Maxwell 32: Wearing Your Vest in 15 Minute Increments

[mango_fandango]

A commenter mentioned the patches. Apparently Bethany has been using patches for a few months, and Ruthanne has just started. 

[Wolf in Sheeples’ Clothing]

Maybe they have lazy eyes? One way of treating lazy eye is with patches. 

[Palimpsest]

Well crap.  I'm sure this was discussed here previously but I have been too busy to check on Maxwell threads recently.  I'll have to go back and check.

This is a time that I am sad at being right.  How many times have I warned Sarah (and Steve) on Ellie threads that Ellie was high risk for Pyometra?  Five or 6?  Seven, 8 or 9?

https://blog.titus2.com/2019/07/10/when-dreams-fall-apart/

Quote

That was hard. Really hard. Yes, the loss of dreams, but to leave my sweet girl and to know she is so sick. She’s the kind of dog who doesn’t even like to go to a vet, and here she would have to stay. I took off her collar and leash and said good-bye with tears. The vet and his staff have been incredible and super helpful through this whole process. They assured me they will take good care of her, and I know they will. They hope I can bring her home Thursday night yet.

Yes, Sarah. Pyometra is a life threatening condition and needs emergency surgery.   Thanks for spending the money to save your pet.  And thanks, Steve, for allowing Sarah to save Ellie.  Eliie puts a sparkle in Sarah's eyes and a glow in her smile and face that has been absent for years.

Quote

Life doesn’t always go as planned, but the Lord uses disappointments to draw us closer to Him. While I don’t understand, I know this is minor in the grand scheme of things. I trust, and I rest. Yes, I do shed tears and pray that Ellie’s infection will go down overnight and the surgery goes well so I can bring her home.

I don't know what getting closer to the Lord has to do with this.  What it says to me is:

SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PETS and REFRAIN FROM BACKYARD BREEDING!

Or you risk your beloved pet's life because you DON"T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE DOING!  Ellie was incredibly lucky that you invested in an ultrasound because otherwise you would have one very dead dog who suffered agonies before dying, Sarah.

I am very glad Ellie survived.  I am very disappointed that Sarah has not apparently learned from this.

And I hope those supportive vets gave Sarah a firm talking to.  Although I doubt she listened.

[WineGlass]

If Anna and Mary had been away for 6 or 12 months I could understand a big welcome home sign and a party. But how long were they actually gone for? Seems a bit OTT to me. No wonder they aren’t allowed to marry!

Edited July 25, 2019 by WineGlass
I can grammar goodly

[SPHASH]

1 hour ago, WineGlass said:

If Anna and Mary had been away for 6 or 12 months I could understand a big welcome home sign and a party. But how long were they actually gone for? Seems a bit OTT to me. No wonder they aren’t allowed to marry!

About 6-7 weeks.  To the nieces and nephews that's a lifetime especially for Debbie and Axton.

[louannems]

6 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

A commenter mentioned the patches. Apparently Bethany has been using patches for a few months, and Ruthanne has just started. 

I noticed that when Sarah answers a comment, she almost always used an exclamation mark!!!  

When my daughter was at her three year check up, the nurse noticed one of her eyes was a bit crossed.  Why had I never noticed it?  After being thoroughly examined by a pediatric opthalmologist, it was determined that the eye had very little vision.  She wore a (very cute) patch for at least a year, but she did cheat a lot and lift it to see.

Her brain had already"shut off" any vision from that eye, and she is legally blind in one eye.  She's 30 now and drives and does dental cleaning on dogs and cats just fine.

[usedbicycle]

14 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

Well crap.  I'm sure this was discussed here previously but I have been too busy to check on Maxwell threads recently.  I'll have to go back and check.

This is a time that I am sad at being right.  How many times have I warned Sarah (and Steve) on Ellie threads that Ellie was high risk for Pyometra?  Five or 6?  Seven, 8 or 9?

Forgive me for asking, but why was Ellie at risk for Pyometra? Is that a common issue with her breed? All my pets are spayed so I have zero knowledge of breeding issues...

[nickelodeon]

14 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PETS and REFRAIN FROM BACKYARD BREEDING!

Or you risk your beloved pet's life because you DON"T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK YOU ARE DOING!  Ellie was incredibly lucky that you invested in an ultrasound because otherwise you would have one very dead dog who suffered agonies before dying, Sarah.

On Sarah's webpage for the breeding project, she boasted that her breeding business was "set apart" from others because Ellie is her well-cared-for family pet in whom she is emotionally invested. Way to set yourself up for a lot of stress and sadness.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

18 hours ago, HereticHick said:

And it is high time that Jesse acquire a fundy maiden to install in his debt-free home!  

Agreed! Though maybe he needs the rental income to fund his retirement account and grow a business?

[PennySycamore]

45 minutes ago, usedbicycle said:

Forgive me for asking, but why was Ellie at risk for Pyometra? Is that a common issue with her breed? All my pets are spayed so I have zero knowledge of breeding issues...

The risk of pyometra goes up with the age of the dog.  Ellie is three.  She's not ancient, but she's not in her first or second heat either.  I mentioned in the So Sorry Ellie thread that my brother once operated on a dog with pyometra who was 11.  She was a small dog who was critically ill with a at least liter of pus in her uterus.  My brother thought that she would probably not survive her surgery, but she did against great odds.   Her #&*%#$% idiot owners let the recently spayed dog out to chase cars and she was hit.  

[Palimpsest]

32 minutes ago, usedbicycle said:

Forgive me for asking, but why was Ellie at risk for Pyometra? Is that a common issue with her breed? All my pets are spayed so I have zero knowledge of breeding issues...

Yes, Goldens are at higher risk than most breeds.  Some studies say Goldens, Bull Mastiffs and Dogues de Bordeaux are the highest risk breeds.  But it is a very common problem for all unspayed bitches.  Pyomtra can strike at any age but is more common in middle aged and older bitches. 

Basically the longer a dog remains unspayed without being successfully bred the higher the risk.  Every time Ellie went into heat, the higher the risk. 

Ellie isn't that old (Sarah got her in January 2016) but dogs usually go into estrus every 6 months.  Responsible breeders usually skip the first heat (usually when the pup is entering puberty at 6 - 9 months old) but try to breed on the 2nd or 3rd heat.  In other words they want the first litter before the dog turns 2 to reduce the risk of pyometra in the future  By my reckoning, Sarah waited until Ellie's 5th or 6th heat to attempt to breed her. 

Sarah's apparent confusion about when Ellie was going to go into heat made me think there might be also be things going on with Ellie's hormones.  But I am not a vet so that might be irrelevant.

It also sounds as though Ellie had the worst kind of Pyometra.  "Closed" Pyometra with no obvious discharge.  Sarah apparently thought Ellie was getting depressed, lethargic, and her belly was getting bigger because she was pregnant.  Nope. 

A responsible breeder would know perfectly well that Pyometra develops 6 - 8 weeks after a heat and that the lethargy wasn't normal for a pregnant dog as young as Ellie.  As I said, Ellie was very lucky Sarah took her in for an ultrasound before her uterus ruptured.  A hysterectomy with a rampant infection in the uterus in an adult dog can cause major complications and costs a damn sight more than spaying a puppy.  I'm glad the Maxwells coughed up the cash.  

https://dogshealthproblems.com/pyometra-in-female-dogs/

https://www.vetinfo.com/symptoms-of-pyometra-in-dogs.html

[Palimpsest]

18 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

I mentioned in the So Sorry Ellie thread that my brother once operated on a dog with pyometra who was 11.  She was a small dog who was critically ill with a at least liter of pus in her uterus.  My brother thought that she would probably not survive her surgery, but she did against great odds.   Her #&*%#$% idiot owners let the recently spayed dog out to chase cars and she was hit.  

That is so sad.  I was browsing Petfinder (you know, as one does) a few months ago and saw a similar story.  This was a senior JRT (I think she was 12) who had survived a ruptured uterus, just barely.  She had been brought in to an animal hospital near me at death's door.   They saved her life but the owners then did a runner, probably because they couldn't afford payment.  

I am not looking for another dog at the moment but I have a real soft spot for JRTs.  Both my current hounds are fine with little dogs so I was SEVERELY tempted.  She sounded such a sweet and playful dog.

Then I read the last line of little Cookie's bio.  "Must be an only dog."  Code for dog aggressive.

I hope she found a good home.

[nokidsmom]

26 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

Ellie isn't that old (Sarah got her in January 2016) but dogs usually go into estrus every 6 months.  Responsible breeders usually skip the first heat (usually when the pup is entering puberty at 6 - 9 months old) but try to breed on the 2nd or 3rd heat.  In other words they want the first litter before the dog turns 2 to reduce the risk of pyometra in the future  By my reckoning, Sarah waited until Ellie's 5th or 6th heat to attempt to breed her. 

Wow I didn't know this about pyometra.     Pets in my life have always been spayed or neutered.  

Sarah entered into the breeding business without knowing anything about this.   Good thing that the pyometra was caught in time.   Poor Ellie.  

[Giraffe]

5 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

...Sarah's apparent confusion about when Ellie was going to go into heat made me think there might be also be things going on with Ellie's hormones...

I have so many questions. If Ellie were textbook for going into heat, would Sarah even know? Does Sarah have knowledge of even human reproduction? I know of someone who washed her son’s mouth out with soap when he came home from kindergarten having learned he had something called a penis. Does Sarah even have the words of proper body parts? Was she giggly/embarrassed/ashamed when she first heard the word “bitch” as an appropriate word? 

So many things I’ll never know about this family. 

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, Giraffe said:

I have so many questions. If Ellie were textbook for going into heat, would Sarah even know? Does Sarah have knowledge of even human reproduction? I know of someone who washed her son’s mouth out with soap when he came home from kindergarten having learned he had something called a penis. Does Sarah even have the words of proper body parts? Was she giggly/embarrassed/ashamed when she first heard the word “bitch” as an appropriate word? 

So many things I’ll never know about this family. 

I hope Sarah knows a bit more about human reproduction than that vasectomies are sometimes reversible,  She's fully educated on that whether she knows what vas deferens are and where they are located or not!

I hope that she at least "googled it," as Anna, would say, when she decided to breed Ellie.  It is a pain in the neck to own an unspayed female dog.  Especially if you don't want unplanned puppies and want to keep her safe from dog fights.

You have to watch them like hawks because even in the proestrus stage they can attract many Romeos.  But before they go into estrus they don't actually want to engage in conjugal relations.  In fact they'll often protect themselves from unwanted attentions.  I've wondered whether the Great Dog Attack on Ellie wasn't actually caused by Ellie being in proestrus or diestrus, Sarah not being aware of the risks of dog fights, and walking her in public anyway.  

So four stages:  Proestrus = swollen vulva, beginning of discharge, many Romeos waiting at the door, but Juliet not in the mood.  It depends on the dog, but estrus usually = very messy bloody discharge and the bitch is as eager to breed as the Romeos are to become daddies.  It is very hard to miss!  Dogs can be very inventive at getting together.  Steve would be shocked by Ellie's immodest behavior during estrus!  Then the bitch goes into diestrus when they are no longer fertile, or in the mood for sweet fellowship at all, but still attractive to males. 

All this takes about 2.5 -3 months.  Anestrus is the stage between heats.  It can last only 2 months so after 60 days you have to start looking carefully for signs of proestrus again.  Quite a responsibility, and potentially very messy too, although doggy panties help.  Perhaps Steve bought  chastity belts for both Ellie and Sarah.

Probably more than you wanted to know. 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Palimpsest

[Sister Mozz]

I wonder if the Max friends read their blog, and what the girl(s?) would think about having their jeans blurred into a skirt. I'd be really upset! That's just crazy.

[freejugar]

but one year ago

  

 

 

[fundiefan]

I presume they're all busy getting ready for their annual pilgrimage to Colorado. I wonder how many of the relatives will join them this year and how many 14ers they'll climb, after feeding the chipmunks, morning bible time and special family time.?

[Hane]

@fundiefan, only if Stevehovah decides there’s time in the Almighty Schedule will anyone be allowed to feed chipmunks.

[ifosterkittens]

If Sarah still has a desire to be involved with puppies I would hope she could volunteer or be a foster for her local humane society or animal rescue. She could foster a pregnant (or recently given birth) mama dog so that it could give birth at her home, which would hopefully be lower stress, and less exposure to germs, or foster puppies before they can be spayed/neutered and ready to be adopted. She appears to have a flexible work schedule (doesn't have to be at a building away from home from 8-5), which could allow her to take the mama and eventually puppies out several times a day to house train them, and adhere to a feeding/medication schedule if needed. I foster (primarily) kittens for a local rescue and absolutely love it, and find it so rewarding. I love the organization I foster for, and they have a wonderful staff which makes fostering a breeze, but many of them have tattoos, colorful hair (i.e. pink or blue), and wear tank tops/short which may prohibit Sarah from associating with an organization. Obviously a person having tattoos, fun hair, and wearing shorts and tanks doesn't reflect on their character, and isn't something I care about (as a shorts and tank top wearing hussy), but I can see Steve saying we don't associate with those "types" of people. 

[fundiefan]

14 hours ago, HA88 said:

If Sarah still has a desire to be involved with puppies I would hope she could volunteer or be a foster for her local humane society or animal rescue. She could foster a pregnant (or recently given birth) mama dog so that it could give birth at her home, which would hopefully be lower stress, and less exposure to germs, or foster puppies before they can be spayed/neutered and ready to be adopted. She appears to have a flexible work schedule (doesn't have to be at a building away from home from 8-5), which could allow her to take the mama and eventually puppies out several times a day to house train them, and adhere to a feeding/medication schedule if needed. I foster (primarily) kittens for a local rescue and absolutely love it, and find it so rewarding. I love the organization I foster for, and they have a wonderful staff which makes fostering a breeze, but many of them have tattoos, colorful hair (i.e. pink or blue), and wear tank tops/short which may prohibit Sarah from associating with an organization. Obviously a person having tattoos, fun hair, and wearing shorts and tanks doesn't reflect on their character, and isn't something I care about (as a shorts and tank top wearing hussy), but I can see Steve saying we don't associate with those "types" of people. 

I don't think that is possible in Maxhell. It requires compassion, doing good without special rewards from their god, takes interaction with humans outside the family, has rules that may need to be followed that Steve didn't create and may contradict his dictates. Given the chance, Sarah could probably do well fostering, having a way to be a caregiver and show love and compassion. But, I don't believe it would be even remotely possible with Steve making the decisions. Sarah giving time, love, attention and commitment to fostered animals does absolutely nothing for his wallet or position at the head of the family. 

[Candydandy]

Just popping in to say I was in Costco the other day and they had packable puffy vests. It was 90 degrees out but I was looking at a vest thanks Maxwells! 

[daisyjane1234]

There is a new post up where Sarah offers her theology related to (a friend's) infant loss. I know she means her words to be comforting, but there are entire books written about how her theology is problematic and often NOT comforting.  My word I wish she'd read some of them.

As a mom how has been on the receiving end of many of those comments (different circumstances) they usually just pissed me off, and were directly related to my withdrawal from church.

Sarah, and Steve for that matter,  look up the word theodicy.  Sarah's post is a theodicy.  And then go read something like John Swinton's Raging with Compassion in which he outlines the problems associated with theodicies like Sarah's.

 

[LilMissMetaphor]

Sarah's post implies--nay, downright states--that the mom's outward calmness and acceptance means she has God's grace, which means by extension that a mother who has lost and is unable to contain her grief in order to keep others comfortable is not being blessed by God.  WTF, Sarah, you complete ass.

[Queen Of Hearts]

Anyone else find it odd that Baby A's father was never mentioned? Perhaps Stevie doesn't believe him to be a man of God?  Could it be that he didn't buy his house debt free? Or worse .. watches the beast?!?!?!

(I do feel bad for the baby's family - it is a horrible thing they had to go through and if their faith is bringing them peace then I 100% support it.)