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I have a Pit Bull/ Boxer mix, every August for four years he suffers from unbearably itchy skin, his skin gets a bright pink, he scratches incessantly. (After changing/ stopping the use of many products, laundry soap, febreeze, etc. The Vet figured it was Ragweed that he's allergic to.)

The first year I had him I tried Benedryl which had zero effect. Didn't even make him drowsy!

Until this year, he was brought to the Vet the moment he started showing symptoms and given Prednisone. I find it ridiculous that even though the vet diagnosed and treated him effectively the first year, he insists on an exam every freaking August. It'd be one thing if he was running urine tests to check if the prednisone is having any adverse effects. But I shut my mouth and paid the $500 for the exam every time.

Unfortunately, this year facing unemployment, money is an issue. While I am scrounging around, doing odd jobs, begging and borrowing, I have called my Vet and explained my situation. I am furious that after 20 years of prompt payment ALWAYS. (Just this Easter I had an emergency for which I paid $15,000, on the spot for him to see my dog after hours. (She had a tumor growing on her stomach pressing down on her intestines, stomach as well as kidneys.) I've told them I'm willing to leave the dog there if that's what it takes to get him the medications. I have $350 at the moment and am doing everything I can to get the rest. I even offered to come and scoop poop, give baths, hell! Massage feet even! Just please work with me on this. They haven't budged.

So in the meantime I have a very miserable dog on my hands. I've tried Benedryl, Oatmeal Baths and Apple Cider Vinegar. The oatmeal baths seem to ease him temporarily, but not completely. I have a lawn mowing job later on today and will continue to come up with money any way I can. I do think I will be looking for a new Vet in the near future. :/

Sorry for the bit of rambling, I'm looking for any home remedies, suggestions, ideas, thoughts even! etc, to help my poor guy feel better. I live in an area with two vet clinics, one I've never used, heard terrible things about and is currently facing a lawsuit for neglect. I do plan on searching for other Vets but the closest one is a two hour drive. While I have no problem making the drive, it does add to cost and unfortunately money is tight. :/

I've even faced the heart-breaking possibility of trying to find him a new home. All his needs are met otherwise but I am failing him when he needs me the most. :( The problem with that is, how realistic is it to think someone will take a 4 year old dog with health problems? If I knew of anyone who would take him and care for him properly, as much as it would break my heart, I'd do it for him...

Is that doggie in the window?

This has been bugging the heck out of me since I first watched the movie. I'm totally feeling like a dumb blonde who doesn't get the joke. lol

So, in the first 20 minutes of the movie Rose McGowan walks back to her dressing room mirror. The boss comes over and tells 'Cherry' to stop crying while on stage. Some dialogue is exchanged and she notices a note stuck to her mirror. She rips the note down and reads it out loud, "Any girl leaving early must have check out with their finger and have a bye-bye slip."...

What does that mean? "check out with their finger"? Is that some sexual joke I'm not getting? Or is it some Tarentino inside joke that I have to watch all of his movies back to back to understand?

What the heck is a "bye-bye" slip? Is it stripper lingo or something? lol I just don't get it! Help!

Two weeks ago I began fostering 3, 2-3 week old kittens until they are old enough to eat regular food and the Animal Shelter can adopt them out. Poor babies were found in a box on the side of the highway in 90 degree weather. :/ (Man would I like to get my hands on that a**hole!)

This is not the first litter of kittens that I have fostered but it has been some time and when I did it the last time, I had the benefit of being under a vet's supervision. They are now off the formula and drinking water from a shallow lid. I am feeding them a mix of kitten chow, soaked in warm water until it becomes a paste and a quarter of a 3oz can of food all mixed together. I am slowly decreasing the amount of water I add so they become accustomed to the dry stuff.

All three are thriving, very playful and affectionate kittens. I am a little concerned about the female. She will dive for the food during mealtimes, eat for several minutes, crawl on my lap and cuddle a bit and get up and start to eat again. Sometimes it seems like noticing her brothers still eating will cause her to get up and eat more but for the most part it's like she forgot that there was food. I do believe if I didn't only set out a certain amount she would eat until she burst! I usually remove the food once her brothers are finished but she will screech and meow at me the whole time as if she's starving. The brothers have a little bit of belly on them but her, she resembles a peach or a pregnant adult! I've heard that kittens require twice the amount of food adults do and that they do know when to stop eating but I have to wonder how true that is. I've researched a bunch of websites about kitten care online but more often that not I read conflicting information. I try to take in all the information and weigh it against what I think is best. Of course if I'm really stumped and it's something serious I would be on the phone to the vets office.

So my question(s) is/are, how big should a baby kittens belly be? (I can take pictures if necessary if you need to see to be sure.)

Any thoughts or information to share pertaining to the idea that kittens know when to stop eating?

Am I being cruel and negligent by taking away the food when the other two are done? All kittens are different so maybe she needs more?

OR am I being too softhearted about taking the food away? I imagine to an extent kittens are like kids and whine when they don't get their way.

When I got them they seemed very confused about what to do with the bottle. For the life of me I could not get them to suckle on the nipple, instead they took little sips (think of a hamster or guinea pig with a water bottle) I wonder how the heck they were fed by the person who had them before me. Could she be behaving this way because food was scarce at one time and her instincts are telling her to get what she can, while she can?

Thanks much, your experiences, stories and input is greatly appreciated! :)

So, my grandmother on my mothers side recently passed away. At the time of her passing it had been about 8 years since we had spoken. -To put it bluntly my grandmother was uneducated and racist. She had lots to say about my mother and father being together and having children. My mother is Norwegian, my father Native American. My grandmother frequently pointed out my light skin, hair and eyes. She conjectured that I was not my fathers and my mother was "never very choosy".(Implying that because I didn't have dark skin, hair and eyes, I was not my fathers child) At the same time she called me a "half-breed" and expressed the opinion, more than once that; "at least I can die knowing no man would ever want to get close to you to put a baby in your belly further clouding the bloodline. You're far too hideous for that so I guess I should be grateful!" Nice lady huh?

To my shock and utter confusion my grandmother left me her jewelry box brimming with jewelry. After a day I packed it away and pushed it out of my mind. I couldn't stand to even look at it, it caused much anger and pain.

Two weeks go by and my half-cousin comes up for summer vacation. She was sick over not being able to make it to the funeral. She lives downstate though and having a job and two babies doesn't exactly make it easy to leave at the drop of the hat. I told her so over and over but I could see my words were doing little good. Secretly I felt like a huge hypocrite, comforting my cousin over the loss of a woman I despised. Of course I never told her how my grandmother treated me and probably never will. I don't want to be the cause of her image and love for my grandma to fade. So, seeing I wasn't helping much I dug out the jewelry box and gave it to my cousin. I had absolutely zero interest in keeping it and wanted my cousin to have it because I know it would mean something to her. To tell you the truth I am not sure why she didn't leave it to my cousin in the first place. They had a good relationship and my cousin absolutely adored grandma. I think that my grandmothers will must have been old and written before we even knew about my cousin. (She was the product of a one night stand and we didn't even know about her until she was 7) That's the only thing that makes any sense.

I will always remember the way my cousins eyes lit up when I told her grandma's jewelry box was hers. Any iota of doubt or hesitation was quickly dissolved when I saw how much it meant to her.

My mother found out and SCREAMED at me for several minutes before stomping away. Now she won't return my phone calls or answer her door. She told me I behaved completely selfishly and the jewelry should have gone to my little sister or children (don't have any nor plan to) and not the half -cousin. Well, if my sister hadn't received anything in the will I certainly would have split up the jewelry but not only did she get a nice chunk of cash but my grandmothers unicorn collection (over 2,000 ceramic, glass and porcelain pieces) but my mom insists I am a cold heartless person and handled things like a child. :/ The thing is I've never told her about the cruel things my grandmother said and if I tried telling her so now I risk being a b***h for sullying the memory of my grandmother or downright disbelief. I can totally see it going in that direction, my mother accusing me of making that up as an excuse for giving the jewelry away.

Sorry for the long post and thank you for reading all the way through. My question(s) is/are; do you think giving ,what was left to me, away to someone who would actually appreciate it makes me an awful person?

Should I have kept it even though it meant nothing to me?

Any suggestions on what to do with my mom? I am a firm believer in being open and honest but in this case it might drive a wedge between us and the last thing I want to do is hurt her any more than I have.

I'm curious about how rare it is for a cat to be so picky she'd rather eat dry food than treats, canned food or even tuna. (Before people jump on my back telling me how bad canned food or tuna is, calm down. It's a rare treat and I only offered her the tuna after trying practically every kind of canned food out there to entice her. (liver, beef, whitefish, salmon, turkey etc) and she barely sniffed at it and sauntered away.

I've grown up around cats and been a owner for 20+ years. Never have I seen a cat so picky.

Do you have or have you had a cat that doesn't like treats?

So I finally decided to give the show a shot. I was very reluctant to do so being a huge X-Files fan and wasn't sure I wanted to watch something with David Duchovney in which he's not 'Agent Mulder'.

I was pleasantly surprised. He plays the hapless loser quite well lol. I only have two issues with the show. The first one is the sex. Not that I'm a prude here but the way they portray woman after woman just throwing themselves at him. Maybe it's just because I'm from the mid-west and women just do not behave that way here, well mostly anyways.

My second problem (I just finished watching the final episode of season 2) In the first season I thought Natasch McElhones character 'Karen Van Der Beek' seemed really cool. She seemed down to earth, and possessing the rationality most females could only dream about having. In the second season however I found myself yelling at the t.v. more than once and wanting to pop her one in the face. Her character did a 180 and turned into the typical female; b****y, unreasonable etc. Yes I realize it's only a show but that part is so true it's cliche. (man pines after woman, woman finally gives in, becomes mega b***h from hell.)

So my question is, anyone else find her character nearly unbearable in the second season?

Why is it that men turn into such sniveling p*****s when sick? I thought it was just my ex who behaved that way because he was a punk b***h. But nope. The guy I'm with now, same damn thing. I absolutely adore my fiance', he has compassion for animals, great sense of humor, very good looking, intense..think Pete Steele but thinner.

But I swear when the man gets a cold or flu I feel like I'm caring for a five year old! He gets SO clingy and his voice takes on this infuriating whine at the end of every sentence. Now before I get a bunch of guys telling me I'm being a b***h or unfair, when I get sick I just want to be left alone. I don't want sympathy, I don't want to be waited on and I don't want to spread my misery. Yes, I appreciate a bowl of hot soup when I'm feeling under the weather but I don't expect or demand it.

So to you ladies, have you experienced this as well or do I have a knack for picking these types?

I was pretty young at the time so forgive me for being vague.

I want to say in was on in the early to mid 90's. I believe it was a series on one of the movie channels, HBO sounds right but like I said, I was young.

What I remember is a Native American teenager moved off of a reservation and into her grandmothers house in a bad neighborhood. I think she moved there with her sister because their parents died. At one poin one of the sisters starts getting involved in gang activity.

Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated, I have googled the heck out of t.v. show from the 90's about a couple of Native American sisters to no avail. :/

Thank you for your time.