George and Josephine C. George, authors of Stardust Dads: The Afterlife Connection. Vacuum: We had a good run with the Ricoh commercial model that had been recommended to us, one that could easily handle the cat dander. But it, too, eventually died. This again required a trip to Lowe’s, but not to the usual Brevard store. We had decided on the Shark Navigator, but it was only available in the Hendersonville store, twice the distance from where we lived. One of the knobs on our clothes dryer also broke, but when Jo found out that replacing this small piece of plastic would cost nearly $3. And then there was Mort, a kitten I adopted two days after Sparky died in an attempt to deal with my grief. Taking care of him was a full- time job in and of itself, and certainly took up much of my potential writing time. The “kitten from another planet,” as Jo describes him, was with us for about two months before I was forced to return him to the adoption service. Mort did all the things one would expect a kitten to do, but he didn't stop there. His antics and misbehavior went far beyond what is considered normal. What is a low carb diet, really? When can a low carb diet be beneficial? Should everyone follow a low carb diet? Or, can a low carb diet ruin your health?The rest of his time was taken up with sleeping and using the litter box. When he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he would crouch on a table or chair and just stare into space. He didn’t seem to be in any sort of pain, but he clearly wasn’t content. That’s when wife Josephine and I decided to have him checked over one more time, preferably by someone other than the vet we’d been going to. I had been less than satisfied with him, suspecting he was a confirmed dog lover who treated cats only because it was required. Previous visits to this facility over the past few years had included an expensive ultra- sound scan on Sparky that yielded absolutely nothing. We also knew that we might have to put Sparky to sleep for good, but I wasn’t going to commit to that without a professional opinion. One of those small local phone books had shown up in our mailbox recently, and a subsequent scan of its yellow pages turned up an ad for a different veterinary clinic that was relatively close by. We called and made an appointment for the following day. When we placed Sparky in the cat carrier, there was – uncharacteristically – no resistance from the Maine Coon/tabby. When we set the carrier down in the middle of the back seat so that Jo could watch and speak soothingly to him, Sparky gazed out at us with barely a whimper, perhaps sensing that we were not heading for the usual destination. Sparky – again uncharacteristically – remained relatively calm as we drove to the new pet clinic. Arriving a short time later, we went inside and announced our presence to the young woman at the reception area. They both smiled as their canine strained against his leash in an attempt to get closer to Sparky in the carrier. Sparky stared back at the dog with barely any interest. A few minutes later we were ushered into a small room where Sparky was taken from the carrier and brought somewhere to be weighed. Upon his return, not more than two minutes passed before the veterinarian, a pleasant, middle- aged woman, entered the room and began examining Sparky. There was running commentary by the animal doctor as she ran her hands up and down Sparky, touching him with obvious experience and knowledge. She asked questions and we answered. Continuing her examination of Sparky, she concentrated on the cat’s midsection.“I’m detecting a mass at one end of Sparky’s stomach,” she said finally. A Killer Full-Body Workout for the Gym Floor by JAMES CERBIE Last Updated: Jan 27, 2017. 2.22 20 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2060 20b 21 214b 22 22 Widest Range of Food Supplements Products In Malaysia The goal is to support farmers. The decision of course is up to you, but I would advise euthanizing.”Jo gasped, and I could feel my eyes welling up. It was as if someone had shoved a sharp knife directly into my heart. Jo stood up and walked over to the examining table. Reaching out to caress Sparky, she looked back at me then at the doctor. I think I nodded my assent, unable to speak.“Okay. I’m going to give Sparky an injection of something that will make him feel a little better. He’ll seem somewhat disoriented at first, but he won’t be uncomfortable. I’ll be back shortly.”The injection was over before Sparky realized what the vet had done. The doctor left the room then and Sparky jumped lightly down to the floor and began wandering around, stopping once to quietly throw up in a corner. When the vet returned, I found it impossible to move from where I sat. Jo was still standing by the examining table. The doctor’s assistant gathered Sparky up in her arms and brought him back to the table. What transpired next now seems like a bad dream. I remember the vet giving Sparky another injection and the frozen expression on his face just before his body slackened and his head dropped to the table. What followed is a blur. I vaguely recall someone wrapping Sparky’s body in a blanket and putting him back into the carrier. I remember someone paying the bill, and bringing the body- laden carrier out to the car. It may have been me; I’m not sure. We buried Sparky up on the hill in back of the house (see last photo) where the old garden had been. It is right next to the grave of Lucy, the friendly stray cat who had been struck and killed by a reckless driver on the street in front of our home. Sparky was with us for 1. Hopefully he’s happier now with both his old and new companions at the Rainbow Bridge. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of him. We’ll miss him forever. Not that this writer subscribes to an astrological way of life, but at this juncture, there doesn’t seem to be any other plausible explanation. First it was my bout with the flu just before Christmas, immediately followed by wife Josephine’s similar flu fight, and then her ensuing, more serious battle with COPD, which is still ongoing. And now, just a few days ago, our oldest cat Sparky, a tabby- Maine Coon mix, stopped eating. During the past couple of years, he had lost a pound or two and slept most of the time, but he always showed up for breakfast and dinner. And he still persisted in hanging around in the kitchen at lunchtime hoping to score a few table scraps. As a senior cat approaching age 1. Sparky rarely raced through the house anymore, nor did he respond to overtures from the younger cats to play. But he still seemed healthy enough. And then Sparky stopped eating. Last Friday morning I had to extract him from under the hidden seclusion of a cloth- covered table in the living room and carry him into the kitchen. I pointed to the row of small cat dishes displaying his favorite cat tuna and reminded him that it was breakfast time. He showed no interest and immediately walked away. Usually Sparky was the first to show up for meals, but not this time. We spent most of the day trying to get Sparky to eat. Jo even opened up a can of real tuna, a treat the other cats would almost kill for, but Sparky wanted no part of it. We hesitated calling the vet. Sometimes these things have a way of working themselves out on their own. And costly veterinary bills are not part of our usual day- to- day budget. Still, Sparky not eating was serious and if we didn’t do something soon, the little guy could die. I knew the vet was open on Saturdays until noon and decided to wait till morning, hoping Sparky’s appetite would return. It didn’t. Jo retrieved the cat carrier from one of her large walk- in closets. We had been forced to purchase it from the airline when we flew to Las Vegas in 1. At that time we had only one cat, Bratly, a small calico whose diminutive stature was swallowed up by the large carrier. When Sparky saw Jo place the carrier down on the floor near the front door, he padded quickly away in the opposite direction. He knew what the carrier was and what it represented. Meantime, at about 1. I called the vet hospital and advised them of our problem with Sparky. The woman I spoke to asked me if I could get there in the next 2. I said I’d be there. Getting Sparky into the carrier was another problem all by itself. He wanted no part of it and said so. Normally, Sparky has almost no voice. What usually comes out of him is a soft, throaty sound barely more than a whisper. This time, however, Sparky made his dislike for the carrier and its likely destination loud and clear. We got him to the front of the carrier and together worked at cramming him into the so- called “skykennel.” Sparky was beside himself. He wailed long and loud, letting us know in no uncertain terms that this was not for him. I picked up the traveling cage and went outside, maneuvering it awkwardly down the steps from the deck. Sparky yelled even louder as he moved back and forth inside the cage. I stepped carefully along the gravel walk to the driveway and my car, trying to keep the carrier level. When I placed it on the seat next to the driver’s seat, Sparky had a fit. He wailed louder and louder as I started the car and pulled out onto the road. I moved through the double doors into the large, high- ceilinged reception room.“I assume this is Sparky,” the dark- haired woman at the front desk said, grimacing at Sparky’s shrieking as she motioned for me to follow her. She opened a door and I put the carrier down on the floor of a small room. Sparky brought it down a notch but continued to wail.“Someone will be with you shortly,” the woman said. I opened the carrier’s metal grid door and let Sparky out. He continued to cry loudly as he walked around the room smelling and examining everything. He went over to the inner door and stopped, listening to the noises and muffled voices behind it. Eventually Sparky jumped up on the counter near the sink, then onto a high- backed stool, finally stopping on the examining table, which he smelled carefully for at least five minutes. Forty minutes later, a short, bespectacled woman came in through the inner door. She gave Sparky a brief once- over, asked me a few questions, assured me the doctor would be there soon, and then disappeared back through the inner door. Meanwhile, Sparky continued to pace around the room, stopping at the inner door to listen intently to the noises and voices beyond. ASHWAGANDHA: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings. References: Abdel- Magied, E. The effect of aqueous extracts of Cynomorium coccineum and Withania somnifera on testicular development in immature Wistar rats. Ahumada F, Aspee F, Wikman G, and et al. Withania somnifera extract. Its effect on arterial blood pressure in anaesthetized dogs. Phytotherapy Research 1. A., Vijendrakumar, S., Kadalmani, B., Girija, R., and Faridha, A. Curative property of Withania somnifera Dunal root in the context of carbendazim- induced histopathological changes in the liver and kidney of rat. Phytomedicine 2. 00. H., and Abdul- Nabi, M. Anti- granuloma activity of Iraqi Withania somnifera. 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Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) attenuates antioxidant defense in aged spinal cord and inhibits copper induced lipid peroxidation and protein oxidative modifications. Drug Metabol. Drug Interact. Kaur, K., Rani, G., Widodo, N., Nagpal, A., Taira, K., Kaul, S. Evaluation of the anti- proliferative and anti- oxidative activities of leaf extract from in vivo and in vitro raised Ashwagandha. Khattak, S., Saeed, Ur Rehman, Shah, H. U., Khan, T., and Ahmad, M. In vitro enzyme inhibition activities of crude ethanolic extracts derived from medicinal plants of Pakistan. Nat. Prod. Res 2. Kuboyama, T., Tohda, C., Zhao, J., Nakamura, N., Hattori, M., and Komatsu, K. Axon- or dendrite- predominant outgrowth induced by constituents from Ashwagandha. Neuroreport 1. 0- 7- 2. Withania somnifera: an Indian ginseng. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 7- 1- 2. Inhibition of morphine tolerance and dependence by Withania somnifera in mice. Kuppurajan K, Rajagopalan SS, Sitoraman R, and et al. 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