Shopping With Gracie

Danzo got this really cool shopping cart from his Auntie Danielle. It lights up and makes noise. Gracie is partial to these things and last night decided to take a closer "look." On her own, she hopped in the cart and Danzo pushed her around. This went on for a long time. I finally got a video after I got my laughter under control. The picture quality isn't the best, but you'll get the idea...

Ta...DA.....Here's what my doodle turned into!!!

It's doodle-rific!!!! Yay! Scroll down to the previous post to see what I started with. I flipped the orientation 90 degrees counter-clockwise.

What will this turn into?

I've been doodling a lot lately and feel inspired to work on something... ANYTHING! I was pretty sick a week ago and its taken me a while to get my head on straight. I'm finally feeling somewhat normal (if you can ever call me normal, I don't know) so here's the bare bones of what might just be my next masterpiece....

I might end up scrapping this to work on something else, but it is at the very least a stepping stone to something, which is more than I've been able to come up with in the recent past.

Full Moon Meditation

I attended my first ever guided full moon meditation last night and it ROCKED! It was at this local metaphysical book store called Wellspring Books.

http://wellspringbooks.net/

It is literally three minutes away from my house and is one of the most beautifully energized stores I've been to. They sell books, candles, crystals, you know... new-agie stuff. Psychic readers, classes, and meditations are some of the main features of the store and probably its bread and butter.

I showed up just before 6:30, met a few very interesting people and learned from the teacher about what to expect. Since the full moon was waning, it was time to let go of whatever I wanted. I made a list to be ceremoniously burned and offered to the universe to relieve my burdens.

The peaceful music played and the teacher, Deidre guided us to our own individual places of peace. I was transformed to a state of relaxation that I had never experienced before. My eyes were closed and I could see a place that was so familiar. I had seen it many times before in my mind and in dreams:

A field of tall grass rustles in the breeze and gleams a rich bronze color in the light of the full moon. A thick forest of pine trees surrounds the meadow as if to protect it from outside forces. It cradles me in it's womb. To the left of where I'm standing is a structure much like a gazebo. It has pink columns and is trimmed in gold. It's a gateway to another realm. I'm not sure where exactly. As a matter of fact, I don't need to know right now, but I feel comforted to know I have access to it if I chose. This is my meeting place with anyone of my choosing in the universe alive or dead. This is my place of solitude and refuge. There are no directions to get there. It's not on any map. I'm just there.

At one point, just for a second or two I felt absolutely NOTHING! Then the tears came. Not because I was sad. They just came and I let them be. To feel nothing is to be totally in the moment and to be open. In the current state of the world with a million things coming at you at once, it is very difficult to get to a place of nothing or no thing. Especially for someone like me who likes to plan every part of the day! The state of nothing is pure bliss and to be there for just a second really cleans the cobwebs out of my brain.

At the end of the session Deidre said that she noticed that I went really deep and was wondering if I was going to come back. I laughed because when I heard her voice say, "Come back whenever you're ready," I was contemplating the idea of staying in my meadow. Then I remembered my family at home and realized that life must go on, so I came back.

Last night, I slept wonderfully. This morning I didn't hit the snooze button once and I hopped out of bed at 5 am feeling so refreshed and ready for the day. The moon is very powerful and nourishing especially when it is acknowledged. I am grateful for this and look forward to what the universe has to offer me since I released some of my clutter that has been stopping me in so many parts of my life.

Our learning wall

Danzo's playroom is constantly changing, but one thing I'm going to keep the same for a while is this wall. I went to a store called Teaching Tools. Its a great little place filled with curriculum meant for actual classrooms. I was even able to get stuff laminated there too!

To the far left is a list of the months of the year. Next to that is a calendar with the current month and huge numbers for each day. Of course there's the alphabet at the top and a map to the right. The mirror in the middle has been there for a long time, but it has its purpose. I like to keep it there as a symbolic tool to remind us to look at things from all angles. To have a different perspective especially when it comes to problem solving.

Every day we start out with me singing a song about how all the months make up a year:

January..... February
March, April, May
June, July and August are comin' your way
September..October..November and then
December ends the year and starts over again!

Then I say, "This month is May. What is the DATE today? The date is..." Then I point to each number that we've already put on the calendar and count until today, which is blank. Then I stick the new date on the calendar and announce it as I point to it,"It's the 26th."

"What DAY is today?" I say. Then I take the finger that's pointing to today's date and follow it up to the top where the days are. "Oh, today is Wednesday!" Then we review and I say, "It's Wednesday May 26, 2010!"

Next, I take my magic pointer, (which is an awesome glitter baton I got at the dollar store!) and sing the ABC's as I point to the letters.

Lastly, we go to the map and talk about how its a picture of the world, which is the planet Earth. I say each continent as I point to it. Then I show him where we live now and where I'm from. Eventually, I'm going to get or make a model of the solar system that will hang from the hook in the middle of ceiling.

We talk about these things every day and its there for him to look at and digest for the rest of the day as he goes about his business of playing. I really think that constant exposure with an emphasis on fun will help him to be more alert and absorb the world around him no matter where he goes. I want him to have the opportunity to be as successful as he wants to be!

Plus, there are benefits for me too! I really miss working in schools, so its kinda fun to feel like I have a classroom in my own house. Since I don't have an actual job outside of the house, I never used to know what day it was. This system keeps me on track and wakes my brain up to the outside world even if I don't go anywhere. Now people ask ME what day it is! Plus it makes for some good bonding time for the two of us and helps me feel like I'm doing something a little extra to help his brain develop.

I'd like to add to our daily learning routine, but for now this is what we're up to. Kind of exciting isn't it?

Internet Writing Workshop Weekly Exercise

"In 400 words or less give us a scene where two characters make a deal. Show us what the stakes are for each, what he or she stands to gain or lose."

I was lying out by the pool, really enjoying myself when I felt an object eclipse the sunshine that had been warming my face. I looked up and as my eyes adjusted I could see the face of this little red-headed girl staring right at me.
Totally annoyed, I sat up and asked, “What are you doing?”
She was grinning from ear to ear. Not as if to smile, but rather to show me something in her mouth. I noticed that she was exposing the enormous gap where her two front teeth used to be.
“Rook! I rossst my two fwont teef!” she exclaimed.
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “That’s nice. Now move a little to the left. You’re blocking my sun!”
The girl didn’t move. She just stood there looking at me perplexed that I wasn’t excited for her.
“Did you hear what I said? YOU ARE BLOCKING MY SUN!”
Her mouth sank into a deep frown and her bottom lip started to quiver as tears welled up in her eyes.
My impatience turned to pity and I said, “I’m sorry. Listen, I don’t get much time to relax so it’s easy for me to loose my patience. That’s nice you’re excited about loosing your teeth. Did you get a really good prize from the tooth fairy?”
Her tears turned off quicker than the time it takes to turn the knob on a faucet and said, “No. Whath’a toofairy?”
A glance at my watch told me that I had about twenty minutes left before I had to get ready for my twelve-hour shift at work. I thought, “Do I tell this kid to buzz off so I can enjoy the rest of my precious little time soaking up the sun in solitude? That would just crush her and leave me feeling guilty. Then again, I didn’t want her to make a habit out of interrupting me. She’s obviously in need of some attention since she’s wandering around an apartment complex pool unsupervised. Where are her parents anyway?”
After my inner debate, I was able to muster the compassion it took to tell her the best tooth fairy story I could think of. Her gratefulness beamed out of her eyes and struck a cord in my heart.
She learned about the tooth fairy and I learned that relaxation by the pool doesn't have to be so solitary.

an experimental concrete poem: Dumbbell

Mind Block

The taped wall is an unfinished idea.
A project that started out with such energy and drive.
Then... it fizzled.
It just stares back at me.
Reminding me of my distracted life.
Full of sidetracks
...side dishes, side streets, side cars...
Never the main focus
...Main street, main course...
Always lagging behind with my bright ideas and intentions.
To do something... ANYTHING with them.
Just like what I'm writing right now.
I started with every intention of writing a masterpiece.
All I'm left with is a rambling observation of
procrastination!

Obituary

Foofie Wheeler-Page
Born sometime around October 2005
Died in his sleep in the evening of May 10, 2010.

Survived by his human mother Tami, father Cameron, brother Danzo, six cat brothers and sisters; Holly, Dali, Penn, Simon, Nina, and Gracie.

Foofie lived a full life equivalent to 90 human years. He came to our family in a cage and as his living conditions expanded and evolved to open pens and free access to outside, so did his personality. His exuberant alarm squeaks in response to hearing a plastic produce bag in the kitchen will always be remembered. Chasing him in the backyard, dancing with him to lively music, coming up with creative living arrangements, feeding him home-grown herbs and watching his joy as he munched them down were all precious memories we shared.

He left behind a legacy of possibility that a creature such as a guinea pig can demonstrate an understanding of his role in the family and physical surroundings. He challenged boundaries and constantly surprised everyone who knew him with his capacity for intelligence and love.

Foof, it will take a long time for us to mend this wound created by your loss. Now that you are gone, I realize how much of an outlet you were for my creativity. It will be difficult to find a way without you. You will always have a place in our family and hearts. We love and miss you.

For the Sake of Convenience

The portly man drives
me around town in his taxi
he speaks of dreams
of fears
of his daughter...
of his mistress
of this new health care plan
of his burning, ithcy HEMORRHOIDS!!...
No kidding!

He smells of smoke
and I'm so SURE!
does dope.
He wears his pit-stained tight wife-beater with pride.
He looks like crap, but does he care?
Most people wouldn't dare to wear
such a trashy outfit with greasy hair.

Oh god, will this ever end?.... He's still talking
....and talking.......and TALKING!

This cab driver makes me
wanna end up WALKING!!

What's he saying now?
Hell, I have no idea anymore.
His voice has faded to the
horn-sound
of the teacher on
Charlie Brown

My stomach is starting to turn from
the mix of constant taxi-man gibberish mixed with
the blare of Rush on the radio and the
spicy, musty smell of upholstery marinated with
old tacos, sweat, vomit, and probably blood.

What did I do to deserve this?...
Wait!
The cab is pulling over...
What do you know!
This is my stop already!
I've never got here so fast...

That's cool, but
is it really worth the price
to put up with this gibber-jabbin
manic,
taxi-cab havin
FREAK!!!

...to get there just
a little faster
To shave just
a little more time
to get just
a little more done
so you can do even
MORE
the next day?

When live hands you weeds, make crop circles!

The Gnome Inside

Tell me the truth
I'll tell you a lie
Inside my soul
a tiny gnome hides
He lives by himself
feasting on anger
Drinking my tears
protecting from danger
He sits quite alone
the table all set
the main course served up
we mustn't forget
to serve plenty of
loneliness, sadness, regret
frustration, fear, tension, upset
Next is dessert - a very rich treat
topped with whipped cream
a mouse of defeat
After so many meals
of this size and sort
he's beyond sick
I'm sad to report
His belly is full,
arteries clogged,
head messed up,
brain is all fogged
He's clutching his chest...
a heart attack!
Falling to the floor
he's not coming back
Now I'm left to take over
the emotions he's eaten
Will I prevail?
or will I be beaten?

That sucks.... in a good way!

I'm always carrying around my big ol' bottle with ice water in it. When I pick it up to take a drink, the ice rattles around inside. A few weeks ago, Danzo started to take a liking to the noise. Every time I'd take a drink, no matter where he was in the room, his head would whip around to take a look in my direction and his eyes would zero in on my bottle. After observing me for a while, he decided that he wanted to give it a try. One day he reached out and grabbed the bottle, got the straw in his mouth and straight away started sucking on it. After about three tries he was getting water in his mouth.
Very entertaining to watch! He would concentrate so hard on getting the water up the straw and when it would finally hit his mouth, his eyes got big and he inhaled with surprise. Then the cold water would dribble down his chin. After a couple weeks of practicing this, he has become quite a pro. He actually manages to get most of what he sucks through a straw down his gullet instead of all over his clothes. Today, I had a Horchata drink and I figured I'd let him play with the straw until I was able to finish the rest of it... um NEVERMIND! He finished it for me! I couldn't believe it - there was like a third of it left and my little angel guzzled it before I realized what was happening!

Seven years ago...

Its dark in the forest
in the dead of night
as I dance by myself
in the pale moonlight
I reach my arms out
as if someone's there
I go to embrace
.....its just air....
I can feel my heart break
in the dead of night
as I dance by myself
in the pale moonlight.

Goodbye My Beloved

To a car I've had for 12 years-
You've been good to me. So many memories I've had with you. Now you're gone. I will miss you dearly. I hope your new owner takes good care of you. I won't forget you. Goodbye.

Riding in the Van to Belvedere

Livin' in a van
down by the river
eat a can of Spam
feel my heart quiver

Lay it on the line
take it and go
sip the murky brine
drink from her toe

Chomp through the funk
with a front tooth missin'
No turning back to
a man that won't listen

Crawlin' up the hill
on my hands and knees
Find a dollar bill
for some government cheese
that leads to a piece
of American pie

I stand up straight
to fix my tie
Grinding on the stone
day after day
now that I'm older
I guess I just say

I know its all
worth it...
or just
down-hill from here
Now that I'm
Livin' in a house
with Belvedere.

With Love, Mother Earth

Danzo and I were out in the backyard as Cam was on a serious fence fix kick. He was using the back of the hatchet for a hammer and I tried my best to not imagine the blade cracking into his skull, Homer Simpson-style. In an attempt to distract myself, I started thinking about the weather. The past couple weeks have been comprised of a few days of intense rain storm, then a couple days of glorious sunshine.

Walking about in the yard with my son in my arms and my lover pounding on the fence, I became part of a particular rhythm that caused me to look around. I began to notice that many amazing things happen right under my feet... including (and this is the highlight) millions of tiny HEART-shaped sprouts emerging from every millimeter of desert earth as far as I could see!!!

Digging up the Past - Part 2: October 17, 2002

On the night of October 16, a group of activist friends and I were hanging out at my apartment after a work party. It was getting late, but we were all feeling a little frisky. Maybe it was a full moon? I don't know. I do know that we were all tired of working inside and wanted to get out into the world and still "do something for the animals."

Looking back on it, I realize now that these elements were a recipe for disaster from the beginning. Why couldn't we just relax and appreciate all the work we had already accomplished for the day? Or go out and do something fun together? I don't think we really even knew how to have fun. We were too busy being concerned about saving all the animals in the world. There was no time for fun and games.

We started talking about the different campaigns and how we could do something at night with them and one came to our minds almost simultaneously. The SHAC campaign stands for Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (http://www.shac.net/) and they're a group of people who shed light on an animal testing company called Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS).

HLS tests on and kills many different animals. Bunnies, guinea pigs, primates, puppies. If it is cute and cuddly, they are destroying it. Specifically, it is common knowledge, even to this day, that they take 500 puppies EVERY DAY and do things like drop chemicals into their eyes and slice their skin open then rub chemicals in the wounds to see how this affects their biological systems. Then after the results are recorded, the puppies are all killed! Its not like they could retire or live a normal life after being subjected to such torture.


This of course infuriated us and the more we talked about it, the more we wanted to stop it. But HOW? Well, SHAC was a group known for getting results with finding ways to attack not just the company itself, but also its investors. Since HLS was based in the UK, we wouldn't be able to go there ourselves, but we knew of a company in Seattle who had a prominent HLS investor on its board of directors. PERFECT!

Next, we decided that we would send a bunch of black faxes to the company in Seattle to send our message. A black fax is a black sheet of paper that is intended to create an annoyance. If plenty of pages are sent, the toner on the recipient's fax machine will run out. We wanted to let them know that it was for the animals and not some random person, so right in the middle of the black page, we would type a message in small white font that would say something like, "Stop supporting puppy killers," or something like that. You get the idea.

"Wait, I don't want to send them from my apartment," I said. "We should go somewhere else so they can't trace the line to me."

I'm not a technology expert myself, but I guess since it was going to a physical fax/phone line, we couldn't just use Wi-Fi. We had to create a black fax on a lap top and find a physical line on our end to hook the laptop up to in order to send our faxes. Of course, its probably different by now. After all, that was 2002. Ages ago technologically speaking.

It was getting so late that some people went home. The three of us that were left got in the car and were off to find a random phone line. We drove around for awhile until we ended up in Tukwila. At this point it was probably 1 or 2 am, October 17. We saw a quaint little business with a phone line easily accessible from the ground. The plan was for one of us to hook the laptop up to the phone line and start sending as the other two would watch for anyone coming. I grabbed a walkie-talkie and went around the corner while my boyfriend at the time hooked the laptop up to the phone line. The other guy took off in another direction with his radio.

I hadn't been standing there for more than a minute or so when my damn radio went DEAD! I hurried back to the car that was pulled up alongside my boyfriend who was dressed in all black, hunched over the laptop in his own world. Who knows where the other guy went and if his radio was still working or not. All I knew was that our operation was quickly unraveling and we were sitting ducks without working radios.

I told him my status and I got in the car to put my radio on the charger and find a new one as he continued working. I bent down and rummaged through the mess on the floor, but for the life of me couldn't to find a new walkie-talkie. I got a funny feeling that I should call the whole thing off. I sat up and looked to my left and who did I see? Yep! The police!

They rolled up right next to the car and looked right at me. I looked to my right and saw that my boyfriend had already been thrown on the ground. Pinned down with his face in the pavement. Before I knew it, I had a gun pointed at my head with an officer yelling,

"GET OUT OF THE CAR WITH YOUR HANDS UP. KEEP 'EM WHERE I CAN SEE 'EM!"

All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed with my cats and wake myself up to realize this was all a dream, but I couldn't. There was no escape. I got out of the car, was cuffed, patted down and thrown in the back of a cop car. There was a lot of confusion as to why we were there. The cops assumed we were robbing the place so they told me I was under arrest for robbery.

"PLEASE! I wasn't robbing the place. You have to believe me! I wouldn't do something like that!" I pleaded.

Just like that, my boyfriend and I were off to jail in separate cars for who knows how long. And who knows where the other guy went? I was never so scared in my life when the background checks were happening on the police computers on the way to jail. My boyfriend came up as a terrorist of sorts for interfering with animal enterprise. The cops started asking me questions and what started out as an attempt to take action to save the animals was quickly turning into felony charges and a long jail sentence. I didn't answer their questions. All I could do was demand to speak to a lawyer.

Digging Up the Past - An Introduction

I used to pride myself as a long-time vegetarian. Ten years total and of those, five years vegan. My early twenties were spent transitioning to veganism and finding anything and everything I could do to get more involved in animal rights and rescue. Protests, envelope stuffing, handing out fliers, undercover abuse investigation, bringing vegan goodies to potlucks, going to meetings, you name it. If there was something going on to help animals, I was there. My work and dedication was subsequently acknowledged when I was asked to become a part of the board of directors for the Northwest Animal Rights Network (NARN) in Seattle.

I was happy to help in the big city, but I felt like Seattle was already heavily saturated with plenty of activists so I used my resources to start a chapter of NARN in the south end of Seattle including south King County and north Pierce County. An area where I grew up and feel strongly connected to. At the time, I had a good-paying corporate job and used the money to get my own 2-bedroom apartment in the city of Kent. I made the master bedroom into an office and declared my place the headquarters for NARN south end chapter.

My role as the south end coordinator allowed me to expand the movement through bringing people together in a community to create plans for protests and carry out projects under the umbrella of animal rights. I found absolute joy in trailblazing the way for an awareness of compassion in a new frontier. Bringing questions to peoples' minds that might be trying to run from them by living on the outskirts of the city was something that got me up in the morning. I was a fearless leader... Fearless until the wee hours of the morning on October 17, 2002.

Meet me on the 700th floor

I saw my dad in a dream. His figure was standing before me in a hazy spirit form.

"Meet me on the 700th floor," he told me as he disappeared into thin air.

I rushed to get on the elevator and as the doors closed behind me, it took off on a wild ride. I got really high up a few times only to find myself clinging to the wall in response to the elevator switching directions and falling. The speed was so intense that hundreds of floors passed by in a matter of seconds. I thought it broke, but just before it crashed, it moved horizontally and diagonally. Taking my body violently in another direction with my soul left behind to catch up.

It was a lot like the elevator on Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory except it wasn't made of glass, so I couldn't see what was going on beyond the walls. I felt trapped because it seemed capable of getting to every floor except the 700th. Every time it started to climb upwards, I felt overcome with excitement, anticipation, yearning, and love. Then... when I would fall, those feelings were quickly replaced with horror, reality, confusion, and sadness.

I woke up confused and wanted to know why the number 700 was in my stream of consciousness. I let my gut instinct direct me to some information online, which just might make up the puzzle pieces to what my dad was trying to communicate:

Rumi
"700 years ago the Sufi poet Rumi wrote about two intelligences. The first is called acquired knowledge or book learning. It is the kind of intelligence that helps us to get ahead in the world and is tested to see how well we retain information. Rumi describes it as “getting always more marks on your preserving tablets.” This is the intelligence of our schooling and striving to succeed.

Rumi also describes another kind of tablet or intelligence: “one already completed and preserved inside you. A spring overflowing its springbox.” This intelligence is not the kind that moves from the outside in, as in traditional learning. “This second knowing is a fountainhead from within you, moving out.” Creativity is about honoring another kind of intelligence that originates from within us rather than from outside sources."

A state of mind
"The 700 Level referred to the cheap seats in the upper deck of Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Usually the most rowdy fans were there, especially at Philadelphia Eagles games and to a lesser extent Philadelphia Phillies games. In his book, "If Football's a Religion, Why Don't We Have a Prayer?", Jere Longman described the 700 Level as having a reputation for "hostile taunting, fighting, public urination and general strangeness." Due to an improvement in facilities, an increase in security, and a lower tolerance for fan misbehavior, there is no equivalent in either Lincoln Financial Field or Citizens Bank Park. The name has also been the inspiration for websites relating to Philadelphia sports, as well as a weekly "Letters to the Editor" section in the Sunday Sports pages of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Many Philly fans still talk about the "700 Level", but this refers to a state of mind rather than an actual physical place."

Blade Runner
"Another distinction between the races that is made in subtle way is the location where they reside. Tyrell and Deckard live very high up. Deckard lives on 97th floor whereas Tyrell lives on the 700th floor [7] (Sammon, p. 137)."

Urbandictionary.com
"Heaven:
4. A geographic location. Take the white stairs across the street, or if you dislike stairways, elevator adjacent to it, 700th floor."

"Step into my office...

Louis will get you some coffee. Have a seat while I check these reports on my computer..."

Oh Tomato Soup,

You are a hot red lovely flame of liquid almost searing my throat as I uncontrollably guzzle you. Tender pieces of tuna marinated in tomato glory left behind from dunking my sandwich. The bread with a warmth of its own becomes succulent beneath the the crunchy toasted surface.

A simple bite... a burst of flavor instantly conjures memories of my childhood. Snowy days when all the kids in the neighborhood come in from a morning of play. That kind of play that is savored all the more because school was canceled for the day. Red noses sniffling, mouths slurping. Children hurrying to get back outside.

White Board Sketch of the Day

Not quite sure what this is, but it seems to be inspired by my latest obsession with watching the Simpsons and Project Runway.

He's ALIIIIIIIVE!!!

Foofie is a guinea pig and has been a friend of mine for almost five years now. Unfortunately, he has been under the weather as far back as Christmas time. He just didn't seem like himself. About a week ago, "not seeming like himself" turned into a huge puss-filled lump on the side of his nose, raspy breathing, decreased appetite, lethargy, and the absence of any peeing and pooping. I'm no expert, but it seemed to be a case of an upper respiratory infection (URI) coupled with an abscess.

Taking into account the maturity of his age, severity of his symptoms, and our lack of funds, I thought he was a goner for sure. These factors also contributed to the fact that I really didn't want to take him to the vet and have them run up a bill with all kinds of tests. Besides, that would stress him out, which wouldn't promote healing anyway. Fair enough... so I set out to take care of him myself.

I figured the first thing I could deal with was the lump on the side of his nose. I thought it might be an abscess, so I took a sterile needle and attempted to create a small puncture so I could drain it. I poked it and nothing but blood came out. I tried drawing out the infection by massaging it with a eucalyptus hot-pack. After a few minutes, puss and blood began to drain from the lump, not through the puncture, but through his right nostril!

Next step was to attack the infection with medicine. I gave him some vitamin C drops, but also wanted to get my hands on something stronger. I didn't want to get a prescription or order online from a sketchy website so I searched for information. I found out that some pet stores actually sell antibiotics over-the-counter for fish. Its the same stuff used for people and other mammals, but just labeled for fish. No prescription necessary.

I went further and made a list of guinea pig-safe antibiotics and headed down the street to Petco. I wandered up and down all the aisles and nothing was matching up to what I needed. I even asked a worker for some help and, well what can I say? He worked at Petco. The interaction was short-lived to say the least and the trip turned out to be fruitless.

The drive home was filled with curse words and frustration about how I can't just buy what I need from the local pharmacy. I found myself lashing out at the U.S. health care system and the government. I was just plain feeling bad about the world at large. Good GRIEF! Talk about a waste of energy! Once I got home and vented to an actual person, the doom and gloom was all out of my system and I was able to shift my focus back to taking care of good ol' Foof.

Instead of venturing out again, I got smart and called a few more pet stores to see if the existence of this fish antibiotic was just a big fish story. I didn't find any traditional antibiotics. I found something MUCH better for around $30.00! Its a product called Vibactra Plus. Its a tincture full of amazingly powerful natural extracts like cloves, grapefruit seed, Jatoba, olive leaf, mustard seed, and black seed. I put just a drop on my tongue to see what it was like and oh MAN! It felt like the tree of life planted itself on my tongue, instantly spreading its healing roots throughout my body!

The treatment for Foof consisted of 5 Vibactra drops and 8 Vita drops orally, nasal massage with a wet eucalyptus hot pack, wiping his eyes clean and grooming as needed 4 times a day. Water, food and bedding was kept fresh and changed daily. Once a day, antibiotic ointment (a generic Neosporin) was applied to the skin on and around the lump area. It was also essential for him to get plenty of sunshine and fresh air, so he went outside everyday as usual, but with this crazy desert weather, I was extra careful to make sure he didn't get overheated or chilled.

I've been doing his treatments faithfully for about a week now and he is so much better! The raspy sound in his lungs is gone. The lump is pretty much non-existent. He is eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping again. His eyes are bright, his hair is fluffy and shiny. He is full of spunk and pretty much back to his old self again! I plan to continue his treatment twice a day for a few more days just to give the infection a final kick in the pants.

I am thrilled to have Foofie pull through and live with us for just a bit longer. This experience has taught me a little more about my own healing capabilities through the properties of natural medicine. I've also come to realize that I love my little Foof as a part of the family. He has his place in my heart and will be deeply missed when his time does come. For now, the Grim Reaper will have to stop knocking on his door and come again some other day.