At the dog park. They have a cute Irish Setter pup.

I told them they had a great accent.  Where are you from?  That opened the conversation.  First thing they said was “We are Russian and Stand with Ukraine”.    From that point I just listened and asked questions since I don’t have first hand knowledge of either country.  Fascinating take on the conflict.  They had a bad experience in Russia.  Fair enough.

They left Russia as they hated the Dictator Putin with a passion.  They love Zelensky as he is a young progressive Democratic Leader.  Apparently Putin is a fascist.  Putin hates LGBTQ and persecutes them. Putin is note woke.   Zelensky brought freedom to Ukraine.  Apparently Putin is looking to recreate the old Russian empire.  The Russ peoples were at one time centred in Kiev.

I asked if he trusts the Media.   “Absolutely!”   No comment from me.   He knew Russia was winning the war but they are evil!  Using military reserves from far-flung regions. Not using regular Russian forces.  So I understand where North is coming from.  We all have different experiences and we should listen to them respectfully.

I’m just repeating what they said.  I wasn’t taking sides.  Just listening.

Somehow it came up about the shots.  They’ve had three.  Covid twice after the shots.  “The shots work!” What could I say?  He was singing the praises of the new mRNA technology.   Obviously he has done a lot of research and believes in them.  Different metrics of measuring success, obviously.    “Mostly unvaccinated in the Hospital”.   Hmmmmm…..he hasn’t read the BC CDC reports.   I honoured my policy of not arguing with Branch members.  It’s a lost cause.  I just smiled and let them talk.

 

The conversation of what to feed a puppy came up.  He thought our dog was a puppy.  He’s active but now has a bit of grey around the ears.  He’s 11 and a half yo.  He was told by the breeder that his dog has a lifespan of around 10 years.  Okay.

We discussed diet and vaccines for dogs.  Told him I get his  AB titre levels tested regularly but not annually.   So far his levels have been protective.  He’s only had his original series as a pup before we rescued him.  Only Rabies shots twice and they were “low dose” and to obtain a certificate for crossing the US Border even though his titre was protective.  So you can imagine what the “low dose” shot was 🙂

He’s going to read up about the titres.  He even said the change to a non-kibble diet made sense.

I looked at them and asked why they would take any more shots as they appeared young and healthy, admit to taking supplements, don’t eat processed food and are outside as much as they could.   We shook hands and parted on good terms.  His parents are MDs.   Maybe he will apply his newly researched knowledge for his puppy and continue on with the shots for himself.  I care about animal welfare.