How to Heal your dog's Dry Nose Skin

Before- Dolly's chapped nose

   At Christmastime, we received a small tube of Natural dog company. Organics snout Soother for dry skin, and I immediately applied it to Dolly's nose. Of course, her first inclination was to lick it, so i distracted her with a treat. Then she forgot about licking her nose. 

If your dog has dry skin on their nose, to the point where it's broken and looks painful, there actually is a product that can heal it!!  Thanks to our friends Stacey and Nathan, who gave us Natural dog company's Organics Snout Soother for dry skin.
  Our 15 year old Weimararner, Dolly, has had dry skin on her nose for about 2 years. I've tried vegetable oil (because she licks it), chap stick, Nothing has worked. 
  It's a good idea to put it on when your dog is turned in for the night. They'll be more tired and less inclined to lick it. 

After 5 days: Dolly's  nose almost totally healed! 

   In the course of 5 days, this amazing produce almost healed her nose completely. See the before and after photos. 

THE PRODUCT - Our award-winning dog nose balm is a synergistic blend of organic, vegan, nourishing, healing and moisturizing ingredients – carefully selected for optimal dog nose healing benefits. Snout Soother nose balm for dogs can be used for the following: Dry, Chapped Nose. Crusty & Cracked Nose.

WHERE TO GET IT: www.naturaldogcompany.com/‎

I would highly recommend this product!!

Curing a Dog's Diarrhea - RX and feeding, testing and more

For anyone who may not have a dog or dogs, you likely know someone who does. That said, here's a tip to share with them if their dog has the runs and its not getting better. This comes from 15 years of experience! In this blog, I'll share what I know about causes, dehydration, preparing for accidents, food to give and medications to work your dog (and you) through it, and cure it. Read on>>>

CAUSES- Changing food may cause diarrhea. If that happens, change back to the original food. New treats can also cause diarrhea. Note any changes in diet that may have caused the onset. 

A TEST TO TAKE - You may want to check your dog's stool at the vet because it reveal Giardia (and that gets treated differently). What is it? Giardia is a microscopic parasite that causes the diarrheal illness known as giardiasis. Giardia (also known as Giardia intestinalis, Giardia lamblia, or Giardia duodenalis) is found on surfaces or in soil, food, or water that has been contaminated with feces (poop) from infected humans or animals.

DEHYDRATION  - Like people, if you have diarrhea for a day or two, you need to drink a lot of water, or you'll get dehydrated. 

PREPARE FOR ACCIDENTS IN THE HOUSE- You can buy pee pads at a pet store. Put them on the dog's bed at night, in case there are accidents. In addition, you can lay a dog blanket under the dogs bed and stretch it out, so if any poop spills over the bed, it goes on a washable blanket,

FOOD- First thing to do is cook a LOT of white rice. I make 6 servings (3 cups rice, 3 cups water) in a microwave corning ware bowl with glass cover (keep the cover on in the microwave, and cook for 5 minutes.

The second thing to do is take 3 chicken breasts and slice them in half (to make it easier to cook all the way through). boil them for about 20-25 minutes. Drain, then take a fork and knife and shred it. Put it in a separate tupperware container.

MIXING THE FOOD - Depending on how much food you normally give your dog, give 1/2 rice and 1/2 chicken

ORGANIC PUMPKIN- I also add a teaspoon (small dogs) or tablespoon of organic pumpkin to the food. Canned natural pumpkin is a great source of fiber and helps with digestive regularity. If your dog is experiencing constipation or diarrhea, mix a tablespoon of pumpkin straight from the can into their normal food.

PRESCRIPTIONS -
1) Metronidazole - this medication usually works in 2-3 days. Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is used to treat a wide variety of infections. It works by stopping the growth of certain bacteria and parasites. This antibiotic treats only certain bacterial and parasitic infections. It will not work for viral infections (such as common cold, flu).
(NOTE- several hours later, be sure to give your dog an acidophilus supplement - even one you buy over the counter in the vitamin aisle at Walgreens or CVS.  It helps your dog not be bound up.)

2) IF the Metronidazole doesn't work after 3 days, ask your veterinarian for  Proviable (paste and probiotic). Proviable is made by Nutramax, and it costs about $68, but it's worth it! It has 2 components. The First is an injectable paste in a plastic syringe. You give your dog a measured amount of the paste 3 times a day into their mouth. This helps firm the stool..  
  The second thing is a package of 12 capsules that are probiotics. (if taking with Metronizole, these should be given hours later and not together. In addition, acidophilus shouldn't be taken with these). 

RESULTS- Usually in 2 to 3 days, that poop has form, and the healing has begun. By 5 to 7 days, your dog should be back to normal and you can slowly work small amounts of kibble back into the food. 

Credit: https://www.petmd.com/dog/emergency/common-emergencies/e_dg_diarrhea

How to Check if Your News Source is Biased

    In the last 10 years there seems to be a lot of new "news" sources out on the Internet. The internet has given anyone the ability to create a "news outlet" and call it that, even if all of the stories are based on someone's opinion. That goes for both the extreme right wing and left wings of politics.
   Recently a friend forwarded a story to me about dogs being "given" to Muslim nations, which I found hard to believe. Well, I decided to check the website, and it's considered "Extreme Right Wing." Which means it IS NOT a news site. Certainly not one to be trusted. (BTW, I'm not being partisan here- I also don't read left wing news, because it's also made up).

HOW TO CHECK IF YOUR NEWS SOURCE IS LEGITMATE? - GO TO THIS WEBSITE: https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/

ABOUT MEDIA BIAS FACT CHECK.COM: We are the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 3000+ media sources listed in our database and growing every day. Don’t be fooled by Fake News sources. Use the search feature above (Header) to check the bias of any source. Use name or url.

A Fascinating Paranormal Autobiography: Giving Up the Ghost

My friend Vanessa Hogle, a talented medium, has published a book about how she came to  experience, understand and refine her abilities in a paranormal autobiography she calls "Giving up the Ghost."  
   For anyone who has the abilities to get messages from earth bound ghosts or spirits who have crossed over, this is a must-read. For those of you who don't have them (or think you don't have them), you'll find this interesting, too!  Like many mediums (myself included) I didn't know how, when and if I should trust my abilities and the messages I receive. Vanessa walks you through her "coming out of the medium closet" experiences.
  The book also contains experiences she had on paranormal investigations, and how she felt drawn to Louisiana. That kind of "draw" to a certain place usually indicates you lived there before, and Vanessa experienced that, too. Once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. I've also garnered a better insight to Vanessa's abilities and how another medium works. It's a great book.
  Here's her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VannessaHogleMediumAuthor/
- Rob
 
ABOUT THE BOOK: GIVING UP THE GHOST is a para-biography chronicling the mystic beginnings of a psychic medium. Discover what it's like growing up with that gift that seems cursed and the journey it takes to embrace it. Vanessa Hogle walks you through her psychic life, her humble beginnings, supernatural adventures in Oklahoma, New Orleans, and beyond!

NOAA Report: Climate change is making specific weather events more extreme

Climate change (global warming) has made weather events 

Fires in Los Angeles this year 2019

more extreme. As a meterologist, I see how things have changed. More intense hurricanes and typhoons, more flooding, more droughts. Over the past week I've explained these things. Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just released a report stating that very thing. Here it is from Dec. 11, 2019:

NOAA Report:  Climate change is making specific weather events more extreme

A drought that parched the southwestern U.S. Extraordinary flooding in the Mid-Atlantic states. Heat waves that baked the Iberian peninsula and northeast Asia. Vanishing sea ice in the Bering Sea. 

Scientists say these remarkable 2018 extreme weather events were made more likely by human-caused climate change, in new research published today in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Societyoffsite link (BAMS). 

The eighth edition of the report, "Explaining Extreme Events in 2018 From a Climate Perspective," presents 20 new peer-reviewed analyses of extreme weather around the world looking at both historical observations and model simulations to determine whether and by how much climate change might have influenced specific extreme events. 

Stephanie Herring, a NOAA climate scientist and editor of the BAMS special issue, said that as the field of climate attribution matures, the tools scientists use to identify a climate signal (marker) in extreme weather events continue to improve. 

“It’s now been 15 years since the publication of what is considered the first research on the role of climate change in extreme weather, and during that time the evidence that human-caused climate change is impacting weather events has only been increasing,” Herring said. “This year we are seeing more and more evidence of climate change 'fingerprints' on different types of events, especially wildfires and heavy rain.”

Read the full Explaining Extreme Events in 2018 report issued by the American Meteorology Society.

Idiot of the week; Elected official's wife dumped drink on reporter's head, faces criminal charges

This week's idiot is the wife of a Georgia County Commissioner.  She dumped a drink on reporter's
head and now faces criminal charges.
 Elected official's wife dumped drink on reporter's head, faces criminal charges
Dec. 16, 2019, 12:29 PM EST / Updated Dec. 16, 2019, 12:47 PM EST
By Associated Press
ATLANTA — The wife of a local elected official in Georgia faces criminal charges after she reportedly dumped a drink on a reporter's head at a county meeting.

Abbey Winters, the wife of Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters, intentionally poured a drink over the head of AllOnGeorgia reporter Casie Bryant just before a county budget meeting was to start around 11 a.m. Friday, witnesses told police.

Winters, 35, "said something to the effect of the victim 'deserved it,'" according to the incident report from the Summerville Police Department.

Witnesses, including other news reporters, told police they didn't see or hear Bryant say or do anything provocative before the drink was dumped.

Rural Chattooga County is in northwest Georgia, along the state border with Alabama. While most county commissions have multiple members, Chattooga has a sole commissioner, who serves as the chief legislative and executive government officer, according to the county website. Jason Winters, a local businessman, was elected to that position in 2008.

When officers tried to talk to them, Abbey and Jason Winters asked to speak to their attorney before talking to police, the report says. Officers later went to attorney Chris Corbin's office, where Abbey Winters said she had accidentally poured the drink on Bryant after stumbling or tripping near her.

Officers then spoke to Bryant, who confirmed what witnesses had told them. Bryant told officers she didn't recall ever seeing Abbey Winters at public meetings before. Bryant told officers that "for a few minutes after the drink was poured on her she was just in shock and that she recalled someone stating that the drink looked good on her," the report says.

Based on statements from Bryant and witnesses, officers got warrants against Abbey Winters on charges of disorderly conduct and simple battery, both misdemeanors. Winters turned herself in around 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to the sheriff's office.

Corbin did not immediately respond to phone and email messages Monday seeking comment on the charges.

AllOnGeorgia is a "hyper-local community-oriented news organization" that seeks "to bring smaller, rural communities relevant and important news that is otherwise not reported," according to its website.

No one at the news outlet immediately responded Monday to phone and email requests for comment, but in a story about the incident on the website, AllOnGeorgia owner Delvis Dutton said that what happened at the budget meeting “was completely inappropriate and I'm disappointed to see not only the behavior of those involved, but the excuses made for the behavior after the fact. The media plays an integral role in ensuring transparency and these types of antics are dangerous to open government and a disservice to the people it serves."

350 health professionals Says Trump's mental health is deteriorating dangerously

If you can't trust the experts, whom can you trust?
This is serious...


350 health professionals sign letter to Congress claiming Trump's mental health is deteriorating dangerously amid impeachment proceedings
Tom Porter  Business Insider
Dec 5, 2019, 8:22 AM


A petition signed by 350 psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals claiming that President Donald Trump's mental health is deteriorating rapidly amid impeachment proceedings is set to be submitted to Congress on Thursday.

"We are convinced that, as the time of possible impeachment approaches, Donald Trump has the real potential to become ever more dangerous, a threat to the safety of our nation," said Drs. Bandy Lee, a Yale psychiatrist, Jerrold Post, a former CIA profiler, and John Zinner, a psychiatrist at George Washington University.

The petition was first reported by the British news outlet The Independent.
Lee told The Independent that Trump appeared to be showing signs of delusion by doubling down on falsehoods and conspiracy theories.

A group of 350 psychiatrists and other mental-health professionals are set to submit a petition to Congress on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019 claiming that President Donald Trump's mental health is rapidly deteriorating amid the impeachment inquiry.

"We are speaking out at this time because we are convinced that, as the time of possible impeachment approaches, Donald Trump has the real potential to become ever more dangerous, a threat to the safety of our nation," Drs. Bandy Lee, a Yale psychiatrist, Jerrold Post, a former CIA profiler, and John Zinner, a psychiatrist at George Washington University, wrote in a statement accompanying the petition, which was first reported by the British outlet The Independent.

They wrote that "failing to monitor or to understand the psychological aspects" of impeachment on Trump "or discounting them could lead to catastrophic outcomes."

They outlined the facets of Trump's behavior that prompted them to speak out:

"What makes Donald Trump so dangerous is the brittleness of his sense of worth. Any slight or criticism is experienced as a humiliation and degradation. To cope with the resultant hollow and empty feeling, he reacts with what is referred to as narcissistic rage.

"He is unable to take responsibility for any error, mistake, or failing. His default in that situation is to blame others and to attack the perceived source of his humiliation. These attacks of narcissistic rage can be brutal and destructive."

Dr Lee told Business Insider by email on Friday morning that the number of signatories had risen to 773. She said that she was prepared with two other psychiatrists to consult with lawmakers about the effect of impeachment on the president's mental health.

"We implore Congress to take these danger signs seriously and to constrain his destructive impulses," they wrote. "We and many others are available to give important relevant recommendations as well as to educate the public so that we can maximize our collective safety."

Lee first publicly expressed concerns about Trump's mental health shortly after he took office in January 2017. The move was controversial — some said it violated the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Goldwater rule, which states that psychiatrists should not make public statements about the mental health of public figures unless they have personally examined them.

The rule was adopted after a controversial Fact magazine article in 1964 outlined several psychiatrists' claims that Barry Goldwater, then a Republican presidential candidate, was not mentally fit to become president.

Lee told Business Insider that they were not breaking ethical rules for psychiatrists, because of a clause in the APA rules obliging psychiatrists "to educate the public when asked about a public figure, so that we may improve the community and better public health."

She said "whenever the Goldwater rule is mentioned, we should also refer to the Declaration of Geneva, established by the World Medical Association 25 years earlier, which mandates physicians to speak up if there are humanitarian reasons to do so. This Declaration was created in response to the experience of Nazism."

It's not just medical professionals who have voiced concern about Trump's mental health.

A recent book by an anonymous Trump administration official claimed that White House staff members were concerned about the president's mental acuity and said he "stumbles, slurs, gets confused, is easily irritated, and has trouble synthesizing information, not occasionally but with regularity."

Lee told The Independent that she expected that Republicans would dismiss the petition as colored by partisan bias, but she insisted it was based on observations and accounts of Trump's behavior.

She told The Independent that Trump appeared to be "doubling and tripling down on his delusions," based on his "ramping up his conspiracy theories" and "showing a great deal of cruelty and vindictiveness" in his "accelerated, repetitive tweets."

"I believe that they fit the pattern of delusions rather than just plain lies," she said.

Extreme heatwave in Australia: 50 °C (122°F) mark reached Dec 19th

Last week I posted many blogs about my own personal experiences and observations with how a warming world has changed environments, storms, heat and cold waves (yes, global warming causes hotter summers and colder winters). Today, you'll read about how parts of Australia actually had high temperatures near 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) on December 19th. It's UNPRECEDENTED.
   Here in the U.S. our summers have been getting warmer, too (fortunately not YET to this extreme). Forest fires are blazing all over southeastern Australia as they have dried out in the scorching sun. Smoke fills towns and cities - where even residents of Sydney have been wearing filter masks because of the intense smoke.
  Global warming IS a REALITY (despite what the uneducated buffoon that runs the U.S. says). We are ALL responsible for speeding up the climate and exacerbating the warming of the Earth from manmade emissions. This is the norm. Here's the story about AUSTRALIAN HEAT RECORDS>>>

Bureau of Meteorology, Australia ✔ @BOM_au said-

Based on preliminary analysis, yesterday, Australia recorded its hottest day on record. The nationally-averaged maximum daytime temp was 41.9 °C exceeding the record set on Tuesday, 40.9 ºC. You can view the top ten highest daily maximum temps here: http://ow.ly/Jg3f50xDRyv 

A remarkable heat values have been reported from parts of South Australia today – many locations climbed above +46 °C mark, some of them even above +48 and +49 °C while Nullabor station reported an incredible 50.0 °C!



Extreme heatwave in Australia – 50 °C mark reached today, Dec 19th
By Marko Korosec | Global weather | 19 December 2019

A remarkable heat values have been reported from parts of South Australia today – many locations climbed above +46 °C mark, some of them even above +48 and +49 °C while Nullabor station reported an incredible 50.0 °C!

Here are today’s maximum temperatures – the top 20 METAR / SYNOP stations based on the ogimet.com website reports:
aus1

Based on preliminary analysis, yesterday, Australia recorded its hottest day on record. The nationally-averaged maximum daytime temp was 41.9 °C exceeding the record set on Tuesday, 40.9 ºC.


The extreme heat is now spreading into SE parts of Australia (NSW / VIC) and is expected to peak today – December 20th. Many areas should experience 16-20 °C higher daytime temperatures than normal. That means 45-50 °C peak afternoon temperatures are likely.

In the news; Soldiers Say Goodbye to K9 Hero by Draping Him with American Flag

This story of soldiers' love for their K9 dog brought tears to my eyes. It was a beautiful and touching tribute to this canine hero. This story appeared in the Dodo.com.

Images via Alex Smith courtesy of The Dodo

Soldiers Say Goodbye to K9 Hero by Draping Him with American Flag

This German Shepherd got a hero's goodbye when he finally succumbed to his illness.
Bodza, an 11-year-old German Shepherd, lived a long, meaningful life and the airmen and women with whom he worked with will never forget him.

Bodza was a bomb detection dog with the U.S. Air Force and worked with soldiers in Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, and Kuwait. He worked tirelessly as an explosion detection dog, risking his life every day to keep American airmen safe.


Bodza had a special friendship with one such solder, Kyle Smith. Smith and Bodza started working together in 2012 and bonded strongly during a security mission in Kyrgyzstan. Soon it was time for Bodza to retire and there was no question that Smith would adopt him for good.

"I loved working with him because he taught me a lot -- patience as a young handler, and how to understand that this job isn't just about you," Smith told The Dodo.
They lived a good life together.

"Bodza was a goofy and gentle dog," Smith said. "We had horse stables directly beside our obedience yard and when [the horses] were out, no obedience was going to be done. He'd run the fence line continuously."

In 2016, Bodza was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, a disease that affects the spine.

"His hind limbs lost their use and he could barely stand up anymore, much less walk," Smith said. "He couldn't handle the stress on his body and using the restroom was a task."

In early March, Smith took Bodza to a clinic in El Paso, Texas, where he currently works as a military dog handler. He was met there with other soldiers and airmen who had worked with the loyal K9. It was time to put Bodza down.

And while putting Bodza down wasn't easy on any of the airmen who owed their lives to the loyal dog, it was almost like Bodza was relieved to be rid of the pain.

"I was holding Bodza as he passed," Smith said. "It was a rush of so many things. It was just overwhelming."

"He had a smile on his face when he was getting put to sleep."

The airmen thought it was only appropriate to give Bodza a true hero's goodbye and requested that the dog's body be draped with an American Flag.

soldier with dog and american flag
The image of the airman saying goodbye to this cherished military dog has since gone viral.

And for good reason. Military dogs are a huge asset to our servicemen and women. They not only aid in important jobs such as explosive detection and Army base security, they also provide love and companionship to soldiers who are far away from home.

The story of Bodzi is one that will touch the hearts of not only K9 handlers who have worked with dogs overseas but all animal lovers and true Americans everywhere.

In the news: Portrait of a Lady: Stolen Klimt mystery 'solved' by gardener in Italy

Here's a story from BBC News about a recovered stolen painting, and where it was found. This is pretty amazing, since it was in a trash bag...

Portrait of a Lady: Stolen Klimt mystery 'solved' by gardener in Italy

• December 11, 2019, BBC NEWS

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Media captionThe recovered artwork was put on display by police

Nothing was heard of Gustav Klimt's Portrait of a Lady after it was stolen nearly 23 years ago from a modern art gallery in Piacenza, northern Italy.

There seemed little prospect of the masterpiece, valued at €60m (£50m; $66m), ever being found.

That was until a worker clearing ivy from the wall of the gallery where it was stolen stumbled on a metal panel.

Behind it lay a recess, within which was a black bag containing what appeared to be the missing painting.

Checks are still being carried out on the recovered work, which has been handed to police.

But gallery director Massimo Ferrari is confident the original has been found, because it has the same stamps and sealing wax on the back of the painting.

Police are investigating whether the thieves had left the painting hidden with the aim of removing it when worldwide media attention moved away from one of the most notorious art thefts in years.

Black bag of rubbish

The painting was stolen on 22 February 1997 from the Ricci-Oddi modern art gallery amid preparations for a special exhibition in Piacenza aimed at showing off Portrait of a Lady.

The frame of the painting was discarded on the roof of the building in an apparent attempt to show that thieves had broken in through the skylight. That was not the case as the skylight was too small for the painting to fit through.

Image copyrightRAI TV

Image captionThe painting was found inside this recess in a wall at the gallery

The worker who found the painting said initially he thought the black bag was just rubbish.

Gen Roberto Riccardi, head of the carabinieri unit for protecting cultural heritage, called for caution before the work is authenticated.

A group of experts will now use scientific and artistic analysis to work out if the painting is genuine and if it is has really spent the past 22 years in a hole in the wall.

Art critic Vittorio Sgarbi is already convinced. "Recovering the Portrait, an intense and lifelike work, is the best Christmas present," he told Corriere della Sera.

An important painting

Portrait of a Lady was painted in 1916-17 by Viennese artist Gustav Klimt towards the end of his life.

• Read more from Max Paradiso's story: The mystery of the stolen Klimt

Klimt was part of a radical group of artists called the Secession and many of his works featured expressive and sexually evocative paintings of women.

Media captionClaudia Maga describes her discovery

What was extraordinary about Portrait of a Lady was that, 10 months before it was stolen, art student Claudia Maga spotted that it had been painted over another Klimt painting, Portrait of a Young Lady, which had not been seen since 1912.

She managed to prove her theory by persuading the Piacenza gallery's former director to have it X-rayed.

The original painting was of a young girl from Vienna who had died. Klimt had painted over the portrait when the girl died suddenly, to forget the pain of her death.