I remember reading advice about fictional writing once that if you want to raise the pervceived socioeconomic level of a fictional character one of the easiest ways is to eliminate "get" from the characters vocabulary. After reading that I definitely try to avoid the word "get" in formal writing.

I have been meaning to ask, have they done a deep pain test on Libby's paralyzed leg? That is fairly simple and might give you more information.

I guess that they would really freak about our dogs that sleep in the bed with us. That is just ridiculous.

We had a few problems with injuries to our dog's paralyzed feet at first but we have not had that problem for a long time. Even when he is "lazy" and drags his back legs instead of walking they seem to have toughened up or something. He may have more feeling also because he does not drag himself over extremely rough terrain or in cold weather.

Another thought is to take Libby to hydrotherapy a few times and stay and observe and ask lots of questions. The prices you mentioned are higher than what we paid but we are in a part of the country with generally low overhead expenses. After you see what is involved with hydrotherapy you could set up a kids pool at the right depth and walk her around it(you outside, her in the water). The place we took our dog used the kiddie pool technique before they got their underwater treadmill. The only thing that could be challenging is keeping the water warm. A black tarp in the bottom of the pool would more that do it in this area if the pool was in the sun(actually it would probably get dangerously hot). One advantage of doing therapy at home is that you could use your other dog as an assistant especially if Libby will try harder to keep up with him than she would on her own. I would not make any decisions extremely quickly, our dog's initial progress was very slow and none of the vets held out much hope for anything more than total permanent paralysis of his back end. Now he walks, not perfectly but he does walk and even wags his tail now(that took years).

Do you have a supportive relative that one of the offending parties could visit until the heat passes? My female visits my mother's house at that time.

I found two sites about side effects of mumps, inflammation of testicles is mentioned but on this site it specifically says the inflammation does not result in infertility and it seems to be a rather pro-vax site: http://www.livestrong.com/article/40876-longterm-side-effects-mumps/ This site give a different percentage of males who get mumps who experience inflammation: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/mumps-000112.htm

This thread makes me very happy that we do not live in a neighborhood. Also our land is zoned general agriculture. We do not have a garage or a paved driveway. No one is bothered because our house and cars are not visible from the street; we left the front half of our lot wooded.

:grouphug: Hope you feel better soon.

That sounds like a book that I would like to read.

My dd sometimes puts a towel in the bottom of the tub and sits in the tub with her hamster and plays with him in there. He seems to enjoy it and there are no concerns about escape since the sides of the tub are too steep and slick.

I purchased our chickens from the local feed store to get breeds that would do well in this area. Most feed store would have sexed females so you would not have to worry about getting a rooster. I have Rhode Island Reds and Barred Rocks. I don't have any special misting set up but they have acess to plenty of shade and they like to go under the front porch(house is about 4 feet above grade).

:party:I am glad to hear that Libby peed.

Did they teach you how to express her before you brought her home? Bms generally are not a problem when there is paralysis but urination can be a problem. Our dog is male and I don't know how different the instructions are for a female but the description we were given was to feel the abdomen for something that feels like a water balloon and to press that.

When she does urinate if you notice a strong fishy smell notify the doctor.

I take our dogs out about three times a day. Since she has not been eating I would not be too worried about a lack of bms. She may have been a little dehydrated before she started drinking normally, if that is possible I would not worry too much. I would go ahead and take her out more frequently. Three of my dogs,including the disabled one, are small. I wouldn't worry too much until around 2p.m.

Thank you.

Have you thought about Sunday school or youth group for your son instead of church? The smaller size of the group might be more tolerable for him. I know I tolerate smaller groups more easily than large ones.

My bet would be that going to the next larger size and adding in padding as needed to keep it from moving would be you best bet. Another option which will probably be more expensive but is designed to protect from greater impact would be a motorcycle helmet. I think there is a greater variation in sizes and the padding is much better.

I would check with the vet first but you may want consider setting up a wading pool for her to walk around the perimeter of. It would also depend on how many scrapes and cuts and such she has with regard to how soon it would be appropriate. The water supports her weight so she can concentrate on trying to use her muscles with no fear of falling. The place we took our dog for therapy had an underwater treadmill but they used a wading pool before they spent major bucks for the treadmill. Depending on how warm it is in your area right now she might enjoy some time laying in shallow warm water. I am sure that some of her muscles are very sore. If you do set up a wading pool try to keep the water warm. Use it at midday when the water is warm and if the sun won't warm it try putting a black tarp in the bottom.

Our dog definitely prefers privacy especially from our other dogs. Only his back legs are affected but they were much worse initially than your dog's back legs. We stil express him but he can go on his own sometimes. It is fairly counterintuitive but it seems harder for him when he is extremely full. It can be a good idea to let the dog try to go on their own and then express them to make sure the bladder is as empty as possible. Bladder or even kidney infections are more of a risk if the bladder is not at least mostly emptied a few times a day.

:grouphug:

One thing that may save some frustration is to have some sort of evaluation done first or just give him some placement tests from Saxon or Singapore or some other math and have him read something aloud. If there are major gaping gaps in his foundational skills in reading and math that could result in extreme frustration for both the student and the teacher no matter what curriculum or approach is used. Kumon offers free placement exams that would give you an idea where he is at also.

I found it offensive as well.

:iagree:Or anywhere else in the L&D area.