Kitty Gets Around.

Howdy, Dr.!  I’ve been “surprised” with news that I may be receiving a basset hound puppy sometime before the end of the year. It’s a good surprise and I’m really excited. I’ve only ever been adopted by full grown street dogs/strays, and have little (read: no) experience raising a pure bred puppy..! I’ve been consuming as much literature as I can about these dogs and wanted to know what your experience with them as a vet has been! Also, if you don’t mind sharing–what’s your personal opinion on the ethics of this breed? I know breeds with extreme anatomy can be super dodgy, and in some cases, pretty unethical due to a decreased quality of life caused by the traits that have been bred into them (ie: pugs).  A lot of what I’m reading is recommending things to look out for/avoid in  regards to the “breed standard”–but I’m having a hard time finding things to look out for/avoid from a veterinary/health perspective.  This is a lot of questions… so I’ve included a sketch for you (of you?), as tax! :D Cheers!!

Submitted by @painted-bees

Mate, you have no idea how close I was to rage quitting Tumblr a few hours before this submission came in. Thank you, it’s beautifully done.

You get to skip the queue.

The breed is fairly uncommon, especially compared to the more popular beagle and dachshund, but there are a few things worth noting from a veterinary perspective.

These dogs are deep chested enough to be able to develop Gastric Dilatation Volvulus, aka ‘bloat’. This is important to remember because if a dog’s stomach twists on itself, cutting off the oesophagus and blood supply, then you don’t have a lot of time to get it to surgery if it’s going to survive. GDV is typically thought of as a ‘big dog’ disease, but Basset Hounds aren’t really little dogs, they’re just short dogs.

Most dogs of this breed that I’ve encountered have been through emergency, due to Intervertebral Disc Disease, much like our friend the dachshund. These dogs racked up a vet bill of thousands of dollars to be able to walk again. 

The breed is well known for having excess skin, and many individuals will have excessive skin on their face, resulting in eyelids that either roll inwards (Entropion) or outwards (Ectroption). I have a pet hate for bad eyes, and having fury skin that rubs on the eyeballs from entroption is one definition of ‘bad eyes’. Picking dogs that have neat eyelids is highly advisable, otherwise this structural issue will require surgery to correct.

The loose eyelid skin also seems to predispose to cherry eye, or prolapse of the 3rd eyelid gland. Again, surgery would generally be required. 

The osteochondrodysplasia that gives this breed its short legs also leaves them prone to elbow dysplasia , as well as IVDD above.

The big floppy ears, a distinctive feature of the breed, and the extra skin around its neck frequently leave these dogs prone to skin and ear infections. While they can be reduced a little with careful maintenance the more skin flaps the dog has, the more issues you would expect.

As for the ethics of this breed, like many things my concerns come down to the extremeness of morphology. The dog in the gif above is a fairly moderate example of a Basset hound, but the dog pictured below…

(Image from Wikipedia)

… is not so much. The excessive skin provides no benefit to the dog, if it gets any lower and saggier then this individual is going to be dragging its willy along the ground, and I have seen a couple of dogs that have a permanent ventral chest/abdominal rash because they drag on the ground. This is worse if the dog becomes obese, which is more common in dogs that can’t exercise due to joint or spinal disease, which are both common in this breed.

The ethical issues in breeding these dogs are broadly the same for any other breed, aesthetics should not be prioritized over health and function of the dog and ‘line breeding’ shouldn’t be encouraged.

Depression isn’t a hot teenager with a secret depression and their crush suddenly falling for them and healing their wounds as quickly as they came. Self harm isn’t a beautiful girl with scars on her wrist with a beautiful boy kissing them saying she’s still beautiful. Anxiety isn’t stuffing your face against the person you love’s chest while they pat your head and tell you it’ll be okay. Depression is constantly believing you’ll never be saved, thinking you deserve to die and no one will ever care. Self harm is hot water stinging your body and scars and blood pouring as you cry. Anxiety is feeling like the world is crashing around you and you can’t even seem to breathe or talk from the way that people look at you for even just a second. Don’t make it seem like a beautiful reality. Don’t make it seem like it’s a good thing to have it. This is not a fairytale where your mental illnesses get you a good love life. These are sicknesses that can kill people within themselves. For everyone’s sake, PLEASE don’t make them seem like a good thing. Because it’s a goddamn nightmare.

please. (via lookfortomorrow)

French Lesbian Films: Recommendations

Water Lilies (2007)

Summer in a new suburb outside Paris. Nothing to do but look at the ceiling. Marie, Anne and Floriane are 15. Their paths cross in the corridors at the local swimming pool, where love and desire make a sudden, dramatic appearance.

Breathe (2014)

It is tale of two teenage girls who develop an intense and dangerous friendship. Charlie is a 17-year-old girl tortured by doubt, disillusionment and solitude. When the beautiful and self-confident Sarah arrives and the two become inseparable, Charlie is thrilled to feel alive, fulfilled and invincible in their intense friendship. But as Sarah tires of Charlie and begins to look elsewhere for a new friend, their friendship takes an ominous turn.

Summertime (2015)

There was little chance, in the year 1971, that Carole, a Paris Spanish teacher and feminist militant, would ever meet Delphine, the daughter of a couple of Limousin farmers. But they did meet and not only did they come across each other but they fell passionately in love as well. Unfortunately, Delphine’s father fell victim to a stroke, and the young woman had no other choice but to go back home to help her mother run the family farm. Carole, who was so smitten by Delphine, couldn’t stand the estrangement and decided to join her lover at the farm. But could feminism and lesbianism easily be transferred to the countryside and its standards of the time…?

Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

Adèle’s life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.

Secret Things (2002)

Two young women find themselves struggling to survive in Paris, street-wise Nathalie, a stripper, and naïve Sandrine, a barmaid. Together, they discover that sex can be used to their advantage, and pleasure.

Therese and Isabelle (1968)

Two young girls experience awakening sexuality in the heated atmosphere of a Swiss girls’ boarding school.

The Page Turner (2006)

The girl Mélanie Prouvost is an aspirant pianist and her parents make her application to the Conservatory. During the entrance exam, she begins with a great performance but she is distracted by one member of the admittance board, Ariane, and she fails. Years later, Mélanie, unrecognized by Ariane, becomes her page turner. And thus begins her carefully planned revenge against the woman that destroyed her dreams.

Les Biches (1968)

Architect Paul Thomas insinuates himself into the relationship of two bisexual women living in a St. Tropez villa with tragic consequences.

Misery Needs Company

it sounded like @copperbadge was having One of Those Weekends, so i asked if he’d like some fic and he requested someone with a headache getting coddled

feel better!

–

“Tony!” Pepper calls and he flinches.

A headache going on day three is sitting like a pulsating rock in his frontal lobe and the pitch of her voice is enough to send a needle point of pain inward.

Pepper pauses, looks at him for five seconds, and then says, voice lowered, “When did it start?”

“On the way home from NBC?” Tony tries because he honestly isn’t sure.

Pepper stares at him. “That was two days ago.”

“Yeah,” Tony sighs.

“Tony,” she says, sounding appalled.

“What?” he replies defensively. “I’ve gotten six hours of sleep the last four nights, I’ve eaten regularly, I’ve only had like four cups of coffee per day, and I haven’t gone over the recommended dose of over-the-counter painkillers even though I know you can go over that and be fine!”

“Tony, that wasn’t criticism,” Pepper says, her expression sympathetic and her hand light on his arm.

“Oh,” Tony says, and deflates. “I’m tired and I’ve been sleeping,” he whines. “How is that fair?”

“It’s not.” She nudges him forward gently and Tony moves as directed, reaching up to dig his knuckles into his forehead. If he presses hard enough, it briefly dulls the pain. “Come on. We’re done for today.”

Tony should protest. There’s still a lot to do. But it feels good to have someone take the reins and he doesn’t have it in him to fight when he wants to do what she says so badly.

Keep reading

Poor pupper had a big rash from (we think) a hot spot that was left untreated :( It’s looking much better now that he’s getting proper treatment though!

being kind is tough

me, lying in bed: damn, this is an awful headache… and i’m really dehydrated. did i forget my meds again? maybe it’s the depression creeping back up. oh, it’s raining, I could be getting a pressure migraine… maybe i should check my blood sugar just in case.

me: *is 413*

me:

me:

me: … y'know, i can’t say i’m surprised, but i am disappointed.

Reese Witherspoon in FEAR (1996), dir. Christopher Crowe

Wishing you a nice weekend! It seems like the dragonfly tells us from which direction it comes.

Hey how did you color the pages of the voltron coloring book digitally? I dont know how to save the pages individually.

the way I did the first two was screenshot it (by pressing ctrl and PrtScr at the same time) then pasting it into SAI (ctrl + V).  You have to set the lineart layer to multiply or you won’t be able to see anything underneath.

I did the last one by converting the pdf file to PNG images on this website and then open it in SAI and again set it to multiply. (^-^)

if you use PS to colour you can change a layer to multiply also so you can do it there too. 

I hope this helped, good luck d(￣◇￣)b