#access to veterinary care

[is-the-owl-video-cute]

i think the most annoying part of dog food discourse is how many people will act as though proplan/hill’s/Royal canin diets aren’t extremely and prohibitively expensive and that THAT is the reason so many people look into healthy alternatives.

People complain about corn being in the first five ingredients on most of those feeds because, regardless of other factors here, that is not an expensive ingredient. But it makes up a large chunk of the dry food. So the dry food should be fairly affordable, right?

Oh… with tax you’re spending about $100 for one 45lb bag of food where the third ingredient is wheat and the fourth and fifth ingredients are corn.

Oh… well! It’s slightly cheaper! But the second ingredient is rice, third is wheat, fourth is corn, and then fifth is poultry byproduct. None of those are very expensive so this just must be the low end cost of dog food unfortunately. The vets recommend it so surely that means prices aren’t inflated, right?

Oh? This one has similar ingredients with the only real difference being no corn? And it’s half the price?? Well surely that’s just a fluke.

Oh. Oh no.

This one even has CORN in it and it’s $20 cheaper?? Wow!

Like listen at some point I don’t care if your dog food has the ichor of the gods in it, I’m not spending $100 every five days if there are cheaper options with just as many “good” ingredients in it. If you think I’m a dog abuser because I can’t afford this overpriced garbage, that’s too bad. I don’t care. My dogs are perfectly healthy with the food I give them. Great weight and great coat. People giving dog food recommendations that aren’t those top three hyper-expensive dog foods aren’t trying to epic own those dastardly vets half the time, but I really don’t blame the ones who do lose trust in vets when the only heartworm protection they recommend lately are expensive triple-action brands like Simparica Trio that costs $120+ as opposed to the other heartworm protections that are only about $40-$60 on average, which is still cheaper even if you add on a $20-$40 flea and tick protection separately, and only recommend dog food that costs $85+ a bag even if your dog doesn’t have specialized dietary needs.

Those top three foods are GREAT at making competent prescription diets, I don’t deny that. I do still have to criticize the pricing of those prescription diets though because I have spoken to DOZENS of people who had to pull their pets off of a prescription diet and struggle to find something comparable because they couldn’t afford the food, and that’s terrible! These are not poor companies! Purina, Royal Canin, and Hill’s can ABSOLUTELY afford to lower their prices to make their food accessible to people who need it for their animals but they don’t. They probably never will. Because at the core they are run by greedy corporations. It doesn’t matter how many good nutritionists are on board if the company is run by people who put profits over customers and make the food impossible for people to afford.

[blackboxtheater]

i voted! i was going to vote them anyway but i wanna prompt!

prompt is…

pokémon (my other hyperfixation lol)

Ahhhhhh!! Yes!! We are keeping our lead!

To make sure we keep the lead, go vote for Mumpearl in the Mumbo Jumbo ship bracket!!

But onto the really exciting stuff!

Okay so I have to preface this by saying I know nothing about pokémon.

And not in a funny "yeah, I've forgotten most of it cause I haven't played since I was a kid hahaha" way. In a "didn't know you had to fight them against each other to gain experience" way.

I know nothing about Pokémon.

I know 'Gotta Catch 'Em All!', Team Rocket has a cat man creature in it, you throw the ball at the little monster to capture it, Pikachu does something with lightning, and Snorlax…..exists? Charizard…..is a thing……I think? 

So I need to preface this by saying that I am so so SO sorry from the bottom of my heart that you found the last person on earth who doesn’t know about Pokémon to give this prompt too. I am so sorry I am going to butcher the mechanics of your favorite game. You can and should roast me for it.

With all that in mind, it's probably best to think about this as a story loosely based on the concepts of Pokémon as opposed to actually how Pokémon works. But I tried. And I Googled a lot.

*-* *-* *-*

When people ask Trainer Moon and Nurse Jumbo at international research conferences about how they started the Boatem Forest Pokémon Wildlife Hospital and Research Facility, they each tell a slightly different story.

Nurse Jumbo gushes about how Trainer Moon's skill in battle is a critical foundation for his study of rare evolutions and pokémon abilities. Trainer Moon talks bout Nurse Jumbo's selfless work treating pokémon in rural communities and how the research facility is founded on the basic premise that new discoveries can only happen if the resources to study wild pokémon are actually located near wild pokémon.

Even the stories of exactly how they fell in love vary slightly, but most researchers only make the mistake of asking that question once. Because once Trainer Moon or Nurse Jumbo get started on that tangent, you had to consider the rest of your night lost to being held captive by their endless stories showering praise onto their partner. The details may vary slightly, but their adoration and devotion to one another is irrefutable.

The actual story was a little messier and a lot less inspirational.

Because the truth was that Pearl had no memory of first meeting Mumbo.

She remembered the burn in her legs as she ran up the rocky mountain road towards the faint lights in the distance.

She remembered the blood of her oldest and most loyal Midnight Lycanroc Tilly seeping into her hoodie.

She remembered praying to any god who would listen that the lights were a town and offering anything the god wanted in return for there to be a Pokemon Center in this town that could save Tilly.

She remembered crying even harder than she had been before when she finally saw the universal sign of a Pokemon center calling out to her through the darkness along the deserted town road.

She remembered sobs of blind panic and utter relief and bottomless grief at the thought of losing Tilly all crashing over her as she burst through the doors.

The next thing she remembered was waking up alone in a stiff plastic waiting room chair.

The only sounds were the quiet clicks of a keyboard and the snores of a Sylveon curled at the ground between her feet. Which explained how she slept at all considering the ache in her back.

"Oh! You're awake," a voice said to her left.

She turned to see a dark hair man towering behind the counter, far too tall to comfortable sit at the small computer terminal in front of him. The only thing she could focus on as he kept talking was the twitching of his incredibly pronounced mustache.

"Did you sleep well? That was a stupid question. Sorry. The chairs are terrible. I know that. Everyone says that. We, well really it's just me so I guess I, I keep meaning to get new ones. Did Potato help at least? Sorry, I mean is there anything I can do for you?"

"Potato?" Pearl blinked, but the rustle at her feet answered her question before the man behind the counter could.

"Are you Potato?" Pearl looked down into the big blue eyes of the Sylveon staring eagerly back at her. The happy chirps she got in response were quickly accompanied by its ribbon twisting around her arm and tugging her hand down towards its head in a shameless demand for head scritches.

"I wish I could say that means you're special, but Potato loves everyone," the man said, stepping out from behind the counter and walking across the lobby waiting room towards Pearl. "Don't you buddy? That's why you're a good boy. Who's a good boy?"

Pearl wasn't sure if the happy chirps from Potato are from the scratches she was giving him behind the ears or from being called a good boy. But it was enough to make her smile for just a moment before the worry about Tilly sunk back into her gut.

"Are the nurses around this morning? I'd like to get a status update on my Pokemon," Pearl asked, looking up at the man.

"Oh she's stable. Still asleep in the back. It was a long night but Tilly pulled through. She was in rough shape. You both were. That's why I had Potato come out to help you get some rest too. And looks like it worked, huh buddy?"

The man, who apparently knew Tilly's name, looked down to the Sylveon as it released Pearl's hand and trotted over to curl around his legs.

"I'm sorry," Pearl said, shaking her head in confusion. "Who are you again?"

"I'm Mumbo, I was here last night when you brought in Tilly? I mean I'm always here cause I'm the only one here so…" he trailed off with a nervous laugh.

"You're the nurse?"

Pearl blamed her stupid question on the exhaustion, but the laugh she got in response had a lightness to it that made it sound like she wasn't the first person who had asked the same thing. Living on the move like Pearl did and living this far into the wildness meant she had seen a lot of different nurses in a lot of different Pokémon Centers. She couldn't say she ever remembered meeting a young man. She'd met male nurses before, but most were old enough to be her grandfather. This one barely looked older than her. And that might just be because of the mustache.

"Yeah, I know I'm not exactly what people expect. But I'm the only nurse around for at least a couple of towns, so you're stuck with me."

The nervous laugh was back, and Pearl wasn't sure if she felt worse about making the stupid assumption that he couldn't be the one taking care of her pokémon or the fact that this came up enough that he had a response ready to go.

"Do you want to see Tilly?" Mumbo asked, motioning back towards the rooms behind the counter.

Pearl could only nod, tears threatening to prickle into her eyes even though she knew that Tilly had to be okay.

Mumbo opened the door into a recovery room in the back to reveal a worse for wear, but very alive, Tilly. Pearl chose to focus on the slow rise and fall of her chest as she slept curled in on herself rather than the countless wires and IV's hooked up to her. But Pearl didn't notice the Umbreon nestled inside the crook of Tilly's legs until she was already climbing down onto the floor to try to wrap herself around her favorite pokémon.

"Mooner, come here," Mumbo called, making the Umbreon perk up from where it had snuggled into Tilly. "It's time for the nice lady here to hang out with your new friend."

"Sorry," Mumbo continued, directing his attention back towards Pearl. "Mooner like to pretend she's like her bother Potato and can help her friends feel better. Tilly seemed to calm down and sleep better with another pokémon around thought which, I mean, I guess I get now."

He gestured to how Pearl had curled herself completely around Tilly.

"She normally sleeps next to me," Pearl offered as explanation for Tilly's behavior. Or maybe her own.

And since Mumbo didn't kick her out, that was how Pearl stayed for the rest of the day, curled up next to Tilly, chatting with Mumbo as he monitored Tilly's vitals and diligently administered additional healing every 2 hours like clockwork.

It was probably a good thing that he seemed to ramble a lot, because Pearl wasn't in much of mood to talk. But she was in the mood to listen to Tilly's breathing and Mumbo's soothing voice as he explained how a guy like him ended up running a Pokémon Center in the tiny town along the side of Magic Mountain. 

Or more correctly, ended up back in Magic Mountain.

He explained, between replacing Tilly's IV bags and mixing more healing elixirs, that he had grown up here, just up the mountainside. He'd been fascinated by pokémon growing up just like so many other kids, but he'd never been good at battling with them. His friends Grian and Scar were always better at the actually fighting, he was more interested in learning about their abilities, behaviors, evolutions, statistics, or really anything he could learn.

"That’s why I have so many of these guys hanging around," he joked, picking up a snoring Mooner from the counter so he could grab the stack of papers under it.

"They can turn out so many different ways, and you mostly just need to love them for them to evolve. Which is perfect for someone as terrible in fights as me."

That was probably also why he got so experienced in taking care of injured pokémon, he said. Not a lot of nurses in rural places like this, and between his friend's eagerness to fight and his perchance to lose against anything he fought, he got pretty good at taking care of their little flock of pokémon growing up. 

He explained to Pearl that when he, Grian, and Scar were finally old enough to go to university in the big city, his friends were sure they were going to become the best pokémon trainers in the world. Meanwhile he was sure he would become a world renowned pokémon scientist.

"I thought I was going to study in this big lab. Use all this fancy equipment and powerful computers. But turns out to have that, you have to live really far away from the mountains. And you have to care about optimizing pokémon for fighting, which, between you and me, I don’t really think is the most interesting thing about them."

Pearl viscerally understood that sentiment.

She had had been told that she was a talented trainer in the cities and towns she drifted through in her early years. She had won lots of battles and defeated opponents in new and creative ways. There had been whispers gathering around her about the bright future she had, and how she could become one of the greatest trainers of her age given a little more time and practice.

Until she swung at her ally for the way his Alolan Ninetales went after Tilly in the middle of battle. Then it didn't matter how talented she was because giving a trainer a black eye made most people question if she had the mental stability needed to be successful.

The whole thing had just made Pearl question why she was making her pokémon fight battles they didn’t need to in the first place.

So she had apologized to Scott Major for breaking his nose, packed up her things from the MCC gym, and left for the mountains.

That had been nearly 5 years ago and now she had a collection of extremely rare pokémon she caught in the depths of the Boatem forest. But more importantly, her pokémon never fought unless they absolutely had to.

Which they did.

Often as one might expect in the wilderness.

But she would rather them fight a wild pokémon to help her survive than ask them to fight against another trainer just to settle some petty dispute in a big city.

"At least you're good at fighting. I spent all my years as a kid obsessed with pokémon and no way to ever evolve them because I could never win a fight," Mumbo laughed, a self-deprecating tinge settling inside the sound as Pearl explained how she even ended up in the far flung town of Magic Mountain in the first place.

"But I'm glad you're here to treat them," she offered, running her fingers through Tilly's fur. Tilly was finally awake enough to gaze up at Pearl from where her head sat in Pearl's lap, but was still too weak to do much else.

"Learning to take care of all different types of pokémon is an interesting challenge. One I was happy to find once I realized I would have been miserable as a scientist locked away in some pristine lab in a big city. I mean, what do they even study there? There's no pokémon in cities except the ones people bring in. How is that- Sorry. I mean yes. I like being a nurse. I like helping these guys get better. And it's needed. Ever since nurse Tin died a few years ago, I'm the only nurse on the mountain."

"That must be hard," Pearl said, realizing that if Tilly had needed round the clock care since Pearl brought her in last night that meant Mumbo must have never slept.

"Thank you," Pearl added, looking up from where Tilly was drifting back to sleep. "She wouldn’t be here without you, so thank you."

It took Tilly a few more days to recover, which meant more time for Pearl to hang around the clinic chatting with Mumbo. He taught her some quick battlefield healing tricks in case she was farther out the next time her pokémon took this much lethal damage and she wasn't lucky enough to find a pokémon center in time. And once Tilly was strong enough to walk, she introduced him to her vast collection of pokémon during their walks around the small meadow behind the clinic. He had seemingly endless questions about their abilities, behavior, stats, and history, and Pearl felt guilty the more she had to admit she didn't know the answer to most of his questions. She had suspected she had a lot of rare pokémon before, but it was wild to have her suspicions confirmed by the countless blank data fields in even Mumbo's medical grade pokédex.

So when Mumbo refused to take any payment for his work on Tilly, she promised she would come back and repay him with some answers to all his questions. He laughed and told her to not worry about it, but there was an excited flash in his eyes that she couldn't stop thinking about even as she packed up and headed down the mountain with a newly healed Tilly by her side.

That look in his eyes was all she could think about six months later when she watched her Ursaring evolve into a Bloodmoon Ursaluna right before her eyes. She could see that look so clearly as she scribbled down everything she could think of that could possibly be relevant before packing up her camp and starting the trek back to Magic Mountain that very night.

When she walked back through his Pokémon Center doors, she thought he was excited to see her because he remembered her promise to bring him back some of the answers he had been looking for since he was a kid.

Many years, dozens of adventures, countless pokémon, and a first nationally recognized scientific paper later, Mumbo confessed he had forgotten that Pearl even promised to come back when he saw her come through the doors that day. He had just been thrilled to see the pretty, brilliant trainer walk back into his life again.

The fact that she was offering a path to an unimaginably fantastic future of studying pokémon together was just a lovely bonus.

[bedrock-to-buildheight]

Battleworkers United - a massive labor union of gym trainers, battle facility staff, elite fours, ect. If your job involves pokemon battling, your ass can join up

MythicalMap - online community of rare and mythical pokemon spotters, complete with a scoreboard and local groups drama. They have opinions about this kid named Ash

Smogon's Inferno - a chain of restaurants with built in league-grade battling arenas for live entertainment

Sommei Electricity and Public Transport Association (SEPTA) - labor union that runs the Sommei region's bus, metro, and public electricity system (don't ask why those three in particular). Runs an Electric-type Gym as promo for its bus service

Showdown - impressively realistic FPS battling game with a playerbase of 95% people who can't raise the actual pokemon they want and 5% career battle analysts with poor work-life balance

Joy Hae-Sook Foundation - charitable foundation focused on accessible pokemon veterinary care. They're why you have Pokecenters damn near everywhere. Wildly successful

The Indigo League - you know what this is

[sivavakkiyar]

Under India’s current policies, pastoralists, many of whom are from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, cannot legally register livestock. Unlike their counterparts on settled land, they cannot access insurance, vaccines, veterinary care and compensation when animals are injured or killed.

“No government or institution is ready to believe that you own these cattle, and this is your livelihood,” Hamza said.

But a historic step may mark a major change in the rights and recognitions afforded to nomadic and migratory herders.

India announced earlier this month that its 2024 livestock census will, for the first time, also enumerate pastoral livestock. Officials say this addition to the count is crucial for recognising pastoralism as a widespread practice and could pave the way toward introducing new resources and programmes for the community. Its advocates hope this shift will help create a policy framework that will eventually allow livestock to be legally registered

[pokemonshelterstories]

How did you know you wanted to take care/work with Pokémon for your career?

i figured it out when i was a kid...maybe five or six years old? i had to take care of my sister a lot growing up, and it was pretty obvious to other kids that i was Not Like Them, so i was kind of an isolated child. i spent a lot of time out in the yard watching random wild pokemon like starly and bounsweet. sometimes we'd go out for picnics on the sunflora lawn, and the gym staff were really nice and let me "help out" by counting the sunflora after a gym challenge and giving them treats, haha. it was something that made me feel kind of special, and i related more to pokemon than to people for a long time.

i was also really scared of a lot of things as a kid because i have a pretty severe anxiety disorder, and the way i coped with this was by learning as much about things that i was scared of. there were a lot more accessible resources about pokemon for kids than about anything else i was afraid of, so i spent a lot of time learning about them, and it turned out that i have something of a....natural knack for pokemon behavior and care, i guess? i picked it up very fast. a couple of really good teachers i had in secondary school nudged me towards going into veterinary medicine because i could not shut up about pokemon. that didn't quite pan out the way i anticipated, but i think pokemon research was always where i was supposed to end up!

[strangebiology]

"Don't you trust animal rights organizations?"

Yes and no. More like...I'll consider what both sides have to say. I recently posted "But Fur is Microplastics!" which is about being skeptical of "fur is green" arguments that are bought and paid for by the pro-fur lobby.

Which came from a post (TT, IG, FB, Tumblr) about why I'm skeptical about both sides' most accessible talking points coming from places of extreme bias. I'd be more inclined to take seriously a big, well done, non-biased study comparing sustainability metrics of real v faux fur, but it seems that has never happened, and likely never will.

Although I would not completely trust something that comes from a biased source, I would consider and listen to either org's points, even with their bias. What I'm about to say can be applied to journalism covering any claim from any lobby, activist organization, etc. But I'll use ARA groups as an example--I could use opposite examples in all of these.

For example, you do want to pay skeptical attention to even biased sources in the following examples:

Sometimes orgs and lobbies don't have an apparent reason to lie about a topic. If PETA said "X is better for animal welfare than Y," well, they do care about animal welfare, so I'd take them more seriously on that particular metric. If they said "X is better for nutrition," and it just coincidentally is the thing that aligns with their mission statement, I'm more wary. If the International Fur Federation said "mink is selling better than fox this year," well, they do care about fur trends. I hesitantly admit that those are not things I can immediately see any reason for them to lie or exaggerate about.

Sometimes orgs and lobbies are the first to bring something verifiable to your attention. For instance, if an ARA group sends you a video of pigs baking and suffocating to death over hours, well, that is footage, nearly proof. Maybe you interview the farmer and they confirm that happened, and they justify their reasons, and you include a quote from them. Then you find the American Veterinary Medical Association approved that form of killing, why they are ok with it, you find studies about it, you find Veterinarians Against Ventilator Shutdown and why they are against it, is this standard, are the alternatives better... It can be a great article starting with a biased source, with enough rigor. (It would be better if you could get this footage yourself, but journalists don't really do that these days.)

Sometimes you are just talking about one topic for now. I asked someone at the Humane Slaughter Association what science they used to make their humane slaughter recommendations. Do I need to stop and say "oooh but they're in favor of slaughter, that makes them biased against vegan meats?" No, I don't. I can talk about the ethics of livestock slaughter in general and vegan options another time.

[12percentspider]

Do you or someone you know need insulin?

Is there someone in your inbox asking for money because clearly they don't know there's help out there? *winkwinknudgenudge say no more say no more* Well, if it's you or anyone else, here's some links to resources for almost anything you could need that relates in some way to being diabetic.

^Long, is a huge list for pretty much ANY complication you could have with diabetes in general. It does explain different kind of insurance plans, would be good for long-term needs. Seems very US based, but there may be equivalent resources in specific other countries that you could probably find with a quick search using these options as search terms. [I did link a couple of worldwide (give or take) sites below]

^US-based list of resources that cover so many different complications that can arise from being diabetic as well as some veterinary resources if your animals need care (if someone in your inbox needs it, point them in that direction?).

^ US-based, exactly what it says on the tin plus more.

Outside of US:

^ Global (mostly). Lists countries that have restrictions, but gives you an application to fill out. They check to see if you're eligible, but it could very well be worth a shot.

^Lists specific countries that have financial resources.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

would azumarill be a good pet?

Azumarills would indeed make good pets! Just like their pre-evolution, these pokémon need access to water to play in but have exceptional ease-of-care otherwise, plus they’re super friendly!

They may be on the larger size for a house-pet, but certainly not to an unreasonable level. As I already mentioned, azumarills are big fans of water. Wild azumarills are happy wherever they can find freshwater, like rivers, ponds and lakes (Gold, Diamond). They spend most of their time in the water (Emerald), doing everything from hunting for food (Gold, Ruby), hiding from predators (Crystal), or even sunbathing (Sword). Thankfully, they don’t seem to be too picky and don’t necessarily need water to survive, so finding a way to get them some daily or almost-daily water time shouldn’t be beyond the means of too many owners. If you have a pool, private or public, or live near a natural body of fresh water, you should be covered. Now, if you live somewhere that gets really cold during part of the year, it might get a little trickier. Here’s the good news, though: many azumarills have the ability Thick Fat, which makes them resistant to cold temperatures: so long as the water doesn’t freeze solid they should be happy. I’d recommend reaching out to water-type owner communities in your area, they probably know the best places to get your azumarill some water time.

These pokémon get along well with humans and pokémon, giving them just the right temperance to be a good pet. Wild azumarills are known to pay specific attention to the safety of those around them: azumarills have been reported using their ability to make balloons out of air to rescue drowning pokémon (Sapphire) and often attach these balloons to playing marills around them just in case (Shield). If you’re a lifeguard, you might find just the right partner in an azumarill! These pokémon are highly energetic, so they would fit best in a high-energy home. Despite their goofy look, these pokémon are avid hunters, using their keen sense of hearing to track down prey in fast-moving rivers (Gold, Ruby). This means you will need to offer your azumarill with plenty of toys and high-energy activities to engage in to supplement this behavior in a home environment.

While not violent towards humans by nature, azumarills are no pushovers. Moves like Hydro Pump, Double-Edge, and Superpower pack quite a punch, and Bounce is always a move we look out for. As far as their score goes, though, the detriment of these moves are counterbalanced somewhat by moves like Aqua Ring, a self-healing move that may let you cut down on veterinary bills. While you should never underestimate how dangerous an angry azumarill could be, solid training and awareness of their move should negate much of the risk associated with adopting one. Just be careful that they don’t get too rough when you’re playing!

Overall, while there are a couple of drawbacks regarding this pokémon if you don’t have access to water for them to play in, these pokémon make a pretty good pet. I would recommend starting with a marill if possible, however, as their smaller size and weaker moves make them a better fit for most beginner water-type owners.

[hexpositive]

Hex Positive, Ep. 052 - Mercury's In The Microwave with Alisha Abdelilah of Soul Riot LLC

Now available on your favorite listening app!

The pod gets cosmic as Alisha Abdelilah of Soul Riot LLC joins the chat to talk about her approach to astrology - a refreshingly down-to-earth attitude that focuses on personal gifts and self-improvement, rather than the nebulous woo-speak of pop horoscopes. This month, we’re blaming it ALL on the retrograde!

Follow Soul Riot on Instagram or sign up for classes and readings with Alisha!

Further Reading and Resources

Donate to the American Red Cross to aid with ongoing California wildfire relief efforts and help support the American Veterinary Medical Foundation's ⁠Southern California Disaster Relief efforts to help provide emergency care to animals injured or displaced by the fires.

Visit the Willow Wings Witch Shop on Shopify and check out this month’s featured items and Upcoming Events. Make sure you also visit the Redbubble page for even more cool merch!

Check my ⁠⁠Wordpress⁠⁠ for full show notes, as well as show notes for past episodes and information on upcoming events. You can find me as @BreeNicGarran on Instagram and WordPress, or as @breelandwalker on tumblr. For more information on how to support the show and get access to early releases and extra content, visit my ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠.

Proud member of the ⁠⁠Nerd and Tie Podcast Network⁠⁠.

MUSIC CREDITS

Intro & Outro – “Spellbound” & “Miri’s Magic Dance” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[crippled-peeper]

Re: chiropractor hate. Have you seen those "chiropractors for pets" bs? Someone's gonna get their cat killed that way

Yes I have and it enrages me to no end

They already have killed pets. It’s not even uncommon. A cursory google search revealed just how controversial and dangerous it is

Plus, people forgoing real veterinary care to take their dog to a chiropractor (animal chiropractors dont exist. they only train for humans) means ignoring symptoms that could be serious and life threatening, like a neoplasm or neurological problem

[felinefractious]

Warning: This post will contain mention of animal death, animal injury and burns. If you wish to donate without further information here is the link.

If you at all follow the animal rescue community online you may have already heard about this tragedy, I have even seen articles out of the UK and India about what happened - the international rescue communityis shaken by the enormity of this loss.

At around 7:15am EST yesterday afire occured at the sanctuary in Medford, New York on Long Island. It ultimately claimed the life of the owner and sources estimate at least 100 feline residents, leaving a potential ~200 more cats in need of aid.

This is local to me.

The clinic I work at is not one of the primary veterinarians that served the sanctuary, but some of our clients are volunteers there and would bring some of the cats to us… we have patients who we don’t know yet what happened to.

This is a link to the official fundraiser for the care of the surviving cats. 🔗

If you live on Long Island or the surrounding area there is a desperate need for fosters so the rescued cats have somewhere to go. I have seen The North Fork Country Kids and Strong Island Animal Rescue League put out a call for fosters.

Both of these organizations are accepting donations directly in addition to the main GFM.

Make a Donation to North Fork Country Kids

Make a Donation to Strong Island Animal Rescue League

There is also a seperate GFM for a cat named Crystal who was rescued from the fire and is being treated at an emergency and specialty hospital, the fundraiser was made by an employee of the hospital who is fostering her.

A link to this post will be added to my pinned and I’ll update this post as information becomes available.

I do not intend to turn reblogs on for the post, I don’t want to deal with comments… I’m just talking to my followers. Thank you for understanding.

04/01 Update [Link 🔗]

A warehouse has been secured in Holbrook, NY to work out of as a makeshift sanctuary to temporarily house the cats as they are vetted and fosters as sought. Paws of War is assisting with their mobile veterinary clinic, they don’t appear to be requesting donations for the situation at this time.

04/09 Update

04/04 The fire was not deemed suspicious and arson isn’t being suspected, a definite cause hasn’t been identified. [Link 🔗]

04/05 57 cats were removed from the property, 5 cases were in critical condition and severely burned. [Link 🔗]

04/06 Cat Wrangler Rescue formally joined the trapping efforts. [Link 🔗]

04/06 148 cats and received FeLV/FIV testing, vaccinations, flea/tick treatment, deworming and microchipping from 50+ volunteer veterinary staff. [Link 🔗]

04/08 Rescue agencies were finally permitted access to the home, an additional 54 deceased cats were recovered on top of the original 100 reported. [Link 🔗] [Link 🔗]

04/08 One of the cats rescued by NFCK dubbed “Tuxie” passed away [Link 🔗]

04/08 Wipeout is a cat from the sanctuary rescued by NFCK and is doing well. [Link 🔗]

04/09 Crystal passed away. [Link 🔗]

04/09 Another injured cat from the sanctuary was found by a neighbor. [Link 🔗]

04/09 Moonshine/Salem and French Fry continue to do well, French Fry begins laser treatment for his paws. [Link 🔗] [Link 🔗]

04/09 Sir Arthur is an FIV+ cat from the sanctuary rescued by NFCK and is doing well. [Link 🔗]

04/09 AnimalKind has a FeLV+ survivor rescued from the sanctuary that is available for adoption. [Link 🔗]

04/10 Update

Cat Wrangler Rescue trapped 14 sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

20 cats were brought into the temporary location, an estimated 20 remain at the burned down sanctuary needing to be trapped. [Link 🔗]

Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons took 8 sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

Bideawee took 8 sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

Little Shelter also took some sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

North Shore Animal League took 20 sanctuary survivors to be housed at their “Bianca’s Furry Friends Feline Adoption Center.” [Link 🔗]

Southhampton Animal Shelter Foundation has also taken some sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

04/13 Update

04/12 One of the burn survivors passed away. [Link 🔗]

04/12 Moonshine/Salem and Salty French Fry continue to recover. [Link 🔗]

04/13 Last Chance Animal Rescue took 12 samctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

04/13 The Patricia H Ladew Foundation took 4 sanctuary survivors. [Link 🔗]

04/17 Update [Link 🔗]

The North Fork Animal Welfare League took 14 survivors.

04/22 Update

46 cats were brought into the temporary location, an estimated 10 remain at the burned down sanctuary needing to be trapped. 1 cat is being treated for FIP. [Link 🔗]

Paws of War and Strong Island caught another injured survivor in a neighbors yard after receiving a report. [Link 🔗]

The badly burned cat caught by Strong Island on 4/09, named “Mittens,” continues to receive veterinary care and may need part of his tail amputated. [Link 🔗]

04/24 Update

04/23 A sanctuary cat named “Dusty” has been adopted out through North Fork Country Kids to a loving pet home. [Link 🔗]

04/23 There are currently 310 cats in the sanctuary database with more waiting to be added. [Link 🔗]

04/24 4 of the cats North Fork Animal Welfare League took have been introduced to one of their cat rooms. [Link 🔗]

04/24 The cat famously rescued from a tree stump in a neighbors yard, now named “Shelley,” is in the care of AWAP and looking better through her long road to recovery. [Link 🔗]

04/24 A cat with burned paws is doing welll in AWAP’s care, named “Sebastian.” [Link 🔗]

04/25 Update

French Fry is moving from the hospital into his foster home. [Link 🔗]

Moonshine was able to leave 24-hours critical care, a tremendous landmark even though he still has a long recovery ahead of him. [Link 🔗]

Final Hope Animal Rescue took in 4 sanctuary survivors that are FeLV+ [Link 🔗]

05/05 Update [Link 🔗]

TNR Taskforce is fundraising to purchase an airconditioner for Final Hope Animal Rescue to benefit the FeLV+ cats they took in.

[the-angry-acrobat]

how you can help stray animals

the first thing to remember is not to take stray animals to kill shelters. if you leave an animal at a kill shelter, the animal will not be properly looked after, rehomed, or given a chance. many shelters kill the animals just because they don’t have enough room in the shelter. they decide which animals are more in need of adoption and rescuing, and they don’t consider or care for all of them individually. they euthanise animals that are old, ill, aggressive, unclaimed, or unadopted after a very short period of time. the animals are not kept in clean and safe conditions. they are not given attention, love and care, which leads to depression, anxiety, stress and many other behavioural issues. an estimated 100,000 animals are killed in council pounds and shelters every year, and most are never given the chance to find a new home.

what to do instead of taking animals to shelters;

rehoming. try and find someone who will adopt and care for the animal. ask your family, extended family, friends, the friends of your friends, your friend’s families and extended families, cousins, uncles, aunts, siblings, and anyone that you know if they will take and care for the animal. if they are already looking for a pet this is an even better idea. if not, make sure you give them plenty of time, space and help with the animal as the animal settles into their home. make sure the animal is being cared for properly there, the people intend to keep it up, and regularly check in on the animal and family. find the animal a forever home.

fostering. you can foster the animal, giving it a temporary home with you, until you can find someone to adopt the animal and give it a safe place to go.

animal rescue groups. there are very good, safe, humane animal rescue groups and animal charities that specialise in caring for animals that need homes or are strays. research properly into any rescue group first, connect with people who have had experience with said group, go and have a look at the rescue first, and meet some of the animals there, talk to staff and volunteers. make sure the group is no-kill, and rehomes and adopts out animals to good homes.

adopt the animal. if you have the time, space, resources and money to care for the animal and you want to care for it, then adopt it. get the animal the right veterinary and health care, prepare to bring the animal to your home, make sure that if you don’t live alone that the people you live with are also prepared and want to help care for the animal/are cool with you bringing the animal in. care for the animal well, give it lots of attention, love, and play, and love them.

if you cannot give the animal to a rescue group and have to take it to a shelter, then research the shelter, make sure it is a humane, safe, no-kill shelter, look into the shelter properly and check the health regulations, state and condition of the animals, staff behaviour, and if there are volunteers working there. possibly interact with some of the animals there, and make sure they get attention and proper care at the shelter. then and only then take the animal to the shelter and make sure the shelter will be looking to rehome the animal to a good, safe family. other ways to help stray animals:

provide them with food and water. this can be done by setting up a food and water station in a safe and accessible area. that way you can ensure that the stray animals nearby have access to the nutrition they need.

provide them with shelter. you don’t have to adopt the animal to make sure they’re safe. you can set up a shelter in your yard, garage, or basement. you can build a shelter out of wood or other materials. this will provide the animals with a safe place to rest and/or stay warm during cold weather.

volunteering. volunteering to help stray animals is a good and safe way to help them. animal lovers can step forward to help strays in their communities get vaccinated, treat injuries and even find new homes. they can assist in the establishment of adoption centres and humane shelters.

look out for stray animals. stray animals' lives are incredibly hard, with many daily challenges. it is a struggle for them to find food, water, and shelter, and they are without medical care. they are also deprived of the love and companionship they need to survive. each day is a struggle for them. don’t let them suffer in silence. do whatever you can, even if that is not much. it’s better then nothing. spread awareness for stray animals whenever you can.

please share this and spread awareness

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

To be honest, the most complicated thing about less/non conventional pets is that it's way harder to have access to good food/veterinary care/acessories. About environment and interaction though, I'm under the impression that most people seriously underestimate the care cats and dogs need; and that makes the care of less conventional pets seeing overwhelming when, actually, it is more like taking animal well being seriously. That's very in short, of course. For instance, aquariums may be very hard to set up and keep up, parrots have high social needs, and so on, but for some lifestyles they are a very good fit, even better than conventional pets. For the other side, many people stay with more conventional pets like cats/dogs when they can't offer a good care, but just because.

Agreed 100%. Too many people just do not treat animals correctly in all directions.

For some people, dogs would be a bad pet (like me), but parrots are perfect. For others, it's the reverse. The list goes on.

Instead of acting like any choice is inherently bad, or starting a moral panic on the internet, we need to apply NUANCE. nuuuuuaaaaance.

[copperbadge]

Radio Free Monday

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Radio Free Monday!

As a reminder, I will be discontinuing Radio Free Monday in the new year, although I am working with someone now on possibly keeping it going, so stay tuned! Either way, the guide to fundraising will remain, and you should feel free to link to it.

Before we start, I have a thank-you to share from frenchroasted; around this time last year she shared a fundraiser to buy her cousin an accessible van so that she can transport her son, who has lost mobility due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy, everywhere he needs to go. As of December 12th, they have raised the funds for the van!

Ways to Give:

Tom is a trans man raising funds for top surgery after years of wanting it; you can read more and support the fundraiser here.

Recurring Needs:

idiomagic's cat SpyBoy recently spent time in the emergency vet hospital, where they found out he has pancreatitis and diabetes; they're facing nearly $7K in veterinary bills with no income, as Idiomagic's husband lost his job at the same time and she is unable to work. You can read more and give at gofundme here or give directly via gwyndynalexander at Venmo.

Aviator Celadine is an unemployed trans woman raising funds to try and keep above water; she has found a part-time job but will not be paid until the end of the month and needs to cover some unexpected expenses now. She needs to raise $600 to pay off the expenses; you can read more and support the fundraiser here.

amour-de-tours is a multiply disabled and chronically ill queer Indigenous woman; she is in the process of applying for SSI, but has been unemployed since 2019 due to disability, and is in need of $1,500 for urgent medical care. You can read an update, reblog, and find giving information here or give directly at Paypal here.

loversdoom is raising funds for an assessment to get help with mental health so she can be treated and remain in school, where she has a safe place to live and basic psychiatric support. You can read more, reblog, and find giving information here or give via paypal here.

chingaderita is raising funds to cover food and pay the electric bill to keep the power on, vital because their insulin needs to be refrigerated; the family has been struggling after having to move into an unsafe living situation after a house fire, and covering medical treatment for their mother-in-law. You can read more and support the fundraiser here.

And this has been Radio Free Monday! Thank you for your time. You can post items for my attention at the Radio Free Monday submissions form.

[a-literate-chicken]

Hey! I just turned 18, and I still live with my parents, but when I move out I would like to have a chicken; I love biology, but I only research it as a hobby, so could you give me some tips on how to take care of a chicken or information about them? That would help me a lot! And is it possible to take care of a chicken in an apartment, or do they need a yard? I love chickens, and would really like to take care of one;

Happy (late) birthday my fellow biologist and chicken lover! I personally haven’t had any indoor pet chickens nor am I friends with anybody who has, so take all of the following advice with a grain of salt. I grew up in an agricultural area where any animals that were brought into the house were sick or needed around the clock supervision (except for the time I hatched and raised chicks in my bedroom for a month but that’s another story).

I think it’s definitely possible to have a pet chicken that lives inside without access to a yard, but it is going to be a lot of work and I’m hesitant to support it. I’m going to be rather blunt here but my first concern is that birds poop frequently. With birds like parakeets or other small species, the quantity is small. With a chicken it will be much more, but, I have heard of people using chicken diapers. I also think with some research into husbandry, it won’t be that hard to find a proper diet or supplies for housing needs. Chickens aren’t like other birds in that they don’t chew on stuff and they can’t fly very well. They are still birds though, and are very social and curious and will need a lot of enrichment and social interaction. They aren’t domesticated like cats or dogs, and will do better outside with access to other chickens and things that encourage natural behaviors like dirt to roll around in.

My other concern (this is me speaking from a veterinary perspective) is that poultry carry diseases and I would be hesitant to encourage keeping birds in the house just for the heck of it.

All in all, I don’t recommend a house chicken, esp as a first time pet. Most stories you see about people having pet chickens is that they end up either one that is disabled or requires special care so they bring it inside in order to better take care of it. This is probably not the answer you wanted to hear and I’m sorry that I don’t have better news.

However, if you can find a place where you can have chickens in a yard, I absolutely recommend it! They are independent and hardy and won’t need a ton of supervision if you end up with a job that doesn’t allow you to spend much time with them. I suggest getting a few as they will do way better with friends. I can think of a couple of breeds off the top of my head that are more outgoing and have a better chance of bonding with you as their human, or if you want egg layers I can recommend breeds for that as well. Again, there is a lot of information online on chicken husbandry so it won’t be hard to find if you have questions about how much space they need or what to feed them. I also recommend choosing breeds and flock size based off whatever area you live in (small breeds if you are concerned about space or hardier breeds if you have harsh weather, if you live a city you may not be allowed to have roosters, stuff like that). If you have other specific questions or want to know more about how to get started, feel free to ask here anytime! Chicken questions and/or biology questions are always welcome ❤️

[pokemonshelterstories]

maybe a silly question to ask, but how do steel-type pokemon get x rays and mris?

not silly at all! that's a very common issue dealt with in pokemon medicine. not all steel types are going to need these types of imaging just because they are made of solid metal, but for pokemon with a mix of organic and metal bodies, it can be tricky to get imaging done.

right now, the most common way to handle imaging on pokemon with large metal portions of their bodies is to use CT scans. this is primarily done on pokemon that don't have a fully metal epidermis. metal causes some distortion on CT, but there are methods for reducing the amount of distortion caused. steel-type specialist veterinarians often have a specialized pokeball CT scanner machine designed to offset metal artifacts on CT scans- but they're typically very expensive.

in cases where a CT just isn't feasible- usually with pokemon that have a lot of external metal but largely organic internal organs- full-body ultrasound is usually the only thing you can use. by detecting differences in the density throughout a pokemon's body, ultrasound imaging can provide some insight to a steel type's internal health. but again, the specialized equipment required for this tends to be expensive. steel types tend to be the most expensive type of pokemon to get medical care for, and they're also one of the least common veterinary specialties! this is why it's super important to make sure you have access to a vet who can provide the care they need before taking one in.