Golden at Goldie's Casino

A couple nights ago, Raina was working, and I was bored. I decided to go to a local casino, Goldie's Casino in Shoreline (this being Washington, apparently casinos are allowed if the city permits it... this one was about 25 blocks from my house).

And it went... well.



In total I won about $2,600. Now, this might seem like an abnormality, and it is. Here's what happened.

I'm playing 3-6 limit holdem and I'm doing meh about 90 minutes in--down $50, but determined to turn things around. I get dealt a Queen and Ace of Hearts. A decent hand. I call to the flop and the 10 of hearts hits. There's one bet, a couple calls, including mine, I'm thinking to myself "It'll be cool if the Jack of Hearts hits on the turn."

It doesn't.

Instead, it's the King of Hearts. At this moment there's one other guy left in the hand, he's acting after me, so I check, he bets, I call. I've got a lot of outs right now--a straight, a flush, oh yeah, and a royal flush. The Jack just needs to hit on the river and I am completely golden.

Then it hits. Boom, Jack of Hearts. It came down almost in slow motion. I look at the board, then I look up at the Jackpot bonus board and see if you hit a Hearts Royal, you get $2600. I almost immediately check and the guy bets into me. If I bet, I know I have the best hand (duh), but I don't know if he'll call. If he doesn't call, I might not get my jackpot. I simply call his bet.

He turns over his hand--I don't even remember what it was--and I just say "Royal," and turn over my cards.

The whole table kind of explodes. All sorts of things happen at once--about 6 people at the table tell me how I just won nearly 3 grand, the dealer is congratulating me, and the pit boss comes over to me.

"Can you please show me your ID and your Social Security card," the pit boss demands. Since I hadn't expected to win more than $600 (the requirement for needing the card) I didn't bring said card. She gruffly says my ID will do, then double and triple checks to make sure it's me. She has me look up at the security camera so they can run through their computers and make sure I'm not some known cheat and then looks at the deck used to make sure all the cards are there.

When all of this has commenced, we're actually a couple hands down the road. Finally, the pit boss pulls me over to her desk and says "Washington Law only allows us to give you $2500 in cash, is it all right if we give you the rest in this $100 check?"

"Ummm... yeah."

With that confirmation she hands me the check and whips out a wad of twenties. Twenty, 40, 60, 80, 100, 20, 40, 60, 80, 200. She counts out $500 and then pulls out the hundreds. six-hundred, 700, 800, 900, 1,000. I'm feeling like a game show winner as she reaches $2,500. I take the money, fold it and put it in my pocket. I tip out about $120 to the dealer and $100 to the guy I was heads up against. I also bought the table a round of drinks.

To top things off, this casino also had a high hand of the past 2 hours jackpot, which I easily took as well. Another $200.

I mentioned earlier how this casino was only 25 blocks away. It should have been easily walkable, but I actually drove there. My logic was "If I win, I don't wanna be walking down Aurora (somewhat sketchy area) with $150 in my pocket!" Never was I so glad to have thought so cockily. Even the 100 foot sprint to my car felt hectic. I launched myself in, slammed the locks on, and only then did I start freaking out.

wildlife case update - IV

Things are starting to pick up here! More and more animals are coming, and baby season is underway! Only a matter of time before it all hits. This 70 degree weather ain't bad either :)

Old Cases (Link to previous update--here):

1. Opossums (babies, grp of 9) - Still doing fabulous. Transferred 4 of them to another wildlife center because they had a single baby who needed some friends. PAWS has a limit of 30 opossums, so we were eager to unload a few.

2. Bald Eagle (asper suspect, healed wing injury) - Still no progress as far as endurance goes. Some people were working on a bunny hutch near the flight cage and this guy flipped out and started banging into things. He had a cere injury and a laceration above his eye that were cleaned with nolvasan and bleeding stopped with duoderm. Moved to a padded raptor box for a day to chill out, then went back to the flight.

3. Opossum (adult, L leg luxation) - Still on the hill in small mammal caging. Still improving and acting more like a regular opossum. Hissing and displaying his teeth for us. Should be ready to go soon, I would imagine.

4. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant, orphan) - I actually hadn't seen this guy for a week or so since he moved up to Ekker caging. All feathered, eating well, just needs to get a little better at flying and he'll be out of here.

5. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female, window strike, gasping) - Left her on oxygen for the night, but she didn't make it until morning.

6. American Crow (adult, head trauma, WNV suspect) - Euthanized. Condition worsened.

New Cases:

7. Canada Goose (adult, poisoning) - Came from another center with something in his throat (turned out to be fishing lure/hook) and presenting poisoning symptoms. I learned how to do blood work and did a fecal on my own. Started on chelation therapy and giving tube feedings. Unfortunately, he did not survive.


8. Chestnut-backed Chickadee (adult, missing tail feathers, cat attack) - Recieveing antibiotics because of the cat attack, but not visible trauma aside from the tail feathers. Waiting for them to regrow or possibly releasing after meds are complete (he is very flighty and capable).


9. Mallards (six so far...) - First baby duckies are here!! Peep peep. Everyone loves baby ducks :) Just orphans, all are doing fine.


10. Gosling (infant, orphan) - Only one. Tried to put in with mallards, but the bigger group of 4 beat him up. And the smaller group of 2 huddled up under him like he was mom. We have an adult CAGO in the runs missing secondary flight feathers, so we sent the gosling in there with it. At first the adult was scared... of course the gosling ran right up to the adult who was hissing at it. Eventually they got along okay... not bffs, but good enough.


11. Opussoms (infant, group of 6) - Mom was dead, hit by a car. 6 babies in her pouch. They smelled AWFUL and one already was riddled with fly eggs. They were extremely cold, so put them in the incubator to warm up. Then, cleaned off the nasty that was on them. Then, gave subQ fluids and let them warm up some more. They all seemed to be fine. These 6 put us at our limit of 30... no more opus for us.

12. Bald Eagle (adult) - Another one of these guys. Seems he was poisoned (pesticides this time). Waiting for room in the largest flight pen...

work update - III

Work has been insanely slow... probably because of that holiday that just happened.... what's it called... oh right, Easter! And it has been raining so people aren't going outside to discover orphaned animals. Next weekend should pick up a lot because its gonna be 70s and sunny!!

Onward....

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies, grp of 9) - Still doing good. On tube feedings, starting to be more active and get into trouble. Peeing and pooing on their own! This is a big deal because it takes forever to stimulate 9 opossums after feeding... the feeding itself takes me about 30sec/opus but the stimulating... probably 2min/opus... do the math... it is a long time...

2. Barn Owl - Dirty oil bird, remember? He was washed 4x and kept for a day in the hill raptor cage. Released by a volunteer on Sunday. So YAY!

4. Bald Eagle - Still nothing new with him. Just needs to get his endurance and conditioning for flight but the creance flying hasn't ocurred yet. So we (and he) waits. In case you wanted to know, he eats 2 quail or 5 herring a day.

5. Opossum (adult) - Left leg use is still improving, just giving him time. OPUS are non-native, so during the busy season (summer) PAWS has a limit to how many can be taken and the level of treatment provided (no surgeries, etc.).

6. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - Moved to Ekker (bigger flight cages for songbirds). He is flying and no longer being hand fed! Just waiting for him to be old enough to go.

7. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female) - This is the bird we had to go capture after he collided with a window... he didn't survive through the night due to internal bleeding.

8. American Crow (adult) - Suspected West Nile Virus, but test results hadn't come back. No improvement, so euthanized.

New Cases:

9. Opossums (babies, grp of 11) - These guys came in on their dead mother after she had been hit by a car. All were in great shape. They are older than the group of 9 by quite a bit, they probably had started leaving mom's pouch. They are cute because they'll hold hands and things :) Also, they are at the age where they start to pretend like they are going to attack or bite you. If you open their cage, they all sit there with mouths open wide, and one even fake charged me. They are in the 75g region, so they are still small and barely have teeth... not so intimidating. Just mind-blowingly cute.

Since they came in on a dead mom, they have to be on Clavamox (antibiotic) because of the bacteria/toxins that may have been in her milk. If there is a moral to be learned here it is this: IF YOU RUN OVER AN OPUSSUM, CHECK TO MAKE SURE IT IS INDEED DEAD AND THAT THERE ARE NO LITTLE BABIES HANGING AROUND!

10. Eastern Grey Squirrel (young, eyes open, 131g) - So, we have about 15 squirrels, but this one came in yesterday and is more interesting than the others. I actually had to go on a rescue mission for this one because the lady didn't have a drivers license and couldn't bring him.

The reason he need to come ASAP is because he was the victim of a catbite. Cats have a lot of bacteria in their mouths that can make an otherwise non-fatal injury deadly. They need to be started on antibiotics as soon as possible. I actually SAW the cat that did it. How nuts, right?

The lady acted like she couldn't fathom how on earth her cat was doing this and explained to me that he doesn't get along with her 4 other cats so she can't keep him in the house.... HMMM... maybe you shouldn't have the cat then?? She also told me that young birds come in and eat the catfood in the garage and the cat then eats them and it just made her "sick to her stomach." HMMM #2... at the very least don't put food down where birds will find it and be lured into the cats domain???

Squirrel had a deep puncture wound on right side. Applied a pressure bandage to stopt he bleeding after flushing the wound with Nolvasan. Started on Clavamox.

MORAL TO BE LEARNED HERE: DON'T LET YOUR CATS LIVE OUTSIDE. Indoor cats live MUCH longer (10-15 yrs) than outdoor cats (2-4 years) too. Plus, you can save money on medications and things because you don't need to worry about feline leukemia or fleas or whatnot.

wildlife case update - II

Never heard from anyone, but I imagine no one reads these. People on my LJ liked them though, so I'll keep copying them over. Read them or don't... whatever!

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies) - Nothing new with these guys. Still cute as ever! Two of them were holding hands when I went to feed them.... squee!

2. Barn Owl - Finally washed him off. He is clean and free of whatever oily substance that was on him. Now receiving ocular medication for a scratched cornea (OS) 2x daily (BID). Cere injury healing nicely and is now stable!! Plan to move him outside today.

4. Bald Eagle - Nothing new to report. Now shares the flight pen with a Golden Eagle.

5. Opossum (adult) - Greatly improving since being moved outside. On 2x/day (BID) feedings of catfood/quail/fruit. Starting to use hind left leg appropriately.

6. Northern Flicker (adult) - Euthanized. Showing no improvement for spinal trauma, bilateral paresis remained.

7. Thayer's Gull (subadult) - Euthanized. No improvement, and trauma near break site.

8. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - Nothing new here. Doing well, and growing strong!

New Cases:

9. Pileated Woodpecker (adult female) - The biggest commonly seen woodpecker.... very pretty. We went on a rescue mission for this one. Some lady called in saying she heard a thud and the woodpecker was laying on the ground, probably hit her window. She couldn't catch it. So we hopped in the truck and went to her house to grab it. It was quick and easy. She was open mouth breathing but nothing obviously wrong... set her up in a cage and she was perching.

Two hours later she started making a loud noise like she had the hiccups or something. Dr. John looked at her and got her started on oxygen. She also gave an IM injection to dilate the bronchioles to improve her breathing. She thought the bird had a deep coracoid fracture that was bleeding into the lungs. Also, he wants us to give her fluids to flush her system.

She was still alive when we left last night...

You can tell she was female by the absence of a red patch on her cheek.

Male Pileated Woodpecker

Female Pileated Woodpecker

10. American Crow (adult) - Swelling on left side of head. Probably some sort of head trauma. He was stable though and in good condition. Gave fluids and will watch him to see if he improves.

11. Spotted Towhee (adult) - Came in with a wing injury and some sort of spinal trauma as evidenced by improper use of the tail for balance and weak grip in the legs. Probably another window strike. Bleeding internally due to a double coracoid fracture... died during the exam.

Moral of all these stories: Put stickers or streamers up by your large windows, so birds don't smack into them. Try to keep feeders away from large windows too!! A window strike can kill birds :( :( :(

Other news, I learned how to do fecals and gave my first subcutaneous (SQ, under the skin) injection in the scapular region. YAY!

wildlife case update

Old cases (here for those of you who missed the first briefing):

1. Opossums (babies) - All nine babies are still doing just fine. One has their eyes open, and it won't be long before the others do too which means no more butt wiping for this lady..at least for now. SO CUTE. I squee for them even if they are a handful. Currently, we are tube feeding them (inserting a tube directly into their stomach through the mouth) full-strength formula 5x a day. I don't know how much you know about possums, but their life history is very interesting... babies are born and then crawl into the pouch... seems like that would work, but it does!

2. Barn Owl - Motor oil owl, remember him? Well, he was stable the first day, eating well. On Sunday night, he looked pretty crappy. The rehabber on that night drew blood, said it looked okay. We also gave oral fluids. Today, same story, not worse, but not looking better. He is still receiving oral antibiotics (Clavamox) for his cere injury (right where the beak attaches to the face) and

3. Rufus Hummingbird - Recieving hand feedings of nectar and sugar water, but this little guy sadly was euthanized. He had a fractured coracoid (kinda like a shoulder blade), causing him to have a droop in the left wing. Nothing can be done because they need to have excellent flying abilities and their bones are just too small to repair in most cases.

New cases: Some of these came in new, some are old, but I didn't mention them before.

4. Bald Eagle - Originally had a broken wing, but someone kept him in their barn on straw for 8 months before taking him to be treated somewhere. Grrr... seriously... what are people thinking... they are gonna have a pet bald eagle? Anyway, luckily the wing healed well enough on its own so the extension and flight are not impaired.

But, since he was on straw (harboring moisture and germs), he may have Aspergillosis (a very aggressive type of fungus). He has issues with stamina and being short of breath. He is in the large flight pen and on Sporonox for the fungal problem. He was supposed to be taken out to start creance flying (pretty much tying him on a leash and letting him soar), but that never happened. Not sure, something must have came up.

Not Bald like you would expect because it is a young female. Males are the only ones with that white head.

5. Opossum (adult) - Has some sort of issue with his hind left leg. Radiographs didn't show anything, it may be a soft tissue problem. Giving him some food, subcutaneous fluids (under the skin), and time to see if it improves. Originally in caging in the ward, but moved him to the hill small mammal caging outside yesterday. Seemed to be eating more and moving around more actively. Opossums are the sweetest, they are so meek and timid... which you totally wouldn't believe based on their teeth and hissing.


6. Northern Flicker (adult) - Someone found him in the yard. You can tell it is a male by the presence of red throat patches (first pic) which are absent on females (second pic). They are such beautiful birds. This one has bilateral paresis of the legs, so he hasn't been standing or feeding. Thinking it is some sort of spinal trauma caused by a window strike? Currently, receiving tube feedings of fons (slurry of cat food+other stuff) 3x a day plus Meloxicam.


7. Thayer's Gull (subadult) - This guy is such a freaking punk. He is the bane of my existence right now. He had a wing fracture and is in a wing wrap to stabilize it while it heals. But, he won't eat on his own. Meaning I have to tube feed him 4x a day! He gets this fish slurry stuff which is a nasty gray watery paste made of milk and ground fish. It is a pain to make, and a pain to tube because it is thick and requires a lot of pressure to push the syringe plunger down. I'm always shaking because it is so hard. Plus, this guy bites and is just generally nasty in true Gull-fashion. Seems every time he is up for feeding, everyone is pretty eager to let me take care of it... ;) Oh well, I'm on to his tricks!


8. Band-tailed Pigeon (infant) - There are two kinds of pigeons in washington... the band-tailed and the rock pigeon. Rock pigeons are the ones you see in your city streets en masse with pink legs. The Band-tailed are native and very sensitive--they also have yellow legs. This guy is just young and getting tube fed 4x a day, but last night, I felt his crop (kinda like a holding sack for undigested food found in the chest in pigeons/doves and on the right side of throat in other birds) and could feel seeds in there, so he is starting to eat on his own! YAY!!

There are also 4 bears and 1 bobcat waiting to be released. The snow in the mountains needs to melt before they can make that happen. It should be extremely exciting when it finally does though!

Essentially, I am a tubing and medicating machine. Bam bam! Do you guys actually read this stuff? It might be only interesting (or comprehensible) from an insiders view. Is it too medical? Let me know, I can keep you posted or I can maybe make this private or something! I like to look back at it from time to time because I'm still learning my medical terms and conditions.

work update

First off, LOVE LOVE LOVE this job!

I got yelled at by someone on the phone. He was an ass, and I don't care that he yelled at me. It just wasn't very pleasant. I answered another phone call, but it was about a bunny which I actually know something about, so all was good until she asked me for our address and I didn't know it... doh!

Okay, now with that out of the way. Summary of the (notable) cases:

1. Opossum - Came in with head trauma--fractured skull, bleeding from mouth/ears. Suspect Euthanized after the physical exam, but she was a female and had nine healthy little babies in her pouch. I've been tube feeding those poop machines for the past few days.... their poop looks like mustard.... I love when their little tails wrap around my fingers.


2. Barn Owl - Covered in who knows what... oil? Brougth in because it wasn't flying, couldn't find anything physically wrong. Started him on antibiotics just in case.


3. Raccoon - Adult raccoons are very very aggressive and mean, in case you didn't know. This was a possible distemper case which is a very nasty nasty disease. I almost had to push her to the back of her cage with a ramming bar (not really, but that is what it looks like) so we could give her and IM injection to knock her out. Ended up using a vaccination pole because she was too heavy to lift up on the catch pole. Ended up euthanizing because of the distemper risk.

4. Rufus Hummingbird - Won't fly. I love these guys. They are just SO tiny. It is unbelievable to me that I've held them in my hands.


A bunch of other non-specific cases came in too--bunny, squirrels, etc.