Thursday, September 19, 2024

 Thursday, September 19, 2024

     I slept very well.  I woke up in the middle of the night but fell asleep again. I slept through to 4 a.m. My temperature was somewhat elevated but lower than the 100.5 I'd been running. I generally felt better. I did a more extended version of the walk than I'd done since I got sick.  I ran into Dean on my walk.  He was on his second walk for the day.

   He hadn't walked with Nina today because one of their chickens had an inflamed eye. I asked if he would take it to the vet. He said the vets here don't treat chickens.  Huh?  We have hundreds of wild chickens and farmers who raise them to sell their eggs.  How can the vet ignore that population? People have pet pigs, goats and sheep.  I vaguely remember our previous neighbor telling me how they took their pet goats to the vet. I called the vet and asked.  Whaddaya know?  They do not treat chickens.

    I found the COVID test results on the Kaiser site, as promised. I was shocked I had it. while I wasn't particularly ill, it didn't guarantee that I would be particularly contagious. Also, Lutz told me that Covid can impact the heart or was it the circulatory system. I had several people advise me to get the Paxlovid shot to deal with the symptoms.  

   I don't like to take medication if I don't have to. There are always negative consequences. The question is, do the benefits outweigh the deficits? I messaged my Kaiser doctor asking if I should take it. I got a message back that it was reserved for people in poor health. Since my health was good, I didn't qualify.

   When I lived in Princeton, I went to a vet that serviced large farm animals, horses, and cows.  On one visit, I heard the most incredible howling while I sat in the waiting room. I learned they were de-tailing a baby lamb. It sounded brutal to me. Why subject an animal to such treatment? Well, there is an excellent reason. Domestic sheep are bred to have thick fleece, unlike sheep in the wild or domestic sheep bred for meat. Their tails grow a dense fleece. Feces gets caught in the fleece. It creates a block. An animal can die from the condition.  Ah!  Nonetheless, that lamb's complaints ring in my ears. 

     I finally got around to bathing Elsa. I had missed a few days.  Her skin was the worse for my neglect.