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Top Ten Reasons Why I Wish the Bear wasn't stuck in Arizona
10...I don't eat my vegetables
9.....Beaky tries to find him in other guys on the street
8.....No Bear to hang out with Beaky so I can go to yoga
7.....I'm all alone
6.....No Bear to keep me warm
5.....No Bear to cook dinner
4.....It doesn't smell like stinky Bear in the apartment
3.....No Bear to help me pick out our new apartment, I hope he likes it
2.....No Bear Love
1.....No Bear farts!
Beaky's in the latest issue of the Bark Magazine. Go check it out!
Go check out a couple photos I took of the mag.
RABIES, COYOTE - UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: (NEW YORK) ALERT
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1]
Date: 26 Jan 2010
Source: The Journal News - White Plains, NY [EDITED]
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/lohud/access/1948296681.html?dids=1948296681:1948296681&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&fmac=3b012ea3c5fa26b127aaec654c23cf46&date=Jan+26%2C+2010&author=Hoa+Nguyen&desc=Coyote+attacks+woman%2C+and+later+pit+bull+in+Greenburgh
A coyote attacked a woman, biting her on the arm and leg today [26 Jan
2010], and later went after a pit bull in the area of Travis Hill
Park, New York, police said. At about 3:15 p.m., a 56-year-old woman
walking along the trails of the woods around Old Tarrytown Road and
Wyndover Road, roughly 500 feet west of the Bronx River Parkway, was
bitten and scratched by a light tan coyote, officials said. She was
taken to White Plains Hospital where she was in stable condition,
officials said.
Greenburgh police began searching for the coyote with the help of a
Westchester County helicopter, spotting the animal but being unable to
catch it, officials said. Later a resident living on Kent Road
reported that his pit bull had been attacked by the same coyote,
officials said. Sgt. Nick Reckson said the dog was injured but is
alive [it was presumably up-to-date with its vaccination. - Mod.JW].
It's unclear whether the coyote had rabies as the animal remains on
the loose, Reckson said.
Residents are advised to report sightings of the coyote and to stay
away from it. Pets also should be kept inside and not allowed to run
loose outdoors. Garbage should be secured so as to not attract the
coyote and other wildlife.
[Byline: Hoa Nguyen
hnguyen7@lohud.com]
--
Communicated by:
Merritt Clifton
Editor, Animal People
P.O. Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236
anmlpepl@whidbey.com
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org
[2]
Date: Fri 5 Feb 2010
From: Merritt Clifton
anmlpepl@whidbey.com
Rabid coyotes, NY
Lone coyotes don't attack pit bulls. They sometimes attack smaller
dogs, partly to be rid of a suspected threat to a den and partly for
dinner, but the coyote modus operandi when feeling obliged to engage a
larger dog is to decoy the dog into giving chase, and then luring the
it into an ambush by several coyotes at once.
The decoy coyote will lead the dog past at least one other coyote, who
will lunge out of the brush and pull a hind leg from under the dog.
Then other coyotes come in for the kill.
This is a variant of the usual coyote approach to dogs, perhaps 1st
and most memorably described by Mark Twain in "The Cayote [sic]:
Allegory of Want," 1872, incorporated into his book 'Roughing It'. The
basic idea is to minimize risk to self and litter by decoying the dog
into becoming disoriented, lost, and exhausted.
Usually coyotes will actually attack and injure or kill a dog of their
own size or larger if the dog is really dangerous to them. If the dog
shows signs of having learned a hard lesson, the coyotes don't risk
direct combat. Yes, I have witnessed such encounters, which played out
exactly as Mark Twain reported, with the dogs slinking away looking
completely defeated.
In short, the coyote who attacked a pit bull, reported above, was
engaging in such extremely uncharacteristic behavior as to be almost
certainly rabid, in my opinion from having observed many a coyote in
proximity to dogs (and many a pit bull, too, for that matter.)
--
Merritt Clifton
Editor, Animal People
P.O. Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236
anmlpepl@whidbey.com
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org
[Any abnormal behavior by a wild animal is a warning flag that it
might be rabid: raccoons, normally seen at dawn and dusk, out in the
sunlight; cautious animals hanging around a house or barn. Attacks
without provocation on humans, dogs or horses have a 40-50 percent
chance of involving a rabid animal. This is a particular concern with
coyotes because of their surging population numbers in urban, suburban
and rural areas, their large size and the damage they can do in an
attack.
A common strain in coyotes in New England is the raccoon rabies virus
-- this strain is found up and down the whole east coast of the USA.
While much attention is aimed at aggressive animals with rabies, one
should remember that 'dumb' rabies is in fact more common and people
and dogs get bitten when carelessly investigating such a sick animal.
As a veterinarian I have over a number of decades seen them all, which
is why I still get regular rabies shots -- which is also why one
should make sure that one's dogs and cats get their shots too. Cats
love playing with sick bats, and bat rabies is not uncommon,
especially in Mexican Freetail bats.
For a longer discussion go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/2/357.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/epidemiology.html
Greenburgh, NY, Map:
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?city=Greenburgh&state=NY&country=US&latitude=41.040798&longitude=-73.806801&geocode=CITY
Coyote pictures:
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/coyote.html
I'm pleasantly surprised by my choices. I was expecting much worse.
Recap
Apt #1: 689 Ninth Avenue 2N $2050 1 bedroom floor through, eat in windowed kitchen, windowed bath
Apt #2: 687 Ninth Avenue 2N $1700 large studio with eat in kitchen
Apt #3: 688 Tenth Avenue 5N $1800 1 bedroom floor through, eat in windowed kitchen
Apt #4: 688 Tenth Avenue 3S $2000 1 bedroom floor through, eat in kitchen with d/w, french doors
Apt #5: 814 Tenth Avenue 1A $1950 large ground level duplex, 1.5 baths
So my favorite is #4. It was all new looking, I loved the kitchen, it had french doors between rooms, though no laundry on site. There's a laundromat right across 10th Ave. though.
My second favorite is #1. It's all renovated and clean, similar to #1 but has the ugly paint, no laundry in this one either.
I could live in them all though. They are all bigger than where I was in Boston. Apt #2 I have no pics because it was from the same landlord as #1 so it had the same ugly paint but it was a studio, though not a bad size and spread out.
What do you think? I think I might fill out an application for Apt #4. Just want the Bear to look at the info and pics first though since he's in Arizona and can't see them in person.
I wasn't sure I'd get home before she got here Friday night but luckily her bus rearended a car near the GW Bridge, it was the car's fault actually, so it bought me some time. The Bear and I went to meet her where MegaBus drops off and waited in Starbucks for her to get there post-police had to come to the scene of the accident. It was wicked cold!! She finally arrived and we found her in a different Starbucks. Took the train back to our place. By Friday night I'm ready to go to bed EARLY so I had to try and stay awake. We went looking for food and found an AWESOME place right around the corner called Vnyl. The first place I've had leftovers for a reasonable price. The place is really cool inside and the menus are different album covers. There's a big flat screen in there and it was playing Micheal's This Is It. After we ate we got really distracted with the movie. My Mom's seen it and Loved it but The Bear and I haven't so we watched it for quite a while. I had the turkey meatloaf with sweet potato mashed and snap peas. It was great! Everyone liked their food and the drinks were neat too. I would definitely recommend this place. Then it was home and we chilled the rest of the night.
Saturday we slept in and Mom got up her usual weekend 7-8am and went running 90 min. in Central Park. We took our time getting ready and then went searching for discount tickets at the Times Square ticket booth. The best part about winter is the line at the booths is wicked short. We got tickets to see Mamma Mia! matinee. We had about 45 min. to kill so we went and had a beer. Then it was showtime. The show was pretty good, the second half better than the first and encore at the end was great. I'm not a big fan of Abba but I am a fan of the Erasure Abba cover album so those were my fav songs!
After Mamma Mia! we happened into Toloache for some tequila and Mexican. It's pricey and the portions tiny but everything was great. Unfortunately I wanted more and I think the Bear came home and had more food because he was still hungry. That sucks when you pay $45 a person and are still hungry. (Reminds me of Pigalle w/ Tara. We spent a bunch on food and wine there for Restaurant Week and then ended up at Hard Rock for greasy goodness not long after.) Then it was home for the rest of the night. I think the Bear and Mom ventured out to some stores for various foody things while I hung out at home. I love that the Bear and Mom can hang out w/out me. Takes the pressure off me. That might have been the night Mom and I watched a marathon of America's Next Top Model where Whitney 'the plus size chick' won.
Sunday morning was similar to Saturday. We slept in and Mom went running in Central Park. The Bear was leaving for Arizona early afternoon so we had a little time to go eat brunch at Caffe Cielo. The brunch was reasonable at $12.95 and that included a mimosa or bloody mary. I got scrambled eggs, italian sausage and potatoes. Here I found another place that serves a good-sized portion. I couldn't eat it all. That's where the Bear comes in and takes over. The eggs, potatoes and bread were good, I gave the sausage to the Bear. And it's always nice to have a mimosa w/ brunch. The Bear had to jet because he had to get to the airport and he was cutting it close. After the Bear took off and Mom and I finished our brunch, we headed back to the ticket booth for another Broadway performance. I'm addicted!! I want to go every day. We got tix this time for Next to Normal. Then we had to waste a little time so headed to House of Brews for a beer, around the other corner from me. Little did we know it'd include a must-do group shot. When we arrived the bartender Carol told us that the taps were frozen and draft not available yet. While we were trying to decide, some of the taps started working so we could get draft and not bottle. Chimay for me. It wasn't very crowded and it seemed the others were regulars and we were all watching the X Games together. Then Carol said it was time for a group shot because so far the day was lame and the taps were frozen so she poured everyone shots. Somehow I got Jameson because I said 'whatever' when she asked what I wanted. Mom made her dump her Jameson and had Jager instead. I didn't want to waste too so I took the Jameson. Not fun but I did it and it was free. Then it was time to go but I'll be back. I liked Carol and the regulars. Next to Normal was depressing and plenty of crying in the audience but it was good. You just need to be ready for depressing subject matter. Another great Broadway experience. I'm 3 for 3. Then we went home and got Beaky and walked her in Central Park. Beaky loves it there! Apparently the Bear and Beaky have a whole routine there when I'm at work so she was showing me all around. After Beaky's walk it was dinner time for us. We went strolling again on 9th Ave. and found Room Service. Room Service is an awesome thai place that's cool inside and great food and sake. Price and portions were great though the food was so good I didn't have any leftovers. After our meal it was home again for an early night. I had to clean the apt. and get ready for work the next day. Mom and I ended the night watching the Grammys and doing laundry.
Monday morning Mom had to catch her MegaBus back to Albany where she was to work the rest of the day. She left my apt. before 7am to take the train the 2 stops to Penn Station for her 7:15 bus. Unfortunately MegaBus changed the schedule and didn't call my mom to tell her, which they were supposed to do, so she missed her bus by 4 min. So she had to hang out in Penn Station for 4 hrs. for the next bus to Albany. Ugh, not fun! But she eventually made it home to get a call that Grandma had fallen and taken ambulance to the hospital and probably broke her hip. This morning Mom called and said Gram's hip was not broken. Yay!
So if you were wondering, that's what we did w/ my Mom.
So I finished another week. 3 weeks down! and I really like it so far. I "officially" took over all clinical duties today. I was supervised for a bit this morning to make sure I understood all the paperwork that needs to get filled out for different stuff. It took me about 5 hrs to do rounds today. My feet kill and I want to sleep but my mom will be here in 30 minutes so that's not possible. She's here until Monday morning so I'm sure we'll do some fun stuff. February is almost here so I'll have to start looking at apartments real soon. Other than that, my board application was accepted so I can sit for boards this July. Need to really hit the studying. I don't want to have to repeat. My supervisor passed first time and said she gave up having a life for a year to study so she didn't have to take it over. Almost home! Gotta go pick up Mom.
RABIES, RACCOON - USA (NEW YORK)
A ProMED-mail post http://www.promedmail.org ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases http://www.isid.org
Date: 20 Jan 2009 Source: DNA info [edited] http://www.dnainfo.com/20100120/central-park/rabid-raccoons-continue-invade-central-park-eight-more-found-two-weeks#ixzz0dBgcfdWC
Rabid raccoons have been increasingly infesting Central Park, with 8 of the mad animals found there in the past 2 weeks, according to the Department of Health. The 8 cases, along with 12 reported in 2009, are a dramatic increase over years past, when only a single rabid raccoon was reported from 2003 to 2008. Most of the rabid raccoons were found in the northern portions of Central Park from 79th Street to 110th Street, the Health Dept said.
The Health Dept has posted fliers in the park and nearby subway stations and plans to vaccinate raccoons in and around Central Park, Morningside Park, and Riverside Park in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease. [This is probably oral rabies bait.- Mod.TG] Park workers have increased surveillance for sick animals. Visitors are encouraged to be on the lookout for strange animal behavior and to call 311 if they notice animals that may be infected.
Dog owners should keep their pets on leashes and away from raccoons and other wild animals, the Health Dept said. The city hasn't had a human infection of rabies since 1953, according to the Health Dept.
[byline: Mariel Clark]
-- communicated by: HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail promed@promedmail.org
[Rabies is caused by the rabies virus, of the family Rhabdoviridae and genus Lyssavirus. The bullet-shaped RNA virus has 3 major components: surface glycoprotein (G protein), outer envelope protein (M or matrix protein), and nucleocapsid. Rabies virus is transmitted by bite or saliva of an infected mammal. Any mammal can carry and potentially transmit the virus, but carnivorous species and bats are the usual agents of transmission.
None of these reports identifies the stain, although it is probably the raccoon rabies strain in these cases. Five antigenic variants of rabies strains are recognized in the United States. The single raccoon strain is the predominant strain.
There is an oral rabies vaccine for raccoons, and this is likely what the article is referring to.
Central park is located in New York City. Central Park's 843 acres [341 hectares (ha)] include 136 acres [55 ha] of woodlands, 250 acres [101 ha] of lawns, and 150 acres [61 ha] of water in 7 water bodies. The park's 6mile [10 kilometre] perimeter extends from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue and 59th Street to 110th Street. It is the 1st public park built in America. Central Park was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965 and a New York City Landmark in 1974. The Manhattan schist outcrops in the Park are about 450 million years old.
Central Park contains 58 miles [93 km] of pedestrian paths, 4.5 miles [7.2 km] of bridle paths, 6.5 miles [10.5 km] of park drives, and 7 miles [11 km] of benches (nearly 9000). There are 21 playgrounds. More than 500 000 trees, shrubs, and vines were planted during the building of the park. Today, there are more than 26 000 trees, including 1700 American elms. Over 275 species of migratory birds have been sighted in Central Park, a major stopping point on the Atlantic flyway. More than 25 million visitors visit Central Park each year. In 1980, a public-private partnership between the City of New York and the Central Park Conservancy was formed to restore, manage, and preserve Central Park. In 1998, the Conservancy and the City of New York signed a historic agreement, affirming the Conservancy's authority to manage, maintain, and operate Central Park. In 2006, the agreement was renewed for a further 8 years.
With a park this size, and this many visitors and activities, it is easy to see why this many rabid raccoons would warrant concern.
but I'm so frickin' tired! The first two weeks have basically been reading SOPs and doing different training before I can actually do anything. I did get to go on rounds this past week and observe and help out some and I thought it was fun. There's lots I'll have to remember, all the paperwork stuff and how to write things all GLP but I think I'll figure it out quick. I also have some surgeries I'll get to do soon which I'm a little nervous about. I haven't cut in a while but that should come back to me too. I'm just not used to the schedule of getting up early and being at work for so long and getting home and feeling like i have to go right to bed or I'll be so dead the next day. I don't have a set plan yet because things can change on a daily basis. Luckily my supervisor, who was in my shoes when she first came to the company almost 5 years ago, is telling me not to work more than I have to because people will expect it, like they did/do with her now, but I feel like I have enough to do that I should stay longer to do it, and they are paying me a lot.
I was told I should be starting my day by 8am so I can get everything done but the bus I've mostly been taking drops me 1/2 mile down the street at 7:50 so that gets me on campus at 8 but then there's the walk to my office and all so more like 8:10-8:15. That might end up being okay but I'm not sure yet. Otherwise the bus before that gets me there at 7:05 and then I have more time to chill before starting at 8. Problem is I have to get up at 5:30 for the earlier bus and 6:30, way more reasonable for me, for the later bus. Now that I'll be taking over more clinical responsibilities in the next few weeks and I'll be slower in the beginning I might have to get used to the 5:30 wake up.
Then there's figuring out lunch. They have a pretty good cafeteria and I love their salad bar and it isn't too expensive but unfortunately I can't eat or drink in my office so that means if I get food from the cafeteria, it's easiest to just eat it in there but I'm used to sitting at my desk and eating and doing other stuff. In the cafeteria, my techs are eating lunch too and they're the only ones I know so I eat with them but I'm not sure if they'll want their boss eating with them everyday. And what to do about no diet coke, or any other fluids, in my office. Dehydration. It's not the most convenient thing to leave my office to go to my locker to get a drink, and that's only if I have a drink in there. Having a sip once in a while from a water fountain won't cut it.
Next thing to figure out is getting home. There's a 4:20 bus home that takes about 40 min. w/ traffic (20 min. w/out) but that's generally too early for me to leave. If I leave between 5 and 6 it's rush hour craziness even getting into NYC so it can take 90 min. If I take the 6:20 I can get into my apt. by 7:10. If I wait until 7 then it's a 20 min. ride home. But getting home after 7 makes me so tired and then what to do when I get home. I don't think I can get up any earlier to work out before work so when I get home is the time to do it.
I've been getting home to quick throw clothes around and get dressed for yoga and speed walk to the studio in time for class but class is either 7:30 some days or 8:00 the other days and it's 90 min. so gets me home close to 10 some days. Then I haven't eaten since lunch and it's late and I need to shower too because I'm so soaked. Plus I just rushed from one thing to the next and now it's time for bed and there's no real relaxing. I'm not sure how long I can keep that up. And if I get home a little earlier, if that's ever possible, and I don't have to rush to yoga because I have some more time, I don't end up going to yoga because I'm so hungry and tired that I eat something and it's too close to going to yoga after eating and I sit on the couch and don't want to move.
I just want my GTL (gym, tan, laundry) in the form of WYS (work, yoga, sleep) but I'm not sure how to get it. And then there's the studying for boards dilemma. I'm supposed to be doing that everyday but it's not as easy as I thought reading on the bus. In the morning it's not so bad but the way home can be very jerky in traffic and I get sick to my stomach if I read, plus it's so dark that the little over head light doesn't help much. And it's not real studying anyway because you can't really take notes and all but there's no other time for it right now in my day, unless I did no working out.
By Friday night I was so tired I didn't think I could make it past 6pm. I ended up calling it a night early, though I did get to eat at the Ethiopian place I wanted to eat at, and the Bear walked me home and then when back out w/ his friend. I woke up at 7:50 this morning, I wish I could sleep later, but even though I was up I was too tired to do anything. Then we walked around w/ Jesse since he's visiting and went to the Natural History Museum but I was so tired and cranky that I didn't even look at anything while we were there. I just went from one bench to the next sitting down and looking for service to check the SU game score on my droidy. I couldn't even find the energy to go out tonight either so the Bear is out w/ his friends that are visiting. Just me and Beaky at home w/ my Lean Cuisine for dinner and catching up on TV online.
I'm not complaining, yet, besides I've had raging PMS for over a week now, so actually I'm doing quite well, all things considered. I just want to figure out the best way to do my new life and get the biggest bang for my limited amount of time.
It didn't start out so well because I couldn't fall asleep so when it was 3am and I knew the alarm was going off at 5am I was scared for that yucky in my head, eyes, intestines and body feeling of barely any sleep. Alarm went off at 5am, I felt yucky, got up anyway, put my workout clothes on and went down to the gym on the 1st floor. The concierge had forgotten to open it at 5, so I asked him and he opened it. I ran 3 miles in there, mostly alone, though one guy came in for a quick probably 2 miles. Then I did 100+ jump ropes and headed back upstairs to get ready. Did the shower thing, did the makeup, hair and clothes, felt too nauseous for breakfast and then had a little time to get online. Left for the bus at about 7:05, Beaky and the Bear walked me to Port Authority. On the way the guy handing out the free newspapers tried to give me one but I said no and he said 'C'mon, Jeter's getting married, read it. If your husband wasn't here you'd read it.' He was hilarious! My 'husband' kissed me goodbye for my first day of work and my dog got a little nervous at seeing me go.
I went to Sweet Emily's for dinner last night with the Bear. The food was definitely good, though the portions were small but the service was subpar. I'll have to go back to try the tilapia since it wasn't available last night, or I'll just get the salmon again.