Official SGT ADD thread

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Susislicker, I am sure kitty is going to be o.k., we have faced the same problems with our guys!

Churchy: Eat lots more Chocolate!!!!! and stay on neverending!!

[Princess Susi]

Hope all goes well Susi! My mom's dog has to have a special diet to avoid uric acid crystals from developing. Then I met a patient(human) who had to be on a special diet to avoid the same.When I told him about my Mom's dog, he laughed and said, "So I could have just gone to a vet!"

Yep! Vets are just doctors for creatures on all fours, they learn just about the same things as doctors. There are some differences, livestock have very different innards and cats have an enzyme that other creatures do not have so their food HAS to have that in it or they could die from lack of that enzyme. But a Vet could probably take care of humans, except nowadays, vets are more expensive than human doctors. It was sooooo expensive for that visit yesterday, with the ultrasound. It cost us 900 bucks just for yesterdays visit!!! But, Ralph and I will do anything to make our cats well if we can. They are our kids! They are really making the money, these animal docs! I shoulda gone to school to be a Vet, not a tech!
sooze

[DisneyMom]

Yup, expensive but worth it, my Mom's dog is like her child. She also spent thousands on the dog to have a new lens put in one eye.....This is the same Mom who almost never took us to the Doctor(no health insurance)! Yeah, I tease my Mom about that :twisted:

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Yep! Vets are just doctors for creatures on all fours, they learn just about the same things as doctors. There are some differences, livestock have very different innards and cats have an enzyme that other creatures do not have so their food HAS to have that in it or they could die from lack of that enzyme. But a Vet could probably take care of humans, except nowadays, vets are more expensive than human doctors. It was sooooo expensive for that visit yesterday, with the ultrasound. It cost us 900 bucks just for yesterdays visit!!! But, Ralph and I will do anything to make our cats well if we can. They are our kids! They are really making the money, these animal docs! I shoulda gone to school to be a Vet, not a tech!
sooze

I would figure that you might have got a "break" on some of the VET expenses, since you work in the field? Guess not! We ended up getting the insurance for the guys, as you never know what they are going to have happen to them!

[Princess Susi]

Here is the cutest Pooh Bear I have ever seen... :D:

[Princess Susi]

I would figure that you might have got a "break" on some of the VET expenses, since you work in the field? Guess not! We ended up getting the insurance for the guys, as you never know what they are going to have happen to them!

This is the greatest thing since sliced bread, Vet insurance. But.....if they already have existing problems you are s.o.l. When we get new kittens, it will be something to consider.

We are part of the *ambassador* club at Alameda East Vet Hospital because we have spent so much money there, we get emergency visits charged at the rate of a regular visit and we do get a discount. That cost was with the discount!!!! Heck, Orion's bills alone could have bought us a new small house. He was sick for a long time but diabetes can be controlled with insulin and lots and lots of vet visits! Not everyone could do it. He was a lucky cat to be our *son*. I would never put down an animal just because we didn't want to pay for the treatment. He was fortunate we COULD pay for the treatments and lovingly did.

We are fortunate in life and NEVER take that for granted, we CAN help our pets and we can help other pets with charitable donations to several animal organizations here in Denver. We adore furry friends and feel it our duty, since we are financially able to, to help. We help WHEN we can. We have alot of relatives with their hands out often...but that is not what we believe in. We help them where we can, but they also need personal responsibility, so we put our $$ where we feel it does a LOT of good. We have many charities on our list: the rainforest charity through the Grateful Dead organization , animal shelters, meals for seniors who are alone..etc..etc..THAT is what $$ is for. If you have enough to live on, the rest is just icing, so it can be used to do good things! It also comes in handy to help our pets and to go to our favorite places on earth and tip BIG!!!!!! It also is going to help a certain project that SGT is working on right now. That is what $$ is for...to help make the world a better place and see someone smile because you were part of something bigger than your own needs.
That is how Ralph and I feel at least. Always have, even when we were poor and we WERE poor once...I came from a blue collar family with 6 kids where only my dad worked, tough times, Ralph came from a litle higher standing but still a tough road in the 1950's amd 1960's and we NEVER forget where we come from and WHO we really are. When I got on my own there were times when I relied on government cheese to get by. I just could not make enough per month as a woman back then, in the 1970's (when women were NOT paid equal wages ANYWHERE) to make ends meet. It is humbling and makes you feel for the reality of life of others less fortunate. It gives you a sense of what you can do when you reach a point when you are able to give back. We do alot of food donations and toys for tots at Christmas. I KNOW what it feels like to go pick up that food basket from the charity, it makes you feel good that someone cared to help and it also felt like shit to be in that predicament. Whan I got out of that place in my life, I vowed to never be there again and to help as much as I could to help people to keep their pride and not feel humilated by it. It was humbling.

Money did NOT change Ralph and I. Probably because we were brought up with good values and my parents always helped others even when we had very little. I was taught compassion and empathy from a very young age and it is a lesson I carry with me today. Ralph came into his money the hard way, through the accident that took his life 4 times in the hospital and then came back to live out a life he was meant to live. The money must last us a lifetime, for being disabled and getting older with those disabiliteis will make it all the more difficult to work at all. Whan we first moved to Denver, Ralph got a job as a Barrista at Starbucks :D: . We needed to make money due to some circumsrtances with a less than honest financial manager. I worked at an Animal shelter. We did what we had to do to pay the rent and would do it again if the stock market fell through the floor, though we do have protections built in...NEVER put ALL your money in the market, just a wise bit of advice!

Through it all we remain the same crazy, goofy, Disney loving deadhead, hippy types that we were back in the day! :D: We also both have always been very emotional and compassionate and passionate about life and the earth!

If I can help a little animal back to health, it brings tears of joy to my eyes and if I can feed a lonely senior in an apartment alone on Thanksgiving, it is the least I can do. I can do more and as we build our coffers, we will do much more. As for the *fancy* house here in Denver... It is the last fancy house we will EVER live in. If anyone wants to come to visit and stay in an Architectural Digest home for vacation, you are more than welcome, my friends here at at SGT! Yes, the blue handspun wash basin is in our guest suite I love those sinks and I will have those out in my new house which will be half the size of this and one story and MUCH, MUCH more modest! We are NOT going to do this again. We are having a helluva time selling this house with this market, but I believe there is a buyer out there somewhere, that this house is perfect for and we will find them someday. I want to get out of this giant box and move into something a little more cozy. This is the ultimate entertaining house, we do have a pool, the only one in the neighborhood (silly Californians!) and an in-ground spa that could easily fit 8-10 people , That was a big goof on Ralph's part! Ralph kept telling them when they were digging it, "Make it bigger! Make it bigger!" He did not realize where th outer edge was and the dimensions don't look the same when it is just dirt... he thought it looked too small for even 4 people (it is hard to viz the finished spa) and so we ended up with a monster spa we don't need. He looks at it now and is a little embarassed, because he did not realize it was going to that big and did NOT want that big of one... And we don't entertain...I am in bed by 5PM everyday since it is dark now and my back is thrashed. I normally go to bed by 9 or 10 in the Summer. So...I am serious if anyone here wants to get away for a weekend or a few days, come on up to Denver and we will take care of you as if you were in the most chi chi hotel and we will be glad to show you around the lovely Rocky Mt area. But you gotta do it before we sell!

I probably will have some (NOT a LOT) California River Rock imported in to design our landscaping in Florida. LOVE California River Rock, the river rock here is not as vibrantly colored and is mostly granite grey. I do need some rock in my yard, not a lot but some. And I won't miss it too much here, cause we are orig from the SF Bay area. I love the coast, the mts are pretty, but nothing beats the smell and sound of the sea... I miss walking along a beach on the sand and hearing the waves crashing and smelling the scent of sea water and finding shells and sand crabs as they scurry to dig deeper to escape the giant hand coming after them. I would always pick them up and say hi and then put them back into the sand. I miss the crabs and the gulls wheeling overhead with their calls. I am an ocean gal as Ralph is an ocean *dude*. He likes the tropics and would love to live on an island, not me, Florida is the tropics on mainland USA! I love Florida! And WDW!!!!!!

Life is all perspective. How you look at it and what you do with what you got... :)

sooze

Who is going to be first to wash their hands in that blue basin...then have Ralph make them a delicious breakfast and then off to a Denver adventure...we have lotsa room so if you have kids, we can accomodate...If it is Summer and we are still here, there will be much swimming and BBQing...
We have snow coming in RIGHT NOW! The clouds have already reached us and the snow is supposed to start falling this evening. It is butt cold here, down into the 20's and overnight we will be in the teens. Brrrrrrrrrr......wanna come now? :twisted: You can help shovel the crap! We are only supposed to get 4-6 inches. That is plenty... :)
sorry for the discourse...I don't have any friends here to discuss things of interest with. This is my circle of friends and I love talking with you all! Thanks for putting up with me! ;)

Here we are with Belle, last trip in January for my birthday.. Just wanted to share a pic of us...just plain ole simple us, with a Princess. You don't know how difficult it was to get Ralphie to pose with the Princesses...he is afraid of girls, other than myself..I kid you not. Ask him when you see him! :)

[Whazzup]

OH WOW SUSI! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing some of your life story with us. I have that much more respect and appreciation for you and Ralph for the way you have improved your lives and the lives of your little loved ones as well as perfect strangers. That was quite a discourse and fascinating reading, and thanks for including a picture - it's great to see what our SG friends look like so we can find them when we go a-visiting.

I'm so sorry your disabilities sometimes get in the way of living life to the fullest, but it sounds like your positive attitude and sense of fun make up for any physical restrictions you have.

Best wishes to you for the holiday season, and good luck selling your home, even though I'd love to come visit some day, as I love the Rockies. But we'll come see you when you move to Florida, okay?

Hugs to you and Ralphie (he does look cute in that Pooh hat). :hug:

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

The pooh hat picture is destined to be a classic!!

[DisneyMom]

You are totally cool, Susi (and Ralph) I would love to visit with you anywhere, anytime and am looking forward to when you will be at DLR!
Keep your chin up, I'm sure someone will help you realize your desire to be beach folk again.... :)
Keep WARM!

[Big Wallaby]

Simply amazing. If you like martial arts fight scenes, this is amazing. If you like choreography, this is amazing. If you like Steadicam shots as much as I do, it's one of the most beautiful pieces of work I've ever seen. Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K06wDn3XsZE