Why I don’t Run With the Bulls

Apparently, it’s all the rage. Want to prove your manhood? Run in front these bulls. I’ve no doubt that alcohol is involved. Alcohol + explosives or Alcohol + livestock = trouble, a scar and maybe a story to tell later on about how dopey you were. Here is the link to the slideshow on Yahoo . Thanks to Cincinnati Bill for the tip on this one. –fog

McGonnigle the Cat, Is Hobbled

McGonnigle the cat had to go to the cat doctor yesterday. It seems he had been fighting and got bitten on the left heel, right at the joint. The wound festered and an abcess developed. He was operated on and is home now at my parents, hiding under the bed and isn’t eating or drinking much, although last night, he was glad to see me and purred everytime I looked under the bed. If he’s purring, he can’t be in that bad a shape, right?

They had to put him out to shave and drain and dress the wound and that makes me nervous. I knew a girl who was a vet tech in Smyrna, Delaware and she said that the amount of anesthesia that they give is really only a guess based on the critter’s weight and a table that they have.

One time, she overdosed a little dog and he died on the table there and she was crying and carrying on and then, like magic, he came back to life and was fine. I think they were doing something fairly routine like maybe even a teeth-cleaning. The people picked up fido and never knew that only an hour before, he was flying up the tunnel and hearing the beautiful music.

Those stories made me think, “…don’t let them put Gonnicle under unless it’s absolutely necessary”. And that’s what we try to do.

So he’s recuperating and at least there’s no lampshade. I remember we had a cat that had the lampshade and he just ran around the house for days running the lampshade against the wall and ramming it into the door frames to try and rip it loose. The worst part of the animal getting hurt is that they don’t understand anything that’s happening. Gonnicle just wants to go out and mouse and bird and go bunnyhunting. And some will write and tell me that he shouldn’t be outside at all but really, he loves it so much outside that I can’t deny him. That’s where he is a real cat. You can just see it. That’s why, when I moved out of my apartment, I gave him to my parents because they have the land and woods that he loves and with me, he can’t have that here. I’d rather he live 5 years as a full cat than 15 years as an indoor stuffed animal. –fog