The Difference Between Dogs

by 6:07 pm. It has 91 Comments.

The difference between my dogs, explained.

The water bowl downstairs empty.

Lily: Sit quietly by the dog bowl when I go into the kitchen an wait for me to glance at her and realize the bowl is empty.

Thurston: Aggressively lap at the empty bowl, banging collar and name tag off the rim of the bowl making an unbelievable ruckus.

Rosie: Knock the god damned bowl into living room.





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Greater Houston Area Cat Bleg

by 5:27 pm. It has 88 Comments.

I received an email yesterday from a reader/lurker looking for some help regarding feral cats in Dickinson, Texas. After a few emails back and forth, I got the details nailed down. Here’s what she sent me:

I live on 517 West in Dickinson, Texas and we have a very bad situation with feral cats. They are continuing to reproduce, too many kittens. We need some agency to come in with cages to capture, fix, and release these cats. This is a senior living center and most cannot transport animals. We need help with this situation. This is so unkind and cruel to these animals. Please respond so we can get some help. Thank you.

The population of cats is getting out of hand, there are some individuals who have been feeding them and don’t understand they are doing more harm than good.  Hopefully some of these cats can be adopted.  Thank you for your concern.

I talked to someone inside the city of Houston and they do not operate in my area.  I am just hoping for someone willing to come and catch the cats, etc. The lady I talked to didn’t know of any agency here that would do what we need.  I thank you for any help you can give. Once again thank you, Laraine.

So any Juicers who live in the greater Houston area and have some suggestions on how to help out Laraine, please sound off in the comments. I’m going to email her so she knows to check in in the comments, or at least lurk, so she sees what you all recommend.

Thanks!

Open thread.


Saturday Morning Open Thread: SN@W

by 3:20 am. It has 232 Comments.

Here in the Boston area, we’ve had unnervingly little snow so far this winter — but the weathermedia are cheerfully predicting that we’ll double our seasonal tally by Tuesday. And right now, I have the barometric pressure headache to support that theory. On the other hand, if it’s the kind of light fluffy powder we got earlier this week, at least our 17-year-old rescue Zevon will enjoy himself hugely…

Not quite as much (or nearly as persistently) as Blair Braverman’s crew of professional athletes, of course!

… Braverman, a dog-sledder, author and correspondent for Outside magazine, is one of 17 women racing in this year’s Iditarod, a record 32.7 percent of the field. ­­­

“Mushing is one of the only sports where men and women compete together at elite level,” she says. “We are taken seriously as athletes because there’s no chance for people to tell themselves we’re not on the same playing field.”

But she doesn’t consider herself just an athlete. She’s also a coach, a nutritionist, a parent, even a veterinary tech for her team. All her dogs, 14 hand-picked racers from a group of 20 that she has been training, have undergone physicals as extensive as the preparations for any professional athlete in the NBA or NFL, from electrocardiograms to vaccinations.

The dogs are a sharp but motley crew of strong personalities. Pepe is the steady, “mature” head of the pack. Flame is Braverman’s “shadow” and has raced with her in every qualifier. Jenga, Flame’s half sister, “doesn’t suffer fools.”…

“People are getting to know these dogs as pets, as friends, and they’re also seeing them as elite athletes,” she says. “It’s like rooting for your favorite sports team, but they all happen to be dogs.”…


Ladies, Gentlemen, and Jackals of All Ages: Start Your Pens, Blank Cards, Stationery, Email, and Dog Pictures

by 8:06 pm. It has 33 Comments.

Putting the clarifying update at the top:

Apparently the cards and letters were becoming overwhelming, so Emma’s family have asked that people simply post their messages and pictures to this Facebook page:

Hello all! Please share this page as a way for people to post pictures of their dogs instead of mailing or emailing. We are getting overwhelmed with the mail and would appreciate this avenue instead.

Posted by Team Emma – Emmalovesdogs7 on Thursday, February 28, 2019

Bella Q emailed this across to me earlier today.

There’s a little girl in Wisconsin who could use some good wishes, some cheering up, and some dog pictures. I’m sure she’ll also be happy if someone sends her a picture of their bobcat or a Balloon Juice calendar (cough, Cole, cough…).

So get those pens and blank cards out, your especially good dog pictures (yes, we know, they’re all especially good dogs!), and your emails ready and get to it.

Apparently the cards and letters were becoming overwhelming, so Emma’s family have asked that people simply post their messages and pictures to this Facebook page:

Hello all! Please share this page as a way for people to post pictures of their dogs instead of mailing or emailing. We are getting overwhelmed with the mail and would appreciate this avenue instead.

Posted by Team Emma – Emmalovesdogs7 on Thursday, February 28, 2019

The Dog Lanterns of Sector 2814 are already on their way!

In canine day, in barkest night,

No squirrel shall escape our sight,

Let those who worship feline might,

Beware our power, Dog Lanterns’ light!

We thank you for your support!

Open thread!





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Pot for Pets! (Open Thread)

by 4:20 pm. It has 47 Comments.

From Reuters:

Martha Stewart, Canadian pot business in joint effort aimed at pets

Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart is joining Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth as an adviser to help develop and launch a line of pot-based products for humans and animals, it said on Thursday.

The deal between Sequential Brands Group Inc, which owns the Martha Stewart brand, and Canopy will seek to leverage Stewart’s knowledge of consumer products in the launch of products based on CBD, the non-psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.

Stewart, who became a household name through her books and cooking and lifestyle television shows starting in the 1980s, co-hosts a show with rapper Snoop Dogg, who made headlines last year for smoking marijuana in front of the White House.

What a time to be alive. Open thread!





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