Pet abadonment - why are mixed breeds shunned?

This time of year in the UAE depresses me! It's the time of year when 'pets' across the country get dumped, mostly by expats leaving for good or going away on summer vacation and suddenly realizing that they haven't made provision for their furry friend and all the kennels are fully booked, or they haven't put money aside to cover relocation costs, which, depending which country you're relocating to can include flights, vet checks and quarantine.

Rescue groups and shelters are bursting at the seams, with waiting lists for dogs and cats in desperate need of homes. BUT, there's one big sad reality, any time a small, pure bred dog comes up for rehoming or adoption, people line up to take it, while the mixed breed dogs can wait days, weeks, months and in some tragic cases years to find their forever home.

This is a reality that I have never understood at all. The majority of mixed breed dogs, get no bigger than knee high and it is a FACT that mixed breed dogs are generally healthier and require less maintenance than pure breds. Everyone I know with a pure bred dog, has spent a small fortune on vet bills, because they're so in-bred, that they suffer from genetic health issues, especially snub-nosed breeds and dogs with lots of skin folds.

Your 'designer' dog or a Cockapoo, or Labradoodle that you spent thousands on is STILL a mongrel anyway you want to put it.

I have two mixed breed desert dogs and they are just awesome, kind, affectionate, rounded personalities, never had any health issues (despite one of them being disabled) and I would never have anything else.

 

In short, if you're thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, please give the mixed breeds a chance, go in with an open mind and heart, because most of the time, dogs choose YOU, not the other way around and you might be pleasantly surprised. Consider the needs of any animal before adding one to your family - vet bills, relocation costs, quarantine - all the things that it'll cost you if and when you leave the UAE. An animal might only be around for part of your life, but you should be there for the entirety of its life. Dogs have feelings and being abandoned causes upset, confusion and sadness for them. They simply are not things you throw away like rubbish and if you're not prepared to be a responsible owner, then please, PLEASE do not get a pet to start with.

I applaud all the rescue groups and shelters who take on these poor souls, because all they want is a little love and a place to call their forever home.

Fillerina by Labo - a review

Produced by Swiss company Labo, Fillerina is a product I absolutely had to try. It's the first, at home dermo-cosmetic filler for at home use and claims to reduce wrinkles and plump out cheeks and lips.

Having had both botox and fillers in the past - for the deep frown lines in my forehead and laughter lines around my mouth, I was very keen to see the results a non-surgical product could give.

Fillerina consists of two different products, the first is the gel filler, which you apply along wrinkles, frown/laughter lines, crows feet, neck lines, using the precision applicator. You then leave the gel to be absorbed for ten minutes. After this time, any residual product can be patted into the skin (not rubbed in). Following the gel, you then apply the nourishing film and massage all over your face and neck. It's recommended to use up to 2ml of product a day, but to be honest this was a bit much for my skin and I ended up applying both evening at night to be able to use that much. But it's up to you whether you use one or two applications a day.

Fillerina comes in three grades, 1, 2 and 3 and you use the grading charts in pharmacies to decide which grade is suitable for you, depending how evident your wrinkles are.

You use Fillerina for 14 days - there's meant to be enough product for one, 2ml application a day for the 14 days, but I found I had some left over. You then maintain using the other Labo products, then reuse Fillerina in three months time.

So, what's the verdict? Well I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the results! The finer lines on my forehead were reduced to virtually nothing and virtually invisible after the 14 days and the deeper ones softened significantly. The crows feet around my eyes (note. not to be used on the delicate area underneath your eyes) softened and reduced a great deal and the laughter lines around my mouth filled out, much to my great surprise. 

Overall I was very impressed with this product. It does take quite a bit of commitment to remember to apply every morning or evening, or both, depending how your skin takes to it and to keep up the effects, you need to reapply every three months and are meant to use the maintenance products in between.

For a non-surgical option, it's a really great product for freshening up your skin and reducing those pesky wrinkles and plumping up certain areas of the face.

Fillerina is available in most good pharmacies across the UAE. Cost ranges between 550-600Dhs depending on which grade you use.

Spartan Race UAE.......We did it!!

So on a dusty Friday morning, around 5,000 people turned up to test themselves both physically and mentally at the first ever Spartan Race in the UAE. 5kms of sandy course, with 15 obstacles to navigate stood between the start and finish lines.

 I think just running over desert terrain, up and down sand dunes, tested many of the participants before they even got to any of the obstacles, but whether it was rope climbs, tyre flips, scaling walls, commando crawling under barbed wire or wading through mud, everyone gave it their all.

Some of the obstacles definitely required team work and it was wonderful to see people gratefully taking that 'outstretched hand' to help them along the way.

Events like this are amazing and it was wonderful to see so many people of all different fitness levels and abilities giving it a go for their own personal goals. We just wanted to finish! And finish we did.......looking very worse for wear, after wading through all the mud, which was probably one of my favourite things.

The first race seemed to be an unquestionable success and I hope they will bring the event back to the UAE next year, including the longer, tougher, Super and Beast courses which will add extra challenges for people taking part.

If you've never thought of signing up for something like this, why not give it a go? You never know what you can achieve if you don't set goals and try. I'm now looking forward to similar races to test myself further and having a whole lot of fun whilst doing it.

This......is.......SPARTA!!!! Training for a Spartan race.

So, after the disaster that was the end of 2014, with all the health issues and so on, I've decided that 2015 is going to be a year of setting goals and pushing myself well and truly out of my comfort zone. What better way to do that, than by signing up for a Spartan race!

The Reebok Spartan Race Dubai, will be the sprint version. That means 5k with 15 obstacles to tackle. Entrants don't get told what the obstacles are, but you can guarantee there is likely to be tyre flipping, crawling through mud under things, pulling blocks, rope climbing, fire jumping  and I heard through the grapevine - spear throwing.

What has daunted me most, is fining out that if you can't complete an obstacle, then the penalty is 30 burpees. These are my least favourite exercise - EVER!

I've managed to coerce a few people into putting a team together, because let's face it, these things are far more fun with friends. Plus we can push, pull and shove each other through the course and make it a real team effort.

We've already completed a couple of Spartan training sessions, which were pretty brutal and I don't think we'll aim for time, just to be able to drag ourselves across the finish line.

I'm really looking forward to this. It's a challenge. If you don't set challenges or goals for yourself, then you never achieve anything and I really want to achieve some things this year, it being the last of my 30's after all. AROOOOOOOOOOO :-)

There's still time to sign up: www.spartanrace.ae

You can follow updates on the Facebook page: Spartan Race UAE

And on Twitter: Spartan Race UAE  

Mole Mapping - how it works and why you should do it.

Getting your moles checked for any abnormalities is very important and people should screen themselves at least once a year. If, like me, you are extremely moley - basically covered from head to toe, it can be a nightmare to keep track of them all and note any changes in size, regularity, colour and so on.

Well, luckily technology is here to help out with that - Mole Mapping.

So, I shall break it down into a little step by step guide as to what happens and how it works.

Firstly your Doctor will look you over, and that's ALL of you because yes we do have moles in intimate places, so you can't be shy. Then the doctor will mark which moles he/she wants pictured. If you're like me, this means you will be covered in ballpoint pen marks all over.

Next an image is taken of each section of the body and the individual moles are digitally photographed in close up.

The location of each chosen mole is then marked on a dummy within the computer program.

This process can be quite time consuming, especially if you have lots of selected moles like me. I had 225 mapped in all and I think I might hold some sort of record there :-)

Once each mole has been marked, photographed and logged into the system, that part is then done finished. The Doctor will then go through and look at each close-up image and grade it using the screening criteria, which looks at shape, colour, whether there are small veins, blotches and other marks present. This information then determines whether each mole is 'normal' needs to be kept an eye on or should be removed for biopsy.

During my screening, I was already advised that there are several more which will need to be removed for biopsy, some that were obviously borderline and so on.

Once all this information is in the computer, it's there, for the rest of your life and can be given to you to take with you wherever you go. 

Each year you can go back for a comparative screening, where any minute changes in the mapped moles can be detected and the necessary action taken.

This process is invaluable and a brilliant step forward in the detection and prevention of skin cancers and I would advise anyone with moles to go and have it done.

I went to the Dermacare Skin Centre in Dubai.

Take care of the skin you're in - my experience with skin cancer. PT 2

So, this is the follow up to my previous post regarding malignant melanoma. I had the original problem mole excised and was referred to the specialist Dermatologist after the melanoma diagnosis.

Dr Ikramullah Al Nasir at the Dermacare Skin Centre, would be taking care of me from now on. He explained, that because of the diagnosis, he needed to excise more tissue for biopsy to see if the cancerous cells had spread away from the mole. Malignant melanoma is one of the fastest spreading, most aggressive kind of cancers there is, so you really can't afford to mess about with it and early detection and treatment is key. The Dr said that in his experience, of over 20 years, the stage we'd caught it at was very early and so the prognosis looked good.

I wasn't quite prepared for how much extra tissue was required to be taken out. I made the mistake of taking a peak during the procedure and I really wish I hadn't. In the end the incision was just shy of 4 inches long and quite deep into the layers of the dermis, meaning that I needed internal as well as external stitches.

The picture looks quite horrific, when you consider the size of the original mole and how much tissue has now been removed.

The next step is to wait for the biopsy results. I would ask that everyone who has moles, get them checked every year without fail. It's so important and could save your life.

Take care of the skin you're in - my experience with skin cancer. PT 1

I debated whether I should share my experience on this topic or not, but then I thought, if it encourages just one person to go and get themselves checked, that would be brilliant.

Our skin is the largest organ in, or in fact ON our body. It's an organ that takes the brunt of daily wear and tear and abuse, and we really need to take care of it.

I'm the typical fair skinned, freckly person, who burns in the sun, never tans and is covered from head to toe in moles. Yup, I'm moley, moley, MOLEY. I've always tried to take care in the sun, using high factor sunscreens, but like everyone, can be lax at times.

I've always been aware of the fact that I could be more prone to skin issues and problems with my moles, so over the years I've had check ups, especially on the large dark moles and had others taken off. This check up was no different, I went to see the Dermatologist at GMC, Jumeirah and had three sticky outy (that's the only term I have for them) moles taken off. I also had a few larger, darker moles checked, close up exams and photos taken of them. The doctor however, was not happy with one in particular. This particular mole on my thigh, which I have to say has always looked ragged and irregular, he decided had to come off for a biopsy. Now when I say 'come off' it's actually 'cut out'. Being flat and flush on the skin means it needs to be excised. The excision area was approximately 2cm in size, as you can see below.

The mole was sent off for a biopsy and I didn't think anything of it, as it's not the first time. Then I got a call a week later - could I come into the clinic? Sadly I was snowed with work, so the doctor called me back and I NEVER expected to hear him say 'It's a malignant melanoma'. To say that my knees nearly buckled underneath me is an understatement. Malignant Melanoma - that's skin cancer right? That's all that went through my head for the rest of the day.

So, for the next step I was referred to Dr IkramullahAl Nasir at the Dermacare Skin Centre. He went through the biopsy report and told me that we now need to excise a larger area, to determine whether that was it, or whether the melanoma has spread further outward and or downward into the tissue. When he drew out the area he would like to cut out of my thigh, I wanted to cry. Three to four centimetres might not seem a lot, but when it's drawn in a big eye shape on your leg, it certainly seems a lot. 

Ok, that step decided on, the Dr also told me that because I have so many moles and already have one melanoma, that I can't take any chances and really need to be 'mole mapped'. This basically involves digital photography to track any subtle changes in moles as you go for check ups. Given how moley I am, this could take hours.

That is the stage I'm at now. I will have the next excision and mole mapping done within the next week and wait for those results to come back.

Living in a country like the UAE, where the sun beats down pretty much 365 days a year, it's important to be aware of how to take care of your skin, use good skin protection when out and about - I wear factor 100 every day on my face and hands. Have good sun sense and if you have moles, make sure that you check them regularly and be aware of any changes in size, texture, and colour.

I'm happy that I took precautions, had regular check-ups and by the looks of it, caught this one early when something can be done about it. Sadly, other people are not so lucky and it is crucial to be vigilant. Malignant Melanoma can be one of the most aggressive forms of cancer that there is, so early diagnosis and treatment is imperative.

I am now well aware, that because I have one, the chances of me developing more are high, so this is now a life-long issue for me. Please PLEASE, have regular check ups and prevention is better than having to deal with something once it has developed.