Snowing Again; Bits & Pieces

Sunday morning, seven degrees outside, and snow is lightly falling...  I've walked to the bakery, fed my kits, cleaned their litter boxes, taken out trash, read the newspaper and put out food for the outdoors critters - wasteless bird seed for the juncos, sparrows, and finches; baguette rounds for the crows, ravens, and cowbirds; and a combination of peanuts, pecans, and walnuts for the squirrels.  I've had my breakfast, listened to the local news and taken care of my e-mails and facebook page; now it's time for the blog....
   As the family understood it, the surgeon was to drill a small hole in Kent's skull Friday to perform the biopsy on his brain tumor.  Instead, he removed a piece of skull the size of a person's hand; then he shaved bone from the interior of the skull before replacing it...  Why?  We found out that Kent cannot undergo either chemo- or radiation therapy until his skull seals, or re-knits/heals.  As the amount of time that will take is unknown, and due to the fact that Kent's tumor is growing rapidly, the surgeon wanted to be sure that Kent's brain would not be cramped, or under more pressure, as the tumor grows, or in case his brain begins to swell.  The surgeon said Kent had a wonderfully thick skull, and he was certain that he was able to make enough space, if it's needed.  Now we have to wait for a full-body CAT scan today, and the results of the biopsy, which will, hopefully, be available on Wednesday.
  I wrote about a month ago regarding a case of animal cruelty - Caitin Lesko had taken her young French bulldog to the vet for treatment, but when she was told the cost of setting Bamboo's two broken legs, as well as the cost of treatment for the burns covering half of his tummy, the woman left.  The veterinarian's office called the police to report a possible case of animal cruelty.  The lady was arrested, and the dog taken to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.  The pup has since been adopted out to a new family.  Ms Lesko was originally charged with a misdemeanor pet cruelty charge; it has now been raised to a felony count.  And, during the investigation of the case, the police found that Bamboo was one of a pair of puppies that Ms Lesko and her boyfriend had purchased.  The other puppy, unfortunately, is dead.  It was strangled to death by Ms Lesko's boyfriend.  The couple had the puppies in bed with them - a king sized bed, raised quite high from the floor.  French bulldogs have short little legs.  The now dead puppy had to use the bathroom, but was afraid to jump down from the bed - at 8 weeks, he used the bathroom on the bed.  The boyfriend woke up and strangled the puppy to death because it had used the bed as the ground.  The boyfriend did take the puppy to a vet, appearing very agitated when he was told the puppy was dead.  The man had given a fake name and address to the vet's office, so even though it was reported as a suspected animal cruelty case, it could not be followed up by investigators.  Now the boyfriend is facing felony animal cruelty charges, as well.  I say: Hooray for our investigators!  This type of nonsense must cease!
  Back in June, Boulder was shocked by the stabbing and death of a 17-year-old high school student who was camping out with friends near Nederland.  The man (20 years old) charged with the murder was a previous classmate of the deceased.  On Friday he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and stated he was under the influence of LSD, psychotropic mushrooms, and "moonshine" at the time.
   Also, the young lady that lives next to me, and who screams in anger and frustration, has allowed her abusive boyfriend back into her life.  I have seen him multiple times during the past week.  I called the police once, to see if he was still "banned from the building" but received no answer - even though they came to Britta's apartment to be certain she was safe.  So I guess he's allowed back on the premises - and, unless I hear something truly horrendous from next door, I'll be ignoring their shouting and screaming and the sound of thuds of body blows and furniture being thrown around.  Poor little girl... he's got her convinced that he is the only person who will ever love her.  It's the same old abuse story all over again...
   And, finally, I rooted for three college teams yesterday during the "College Football Championship" day.  Each one of those teams lost.  I feel like my support is the kiss of death at the moment.  Hopefully, the Broncos will the Tennessee Titans in today's game - if not, then I'll know I need to stop watching  for the rest of the season....

Bamboo

Currently there is no news about Jimmy's progress, or lack thereof, in Australia - I am signed up for the owners Tweets, and I'll let you know when I hear anything.
  I am again boiling with anger over a case of animal neglect, possibly animal cruelty, charges.  A twenty-four year old woman took a three-month-old French Bulldog into a local Boulder veterinarian's office for treatment. Bamboo, the black puppy, had two broken legs and third degree burns across half of his stomach.  The woman said that the puppy's legs were broken when she "got him" and that his tummy got burned when she place him too close to a space heater in her home.  When the vet described the treatments needed, the woman said she couldn't afford it, and left, taking the puppy with her.  The veterinarian called Boulder Police to report the incident.  The woman has been arrested, and Bamboo is at the Humane Society's veterinarian, getting the care he needs.  This seems to me to be another case of pure selfishness.  The puppy obviously has broken limbs and burns, but the owner will not get them correctly cared for.  The puppy was obviously in pain (and still looks to be so - see below - this photo was taken by the Boulder Police Department).

  If you can't afford to care for a pet, please do not get one.  By "afford" I mean the regular costs of food, drink, annual veterinarian check-ups, annual vaccinations, and any possible accidents that might occur.  If you are a regular client, the veterinarian's office will, 99 % of the time, work with you to set up a payment plan if you cannot afford to pay up front.  The people who work at, and run, vet's offices do so because they care for the animals - they do not want to see one suffer needlessly.
   If you have the time, but not the money, to take care of a pet, volunteer at your local Humane Society and donate what you can to help animals at that shelter.

Crimes and Times

I don't remember when I first heard, "If you do the crime, you do the time," - but I'm pretty sure it was around when I was attending high school back in the early 1970s.   At that time in my life, it usually referred to someone 'borrowing' a parent's car without permission, having an accident, and admitting it to said parents, then taking the punishment in stride.  And I realize that I sound like an 'old fogey,' and that each generation bemoans the fact that the following generation just doesn't live up to the elders' expectations...  I realize, too, that today's extraordinary communications array allows for the world-wide dissemination of news in seconds, as opposed to the relatively slow spread of "news" via letters, newspapers, and news magazines up until the mid-1800s.  It just seems to me that younger generation today has no grasp, or any idea of, the sanctity of life - nor of the widening ripples that flow out from a single instance of violence. 
   Today, I shook my head while reading the local newspaper because last year, a young man, then a teen (now 20), had plead "not guilty" to a felony animal cruelty charge.  He and two friends had beaten a raccoon to death with a baseball bat, a hockey stick and a tennis racquet.  The two friends plead guilty, but this young man was adamant that it was a 'quick blow' gone bad.  (According to neighbors, the boys were dancing around the raccoon that was trying to escape it's tormentors, and yelling, "Get it!"  "Smack it hard!")  Today, 30 minutes before he was due in court to face a jury trial, the young man made a plea deal.  He admitted guilt to a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge, and got one year's probation, and 6 weeks of Community Service.  Is this just an acknowledgement that "boys will be boys," and that humankind has a built-in lust for "blood sport?"
   Over the weekend, the news was that Zoey Ripple, the CU student who was shot in the hip while she was in a drunken stupor and invaded the bedroom of a couple asleep in their own home, is still seeking a plea deal.  According to the local press, she has a long history of misdemeanor charges, including petit theft and DUI, but has never had to serve any time or perform any community service.  Now having been caught with an alcohol level three times the amount that is legally allowed, having let herself inside a private residence and trespassed on into the bedroom, having been so drunk that she simply couldn't respond to several "Stop or be shot!" warnings, she now doesn't want to face the consequences of her actions.  This is a young woman who, apparently, has needed some type of interventionary help, but who has either (a) not availed herself of such counseling, or (b) just doesn't care about anyone except herself.
    I won't even start writing about the gunman at the Aurora movie theater...  He really upsets me!
   People need to start acknowledging that there is a right and a wrong.  And if they do the wrong thing, they need to readily accept the punishment that the rest of society sets out for them.  All of this pleading down to lesser crimes and sentences is a slap in the face to justice.