the evenings here,
half as heavy
and vestigial as my soul
strung up across the fairy lights
in the nighttime green park,
contemplating
rust, burnt orange
all flavors of Maroon
which is to say—
well, the future is still
a clouded drinking glass
but I'll rip metaphors for it
right from the bone marrow
of all my heartbroken heroes
and wonder why
the inspiration never lasts.
I think it would be happy
to have died a meeker woman
but life persists at the doorstep
expectant as a Sunday morning.
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Is it Safe For Dogs To Drink From Puddles?
From personal experience, there are two inevitabilities of dog ownership. The first is that, at some point, you will step out for a walk and forget to take water for your dog. The second is that your dog is always happy to stick its nose into the smelliest thing around. So you have a thirsty dog, and there is a murky, stinky puddle over there? Bingo, problem solved. Or is it? What are the health risks to your pet from drinking from puddles?
The bugs that lurk (in the puddle)
Surely the worst that can happen from picking a bug up from a puddle is an upset tummy? Well, possibly. But given the most likely cause of this upset tummy is Giardia, and it is one of the most common causes of acute gastroenteritis in humans and animals. Apart from being very unpleasant for your pet (and for you cleaning up), Giardia can be quite difficult to treat. It is also not uncommon for a pet to have repeat bouts after they have recovered from the first one. Even worse, it is a zoonosis, which means it can potentially be transmitted from pets to their owners. Fortunately, it looks like this is rare in reality, which is a silver lining.
Then there is leptospirosis, also known as “Weils’s disease”.
That’s the one that your dog catches from rat urine, which can contaminate stagnant water. It is a serious bacterial infection that can cause liver and kidney failure. Dogs can contract it through contact with water contaminated by infected urine. It can be pretty tricky to diagnose and very difficult to treat. Worse still, it is also a zoonosis. However, pet to owner transmission is probably very rare, with people most commonly contracting it through swimming or water sports in contaminated water bodies. It should be mentioned that leptospirosis in dogs is uncommon in the UK; this may be due to vaccination (none of the affected dogs in one study was vaccinated) or underdiagnosis.
The new puddle-lurking nasty on the block is Angiostrongylus Vasorum, AKA Lungworm or French Heartworm.
Infections in pet dogs by this unpleasant parasite have become increasingly common in the UK over the last two decades, particularly in the South East and Wales. Lungworm can cause lung disease, bleeding problems and neurological disease. It was previously thought to be transmitted by dogs eating slugs and snails. More recently, evidence has suggested that gastropods shed the parasite in the environment, and dogs can be infected by drinking contaminated water.
And what about the toxins on your doorstep? A tale for all seasons.
Even that harmless-looking puddles around your home could be life-threatening. Ethylene glycol is a commonly used ingredient in antifreeze products used in cars. It can easily leak from parked vehicles to contaminate puddle water. It’s highly toxic to dogs and cats, and only a small amount needs to be ingested to be fatal as it causes kidney failure. It has a sweet smell which means it is readily licked by dogs. Every year, sadly, several dogs (and even more cats) die in the UK after ingestion of ethylene glycol. As an antifreeze product, this risk is higher during the winter months.
Then there is the danger of blue-green algae blooms caused by cyanobacteria. This natural phenomenon occurs most commonly during the summer months when the perfect conditions for explosive algal growth are most likely. The toxins produced by these blooms are dangerous to humans and dogs when ingested. Blue-green algae can often be visible by a blue-green foamy scum on the water’s surface. The local authority will put up prominent warning signs at times of high risk. It is imperative to keep your dog on the lead and out of the water when these signs are up. If your dog does somehow get into the water, it is recommended to take them directly to the vet for decontamination as toxic signs (tummy upset, tremors, wobbly gait, seizures) can start within an hour of exposure.
And then there is the bigger picture…
As with all issues environmental, the concern about environmental pollution is increasingly coming to the fore. Pesticides, herbicides to pharmaceutical residues and hormones, from agricultural, industrial and domestic use affect wildlife and the environment, and our understanding of how this happens is improving all the time. With that comes the realization that there is also a knock-on risk to our health and our pets. Yet still, the environmental levels of surprisingly few of these polluting substances are monitored. So exactly what, if anything, and how much of it ends up in your average puddle is unknown and, for this reason, drinking from puddles is generally not recommended.
My dog has been drinking from puddles for years, and she’s okay. What is the risk, really?
From reading this article, you would not be blamed for thinking that all puddles glowed fluorescent green and that it comes across as a bit alarmist. And you would be right. Most likely, a quick slurp from a puddle will do your pet no harm. Indeed, there is no need to contact your vet when your pet does so unless there are specific circumstances, like known blue-green algae risk or ethylene glycol exposure. What this article attempts to do is describe some of the potential harms of drinking from puddles. The trick is to take precautionary measures to minimize the risk, such as ensuring your pet is fully vaccinated and protected against lungworm if they insist on splashing through puddles. But the safest precaution of all is to always carry drinking water for your pet.
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i had to exist in April
before May
plunging headfirst into
the heartbreak months
my friends and I
spent tugging at the threads
of the metaphysical.
an exorcism of
much younger fears;
fangs sinking into
the seasoned flesh
of autumn.
an autumn that
hums orange,
that
exhales it.
were you there?
we were, ripening
in the red air
screaming something about
how a serpent
and a woman
are the same, how
they both
saw something greater than God
in the face of an apple.
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getting older can be so amazing? you get more familiar with yourself. learn tips & tricks for troubleshooting your own brain. trial & error helps you build routines that minimize discomfort, maximize reward. your preferences/interests don't get set in stone, but you do find out which ones are going to stay with you in the long-term, and which ones are fun but transient joys to appreciate in the moment.
you learn that the world is so much more complex than you were taught, and that that's okay, and that there's an endless supply of things you can learn or watch or experience or think about if you want to. if you're lucky, you loosen up, stop putting so much pressure on yourself. if you're lucky, you learn to recognize that negative inner voice, and whack it with a baseball bat until it hushes up. if you're lucky, you learn to treat yourself gently, not because you are fragile but because you are worthy of gentleness. (i hope you are lucky.)
and some things will change. some things will get better. some things will get good. and maybe you start to recover from the dehumanizing stress of childhood/education. maybe you learn the power of your own autonomy. maybe you learn how to walk away from bad situations (which is a superpower even if you don't realize it yet). and you get to choose your own clothes. and your own food. and which relationships to pursue! and what you do with your free time. and with your life (but don't worry you get to choose that gradually). and that's crazy! and sometimes scary. and extraordinarily, indescribably precious.
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Ni tan suertudo como para olvidar completamente
Ni tan jodido como para seguir atado en el ayer, o en el antier
La memoria de mi juventud ingenua me mantiene cuerdo en el abismo egoista de mi adultez moderna, impuesta y escogida
comodidad casi aberrante
tranquilidad taladrante
Y pues tranquila también, la verdad
Ojalá no nos acordáramos de los hubieras
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