Unchained Preppers
Off Topic/ B.S. => General Off Topic => Topic started by: gadget99 on July 25, 2014, 11:38:33 AM
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Hi All,
I wanted to share with you something that is very important to me.
A friend of our has breed some Malamute / Husky pups.
I was given first choice and I selected a female.
As some of you know I am retired U.S. Army.
Many of you have thanked me for my service and I want to thank you. Yet I am also humbled by that type of attention. I just did my part. I can name so many others that are in my opinion more deserving of the "Thank You's".
5 years ago I crashed in a very self destructive way. Yes I have been diagnosed with PTSD, yet still feel unworthy of it.
That being said, I am coming out the other side of it and am finding life again.
So when my friends told me about the puppies, I made the decision to get one as a Companion Dog.
I was allowed to see them when they were 5 days old. I held each one and felt a connection to the last one I held.
So I want to introduce you to "Nukka" Her name is supposed to mean "Little Sister".
She is now 3 weeks old and will be coming home soon.
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gadget99,
A few comments from an old fart...
1) Thank you for sharing your story and am glad you felt comfortable sharing it with us on this lowly small forum.
2) I love Malamute's! When MrsMac and I lived in the Seattle area many folks had one (or two). They are loving
and have a very protective nature for the owner and his/her pack. I also love their "song voice." ;)
3) Members of this forum will be interested in Nukka from taking her home, chewing up her first pair of slippers
and as she transforms from a youngster to a beautiful young lady. So I would appreciate it if you would
continue to write about her travels along this path complete with pictures. :dancingBanana:
4) I as long with a whole host of folks are as far away as a PM or a phone call. Drop me a PM and I will share my
cell phone number with you.
Remember, "one day at a time" Mr Bill
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I'm gonna second everything John said. Mutual support is incredibly important, I wasn't there but I am here if you need a friend.
Puppies are the great equalizer, they work on men, women, children and war fighters alike. I'm stoked you're getting one!
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Hi all,
Thank you for the kind words and support.
I would be happy to provide my mobile number, yet since I am living in the UK. The costs of a call are far more than I could ever ask anyone to bear.
I and we as a family are doing well. It has been a rough road, yet the journey has strengthened our family a great deal.
While I appreciate the support, I would ask that everyone embarks upon a mission to support those in need in society. I retired in 2004. Since than the amount of warfighters that have deployed has been immense.
We as a society and this means the UK as well as the US, are facing a mental health crisis. It take on the average from 7 to 10 years for the effects of PTSD to become apparent. For the most part the individual does not understand that they need help until they are crashing.
When they crash, they most often will lash out. This means that a good many will end up on the wrong side of the law. I know because that is what happened to me.
I was so angry with the Judge for not sending me to prison. You see if I was sentenced to prison, I would be separated to the one thing that kept me from killing myself. My Family.
Please do not think I am excusing myself from getting in trouble with the law. I make no excuses and plead guilty. I did the crime and did the time.
What I recognize, is that I was so damn lucky. I made it through the crash. I am alive and recovering.
Many of my brothers have already given in to their demons and committed suicide.
I fear that we are about to have a mental health crisis that will overwhelm the system.
I so do wish that there was a way to intervene before my brothers and sisters crash.
Unfortunately, we live in a very unforgiving society. This means that many that have stood at the tip of the spear in the defense of freedom are going to end up homeless, in jail or dead due to suicide.
Lets all pray for guidance on this.
Thanks All
Rob
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Well written and understand gadget99.
As a side note: I chat with folks all over the world for free by using Skype. If you don't have a Skype account just sign up...Again it is free.
When you do, PM me you Skype address and we will chat.
Take care...
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Thanks all,
We had an interesting development last night.
Now that Nukka is three weeks old, our friends were comfortable with my wife visiting to see her. Plus we could have a nice catch-up over a few beers.
So we popped around last night. Cathy made a fuss over mommy dog to make sure she was cool with Cathy holding Nukka. Cathy was over the join with my selection. Yup can say I was really chuffed.
Then our friends introduced Cathy to the rest of the litter. There are eight total in the litter. So here we are sitting around and Cathy is getting to cuddle each pup.
As I was watching I suddenly realized that this was a "oh crap" moment in a good way.
So I looked at her and whispered the question on my mind. You thinking of maybe getting another pup?
She said maybe.
Then the next to last pup bonded to her. So I am getting my wife a wonderful little girl.
Her name is now "Pinga" Inuit meaning "the one who is up on high"
Great news all around.
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Thank you all,
I just wanted to pop in and say thank you to all of you for making me feel welcomed.
As side note to Nukka being my companion dog I am looking on embarking on a couple of projects that I would love to have input on.
Lets set the stage first. Now I am looking at this being applicable to the U.S. and here in the UK.
Since 911 we have been at war. Close to my heart is the incidence of PTSD or whatever we may want to call it in our warfighters. As was evidenced in my posts here.
Ok so I'm semi intelligent have a BS Degree and at the time of my crash was working in the IT industry with a compensation package from my then employer of about $136,000 a year. Yes I'm not working and have not since the crash 5 years ago. Remember I am setting the stage here. :-)
Now five years on, I have discovered a few very interesting things about the condition.
There are plenty of clinical study's done and ongoing, there are plenty of books written by warfighters tell their stories. Yet there are two pieces of work that have yet to be done.
1. The psych community has not undertaken a course of cultural adaptation to the culture of the military. You see? Every person I came into contact with in my recovery did not speak my language or understand the culture of warfighters,
Yeah I know that sounds pretty simplistic, yet it is real.
There is an assumption that the average person can never truly understand what our warfighters have been through, yet that is not true.
There is no reason there cannot be a piece of work that forms a frame of reference to the military culture and language that allows someone to "get it".
2. I am of the opinion that we are facing an unprecedented mental health crisis. This opinion while not popular with the authorities is based upon my experiances and the resulting study of the condition.
Without boring everyone. The are significant sociological reasons to why the incidence of PTSD is increasing and will continue to do so.
Now lets get to the input request.
I am in meetings with people in the academic world about this, yet I am beginning to suspect that that world may not be receptive to this. You see? In essence I am telling them that they need to change their views in order to be more effective in the treatment of military patients. They do not like criticism.
So what do I do?
I am suspecting that what those around me keep telling me to do may be correct. They keep telling me to write a book.
If I do so, I do not want it to be a biography. There are plenty of those out there. Heck every time someone say's "thank you for your service" I feel uncomfortable. That's a phobia for me, so just accept it for what it is. I humbly served with true heroes. I just did my part. You get me?
So would you read a book that explains the warfighter culture and explains why PTSD is worse now and will be getting worse. Based upon historic examples of how society has changed over time?
Or is that a bit to dry and uninteresting?
Would a book like that make a difference?
I welcome your input or opinions.
Thanks all
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I would be stoked to read that book!
My brother in-law is a 5 tour (iirc) door kicked and while I think the world of him he is super fucked up. My sister was EOD at Leatherneck when it burned to the ground. Dudes in her unit barely made it out with their rifles yet alone any clothes. My Father earned two Bronze Stars and a Section 8 discharge from Vietnam.
Even though I've been surrounded by vets I had to put the effort in to learn about their culture so I could be supportive of my family who served. I still can't let my brother in-law drive.. He learned how in Iraq and doesn't like potholes, trash or much of anything else along the roadside.
Yet I keep throwing him the keys.. I still have a lot to learn..
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I would be stoked to read that book!
My brother in-law is a 5 tour (iirc) door kicked and while I think the world of him he is super fucked up. My sister was EOD at Leatherneck when it burned to the ground. Dudes in her unit barely made it out with their rifles yet alone any clothes. My Father earned two Bronze Stars and a Section 8 discharge from Vietnam.
Even though I've been surrounded by vets I had to put the effort in to learn about their culture so I could be supportive of my family who served. I still can't let my brother in-law drive.. He learned how in Iraq and doesn't like potholes, trash or much of anything else along the roadside.
Yet I keep throwing him the keys.. I still have a lot to learn..
Thank you for the view point.
I am increasingly feeling this needs to be done.
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I have spent a lot of time studying psychology and sociology partly in an attempt to understand the effect of trauma on the human condition (I often refer to myself as a "mental prepper") and I think that if it's properly researched and well written/edited there is definitely a place for a book like that.
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I have spent a lot of time studying psychology and sociology partly in an attempt to understand the effect of trauma on the human condition (I often refer to myself as a "mental prepper") and I think that if it's properly researched and well written/edited there is definitely a place for a book like that.
Thank you,
I think I will do it then/
Sent from my B1-710 using Tapatalk
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Gadget, that puppy is adorable...
I would how ever be greatly interested in your personal objective assesment of your ptsd. A few guys from my troop were diagnosed with ptsd post deployment. Who experienced largely the same events I did yet I do not have night terrors, flashback s or any other debilitating psychological drawbacks. Given that the guys seemed completely composed and stable pre dep, and plus the high amount of respect I had for them professionally. It let me to consider that perhapse I was the the one with issues. ..
Like so many things in life the only become clear with the propper contrast providing context. And to be honest I dont think I can choke down an other "To Iraq and back" type book crammed with as much self translating vagaries as your average religious text. So if you'd like to break new literary ground write a book for those vets who dont jive on the "but my feelings..." outlook.
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Gadget, that puppy is adorable...
I would how ever be greatly interested in your personal objective assesment of your ptsd. A few guys from my troop were diagnosed with ptsd post deployment. Who experienced largely the same events I did yet I do not have night terrors, flashback s or any other debilitating psychological drawbacks. Given that the guys seemed completely composed and stable pre dep, and plus the high amount of respect I had for them professionally. It let me to consider that perhapse I was the the one with issues. ..
Like so many things in life the only become clear with the propper contrast providing context. And to be honest I dont think I can choke down an other "To Iraq and back" type book crammed with as much self translating vagaries as your average religious text. So if you'd like to break new literary ground write a book for those vets who dont jive on the "but my feelings..." outlook.
Yes that is what I am intending to do.
If I can achieve my intentions for the book. It would provide that following.
1. I dont want to put any Biographical info in it about my career.
2. I do however want to cover enough of my journey as you say "How I Feel" to provide context.
3. Then I intend to provide a familiarization of the Warfighter Culture. This is intended for the uninformed. I want the average civilian to come away from reading this part of the book with enough understanding of our culture so that they can relate to us. Understand our language and have able to understand the context that influences what we are going through.
4. Another big part will be a commentary on the sociological aspects that explain why our culture and the civilian culture is so divergent and that separation is increasing continuously at this period in history.
It's all a bit hard to explain, yet I do have a few examples of what I mean. I will refer to the military as a society in this descriptive. With a full and rich culture.
Military personnel for the most part join a separate society when they join up. We start as young civilians that are still trying to find our place in civilian society.
We are then acclimatized into the military. Most people do not understand that the the military society is one of the most well thought-out and constructed societies in the world. It has evolved over time with the aim of becoming more effective continuously. Yes like any society there have been problems, yet the successes far outweigh those.
Ok so if we accept that the military is a society, then it must be recognized that this society is the best example of joined diversity. I am not talking about ethnicity and such. I am talking about the huge diversity based upon what our job is in that society. So you end up with huge selection of sub-cultures. As an example the Infantry. You with me here?
For all of that diversity and insular association, every single person in this society is on the same sheet of music. Brothers and Sisters joined together in a common purpose.
Now when we come home. We find ourselves thrust into a different culture. To make it worse, civilian society does not recognize our culture as being just as valid as any other.
This was bore out by a very simple example I experienced. The first counselor I met with alienated me within the first ten minutes.
I made a very simple statement. "I am a Soldier" He shot right back with. "No you WERE a Soldier"
You see? He had no ability to understand that this was an insult to me. I earned that title and will always be a Soldier.
This has not always been the case. Let's step back in time a bit and look at an example of when our to societies were the closest it has ever been.
The setting is London Just after the Normandy Invasion in a local Pub.
A Tommy just off the beaches with a wound, now on leave at home to recover. Walks into the Pub his family has always gone to. This is a familiar and safe environment. He walks up to the bar and orders a pint. Standing next to him is a friend of the family. The Tommy feels like crap a bit from his D-Day experience. The family friend feels like crap because his neighbor's house was hit in a bombing raid and the whole family was killed.
So you see? at that point in time there was a contextually similar shared misery at work here. These two people while talking about mundane things will also be connecting on another level. They will both feel better for the simple exchange because they understand each other.
Now look at society today. The civilian experience of life in western society is vastly different from what much of the world is like. The world that our culture is designed to exist in. Even worse we are expected to reintegrate into civilian society by those around us. We are expected to throw our culture into the trash can, as being unfit for normal life.
Yet if I was to say I am Hispanic, every person that I say that to understands and accepts the validity of my cultural difference. We can relate and coexist under that consideration.
I know this is a bit long winded, yet that's why it will take a book to explain this fully. These subject are very complex.
Does any of this make sense so far?
If I do this correctly, I am hoping that it will also be beneficial to our fellow brothers and sisters.
It may act as a validation and affirmation influence.
"OK, I feel like crap. This book provides context that helps me understand that I have the right to feel like crap"
You see the worst thing I have had to deal with is accepting that I have some issues. That you can only "Suck it up" for so long.
I still feel I am undeserving. To me, I am supremely unremarkable. There are so many that have better reasons for feeling like crap.
You see?
So yes, with luck I can put something together that may make an impact.
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gadget99,
thanks for writing what you did as I now have a broader (not complete by any means) understanding of the issue with returning warriors. :thumbsUp:
Two interesting stories:
I was talking to one of the instructors at MVT who had 10 years in the Army and was now in the Reserves. We got into a discussion between breaks; AKA reloading mags, and I asked him if he has any issues that he came home with and is working on. His response was "no." So being the frustrated journalist that I am, I asked him why? This is what he told me.
"I come from a military family. When I joined up it was drilled into me by my father, grandfather and uncle to not let the military define you." He went on and said, "there are some folks in the military that bought into the culture so much that once they are cut-loose they will not be able to function well in the civy world well. After all, its just a job not a way of life to me. The military does not define me"
Again this philosophy was drilled into his head by people that went before him.
His comments to me blew my mind and here is why. I joined a retail company when there was only 13 stores. I excelled in the environment/culture of this company because I helped define the culture. To this day employees still learn "JohnyMac rules" of management. It is written into the training that store managers and district managers receive. I go into one of those stores and folks find out that JohnyMac is here, they often swarm around me and ask me questions about the old days.
After 19 years of helping this company grow from 13 stores to over 500, in several countries I might add; One day I was called into my bosses office and let go. The reason given was pretty simple... The new CEO didn't like me and rather fight me as he worked to "reshape the culture of the company" it made more sense to can my butt.
So one day I was on top of the world, working for a company that I helped build from nothing to an unemployed and piece of crap (In my own mind) with no power... No prestige...No nothing. In short I had allowed the job to define me. :facepalm:
Within months of being let go, I would wake up in the middle of the night with nightmares about work. These night mares over the years diminished but would come back with a vengeance if I spoke to or worse, spent time with some of my peers or former bosses.
Well the dreams finally stopped post me chatting with my MVT trainer. It was like a light bulb went off in my head - I let the culture and the company define me rather then to understand that it was just a job. Eight years later after being let go, I now can visit with former company members and I do not wake up in the middle of the night with work related night mares.
My point of the two stories gadget99, is there are many subcultures out there, it's not just the military. Your book will help more than just military folks. :thumbsUp: I am looking forward to reading it.
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Thanks for the encouragement.
I had to take a bit to think about the story.
I am pleased to hear he has no issues and that your talk with him has helped you.
While he makes a valid point as to how he has looked at things, I believe we are seeing that for many it is something different than just a job.
For myself the bond I have with my brothers is so much stronger than what a job provides. Not sure if I agree with the "Bought In" part of his thoughts. I do know many of my brothers would take issue with it.
I joined the army for many reasons, yet I stayed in the Army for the soldiers around me. Hopefully I can explain what that means in the book.
Cheers for the encouragement though.....
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Hiya,
I need to revisit this for a moment.
Remember I was talking about sociological aspects to this issue?
We have run upon one in our discussion.
I had to sit back a think about it a bit. Then it struck me.
You see I recognized the argument from somewhere. That is post vietnam influenced thought processes.
I joined in 1984 and saw the effects of the post vietnam era on the Army. Talk about a unique time in history. The beginning of the all volunteer military.
So I am not saying that the viewpoint is not valid. What I am saying is that things have moved on since then and the context has drastically changed. The Warfighter of recent times is unique in history.
To evidence this, consider these two items.
First - Every single one of them volunteered.
Second - I have buddies that are still in or have recently gotten out that have deployed 4 or more times in the war on terror. That is 12 to 18 month tours in the combat zone each time. This is more common than you would believe.
I challenge anyone to find a like precedent from American history.
It's more than just a job when you willingly stick with something that puts you in the meat grinder that much.
Thanks for the opportunity to keep explaining.
Rob
Th
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Gadget, that puppy is adorable...
I would how ever be greatly interested in your personal objective assesment of your ptsd. A few guys from my troop were diagnosed with ptsd post deployment. Who experienced largely the same events I did yet I do not have night terrors, flashback s or any other debilitating psychological drawbacks. Given that the guys seemed completely composed and stable pre dep, and plus the high amount of respect I had for them professionally. It let me to consider that perhapse I was the the one with issues. ..
Like so many things in life the only become clear with the propper contrast providing context. And to be honest I dont think I can choke down an other "To Iraq and back" type book crammed with as much self translating vagaries as your average religious text. So if you'd like to break new literary ground write a book for those vets who dont jive on the "but my feelings..." outlook.
Thank you for the question.
I am sorry it took so long to get back to you on it. I needed to think about how to communicate an answer. This thing is very subjective, centered on a great deal of complexity. So I will do my best.
How I Broke -
Early in my career I lost a heck of alot of friends in a plane crash. I was sitting on the DMZ in Korea at the time and as a soldier does I sucked it up and drove on. Nothing wrong here in any way. As a matter of fact In terms of a soldier doing their job I did the right thing.
I now know that what happened was that I took most of the pain, anger, grief and any other negative emotion and shoved it into a closet. I slammed the door and put a lock on it. Like I said nothing wrong here. Mainly due to the fact that this is part of human nature.
As time went on I kept doing that. Instead of going through the normal process of working through the emotional waves associated with these types of things in real time, I shoved them away. I was a victim of my success in a way. I just happened to be to good at tucking crap away.
Things don't just go away, eventually you have to deal with it. Now some people are better at that than myself. Different strokes for different folks. Also events effect each person in different ways. Most of how something effects us resides in the subconscious world and can be very hard to define.
So I like to look at it this way. Some people feel like crap more than others about things, that does not mean any single person is more correct than another in that.
I really want to stress that we could get into one hell of an argument about the subject of why somethings effect others worse than another. That subject is BIG TIME complicated.
So how I broke is simple then. I kept throwing these things into the closet. Locked the door and forgot about them while I concentrated on being a good soldier, husband, father and wage earner. Now remember that this thing is usually a delayed action type of thing. Things don't hit people till 7 or more years later. Although I am starting to believe that for troops from recent conflicts, the time to impact might be reducing. Now I could go on to explain a great deal more and please do understand I am oversimplifying here greatly. In the book I will be say a great deal about it.
In my case the closet got to full and crap started to come out in an uncontrolled fashion. When that happens people usually become overwhelmed. That usually ends up being a real time continuous psychological trauma. So here I was getting bombarded by all of the crap I put in the closet with such intensity, that there was no way I could make sense of it.
Now we are not just talking about the emotions associated with the event at the time. I am talking about that and the full strength of the emotions I would have felt normally since then.
Maybe an equation might help here.
Event Emotion + (Lingering emotion x Years it stayed in the closet) = what you are facing when the door finally breaks
So for a PTSD (over simplistic current societies term) sufferer, the crash comes from being overwhelmed. I got lucky and had a few things that slowed my flat spin enough so that we could take hold of things and start to make sense of things.
P.S. - The original trauma and of all this stuff hitting you leaves a permanent scar. This is why PTSD is a permanent disability.
God I hope this is making even a little sense. I promise to explain better in the book.
So from my perspective there are possibilities when looking at the differences between yourself and your buddies.
First of all you just might not have or ever have issues. You may have subconsciously processed the events to a point where they are reconciled.
You might also have issues someday. I didn't have nightmares for 30 years and in fact hardly ever dreamed in that time period also. (Point - the not dreaming thing was probably an indicator that something was wrong) Though since the majority of that time I was spent in a very satisfying Army Career, surrounded with close buddies. I count the first 20 of that 30 as being in a supportive environment that enabled me to keep the closet locked firmly.
I broke after I got out and tried to change myself into a civilian. Conform to civilian society. For me it didn't work so I crashed.
Did this provide any answers to the question?
So
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"Did this provide any answers to the question?"
Yes...It did for me.
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Saw Nukka Today.....
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"Did this provide any answers to the question?"
Yes...It did for me.
Thank you....
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Your description is very helpful gadget99 and your equation is just short of glorious.
I've speculated for some time that trauma like this surfaces with by way of stress brought on by a major lifestyle change. for the ones I knew about it was immediately post deployment. Couldn't cope with all the personal choices available to them (stress) no outlet for that stress, reverts back and compensates with masochism/alcohol-substance abuse, or sadism/violence.
I would use the analogy of shifting a vehicle from 5th gear into first. Some bad things contained inside will get dislodged will damage future performance. I think the Army now recognizes this because there is now a post deployment mandatory "acclamation" time. But as we both know they tend to work with the "one size fits all" policy, and they can't know what "gear" each individual soldier was in.
While adjusting to life "in the rear" when on base in Germany was tough it wasn't as hard as being back in the US and had only minor "common" issues. such as the wonderful "where the fuck is my weapon!" dead of night wake up. ;D Also while deployed i spend a good chunk of time driving on some of the most dangerous fucking roads in Iraq, so when driving my private vehicle in the US my subconscious would jerk the wheel when it noticed a suspicious item / pothole on the road. This all disappeared in the first few months and i attributed them to routine/muscle memory instead of emotional trauma/stress.
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Your description is very helpful gadget99 and your equation is just short of glorious.
I've speculated for some time that trauma like this surfaces with by way of stress brought on by a major lifestyle change. for the ones I knew about it was immediately post deployment. Couldn't cope with all the personal choices available to them (stress) no outlet for that stress, reverts back and compensates with masochism/alcohol-substance abuse, or sadism/violence.
I would use the analogy of shifting a vehicle from 5th gear into first. Some bad things contained inside will get dislodged will damage future performance. I think the Army now recognizes this because there is now a post deployment mandatory "acclamation" time. But as we both know they tend to work with the "one size fits all" policy, and they can't know what "gear" each individual soldier was in.
While adjusting to life "in the rear" when on base in Germany was tough it wasn't as hard as being back in the US and had only minor "common" issues. such as the wonderful "where the fuck is my weapon!" dead of night wake up. ;D Also while deployed i spend a good chunk of time driving on some of the most dangerous fucking roads in Iraq, so when driving my private vehicle in the US my subconscious would jerk the wheel when it noticed a suspicious item / pothole on the road. This all disappeared in the first few months and i attributed them to routine/muscle memory instead of emotional trauma/stress.
Well stated. I am very glad to hear you are doing so well.
Watch the gear shifts and enjoy life.
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Burt,
Would you mind if I used some of your descriptive in the book?
You communicated very well with what you said.
Thanks
Rob
Sent from my B1-710 using Tapatalk
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Knock yourself out.
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Visited Nukka today.
She has grown a bit.
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Visited Nukka today.
She has grown a bit.
Awwwwww..... :)
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Hi All,
We saw the pups again.
Cathy with Pinga
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-2Xmbjoi6z8w/U-Eo9q2-aBI/AAAAAAAABpo/vWNUiMiHRqE/w604-h453-no/10526016_10204245382885320_7381258565030204121_n.jpg)
Declan our son with Pinga
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sDpi2h8BEQE/U-Eo9buavyI/AAAAAAAABpk/CJnZQZlGl0A/w680-h510-no/Southampton-20140805-00291_1.jpg)
Myself with Nukka
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b6VDrafLQT0/U-Eo9orYWhI/AAAAAAAABpg/ri7CKoPYgYk/w680-h510-no/Southampton-20140805-00295.jpg)
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Hi All....
Sorry for not getting back to you all.
busy doing prep stuff.
We are two weeks out from the pups coming home.
We visit them every other day.
Pinga
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-YhsE4q1aYJ8/U_HXLtBHoiI/AAAAAAAABuw/fLdh8J5Bq3w/w737-h553-no/Southampton-20140810-00170.jpg)
Pinga
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wQYIh6o0jvM/U_HXL7DUrwI/AAAAAAAABug/t6EoTYSo-yM/w737-h553-no/Southampton-20140810-00171.jpg)
Nukka
(https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-RC201kjbggs/U_HXKkIG3zI/AAAAAAAABuM/wLg-e8q3LFk/w737-h553-no/IMG-20140807-00167.jpg)
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s26mqJfVVV8/U_HXKoJjKeI/AAAAAAAABu4/YwtGyZSMWSk/w737-h553-no/Southampton-20140730-00166.jpg)
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:'(
Erick! what MOPP level due I use for contagious cuteness?
I think it's affecting my nervous system...
vx gas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWuTgIycPU#)
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:'(
Erick! what MOPP level due I use for contagious cuteness?
I think it's affecting my nervous system...
vx gas ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWuTgIycPU#[/url])
:lmfao: :lmfao: :lmfao: :lmfao: :lmfao: :lmfao: :lmfao:
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:'(
Erick! what MOPP level due I use for contagious cuteness?
I think it's affecting my nervous system...
vx gas ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQWuTgIycPU#[/url])
Dude.... you have warmed my heart today.
Thank you.
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I envy you gadget99! ;D
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I puppy sat yesterday.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/uhutysug.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/4a2a8ygu.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/yqajuvad.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/21/unymutur.jpg)
Sent from my B1-710 using Tapatalk
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Such a cute doggie!!! :)
Hope she will bring u much happiness.
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Such a cute doggie!!! :)
Hope she will bring u much happiness.
Thank you.....
The pair of them are going to be a welcome addition the family.
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Epic Cuteness Rating Achieved! :thumbsup:
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Great news all.........
We get to bring the pups home Friday morning as opposed to Sunday.
Our female Springer Spaniel and Male Cocker Spaniel (8 years old now) will be welcoming them.
OMG ..... we feel like parents bringing home babies....
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Tooooooooooo Cooooooooooooool! :thumbsUp:
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Great news...
Nukka and Pinga came home early...
They are sleeping in their crate next to our bed now.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/28/etajemur.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/08/28/agamaqug.jpg)
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Watch out for that donut.
I read somewhere you shouldn't feed'm after midnight.
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AWESOME! Thanks for taking the time to share your pictures gadget99!
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Hi All,
Sorry for taking so long to provide an update.
The pups have provided a wonderful enhancement to our lives.
Ok... lets get something straight. I have PTSD and feel every day that the stuff that caused it is miniscule in comparison to what other Brother and Sister War Fighters have had to deal with.
That being said..... up until recently I spent much of my time in the bedroom. Yes I have got off my ass in the last year and been doing stuff, yet I still spent a great deal of time hiding from the world upstairs. That is as it needed to be.
Since the puppies have come home and namely Nukka my pup coming home. I spend all of my time during the day downstairs. I am spending quality time with my wife, children, older dogs and the pups. Talk about a life changing thing.
So here we are and time for an update. We have two children still at home and the pups love their older brother and sister. We also have a Springer Spaniel (female) and a Cocker Spaniel (male). Both are 7 years old. The Springer was fixed at a young age and never had pups. She has always been excitable like most springer's. Not any more. She has become the new mom for the pups. She has been wonderful. Our Cocker, being a bit of a miserable old Git is slowly getting used to the pups. He wants to play when they are playing with the springer, yet they are a bit rambunctious for him at the moment.
Here are some pics taken over the last few days.
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Nice family! :thumbsUp:
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Hi All,
I thought I would show a Vid of our Springer playing with the pups.
http://youtu.be/UjJMHW1naXk (http://youtu.be/UjJMHW1naXk)
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Hi all,
The pups went to the vet today for their second set of shots.
Nukka has gained almost two kilos and Pinge a kilo and a bit in the last two weeks.
Here are a few pics from today.
We still have neighborhood butchers here in the UK so I got some bones from ours today cheap.
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They are getting so big! :thumbsup:
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Hi all,
I thought I might post a few pics of the dogs at the park the other day.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/02/3uqu5uhe.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/02/4yjuzazu.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/02/7y5yru6e.jpg)(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/10/02/atysegyv.jpg)
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Heel boy heel ;)
Glad to see you are starting to use the leash. :thumbsUp: Start 'em early.
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Hi all,
Sorry I have not given an update.
The last three days have been a bit difficult.
As you know from this thread we have added Pinga and Nukka to the family.
Pinga is partially blind and we were worried that there might be other things that might crop up with her.
Nukka is in top form and is doing well.
Here is a recent pic of her.
Now the day before yesterday Pinga had a grand maul seizure in the morning.
We got her to the vet quickly and after the check we brought her home. That afternoon she had another one and our vet got on the phone and by early evening Pinga was at a top vet center under the care of a top neuro specialist.
She stayed the night at the hospital and under meds had no more seizures. We brought her home yesterday and she is doing so well.
Great news all around
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Well that's a bummer!
I once had a collie that had seizures. It was determined that she had epilepsy and we had to give her shots in the beginning daily. After awhile an oral medicine was used daily with her.
Good luck...
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I'm sorry about that. I hope they find a solution!
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The meds have done the trick and she is doing VERY well.
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Hi All,
My wife took these last week.
Nukka is about 18 Kilos and Pinga is about 12
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Have they gotten to your slippers yet ;)
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So how they doing on the seizure meds? Continuing or ?? But I do have to tell ya, they are no fun. I get then on rare occasion. First one was with brain abcess/infection, second in conjunction with full cardiac arrest and #3 just for the fun of it on a Sunday morning.
Them things ain't no fun.
But get their pills right they will be fine. And probably ought to start hiding the slippers, it it ain't too late already.
Nemo
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So how they doing on the seizure meds? Continuing or ?? But I do have to tell ya, they are no fun. I get then on rare occasion. First one was with brain abcess/infection, second in conjunction with full cardiac arrest and #3 just for the fun of it on a Sunday morning.
Them things ain't no fun.
But get their pills right they will be fine. And probably ought to start hiding the slippers, it it ain't too late already.
Nemo
Pinga (the one sleeping in the picture) has had no more seziures at all since we started the meds. She is doing really great.
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Hi All,
Just took a few pics of Nukka.
6 Months old now.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EMMdWQG2X0s/VI21s8FaTCI/AAAAAAAACEA/yoCmbv8qUNI/w687-h515-no/Southampton-20141214-00269.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OBzb1NxywZY/VI21ssGAg9I/AAAAAAAACD8/YNUF53PTlSc/w687-h515-no/Southampton-20141214-00270.jpg)
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3IRsQOxB_Tw/VI21sQx9ZQI/AAAAAAAACD4/xfmz6xGQZXo/w687-h515-no/Southampton-20141214-00271.jpg)
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Growen like a weed! :thumbsUp:
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Rest in peace our sweet little girl.
Pinga you were so special to our family.
We always knew that our time with you would be short. A blind husky with epilepsy has a challenging life. Yet you were always happy and loving. We wish it would have been longer, yet you were a loving member of the family. The made anyone that you met feel better for the experience.
I will miss you, yet am so happy for the time we had. Run free little one.
Love Dad
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When you can Gadget, please fill us in.
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Condolences Gadget. She is now free to run and play in the next life, knowing your family's love for her this life.
:(
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Thank you all for the warm wishes over this.
This was not unexpected.
We knew when we took Pinga on that this was a possibility.
She started having seizures a few months ago and we hoped that with meds she would be with us longer.
Yet she was blind, epileptic and it now appears her heart had problems also. That is OK. She lived a life of giving and receiving love.
We went for our run at the dog park today thinking of her.
http://youtu.be/PdXYw_aCtxc (http://youtu.be/PdXYw_aCtxc)
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Gadget99 and MrsGadget99, you are good people. You knew what the end result would be and you made a loving home for Pinga. :thumbsUp:
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I share your sadness. you can tell a lot about the character of a person by how they treat others - including pups.
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Saw Nukka Today.....
So cute!
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Hi all,
We have great news.
We applied to rescue another husky pup recently.
It looks like we have been approved.
So with luck we will have "Lee Loo" a wonderful female pup home in the next month.
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More fun at the dog park.
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Thanks for the video!
On another note:
1) Be careful taking dogs to a designated dog park due to disease and in some cases aggressive dogs.
2) Did anybody notice that both dogs seem to have a rather British canter to their step? They tend to favor going
around the park clockwise rather than counter clockwise? This might be do in part to driving on the left side of the
road and approaching round-abouts from the wrong side. ;)
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Thought you were a little round the bend JM, but now I know for sure. I suppose you want a look at their passports?
Nemo
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Nemo, I am so around the bend I am round ;)
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Thanks for the comments all.
They are indeed very British dogs Jm..... LOL
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Well All.......
As it seems with most things in the life of our family, events have overtaken us a bit here.
We found out the rescue pup we were trying for has a heart murmur.... so we had to pull out on the adoption. After loosing Pinga we did not want to risk having the chance of loosing another one.
This hit us a bit hard, yet we took a bit of time to check if any pups were up for sale in our area.
As luck would have it. There were a few left from a litter not to far away.
So we went to see if any of them would bond to Cathy yesterday.
The outcome was really cool.
Let me introduce "Miska" She is 11 weeks old. We brought her home with us yesterday and we took her to the Vet for a checkup, First shots and her chip implant.
The other dogs love her and she is in prime health.
Great days.
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Coooooooooooooool! :thumbsUp:
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The new pup is growing really well.
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Went to the In-laws for an Easter visit with the dogs.
Thought I would post the pics.
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Man O' man Gadget, that is the laziest dog I have ever seen. All his pictures are of him sleeping :lmfao:
Thanks for the follow-up pictures.
MrsMac and I are looking for a Dutch Shepherd right now. Starting with the NADSR (North American Dutch Shepherd Rescue). We are being pretty picky though. Has to be under 2 years old, female and likes or at least tolerates cats. We will keep looking and God will provide when the match is right. ;)
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You do mean likes cats or tolerates them as in having them for dinner, right? Any shepard that does not do that needs to go back to puppyhood and learn they really do taste good.
Nemo
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Not necessarily Nemo. My one cat Max takes no shit off any canine. There has been a few bloody noses of dogs who thought he was a pushover. Now our Princess Emma, would die of pure fright if chased by a Dutchie.
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I had a Yorkie and Chihuaha who would work as a team and take on any cat in the neighborhood they get fang near. Even if the cat was bigger than them combined. At first the yard seemed to be a cat crossroad but they quickly taught the neighborhood felines who was in charge in that area.
They got under a chain link fence and ran off several who taunted them from the other side one night. Taught those overappreciated furballs who was boss in the whole neighborhood.
Nemo
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I don't know about Chihuahua's but I know that Yorkies can't stand cats and will go after them like there is no tomorrow.
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Well,
The pups are growing BIG time.
You know? Life is full of unexpected turns of events.
So I am proud to introduce Crystal who happens to be the mother of my dog. Our friends had a bit of a problem and could not keep her so we have gladly added her to our pack.
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Pack is right :dancingBanana: :thumbsUp:
You need to now get one of those training dog sleds with wheels. http://www.edendogsledding.com/index.php?id=12 (http://www.edendogsledding.com/index.php?id=12)
MUSH!
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Pack is right :dancingBanana: :thumbsUp:
You need to now get one of those training dog sleds with wheels. [url]http://www.edendogsledding.com/index.php?id=12[/url] ([url]http://www.edendogsledding.com/index.php?id=12[/url])
MUSH!
Yep..... Getting ready to build a new workshop in the next few weeks. Then I am going to get the welder out and make a few of those.
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Hi All,,
Reviving the thread with an update.
I thought you might get a kick out of this.
All three decided that the duster would be fun to play with.
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Thems some big dogs. Course my Yorkie, Orion, who has determined he is king of dogs could whip one at a time or individually in an Atlanta minute.
Remember, Dogs Rule.
Nemo
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Sorry for the late update.
I thought I would post a few pics of the girls.
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Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup: