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	<title>WIRL Project &#187; pets</title>
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	<link>http://www.wirlproject.com</link>
	<description>What It&#039;s Really Like.</description>
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		<title>Raising Chickens For The Beginner</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/raising-chickens-for-the-beginner/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/raising-chickens-for-the-beginner/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2015 09:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Kassidy Everard]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home/Garden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chicken coop]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chickens]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Horticulture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Outdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4866</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Raising chickens is a crazy and weird experience. Or Maybe it was just the way I did it? On the second week of school, it was announced that each student in my Horticulture class would have to do an SAE (supervised agricultural experience) project. It took me a few days to think about what I would do&#8230;whatever it was needed to be cool, take up 15 hours of my time, not cost very much, and also (eventually) pay me in return. At first I wanted a pig. I was ecstatic at the idea and I couldn&#8217;t wait to finally have an excuse to get a piglet of my own! But, unfortunately, that plan failed. One day, while sitting in class, the girl who sat in front of me (who would later become my best friend), turned around and asked if I wanted to be partners. Now, usually I&#8217;d reject partners, as I&#8217;d rather work alone, but something drew me to her. She seemed to be just like me. I liked that. After a week of classes with her, I knew that we should probably start to plan and prep for the project.  So, I asked Jillian if she would raise chickens with me; I asked if she would like to be the mother of my hens. I think that the question got her attention&#8230;  I mean what would you say if someone asked you that? &#8230; I knew it got her attention. After that we were inseparable and ready to plunge into this whole &#8220;parenthood &#8221; thing. After 7 trips to Lowe&#8217;s, four emails to different chicken sellers, hours of Google searching for types of chicken housing, and blood sweat and tears, we finally had the chicken coop done and were ready to bring home the babes! On October 4, 2014, Jill and I took a trip to Concord, NC, in the middle of nowhere, to buy 6 Australorp hens. This should have been easy&#8230; all we needed to go was get out and grab them, right? WRONG! These chickens were hell on two legs, with wings! Our first mistake was bringing a storage bin with a hole in it to put the chickens in. It barely fit in the car and they easily stuck their head through the top. All six chickens were put into the bin, we paid our $24, and drove off. On the way back we knew we needed food and hay. So we stopped by Renfrow&#8217;s Hardware. Is it just me, or should there be an announcement that Renfrows, and almost every other place that sells chicken food or hay, is closed on Saturday? I was not a happy camper. Eventually we found somewhere else to get food, but by then the car stunk to the high heavens and the smell was over bearing! Who knew such a small chicken could poop so much? Finally Were home,  two grueling hours later, with six chickens piled in the back&#8230; all still fully alive. We then put them in the coop, and the rest was simple. Everyday someone checks on them, gives them food and water, and that&#8217;s all there is to it. The hardest part, by far, was getting everything set up and actually getting the chickens. Now, it seems like I stressed over absolutely nothing. So, if you&#8217;ve ever considered, or wanted, your own chickens, take it from someone who knew absolutely nothing in the beginning&#8230;.  It&#8217;s simple, It&#8217;s easy, and it&#8217;s doable. You don&#8217;t have to know anything about chickens, or any animal for that matter, to own your own chickens. They are kind of like a fish. As long as you feed them, they will live.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.wirlproject.com/raising-chickens-for-the-beginner/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cats: What They&#8217;re Really Thinking</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/cats-what-theyre-really-thinking/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/cats-what-theyre-really-thinking/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2015 22:00:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[WIRL Project]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Animals]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emotions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[John Bradshaw]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Science]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Stress]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[What Cats Are Really Thinking]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=4577</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sometimes do you look at you pet and wonder what they&#8217;re thinking? If you have a cat, you may be intrigued to learn what&#8217;s going on in their head. Apparently cats don&#8217;t &#8220;get&#8221; humans in the same way that dogs do, in that, dogs categorize humans as something different than themselves, and cat&#8217;s kind of consider humans as a bigger version of one of their own. After some research, John Bradshaw, a cat behavior expert, had some very interesting findings about cats and how they perceive the world around them. Bradshaw also mentions that cats can be more stressed than they appear to be, especially if they are forced to live with other cats. This mental stress can lead to skin conditions and bladder swelling! Whoa! So, if you&#8217;re a cat lover, take a look at this very interesting article, written by Christine Dell&#8217;Amore from National Geographic explaining what your cat is really thinking or feeling&#8230;it might explain a lot!]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.wirlproject.com/cats-what-theyre-really-thinking/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Caring For Animals Isn&#8217;t What I Do, It&#8217;s Who I Am</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/caring-for-animals-isnt-what-i-do-its-who-i-am-2/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/caring-for-animals-isnt-what-i-do-its-who-i-am-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 05 Mar 2015 20:19:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ashley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Love/Relationships]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work/Money]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[job]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[love]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[passion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vet tech]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Work]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=3818</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So as I&#8217;ve mentioned before in previous posts, I work part time as a vet tech, that&#8217;s a veterinary technician! (Just in case someone wasn&#8217;t sure) I, believe it or not, LOVE my job!! How many people do you know that can honestly say the same?! I have worked within this particular profession for almost 7 years now, at the same animal hospital. Currently I only work 1-2 days a week, depending on how busy the schedule is. Throughout any given day, at any given time, there can be, and usually is, multiple different things all going on at once. As a vet tech, my job is pretty much to do whatever I can in order to help the Dr. Sometimes that means filling prescription medications, helping with surgery, restraining a feral cat for the Dr to examine, doing toe nail trims and &#8230;eeeek! anal glands , drawing blood, taking X-Rays, answering telephone calls, drawing up and administering medications, taking care of hospitalized pets and much more. Unfortunately, we also are faced with the tough, &#8216;this is life&#8217; duty of putting people&#8217;s pets to sleep. I LOVE working with animals, but this is the real story, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Yes, of course we get to see adorable puppies and kittens come in for their check ups and vaccinations (who doesn&#8217;t LOVE puppy kisses??) But we also get to see the old Labrador Retriever come in for his routine bloodwork because he has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. The poor dog seems to come for an appointment every few weeks with a new lump. It&#8217;s sad!! But you know what??He&#8217;s happy!!I always try to imagine what this particular dog would be doing if he had HIS choice, he wouldn&#8217;t be sitting around sulking and feeling bad for himself! He&#8217;d be out running, playing fetch, and exploring. Thinking this way for me, turns a not-so-positive situation into a bearable idea. As long as they&#8217;re happy, sometimes&#8230;that&#8217;s all that matters! When pet&#8217;s get old, or are extremely ill, owners will bring them in to be put down. Not that I have to explain&#8230;but this is the worst part of my job. This is where I, as a vet tech take on the responsibility of not only making sure the pet is comfortable and taken care of, but that the owner is treated with just as much care and empathy. When owners are crying and apologizing to me for being so emotional, I tell them, &#8216;it&#8217;s ok to be upset! I would be just the same way with my own. I&#8217;m sorry for your loss&#8217;. The unfortunate reality of the situation is that pets don&#8217;t live forever, as a matter of fact, they don&#8217;t live that long at all. We are here to help&#8230;you, and your pet. When we ask if it&#8217;s ok to &#8216;take them into the back&#8217; for certain procedures such as a blood draw or a toe nail trim, it&#8217;s because most pets, believe it or not are less stressed, and less protective when they are away from their owners. Most owners don&#8217;t want to see their baby being poked with a needle! (Yes, we use needles to draw blood- TRUST ME, we would use osmosis if we could! ) But it&#8217;s ok to trust us, we love your pet! That&#8217;s why we work with animals Sometimes it even takes us a little longer to bring the pet back to the owner because we are busy giving it lots of love&#8230; and treats!Even with all of the bad that I see, I wouldn&#8217;t trade my job for anything. It is so nice, and comforting to be surrounded by people who share the same passion in wanting to help animals. Caring for animals isn&#8217;t what we do, it&#8217;s who we are!]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.wirlproject.com/caring-for-animals-isnt-what-i-do-its-who-i-am-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>PLEASE! Do your research!</title>
		<link>http://www.wirlproject.com/please-do-your-research/</link>
		<comments>http://www.wirlproject.com/please-do-your-research/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2015 23:00:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ashley]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life/Leisure]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[breed research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dogs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[family pet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pets]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.wirlproject.com/?p=3514</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[So, I have a confession to make, and it&#8217;s kind of a silly/nerdy confession. For anyone who read my first post, knows that I am an animal lover and I&#8217;m also a vet tech, so this is where my confession stems from. (And I just came from work so it&#8217;s weighing on my mind).  Probably my biggest pet peeve is when people buy a dog, and then decide a few months later that they don&#8217;t want it anymore because it, A. Got too big B. Sheds too much C. Drools too much D. Is too energetic I could actually go on with my list, but I think you get my idea. PEOPLE! Please do your research!! Most people buy a dog because of it&#8217;s looks but don&#8217;t bother researching the breed to see if they are high maintenance, or if they drool and shed a lot. People that have realllllly nice houses, you know, the kind with a living room with all white furniture and white carpet that nobody ever reallllly sits in, they will be the people to buy a Newfoundland, or a French Mastiff!! Hello!!!!  Am I the only person who thinks that kind of dog does NOT fit in with that persons lifestyle??? I, for example, have a Siberian Husky.  I cannot tell you the number of people that have commented on how beautiful she is and how they would love to have one, but they live in an apartment with no yard.  Read about the breed you are interested in acquiring, most sites online will pretty descriptively explain their temperament, their maintenance level, energy level and so on.  Husky&#8217;s like to run, and dig, and prey on smaller animals.  They shed&#8230;.A LOT.  They need a very strong pack leader, someone who can train them and teach them.  They like to learn and take commands.  A Husky is not for the first time dog owner. Some people want a dog that looks scary, that will protect their family, like a German Shepherd or a Mastiff, but then they don&#8217;t socialize the dog and it doesn&#8217;t get along with ANYONE or ANYTHING else.  Dogs like this NEED to be socialized, taken to puppy classes, or doggy day care. Imagine having a very difficult to handle, aggressive dog that weighs more than you do! Not my idea of a fun time.]]></description>
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