Its been a while eh ?

[Just Plain Ruff]

No but I will be more selective and thoughtful in my angry, deconstructive rantings

That remains to be seen. I have high hopes for you yet Kiwi!!!!

[Kiwiology]

I had high hopes for Squint but he make me rake leaves, tap a tree for syrup and watch hockey while tied to a chair and gagged with a gob full of moose.

I walked for three miles in a blizzard to the RCMP detachment to report him but they were like "sorry we're closed, it's hockey season eh?"

YEAH ... CANADA!

[Eydawn]

Welcome back, Squint. Keep on keeping on! So glad to see you back around.

Tell us about the pup! I love me a good dog.... pictures??

Wendy

CO EMT-B

RN-ADN

[tniuqs]

Chewy: named because she ate a $400.00 seatbelt the hour after I adopted her, (everything is tied down in my rig !) she was "confiscated ???" by SPCA @ 2 years of age. I believe from her behaviours that she was raised in a basement or apartment, she will not go into a small kennel, then again neither will I !

Her original name was Chloe .. which according to the (RedNose Pitbull Relocation Program Policy) name change is a mandated requirement ... LOL .

Short Hair minimal shedding, House trained, zilch to little "dawgy smell" and the only chewing/damage she has done was webbing on a hunting back pack, and BA carrier .. oh well, I will not need that any more anyway.

Curious as she is not a "trained" as PTSD dog, but she got me eating again, as she "knows" she is a subordinate in my pack, and she will not eat until after I do. I always said I would never allow a dawg in my bed .. Hmmmm ahem.... Well ... she cuddles so close (at 44lbs rock solid muscle) that I can NOT move and thrash in bed .injuring myself, as I have shoulder injuries and during nightmares stops she me from beating myself up.

She awakens me when night diaphoresis soaking the bed sheets and is a real problem, she gently wakes me up licking the sweat off me .... BUT if its outside she MUST go .. well whole different story a deep BARK BARK BARK .. no political dog correctness when she needs to wizz.

High demands for exercise (and she lets me know) rain, snow, or heat just doesn't matter .. instead of sitting watching TV .. hence my physical conditioning is better.

The problem is that my WCB caseworker calls "PTSD Dogs" experimental <cough> therefore I have no funding, I asked for $15.00 a month for pet health care an was denied BASED on her BAD forefathers reputation's,

In passing the Red Nose Pit Bull is one of the best drug and EOD detecting dogs, even @ the twin towers the Pit Bull SAR dogs were used to great results, as they can work in heat whereas the many other breeds overheat.

POWER, AGILITY, but Dumb as as a post, as a duck/goose hunter she's absolutely useless, she forgets what she "supposed to retrieve" LOL .. she can swim, but hates water and honestly that's OK with me .. I had a Lab and that thing would, if released come back in the Sahara desert WET and stinky.

Yes Large Breed Terriers are stubborn, Awesome with Kids, BUT she (if allowed) would eat cats and small noisy fluffy dogs (they are after all destroyers of vermin, rats, coyotes +++ ) .. She plays great with big dogs and 4 other Pit Bulls in my "hood" have playdays really rough but never bare teeth.

I do go to a Master Certified Trainer, point being that I am not a trainer or dog behaviourist (i.e.) Cesar Millan I am not but his methods are working well.

ps BTW is my first beard, I was ALWAYS clean shaven when I was working, now pfft who cares.

cheers

[Kaisu]

Great pic squint. I have a rott/pitt mix that was my brothers dog. He almost got himself shot by the cops when he refused to leave my brother's body. He is my dog now. Loyal, smart and great protector. He is 80 lbs of muscle. The vet nearly fell off his chair when he weighed him cause he don't look that big.

I have a 50 lb female staffordshire/pit mix. She was found starving and shivering in a corner, her tail broken in 3 places. Sweetest tempered dog I have ever known. Happy and joyful. I wonder daily how she can be so loving after what people did to her.

I have a purebred doberman. She's a tool :-)

I have a half mastiff mix. He is a wonderful otteman.

I have a shepherd/malemute mix. Also a rescue dog, he is a tad neurotic, but also smart and loving.

It sounds like a lot of dogs, and I guess it is. I am undisputed ruler of the pack and rarely have to raise my voice. I love them all very much.

[Eydawn]

I love it! She's beautiful. And you're looking nice and mountain-man-grizzled... ;-) (The beard works for ya!)

You can tell she loves you... totally bonded to you. I'm glad she's able to help keep you quiet/calm at night... that's awesome. Nothing better than a dog snuggle.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

RN-ADN

[tniuqs]

Yike's K you ARE the Dog Whisperer.

Well she's not really snuggly (in that sense) BUT when she wants something, a complete suck up, just a typical bitch ... Squint looks for bunker for he hears/fears incoming

I take a few of the local Shepherd crosses, Labs, and one Bluenose Pitty .. oh yes I forgot a Bermese (sp) Mountain Dog (he's bloody huge) for walks, many owners around my place should be "put down" for the lack of exercise they provide, for many dogs in yards or kennels and never get to run free, hence they become more aggressive. So I took it upon myself to run them all together .. Chewy will return when called in the bush, and I use a E collar (mostly for the beep beep sound) nah it does hurt I tried it on myself FIRST (it does wake you up although) my dog returns and the others follow, again she's a female .. LOL.

ps Note to self: when walking a pack in winter ALWAYS wear cleats and take the mass total weights and divide by 2 .. BEFORE one ties in .. as last summer I got dragged about a full block with 4 large breeds and a cat scooted out and across the road, Tuck, Duck, and Roll .. lots of road rash, should have been on U tube, I would be famous

This is Lily and Chewy playing, unfortunatly she was put up for relocation, as the owner (a friend) could just not control the Shepard cross, I could not take her as she was not house trained and barking issues, Chewy: when I say Lily's name, it is sunonumus with Party Down dawg style.

cheers

Edit for double post.

Edited November 11, 2013 by tniuqs

[Kiwiology]

So I was rolling in teh Canada and ended up at Squint's house.

He fed me moose and beer and tried to have his ways with me by luring me into the woods under the pretext of a "hunting trip"

I walked six miles in a blizzard and waist deep snow to the local RCMP detachment to report him, the Mounted Officer said he could not investigate because his horse was running low on fuel and that I was probably some sort of demonic witch because he could not understand what I was saying and was speaking in Tongue.

When I told him I was from New Zed and such he called AHS EMS who came and loaded me up on haloperidol and ketamine

Now I am a dribbling mess in the corner at the hospital until these meds wear off and I can escape,

But who the hell cares, the hospital is free in Canada eh?

[tniuqs]

Kiwi:

Did you forget to mention me force feeding you to put maple syrup (tree sap) on your waffles ? It would have been far easier on you on the "hunting trip" when you put the snowshoes on facing the right direction <sheesh Kiwi !> and the RCMP horse just needed a translator to understand your ramblings ...

THE END ........ of THIS work of fiction .

Word of caution, Alberta Health Care Mental Health is non existent and the system is a broken system now... and besides no health care is free, its just part of our VERY high taxes, just too bad we the taxpayers have zero control over where our money goes.

cheers and pass the beers eh !

[tniuqs]

Et all:

I would like to report in my latest research intel.

First off the original topic, very sadly Kate has had some very bad PR (Sun Media) and in the Culture of the Canadian Military just does not understand, or are unwilling to even acknowledge this disorder (as much as I am not shocked, she was booed when walking by Gagetown a CAF base) WHAT ????

YES: in EMS we too are guilty of this attitude as well, I know I was ignorant with my best man (at my now dissolved marriage) a now retired Paramedic/FF/Captian and has been misdiagnosed as Bipolar .. very typical of the majority of Shrinks lack of knowledge.

Point being under DSM criteria the Shrinks attempt to: and to coin a phrase "trying to put a square peg in a round hole" . In our struggle to help ourselves understand what is going on, a few colleagues are attempting to locate MODERN DAY research that is applicable to EMS FrontLine providers. To that end I present a link to a VERY enlightening study.

I am going to entitle this helpful link to a study that was sent too myself " It not just psychological it is physiological" as every other "disorder" i.e. OCD, Schizophrenia, BiPolar Disorder ++ the root cause in vast majority of case can be linked to genetics or organic causes whereas PTSD is not, it is the only exception. I believe that this "EXPOSURE THERAPY" does more harm.

http://www.allostatix.com/Portals/34/docs/Cardiovascular%20Manifestations%20of%20PTSD.pdf

In addition:

In the process of following up on biological markers for PTSD, I found an interesting mechanism that I had not seen explained before. While the symptoms that I am about to account for are common in PTSD, I have not heard a satisfactory reason for *why* they are present beyond simply being part of the symptom spectrum.

First, the clinical description- A sustained increase in catecholamine release in a PTSD affected individual leads to down regulation of Alpha 2 receptor sites (1).

What does this mean? Simply, there are neurotransmitters that send messages which are received by receptors, which then have an effect on the organs they are attached to. When neurotransmitter levels remain chronically high, the body tries to adjust and removes some of the associated receptor sites to try to balance the equation. In this case, chronic increases in Norepinephrine leads to the removal (down regulation) of Alpha 2 receptor sites (among other changes). So, let’s see what down regulation of Alpha 2 receptor sites means-

* Inhibits insulin release

* Inhibits breakdown of fat

* Platelet aggregation

* Alteration of sphincters of the GI tract

and

* Decrease in functioning of PFC (prefrontal cortex), including decreases in working memory, attention, executive functioning, etc..

(1) Southwick SM, Paige S, Morgan CA 3rd, Bremner JD, Krystal JH, Charney DS

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

Seminars in Clinical Neuropsychiatry [1999, 4(4):242-248]

More to follow to address this, with the prime directive of:

That, PTSD in EMS can hopefully be "prevented" or at least "minimally addressed" for the newer Practitioners during the initial education process, unfortunately ALL of the research is Based on Combat Veterans, completely ignoring that Front Line EMS provider's that are at extremely high risk based on the extended length of time we are exposed, to the worst of the worst. Just because this is not an official War (and our lives are not placed on the line) no wait a second ... our LIVES ARE on the line .. as more persons are killed on the highways in north america than in war zones ! OR perhaps working in Chicago or Washington DC where more homicides were reported during the same time frame as the Iraq war of KIA or seriously injured.

I guess its up to we EMS providers to help our own, but now very some good news, a good friend, a past Critical Care Paramedic (PTSD) with world wide experience has purchased 55 acres of Raw Remote (no triggers even close) this in order to set up a retreat on the east coast of Canada, perhaps when I am more capable. I too will attempt to set up a sister "retreat" in Western Canada .... a not for profit / non governmental (although funded by Canadian Government and ps they don't know what is coming, quite yet ) For those to get out of Dodge so to speak and get back to basics of life, for the entire families of affected EMS providers. Now that I have a new purpose in life, as opposed to being house bound struggling to leave my home .. I do not wish this to happen to any of my brothers and sisters.. or my enemies.

heck even Dwayne ! ... oops I fear incoming !

If this post seams a bit tangential, or my composition in making my points is poor, my sincerest apologies ... I am just trying my best to work though this for myself .