THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY APRIL 11, 2013
PAGE 7A
inman
PERSONAL ESSAY
EVEN TOUGH GUYS CAN'T RESIST COCO
Pint-sized pup warms dad's heart, wins him over with charm
After weeks of persistent begging and dropping not-so-subtle hints, —changing the family computer's screen saver to a picture of the tiny, furry four-legged friend next to a Campbell's soup can is just one example — my dad finally gave in.
My sister, Kiley, and I religiously hounded my dad about the pint-sized pup that she fell in love with online. She wouldn't take no for an answer. My poor father, the only male in the family, didn't stand a chance. He attempted to delay the inevitable as long as possible, which only lasted about a week.
Slowly but surely, Kiley's puppy-dog eyes and my silver-tongued persuasion got to my dad. She finally broke down my dad's gruff, rough-around-the-edge attitude and found the loying, caring father within him.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
"At this rate, the dogs will outnumber us," my dad said in a sarcastic tone, admitting his defeat.
The toy morkie—half maltese, half yorkie—was weeks away from becoming our newest family member and joining our other two dogs. My sister and I screamed and jumped in excitement as if it were Christmas morning.
Of course, there had to be rules. This dog was to teach my sister and me responsibility. The dog wasn't a family dog; it belonged to my sister and me. Step one of responsibility: the two of us had to pick up the precious pup because my dad wasn't going to sacrifice a Sunday afternoon watching football to retrieve a purse-sized dog. We were expected to take care of the new puppy, doing everything from feeding her to house breaking her.
It was Coco. The clever, skinny canine had squeezed herself through the wrought iron fence to escape the backyard to take a field trip. A different neighbor brought the social butterfly home every time. The entire family, even my dad, would hit the sidewalks of the neighborhood yelling Coco as we searched for her. This was the first sign he was warming up to her.
Every morning during my senior year of high school, my sister and 1 ate breakfast downstairs on the breakfast bar overlooking the front yard. One morning, only a week after having her, while looking outside trying to predict the weather, we saw a fur ball bolt across the front yard.
As reluctant as my dad was about adopting Coco, he didn't want anything to happen to her. Early Saturday morning, not even two weeks into having her, my dad lined our entire backyard fence with chicken wire so Coco couldn't pull any more unplanned excursions outside of her own backward oasis.
A month after living with us, Coco finally started to master the stairs. She always raced up and down the stairs with the other dogs. Despite having tiny legs, she was agile enough jump onto almost everything. And with her tiny frame, she could hide in any nook and cranny.
But one night, when playing with the other two dogs, she got too brave. My dad called all the dogs to go outside once more before bed, but Coco didn't come. Everyone was already asleep, so my dad went alone on a search-and-rescue mission for Coco. He searched the entire downstairs. Nothing. He then checked to make sure Coco wasn't in my sister's room. Again, nothing. He finally started softly yelling her name, "Coco."
Far from a manly dog, Coco still tried to win my dad over. She would catapult herself onto the couch and shower my dad with sloppy puppy kisses. My dad would always pick her up with one hand and put her back on the ground.
She then responded with a chirp. She was too dainty to bark. Listening closely to hear where the bark was coming from, my dad found Coco. She was stranded on the top stair of the spiral staircase. Her little legs weren't able to get her down. He picked her up and carried her all the way downstairs. Her heart was racing so fast from being scared her entire body was pulsing. Instead of throwing her in the backyard, Coco got to play in the front yard alone with my dad.
**Top:** Coco, three and half years old, rides shotgun on a Sunday afternoon with my dad to run errands around town.
**Bottom:** The precious dog on our computer's screen saver that helped convinced my dad.
From then on, every time my parents went upstairs to watch a movie my dad would carry Coco up and down the stairs. At first he acted as if he escorted her so she didn't get stuck on the stairs or trampled by the other dogs. But then he started picking up his little princess more and more. My sister and I began to tease him by repeating phrases he told us when we first brought Coco home.
"If you always carry her she won't know how to walk," we mocked in our best impression of his deep voice.
Soon enough, Coco started to reap the benefits of being top dog. My dad started taking his now six-pound princess with him to check the mail. He went as far to give her a nickname, Cokey. Once she realized she was getting preferential treatment from the man of the house, she poured on the charm. She perfectly obeyed his every word, and walked right beside him. She sat as if she were competing in a dog show and resisted the urge to bee for food during dinner.
Coco quickly became a man's best friend. She received treats under the table from my dad and her trips to the mailbox became a daily routine. She would lie next to him on the couch as he read the newspaper on Sundays.
Now that my sister and I are both at college, Coco gets all the attention. He sends pictures of his favorite family member playing in the yard with her new toys and riding shotgun in the car during errands.
My and my sister's love for Coco reminded our dad of us. Coco has become my dad's pseudo-replacement for his daughters off at college. He would never admit it, but he loves that dog. And from time to time, you can catch him picking her up and talking to her, whispering "I love you Cokey."
— Laken Rapier
the brain: the cannabinoid receptors. They both turn these receptors on, but while the natural marijuana only partially activates them, K2 completely activates all of the cannabinoid receptors. Once turned on, the receptors activate the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the body's fight-or-flight response. This is why K2 elevates heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety. Users have attributed the anxiety as an especially troubling side effect.
"The effects on mentation are powerful," former K2 user Aaron said. "It can easily lead to psychotic episodes."
Although no psychotic episodes were reported, many K2 users described common similarities in their mental states while using the drug, such as a feeling of numbness. Users said that while their bodies felt motionless, their brains felt as if they were working overtime, focusing intensely on little details. One user said he sunk into a sofa and remained there for two hours. Another said she sat down on a public bench and just stared ahead.
"Heavy' is a good word to describe it," said Jacob, a senior from Worcester, Mass. "Light-headed, but glued to mv seat."
HEALTH FROM PAGE 5A
Anxiety and paranoia were also commonly mentioned as side effects of the drug. One user said he was convinced a dog could feel his negative energy. He had first smoked K2 in a room full of people. It hit him all at once, and suddenly he felt as if he were being lifted up into the air. Then the anxiety hit. It was so bad that he had to excuse himself from his friends and go sit alone in another room. While he was trying to calm down, his friend's dog wandered up to him. The dog started barking nonstop, and he just knew that the dog knew he was high and could feel the anxiety and paranoia inside him. He never tried K2 again.
Still think K2 is just a regular ol' party drug? Then consider the following: Of the six people interviewed who have tried the drug, none still smoke it. Whether it took one try or 30, every one of them had a bad experience and stopped smoking K2.
Marijuana's Effects on the Brain
Last year there were been between 500 to 1,000 national cases of acute kidney injury caused by suspected synthetic cannabinoid use, Chadha said. Locally, the Med Center confirmed such a case, Garg reported. The patient is likely the single confirmed case from Kansas in the CDC report published last month. The CDC wrote that this patient was under the influence of a K2 product named "Mr. Happy," which should now be avoided at all costs.
Although this instance of anxiety may seem laughable, not everyone has such a harmless experience. The Clinical Toxicology paper reports one intense anxiety attack that led a K2 user to commit suicide. Such cases have contributed heavily to the recent outlawing of the drug.
K2 abuse is always suspected when Chadha consults on a case involving a previously healthy adolescent. He blames the possible contaminants in synthetic marijuana. It is not a pure, controlled or FDA-approved substance, so the likelihood of contamination with unknown products is high. These contaminants can cause a short-term event where kidney function is deactivated and waste levels rise in the blood. During this time, the body's electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc.) are disturbed, which can cause all sorts of problems, including muscle spasms, convulsions and weakness. Kidney function is likely to resume within hours or days, but in severe cases, dialysis may be required.
The association between synthetic marijuana and kidney injury is a fairly new development — the official CDC report was just released in February — and one that doctors like Chadha are really concerned about. Acute kidney injury associated with K2 use has already been reported in 16 cases spanning six different states.
As former K2 user Jacob put it: "That. Shit. Cray."
"Marijuana doesn't affect the kidneys," Chadha said. "But synthetic marijuana is a different beast."
NEW CONCERNS ABOUT K2 SIDE EFFECTS
— Noopur Goel
Beyond the brain, synthetic marijuana can attack multiple organs. The CDC said the body is more likely to experience heart attack, seizure and even acute kidney injury when high on K2.