Cyber Poems

If you are thinking about hosting a hog roast then there are a few important points to think about, firstly think about the quality of meat that you are planning to use it is very easy to get poor quality meat. Secondly, there are many companies and businesses that you can use that will provide everything you need to host a hog roast including the whole hog, this can and will minimize the amount of stress that you will have to suffer on the day. The internet is a ideal and very easy way to find a high quality hog roasting company, the websites that are most usable are the internet directories as they will supply a list of complementary websites and it makes your decision a whole lot less time consuming. However when you actually chose the business that you are going to use you should pick one that provides everything that you will need. This includes the animal you want to roast, all the cooking equipment, a chef for the day and sides such as rolls, salads and sauces. Hog roasting has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years in England and is once again becoming the favourite method of preparing a whole animal for large numbers of people.This medieval style of cooking adds a massive amount of the drama and spectacle to a normally dull catering event and is easily one of the most jaw dropping ways of preparing food for large numbers of people.

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This is general information on Discus, a member of the family Cichlidae. Although certainly not a complete reference guide, it will give those interested some background information on this exotic fish…

Symphysodon aequifasciatus (Discus)
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes
)
Order: Perciformes (perch-like fish)
Family: Cichlidae
Scientific Name: Symphysodon aequifasciatus

Other Scientific Name(s): Symphysodon aequifasciata, Symphysodon discus aequifasciata, Symphysodon aequifasciatus aequifasciatus, Symphysodon discus tarzoo, Symphysodon aequifasciata axelrodi, Symphysodon aequifasciata haraldi

Common Name: Discus

Range: South America: Brazil, Peru. Found on Amazon and Solimoes rivers of Brazil, from the lower Rio Putumayo-Ica and from Benjamin Constant to Belém. Has been introduced to the Rio Nanay in Peru.

Diet: Carnivorous. Frozen foods preferred, but will accept flake foods. Particularly like red bloodworms, but feeding “live” food is not recommended. Red worms, etc, should only be fed to discus once every other day. Beware of parasites or bacteria in the discus tank from live foods!

Temperament: Timid of strangers. Easily frightened, unless placed in a high traffic area. Can be very friendly to aquarist, oft-times eating out of the hand. If given a place to hide, they will tend to do so.

Sexing: Discus are hard to sex unless breeding. Normally, the male will be larger, and will present with longer fin extensions and a wider forehead.

Breeding: Buy either proven pairs or a group of young fish and allow them to pair themselves. The eggs are laid on a breeding cone. A clay flowerpot turned upside down works well. The fry must be kept with the parents after hatch, as they “feed” off the body slime of the parents. Special care must be taken to insure that fry do not injure the parents when getting larger. Watch for marks on the body of the pair, and if it begins to occur, the fry are ready to be moved to a community tank on their own. If left w/ the pair, serious injury can result.

Special Care: If kept specifically for breeding, a bare-bottomed tank is highly recommended.

Other Comments: To keep Discus well, water conditions are absolutely crucial. A PH of 6.3 to 6.9 is the optimal level for keeping discus.
Water Temperature: Discus like it warm. They come from the Amazon basin, so water temps for these fish should be 80-84 degrees F, although some aquarists set the temperature as high as 90 degrees F.

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Alden Smith is a published author, and has been marketing on the internet for 7 years. His website, King Discus, is an active gathering place for discus breeders and lovers of discus fish.
His wife Betsy is the administrator of All The Best Recipes a site rich in online recipes and cookbooks.

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You’ve searched all over and finally found the perfect
apartment. You’re so excited, until the owner tells you that he
does not permit dogs on the premises. You heart breaks, although
you know that you should have checked for this provision before
you started looking. However, all may not be lost. All building
owners do not have absolute pet policies. There are ways that
you can work to convince even the most skeptical landlord that
you will be a responsible pet owner.

In instances like this, money speaks loudest of all. Be sure to
explain to your potential landlord that you will offer to make
an additional deposit to cover pet damages. If the landlord
allows a lease for your dog, add a clause indicating that you
will pay for all damages, but you can also be specific in this
clause by specifying that you will steam clean the carpets and
stating the amount of the security deposit that will be
additional because of your pet.

When you first speak to the landlord, mention that you are a pet
owner. If the landlord seems unsure, ask if you can bring your
dog along with you. The landlord may be more willingly convinced
if your dog is well behaved on the visit. Also bring along a
doggie “resume”, listing any certifications, obedience schools,
and references of people that can attest to your dog’s good
behavior. It may seem silly, but your willingness to prove his
worth will make a positive impression on any potential landlord.

If the landlord is unconvinced, find out why and address the
issues. Adding clauses to the lease agreement regarding your
responsibility will help your case. Look into getting liability
injury coverage for your dog, as this will certainly clear the
landlord’s mind should he or she have issues with the
possibility of your dog biting someone.

After trying all of these, you may still sense a bit of
skepticism. This is when you should back out of the arrangement
and look for another property. Getting involved with a landlord
who is closed-minded about approving a pet owner as a tenant is
a very big mistake. You may move out to find that the landlord
would blame any problem in the apartment, even routine
maintenance issues, on your pet. Getting any money from your
security deposit will likely be a major issue, if not downright
impossible. Do not put yourself or your dog in this situation.
Move on to the next landlord who will be willing to grant you a
lease for your dog. No apartment is worth causing problems with
your very best friend - your pet.

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Parvo. It’s a word that strikes fear to the hearts of shelter and rescue workers.

Parvo is a disease that attacks a dog’s gastro-intestinal tract and then moves into its bone marrow. When treated at home, survival rates are less than 50%. When treated with I.V. therapy in an animal hospital, survival rates are still only 80 to 90%. Our vet called it “The Meanest Guy in Town.”

Spring is a time of high incidence…probably because it is “puppy season” and the young ones are the most susceptible. Add to that the fact that everyone wants to pet a puppy…and the disease spreads.

None of us can remove all chances that our puppies will contract this disease, but there ARE steps to take to minimize the risk.

First, make sure all of your adult dogs are vaccinated, de-wormed, and carrying a healthy weight. The de-worming is important because worms weaken the stomach lining, giving the Parvo virus an easy target. Then, be sure that all your puppies get their first shots at 6 weeks of age. Give another shot every 3 weeks…making sure that they get two after 12 weeks of age. You can take them to the vet, or you can purchase the shots at a feed store or pharmacy and give them yourself.

If you bring a new dog into your home, especially a puppy, keep it isolated from your other animals for 14 days. That is, unless you KNOW its history and know it has been vaccinated. And, since older, stronger dogs can carry the virus without becoming ill, keep your pup away from older dogs until he’s had two shots after 12 weeks of age.

A pup who looks perfectly happy one day can be deathly ill the next. At the first sign of intestinal upset, get that dog to the vet. If you catch it soon enough, you may be able to save the dog.

Protect All the Dogs you meet…
Humans often spread Parvo without even noticing. By forming some new habits…and instilling them in your children…you can help stop the spread of this dread disease.

First…Wash your hands. Before you touch a puppy… wash your hands. After you pet a dog… wash your hands. You don’t know where you might pick up this virus… it could even be sitting on the handle of a grocery store cart…left there by some other customer. So wash your hands!

One significant outbreak of Parvo traced back to kids walking home from school and petting the puppies in yards along the way. They carried the disease along their entire route from school to home.

YES…they’re adorable, and YES you like to give them attention and pet them… but by doing so could kill them. Don’t.

Next, if you happen to step in a pile… don’t just wipe your shoes. Wipe them with a mild bleach solution. If you know you’ve held a dog with Parvo, bleach your clothes as well. And if you’ve had a sick puppy in your home, you need to bleach all areas it occupied.

Vaccination is the first line of defense and careful habits is the second. Please use them both to keep your dogs alive and healthy.

CATS ARE ALSO AT RISK!
Parvo doesn’t affect cats…but there are other diseases that do. And they are just as deadly. Use the same precautions with kittens as you do with puppies… but more. Cat diseases are airborne, so don’t take your kitty visiting anywhere until he’s had all his shots.

Marte Cliff is a Freelance Copywriter with a special interest in fund raising for animal welfare. Rescue and shelter workers may get a no-obligation report on writing effective fund raising letters by sending an e-mail to rescuethem@getresponse.com. Marte also offers a no-obligation critique of your present fund raising letter.

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