The Truth About Brutus

The K9 Above is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He's huge - part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he's slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn't stop, but he did.

Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant 'go away but come back and find me'. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He's the first K9 to receive this honor.

If he knows you're ok, he's a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.

So that's the story that came with the picture. And I like that story! Too bad it isn't true. Here's the real story:

The dog's name is not Brutus; in fact, his name is 'Spike," and he was never a military working dog. Spike is a retired Police Service Dog who served honorably during the years 2001 to 2007 with the Scottsdale Police Department's K-9 Unit in Scottsdale, Arizona, under his handler, Officer Scott DiIullo (who is still with the K-9 Unit and working with a new K-9 partner).

Spike is a Belgian Malinois imported from Europe and weighs less than 100 pounds. Furthermore, police and military working dogs are NOT trained to fatally attack a subject they are deployed upon. Dogs used for handler protection are trained to bite and hold the subject until the subject is taken into custody. There is also no training method to teach a working dog to understand a hand signal to command the dog to leave the area, come back later, and then attack.

Did this really happen?

Ok... so in three days I aged considerably!! One day I was 23 years old, and next thing you know I'm 400!! Yowsers! How does shit like that happen?? All I did was walk through this door:



Then I took a dip in this pool:



Later, I put this thingy together:



And then, I played chess on this chess board:



Geez! No wonder I'm tired!

Ok... This is how old I am... Really!

How old are you? You are over 400 years old! You are from the highlands of Scotland. You are immortal. Accept your destiny. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

So... This is how old I am today!!

You Act Like You Are 23 Years Old

You are a twenty-something at heart. You feel like an adult, and you're optimistic about life. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. You're still figuring out your place in the world and how you want your life to shape up. The world is full of possibilities, and you can't wait to explore many of them.

What Age Do You Act?

A Dalmatian On A Tricycle

That’s right, it is exactly what the title post indicates, a dalmatian operating a tricycle. How fun is that?

Update on my dog Cinnamin

My little dog is doing so much better - it's almost unbelievable. When she got sick - which was on Aug 23, she was dehydrated, disoriented, wobbly, weak, refusing food or water, and if you looked at her sideways she was likely to fall down.

Today she went for a swim in the pond, rolled on the grass to dry off, trecked into some pretty high grass trying to sniff out a rabbit, barked at and almost chased the sheep (she couldn't work up to an actual run), ate almost 2 cups of food, and didn't fall down once. We have been spending hours outside, walking around probably a total of 7 or 8 times a day.

I don't have the money to have her re-xrayed to see if the cancer is in remission, and I don't know if she is "cured" or just feeling good. I can tell you that she does not look at all like a sick dog. Yes, you can tell that she's elderly - she is 14 years old - and her knees do bother her some (two knee replacements), so there is a bit of stiffness - but all in all - she looks pretty darn good.

So, to what do I attribute her remarkable recovery? Here is a listing of her "treatment" program:

• Reiki - pretty much all day long
• Genesis Tuning Fork - I had to cut back on it because it really knocked her out when I used it, so I'm down to every 4 or 5 days or so. When I use it, I run it over her about 5 or 6 times. That thing is powerful!!
• Radionics - I have a friend who does this cool thing using a piece of her hair. The day he started up on her I noticed a significant improvement in her energy level. I had never heard of it before, and it really does seem to work.
• Angels and Devas - I have asked for assistance from her guardian angels, and the overlighting Deva of animal healing.
• Shamanic Journey Work - I have journeyed with her more than once.
• Animal Communication - Several people (I'm lucky to have such good friends) have talked to her about how she can be healthy if that's what she wants.
• Prayer - Yes... she has been prayed for - a lot.
• Love - very important, I've also practiced Ho' oponopono on her.
• Time and Attention - spending quality time with her, giving her my full attention (but not in a worried hovering way) also seems to make a difference in how "with it" she is.
• Releasing the outcome - she hovered at death's door until I managed to actually do this. The day that I told her she could go if she wanted to, that I would be fine if she did, and that it was entirely up to her.... that was the day she started to get better.
• A Good Diet - she eats better than I do... seriously!
• Pond Water - that first few days when she was barely eating a teaspoon of food at a time, the pond water was the only thing that kept her going. I have this (possibly superstitious) idea that there is healing life in that pond water.
• The Will to Live - without this, she wouldn't be here now.
• Prednisone - OK... well there's that too...

So, I'll keep you all posted. I do feel really encouraged, and am thinking that she is planning to stay with me at least for another several months. I'm going to try to get some video of her tomorrow - if I succeed, I'll upload it to YouTube and post it here. If the video idea falls apart, I'll at least try to get a picture uploaded soon.

Political Candidates I Support

Ok... I guess if I'm going to "get political" here at shirleytwofeathers, I might as well go all the way! What follows is a complete listing of all the candidates I am supporting wholeheartedly this election. LOL!!

Obama and the Palin Effect

This is what Deepak Chopra had to say about Obama and the Palin Effect. I thought it was really interesting! What do you think?

Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin's pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper.

She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of "the other." For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don't want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.) I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin's message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision.

Look at what she stands for:

• Small town values -- a denial of America's global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism.


• Ignorance of world affairs -- a repudiation of the need to repair America's image abroad


• Family values -- a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't need to be heeded.


• Rigid stands on guns and abortion -- a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree.


• Patriotism -- the usual fallback in a failed war.


• "Reform" -- an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn't fit your ideology.

Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from "us" pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of "I'm all right, Jack," and "Why change? Everything's OK as it is."

The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness.

Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow -- we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise.

Source: DeepakChopra.com

She may die

The following quote is from that cool book, Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather. It really hit home for me. Enjoy!



She may die before morning. But I have
been with her for four years. Four years.
There is no way I could feel cheated if
I didn't have her for another day. I didn't
deserve her for one minute, God knows.

And I may die before morning.

What I must do is die now. I must
accept the justice of death and the
injustice of life. I have lived a good life-
longer than many, better than most. Tony
died when he was twenty, I have had
thirty-two years. I couldn't ask for
another day. What did I do to deserve
birth? It was a gift. I am me - that is a
miracle. I had no right to a single minute.
Some are given a single hour. And yet I
have had thirty-two years.

Few can choose when they will die. I
choose to accept death now. As of this
moment I give up my "right" to live.
And I give up my "right" to her life.

But it's morning. I have been given
another day. Another day to hear and read
and smell and walk and love and glory.
I am alive for another day.

I think of those who aren't.

~Hugh Prather

Home Made Dog Food

I've been making dog food for my little dog Cinnamin, and it occured to me that the recipe that I've been using might be helpful. I don't know that what I'm feeding her right now would be good for all dogs - but it got a thumbs up from my vet, and she looks pretty good (all things considered), so I'm going to stick my neck out and say that I do think this diet would be fine for any dog with renal disease and cancer.

Ingredients:

• 1 can white meat chicken (no salt added)
• 2 tablespoons condensed canned goat milk (I poured the entire can into an ice cube tray and froze it - then I dumped the cubes into a freezer bag. I'm assuming that 1/2 cube is equal to 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon wheat germ
• 3 heaping tbsp rice cereal for babies - more if needed

Here's how I put it together. I empty the can of chicken (including the liquid) into a 10 oz jar. I add the cube of goat milk, the wheat germ, and the rice cereal. Then I add just enough water to moisten the cereal but not so much that it's too soupy. If I happen to put too much water, I just add more cereal until it's the right consistency.

And that's it! She loves it. My dog weighs about 18 lbs and doesn't have much of an appetite, so if she eats the whole thing in one day - I'm really happy. This diet is high in protein, which isn't usually recommended for dogs with chronic kidney disease, but since she is in "hospice" the vet felt that it didn't matter.

Variations - substitutions - additions:

• Substitute a can of salmon for the can of chicken.
• Add cooked oatmeal, couscous, rice, or baked potato if you want to add bulk or carbs.
• Add pieces of hard boiled egg.
• My dog also really likes those little chicken sticks that you can find in the baby food section - they come in a bottle and look like little hot dogs.

Disclaimer:

I am not a vet - nor am I an expert in dog nutrition. This was the only thing I could get my dog to eat, and it's bad enough that she's dying of cancer. I didn't want her to starve to death at the same time. So, for those of you who want dog food recipes designed by a vet - specifically for dogs with chronic renal failure - stay tuned... there's more.

Beef and Potato Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 2 oz lean ground beef (raw weight), cooked
• 3 cups potato, boiled with skin
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 737 kilocalories, 18.6 grams protein, 32.5 grams fat.
Supplies caloric needs of a 23 to 24 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 43 %, potassium at 293 %, sodium at 54 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 4 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Chicken and Potato Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 1/4 cup cooked chicken breast
• 3 cups potato, boiled with skin
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 689 kilocalories, 18.9 grams protein, 26.8 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 21 - 22 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 45%, potassium at 301%, sodium at 54% of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 4 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Beef and Tapioca Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 4 oz lean ground beef (raw weight) cooked
• 2 cups tapioca, cooked (125 grams dry before cooking)
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 845 kilocalories, 19.9 grams protein, 37.2 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 28 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 18 %, potassium at 29 %, sodium at 55 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 5 to 6 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Eggs and Rice Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 1 egg, large, hard-boiled
• 2 cups rice, long-grain, cooked
• 1 tbsp chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 721 kilocalories, 15.2 grams protein, 31.4 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 23 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 40 %, potassium at 30 %, sodium at 90 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 4 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Egg Whites and Tapioca Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• Egg whites from 3 eggs, hard-boiled
• 2 cups tapioca, cooked (125 grams dry before cooking)
• 1 tablespoon chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 610 kilocalories, 14.1 grams protein, 13 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 18 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 6 %, potassium at 33 %, sodium at 269 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 6 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Eggs and Tapioca Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 3 eggs, large, hard-boiled
• 2 cups tapioca, cooked (125 grams dry before cooking)
• 1 tablespoon chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 779 kilocalories, 19.3 grams protein, 28.9 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 25 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 40 %, potassium at 30 %, sodium at 216 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 4 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Chicken and Tapioca Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 1/2 cup cooked chicken breast
• 2 cups tapioca, cooked (125 grams dry before cooking)
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 763 kilocalories, 20.8 grams protein, 27.3 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of a 24 to 25 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 20 %, potassium at 22 %, sodium at 55 % of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 5 to 6 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Egg and Potato Diet

(Low-protein, low-phosphorus, high-potassium, normal sodium)

• 1 egg, large, cooked
• 3 cups potato, boiled with skin
• 1 tablespoon chicken fat
• 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets (600 milligrams calcium)
• 1/2 multiple vitamin-mineral tablet

Provides 600 kilocalories, 15.1 grams protein, 18.5 grams fat.
Supports caloric needs of an 18 lb dog.
Provides phosphorus at 53%, potassium at 322%, sodium at 114% of dog's daily needs. To feed this diet with a normal amount of phosphorus, substitute 3 bone meal tables for the 1 1/2 calcium carbonate tablets.

Notes to Myself

If I had only ...
forgotten future greatness
and looked at the green things and the buildings
and reached out to those around me
and smelled the air
and ignored the forms and the self-styled obligations
and heard the rain on the roof
and put my arms around my wife
... and it's not too late.

~Hugh Prather

Wow... I just love this book!

Yesterday I picked up "Notes to Myself" by Hugh Prather. I'd read it a long time ago, but now suddenly, it's all new again. I like it so much that I've decided to post portions of it - the stuff that really speaks to me - on a regular basis.

It's probably illegal, but I might even end up with the whole book here on this blog. I'm tagging the quotes "Notes to Myself," and am hoping you get as much from them as I do.

The Effects of Sound

This is a video showing the effects of sound vibration.
Interesting, huh?



Here's another one: water vibration, cool but it's in German.



This one is like a tutorial - kind of nice I think!

My New Toy

I want to thank everyone who has been so kind those of you that I know personally, and the wonderful people who have commented here, giving me words of encouragement even though they don't know me. You are all deeply appreciated.

On Monday, I got this email from my friend Cindy:

Sorry to hear about your dad and your sweet doggy. My dog, Tigger, had a cancerous tumor on her rear foot last year right about the time we were moving. The vet said we needed to amputate at least her foot if not her leg. We then took her to the oncologist who said we needed to amputate her hind leg at the hip. Well, I have had a 3-legged dog before and know they do great, but I just wasn't ready to do that to the girl! So I bought a Genesis tuning fork which is supposed to destroy cancer cells and I used that on her along with Reiki (and Lexi Reiki'd too, which I think kid Reiki is even more powerful than ours) and her tumor went completely away! And has stayed away!!!!

A friend of mine who is also an animal communicator does tuning fork healings and I bought the Genesis fork through her. I think it was about $30 plus tax. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!! FOR YOU DAD AND FOR YOUR DOG!!! It doesn't hurt, although with Tigger, she didn't like it - I think she could feel the vibration of the cancer cells shattering. I heard a story from my friend Linda about a couple who had a little boy with cancer and they did the tuning fork on him every day pretty much non-stop and it worked for them. I do believe that there are certain paths that are set to happen and it could be your dad's or your dog's time to go, but maybe not - worth thinking about anyway.

My vets are just astonished that Tigger's foot is now COMPLETELY healed and perfect!

So, naturally, I immediately went out and got myself one. I got it from Linda Trent, Cindy's friend. Here's what it looks like:



So what does it do? I think the idea is that through the use of sound waves, the cells are raised to a higher vibrational level which in turn facilitates healing. But I'm not exactly sure. This is the blurb I found about it online:

This fork is combined with the others to cause things to happen or to create things. It can be used alone or with the Gabriel fork to repair damaged portions of DNA. It can also be used alone or with the Shekinah fork to destroy cancer cells. It also will move bones and joints back into place when they are out of alignment. It will also repair and rebuild muscles and tissue. These are just a few of the amazing things we are discovering about this frequency. The possibilities are endless. Included are instructions for usage and a velvet pouch with drawstring.

Well that's all well and good... but does it work? I don't know if it's going to heal my dog or not. The jury is still out on that one. I did, however, use it on myself. I was curious to see how it felt, and what it might be able to do. And the results were astonishing to say the least.

For the last 3 months, I've had a lot of problems with one of my feet. It felt as if I had somehow broken one of the bones on the top of my foot - that kind of pain. Nothing worked. Then I noticed that there was a fatty tumor right where the pain would start from, and I think it was pressing on a nerve or putting pressure on a ligament, or pushing a bone out of place.... something like that. Anyway, I have no medical insurance - so I was just ignoring it mostly, and taking tylenol if it hurt too much.

Well, when I got the tuning fork, I was curious to see if it "felt" like anything, so I used it on my foot. It was interesting, because I could actually feel something happening, and then the rest of the day my foot didn't hurt at all. I used it for 3 days and this morning, I realized that the fatty tumor is gone. Yep. Gone. And my foot? It feels fine. So, we'll see what happens with Cinnamin! I haven't noticed any spectacular changes. Her appetite did pick up a little bit, and when I use it on her, she does look a little perkier... and if nothing else, it gives me something to do besides worry and fret.

The Ten Commandments of Endurance

From Marshall Ulrich, one of the greatest extreme athletes in the world, we have the Ten Commandments of Endurance

• Expect a journey and a battle
• Focus on the present and set intermediate goals
• Don't dwell on the negative
• Transcend the physical
• Accept your fate
• Have confidence that you will succeed
• Know that there will be an end
• Suffering is okay
• Be kind to yourself
• Quitting is not an option