Vector died on his kitchen floor about a foot from where he was born. He was a home boy… he never spent a night outside of the house.
We think he had a good long life. Not long enough, mind you, but a good one all of the days.
San Francisco’s local trash hauler — which I bet we now are supposed to call a “waste management system” — is asking to increase rates by 21.5%.
I believe it is so high that it should not be taken seriously. The 21.5% hike is absurd, even as an opening negotiation position. If I were running this process I would throw out the request as being unworthy of serious consideration. Let them come back with a realistic, cost-driven proposal.
Unfortunately, it looks like we are already into the review process. So, I have glanced at the rate increase applications online, and here are my thoughts as a long-time resident and owner of a single-family house.
• The city-hired consultant, says that they are “Rate Payer Advocates”. Their site is even named www.ratepayeradvocatesf.org . But,. they are not behaving like I expect an independent ratepayer advocate should To begin with, they are wrong that the city is the victim of its own success in recycling and therefore the trash haulers should be able to charge for the blue and green bins. They state this concession on their website, and that is a terrible bargaining position for the City. The charge for green and blue bins simply does not follow from the success of the recycling program.
The success of the recycling program could result in more income from recycled products… why hasn’t it? Or, the success could require that the cost of the black bins to go up steeply. There is nothing inevitable in imposing fees on blue and green bins. Your instant agreement with the proposed fee shows bad logic and apparent bias.
• The assumptions given by Recology are suspect. For example Recology is asking for COLA increases based on possible increases in health care costs due to Obamacare.
What? There are no rate increases yet. Recology should be negotiating with their insurance companies to make sure that there are no outlandish rate increases. They should not simply turn to the city and ask residents to pay.
• I trust that someone familiar with the City’s contract is going over the other numbers. I don’t want to make looking at the Recology spreadsheets a career. However, I didn’t see a rate of return/profit jump out at me, nor did I see a chart of management salaries or distributions to owners. Those should be looked at.
Overall, Recology is trying for the best of all worlds. It wants to make money as a private company while at the same time taking a “we’re helpless” attitude toward costs. If this is the best they can do, then the trash contracts really need to go out to bid. I voted NO on going out to bid last fall, but if this increase goes through, I’ll help circulate the next petition!
This emailed request for donations thumped into my inbox about 2 pm today. 
It bothers me. I know the Red Cross does lots of great work. I know they are doing that work now. I have given them money in the past to help support their work.
But, still.
This email is just too damn timely. Too calculated. Too tailored. Too in tune with modern marketing techniques.
They are using the hurricane. It doesn’t feel right.
Or, am I expecting too much from a do-gooder organization that needs more funding to do more good?
Oh, yeah. If you think I’m overreaching and want to teach me a lesson, go ahead and give the Red Cross money.
Last Monday we went to the reproductive vet for a routine, post-no-puppy check-up to make sure that SeQueL’s body was returning to normal.
Unfortunately, it was not.
Instead, her uterus is irritated and producing mucus. This happens, and the doctors don’t yet understand the underlying cause. SeQueL doesn’t feel bad, but the condition will not resolve itself, and, untreated, it will eventually become life-threatening.
There are two treatment alternatives:
The drugs make the dog sick for about a half-hour after injection. They must be administered at the vet’s office, because anaphylactic shock has occurred a few times.
Because the reproductive vet is in the East Bay, this regimen means that SeQueL will have to be an in-patient.
If SeQueL is spayed, in addition to not having puppies, she will not be able to show at AKC dog shows. She likes being in the ring, and in our minds we had planned a leisurely post-Champion show career for her. And, puppies with her personality would be excellent.
After consulting with SeQueL’s breeder, her potential Baby Daddy’s owner, and our regular vet, we have decided to start the drug treatments for her tomorrow. Saturday, we will bring her to the vet at 8 am, get the shot, wait for her to recover, and bring her home. We’ll do the same thing at 4 pm. We will have her with us tomorrow night, because the weekend traffic and our schedules will let us do the commute. Then on Sunday, we’ll bring her to the vet in the morning, and probably leave her for the next 6 days. The vets say the separation will be easier on her than on us. I hope so.
So, that’s the plan.
SeQueL is not pregnant, but she is healthy and very comfortable. When we went to the reproductive specialist vet a couple weeks ago, the ultrasound showed no living puppies.
The vet, Dr. Janice Cain of Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center is the area’s best, according to our breeder friends who insisted that we go to her, even though she’s located across the Bay Bridge in deepest suburbia. Dr. Cain was very careful with us, and talked about how relatively common losing a litter is. Ten years ago, she said, the ultrasounds were not as good, and we probably would have assumed that the breeding didn’t take. With today’s equipment, we know SeQueL had puppies for a while, but lost them. She said the causes of failed pregnancies are not known. She said that no one funds research on why dogs don’t get pregnant, but there’s lots of money available to figure out how to keep dogs from unwanted pregnancies.
Dr. Cain talked to us about SeQueL’s diet, environment, and attitude. She reassured us that neither Geoff, SeQueL, our house, our yard, nor I did anything to cause the loss. The doctor reexamined SeQueL and did some tests to rule out known problems. The doctor saw no pathology or any condition that would keep SeQueL from conceiving and bringing a litter to term. She said that in her experience a re-breeding after a litter loss results in a healthy litter about 50% of the time.
So, SeQueL is sunning herself leisurely in the backyard. She’s not bloated and not carrying all that extra weight. She’s comfortable, and we’re looking forward to the next opportunity she gives us for puppies.