The Wildfire that is Covid

I took this photo just before sunset last night.

Those nearby mountains are usually crisp and clear but smoke from fires near and far are tanking air quality here in the west. Our eyes are burning, we break out into random campfire songs, and s’mores seem like an excellent dinner plan…

Pozy Clarkia

But life on the edges of the fires pales in comparison to those near and in the fires (human and animals), and to those fighting those fires. I am officially ready for a good snow storm.

The Covid pandemic is surging among the unvaccinated, who are not only getting sick and dying but also serving as incubators for mutations of the virus, putting all of us at risk.

I am teaching my Death, Dying, and Grief class this summer and tonight we have a Zoom session to discuss this question: When those who choose to be unvaccinated get Covid, do they then have a right to access (finite) health care resources?

From the New Yorker

The answer, in my opinion, has to be yes but the conversation helps us consider the social costs of individual choices.

At the very micro level, I can tell you that deaths viewed as preventable (vaccination = prevention) and/or caused by an external force (i.e.,unvaccinated Covid spreader) and/or that are what we call “off-time” (e.g. 56-year-old Clark dying of Covid) are much, much, much more difficult for the heart-shattered bereaved left behind.

Lisa Kaufman photo of Clark at the end of our driveway

Individual choices often have broad consequences — like the gender reveal party that started a massive (expensive) wildfire and resulted in the death of a firefighter, breaking the hearts of his loved ones.

Most of us do not intend bad outcomes for others when we make personal choices, and that is why considering the possibilities is so important.

A decision is not truly an informed one without honestly and accurately considering the potential impact on others.

Source: https://tfsweb.tamu.edu/PreventWildfire/

…and Covid. Only YOU can prevent Covid.

Four Months

Happy Four Month Birthday to the Bright Stars!

Claire and Capella

I am so pleased with Capella. Her temperament is lovely, and it was wonderful that she got to spend an entire week meeting new people and new dogs at the Specialty. I continue to be intentional about her socialization. I want her in new places and/or meeting new people at least 3 - 4 days each week.

A new-to-Capella person and dog came to her this week — my daughter is visiting from Utah with her rescue Newfie.

Our veterinarian, an excellent surgeon, did surgery on Nicole’s cat yesterday. It was a family affair when we picked up the cat — Capella got to meet people and get weighed (39 pounds — perfect) and Dr. Card also took a look at Claire to assess her recovery. I am pleased to share that Claire is finally cleared for rehab work to begin — yippee! More on the cool plans for that soon.

A PSA: My sister, fully vaccinated and very cautious, has Covid. A mild case but still Covid. She gave permission to share this news because it is such a great reminder that vaccinated people CAN get Covid and worse — they can unknowingly infect others.

The unvaccinated include several categories of people — some who choose to assume risk of Covid and some who have no choice at all because of age or immune status. I care about people in those groups and the health care workers who are exhausted by all of this. Therefore, I plan to keep wearing a mask in public and especially indoors, and THIS lovely article resonates with my reasons.

Please be safe and well — you matter.

I See Dead People

While I rarely shy away from expressing what I think, I tend to avoid being overtly political because a blog is not a dialog and therefore not conducive to productive political discourse.

And further, this is a blog about dogs — sort of.

Okay — sometimes.

But I find the Political and the Canine have now converged because of one tiny virus.

My true feelings about the current administration’s handling of the pandemic...

The lies spewing from the White House are literally killing human beings. That is not hyperbole.

By telling people to go on with their usual lives, that the virus is contained and so on and so forth — I have no words for all that nonsense. Luckily, there is an emoji for everything.

And to say coronavirus and hoax in the same sentence?!

Okay, regardless of whether you support the current president or not, we know he struggles with the truth — and if this is news to you, start watching more than Fox.

FYI — you can still think he is the Messiah and acknowledge the man is a pathological liar — knowing someone’s limitations is an important adulting skill that may — in this situation — LITERALLY save lives.

So we cannot look to the president or his minions for guidance or information because we cannot and should not trust that information.

Luckily, most state and local leaders of all political stripes are stepping up (with the possible exception of the Bozo Governor of Oklahoma) and they are canceling events, closing schools, and doing what they can to encourage people to help flatten the curve.

The CDC is also trying hard to regain/retain credibility, depending on how you see things, and has issued a recommendation that all events of 50 or more people be canceled for the next eight weeks in the US.

Let’s not split fur, people. If the event is a bunch of humans in a room — even if the room is big enough for social distancing and the number is 48 and not 50 — do the responsible thing and CANCEL IT.

And here is where the Canine and the Political merge.

Any dog group that fails to cancel events that clump humans together in a room, no matter how large that room, at any point in the next eight weeks is run by irresponsible (and a bunch of other unflattering adjectives that I just deleted) persons — and nobody should support said organization or event.

No excuses. No delays. No waiting for the virus to just disappear as a certain dangerous Liar-in-Chief suggested would happen. Cancel the damn event. Now.

Yes, I am so sad that this means the BMDCA National Specialty MUST be canceled. UPDATED: The Specialty IS canceled because we have outstanding people in charge. Kudos to them for making the tough decision.

But you know what is even sadder? Dead People.