I have had my share of death today

When I woke up this morning, I found our dog, Daisy, laying on the floor shivering a lot. She would not come eat breakfast and would not come near me. I woke up Teresa and she took Daisy, snuggled up to her with a blanket, and helped the shivering. We called the veterinarian's office at Bitterroot Animal Hospital. Dr. Reed is an elderly gentleman whom I rather like and has seen Daisy before. He is our new vet here in Johnston County. The office set a 10:30 appointment, so we went in.

After an exam and a blood sample, Daisy seemed OK and we were instructed to keep an eye on her for any more problems. She went to the groomer's yesterday and was tired after her trip. We expected that, but she was almost "dead to the world" and was panting more than usual at times. She panted quite a bit today, too. A while after coming home, she seemed to be feeling better but not 100%. Overall, however, she still seems better.

As we were leaving, a lady came into the vet hospital in tears saying that she wanted her dog to be put down. She had an old, large female who could no longer walk. She had total paralysis in her hind legs. She was apparently under her house for several days and wouldn't/couldn't come out. She and her husband got her into the back of their mini van on a blanket. She said that the dog was too heavy to just pick up and carry into the hospital. I offered to help. Her husband and I went out to the van, which was backed up to a door at the side of the building. We tried to take each corner of the blanket and carry her. She fought a bit and lost balance a few times, making our efforts futile. When she fell over on her side, I wrapped the blanket around her, scooped her up, and carried her inside to the exam room.

That poor old dog reaked of death. She smelled bad from having soiled herself and had the smell of death about her that I have smelled before. When I got home, I had to take off my clothes and shower to get rid of the odor. At least that old dog was loved and was going in a peaceful manner with the people who loved her right there.

Later on, I went with a buddy of mine to see "The Flags of Our Fathers", the new Clint Eastwood movie about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the famous photo of six men raising the flag on Mount Suribachi, and the story of the three men who became unwitting heroes. It was actually a very good movie. One reviewer on IMDB said, "What it lacks in popcorn-munching entertainment value, it replaces with gravitas." I found that to be accurate, and quite honestly, that is exactly what I wanted in this movie, or from any historical portrayal, for that matter.

I don't expect Hollywood to get any movie totally accurate from a historical perspective. However, since I never knew the details about Iwo Jima and the time period, I really enjoyed the portrayal. There were certainly enough photos, news stories, and news reels to document the actual events, so the movie should be pretty accurate (I hope). I did some research on Iwo Jima after getting home from the theater. One read that is worth the time is the Wikipedia entry for The Battle of Iwo Jima. Follow the external links, too. They are worth your time.

I did learn several things about the time period, the war bond effort, the politics, and the truth behind the famous photo from both the movie and from doing some reading.

I wish that Wikipedia would condense their listings from multiple into ONE common listing. That is the pitfall of having an open format, though.