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We’re Moving!!

This is it everyone! Sorry I have been MIA for a few days. I was busy getting ready to go back to class on Monday, but the day has come! I have @animalscience-side-of-tum8lr all ready to go and I am super excited to be able to make it my new main blog! 

This one will stay up for a while too so that everyone can make the switch if they wish, but I will not be active on here any longer. I hope to start posting new content over there very soon! I’ll have lots more resources too now that classes are starting and I will have my Animal Science friends and professors to bug lol

Thanks so much for ya’ll that have stuck with me and I’ll see you on the other side! 

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Alrighty, Folks! 

So I let this post just float around while I was in Switzerland for a week, but I back now and have officially decided to go ahead with the new blog idea! You can now find a full new version of this blog over at @animalscience-side-of-tum8lr 

yes I kept most of the username because I think I’m funny

But basically, I’ll just be reblogging most of my posts from this blog and then deleting this one (because I am kinda annoyingly organized about my blogs). When I’m done though I’ll make a post and let y'all know everything on the new blog is ready! 

Let me know if you have any questions!! Thanks so much! 💚 Y’all are great!

Hello followers!

Ok so I know that there’s like 16 of ya’ll out there (and I love all of ya’ll so much you got no idea! 💚) but I was wondering what ya’ll might think of this idea.

This blog is technically a side blog I made apart from my main @let-it-shine and I don’t know why but it BUGS THE HECK out of me that I want to interact with ya’ll but can’t under this username because of how Tumblr is.

My thought is to make this into a full main blog so that I can interact with ya’ll about animal science and veterinary stuff like I want to. I’d post exactly the same content and have the exact same set up and username and just like copy&paste/reblog our favorites from this blog.

Thoughts? If ya’ll could sound off in the comments that’d be fantastic!

Anyway, 💚💚 MDS

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Glad to know someone else has a kelpie out there that is an absolute lovable menace spectacular job Arwen A+

A Short List of Shenanigans My Parent’s Dog Has Engaged In:

This is Arwen, she’s a Husky/Kelpie mix and a little Asshole:

“I wonder if she can jump?” my dad asks the first five minutes we have her.  She perks up at the word, and clears a six-foot fence form sitting on the ground. “Oh.”  Says dad. “Shit.” Later that night she got up on the counter and ate three pounds of corned beef in roughtly 68 seconds but this was considered part of the learning curve of having a new dog.

I wake up at 4 AM to the sound of the toilet being flushed repeatedly in the hall bathroom, and assume plumbing is now posessed by angry and wasteful ghosts.   I get up to disconnet it and find her in the Bathroom, standing to flush the bowl, then shoving her head in to drink the running water.   I’m not totally awake, so I stand there like an idiot trying to understand this, and my sister gets up to see what the noise is, sees the same thing and also stands there.  Fiance notices my absence and does the same.   Mom eventually wakes up and finds us standing around like very confused zombies and almost joins the parade of baffled zombies before shreiking “THE WATER BILL!” We got her a circulating water bowl after that.

My parent’s don’t have AC, but they haveone of those “fridge on top, pull-out-freezer below” fridges.  Last summer, we were remarking that we might need to shave her so she didn’t get heatstroke, to which she looked up and made a disgusted noise at us. …Then got up, used the dishrag to pull open the freezer and climbed on top of the frozen vegetables, stretching out and sighing contentedly.  “Arwen,” Mom began, but was interrupted by a loud ‘WHAAAaaaaarrr?” from Arwen.  “Ok you can stay there for now but we’re getting you a kiddie pool so you have to get out when we get back.  Don’t eat anything.” She ate a bag of frozen green beans and farted for three days straight.

Took her walking along the lake with the long lead so she could sniff things to her hearts content.  She went about shoving her head in the undergrowth, usually coming up with her head covered in leaves and pollen. Except for the bush where she came back out with a 7-foot Bull Snake wrapping itself around her ehad and neck, trying it’s best to strangle her before she can eat it.   She immediately ran back to me, the parts of her face not occupied with the snake arranged in a gleeful expression of “Look!  I found Snacks!” I screamed, not immediately regognizing that it wasn’t a rattler, and fell, splitting my knee on a rock.  The screaming made her let go of the snake, but I still had to grab her and wrestle the snake off her because it lacked the sense to just scuttle away.  I finaly got it lose from her (Despite her best effort to continue trying to eat it and turned around to fling it off the trail-  -And directly into the face of one of my 90-year-old neighbors who’d come out to see what the screaming and profanity was, making her collapse. I’m pretty sure being told “I accidentally threw a snake at my neighbor.” was the highlight of that EMT’s day.  Dottie was unharmed but she still doesn’t speak to me.

One day, we left her in a Harness and overhead tether in the (at the time) unfanced back yard so she could enjoy some relatively free-range outdoors time.  I walked by the window not a minute later to find her completely GONE, and race out to the yard to find her.  It took me a good heart-pounding five minutes to realize the overhead tether was goign UP into the ancient silver maple and realized that  1. Arwen can apparently do something really weird with her shoulders where they pop out sideways, allowing her to bear-hug the tree and  2. climb a good 40 feet into the three to fight 3. A porcupine, which i didn’t even know LIVED out here. Fortunately, Porcupines weigh considerably less than Awen and she couldn’t get a good enough foothold to get all the way up to it, but I still had to climb up there and lower her down, barking dog profanities at the porcupine the whole way.

My parents recently acquired a mechanized recliner which has been instumental inmom’s hip surgery recovery.  Execpt that Awen Also likes lounging on the furniture, and is more than capable of hitting a large, elder-friendly button with her paw.  So now when she gets back from a walk or the dog park she makes a beeline for the living room, get in the recliner and pushes the button until it’s flat and stretches out in it.  My parents didn’t have a problem with this because she gets out of the chair when they ask her (Mom even tells her “Go get my chair ready” in winter because she does a good job pre-warming it), until last winter when Arwen taught my dog Charlie, another devoted couch animal how to do this. One afternoon there was a tremendous outburst fo barkign and snarling from the living room and we rished in to find both dogs in the recliner, Charlie on the fully-reclined back and Arwen on the elevated seat and foot rest, bellowing at eachother for control of the recliner, thier movments having pitched it back to it’s two hind feet, the device swaying to and fro like a leather covered boat upon the high seas, a furry mutiny on board.  Neither dog was willing to yeild the plush throne, nor to listen to the humans yelling at them to knock it the hell off, until Arwen tackled the usurper, kocking him off and managing to cantaleiver the recliner clean over, flipping it into the hall, both dogs and all humand miraculously unharmed. She still doesn’t let him sit in it.

I love her so much.

(If you got a laugh out of this, please consider donating to my Tip Jar or Paypal to get Arwen (and Charlie!) nice treats)

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Dogs are a blessing on this world

REBLOG IF YOU LOVE DOGS

9 million people fucking love dogs

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I feel like the reason certain dog-lovers insist cats are evil is because they read their body language as if they were dogs. So here’s a very basic guide to common “mean” things cats do that actually aren’t mean at all if you know what they’re thinking.

Rolling and exposing belly- attacks you when touched Does not mean: Give belly rubs! - haha I tricked you!  Actually means: I’m playful! If you reach for my belly I’ll grab your arm and bite it because I think we’re playfighting! 

Lazily exposing belly - still attacks when touched Does not mean: tricked you again! Actually means: I’m showing you my belly because I trust you. Please don’t break that trust by invading my personal space. I might accept a belly rub if I’m not ticklish and I know you well. Snapping at you while being pet Does not mean: I suddenly decided I dislike you! Actually means: You’re petting me in a way that gives me too much restless energy. Please focus on petting my head and shoulders instead of stroking the full length of my back next time.

Is in the same room but makes no attempt to interact Does not mean:  I’m ignoring you Actually means: We’re hanging out! I’m being respectful by giving you space while still enjoying your company. Slapping/scratching your hand when you try to pet them Does not mean: I hate you! Actually means: You’ve failed to establish that we’re not playing, or the way you’re approaching me scares me. Be calmer, speak more gently, make eye-contact and blink slowly at me before you try again.

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To be honest speaking of smooching calves… newborn calves are the sweetest snuggly things ever. Those first 2 days they’re the most precious things and like to soak in love and be pet and hugged.

Then they become very very pushy and rough once their appetite kicks up though :( and you can’t snuggle anymore

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Things that should not need to be said in a veterinary clinic, but actually are.

“One tablet twice a day is not the same as giving two tablets once a day.”

“Feed your dog cooked chicken and cooked rice. The chicken should have no skin, no fat, no butter, no seasoning and should not be K.F.C.”

“I do not believe you have no room in your car to take this A5 sheet of specific home care instructions with you.”

“It is not recommended to breed these cats together because they are brother and sister.”

“Even if your dog looks fine, if it just ate rat poison it needs to come to the clinic right now.”

“No, you probably can’t throw the tablets into your cat’s bowl of food and expect her to just eat it.”

“Given that you’ve just said the bone of his tail is broken and sticking out through the skin, I think you will find that your dog is, actually, in pain.”

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““Leukocytes tend to be a bit xenophobic.””

— Microbiology lecturer discussing the immune system (via scienceprofessorquotes)

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Hello followers!

Ok so I know that there’s like 16 of ya’ll out there (and I love all of ya’ll so much you got no idea! 💚) but I was wondering what ya’ll might think of this idea.

This blog is technically a side blog I made apart from my main @let-it-shine and I don’t know why but it BUGS THE HECK out of me that I want to interact with ya’ll but can’t under this username because of how Tumblr is.

My thought is to make this into a full main blog so that I can interact with ya’ll about animal science and veterinary stuff like I want to. I’d post exactly the same content and have the exact same set up and username and just like copy&paste/reblog our favorites from this blog.

Thoughts? If ya’ll could sound off in the comments that’d be fantastic!

Anyway, 💚💚 MDS

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Everybody’s hands go up!!

What religion is this? I’m interested.

Photos by Life with Baldrick and Melchett

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List of essential oils and kitchen oils toxic to cats. Most of these are quite common so clean up thouroughly after yourself and make sure windows are open! Also avoid burning/diffusing these oils in excess around your furry friends!!

Link: meowlifestyle.com/6-essential-oil-safety-tips-for-cat-owners/

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i just saw a another video of a man putting a nose ring on a mature cow who was suckling her herd mates dry and according to the comments:

Cows milk belongs to cows, even if they’re unrelated grown-ass cows

Calves naturally suckle for 3 whole years (?????!!)

the video is impossible because humans are the only species that drink milk after weaning

People are SO TIRESOME

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Stop! THIEF!

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Just wait till you have a 144 lb calf to pull/c-section 😬

But yes usually!! Then you smell like new calf lol

So it turns out that calving cows is an incredibly enjoyable, satisfying job. Definitely going into mixed practice now!

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I found this on Facebook! A wonderfully worded response to a STUPID video!

Ok, here we go… I said I would post a response to this video, once I gathered my thoughts. It took me a little longer than I wanted it to, but I finally have a few minutes to myself, so here I go… Before I start, I just want to day that I am not an expert, or professional, etc. I am someone that works in the dairy industry, loves animals, and has some dairy education and experience from a few different places. I usually don’t speak up when it comes to things like this, but enough is enough. I just can’t let this one go. Everything that I am about to type, is based on my own personal experiences - whether on a farm or in the classroom. I am going to respond in order of things mentioned in the video, so it will be easier to follow along - for those that want to. Warning: this is going to be long. 1) Yes, dairy farmers use artificial insemination. It is nearly painless to the animal, and gets rid of the dangers (to animal AND human) of having a bull around. 2) We do not do it “over and over”, if she is referring to the A.I. process. Straws of semen cost money. We want them to conceive on the first try. If she’s referring to getting them pregnant “over and over”, well most farms have a minimum of a 60 day “voluntary waiting period”, which is the length of time given to a cow, after she gives birth, until the time she is inseminated. A cow’s gestation period is 9 months. Some heifers are 12 months old when they are bred - some aren’t. Generally, it doesn’t go by age, but rather, by body size. Each heifer is different. It is a judgement call for someone with experience. If a heifer gets too big (old) and fat (which she will) it becomes less likely that she will “settle” (get pregnant), and if she does, she is likely to experience difficulties while calving. A fat dairy cow or heifer is NOT a good thing) 3) I love how she says that farmers “jack off a bunch of bulls”… Sheesh! Grow up, will ya? High quality (tested) bulls are kept at very nice facilities (usually owned by companies that sell semen). Sometimes, the bulls are taught to mount dummy (fake) animals (a large, padded structure) while a person holds a container to collect the semen, that is designed to feel like a cow’s vagina. Yes, sometimes an electroejaculator probe is used instead. It isn’t at bad as it sounds. And no, it isn’t “basically a big cow dildo” - what is with this girl?! It is inserted into the bill’s rectum and it gives off a series of small electrical pulses (not shocks) which stimulates the bull to ejaculate. These bulls are worth a lot of money, and are treated very well. They’re fed a high quality diet - designed by nutritionists - and are kept in clean, well-ventilated facilities. They literally eat, drink, poop, sleep, play and “donate” semen… Rough life, huh??? 4)The industry does NOT call it a “rape rack”… If we do, it is to mock idiots, like the woman in the video. The animal is restrained in a headlock or a chute, to ensure the safety of the animal and the person doing the insemination. By the way, the picture shown in the video, when she says “rape rack” is actually a “rotary parlor” - where cows get milked while slowly going around, like they’re on a carousel. Breeding does not take place there. Again, she is an idiot. The “long tube” is actually called an Artificial Insemination gun. It is basically a long, skinny syringe. The semen straw is loaded in the end of it, then guided through the cervix and into the uterine body and/or uterine horns, where the semen is deposited. 5) Yes, while doing A.I., a person must insert their arm into the rectum. This is NOT to “loosen the area” (or whatever ridiculous thing she said)… It is simply to guide the tip of the A.I. gun in the right direction to pass through the cervix. There are many folds inside of a cow’s vaginal tract, and a series of cartilaginous rings in their cervix. It takes a lot of practice feeling around, and knowledge of the anatomy of a bovine reproductive tract to be successful at A.I. breeding. 6) “Got Beastiality?” … Really?! C'mon. Cows and heifers need to get pregnant in order to lactate and be valuable assets to the business. Doing A.I. is just another job on the farm. It is not “Beastiality”. Ugh. 7) Yes, calves are taken away shortly after birth. Usually, after the mother licks it off, because it stimulates the calf and dries it off. That is, IF the mother is willing. Some cows want absolutely nothing to do with the calf. Some cows do get upset when you take the calf away, but they are completely over it within minutes. In fact, some cows show more frustration over taking a calf away that didn’t even belong to them! It’s new, it smells funny, it moves and makes noise, and cows are naturally curious. I do want to point out, though, that I am ONLY talking about dairy cows - not beef. Beef cows have STRONG maternal instincts because they’ve been bred that way. Mothering abilities/maternal instincts are not focused on in the dairy industry, becuase it is simply not needed. Calves are taken away for a number of reasons. Overall, it just isn’t practical to keep all of the calves with the cows. Unless they are outside, in a large area, the calves will get stepped on/laid on and killed by the cows… It is easier to care for/monitor calves, and treat sick calves, if they are seperated. That way, we know exactly how much milk (colostrum) each calf gets, and we are able to make sure it is high quality colostrum, because each cow’s first milk (“colostrum”) is tested. Calves are born with no immune system, and they need a certain amount of high quality colostrum to receive an ideal amount of immunoglobulins through passive immunity (passed on to the calf, by its mother, through her colostrum, and absorbed in the calf’s gut) within a short period of time. Remember, calves are the future of every dairy farm. We want them to grow up to be happy, healthy, high-producing cows. Why would we harm them in any way? 8) The way the calves are being handled in this video is NOT acceptable, and is not a fair representation of the dairy industry. Like anything else, there are always “bad guys”. Unfortunately, the bad ones are the ones that get the most publicity. Over time, the public starts to perceive the awful things they’ve seen as “normal”. It is not. 9) Ok, now we’re at the part where the cow is mooing. The woman in the video says she is searching for her baby. I suppose it is a possibility - However, I’d be willing to bet all of the money I have, on the fact that this cow is simply mooing. Cows do this. It is the noise they make. If you are 10 minutes late feeding them, and they hear a tractor start up, you’ll hear an entire cow choir start doing this. If a cow is in heat (estrus), she will do this until she annoys the heck out of you. If another cow is moved to a different pen, she will do this. If you move a cow’s friend (yes, they have friends) to another pen, they will both do this. There are MANY reasons for a cow to “moo”. From my experience, the sound that a cow makes when she doesn’t want you to take her calf, is a completely different sound… Lower tone, more of a humming/grunting noise. Again, totally different situation with beef cattle. 10) “If it’s a male, its throat is slit and sold for veal”. Wrong! Yes, some bull calves are raised and then sold for veal. If so, they are raised at veal raising facilities. The way they are raised is not the responsibility of the dairy farm. They way they are killed is not the responsibility of the person(s) raising the calves. Many veal calves are killed humanely. Many calves aren’t raised for veal, but instead, are sold at sale barns and end up at feedlots - where they are fed until they are fully grown, then slaughtered for beef. 11) Yes, dairy cattle only produce milk after calving. Yes, a good dairy cow will give birth to many calves in her lifetime. It is what they’ve been bred to do. However, each cow is given a break, called a “dry period”. Approximately 2 months before she is due to have her calf, a cow is no long milked. She will be given a special diet that is adjusted by dairy nutritionists, to give the cow and unborn calf all of the nutrition they need to be healthy, without the cow getting too fat. She is no longer using energy to produce milk, so she can gain weight very quickly. “Dry cows” are often let outside to graze, and spend all day being lazy. 12) This woman claims that keeping a dairy cow lactating causes mastitis (inflammation/infection of the udder)… It does not “cause” mastitis. Infection from bacteria, viruses, injuries, etc. cause mastitis. However, usually only lactating cows (or cows that have lactated) get it, so… I guess it’s kind of like saying you got into a car wreck becuase you were in a vehicle. Well, that may be true - you can’t be in a car wreck if you never get into one - but that also doesn’t mean that you WILL get into a wreck if you get into a vehicle, or that the act of BEING in a vehicle is the reason you got into a wreck. 13) “Sometimes filtered”… NO. It is a requirement to filter the milk at the farm. It is filtered before it even reaches the bulk tank. Did you know that farms that sell milk have to be inspected? The quick picture that is shown of a disgusting filter is another unfair representation. “Somatic cells” are cells that the body (of every living animal) sheds - more so, when there is an infection present. All milk has somatic cells. It is natural. If cows didn’t have somatic cells, they’d have no way to fight off infection. Elevated levels of somatic cells usually indicate an infection, such as mastitis. It is not the same thing as pus in a pimple. She is simply trying to gross people out. If a cow has a high somatic cell count, or visable evidence of infection, or if she is treated with antibiotics to help get rid of an infection, her milk is not put into the bulk tank. It is either dumped or fed to calves. There are penalties for each bulk tank that has a somatic cell count over a certain amount, and premiums for each tank that is below a certain amount. Many people (including myself) drink raw (unpasteurized, unhomoginized) milk, straight from the bulk tank. Do you think we would choose to drink pus??! 14)“Downer cows” - cows can go down for MANY reasons… Sickness, injury, slipping and falling, knocked down by another cow, etc. AGAIN, the video clips shown are not a fair representation of what goes on at most dairy farms. The clip showing the cow’s back end being lifted by a skidsteer - Yes, sometimes we have to do that. A down cow is a dead cow. She needs to get to her feet. Sometimes, the only way to get her there is by using “hip lifts” - a tool that is tightened around the animal’s hip bones, so she can be lifted to her feet. The clip does not show proper usage - she should be gently lifted until she can get her legs squarely underneath her body - NOT hung in the air. All of the other hidden video clips that are shown just before and after that one are disgusting and shameful. Shame on those people for treating animals that way. Whew… Ok, rant over. It felt good to get that out. If you made it this far, reading my rant, thank you. Remember - things are not always as they seem, certain things are done for a reason, and if you want to know more, ask a farmer! A good farmer will be happy to explain things to you, and show you around. Good farmers are proud of what they do. A bad farmer will make excuses, because they have something to hide.

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me: studies the dairy industry, has visited many different types of farms as part of my studies, has never even heard of any actual farm doing half the cruel things ppl claim

ppl: LIAR!!! IGNORANT LIAR!!!!! U HAVE TO TORTURE COWS TO GET MILK 😤😤😤