Zombie

Just because my children have spent their lives in front of the camera does not mean they are happy to be there at any given time.

Both have had their pissy periods where they don't want to pose in front of the camera. When they were little, it was easier. I could bribe them with cookies. Now they want things like money and computer games.

Sometimes there is nothing to convince them except for threats. This was the case with Trent on Halloween 2012.

Ok, we really didn't threaten him. He made his costume and he looked FANTASTIC. He did his own make up.

Why wouldn't he want to crawl on the driveway after a bloody hand? I'll never know.

He also didn't particularly like my idea of being a "Zombie in the Headlights". I thought it was a cool shot because it looked more realistic than a really pissed off 12 year old crawling towards a plastic and bloody stump.

I just finished the page of that night almost 3 years ago...

It turned out a little more green than I had pictured in my head.

I made the background with a stencil and some crackle paste. I heated it dry, I covered it with brown ink and then sprayed green ink and wiped part of it off with a stencil of wonky circles.

Red ink flicked on for fun, because it is after all, a Halloween page about Zombies.
Papers are BasicGrey (Persimmon) and Kaisercraft. You can see I dug out the Magic Mesh from 1942. Also, some Tim Holtz here and there. Zombies are stamps that my friend, Sally, sent me. I LOVE THEM. I stamped and used Copics to color in. Fussy cut and then distressed the edges so they wouldn't stand out so much.

Somewhere I have a tiny fly stamp which would be perfect stamped over the "Z". Can I find it? No, of course not. I found the block of wood it's supposed to be stuck to, but no rubber.

So, imagine my page with a couple flies stamped on it. Looks better, eh?

Shoe Shopping

Every year before school, my grandmother takes the kids shoe shopping. This year, she also treated us to lunch!

 

School starts on the 6th! I don't think I even remember having a summer.

 

No, the kids did not realize they were wearing matching shirts when they left the house.

 

Cheeseburgers are like steak and lobster for my kids!

 

I warned them not to get the GIANT sundae but they wouldn't listen to me. I had to help them finish. *sigh*

Living above our means

Oh, it's summer at the Binnie house. You can tell because all the fans are on and you can smell the kids because they don't shower as often.

Erik still has no job. Thank you University of Arizona for screwing us so badly. I will make sure that none of my children get an education from you.

So, what does a family with no income for 4.5 months do for fun?

Gluttonous use of water in the kid's old baby pool. Oh, but it gets worse.

We wanted the dogs in the pool for entertainment so I threw a couple ice cubes in there. They LOVE ice cubes. However, they weren't interested in them floating around the pool so I brought out carrots.

I think they love carrots more than ice cubes.

We threw carrots in the pool and watched the dogs dive for them. Now that is fun!

You can see from Kat's expression that she is having the best time of her life.

  

The dogs are really enjoying it, too. 

You can also tell that I'm having a really bad day. Sorry. I'll come back when I'm in a better mood or when Erik finally gets a job. Whichever comes first. 

 

Erik and I make lists of things we want to repair/replace after he gets a job. We're like little kids at Christmas making their wish list.  The list keeps getting longer and longer.  

There is no living anymore. It's simply existing. There is nothing to look forward to. There are no feelings. Nothing.

This day

A new page I made today. Paint, ink, templates, patterned paper and some rhinestones and such.

The pictures are about 10 years old. Last month, Trent took a band trip to Disneyland and he came home telling us stories about this great place in Disneyland where everything is super large and there were spouts of water and on and on and on.

I showed him the pictures of him there at that exact same spot 10 years ago and he couldn't remember.

I thought it was time I made the page from that day. :)

The Fair

My friend, Joanne, gave us 4 passes to the fair plus a free parking pass.

I was excited to see the animals.

We brought $20 and that was it. We don't have money to be spending on things like the Fair.

The obligatory photo by the photo booth.

After we looked at the animals, we stopped so Trent could buy some funnel cake with his own money.

Kat wanted cotton candy so we bought her that.

We walked around for awhile looking at rides that the kids may want to ride.

The finally settled on something called the Wave Rave. Or something like that.

It cost us the last $15.00 for them to take this ride.

But they enjoyed it. They really did. And they are the best kids because I said that I was sorry that we couldn't afford to get them another ride and they both said,

"That's OK, Mom! We really had a lot of fun and enjoyed it."

We had 6 (worthless) tickets left on our card so we gave them to a mom with 3 young boys and then we left.

It was nice. For a few minutes I forgot about our issues and I was just in the moment of watching my kids have fun. It's something we haven't had in awhile.

Thank you, Joanne!

My friend and fellow animal rights advocate needs help!

Remi's mom lost her job a couple months ago. She is looking hard for a new one but in the meantime, she has a pup that needs cancer medication.

Can you please help?

Remi

Thank you!

Kat requested Nirvana

at the elementary school's Spaghetti Western Dance.

I was surprised.

Smells like teen spirit

I was volunteering and taking photos.

I wanted to hear Beastie Boys, "Girls" but it was gently suggested that I go back into my corner.

I knew at that point there was no chance I'd get them to play some Skinny Puppy.

Chip Holds

Here is reason #429 to send in/update chip information when you own an animal.

This is Payton. He is 13 years old and his owner brought him in for euthanasia. He doesn't walk well and is in obvious discomfort.

Payton has to sit in the shelter for 7 days because the person that brought him in did not update his chip information. Payton's chip is registered to the person that owned him before. This family has to be contacted before the shelter can euthanize him OR Payton has to wait (by law) 7 days and if he is "unclaimed" during that time period, THEN the shelter can put him out of his misery.

Payton is housebroken. He is not allowed to go for walks because the shelter does not have confirmation on who owns him.

So, here he spends that last week of his life missing his family, confused why he is there, scared and alone, feeling guilty for relieving himself in his kennel and in obvious discomfort from whatever ailment a 13 year old dog gets.

Update your chips, please.

and YES, there is the possibility that the person(s) that brought him in really isn't his owner and his "real" owners will be thrilled to find him. However, in my limited experience, that doesn't happen very often.

If there was a way to do lost cost euthanasia, this wouldn't even be an issue. You know this is my hot button, right?

PACC will allow a finder of an animal the option of taking that animal home while a "Found Report" is posted on their web site. The finder just has to show a driver's license so when the true owner calls, a reunion between the dog and their real owner can happen. 

I wonder if PACC could be allowed to give owner who requests euthanasia, the option to take the animal home for the 7 day time period IF the chip doesn't match the current owner?

Why make the animal suffer like Payton has to?

My name is Bowen.

I died alone on the cold, concrete floor at Pima Animal Care Center. I was only 18 months old and didn't ever have a chance at a normal dog life.

No one noticed that I was sick the last week before I died.
No one noticed that I could hardly walk the last week before I died.
No one noticed the putrid smell or my pus covered neck the last week before I died.

This is 1 of only 2 pictures of me. This was taken the day before I died. I did not feel good at all.

I am a Pit Bull mix, not a cute little Pug mix or a beautiful Shepherd.

I'm just a black and white Pit Bull. I'm just another Pit Bull in the hundreds of other Pit Bulls at Pima Animal Care Center.

______________________________________________________________

Bowen was a field confiscate on 11/23/14. This means the owner was probably told that he needs to give his dog up or he'd be fined for neglect or for whatever irresponsible behavior the owner had with his dog.

Bowen's review date at PACC was 12/02/14.

He was reviewed on 12/03/14:

He weighed 55 pounds
BCS (Body Condition Scale) 4/9
No temp was taken
He was QAR (Quiet, Alert Responsive)
CRT was 2 seconds
Pulse 90
Resp 30
Intact male
Healing wound on right hind leg
Gingivitis
Everything else, within normal limits

He passed, looked good and was set for neutering the next day.

12/04/14 Neutering Day

Temp 103.9
Reported that he "has high temp and crusty eyes"

12/05/14

Notes: "Temp yesterday at S/N clinic was 103.9, but BAR, no nasal/ocuolar discharge. Recheck temp today 101.2, wt=49#. Ate meatball of canned food readily. No tx indicated."

12/11/14

Marked as "Adoptable"

12/12/14

I find him. He's brought to my attention by another volunteer. He can't walk. She's been instructed by staff to take him from the indoor kennels in the main room up to the tent but he won't go. He can't walk.

When I look at him, I can actually smell him first. It's the smell of infection and it's strong. I don't know where it's coming from. I look in his mouth to see if there is an infection in there and I notice his gums, they're very pale. His cheeks and lips are cold.

I pick him up and carry him to the vet.

This is when I realize it's his neck covered in pus.

Weight: 48.4
Temp: 101.3
Depressed, drooling. Ate canned cat food reluctantly.
Odorous fur
Moist dermatitis on ventral mandible/neck.
Seromucoid nasal discharge and ocular crust.
A: Severe URI

Dr. Wilcox treated him with antibiotics and SQ fluids IMMEDIATELY and IMMEDIATELY got a kennel ready for him in sick bay.

I carried him to his kennel and laid him down on his bed. I had to leave as I had pus on my clothes and didn't want to spread infection.

It was the last time I saw him.

I asked about him Saturday, Sunday and it wasn't until Wednesday, 12/17 when I was back in Sick Bay, that I was told he was found on the floor Saturday morning (12/13/14). Dead. There was a small amount of blood next to him.

I had many questions for the Live Rescue Coordinator at PACC, including:

• Why was he neutered at a 103.9 temp?

• Why was he marked as a "A" just two days before he was dead?

• What happened to him in the week between being neutered and death?

• Do the inmates not notice when they're trying to pull a dog out of his kennel and he won't walk? 

• Do the inmates let someone know when a dog is sick?

• You could smell his infection from 5 feet away. Why was he being moved to the tent?

• Why was he NOT on the walker board? Another volunteer would have noticed he was sick before it was too late? (I asked a volunteer that is there nearly daily if she had ever put him on the walker board. The answer was no, meaning that he had not been released for walking. Dogs with a E-Collar are allowed to walk, just not as far)

WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? HOW WAS HE MISSED???

The Live Release Coordinator's answer to this was honest. He was disappointed as well that this dog fell through the cracks.

"We are understaffed."

Pima County, DO SOMETHING about this. This dog was confiscated from his owners for a reason.  The reason was NOT so he could die alone on the cold cement floor. There is no proper excuse for this. NONE whatsoever.

I can remember during my PACC Volunteer Orientation it was stated, that for some dogs, PACC is the best place they've ever been. Many dogs are kept in the cold with no water, food or shelter. When they come to PACC, they are warm and safe. I believed that and that is what made me come back to do the volunteer training and volunteer hundreds of hours over the last year.

Bowen was NOT safe at PACC. He was overlooked. 

He was neglected at PACC the same way he was neglected by the owner he was taken away from.

Bowen, I will not let your death be in vain. You will be the dog that sparks a change, that touches someone's heart, that helps make a decision that this will never, ever happen again.

ETA 1/28 3:00 PM: SOMEONE took off his E-Collar. He was wearing one in the first picture on his kennel card. Did that same SOMEONE NOT notice the smell? or the moisture? or the fact that he was so sick?

Why my house is a mess

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm trying to get the kids to do something productive.

They're both playing games.

Kat is on the computer playing on-line. Trent is playing the Wii.

I say:

"Kids, please turn off the computers/tv and Swiffer."

No response.

I repeat without using the word "please".

No response.

I repeat it.

No response.

I walk over to the TV and turn it off. I hear, "Oh, really Mom? Reaaallly?"

"Go Swiffer and Kat will follow behind you with the mop."

Kat turns off the computer because she knows I mean business.

Trent picks up the dry mop. This won't work because he doesn't clean off dog hair as he goes. And besides, I said, "SWIFFER!".

He insists he will clean it as he goes. Fine. Not arguing with him.

"Kat, you get the mop and follow behind Trent as he Swiffers".

"Where's the mop? What does it look like?" It's a stalling technique I'm used to.

I hand the mop to her.

Within seconds, she is spraying the back of Trent's ankles with the mop fluid. Trent is yelling back at her and there are a few karate moves involved. I tell them to separate a bit.

"But Mom, you told me to follow behind him"

Trent goes into the living room and dry mops.

Kat discovers that the mop makes a squeaky noise when you pull the trigger. She starts to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with the mop trigger, getting excessive amounts of cleaning fluid in one area.

"Kat, knock it off and now you'll have to mop up the extra fluid."

Five minutes later, Kat is still in the same area moving the mop back and forth.

"Kat, you have to move around the room when you mop."

"You told me to mop up the extra fluid."

Kat drops the mop and walks away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm thirsty"

I say nothing because I'm biting my tongue. Yelling at them just makes them laugh. I'm folding clothes in the laundry area. I'll just ignore them.

Kat is getting a second glass of water.

Still ignoring her until I hear a shrill scream.

"TRENT! You're getting dog hair all over the area I just mopped".

I look at Trent's dry mop and there is very little hair on the front of it. What the heck has he done with all the hair he has collected?

Well, he drug it over the wet mopped area, leaving hair everywhere.

I reach for my anti-anxiety pills and take a couple. I don't want to yell or scream or threaten. Just mop the fucking floor and move on. Why is it so hard? If I start yelling, then Erik starts yelling and then all HELL breaks loose and there goes our nice Simpson's Sunday evening.

"Trent, have you been cleaning the hair from the dry mop as you go?"

"Yeah, I just did"

*sigh*

There are clumps of dog hair everywhere.

Katrina quits mopping because Trent just covered her 5 foot square mopped area with dog hair.

They're arguing and it's starting to get loud.

"Is it really worth it? Shouldn't I have just Swiffered and mopped the damn floor, " I ask myself.

Kat does put the mop away (she only mopped half the dining room) eventually and goes out side to see what Erik is doing. Trent picks up the clumps of hair with the dry mop and soon I hear Erik screaming at Trent.

Trent decided to dump the contents of the dry mop over Katrina's head.

This is why my house is a mess. I give up. I climb up the anti-anxiety medication ladder and go back into my bedroom and study.

P.S. There are no pictures to this story. I always say that pictures are important. Today they are not. I'm curled up into the fetal position under the covers in my bed. Just picture that.

Most of the time they're very good kids. They're awesome kids. It's just when it comes to cleaning that I can't handle it.

Thanks for listening.

Looking for a dog or cat you saw a picture of at PACC?

If you are here looking for more information about a dog or cat that I took a picture of, you can click above on the green bar that says, "Dog Walk 2014" or "Kitty Cuddles 2014".

Please note that my information on whether or not they are adopted may not be up to date.  Also note that any comments I make is based only on my personal experience with that specific animal. 

You can also visit Pima Animal Care Center on line for dogs HERE. 

For cats, visit HERE.

On either page, you can click on "NAME" and have pets listed alphabetically by name. If they're not in the system, chances are they are probably adopted.

But, please, double check by calling Pima Animal Care Center at 520-243-5900.