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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

No offense, but this thread hasn’t been about you for quite a while.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

A last alliance of elves and men. also pet photos.

We need fewer warriors in public service and more gardeners.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Screw the Judean People’s Front. Splitters.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

Shocking, but not surprising

Shock troops for the Unitarian Jihad.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Tick tock motherfuckers! Tick fucking tock!

Good luck with your asparagus.

Saul Alinsky is my co-pilot.

Gastritis broke my calculator.

All your base are belong to Tunch.

We can agree to disagree, but i’m right.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Yes we did.

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beloved Walter, wearing antlers, and Ellie, both looking right at the camera

Pet Blogging

You are here: Home / Archives for Pet Blogging

Open Thread: Biden Pets Take Over Twitter

by TaMara (HFG)|  January 25, 202110:24 am| 46 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads, Pet Blogging

🐾Winston is giving us cattitude for not featuring @ROLEX kitties too, so ⬇️. PS: Kudos to Mr. Williams for his keen pawbservation skills, especially during an event with high security risk status, after a failed coup d'état. 📷 credit: https://t.co/OWMJPOGQHn & Jaquez808 @reddit pic.twitter.com/4rPl5sradE

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 (@TheOvalPawffice) January 25, 2021

My favorite new follow on twitter. Can’t wait for the cat to take over.  Winston is Biden’s granddaughter’s cat and is handling twitter cat duties until we get a cat in the Whitehouse, again.

🐾Awoooof! Friends, I got so excited to finally arrive home and see my parents, that I had to run a bit to get that extra energy out before getting inside, that’s why I’m not in the “group” pawhto. Even my tongue is happy. Champ handled the situation much better. – Major #DOTUS👅 pic.twitter.com/hHZwf5rTwt

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 (@TheOvalPawffice) January 25, 2021

🐾 Very impawrtant pawddendum: this photo was taken by @dcclphoto, the White House photographer for our dada @POTUS when he was @VP44, at our Naval Pawbservatory Residence. David Lienemann is also the author of “The Obama Years and the Battle for the Soul of America.” Awooof!

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 (@TheOvalPawffice) January 24, 2021

 

🐾 Friends, I already pawdmitted and openly woofed about my little hand nip incident that pawccurred when I was a tiny pup, in 2009. You saw the “aftermath” but you didn’t see me red pawed, until now. Here’s the moment the nip happened, captured purrfectly by @dcclphoto. #DOTUS pic.twitter.com/3rO6YUio7H

— The Oval Pawffice® 🇺🇸 (@TheOvalPawffice) January 24, 2021

Okay, hopefully, that’s enough to put your Monday on the right track. Click on any of the tweets to see them all.

Also: Their products on their website, of course all go to fund animal organizations.

Open thread

 

Open Thread: Biden Pets Take Over TwitterPost + Comments (46)

Monday Evening Respite Open Thread: Dogs, Bruh

by Anne Laurie|  January 18, 20215:21 pm| 56 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads


Who, me?!?

this dog mocking a Corgi has me in tears pic.twitter.com/EnV0f9uI8I

— yella enchanted (@chantshmant) January 2, 2021

There’s a sucker born every minute, and some of them live with dogs…

A South Korean startup has developed an AI-powered dog collar that can detect five emotions in canines by monitoring their barks using voice-recognition technology https://t.co/hlf28v32kw pic.twitter.com/knKpWDn8RM

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 13, 2021

“he doesn’t bite”

“he just throws cinderblocks” pic.twitter.com/1JQNAAshtL

— Alessio ? (@itscoffeesenpai) January 4, 2021

Or, if you prefer a more formal venue for working on losing those pandemic pounds…

Monday Evening Respite Open Thread: Dogs, BruhPost + Comments (56)

Respite Open Thread: Kamala and Doug Sunday Morning Interview

by TaMara (HFG)|  January 17, 202112:21 pm| 72 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Duck Blogging, Nature & Respite, Something Good Open Thread

Vice-President Elect and soon to be Second Gentleman:

Enjoyed every bit of this while drinking my morning coffee.

Just Some Fuckhead sent along some cute kittehs, Monkey and Jumbo, that I’m happy to share:

Respite Open Thread: Kamala and Doug Sunday Morning Interview

 

And here are some winter ducks for you. Unlike those crazy Vermont ducks who run inside at the first sign of snow, mine love snow. I often have to shovel a path so they aren’t up to their little eyes in snow, but they do love it. I also shovel out the area under the bushes so they have somewhere to warm their feet.

Respite Open Thread: Kamala and Doug Sunday Morning Interview 1

Something good open thread

 

 

Respite Open Thread: Kamala and Doug Sunday Morning InterviewPost + Comments (72)

Open Thread: The Case For Hope

by TaMara (HFG)|  January 16, 202111:13 am| 183 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Open Threads

Full video at @MSNBC: https://t.co/JM6em7GNou

— Anand Giridharadas (@AnandWrites) January 16, 2021

It’s scary out there right now. It’s going to be scary for some time to come. What has been unleashed, what has been revealed, is ugly. It is what makes democracies die.

In the despair, it is easy to lose perspective. I certainly do all the time. But from time to time, I step back and try to remember where we are as a country on the arc of things.

And I see then that this is both a very dark time and, potentially, a very bright time. It’s important to hold these truths together.

When I look down at the ground of the present right now, I feel depressed. If I lift my head to the horizon, I see a different picture.

This is not the chaos of the beginning of something. This is the chaos of the end of something.

 

When I’m not overtired and overwhelmed, this has been my feeling. I keep hoping to have the energy to turn back to climate solution research and action.

Here’s a kitty, hoping against hope it will be warm enough for the patio door to be opened (they won’t stay outside if the door is closed because, I don’t know, cats?) As long as they stay in the backyard and come when I call, they will continue to have backyard privileges. Just not when it’s 30 degrees out.

Open thread

Open Thread: The Case For HopePost + Comments (183)

Major Biden’s Indoguration Party – Sunday!

by Cheryl Rofer|  January 15, 20215:17 pm| 59 Comments

This post is in: Pet Blogging, President Biden, Something Good Open Thread

Major Biden leading his chosen human. Taken at Delaware Humane Association

Major Biden will be the first shelter dog to live in the White House. His shelter, the Delaware Humane Association, is having a Zoom party on Sunday to celebrate. You and your dog are invited, for a contribution of $10.

‘Zoom’ in with your pup to:

Major Biden’s Indoguration Party 

Hosted by the Today Show’s Jill Martin with special guest Sir Darius Brown 

Sunday, January 17 at 3pm EST

A $10 minimum donation is required to attend this event.

100% of donations go to DHA’s relief efforts during this difficult time.

RSVP here and Claim Your Spot Now

That last link should take you to the registration page.

Major’s backstory (adorable picture of puppies at link):

In early 2018, the shelter received a litter of six German shepherd puppies, including the future first dog. The puppies were in a medical crisis.

“They were very sick,” said Patrick Carroll, executive director of the Delaware Humane Association. “They had gotten into a toxic substance. We’re not sure what.

“The dogs were lethargic, vomiting and hospitalized for a few days,” Carroll says.

The pups bounced back. They recovered with fluids and medication. The shelter posted to Facebook in March 2018 in search of foster homes. According to Carroll, Ashley Biden sent the post to her father, knowing he was looking for a companion for the aging Champ.

Joe Biden showed up.

“He just dropped in on Easter Sunday of all days,” Carroll said, “and wanted to meet the puppies.”

Soon, Major was in foster with the Bidens. Within months, the news broke that he had found his forever (fur-ever?) home. Biden returned to the shelter with a grown Major to officially adopt him in November 2018.

Open thread for pleasant stuff.

Major Biden’s Indoguration Party – Sunday!Post + Comments (59)

Something Fabulous and Milo: A Love Story (and Gigi too)

by WaterGirl|  January 14, 20218:00 pm| 80 Comments

This post is in: Furry Friends, Guest Posts

Something Fabulous shares her kitties and their story with us.

There is something to be said, another time perhaps, about a feminist critique of pet ownership: Why is it “Cat Lady,” never “Cat Dude”? Why is there no similar snide pejorative about dog people? How many cats do you need, actually, before you get the title? Briefly, the answers are:

  • society still frowns less on men being single and childless;
  • it is much easier, logistically, to hoard, say, 45 cats than dogs in an apartment; and:
  • 3 cats

So, here I am, a formerly proudly dog-only person, and my two cats: Meet Milo and Gigi.

Milo and his brother Oliver had just been returned to the rescue where I volunteer. Oliver, a tabby, was friendly and flirty, literally put his paw out between the bars of the cage to pet me. And when I sat down and opened the door, he came right out and sat on my lap. I was Chosen.

But he was a bonded pair with his very handsome but extremely shy brother Milo. And I had not been in the market for one cat, let alone two. So I went home to think about it, to talk with my landlady about making an exception to the no-pets lease, see if this could be a thing.

Two mornings later, the director of the rescue called me in tears. Oliver had died in his cage overnight. Ultimately the vet looked at his records and noted he’d had a chronic kidney disease and decided he’d likely died of it, exacerbated by all the changes and stress he’d gone through.

I took Milo home that day. Landlady, schmandlady.

Later, our director told me how black cats, shy cats especially, are the hardest to place. She was sure Oliver hung on long enough to find Milo his new home. I, who never cry, and don’t believe in spiritual hoo-ha; wept and wept.

We went on happily for a few years. I would occasionally foster a kitten or 2 (or 4). Keep ‘em in the bathtub, train ‘em up, and send them on their way.

show full post on front page

Something Fabulous and Milo: A Love Story 4Something Fabulous and Milo: A Love Story 3
But then, one stuck:


Because Milo approved.


We named her Gigi. And they became pals.


And the years went by.

About 4 years ago, Milo became diabetic. My Sweet Pootea! So sweet, we joke, he got The Sugar. But! We got on a regimen of testing, insulin, special foods, carried on. All was well!

We continued to get older. And started needing more supplemental help & support. But we carry on, one day at a time, learning new things all along the way.


Then around Mother’s Day last year, I thought I had lost him. Called the emergency final-home-visit vet to see about appointments on the holiday weekend, as he was fading so fast. Wrapped him snugly in a warm bath towel and laid him on my chest to sleep. Our last night together, I thought…

…And he woke at 4 am, shook himself all over, stretched and walked to the foot of the bed, where I’d put a dish of his favorite food, and started to eat. Nothing to see here, move along.

[Note: also a loyal BJ Lurker]

And so here we are now: 17, and not doing so great. And yet: doing great! He keeps pulling out another of the nine lives cards. Always a little skinnier, a little frailer than the time before, but on we go. These last few days, though, that pace has accelerated, noticeably.

We are lucky, I know, to have whatever time we have left. In my head I keep making analogies to my dad, which I realize is a little strange, but nonetheless works for me: he was a tenacious old goat with many many health challenges, but still defied all medical predictions for years, and somehow lived to be 86. I remember making a Facebook post at the time we put our dad in hospice, something like, “We don’t know exactly how the road will go from here, or how long we will be on it, but we are on that road.” And I feel something similar here, with Milo: every day is a challenge, and has some annoyances, and is a gift.

This last year has sucked so much. But fortunately, my extreme unemployment has also meant that I had all the time in the world to micro-manage his blood sugar readings, his food intake, all that. And in my extreme isolation and home-bound-ness, they have been there for me, and each other.

None of us knows where the road is going, but sooner or later we are all on that road. At least we can be on it, together.

And we will go out, I hope, holding paws.

 

Something Fabulous and Milo: A Love Story (and Gigi too)Post + Comments (80)

Whatever Today is (Tuesday? Wednesday?) Morning Open Thread

by John Cole|  January 6, 20219:55 am| 69 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging

Lily is very relieved we won Georgia and is not going to pay attention to the fascists throwing a tantrum in DC unless we get to watch the police use batons and a water cannon on them.

Whatever Today is (Tuesday?  Wednesday?) Morning Open Thread

Lily is a very wise dog. You should do the same.

Whatever Today is (Tuesday? Wednesday?) Morning Open ThreadPost + Comments (69)

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