Rescue Journal

just for the record...

Carol  ·  Oct. 26, 2013

Nyquil does not give you a perfect cough free sleep. I am going to hit pharmacy today for some cough medicine with codeine. I had some earlier in the week and it worked pretty good but sadly I ran out. another couple of days and I should be over the hump and back to normal, I hope.

I have been thinking...

if someone harms you in some way..like they spread vile things about you, they personally attack you, they cheat or steal from you...ok..i get why it might eat away at you, and make it hard to let go. but eventually if you want to stay sane and not become some kind of broken record vendetta..you do need to learn how to move on and let past stuff go.
but why does it bug folks so if someone in some other life that they never ever have to be anywhere near, does shit some way or somehow that they do not like? honestly who cares? and don't give me the sanctified shit that rescue is hallowed ground that must be protected...cuz I have seen the pointlessly bloodied battlefields out there.

here is a fact of life...there are good doctors in the world and doctors who suck. there are teachers who are utterly committed and there are teachers who are not. there are grocery clerks who would give you the shirt off their backs and others who might pocket your change and rob you. every field, every walk of life has those who are good and honest and caring and smart and ethical and hardworking..and those who haven't a clue.

if your only mission in life is to point out and take out your perceived bad ones...what does that say about you?

last week I was called a liar...why you might ask? because I had the CORRECT medical information about one of the animals and someone else didn't. it was simply a case of misunderstanding, miscommunication, of listening to a couple of innocent off handed comments by volunteers who weren't quite up to date on every single microscoptic thing that happens at saints...and honestly, with 120 animals... who would be...except for me anyway?
but once the ball started rolling, it kept rolling right off the cliff..if so and so said this or that, and I said something different, and you happen to all ready be pissed at me because I just made you unhappy...then the natural conclusion is..since I am the bad guy who just pissed you off, then of course i am a liar as well. well I am not, and I have the medical records to prove it.

my point is this...I don't like being called a liar..under any circumstances..it does piss me off. but I can see how that incorrect assumption came to be voiced. that unhappy person who flung that accusation has nothing to do with my life. it was a brief uncomfortable in and out that came and went. it is done, it is over...what goes on in that life now, is none of my concern.

people in rescue don't get this. we each have a corner that we live and work in. my job is to take care of the stuff in my corner...not every other corner out there. if I spend all my time peeking thru fences, setting land mines and traps, pointing fingers at other people out there, just waiting for a chance to catch someone at something to prove I am right...what does that say about me in rescue? that maybe I have far too much time on my hands?

go ahead and incorrectly call me a liar...and i will take 5 minutes to pull out the documentation to prove that I am not. and then I will go back to whatever I was doing before that bombshell dropped.
I will say this again..the best thing my mother ever told me was...you can tell more about a person by what they say about others then what they say about themselves.

20 years in rescue..and i have not one single ax to grind. there is not one single person that I feel the need to seek out and harm. there are people I keep at a safe distance for sure..but other than that I pretty much do not have anything to do with what goes on in their corners of the world.

I have learned to get over it..there are good people in rescue, there are bad people in rescue, smart and dumb, nice and not nice people, sane and batshit nutz. there are people who do stuff and people who talk a lot, there are people who do things differently then me and people I do not agree with on pretty much any level at all.
so freaking what? welcome to the real world.
I say I am a rescuer...not the secret police, not the CIA, not the judge and jury or someone in the peanut gallery. I rescue animals..not people, not society, not joe public, not the moral integrity of every single person associated in any way with animals.
my expertise is with senior, sick and special needs animals and that is what I commit to focusing on daily.
that is my corner of this complicated, mind boggling world and on the whole I am pretty good at it because I know where I stand and I am comfortable with that.

rescue 101...i am responsible for what i do in rescue. i make the decisions on who I am, how i will behave, how i will act. I cannot control the actions or behaviors of others, and sometimes those actions and behaviors may have a negative impact on me. my job is to put aside blame and anger that will ultimately twist me and find a way to deal with it in a positive fashion so I can carry on in the work I have chosen in an effective and positive way.

Comments

shelagh f

erin, its nursing time, no mistakes can be made with
the 24 hour clock. sorry don't even think about
regular time, too confusing. Teddy is pretty cute,
he was hoarse by the time he got here, barking all
the way, (I told Cam that already) but it turns out
he just hates the crate

Carol

now wait a minute..it is HUMAN cough syrup that I may have given to the dogs!
sheesh you guys!

teddy..finally, thought he'd never arrive!

jamie

Oh thank you Shelagh. I have been waiting forever to meet you Teddy. Erin I may have to come up this week after all LOL

Mo

Yea Teddy..!!!...Brenda ha ha ha..I loved that episode..but i love Kramer too !!!

erin

carol i took off michael and lizzys harnesses, lizzy was so twisted up hers one leg was caught up in her tags and michael was wearing his like a belt. on the counter by the sink.

erin

woooooooo! finally! shelagh why is everything in military time with you? it is a nursing thing? lol, i have to count it out on my stupid clock!

shelagh f

haven't read the post so off topic but

Teddy is coming!
Will be there at Saints about 1900

AnnC

Sounds like Carol is the next Kramer. Remember the episode of Seinfeld where Kramer takes the dogs cough medicine LOL

Barbara

OMG! The thought of you taking doggy cough syrup is too funny! Reading that made my day! I'll email you with my phone number and Dia's email address.

If you get the Tylenol #1 generic, you can take 1-3 tabs every 4 hrs. Each tab has 8mg of codeine and 325mg acetaminophen in it.

Carol

oh yes you can so buy OTC cough medicine with codeine.
and while you are here barb, oh keeper of family contact info!...can you please send me your phone number (again) and dia's email address..i was wanting to talk to both of you guys about a couple of unrelated things.

oh wait..maybe that last stuff i had was an Rx script from the vet for one of the dogs when we had kennel cough a few years ago??? shit..i cannot remember! guess i will find out when i try to get some today.

Barbara

I didn't know you could buy OTC cough medicine with codeine in it. Tylenol #1 (get the generic) is cheap, works like a charm, and best of all, no Rx is needed. I'm sure you already know this, but for those who don't: the pharmacists keep it behind the counter so you have to ask for it. I hope you are feeling better soon. :)