Puppy Play Day

I'm just now getting around to posting these pictures.  My dad took all of these when they came over to visity with Lacy.  It appears everyone had a good time.

 The horses seemed uninterested. 

 Isn't she growing up pretty?

Still available

Who wants this handsome fun boy?

Rain? Again? Really?

Is it going to rain at everything I do this year?  It rained during our race in Nashville.  It rained at the one outdoor agility trial I go to.  And then it rained at our long awaited concert.

Saturday a friend and I attended this concert to which we had sandbar/pit tickets.

We arrived at the time the gates were opening in order to get a good spot only to be greeted by a downpour and a rain delay.  We sat around for an hour and  half watching it rain from a lounge at the stadium.  Then because of the significant chaos, confusion (not to mention lack of security) when they finally decided to start and let people onto the floor we did not quite get where we wanted to be standing.  But pretty close.  There was still a pretty heavy shower during Kacey Musgraves so I didn't get out my camera yet.  But,  it started to get a little lighter during the Eli Young Band

By the time Eric Church came on it was pretty dry.  The pictures for Eric were the best.  Partly because of where he stood to sing-right in front of us.

And partly because of the timing of the sunset at the stadium.

By the time Kenny Chesney came on it was getting a little dark for decent pictures, but I tried anyway. 

Overall it was super fun being up close.  But even at that, the stage is so big that when the performers were on the far sides it was hard to see (it doesn't always pay to be 5'3").  I think if we did it again we would try to stand in a different spot and try to be in the first row-which was our original plan anyway.  Also, I could have done without the huge security guard standing right in my way the whole time.  I tried to convince him to trade me spots but he wouldn't.  He wasn't doing anything anyway, I'm sure he could have just stood there doing nothing behind me instead of in front.  Also, they really let way too many people in the pit area.  I know everyone wants those tickets but it would probably be better if there was room for people to move. 

Anyway, here is a video of Kenny and Eric singing together if you are interested. 

The Unusual: Part 7

Thanks to all my great staff who help me collect these!

1.  Tech: What kind of worms are you seeing?
     Client: The regular kind.

2.  Client insists on a Friday afternoon appointment for a vomiting cat.  Radiograph looked ok so I offered some symptomatic meds which they declined.  Apparently, his girlfriend the vet tech was planning on using herbal cat nip tea.  I don't have anything against what sounded like a harmless home remedy but also was unsure of  how they were going to administer this, what the appropriate dose was, and how effective it would be.  I asked if they would like to at least take the meds home just in case given that it was Friday afternoon.  They declined.  Not really sure why they came in.

3.  Client called to ask about tick control and then wanted to know what kind of "poison" was in the ticks this year as one had bit her foot and it looked just awful and she had tried several home remedies and it just wasn't working.  She told the receptionist she would show her when she came in to pick up the tick prevention for her dog.  And she did.  And it was nasty.  She was advised to seek medical care after discussing ticks with our staff for no less than one hour.

4.  A woman and her adult son, who both seemed a little off, present with a barely examinable, fractious dog for a rabies vaccine and also wanted some bloodwork just to make sure everything looked all right.  At the end of the appointment they announced that they had forgotten to mention the dog's occasional lameness which was the whole reason they came in.  Evidently the primary goal was not the rabies vaccine or the bloodwork.  And evidently she thought the bloodwork might show cause of lameness.  Um, not typically.  She also wanted to know (after we gave it) if the dog could get rabies from the vaccine.  Also no.

5.  Clients arrive with what is obviously a mixed breed black and white puppy.  According to the owners one of his parents was a chocolate lab and the other a black lab.  The breeders were giving this one away because they couldn't sell him as he was not standard.  I don't know if they breeders were lying or just unaware of lab genetics but either way they had an "accident."

6.  Overheard clients on their way into the exam room saying they were not sure if the dog had been bitten or had cancer.  This really made me curious as to what I would be seeing.  I think everyone involved (dog included) was relieved when the diagnosis was "hot spots."

7.  Someone placed their dog who was having a seizure in water thinking it might help.  FYI, it does not.

8.  Owner asked if she could put Frontline on herself because she had ticks.

9.  Receptionist: It is a long, short or medium haired cat?
     Client:  It has hair like I've never felt before, like a mink.
     Receptionist:  (pause) So, is it long?
     Client:  Well it's not really long, but it's not short either
     Receptionist:  So let's go with medium
 
    Once again kudos to my receptionist for keeping a straight face.

10.  Owner comes in explaining that his dog had some bite wounds which seemed to be healing but about a week later he had found a dead beaver whose dentition matched the bite wounds on the dog and he wondered what he should do.  Seriously dude?  Not to judge a book by it's cover but this did not appear to be someone who had any expertise in the field of forensic odontology.  We advised a rabies booster anyway.

Not a lot to blog about

I know it's been a while but there really hasn't been anything exciting going on.  Mostly work.  I worked all day, every day last week (crazy huh?) and spent three night out of town as well.  Plus I worked a rabies vaccine clinic for the local spay neuter group yesterday morning.  When I wasn't getting paid to work we were working in the yard, cleaning the house and slaving away at a remodeling project (more on that at a later date).  So not really much time to blog either!

I finally got back to running today.  My training has been abysmal since Nashville.  First it was two weeks off to rest my knee.  Then two weeks of light running. Then two weeks of being sick.  Then catching up on sleep and stuff around the house.  So, I don't have big aspirations for the 10k next month but at least I'll be there.  Hopefully.  I don't know if I'll make my 1000 miles this year but there is always next year.

With any luck I'll have time to post more interesting things this week.

Funraiser pics!

Thanks to my dad...

 Good girl!

 My hard working powder puff!

Funraiser Weekend

As usual we spent Memorial Day weekend at Purina Farms for the NADAC Funraiser.  As usual, there was rain, sun, heat, and cold all squeezed into one weekend.  But, all weather conditions aside, the girls ran very well.

We'll start with Legend.  I had her entered in 16 runs, but apparently forgot to run her in Touch and Go round 2.  So not counting that run, she ended up with 9/15 Qs.  But most importantly she got her last Q for nationals and picked up 2 more chances Qs.  She was not hugely fast this weekend but for the most part she ran well.  She take a tumble off the dogwalk but seemed ok and got right back on.  And I forgot the course in one of her jumpers runs.  So that might have been two more Qs we lost through no real fault of hers.  She had two a-frame refusals which I guess we can live with for a long weekend.  What we can't live with is that she lost another chances Q for bailing the down contact again!  Grrr.  Other than that, she ran really nicely in chances all weekend.  We are now down to just 4 Chances for her NATCH now.  So, our original plan was not to go to the 4th of July trial if she has all her points for champs, but if we go it gives us an outside chances of getting her NATCH at home (she would need to go 4/5).  So I guess we'll give it a shot.  Also, at the end of a long, weekend and hot morning she ran a tunnelers course in 6.22 yps.  I think that's the fastest she has ever been.  Or close anyway.  And that finished her Outstanding Elite Tunnelers title.

Lyric was just a little rock star this weekend.  After last year's unrewarding 0/16 experience at this trial I only entered her in 10 events.  But not only did she Q in 6 of them she ran as hard as she could in every single run.  She worked hard for me no matter what-in the rain, in the heat, in the sun, you name it.  And she was nailing weave poles all weekend long, and fast too.  I was truly amazed at her.  She only had two weaving errors all weekend.  And she even did the dogwalk tunnel discimination once when it was the dogwalk!!  The other times she took the tunnel whether it was correct or not but she did all the tunnel a-frame choices right.  There might be hope for her yet! And she finished her Elite tunnelers title.

Here are some of the videos from the weekend.  I'll post some pics later.


On the down side I was sick all weekend and Zodiac got diarrhea while we were gone.  We both seem to be getting better, although him a little faster than me.

In the wild...

I think things are different.

Legacy

Many of you know that I ran cross country when I was in high school.  During that time I was privileged to by coached my Mr. Joe Haug.  For generations, Mr. Haug was a mentor, coach, teacher, inspiration, hero, and Christian example for hundreds of students.  Now, after 41 years of teaching and coaching, he is retiring.  This will be a great loss but to St. Dominic and to all of the future students who won't get the benefit of knowing him.  But it is well deserved.

Tonight there was a reception to honor Mr. Haug.  There were scrapbooks, letters, mementos and other cross country memorabilia.  Here are a few pictures I took while there.  These first two are some of the scrapbook pages from my years as a runner.  There were lots more-many of the same ones I have in a box somewhere but these contain some pictures I don't think I have.

This quilt was presented to Mr. Haug during his 25th year of coaching which fell during my senior year.  I have several of these t-shirts also in a box somewhere.

Being a math teacher, Mr. Haug loved to keep stats and had a whole packet of them to look through.  Although my best times no longer made any of the lists I was still pretty high up on these.  I may not have been the fastest, but it looks like I was pretty consistent.  I didn't think this was too bad after 41 years of runners.  Oh, and I guess it helps if you knew my maiden name was Warren.

Last year, to celebrate 40 years of cross country the school sent us a request for all runners to write letters to Mr. Haug about our memories and experiences from our years on the team.  I will leave you with mine.

Dear Mr. Haug,

It is with only the fondest memories that I reflect upon my time running cross country.  When asked to write about my memories and experiences as a runner I realized it might not be an easy task to put it all into words.  I guess I could reflect simply upon the tangible memories which exist in the form of a box of medals, old team photos, and state meet t-shirts packed away in my closet, but we all know it’s about a lot more than that.  

Cross country taught me about life lessons.  I learned about the value of hard work, dedication and persistence.  I learned that it’s not always going to be easy and sometimes you are going to do your best and still be disappointed. But then there are other days, where all it’s all worth it, and that feeling inspires you to keep at it and work even harder.  I learned what it’s like to work as a team, to be supportive and proud of each other no matter who finished first or how frustrated you might be by your own performance.

I’m also left with abundant memories of all the fun times we had on and off the course and the roads.  I remember running to the park to play, exploring the trails behind the neighborhoods, and even running the forbidden train tracks (yes, we did that).  I remember the friendships that formed on early morning bus rides, team slumber parties, and overnight trips to Liberty, IL.  I remember all the unusual rituals and good luck mementos. I remember being taught and teaching others the roads we ran for practice-showing them where the 3 mile run was, the five mile run, the mile markers and so on.  I remember passing on traditions and starting new ones and hoping I was able to help new runners the way I was helped when I started out.

Through all of this I was lucky to have a coach who supported us but wasn’t afraid to ask us to push ourselves while never expecting more than we were capable of us.  He not only reminded us that our best is all we can do, he accepted that and was proud of us for doing just that.  He was quick to support us both on and off the course and when there was nothing more left to be said he sent us off (into the world or just to the starting line of another race) with simple words of advice such as “do good” and “hurry back.”  In addition to all of this he provided us with an example of what it means to truly have a passion for what you do as well as personifying Christian values.

Every fall there are always a few crisp, clear mornings that make me stop and smile, and think to myself, “must be cross country season.”  I guess some things never change.  Congratulations on 40 years, hope this one is another good one!

Gotta run,

Nicki Warren Jesky ‘97 

Photographic evidence

Since we were too miserable at the conclusion of Nashville race we didn't take our own picture. But, to remember this day forever we bought one from the event photographer. Do we look wet? Because we were.