THE FLUES

Frank Shaw

Hunting buddies are rare--mentors even more so.  The gentleman who introduced me to bird hunting, Frank Shaw, passed away a few years  ago and I still miss him.  He was brilliant and a bit of a 'loose cannon' at times, but the waitresses loved him--especially when he tipped them generously using two dollar bills.  In his second career, he was in charge of a small USPS  post office and people would drive an extra couple of miles just to do business with him.  He was a people person.  It seemed as if everyone knew and loved him.

One fall day, when Frank and I were at a gun shop in Whitefield, NH,  the owner handed me a double barreled shotgun and said, "You're a 'double guy', how would you like this one?  I'll give you a good price."  He handed me a shotgun with about a four inch wooden extension built onto the butt. (He said that it belonged to a very tall gentleman.)  I already owned doubles in 12, 20 and 28 gauge.  I was wrestling with whether or not I really wanted a '16'--"After all," I reasoned, "today's twenty will do basically the same job as the sixteen".  I brought it up towards my shoulder and the butt slammed into my armpit.  I was thinking, "I don't know...."

After a few moments of what must have been extreme patience on his part, Frank said, "Let me see that."  I said something like, "Okay." and handed him the shotgun.  He turned to the store owner and said "I'll take it."   Just like that, my buddy bought the shotgun out from underneath me. 

He made it into a little project.  He cut the wood extension off the butt stock and replaced the Ithaca recoil pad.  Where there was a large chip in the butt stock, he took the dust from his 'surgery' and  made a "resin" paste  and filled in the stock.  In general, he cleaned up the gun and made it usable. Occasionally, he took it out of the cabinet and hunted with it.  He and I had a running "joke" about how he got 'tired of me trying to make up my mind', so he bought it.  I acted like it bothered me.

Time went on.  A few years ago, he came down with cancer.  The VA doctors couldn't do anything to stop it.  After a stay at the VA Hospital in Boston, he made his way home to prepare for his own trip across the  "rainbow bridge".  As I sat by his recliner and we recounted our many little adventures, I had the chance to tell him "Thanks".  It was then that he told me that he was leaving me the Ithaca "Flues".  I said, "Geez Frank, I didn't want it that way, I'd rather go hunting with you and you use it."  "I know" he said, "but that's not in the cards, 'Bud'."

He passed away amongst friends and family. He was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a small locker.  I had to chortle--a US Army veteran and retired postmaster being buried in a VA cemetery in what looked like a post-office box--it seemed somewhat like poetic justice.

So now I possess the 16 gauge Ithaca Flues.  It was manufactured in 1911, and fits me unusually well.  So much in fact, that I wonder if Frank wasn't setting it up for me all those days.  The story and flood of memories are worth more to me than the gun itself--especially as I wonder, "Who will watch over it when 'my time' comes?" 

For now, I'm satisfied to bask in reveries of colorful autumns  and let the feelings wash over me like  warm waves from the South Pacific.

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PET INSURANCE: IS IT WORTH IT?

Merrimack Valley Chapter NAVHDA member Terry Long mentioned pet insurance in an article of the August 2012 chapter newsletter that inspired me. It started me considering as to whether or not I would purchase pet insurance for my new puppy, K-Lee. 

Let me start out by saying that I'm a one-dog guy.  I've done two, and I know folks who have more than that.  For me, I like the "one companion" which is also a hunting dog.  So this post is written from the perspective of a one-dog guy.  It may not fit your situation. This is simply my experience on the matter.

Standing and feeling a little dopey

I'm kind of a nerd.  I keep all my vet bills chronologically in a file, so it was relatively easy to pull the lifelong veterinary billing history of my (previous) Shorthair and Brittany.  I ran a spreadsheet and soon realized that (for me) under normal situations, having pet insurance  was a break-even proposition.  The histories of cuts, slashes, porcupine encounters, shoulder injuries, and other medical emergencies showed that the overall cost was close to the same for both dogs --and came out the same--whether I had insurance or not.  I wrote an article on that subject for Northeast Outdoors Experience (NEOX) website and took a little flack here and there from readers.  Regardless, I went ahead and purchased VPI major medical pet insurance.  (There are many options out there, but VPI "worked" for me.)

If you've been following this blog, you know that my Pudelpointer, K-Lee, had a torn cruciate ligament (ACL).  My "primary care" veterinarian examined her and thought that she had a soft tissue strain or sprain.  I thought so too--until she quickly became lame again.  Following the advice of Merrymeeting Kennel's Blaine and Patti Carter and the identical advice from Ripsnorter Kennel's Jeff and Lisa Georges, I located an orthopedic veterinarian.    Doctor Gauger of Norway Veterinary Hospital in Maine  came with a strong recommendation from Merrymeeting Kennels.  I asked him for a second opinion and  Dr. Gauger was kind to oblige.  It was during the examination that he found a torn ligament--noting that it was difficult to find and could easily have been missed by my primary veterinarian.

Showing off her stitches

Decision time.  I could wait and let things linger, or act and have K-Lee back onto the road for recovery--perhaps in time for late bird season.
Doctor Gauger had an opening that day in his surgery schedule, and we made the decision to act.
K-Lee required a TPLO (Tibia Plateau Leveling Osteotomy).  I knew the procedure would cost over three thousand dollars, but it was the best solution of all that were presented.  Had I not been "covered" by pet insurance, I may have looked for lesser measures and hoped that they would be enough.  (I had been down a similar road with my Shorthair and wasn't going to travel that route again!)  We dove in.

Here's the results of the bills and the coverage of insurance.
First visit with x-rays to "primary" vet:  $349.29 (less $250 deductible)--VPI paid $99.29
NVH TPLO procedure and follow-up: $3230.30 (no further deductible required) --VPI paid $3,190.71
One "ineligible" expense that I picked up was for $6.94.

My out-of-pocket-expenses-to-date for K-Lee's treatment was $296.23.  Not bad for 28 dollars a month!
A quick calculation revealed that it would take me almost ten years of premiums to come up with the equivalent of the benefits received--without any further claims.  I'll take it!

Perhaps you may want to investigate the subject of "pet insurance".  There are many pet insurance  vendors, and maybe one of them would meet your needs.  I can only speak to my experience and wish you and your pup well.

"Bed-head"

A TIBIAL PLATEAU LEVELING OSTEOTOMY (TPLO)

Typical indicator of torn cruciate ligament

Those of you who follow my posts may remember that not long ago, K-Lee was lame in her left rear leg and we concluded that it was a "soft tissue" injury--a sprain or strain.  A few weeks after the visit to the local vet --and about $300 later, the ailment returned after a moderate work-out.  K-Lee seemed fine when we ''cooled'' her and put her in the kennel for the ride home.  Later while unloading, we noticed that she tucked her left rear leg against her abdominal cavity and even after she worked through that, she had a limp and would rest her leg without pressure.  See picture at right.

I immediately put her on Cosamin DS and an anti-inflammatory drug.  She soon returned to "normal", but I  didn't believe it was "normal" at all. ( I had been down this sort of "road" with my German Shorthair, 'Taylor'.)  My breeder and my trainer both said that it sounded like a torn "ACL" (cruciate ligament). I decided to go to the next level.   I asked trainers at Merrymeeting Kennels in Brunswick Maine if they knew of a good orthopedic veterinarian in New Hampshire--or nearby.  They recommended Norway Veterinary Hospital in Norway,. Maine.  (http://www.norwayvethospital.com/)  

Dr Gauger was kind enough to schedule an exam and give me a second opinion. He took additional radiographs and after examining K-Lee and asking my wife and I questions, he spent quality time explaining what he found.  Both my trainer and breeder had guessed correctly--torn ligament. There were several options available to repair the joint, but the Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO) was the best option.  There was no pressure from the "veterinarian side".  I liked Dr. Gauger, the wonderful facility and the staff, so I jumped in.  "Let's do it" I said.  

Quite often cruciate ligament failure is a gradual process and not simply due to a single traumatic injury. As Dr. Gauger said, "Dogs don't play football."  Most dogs have a predisposing factor such as age-related ligament degeneration, or perhaps pre-existing inflammation, anatomical abnormalities, or excessive slope of the top of the tibia bone--which can cause ligament failure. It seemed that K-Lee's problem was excessive slope-- which in my opinion, is a "conformation" defect...perhaps handed down from some distant canine ancestor. 

It turned out that Doctor Gauger had an opening in his surgical schedule, so K-Lee was operated on the very same day, and her recovery began immediately. She will be recuperating for about sixteen weeks, and  is presently on a very restricted regimen.



She is shaved on the left rear leg, along the spine just before the rump and on one foreleg for an IV.  I think she's upset at me for that "look".  She will take treats from my wife, but not from me. 
(Once she get's better, I think we'll need to do a 'summer' haircut.)


There are other orthopedic vets out there, but for me, Norway Veterinary Hospital was definitely the way to go.

If you would like to know about the procedure, here are a few links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGIxCPekppk

http://www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/our-services/surgery/conditions/hind-limb/cranial-cruciate-ligament-injury

http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/tplo.htm



I'm really grateful for "pet insurance", but that's another story.