Sunday's Shelter Sweetheart: Snow White

Just take a look at this sweet Fairytale Princess!

"Hi,
my name is Snow White and I am certainly a beautiful white cat.

I was originally found as a stray by a nice lady who brought me here. I am so lucky to be safe and in the care of Great Plains SPCA. Everyone here loves me and they all like to cuddle! Yay!

I have lots of people to play with, and boy do I ever love to play! And I have a nice a warm, safe place to sleep and plenty of food to eat. (Maybe even a little too much food--I think I've put on a pound or two!)

Not to brag, but I was recently even promoted to free-roamer status. That means I get the run of the whole place because I am such a good girl and so friendly! I am also very grateful for the help they have given me with my eyes.

You see, I have a condition that causes my eyes to get crusty tears. They give me some eye drops for it here, and it sure helps. The vets say it's nothing to worry about, but I do need to have my drops. I know that's a lot to ask from a new, forever family.

But I hope you will think I'm worth it. I am such a sweet, loving, playful girl that a few eye drops really shouldn't keep us apart! And the vets would be glad to explain all about it if it worries you.

I guess we all have little problems like this now and then. Can you overlook my minor flaw and call me your forever family? I've been waiting awhile now, hoping to find someone who will look past the crusties and see the loving heart underneath.

I promise that if you can do that, you will never, ever be lonely with me in your family!

Love and purrs,
Snow White"

And you can watch this fairytale princess show you her wicked wand toy moves, right here in living color:




Snow White is available for adoption at Great Plains SPCA's Merriam Campus today!

The Gift of Air

We want to take a moment to thank all of you for your encouraging words and kind thoughts as our feline family has been through the wringer these past few weeks.

Allie is thankful for kitty morphine, as she sits staring out at the melting snow this afternoon.

Our overnight was filled with deep rumbling coughs and labored wheezing as Allie struggled to breathe comfortably.

This evening we're happy to report she is doing much better. (It was a reaction to the anesthetic tracheal tube, and it's now noted in her chart.)

We also have a new appreciation for the simple things, like the ability to draw a deep, cleansing breath of air.

(And if we can just make it through next Friday - and Maxwell's dental - without incident, we'll feel great relief indeed!)

Wishing you all a relaxing and enjoyable Sunday.

Saturday Photohunt: Reflection

We figure there's no better representation of today's word than the card Ryker gave our dad for Father's Day in 2007.

Wouldn't you agree?

(Card front)

(inside)

Update on Allie

Today our little princess had her very first dental cleaning ever.  I (wrongly) assured her it would be a piece of cake.

And it was, to begin with. The veterinarian told us it was a total breeze: very little plaque, and as easy as could be...until they got to the very last tooth.

That's when we began to feel like we were in the movie Groundhog Day: she,too, had tooth resorption. And it was the very worst kind - almost 100% of the roots of her back molar had been reabsorbed into the bone.

These back molars are the most difficult to extract, and Allie is going to be on pain medication for a few days (Bupronorphine, a morphine derivative for cats). And antibiotics, to stave off infection.

Poor little girl. She didn't have much fun today.

Fangs on Friday

The Mistress of PINK Holds Court for the Valentine's Day Fangs Offering!

Girlcat Fangs are Stylin'.

(and those pearly whites are getting cleaned today, too!)

***

Thursday Trivia: the Sea Dog and the Salty Dog

The Sea Dog & The Salty Dog

There have been dogs associated with the sea for centuries. Back more than 2,000 years ago, sea dogs helped fishermen bring in their catch. Experts estimate that these dogs might have been the ancestors of breeds such as the Portuguese Water Dog and the like.

A Portuguese Water Dog, in his element. Photo MGallow,
via Flickr, Creative Commons

But our modern terms “sea dog” or “salty dog” don’t date that far back. Their origin dates back to early 16th century England. And rather than a canine, a “sea dog” initially referred to a harbor seal.

Moving into the mid-1500s, the term came to be associated with disreputable sailors – privateers who preyed upon wealthy Spanish merchant ships. But that association took an interesting turn a little over a hundred years later.

Here's what happened:

Tensions were heating up between England and Spain toward the end of the 16th century, and war looked to be inevitable. So Queen Elizabeth decided to contract with a group of noblemen to turn the sea dogs into a military weapon.

She literally flipped the phrase’s meaning from bad to good by employing men like Sir Frances Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh (among others) to lead the Sea Dogs in a campaign of harassment against Spanish ships.

This culminated in a maritime battle in 1588 where the Spanish Armada was roundly defeated and British sea superiority was established.

Modern-day Sea Dog. Photo: NotSoNiceDuck, via Flickr Creative Commons

Still today, naval soldiers are often referred to as sea dogs. And a salty dog refers to a seasoned and experienced sea dog, one who has been onboard ship long enough for the sea salt to dry and accumulate on him – thus the “salty” sea dog.

____________
Sources:

From abletoknow.org: "Salt" has been used as a synonym for "experienced sailor" since the mid-1800s by allusion to salt water and the salt spray which covers everything aboard ship.
U.S. History online
Earliest documented use: 1598, according to wordsmith.org
"Real Pirates don't wear the Jolly Roger"
Wikipedia: Salty Dog
The History Learning Site: U.K.
US History.org
seahistory.org
Write work: Sea Dogs, Puppets in a Political War


A Brief Review of Grammarly's Plagiarism Checker (and Grammar Tool)

I was offered a free trial of Grammarly's Plagiarism Checker (actually, they offer everyone a free 7 day trial), and it was fascinating to see how it handled today's post.

I received a score of 83 with only 4% considered unoriginal. The unoriginal part was the phrase, "toward the end of the 16th century". Something tells me I'm safe from copyright infringement on that! 

Here's a screen snap of the grammar issues it found:

It did seem to favor however over but. However, I think it kind of missed the context when it suggested I use "so" instead of "and"!

Overall, for the casual voice I use when blogging, I'm not sure the grammar checker was all that helpful. But I do like the idea of a plagiarism checker. As it stands today, there are far too copyright infringements on the internet, so having a tool that helps prevent this is nice.

I'm not sure how many people would be willing to pay $30/month for such a service, though. The price is reduced to $11.66/mo if you pay annually, so it would depend on how seriously you take your writing, I suppose! 

I decided to cancel after my free trial. But that's because I'm willing to do the research and legwork to make sure all my quotes are properly cited - and I'm willing to take the time to put a concept into my own words.

But still. For someone slaving over a 90+ page dissertation, this could be a useful tool to temporarily have on hand.

 

FTC Disclosure Statement: We were compensated for mentioning Grammarly's plagiarism checker, but we only post about things we believe in. And we really believe in copyright law and not stealing other people's work - even accidentally. So we give Grammarly 4 paws way up for this part of their service!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday...a little help, please?

Allie: "Uhm, Mother..."

 "What do I do now?"

Well, we'd advise against jumping OFF the deck into the big snowdrifts.

(Yes, she needed rescuing. In public. By her mother. Which she found mortifying.)

***