Noche, like her owner, is a wily, free spirit and a force of nature. We have an abundance of trails and off-trail woods in my neighborhood, and Noche takes more advantage than most. Deer live to be chased and new smells to run down. That she runs is hardly odd, especially with dogs that have some Spitz in them. A greyhound or a Shiba will chase a whim until they cross the state line. What makes Noche interesting is that she always appears silently, muddy and a bit tangled in burrs in the opposite direction from wherever she disappeared when her owner has nearly thrown up his hands.
You might see it as a behavior issue, but I am not sure. He is retired, very patient and deceptively spry. I think that as with people he prefers a dog to have a mind of its own.
stuckinred
Good dog!
abscam
Awesome dog…and kudos to her human!
JPL
Patience is a virtue or so they say. Happy dog!
burnspbesq
Occasionally there are signs of hope.
The architect of Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, which places severe limits on the state’s ability to raise money, has been indicted for evading state income taxes and lying to investigators.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17806199
The part I especially like is that the Colorado AG is a Republican.
Sarah in Brooklyn
Seems like a good pup.
jak
Always great dog stories. Keep them coming.
E.J. Dionne has a good article in today’s Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-high-cost-of-hating-government/2011/04/08/AFocwrGD_story.html?hpid=z3
About Obama:
He needs to declare that he will no longer bargain with those who use threats to shut down the government or force it to default on its debt as tools of intimidation.
Phyllis
What a great looking dog. Love the face.
And by no means of any discernible segue, five days until Spring break. The first one in several years where I’m not on deadline for some grant or another.
Abstract Political Point
I apologize in advance.
I have to get something off my chest. We’ve now seen that Obama is going to give a speech Wednesday where he’ll put SS, Medicare and Medicaid on the table in some fashion. As someone who depends on all of these to barely get by I gotta say all the abuse is starting to mount up, and well… I’m not gonna lie. If the President decides to sell us (myself, other disabled people, the middle and working classes in general) out this hard I’ll probably be taking the easy way out. Maybe some of you have experienced the joys of SSI, but if not: you’re getting by on a generous $850 a month while hearing day in and day out that you’re a pampered luxury welfare leech who only wants to take, and deserves nothing. You can only swallow so much shit before society telling and showing you day in and day out that you just don’t matter finally takes a toll. Top it all off with the very real possibility that a Democratic president is going to make a deal cutting your only means of support and the despair and fear is overwhelming. Personally, my problem is I’m f’ing crazy to begin with, but who am I supposed to see to help me wrap my head around these budget cuts? This isn’t a figment of my imagination, I can’t learn to avoid having my benefits slashed through repetition and there’s no pill I can take to make the deficit commission or Paul Ryan go away. It’s goddamn frightening, and for someone who kind’ve teeters on the edge of holding things together under normal circumstances it’s getting close to the point of collapse.
Sorry to go all emo on your blog, but yeah, this story’s true, and I feel like I gotta say it somewhere. This blog’s linked on memorandum, has a relatively small amount of comments, and tends to contain actual conversation (at least in the non-internecine-warfare threads) so I figure maybe there’s a small chance someone actually sees this and learns a little bit about the human impact of what’s going on here. Here as good as anywhere I guess. Thanks for your time, sorry to bum you out, won’t happen again. My guess is that come Wednesday I’ll be doing my part to reduce the deficit by … let’s say ‘abdicating any potential need for future medicare services.’ Message received: the only thing that matters is deficit reduction. If this is what our future is like I’m glad to help. I hope I’m wrong, but could you look someone like me in the eye and honestly say you liked our chances?
Also too, look, I read this blog enough to know I should probably add a disclaimer: I’m not here to shit on Obama in particular. I know Paul Ryan, the GOP, the Dem leadership, and society in general are all champing at the bit to make the working class in general, and lazy safety net poobahs like me in particular, eat a giant pile of shit. I’m not gonna lie: the distinct possibility that it’ll be a Dem President who busts out the serving spoon makes it that much more frightening, because if this does go down like I’m fearing I don’t know what party would allegedly be representing my interests from that point out. I hope Obama doesn’t go down as the Prez who presided over nuking entitlements, but I’d be lying if I said I was confident he had my back. And yknow, whatever… I know where this always leads. “Firebagger” me all you want if that’s how you get your kicks. Emo, self-pitying, Obama-hating, whatever… fact of the matter is I’m scared shitless, you probably would be too, and if you can’t even grant me that all I can say is that’s your own sickness. Look at me, now I’m pre-emptively lashing out at stuff people haven’t said yet. I’ll stop now, but I hope the point comes across: hell, maybe I am being self-pitying. But I’m experiencing real pain, real fear, real despair, and yes I really am sitting here trying to figure out if there’s a good reason to keep dealing with all this shit. It’s not a cry for help… none of you know me, posting anonymously, proxy, no cookies, yadda yadda. It isn’t about me in particular, it’s about tons of people in the same situation who’re feeling the same fear but aren’t stupid and impulsive and frightened-beyond-caring enough to go all TMI in public. We’re out here, we’re scared, we have nobody to speak for us and we hope you won’t forget about us. Forget speaking for us, with all the cuts mental health services are experiencing we barely even have anyone to talk to. Isolated, crazy and scared shitless: always a great combo.
Point made I suppose. Thanks for well, doing whatever it is you all just did. I just felt like this needs to be said. Sorry again.
WereBear
It’s wonderful to have places and spaces to let dogs do what they are made to do.
Maude
@jak:
Here we go. A pundit is telling the president what to do. Yup.
suzanne
Ohhhh, what a cutie patootie.
Why hasn’t anyone figured out how to make the time between midnight and 5AM actually 8 hours long? Holy tired.
gogol's wife
Love that dog. I needed that this morning.
johnny's mom
I came here for the dog stories. I come back for the dog stories. Beautiful HAPPY! looking dog.
Best description EVERRRR
(Johnny is a spitz): A greyhound or a Shiba will chase a whim until they cross the state line.
johnny's mom
@ burnspbesq: Great article. Thanks for pointing it out
Douglas Bruce shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy the convenience of pulic roads, the protection of the police and fire departments, and shouldn’t be allowed a paycheck. He won’t pay into it, he shouldn’t get anything out of it.
My head explodes at the idea that he wants credit for donating his paycheck to an unnamed charity, when it’s his organization that he created. What do you want to bet that he’s the sould beneficiary of Active Citizens Together?
cxs
@APP
Hope this isn’t too little too late, but please don’t allow aimless speculation to push you over the edge. I know it feels impossible, but try to reach out to someone or a group near you that can be an anchor of perspective. Fear can be crippling and shut down rational thinking; it can help to have a third party be your sanity and voice of reason.
asiangrrlMN
Ah, Noche is beautiful and just as she is meant to be.
iPirate
Looks like he’s got some Cattle Dog. Handsome dog.