you guys fight with guns and bombs and explosions. You have large armies and sneaky groups of terrorists.  And you have these diplomacy games where each side has a different view of reality, and each side dances and maneuvers around to get the most out of the other. Also national pride and religious differences get involved and supercede the interests of ordinary individuals. It boggles the mind of a little dog like me. But I have to live in this world that you create. So I hope you can solve your problems and not destroy all of us.
Chloe

Legalization of Marijuana?

Hi Humans,
You humans often allow politics and social feelings to decide real issues rather than practicalities. An example is the issue of marijuana and other "recreational" drugs. "Conservatives" tend to be opposed to any changes in the present system of regarding marijuana possession criminal. Other humans who consider themselves "progressive" favor legalization of marijuana in all cases and suggest that marijuana is not harmful. Trying to be objective, a perusal of PubMed will show articles that say marijuana can be harmful to the nervous system. The governor of California has pretty much said the same thing in opposition to legalizing marijuana. On the other hand, the present situation of criminalizing drugs has given criminals an opportunity to enter a business where honest merchants are barred, leaving the field open to the criminals.
So, this is what this dog recommends for you humans. Make marijuana and other drugs, tobacco, and firearms available to humans in a very restricted highly taxed way. They should be forbidden to children (including teenagers). Possession and use must be registered with the government. Misuse by anyone (especially children and teenagers) makes the registered owner liable for whatever harm is caused by them. Tax money received is to be all used to cure people of their addictions and to fight drug and gun cartels (none may be diverted for other purposes no matter how needed). In other words, partial legalization should not be construed as approval of drugs, tobacco, and firearms, but rather as a tool to counteract them.
Chloe

Another Child Killed by a Gun

Hi Humans,
I hear in the news that 3 brothers in Cincinnati were playing with a gun they found in the house of their uncle. One pulled the trigger and the 8 year old brother was shot and later died. This is a clear case of negligence. Negligence by whoever owned the gun. Negligence by the lawmakers of Ohio for lax gun laws. Negligence by the NRA and other gun bullies for fighting against any attempt at gun safety. The law should state that if a gun causes harm to anyone, the owner of the gun should be severely punished. It should be illegal for a gun owner to give or sell a gun to anyone or allow anyone to use the gun without registering the transfer with the police. Any gun should be re-registered regularly with the police and if lost the owner should be receive a jail sentence.
Chloe