Teaching New Dogs Old Tricks

We have a new dog. He’s supposedly a puppy but he’s so big that the word puppy is really a misnomer. Our new little bundle of dog joy is about 4 months old & weighs about 50 pounds by now. Sounds real cuddly, doesn’t he? He’s half Boxer and half Pit Bull. Yeah, real cuddly.

Prior to the arrival of “Radar” – and we named him that because we can pretty much predict where the other pets are – or rather, are NOT based on where Radar IS. But prior to his arrival, we were just a one dog kind of family. Yes, we currently have 5 cats and 3 kittens, but that’s not the point. Prior to Radar, Sunny – our Pomeranian – was the reigning alpha male around our backyard – although in truth – Sunny no longer retains all of his doggie ‘maleness’ – if you know what I mean.

Prior to Radar – we thought Sunny was kind of a stupid dog. Sure, we were able to teach him some of the basic standard ‘tricks’ such as ‘sit’ and ‘down’ – but we couldn’t teach him to come in out of the rain. Literally. This dog would nervously pace the perimeter of our back yard during a rainstorm. Once I actually chained him, and blocked him INSIDE his dog house during a bad lightning storm, hoping that he would catch on to the fact that he wasn’t getting wet, nor was he as cold when he wasn’t pacing around like a fool. But Sunny showed me that I was the fool as no sooner had I gotten back inside and taken off my drenched clothing, but that damn dog was standing back outside in the rain. At that moment, standing cold and naked looking out my back door I decided to just give up on teaching that dog to get out of the rain. I decided that if lightning struck and killed his stupid ass, that was just nature’s way of trimming the dog population. It was God’s way of fulfilling Darwin’s little theory about survival of the fittest – or at least survival of the damn smartest.

Enter Radar. Suddenly we thought Sunny is a damned genius.

We got Radar from my brother as he was moving out of state.

Word of advice: If your wayward brother swings by your house on his way out of state and offers to give you a puppy out of the back of his moving van….say NO.

Oh sure, at first we were big suckers for this cute little fella. He was so adorable….for about 2 weeks. For 2 weeks we tried to be understanding about the fact that he wanted to bite everything in sight – plastic, metal, human hands, Pomeranian tails, & cat heads. But when pain is involved – cuteness wears off mighty damn quick.

Logically we’ve understood that he just wants to play with others in the same manner he was accustomed to playing with his litter mates. But knowing that did not pardon the dog from his continuous efforts to engulf my favorite cat’s head in his mouth. Sure, he was gentle with her and didn’t “play” as hard with her as he did with my Pomeranian, but this is the cat that already has brain damage. This is the cat that I nursed back to health a few months ago when the vet suggested that I put her down before giving her adequate time to recover. You can still tell just by looking in her eyes that she’s got problems, but she can eat, sleep, drink, poop, chase mice, and give & receive love. And that’s enough for me.

She really is the sweetest little cat, and to watch her just sit there and allow this monster dog to playfully bite on her head was just emotionally traumatizing for me. I have tried every way imaginable to correct this dog – to keep him from tormenting the other animals; yet he refuses to learn.

My husband and his buddy even devised a dog beating tool – which worked in the beginning. It’s a Bud Light box rolled up & duct taped into a cylinder shape, much like the ol rolled up newspaper kind of dog beating tool. Thanks to my hubby & buddy’s affinity for Bud Light – we’ve got lots of dog beaters strategically placed around the back porch and yard. At this point, however, it no longer holds its once sacred power and we might as well be beating him with a roll of toilet paper.

Right after we got the dog and I started feeling all puppy love-ish towards him, there was a news report about how a Pit Bull turned on its owner and the police were called and the owner begged the policeman to shoot his dog because he was basically eating his damn arm. It’s news stories like that that make you think: “We must not allow our dog to ever behave in that manner!” We thought: “Good training will prevent that.”

In the last couple of months since we’ve gotten this dog, I’ve been enlightened with many a Pit Bull anecdote, & received just enough dog advice to realize that…. we are dumb asses.

My neighbor and friend, also a former police officer, informed me that it was her understanding that when Pit Bulls get angry they bite down and it’s like their jaws get locked. I tried to console myself with the thought that the dog IS half Boxer, and perhaps that is the part of him that will reign as his chief personality.

But then the meter reader man happened by one day and said “He looks like he has the frame of a Boxer,” then he pried open his jaws and said, “but he has the jaws and teeth of a Pit Bull.”

Well shit.

Then the air conditioner repairman commented that Pit Bulls are part psycho, further rubbing in the fact that….we are dumb asses.

Are you keeping score? I am. I have a part psycho dog whose Pit Bull shark-like teeth tend to lock up in the event he gets good and pissed off. Yes, training was going to be essential. Training, and perhaps a gun – just in case.

One of the first things in training a dog, of course, is leash training.

Hahahahahaha!

I’ve had better experiences leash training my (now dead) bunny rabbit and one of my more pissed off tom cats! ((For clarity, I tried to leash train my bunny while she was alive – not while she was dead. I know some of you get easily confused.))

Initially I would just start walking and pull Radar along with the leash while he worked tirelessly at trying to bite the leash off of him, or while he just tried to wiggle and flop out of his collar. As a 15 pound puppy, this was a bit of a tiring exercise for me – a SICK person – but it was do-able. Now at 50 damn pounds, I think I would rather try to break a Bronco, or go 8 minutes on a pissed off bull.

This morning while I was just holding Radar’s collar and staring him down while he flopped around trying to break my hold, I thought about how challenging it is to teach this new dog some little old tricks like "sit" or "stay"…or hell, just not to bite me damnit!

And being the deep thinker I am – I realized how similar it is with teaching some people. For instance – journalists. Teaching this dumb ass new half Pit Bull is sorta like teaching new journalists old tricks like: Get ALL the damn facts.

Yesterday I read a fluff piece of so-called journalism in the on-line version of Newsweek written by some wet-behind-the-ears writer that must have missed some of her journalism classes.

The story is called “Health: Bitten by the Bug”, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13249565/site/newsweek/ and it’s basically a 9 sentence article full of an array of misleading shortcomings about Lyme disease.

First of all - how do I know that the writer of the story, Karen Springen, is still wet-behind-the-ears? Because she was assigned a 9 sentence article for the on-line e-zine; and because she’s clearly already forgotten the first rule of journalism which is: GET ALL THE FACTS!

OK, truthfully, I do not know if that is the first rule of journalism because I never even took one day of journalism in college - BUT I think the American public is under the impression that the media, in general, are supposed to present information in an unbiased manner. In order to do that – I think logic would tell us that they need to GET ALL THE FACTS.

I’m not trying to be mean-spirited to Ms. Springen. Dr. Wiseass is not a mean-spirited person, although admittedly she can be a bitch when absolutely necessary.

No, I actually don’t completely blame Ms. Springen for this fluffy piece of written garbage because I imagine that the editors of Newsweek actually hold some culpability for this as they apparently only gave this wet-behind-the ears writer a limited amount of space to report on a very complicated subject. I don’t know WHY they only gave her a limited amount of space because web-space is actually quite limitless. Hell, I can write bullshit for pages and pages and it doesn’t cost me a damn dime! So I ask:

“Why the limitation?”

The limitation put on this “health” piece is actually a public disservice because it communicates a lot of misinformation, most especially the implication that one round of antibiotics is a cure-all for Lyme disease. That is actually pure bullshit.

To be fair to Ms. Springen – let’s take a look at this 9 sentence masterpiece, and some of the gaping holes or downright misinformation presented therein:

Sentence #1:
“June 19, 2006 issue - At least 20,000 Americans a year are afflicted with Lyme disease, a bacterial infection caused by ticks."

Actually, according to the CDC – this number is not accurate as Lyme disease is highly UNDER-reported in the USA. The CDC believes that this number is possibly 10 times higher – which according to MY math would be 200,000 Americans YEARLY. Again, 200,000 EACH freaking year!

In April 2000, even the CDC reported the following:

In North America, Lyme disease and endemic relapsing fever
pose the greatest threat to human health and have received the most attention of the borrelial diseases. Approximately 14,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported in the United States each year; however, the actual number of cases may be 10-fold higher. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol6no2/roberts.htm

Also, if you consult other sources for information – it is speculated that other critters such as mosquitoes can spread this bacterial infection too!

“The spirochete that causes Lyme Disease has also been
found in at least 6 species of mosquitoes, 13 species of mites, 15 species of flies, 2 species of fleas, and numerous wild and domestic mammals including rabbits, rodents, and birds." (from “Lyme Time You Knew” http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/008359.html

Also, go here: http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/insects-biblio.html
Have fun.

And if you want to really freak the hell outta people and present them with truth – it is speculated by actual researchers that Lyme disease can be sexually transmitted! EEEK!

In fact…

“…although it was first thought the disease couldn't be transmitted directly from human to human, the live spirochetes have now also been found in blood, urine, tears, semen, breast milk, cord blood, and vaginal secretions. Doctors who specialise in treating the disease are convinced it can be passed from one infected person to another by several means, particularly through repeated sexual contact and passage through the placenta in the womb."
(Rheum Dis Clin North Am 89; 15(4):657-77) http://www.health4youonline.com/article

Sentence #2
"If left untreated, the infection can spread to the heart, joints and nervous system."

If left untreated, the infection can spread to every organ system in the body. In fact, it only takes less than 12 hours from the time of infection for the bacteria to reach the central nervous system.

I would love to be able to site some kind of source for this information, but damnit, I have neurological Lyme and I can’t remember where the hell I read it. Besides, I’m not a journalist and therefore do not feel ethically obliged to spend all day looking for the source of this information. ((HAHA! As if journalists these days actually feel obliged to point to their sources of factual information. They’re journalists, after all! We’re supposed to believe them… regardless!!))

Sentence #3
"Later this year, the Infectious Diseases Society of America is expected to recommend that doctors prescribe a single dose of antibiotics to people whose tick bites put them at high risk for the disease."

The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) is only ONE viewpoint as to how to treat Lyme disease. There is also a society of medical professionals that are DEVOTED to specifically treating Lyme disease, and that professional organization is called ILADS (International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society).

ILADS has a very different approach to treating both new & CHRONIC cases of Lyme disease. For example, ILADS doctors would suggest far more than a single damn dose of antibiotics!

"The article entitled “Duration of Antibiotic Therapy for Early Lyme Disease“ recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine is flawed in its methodology and in its findings. The collective experience of ILADS physicians has shown that 10 days of therapy has consistently proven insufficient in preventing the development of systemic manifestations of Lyme disease. Our experience proves most patients who are treated with short duration antibiotics return for repeat therapy when their symptoms do not improve."

http://www.ilads.org/gaito.html

((FYI – The article mentioned above, “Duration of Antibiotic Therapy for Early Lyme Disease” was co-authored by none other than Dr. Gary P. Wormser, mentioned elsewhere in the delightful Newsweek article. http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/summary/138/9/697 ))

Those infected with the Lyme bacterium that have gone undiagnosed for any amount of time will most likely develop tertiary Lyme disease, which is called late stage disease. This article does NOT cover this specific phase of the disease, which is quite a critical omission because those that do not receive PROMPT and EFFECTIVE treatment – which ILADS feels is MORE than a damned single dose of antibiotics, may definitely go on to suffer from tertiary, late-stage CHRONIC Lyme disease which will cause great pain & suffering, any manner of disability, and possibly even death. Yes, death. Still want to gamble with that ‘single’ dose of antibiotics?

"A preponderance of evidence indicates that active ongoing spirochetal infection with or without other tick-borne coinfections is the cause of the persistent symptoms in chronic Lyme disease. There has never been a study demonstrating that 30 days of antibiotic treatment cures chronic Lyme disease. However there is a plethora of documentation in the US and European medical literature demonstrating by histology and culture techniques that short courses of antibiotic treatment fail to eradicate the Lyme spirochete. Short treatment courses have resulted in upwards of a 40% relapse rate, especially if treatment is delayed.

Most cases of chronic Lyme disease require an extended course of antibiotic therapy to achieve symptomatic relief. The return of symptoms and evidence of the continued presence of Borrelia burgdorferi indicates the need for further treatment. The very real consequences of untreated chronic persistent Lyme infection far outweigh the potential consequences of long-term antibiotic therapy.

Many patients with chronic Lyme disease require treatment for 1–4 years, or until the patient is symptom-free. Relapses occur and maintenance antibiotics may be required. There are no tests currently available to prove that the organism is eradicated or that the patient with chronic Lyme disease is cured." http://www.ilads.org/basic2.html

In addition, this article does not address who the Infections Disease Society of America considers as “high risk” for the disease.

If you ask anyone suffering from Lyme disease, those at ‘high risk’ are any being with blood coursing through their body…except for, strangely enough, the Western Fence Lizard. Lucky little bastards.

Sentence #4
"Here's how to lessen your odds of getting infected: Insect repellent should contain DEET, which wards off ticks with its smell.

There’s actually some new research that suggests that DEET, and other insect repellents are not really effective to ward off ticks. This information, of course, will not make any extra money for the big corporations producing such products and wishing to advertise thru various media – so I can see why the media wouldn’t want to reveal this info…..potentially cutting into their own advertising budget, so it wouldn’t be a good business decision.

Sentence #5

"Dress in light colors so it's easier to spot ticks."

As far as dressing in light colors – BRAVO! Good piece of advice. Kudos to Newsweek! Now, might I also add that tucking your pants into your socks will make it less likely that the little nasty buggers can crawl up your pant legs. Just a suggestion, of course!

Sentence #6
"They feed on humans for at least 72 to 96 hours; use tweezers to remove them."

Yes indeed – they can feed for that long because they are often the size of the tip of a pencil, therefore MANY times victims don’t even realize they are being infected by this tiny malicious creature. Ticks anesthetize their victims so they don’t feel the bite, which keeps people from even thinking about doing a tick search after being outdoors or playing with Rover…or Radar.

Many times people may see the tick on their skin and think it’s just a speck of dirt, not realizing this ‘dirt’ is forever changing their life. Many times, ticks may attach themselves to a person’s head, in which case, finding them and removing them become quite unlikely.

"Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall a tick bite. In some studies this number is as low as 15% in culture-proven infection with the Lyme spirochete."

http://www.ilads.org/basic.html

Even though ticks can & will feed for 72 to 96 hours if left to their own will, that does not and should NOT imply that it takes that long for the tick to infect its’ victim with the Borrelia bacteria…or other pathogens such as Babesia, Erchlichia, Bartonella, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, blah, blah, blah.

Often, Lyme disease (Borrelia Burgdorferi) does NOT travel alone. The above mentioned pathogens are called co-infections and they can make eradicating Lyme disease all the more difficult.

As for using tweezers to remove the tick…YES! Newsweek wins that prize for effective reporting! However, what was not mentioned in that article is that you need to pull the tick straight out; and do NOT do anything that would tick off the tick – such as holding a match flame to its ass. Ticking off a tick causes them to spew their nasty toxins back into the victim’s bloodstream. More toxins are not good. Keep that in mind.

Sentence #7
"Favorite areas are under the armpits and in your groin," says Dr. Gary Wormser of New York Medical College."

This might actually be true, but honestly I wouldn’t take Dr. Gary Wormser’s opinion about anything Lyme-related as fact. I say this not because I personally know Dr. Wormser, nor would I want to know him; but because of the *professional* company he keeps.

Dr. Wormser is part of the group of physicians which would like the American public to believe that Lyme disease is hard to catch, yet easy to treat.

As a woman who has had Lyme coursing through her body for well over 20 years, I certainly object to such a philosophy.

If I am not mistaken, Dr. Wormser is of the faction that believes a short course of antibiotic therapy is all that is necessary to wipe out a Lyme disease infection. Because I have received approximately 39 2-week courses of various antibiotic therapies – actually it’s just been a continuous course of therapy, but I’m being dramatic here – I object to such bullshit because I still have this damn disease.

If I am not mistaken, Dr. Wormser is of the faction that believes that after that short course of antibiotic therapy, if the patient still has symptoms – then it is magically no longer an actual infection, but suddenly it is an auto-immune disorder of sorts, and then we’re supposed to refer to it as Post-Lyme Syndrome. Sort of like if a patient received a round of chemo and radiation and s/he still had cancer symptoms, perhaps we should just say they have Post-Cancer Syndrome? See the logic these good ol’ boys are trying to shove down the throats of the American public?

What is fascinating to me is that just a few weeks ago – after let’s say my 37th 2-week short course of antibiotic therapy, I had my blood tested & FILMED underneath a dark-field microscope. Guess what? There were Borrelia spirochetes swimming in that small sample of blood. And the real scary part for me is the fact that spirochetes are said to be rarely found in the blood because they like to go to areas of fat, tissues, tendons, and of course all major organs. So that implies I am LOADED with spirochetes. I also saw several freaking COLONIES of Borrelia cysts!

(For the uninformed, Borrelia can take on 3 forms: spirochete; cell-wall deficient, where they shed their cell wall and go hide in the host’s own cells, even the immune cells; and the cyst form where they join together to form a hard protective little ball in an effort to protect themselves. Borrelia are little genius bastards and like to play hide ‘n seek, especially if they know they are under attack from the immune system or from pharmaceutical or nutraceutical agents meant to kill their little bacterial asses!)

So anybody that wants to tell me I no longer have Lyme disease because I’ve had enough antibiotics can kiss my sick fat ass because they are either stupid sons-of-bitches, or just sons-of-bitches period – no matter how many academic letters they’ve got behind their filthy name.

What I think others need to know about Dr. Wormser is that he has been studying various bioterrorism agents for years. http://www.mipt.org/nymc/program.asp

As we know, Lyme has been *studied* as a biowarfare agent for DECADES. So anything these insidious researchers have to publicly say about Lyme disease I consider to be quite suspect, because let’s face it – they wouldn’t want to throw DECADES worth of “secret” research down the drain by actually telling the TRUTH, the whole truth and nothing but, to the American people! This is supposed to be like a secret weapon. Shhhh! Besides – if the American people were to know the truth about this bacteria – there might be panic in the streets because we certainly do not have enough antibiotics to go around. Hell, we didn’t even have enough Cipro for the big Anthrax scare – we certainly don’t have enough antibiotics for everyone that is already infected with this bacteria, short course or otherwise. Most people don’t know they’re infected. That’s part of the secret.

Most people that have symptoms think they have something else like Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s Disease, ALS, Chrohn’s disease, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and hundreds of other things because the beauty of Lyme is that it can mimic over 350 other diseases! It, like it’s spirochetal cousin, Syphilis, is also called the ‘Great Imitator’.

Like syphilis in the 19th century, Lyme disease has been called the great imitator and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of rheumatologic and neurologic conditions, as well as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, somatization disorder and any difficult-to-diagnose multi-system illness. http://www.ilads.org/basic2.html

Our government (CDC, NIH, & the military, of course) KNOWS all of this but chooses not to inform American physicians because, again, Shhhh! damnit! It’s a secret weapon! Besides, it’s much more cost effective for the nation and the pharmaceutical industry, and perhaps even the insurance industry, to keep the misdiagnoses going because there’s just too much money invested in these other diseases to overturn the apple cart.

((OK - so now that any of you journalists reading this know that much – let's keep it a secret like good loyal media. Oh wait – you already are! Hmmmm…… ))

Sentence #8

"If you show symptoms of Lyme—fever, headache, fatigue and a rash at least the size of a half dollar—see a doctor."

First of all, less than 50% of patients ever notice a rash, which is technically called an EM rash (Erythema Migrans).

"Fewer than 50% of patients with Lyme disease recall any rash. Although the erythema migrans (EM) or “bull’s-eye” rash is considered classic, it is not the most common dermatologic manifestation of early-localized Lyme infection. Atypical forms of this rash are seen far more commonly. It is important to know that the EM rash is pathognomonic of Lyme disease and requires no further verification prior to starting an appropriate course of antibiotic therapy."

http://www.ilads.org/basic.html

Second of all, fever, headache, and fatigue are my symptoms on a damn good day. Allow me to list some of the other symptoms associated with a Lyme infection:

Symptomatic Presentations of Lyme Disease include:

1. Fatigue
2. Low grade fevers, “hot flashes” or chills
3. Night sweats
4. Sore throat
5. Swollen glands
6. Stiff neck
7. Migrating arthralgias, stiffness and frank
   arthritis
8. Myalgia
9. Chest pain and palpitations
10. Abdominal pain, nausea
11. Diarrhea
12. Sleep disturbance
13. Poor concentration and memory loss
14. Irritability and mood swings
15. Depression
16. Back pain
17. Blurred vision and eye pain
18. Jaw pain
19. Testicular/pelvic pain
20. Tinnitus
21. Vertigo
22. Cranial nerve disturbance ( facial
    numbness, pain, tingling, palsy or optic neuritis)
23. Headaches
24. Lightheadedness
25. Dizziness

http://www.ilads.org/guidelines_summary.html

True, this is actually a short list as there are numerous other symptoms, but I’m feeling rather fatigued at this point – so this is all you’re getting for now. Don’t be sad. If you’d like to see a really long ass list, go here: http://www.lymeinfo.net/medical/LDSymptoms.pdf I believe it is 51 pages long. Settle in, put your feet up; have some coffee.

Sentence #9
"He'll probably prescribe a two-week course of medication."

This, unfortunately, is probably true; and often times 2 weeks is not long enough. In which case you too can be the happy recipient of tertiary Lyme disease, or excuse me – “Post Lyme Syndrome”. But believe me, no matter what you call it – the suffering & the disability will be the same, unless you are misdiagnosed with another disease or syndrome, whereby some of those treatments, such as steroid use, could exacerbate the progression of the disease or even prove to be fatal.

—Karen Springen
© 2006 Newsweek, Inc.

--DR. Wiseass
Not a real doc – just a real wise ass
© 2006 http://www.twistoflyme.blogspot.com/

That was fun, wasn’t it?

I should do that more often, only it is exhausting and I feel rather mean to show out like that. But someone needed to let Ms. Springen know her reporting skills are going South. Actually, as a Southern gal, I don’t know if I like that phrase.

Anyhoo – Ms. Springen – if I have managed to hold your attention this long, please accept my apology if you feel I have publicly ridiculed you.

Honestly, my intention was more to call attention to the fact that this shit of misreporting and under-reporting about Lyme disease is an on-going practice and it needs to STOP! I actually blame the media giants because I think they have some vested interest in keeping some things on the ‘down low’. I think that too many people in the government and the media have become secret bedfellows, and I’m not talking about reporters; I’m talking about the decision makers. I’m talking about the ‘powers that be’ that decide what is newsworthy and just how much of the truth to report on any given subject.

I think the American people should be rather disturbed by that – about the overall corruption that has infiltrated our national media as a whole. But, we, the people are too busy seeking our American dreams and trying to keep up with the Jones’ by purchasing everything we are told we need by advertisers – those people that help PAY the media.

Other than that little dirty circle of nonsense – I happen to be privy to the notion that there is a subset of individuals – doctors and researchers who are inducted into a good ol’ boys club / quasi-military section of the Centers for Disease Control, called the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). http://www.cdc.gov/eis/ It’s sort of like the CIA for epidemics.

Lyme is an epidemic. It’s actually the #1 epidemic in the United States, even surpassing AIDs. Did you know that? I read that somewhere….damnit though, I can’t remember where.

EIS officers are trained to be quite loyal. They even have an alumni association http://www.cdc.gov/eis/alumni/alumni.htm so they can stay in touch with each other after their service as EIS officers has officially ‘concluded’.

After their service, former EIS officers go on to seek employment in places of high influence, with their loyalty to the EIS and the CDC firmly intact. One such former EIS officer works for the New York Times Science edition. Lucky for him, I don’t recall his name right now. But suffice it to say, any articles pertaining to Lyme disease or any other disease which the CDC finds *interesting* will be creatively edited to corroborate the official position. So don’t be looking for the New York Times to be revealing great truths about Lyme disease any time soon.

Because of my knowledge about this former EIS officer turned Science editor, it makes me wonder if other EIS alumni have infiltrated other media outlets. If I was a betting woman – and I am – I would bet big bucks that they have.

That’s why it just disturbs me a great deal when I see such flimsy reporting about our nation’s #1 epidemic in such prestigious magazines such as Newsweek! Their association with MSNBC only makes me wonder how many and how high EIS alumni have managed to climb in the corporate media world.

I know what I have revealed in the above paragraphs may make me sound like one of those conspiracy kooks. Hell, maybe I am – so what.

But what if I am right?

And what if I am wrong? All that means is that new & old journalists alike, along with their editors, are clearly having a difficult time with GETTING ALL THE FACTS and reporting the TRUTH.

IF that is the case – that is truly a sad set of facts because part of the reason our country has flourished in the past is become of our free speech, and because the media originally had high standards for reporting the truth; an unbiased reporting of facts.

But maybe those standards are just a thing of the past – like an old trick I can’t get my new dog to learn.

Oh…that reminds me of yet another dog story. But this is more about my OLD dog learning NEW tricks.


When Radar, the new alpha-male came to live with us, Sunny the Pomeranian suddenly learned how to become a great escape artist. Sunny has now learned how to leave the yard & return at his leisure. It’s like he’s learned how to contort his body so he can squeeze through the smallest hole in the fence – almost like he’s become a cat or a rat or something.

He even knows how to sneak over to the pool side of our yard which is fenced off from the rest of the yard for safety.

Late Spring, not too long after Radar came to live with us – I noticed that Sunny was missing. I looked all over the yard and only thought to look on the pool side out of a sense of intuition. I had been calling for Sunny but he had not barked or anything. I reluctantly walked across the yard, opened the pool gate and there he was…at the bottom of the pool. Yes, my senior citizen Pomeranian was sitting at the bottom of our recently painted pool. Fortunately, the paint was dry – but Sunny was still stuck. The paint made the bottom surface too slick for him to climb up out of the steep hill of deep end.

I had to send my daughter in and she had to drag him out by his leash. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time.

While a dog stuck at the bottom of an empty pool is funny – journalists unable to navigate the deep waters that is Lyme medicine & politics combined -- is NOT. I suppose that is why so many choose to stick with the shallow, and present their information as if it is the ALL of the subject, which is certainly a lie. It is not funny or even slightly humorous that so few these days are brave enough to tread through the deep waters to get to the truth.

For journalist to present only one side of a story is like presenting one side of a dog as the whole dog. I can lift my dog’s tail and present to you his ass, but that is not the whole dog. True, while I call Radar a dumb ass several times a day – he is still a whole dog, with a head, and teeth and everything. I have the bite marks to prove it.

So as I close today’s long ass blog entry, I would like to invite any journalist that happen by here, to quit showing your ass. Show the world you have a damn brain and GET ALL THE FACTS about a disease epidemic before you put your fingers to the keyboard to type up your award-winning article. Now go out & fetch the truth, even if you have to take a bite at our great governmental bureaucracies to get it.

Hugs & Kisses,

DR. Wiseass

-not a real doc - just a real wise ASS

dr-wiseass@sbcglobal.net