Poison Found in California Dog Park

This is today's blog post from Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM.


Poison Found in California Dog Park

Posted: 10 Mar 2011 08:49 AM PST


Utah still holds the lead in the troubling pet news category this week. But I suppose it was only a matter of time until California made it onto the score board. Someone is trying to poison dogs in Silicon Valley. From KTVU.com:
Sunnyvale city officials warned local dog owners Tuesday about someone trying to poison pets after rat poison was found at a local dog park.
Police said that on two separate occasions in late February, boxes of rat poison were found at the Las Palmas Dog Park.
D-con Baitbits are designed to kill mice and rats in one feeding. The small green pellets were discovered out in the open at the park for dogs to discover.
An ominous threat that read “All dogs must die” was scrawled in blue marker on one of the boxes that was found.
The active ingredient in D-con is brodifacoum. This agent is a potent poison in dogs. It is in a class of poisons called anticoagulants. Brodifacoum and similar poisons cause uncontrolled bleeding. For a more detailed description of the poison’s effects, symptoms, and treatments, see my website: http://drbarchas.com/rodenticide
The Sunnyvale police department appears to be making an honest effort to deal with this issue. They ran a fingerprint analysis on the box, which unfortunately didn’t turn up any matches. They have issued warnings to the community. And, although a deranged sociopath is still on the loose in Sunnyvale, there is a silver lining to the cloud:
Sunnyvale leaders said that so far, they don’t know of any dogs that have been poisoned at the park. They want to keep it that way.


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Homeless, Poor and Unemployed & Living within your means

I read an article the other day on CBSNews.com about children who were living out of their cars, or out of motels, because their families lost their homes and jobs. It tore my heart apart. In a county in Florida, some children were interviewed and asked how many of them went to bed hungry in the past week or so... I think 73% of them raised their hands (I can't find the article now so I can't quote exact figures or link the article... but the thoughts invoked by the article have stayed with me).

Children should not have to go hungry.

I have a LOT of opinions about different things. Many people may disagree with me, and they have the right to. Hopefully respectfully. For example, it is easy for me to make judgment about the obesity epidemic in our society, and how we eat processed, chemical laden food, and fast food because we are a gluttonous society and are losing the skills usually passed from one generation to the next, in learning to cook from scratch. I DO agree that parents who feed their children MSG, aspartame, and a host of other chemicals are setting them up for chronic illness, mental and emotional issues, and obesity/diabetes. So when I see the types of foods that are usually handed out at food shelves, or the type of food that is cheap enough for "poor" folks to purchase, I shake my head. I am generalizing here. Because I see this as a societal issue, and one that doesn't just touch the lower income families. But, it is less prevalent in higher income families who are more educated and can afford organic or healthier food choices. This is a fact, unfortunately, not just my opinion.

I am also one to avoid going to the doctor's unless it is something that I am very worried about. (i.e. gallbladder attack?), but not for a cold that won't seem to go away. I am anti-medication/drugs, and don't want to be prescribed antibiotics unless it is an emergency. It disturbs me to hear others head to the doctor because their child has had the sniffles for 2 days. And then they get antibiotics for a virus (I do have to say there are some cases where a viral infection triggers a bacterial infection, but that is NOT the norm). Why not eat HEALTHY food, take natural immune-boosting supplements, take colloidal silver (which attacks both viruses AND bacteria, AND other pathogens). Or a natural supplement like oil of oregano that is especially good against viruses. That is what I do, since all the stress in my life has been causing me to get a few colds a year vs. the one I used to get. Stress, on the other hand, is not something I am good at talking about dealing with effectively, because obviously I don't know how!! (relaxation, meditation, doing less, well, those just don't seem to exist in my world!! Someday maybe?)

Now, back to the article I originally mentioned. And back to my opinions. This is hindsight, of course, these people can't go back and change things now, but hopefully we all can learn. I just want to talk about some things that have me thinking, and occasionally get me angry (which is my own issue... for example, those banks that triggered the housing burst, well, I was responsible but I am paying for it... my properties are below water now! I never was late on any payments, and I never over-borrowed, why do I have to suffer as a result of others actions? I know, unrealistic, but sometimes those thoughts find their way into my mind).

Most of us (and quite a few of those who helped get us into this economic mess we are in) are living beyond our means. What does that REALLY mean? It means, if you do not have enough money to have health insurance, car insurance, life insurance, etc, and don't have enough money to put any away for your retirement and your savings (even if it is a measly $50 a month), then you are driving a car that is too expensive, or you are living in a place that is too expensive. You are going out to eat too often, and buying needless items. I am honest here. Why is insurance so important? Because then if disaster or trauma strikes you, you and your family will be covered. Why are savings so important? so you will be ok if you lose your job. If you are living in a $1,500 apartment, well, I know for a fact in my area there is a nice 2-bedroom apartment that includes all utilities except electric, for only $825! Because I OWN it and rent it out for that amount. I rarely have a hard time finding renters. Well, that is an extra $650 (the difference in rent) right there to put towards savings, retirement, getting out of debt, insurance. Oh, well, it isn't fancy enough for you? That isn't the right attitude to have. It is that kind of attitude that helped get us in this mess. We WANT and WANT and WANT. Let's bare down and get back to the basics. Food. Clothing. Shelter. Once you have those, and pay all your bills, including insurance and savings (think of it as paying yourself), then you can spend on whatever you want, a new video game, a $100 pair of jeans (ack!), shoes, or whatever it is your greedy heart desires. Yes, I am being a bit mean here. But I am being REALISTIC. The 7 deadly sins include sloth, greed, envy, lust... think about it.

I already mentioned not saving your money, but it bears mentioning again. Even if it is $50 a month, PAY YOURSELF! This is crucial. You need a safety net. An emergency fund. Times WILL be hard once in a while, but it will be easier to be happy and find joy during those hard times if you have that safety net. Granted, we all should have started this years ago, and are now paying the consequences of not having done it... so, START NOW. Forget the past, you can only change today and tomorrow.

Which brings me to my next recommendation, which is to HAVE GOALS!! Do you want to be debt-free, living within your means with savings and retirement funds? It won't happen overnight, but imagine yourself with all those things. I bet you feel peace. Peace knowing you don't have creditors knocking on your door, or bills stuffed inside the mailbox. You don't have to worry about looking people in the eye, or especially looking at yourself in the mirror. The peace in your life will be worth millions. Priceless. All you have to do is start now. Start small. Find one bill to pay off, and move to the next. And so on. Start putting $10 away at a time, and increase it as you are able. Practice living with less, being less greedy and materialistic. Soon, your whole life will change, and I bet you will be able to find happiness much easier! And, if we hit another terrible recession, it won't hurt as bad because you will be prepared. THAT is what I want people to learn. To be prepared, so it doesn't hurt as bad.

And then, materialism will slowly dwindle. Granted, retailers will have to find other things to entice us to spend our money on. But my bet is that they won't be lacking consumers willing to depart from their money... just don't be one of them! We boycotted the materialistic Christmas this year. We went to a Third World country and stayed in inexpensive hotels and resorts, away from all the greed that we have back here in the U.S. We saved all our frequent flier miles for 2 years, and got discounts on the hotels where we stayed. Sure, we had a much needed vacation, but thankfully we planned it well and it didn't cost us much at all. We didn't give each other presents. I read the Christmas story. It was beautiful. I don't like Easter for the materialism it is starting to represent, either. WHY do people other than Christians celebrate Easter? It makes no sense to me. Or Christmas, for that matter. I know why. GREED and MATERIALISM! PRESENTS!!

I just want to sing songs of praise and glory that Jesus was resurrected! That is all! It is a very special day for me, Easter Sunday, because it reminds me that although I am a sinner, I can accept Christ, and because he died for me, I can be forgiven of my sins! What a wonderful message! And we have to desecrate that special message with our materialism.

Lastly, when we do start living within our means, and saving our money, we will not be chained down. We won't feel like we have shackles dragging behind us, weighing us down, like a heavy burden on our shoulders. And, that gives us more time to help others out that are less fortunate! Wouldn't that be grand!? I have this burning desire inside to want to lighten another's burdens, to help them out when needed, and to commit random acts of selflessness, anonymously.

Where am I in this whole process? Well, first, we are not living beyond our means. We are actually living below our means. Times have been tough for us, too, because our rental properties have caused a LOT of money drainage, so my goal this upcoming year is to try and replenish my depleted savings. My truck had probably about $4,000 worth of various work done on it in the past year. I had 3 surgeries and had to pay $2500 of my deductible (which I have to say is an extremely fair deal, I am not complaining about that at all). And, I still need to pay off one credit card that I put my schooling on. My goal is to have that paid off this year, by December!

So I am in the middle of this process. It does take a while, and sometimes there are setbacks. But if you start now, soon you, too, can be living within your means. And hopefully someone will listen so that 12 years down the road if we have another bad recession, they won't be homeless and their kids won't have to go to bed hungry. I wish I could feed all those children, and give them homes, and give their parents jobs, and make it so they don't have to worry about the instability in their lives, and that they can just focus on being kids. I wish and I wish.

(I want to mention that I seemed to be pushing insurance companies pretty hard... insurance is super important, but I have to say I am not affiliated with any insurance company. I get my health, AD&D, LTD and STD insurance through work, and my other insurance through USAA, which I absolutely love (homeowners, auto, life, etc). I have my meager retirement fund through both work, and also USAA... I am still young so I have a ways to go, but I do contribute a small amount each paycheck! When I can afford more, I will do so. But even a small amount gets me into the habit of saving) TRY IT!!

Good luck!

Older boxer boy looking for home

If anyone is interested in giving a home to this beautiful senior boxer boy, please contact Karen at nizniqueboxers@yahoo.com ASAP. Please don’t reply to me, as I don’t know any details beyond what is being presented in this email. Although in my opinion this fella is absolutely stunning and is just screaming to be loved and cuddled!!

 

This is not associated with any rescue groups… I am just passing this to various animal lovers that I know.

 

He is 12 years old, potty trained, neutered, lives indoors. He was dumped by his family at a kill shelter in NC, and his time is running out. We will probably have no problems getting him transported to wherever he needs to go.

 

PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR ANIMAL LOVER FRIENDS EVERYWHERE.

 

 

 

 

Barnes and Noble Customer Support: FAIL

I recently purchased the Groupon offering $20 worth of product from Barnes and Noble, for only $10. When I went to redeem it, I followed the instructions to redeem it at the NookStore, and went to a web page that had a link for me to activate my "gift card". That link was broken. So, I sent the following email to the company, thinking that they would be interested to know a crucial link was broken on their website. I then called customer service, had someone from India (I presume, with the account and the digitized voice (VoIP). Once he found out that I had a question about the Groupon, he immediately wanted to send me to the "Groupon" department. I halted him and told him to go to the website and click on the link in question, to see if it worked for him. It didn't. But, he showed me a back door way to apply my gift card. Then, everything worked by then. He gave me the number to call the Groupon Department, and it happened to be Groupon itself!! Excuse me, how could Groupon help me with a broken link on Barnes and Noble's website?

So the response I just received today from them is below. They don't address my concerns, only go into a cookie cutter answer on how to use a gift card. BIG FAIL for their customer service!

> Original Message Follows:
> ------------------------
>
My Message to them:
>
> This URL doesn't allow me to click to
> http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooksgiftcard/index.asp to manage gift
> cards link. it gives me a 404 error message:
> Server Error in '/' Application.
> The resource cannot be found.
> Description: HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its
> dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is
> temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure
> that it is spelled correctly.
>
> Requested URL: /account/request.aspx
>
>
> PLEASE HELP. I got the Groupon $20 certificate and want to buy some
> ebooks.
>

>
THEIR RESPONSE:::
>
>
> Thank you for writing to us about using Barnes & Noble Gift Cards to
> purchase NOOkbooks.
>
> At this time, the maximum number of gift cards that can be applied to an
> online NOOKbook purchase is three.
>
> To make your gift cards available for your future NOOKbook purchases,
> please sign on to your Account and click on the link titled Manage Gift
> Cards for NOOKbooks. You can store up to three gift cards in this
> section and they will be automatically applied to your NOOKbook
> purchase. If you do not currently have a Barnes & Noble Account, please
> visit our website and create one.
>
> Also, you will still need a default credit card for NOOKbook purchases.
> All publishers require that the eBooks they submit, including free
> eBooks, are encrypted for each customer. Currently, the ?unlock? device
> is the billing name and credit card number of the primary credit card on
> your Barnes & Noble account. However, your credit card will not be
> charged if there are sufficient funds on your gift card(s) to cover the
> order total.
>
> Please retain any gift card you have stored on your account if you wish
> to use it for non-NOOKbook purchases.
>
> We at Barnes & Noble want to say thanks for your suggestions and
> enthusiasm. We were able to accelerate this change due to your feedback.
>
>
>
>
> Visit www.bn.com and click on the options that appear in the upper
> right-hand corner to view information about your order.
>
> We look forward to your next visit.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Felicia
>
> Customer Service Representative
> Barnes & Noble
> http://www.bn.com/
>
>
>
>
>

Are you a Twilight Fan or a Twilight Hater?

There is a clear cut line between those who LOVE the Twilight Saga, and those who HATE it. Personally, I enjoyed it for its entertainment value and think that the books were WAY better than the movies. Our company, Faith Hope Charitees, just released a Christian t shirt that pokes fun of the movie, in a respectable way. Check it out. They were released on Saturday, and are one of our more popular shirts!

 

 

Faith Hope Charitees announces new Christian t-shirt website

NEWS RELEASE

 

For More Information Contact:

Rebecca Hauptman, director of marketing

rhauptman@faithhopecharitees.com

510-501-0247

 

 

FAITH HOPE CHARITEES ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING LAUNCH OF NEW WEBSITE OFFERING HIGH QUALITY CHRISTIAN T-SHIRTS WITH A TWIST OF HUMOR FOR A GREAT PRICE

 

 

Logan, Utah, February 28, 2011 – Faith Hope Charitees, a Spiritual Gifts brand, announces the grand opening launch of their website, www.faithhopecharitees.com, which offers high quality, humorous Christian t-shirts in many sizes and colors.

 

The initial offering is limited to five t-shirt designs, but there are over 50 more designs waiting to be launched this year.

 

Among the various Christian t-shirts offered in this initial launch, one of the favorites is the “Fisher of Men” shirt. It depicts a boy-crazy teenaged-girl’s interpretation of Jesus’ command to his disciples “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). Our graphic design artist, Marisa Hauptman, had a blast with creating the artwork for that shirt. “My favorite part is the expression on the young man’s face: accepting that he has been ‘hooked’ but not willing to go without an attitude,” she stated.

 

The initial target audience for these Christian-themed t-shirts is Christian youth. The designs are fun to wear to school and all sorts of activities. As other designs and styles are released in the coming months, the target demographic will additionally include young adults and kids. There will also be more designs which will appeal to young men.

 

About Faith Hope Charitees. Faith Hope Charitees, a Spiritual Gifts brand, is the brain child of a group of friends who also happen to be sisters. It was conceptualized in 2010 when the topic of modest, stylish, Christian-themed clothing came up. Christian apparel doesn’t have to be drab or bland. It doesn’t have to be stoic. God has a sense of humor (just look at the platypus!) and so do we; and it shows in the work we do! Faith Hope Charitees offers high quality, fun, Christian t-shirts at a fair price. We do our own designs, use high quality, stylish fitting, flattering shirts and want you to be totally satisfied with your purchase. You can find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/faithhopecharitees) and Twitter (@LoveCharitees) and at www.faithhopecharitees.com.

###

Relief from heel spurs?

Just a couple days ago I received an amazing testimonial from a first time customer of my detox foot pads. Every small business owner dreams about receiving testimonials like this one, and sure enough, my dream came true! This is verbatim, word for word, what my customer said. It wasn't necessary to edit one word. She wrote it beautifully!! So, if you are suffering from heel spurs, you may want to request a free sample of my foot pads!


Hi Rebecca,

Thanks for shipping the foot pads so quickly. My sister gave me a few of these pads to try a few days ago. I have NEVER used anything that changed my life so dramatically in just a matter of hours. I have had heel spurs in my right foot for about 8 months and was to the point to where I could barely wear shoes or walk & was in constant pain. Bad pain. I was taking pain pills day & night. After wearing these pads the 1st night, I got up the following morning and just could not believe how the pain was barely even there anymore. The 2nd morning was even better & now the 3rd day & those heel spurs are GONE. No pain whatsoever! I do not know if they broke off, dissolved or what exactly happened, but they truly are gone. I think that this information needs to get out to people. These pads are not known to be a cure for heel spurs & the only thing I have found that helps is cortisone injections or surgery which I have heard is very painful. These could help many people that have heel spurs. If you have a way to get word of this to people I really wish you would. The pads have also definately helped with the way I feel in the mornings as I wake up easier & feel refreshed.


LivingSocial website customer service gets a D- in my grade book

Check out the bottom right hand of this page… under “Top-Notch Customer Service” as a part of LivingSocial Member Bill of Rights. It says to call, email, tweet, etc. with any issue. But my problem with that is I cannot find ANY PLACE on the page, on my account, etc. where it says “Contact Us”. Definitely sending mixed messages… “Call us and we will help you” but then not give us the number to call.

 

Way to go!!! I give it a D- no matter how good the deals are.

 

Image001

Thrifty shopper or cheapskate?

I love getting free things, or steep discounts on things.

Just recently I got a $20 Amazon.com gift card free, from LivingSocial. You spend $10 on $20 gift card, but if 3 of your friends get it, too, then you get it for free. Then, I got $20 Barnes and Noble gift card for $10 from Groupon. Haven't used it yet but will be getting a Nook Color so I will be needing it!

Then, I bought Steve a birthday present from Amazon.com, and got a $20 credit PLUS free shipping. (so the $75 Logitech item was only $55)

And I took a survey and got a $50 gift card from Restaurant.com

And, another LivingSocial deal I saved $44 (50%) on Go Kart racing for Steve's birthday.

And that was just in the past week!

Not only that, I have been doing surveys and such to get flexpoints (for airline miles) and for delta skymiles. We like to travel but HATE paying for airfare.

And, I have a $165 check coming in the mail to me from Bank of America (I cashed out my "points" with them because I plan on closing my account).

And, I am choosing the Nook Color as my e-Reader device because I can download free books from the library.

I have a $10 off coupon from OfficeMax that I will use for HP ink cartridges (normally those coupons don't count on ink, but this one does!)

Am I a cheapskate? I am unsure, but don't think I mind being called one. I don't ration TP, I don't live like a miser. I treat my friends to lunch. I pay someone to come pick up our dog poop, and I have our dog food delivered. I pay a premium for raw milk and grassfed beef from a local farm. I hate shopping so I would rather purchase online than go to a mall.

Miser?