Evenin, Y'all... I've been doing what I've come to call 'double duty poop and piddle' duty... By habit I make a point of (at least once a day) to monitor 'what comes out' versus what I know the puppers have eaten during the day... Now with Rogaine being diagnosed with lymph node cancer, I've stepped up my 'observations'...

Yesterday I sat in my swing out back and as the sunlight came through between the shed and the house on 'ddp&pd', I noticed a very long trail of spider webbing... As it moved back and forth in the slight wind, I was reminded of just how fragile - and just how strong - something can be... Just like life...

Tonight while on 'ddp&pd' and watching the puppers, a hummingbird came within 3 feet of my head as it fed on the feeder located just about the canopy of the swing... Watching the hummer move with some unbelievable speed, I couldn't help thinking about the absolute power in something so small and yet so unbelievably fast at the same time...

A few weeks ago my husband found a opossum in our back yard late at night... And last month I actually herded a coyote down Erlinger towards the arroyo late at night with my truck - I initially though it was a small German Shepherd pup until the truck's lights flashed on it as it crossed in front... I was told later that it was the first sighting in Simi, but as the pups in the ridges had been born and things were so dry, the coyote moms were coming down into the neighborhoods to find food to feed them...

Then last week we had a bear here, in case you hadn't heard... Last year there was a mountain lion between here and Moorpark... We have wildlife all around us even though we live in a 'bedroom community'...

As I walked Rogaine tonight in the park, I was thinking about all the nature I've seen in the past few months and began to wonder just how many of our residents have their dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies... I heard today after the Day Fire, rabies has increased to 12% in our area as the wildlife incursions into developed areas increases because of the loss of their habitat...

Especially those that leave their cats out (though I have to admit I never understood that practice) or leave their dogs out at night... Sadly, an encounter with a wild animal who has rabies will not show up in your dog or cat until a week or 10 days later (when it's really too late to do anything)...

I've always had my puppers inoculated and up to date on their rabies... I went through rabies shots as a kid and I cannot believe to tell you how painful that was... MANY years ago I lost a purebred 4 month old Boxer pup after a neighbor's dog bit him after breaking through into our yard - and of course, that dog hadn't been inoculated nor up to date on his rabies shots...

I can't imagine the horror I would feel to hear any of our kids bitten by some wild animal or a dog that wasn't up to date on rabies... Everyone always says their dog would never get out, but I've learned with dogs you can never 100% predict that... I've put the dogs in our neighborhood back in their back yards more than once... Or called a neighbor to say I have their dog in my yard and they need to come fetch them...

Here in Simi you can get a rabies shot for less than $5.00 on any Saturday or Sunday... There's really no excuse for not having your dog up to date on shots or rabies... In fact, it's darned irresponsible as a member of our community to have a dog without having their shots... You'd not have a child without theirs - so what's the difference?... Except the schools won't let your child enter without being up-to-date on their shots -- and although it's a law here in Simi, I guess you gotta be caught - or a tragedy happens - before it becomes high on your priority list...

So if your dog or cat is not up to date on their shots, take the time this weekend to change that... It's easy enough to do and you'll feel better after you've gotten it done... And I know your pet will appreciate it as well... Help stop the increase in rabies in our community - it's your civic duty to do so!

And be careful out there when you let your cat out - or your dog out at night as well... I've taken to turning on the back porch light in fact... Might not be a bad habit to develop either...

Linda