Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 83

2 Friday, July 31, 2009 St. Petersburg Times PAS Around the Suncoast OPINION Distraught pet owners seek assurance i'Jpl tampabay.comopinion Guest column I Dr. Rao Musunuru Putting your sleep disorder to rest RON THOMPSON I Times Buddy, a cat belonging to the Velez family of Spring Hill, was accidentally euthanized by Hernando County Animal Services. BY BARBARA BEHRENDT Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE The Velez family of Spring Hill, whose beloved cat Buddy was mistakenly euthanized this month, wants to know that Animal Services is changing its procedures. In a letter to Hernando County Animal Services this week, the Velezes ask for assurance that policies will be in place so that no other pet owner will suffer as they did when they tried to retrieve the cat July 17 only to find the orange tabby had been put down the previous day.

Animal Services manager Liana league said a paperwork mix-up led to the mistake, league said Thursday that she will tell the family changes are coming. Buddy's tale made local and national headlines. Various online comments have criticized Animal Services as well as the Velez family for not having Buddy vaccinated for rabies, which would have prevented him from having to be quarantined. The Velez family letter details the events that landed the 5-year-old cat at Animal Services for biting a family friend. And it criticizes Animal Services staff for being unprofessional, saying some were rude when Maria Velez called to check on Buddy and dispassionate when they delivered the terrible news that the cat was dead.

"I hope you could imagine my family's shock and horror to hear that our beloved pet was put down," the letter states. "To add insult to injury, the people involved offered no sympathy or movies; computer and television in the bedroom; noises and background light; an uncomfortable bed; alcoholic drinks before bed; caffeine for about eight hours before bedtime; nicotine; and, if possible, medicines that delay or disturb sleep. Take a hot bath before bed. Keep room temperature lower. Relax (unwind) before bed.

Stick to a sleep schedule. Sleeping later on weekends won't fully make up for the lack of sleep during the week and also will not make up for impaired performance during the week. It will also further disturb your biological clock. At least 30 minutes of exposure to natural sunlight during the day will help you sleep better at night by helping the biological clock. Gratification through good deeds and satisfaction from sincere service will help more than any pill to enjoy sound sleep.

Also, properly performed yoga and meditation may work better than any medication. Pleasure helps, pressure doesn't Losing sleep temporarily over a stressful life situation or experience is normal and expected. If you are not sure what you may be doing wrong to cause your chronic sleep problem, try to sleep on it If you don't wake up fresh with the right reason or solution, you may have a sleep disorder. You need to seek proper medical help. You may lose more than sleep if you get addicted to the wrong sedatives and hypnotics.

Dr. Rao Musunuru, a cardiologist at Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, is a current member of the Advisory Counciljbr National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institute of Health. enjoy a little more needed sleep the night before. Adults need at least seven to eight hours of sleep each night to be well rested and restored and to feel energetic during the day. Newborns need 16 to 18 hours a day, preschool children 10 to 12 hours, school-age children and adolescents nine hours or more.

Contrary to the popular belief, older people do not need less sleep than middle-aged. Even though we may put off going to sleep in order to squeeze more activities into our day, the built-in biological need for sleep keeps accumulating to the point that we fall asleep when we don't want to, like while driving or working. As we keep fighting sleep, the functional efficiency progressively declines. Ultimately, we have to pay off the sleep debt If we don't, we end up paying the penalty in the form of irritability, poor concentration, fatigue, confusion, malaise, for-getfulness, depression and slow reaction time. People with sleep deprivation drive as poorly as people who are drunk.

Unlike adults, children who do not get enough sleep at night typically become more active than normal during the day to the extent of resembling attention deficit hyperactivity. People who necessarily have to work night shifts are at odds with the natural wake-and-sleep cycles and end up paying a hefty price in terms of physical and emotional health unless they take a lot of precautions. Several precautions can help to get a good night's sleep. Avoid exercising for about five hours before bedtime; large meals and beverages late at night; naps after 3 p.m.; disturbing late-night news ENT. An irritable and hyperactive child, a poorly performing student, a college student in a car crash, an exhausted employee, a prematurely dead superstar, a snoring grandma and a grandpa with rest less legs.

What might all of them have in common? Sleep deprivation or a sleep disorder. As many as 70 million Americans are esti Musunuru mated to be affected by chronic sleep loss or one of more than 70 sleep disorders. Many times, the reason for sleep deprivation is improper lifestyle or inadequate understanding. Sleep is a very important activity, as essential for survival as breathing and eating. So important that we are supposed to spend one-third of our lifetime doing it.

The brain is hard at work throughout sleep, forming or reinforcing the pathways necessary for learning and creating memories and new insights, not only during infancy and childhood but throughout life. It is well established that lack of sleep increases the risk not only for mood disorders, but also obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and infections, through a complex interplay of elaborate biological mechanisms, affecting production of various chemicals, especially hormones. Most people falsely believe that they can function very well with a few hours of daily sleep. They will quickly realize how much more efficient, effective, energetic, quick and creative they can be during waking hours if only they allow themselves to Your letters Help clean up Embassy Hills I hope residents of Embassy Hills in Port Richey will take notice that it is time to kick crime out of our neighborhood. A television station ran a story about our neighborhood and how it is being taken over by drugs and crime.

They also showed how abandoned houses are turning into havens for transients. It is time for the good people of Embassy Hills to start taking our streets back before it is too late. If you see drug deals, take down the license plates of all cars involved and give it to the Sheriff's Office. You can do this anonymously. Watch your neighbor's home, especially if it has been foreclosed on.

Transients like to break into these homes and do their drugs under candlelight The police are overwhelmed. They need our help and I promise you that eventually your children will be able to enjoy Lake Lisa Park. I am not saying that all teens at the park are bad. We need their help too. If you see other teens vandalizing the park, ten them to stop.

Do you really want thugs and punks around your little brothers and sisters? The basketball courts are for all to enjoy. Don't allow harassment by anyone. All it takes is one teen thug to give a bad reputation to all teens. This is our neighborhood. I have seen Embassy Hills go from a beautiful neighborhood where people walked and rode the streets without fear to a ghetto in the making where crime is Pasco Times Port Richey Office: 11321 U.S.

19, Port Richey, FL 34668 Another change is in response the Velezes' complaint that no one told them they could visit Buddy during the time he was in quarantine. Specific mention of allowing visitors now will be put into the quarantine agreement To be sure all the needed information is coordinated, Teague discussed making sure all details quarantined animals go through just one staff member. Teague talked to her staff about need for good customer service, although she said she has been assured that an employee spent more than a half-hour consoling the family after the news Buddy's death was delivered. "I don't know what you say. There's nothing you can say to make it better," Teague said.

"You can't bring the cat back. can't console the family. You can't help the staff." CORP. CAC042727 $1,500 $1,000 350 150 Comfort Specialist; Not validated wrth any other otter. COMMITMENT- RELIABILITY fjr 3 AIR CONDITIONING HEATING 50 Years Field Experience in Residential Commercial or comfort to my 11-year-old son who was basically bawling in disbelief and grief." The family apologizes in case the letter is perceived as rude, "but my family hurts over the treatment they received prior, during and after the tragic loss of our pet.

Please investigate and initiate policy to protect against this mistake ever happening again." Teague said her staff has brain-stormed several ideas to improve the safeguards in the system. The primary change will be a checklist for workers to complete before an animal is put down, including cross-referencing documents in an animal's record. Eventually the checklist will be built into the office's computer system, but for now the checking will be done manually. LIC to see if promotion has been extended past 73109. to on the of You If E.I v.

bresn Up To $3, Share your opinions The Pasco Times welcomes letters from readers for publication. Because of space limitations, letters should be of reasonable length (250-300 words maximum as a rule). Letters may be edited for clarity, taste and length. All letters must be signed and must contain the writer's address and telephone number. Addresses and telephone numbers will not be printed.

Send your letter to Pasco Richey, FL 34668, or by fax to (727) 869-6233 or go to Fill out the form to supply us with your personal information, the subject line, and type your letter in the space provided. You can also cut and paste a letter that you have prepared elsewhere in your computer. When you are done, hit the button that says "Submit My Letter." the norm. I know I want it to be beautiful again. Those against what I am saying are the ones we don't want in our neighborhood.

J. Everhart, Port Richey Veterans don't deserve delays I am the financial officer of TOTAL REBATES AVAILABLE Become more Energy Efficient with a NEW XL20i System. go to taTnpabay.comletters the American Veterans Post 9 on Black Lake Road, Odessa. We have attempted to build a new building to improve our standing in the community. Buildings have been constructed around us at Suncoast Crossings and Gunn Highway, yet our construction has been impeded for seven months.

A question arises: Does Pasco County or the state of Florida dislike veterans organizations or is there something else involved? Perhaps a small veterans post on a small road is too insignificant for the county or state to recognize. Our latest holdup is waiting for a health inspector to come out because she is attending classes for two days. My post has been shut down for almost a month. Our post contributes to the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital Domiciliary service that helps homeless veterans regain their sense of direction and places them back into society's work force, to the Nature Coast Volunteers for Veterans at the Baldomero Lopez State Veterans' Nursing Home, to our sons, daughters and neighbors in the Middle East, to disabled veterans returning home, and we do other charity work.

Our post works for veterans but each day that the state and county keeps us closed, we lose the ability to generate income to continue our work. I find the state and county delays and lack of cooperation toward us inexcusable and reprehensible, and it shows a total lack of respect for the veterans of the United States. David A. Walker, Odessa Wesley Chapel Office: 26240 Golden Maple Loop, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543 STAFF Bill Stevens North Suncoast editor Bridget Hall Grumet City editor CT.Bowen Unda Raab Jim Thompson Editor of editorials North Suncoast marketing manager Regional circulation manager North Suncoast ADVERTISING Classffial Retail Wesley Chapel (813)909-4603 909-4603 Port Richey (727) 848-3277 842-9465 htet (727)893-8665 Obituaries (800)333-7505 ext 8518 GOVERNMENT STiMULUS REBATE Instant trane rebate plus Utilities Rebate Up To pUS MILLI AN-AIRE REBATE Also available 12 Month same as Cash www.millian-aire.com ift, We Employ, Let Us Show jtMjJJIi YuTheixT Credentials Government Tax Refund for new AC System minimum Seer Rating 14.0EER 12.0HSPF 8.0. Trane Instant Rebate on qualifying Trane XLi system up to $1,000.

Offer expires 73109, please check with dealer ask readers to understand how the government's actions affect our freedom as Americans." Robyn Blumner, Columnist ii l. i lJ 4 i.Mti I DELIVERY Call to subscribe, report delivery problems, for billing inquiries, vacation hold or other customer service. For redelivery of paper call 6 a.m.-10 a.m. and Sun.7a.m.-T1a.m. Port RicheyW.

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