Two unrelated Lily stories to end a shitty day:
1.) I’ve noticed an odd quirk about this dog. She simply does not like getting her feet wet. Whenever it is raining, she will simply go outside, turn right around, and come back in with a “I’ll hold it” look on her face. When it stops raining, she absolutely refuses to walk through any puddles. She’ll stop like a mule, and if there is no way around the puddle, I have to pick her up. And at night this spring, when there is dew on the ground, when we do our bedtime potty, she refuses to get off the sidewalk. I have to push her on the butt into the grass, and then she will grudgingly do a quick potty and then come back onto the concrete. I find this odd. And no, there is nothing wrong with her feet.
2.) Last night, because it was warm, Lily was sleeping next to me on top of the covers. When it is cold, she sleeps underneath them nestled up against my right thigh (she and Tunch have worked this out somehow- she gets the right, he gets the left side). But around 2:30, I woke up because Lily was kicking me. I thought she was dreaming and running in her sleep, so I just moved a little bit. But then I looked at her and noticed she was wide awake, and was now taking advantage of the extra room and stretching. I looked at her and said “You have to be shitting me. You couldn’t move? You had to wake me up and make me move so you could stretch out?” And then she looked guilty and rolled over and offered me her belly, so I pet it and everything was ok.
I love my pets.
KRK
Oy.
BethanyAnne
hehe, cute. Annnnd, since it’s an open thread, I got a job!
There was a bit of job drama last week, but this one looks for real. It’s contingent on me passing a drug and background screening, but my vices are Warcraft and carbohappydrates, so I should be fine. I are happy! /dances
jeffreyw
Jack brought Mrs J a snake from the pond today. He loves his doggy mommy.
Comrade Kevin
Awwwww.
jeffreyw
@BethanyAnne: Yay!
BethanyAnne
One reason that I’m more confident about this job is that interviews and such have been ongoing for about the past six (!) months. They move slowly, but it looks like if they offer a job, they mean it. Part of me still won’t believe until after the first day, which may still be 7 or 8 days away, but I’m happy anyways. :)
Cain
@BethanyAnne:
Congratulations!!! Welcome back to the ranks of the employed!
cain
Brachiator
And they have trained you very well.
It always amazes me how Lily has responded to your affection and created a place for herself in your life. Equally amazing how she has formed some kind of detente with Tunch.
jeffreyw
Last week I feared the hummers were gonna never come. Now I’ve got em lining up.
KRK
@BethanyAnne:
Congrats!
BethanyAnne
@jeffreyw: Oh, and Jeffrey, I thought you might be interested. I made this:
recipezaar.com/recipe/Jalapentildeo-Spoon-Bread-89820
last night. Looked like something you might be interested in trying. I stuck pretty closely to the recipe. My changes were adding about 4 tablespoons of adobo, and a shake of cayenne, and baking it for an hour at 325 instead of 50 min at 350. Really yummy with sour cream on the side.
Corner Stone
Of course you noticed this – it cost you $100,000 in medical costs and several weeks of therapy.
Silver
One of my dogs does the same thing when it’s wet. He’s held it for more than 24 hours instead of going out in the rain. Then the sun comes out, and he’ll take what seems like a 3 minute leak.
He’s lucky we don’t live in the PNW…
BethanyAnne
@Cain:
@KRK:
ty ty!
@Corner Stone: /snicker
slag
@BethanyAnne: Congratulations! So glad it all worked out in the end!
Good anecdotes and good news are good.
Mnemosyne
Our late cat Natasha was of the opinion that everyone in the bed should get an equal share whether they were human-sized or cat-sized. So, yes, we would end up squished together because Natasha had to have her full third of the bed. After all, there were three of us, right?
jeffreyw
@BethanyAnne: Looks good!
aliasofwestgate
My mom’s schnauzer/poodle mix did the same thing. She absolutely detested getting wet, and that includes michigan snows too. She’d do her duty in the snow, but she always made it quick. If it was pouring rain? Turn around and wait till it let up. Which could be an hour or a solid day of waiting. She always managed.
Some dogs, like people. Can NOT stand to get their feet wet. *shrugs*
General Egali Tarian Stuck
Ha. Charlie only goes once a day, and always when we are on our late afternoon walk. There is a bedtime pee however. He will walk thru anything, including any puddles we come across.
As far as odd habits, at night when I hit the sack, he jumps up and for a minute or two licks the sleeping bag for some strange reason. Doesn’t do it any other time. He is a spooner though, and has to be up against me, usually behind the crook of my knees, or stomach or chest area.
And he has a habit of when petting, the back area above his tail must be some kind of doggie erogenous zone because when I touch it he raises his back up and even jumps his back feet up and down.
The male dog thing of needing to mark every thing that sticks out of the ground when walking is amusing and a little annoying too, then he paws up the dust and looks around to see if any other doggies notice how tough he is.
slag
@Silver: This rain aversion is a weird attribute.
My cats will go out on the deck when it’s raining just for fun. The rain doesn’t seem to bother them much at all. They just track their wet paws onto the hardwoods when they come in, and all is right with the world.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Our little dog does the same thing. Nothing will make him get his feet wet. Our big dog doesn’t mind her feet getting wet, but she’s gotten so spoiled that she no longer goes outside in the rain.
russell
I had lots of pets growing up. Dogs, cats, birds, turtles. Salamanders and frogs, which I would catch and keep as “pets” until they either died or my mother snuck them back out of the house.
A while back I had two zebra finches and a very, very old cat. The finches would have contests to see which one could fling their poo furthest. The cat had lost her mind and considered anything made of plastic to be her litter box, which included my tool box and the computer printer.
After that particular crew of critters moved on to the big pet store in the sky, I decided I would henceforth not share my living space with anyone or anything that couldn’t deal with its own crap. No more wiping guano off of the kitchen walls, no more raking kitty turds out of clay pellets. And for damned sure no collecting dog poo in little plastic baggies.
So, now it’s just my wife and I.
shirt
@BethanyAnne — Congrats! I been back to full time for my 2nd week now after 18 months of 20% pay reduction with a cutback (laid-back) to 1/2 time. Kept my insurance which allowed my wifes broken patella to get fixed!
Our double pair of keets never suffered through all this: Molly showed up on our porch about 4 years ago — Moe was purchased as a companion for Molly. Then Max showed up on July 5th almost 2 years ago — He fell dead asleep on Moe & Molly’s cage which was airing out on the back porch — wonder how July 4th night was for him, hey? Macy was bought because the Wife felt her blue color finished the set. They are loud, obnoxious and always start the wistle-shriek contest when I’m deep into a book (or they be out of food).
Much better than an alarm clock!
Seitz
Dogs, especially smaller dogs, are weird. We had a dog (a cockapoo) that decided she didn’t like grass as she got older. She’d relieve herself on the cement around our backyard. You could pick her up and put her on the grass, and she find the shortest route off the yard, and walk all the way around the grass portion of the yard to get back into the house. She didn’t care for wet ground either.
She was a great dog, though.
FoxinSocks
My mother’s dog, Josephine the very dainty Pitbull, hates getting her feet wet too. And she hates the wind, and if it’s too cold, she wants to wear a sweater…hence her name. But if it’s raining, it’s almost impossible to get her to go to the bathroom, you have to drag her through the rain while she shoots you these dirty looks.
jl
How is Tunch with water?
He is part Turkish Van, right?
When I was growing up, some neighbors had a cat that was probably part Turkish Van, though they were not sophisticated cat people and just said it had some kind of exotic Turkish cat breed in it.
That cat loved water and was in its own cat heaven during the summer, when it could wade through puddles on the lawn and run through the sprinker water.
These neighbors were very proud of their water cat.
freelancer (itouch)
Awww JC, that’s too sweet. My day has been half hell, and half okay. I’ll just have to leave it there.
MobiusKlein
My
petsuh kids were cool today, bodacious weather in sunny San Francisco. A little bike ride, baseball coaching, and beer made the day good.But I won’t get into their bathroom habits. Things pet owners talk about….
Oh wait, We talked about the little poops of our butterfly caterpillars that we are raising.
Yup, parents suck too.
slag
@russell:
This maxim could apply to so many situations.
Church Lady
Now we know who wears the pants in chez Cole, and it’s definitely not JC. Lily has pretty much made him her bitch. Sounds like even Tunch’s rule has been usurped. How does it feel to have no power?
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
John, I’ll give you a similar version that’s also complicated.
We adopted a small corgie/mutt rescue, Josie, and she refuses to do her business on our property. Our other dog, a heeler named George, has no qualms about using the backyard. But the corgie will hold it for hours rather than pee or defecate near home. We call her “the camel”. The result: We have to take multiple walks daily to let her do her stuff outside her territory. I’m told this is not an uncommon trait for certain dogs.
BTW, as a small “lowrider” dog Josie also doesn’t like getting her paws and belly wet. So we have both space and weather to contend with!
ruemara
My elder kitty must, must, must be outside, come rain or shine. It takes a near monsoon to be too miserable for him to be out for a bit. Even then, it must be a cold nasty NCal rain for that to happen. You’re a good person if your pets love you, Cole.
@BethanyAnne:
Super big congrats to you! And I like to think of WoW skills as a job enhancement. Just like chocolate eating. Now if Mr Rue will land a job. 2 years straight and no takers. trying to keep the faith.
@Church Lady:
Are you always this…much a detraction to ladies of faith?
TrishB
@Mnemosyne: What? You mean 2 miniature schnauzers and one human don’t share a queen sized bed equally? Damn, I need to find that universe.
CynDee
What great stories all through this thread. Looking forward to sweet dreams now.
BethanyAnne, so very glad for you. Best of luck.
tim
What’s with you people who can’t let your pets have their own sleeping space? Weird.
Boundaries are good for owner and pet.
baldheadeddork
Your dog stories are giving Tbogg a run for his money.
veralynn
I just recently lost my baby of 13 and a half years to liver cancer. She is the first of the kids I will be having. I am getting a dog from The Humane Society in the next couple of weeks. I have been a bit apprehensive about getting a dog and not a puppy, so when I read about Lily, I am comforted, thank you.
TrishB
@tim: Mine both have their own sleeping spaces, yet somehow they still end up in my bed.
Omnes Omnibus
We had an English Cocker when I was a kid. Hated the rain, hated damp grass, hated getting a bath, but LOVED to swim. He also loved snow; he would put his face down it and snowplow, then bound around. Pets is weird.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
It is creepy beyond words at the similarity of general sentiment of southerners prior to the Civil War, and those today we see at tea bag rallies. Take away the existence of slavery and the weird irrational fears of the Federal Government (yankees) coming to take away their property and freedom is about the same now as it was then.
CaseyL
I love hearing about the sleeping arrangements at Chez Cole.
Ever live with multiple kitties who hate each other and love sleeping with you?
Try sleeping with one cat snuggled under each arm and a third cat snuggled between your knees – and if they catch sight of one another, Kitty War breaks out with your stomach as the battlefield so you Don’t. Dare. Move. Hell, try getting comfortable like that, never mind sleeping. If you must move, you ever so carefully slide out through the top of the bed, inchworming over the pillow, removing yourself from the bed like a cork from the bottle.
That was a few cats ago. The current crew don’t mind each other nearly so much – but Jeannie is figuring out how to kick me over to the edge of the bed so she can stretch out in the middle of the bed.
And Cole, for the love of Gaia please please please do not ever ever again pick up Lily because her feet are wet/cold/muddied. Either get her booties or let her suffer her feet to be cold, wet, and dirty. Got that?
BethanyAnne
Ty all!
@ruemara:
Yikes! It was, um, August of 2008 when my last contract ended. Right when the BigShitpile hit the fan. And this is an actual job. So, keep the faith! Might be that things are truly looking up. /crosses fingers for ya
And Veralynn, so sorry to hear that.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@TrishB: tim is a jackass troll that specializes in trying to stir up shit. Ignore him.
scav
@Church Lady: Kill yourself much with your own venom, O! ye of the professed faith?!
trollhattan
Goddamn dogs. They can be tiny when they want to, then when they get on the bed they’re all, “I’m lockin’ mah knees in landing pozishun and yer havin’ no more room, hooman! Ah-ha-ha-ha!”
Goddamn dogs. Also too, they have their goddamn doggie nightmares, running and twitching and squeaking. Skvirrel escape, again!
Dal #1 was big enough to evict two humans from a queen bed. Dal #2, a dainty thang, can only evict one at a time.
Unless she has gas.
Adam Collyer
Love that Lily won’t get her feet wet without a fight. Dodger’s the same way. He’s a rambunctious, playful cockapoo, but he refuses to get his feet wet or walk through puddles…
…unless it’s snow. In which case, he’ll happily bound through it, eat it, and stand in it for hours if you’d let him.
Dogs are hilarious.
Mister Tactful
My Bernardette, may she rest in peace, flatly refused to walk on anything wet, either. She was a dalmatian mutt.
Waylon the Wiener Dog, on the other hand, swims like a fish.
KDP
@BethanyAnne: My heartiest congratulations! Woot!
Dave C
We love your pets too, John. Speaking of which, I recently collected a tarantula from the CA Bay Area (I work in an arachnology lab) and decided to keep her as a pet. I named her Betsy, and she is simply the darlingest little tarantula that you ever did see. And, no, I’m not even remotely joking. I really kinda love her.
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
@Omnes Omnibus: Is there a dog anywhere who likes a bath? My cattle dog will happily play for hours in the surf, but when I take him out back to wash the sand off he’s suddenly glum.
jl
@Dave C:
Sweet stories tonight.
Lily and Tunch dividing up Cole.
Tarantula love.
But, it would be hazardous for both’s health to sleep with a tarantula.
HE Pennypacker, Wealthy Industrialist
@Church Lady: Hope you don’t own pets.
PeakVT
Don’t forget sloth love.
MattR
@Dave C: That sounds like the right wing’s worst fears about gay marriage.
YellowJournalism
Our little terrier does this, too. She also will sit herself on my feet and start scooting herself back and forth so that she’s nestled between my ankles. It’s very much like my childhood cat who passed away, so sometimes when I’m half asleep I find myself using the cat’s name to tell the dog to move so I can get up.
My favorite thing was when she would climb up on my side when I was pregnant and laying down on the couch. She would put her head on my baby bump protectively and give me the big eyes. So very sweet.
Unabogie
I’ve been hard on Digby at times, but this is a must read:
digbysblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/tyranny-for-dummies.html
jl
@Unabogie:
Most bizarre extract from Digby:
“today’s Senate Homeland Security hearings… conservatives had a complete fit at Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s complaint that people on the terrorist watch list can buy any gun they like and there’s nothing anyone can do about it[,] while at the same time they all thoughtfully pondered whether or not we should strip them of their citizenship.”
Thanks. I will sleep better tonight knowing that people like that are part of my government.
slag
@PeakVT: I love sloths! Love them. Would love to see a good documentary dedicated to sloths, but the only one I’ve found so far is marred by annoying instrumental music and creepy voiceover.
Anne Laurie
Certain breeds of toy dogs are NOTORIOUS for this — further proof, to my mind, that Lily is part chihuahua. Six out of the seven papillons we’ve lived with over the last 25 years have shared the Spousal Unit’s opinion that their arses are made of sugar & will melt in the rain. It would be pitiful to watch them throw their hairy little bodies against the door as they beg for rescue, if I didn’t know from past experience that they’ll sneak off & pee in a corner of the kitchen if I don’t harden my heart & insist they use the yard. (Now snow, on the other hand — snow my guys adore racing around in, even when it’s so deep the humans have to carve out ‘latrine trails’ because the drifts are taller than they are.)
The Spousal Unit had a nine-foot “porch” extension built over the back stoop when our roof was replaced, partially so the dogs would have a dry place to pee. It hasn’t helped much, because frankly our guys seem to be spatially challenged when it comes to figuring out where the ‘porch’ ends.
Incidentally, being dainty about where they put their feet is sufficiently common in dogs that part of the Temperament Test involves “walking over strange surfaces”, like a piece of hardware cloth lying flat on the ground. Dogs are beasts of the foot — their pads are surprisingly sensitive, and they quite sensibly don’t care to risk injury in situations to which they haven’t been habituated. As with so many other things, some dogs are pickier than others and will require more… encouragement… to cooperate with our peculiar human demands. Given Lily’s ability to manipulate you, Mr. Cole, I’d just go find some booties that you both can stand well in advance of next winter!
asiangrrlMN
@BethanyAnne: Woo hoo! Doing a seated happy dance for you. Crossing fingers that all goes well with this one (and in hindsight, it’s a good thing the last one got messed up, amirite?).
@veralynn: So sorry to hear that, veralynn. My deepest condolences to you on your loss.
@Unabogie: Man. That’s some crazy shit right there.
Cole, I love your stories about Lily and Tunch. They really make me smile. Pictures would be nice, too.
P.S. There is no way to comment on dengre’s latest CHM post about Newt. What’s up with that?
eco2geek
I had a marriage like that, too.
Srsly, congratulations on the new job, BethanyAnne.
Joseph Nobles
@jl:
Craziest thing I ever watched. Aunt Pittypat Graham was hyperventilating about violating the Second Amendment. Then he caught his breath and manage to solicit Bloomberg and Kelly for his crusade against reading Miranda warnings to terror suspects. And then the very idea of stopping suspected terrorists from buying a gun sent him off again. “It’s a constitutional right we’re talkin about violatin!”
Hoo boy.
Kristine
@BethanyAnne: Congratulations!
IronyAbounds
@russell: You are lucky. I’ve been picking up dog crap for the better part of 43 years, and frankly I could stand to do without it at this point in my life. I appreciate how some people need pets in their lives, but I don’t need that sort of validation, so all I get out them is the clean up part and paying for vet and grooming bills.
Unfortunately, my wife feels the need for a small dog to take the place of our kids who are no longer young and as affectionate enough, plus we have two larger dogs that our kids really HAD to have. I really don’t like small dogs, but I’m stuck with at least one for the rest of my life. The things we do for our spouses.
TuiMel
Cole, I love how all things doggie are revelations for you.
My JRT will literally take steps on only his front paws when looking to do his business in wet grass. At bedtime I try ever so diligently to stake out 50% of the bed – and it’s a struggle. I don’t know why I bother, because he’s always at 75% by morning…
TuiMel
PS: Congrats, Bethany Anne
sloan
“This is Machete, with a special Cinco de Mayo message… to Arizona!”
They just fucked with the wrong Mexican. MACHETE
I hope this trailer is real.
Love the cast.
Anne Laurie
@BethanyAnne: Congratulations!
@jeffreyw: LOL! I hope Mrs. J was able to accept Jack’s gift in the spirit it was offered…
YellowJournalism
@sloan: Real trailer. Rodriguez has publically come out against the Arizona law.
Punchy
Just SCUBA’d for the first time in 9 yrs. Damn its good to be a (ocean) gansta. Even got 2 go tete-a-tete w/ a moray n full grown sea turtles. Adult turtles don’t take any shit from humans, apparently.
Linda Featheringill
@BethanyAnne: Wonderful! A job! A good one, I hope.
sloan
@YellowJournalism: Cool. I’m there.
BethanyAnne
Thanks, all! :-D
Aye, this is a good job. If it were in the Bay Area instead of the Gulf Coast, I’d settle in and try to stay indefinitely. As it is, I wouldn’t be surprised to spend an extra few months here, maybe staying in Houston for a year instead of for the next 6-8 months.
Anne Laurie
@scav: My theory — which I will continue to play with as long as it drives the avatar in question (even more) bvgfvck — is that if Balloon Juice had its own NSA monitor, it would be the CL name-holder. You can tell which CL contract worker is on a particular shift by noticing whether pet stories get them to chime in or to start attacking the blog-host…
asiangrrlMN
@Anne Laurie: That’s funny as hell. Can you fix dengre’s thread so I can comment on Newt?
Cathie from Canada
Labradors are supposed to love water, and our yellow lab Chillou doesn’t care whether its raining or snowing, out he goes bounding along. But our black lab Sam hates the rain — he pokes his head outside and if it is raining he literally backs up to get back into the house. Then we insist that he must go out and he will reluctantly comply, with all sorts of cringing and sorrowful looks, creeping out right next to the house and finally making a dash to the yard. So as a result of all this folderol, Chillou is actually often finished before Sam. Then Chillou will come bounding back in, realize Sam isn’t with him, then demand to go back out again — to check that Sam is OK, I guess. So he fires back out and by then Sam is finished and so proud of himself, kicking cedar chips against the fence and trotting back in saying ‘Rain? Why, who cares about a little rain?” and then Chillou will make a couple of circles around Sam and dash back for the door, because Chillou always has to be first, ahead of Sam through any door.
We laugh and laugh — and we’re laughing with them, not at them.
Don’t get me started on how they tag-team my husband at 6 am when they decide its time for breakfast…
Mnemosyne
@sloan:
Real. I think they just added on that little intro part.
They did a fake “Machete” trailer for Grindhouse and it was so popular they decided to make a whole movie. Looks like they got both the Rodriguez and the Tarantino repertory companies to participate.
Anne Laurie
@asiangrrlMN: Try it now. I fixed what should have been an insignificant glitch in comment #30. It let me post from Firefox, anyways.
Hob
My dog officially crossed the line from smart to smart-ass last week. We were hanging out in a friend’s back yard, and Zero was content to let us sit around drinking beer and bullshitting as long as I would throw the tennis ball around at regular intervals. Then the ball rolled off around the side of the house where there’s a big row of bushes, and he ran off after it and came back a few minutes later with nothing, looking hopeless. I’m a sucker, so I went over there and poked around in the bushes for a few minutes. He watched, and watched, and finally when I was looking equally hopeless, he leaned over and picked up the ball from a little pile of leaves where it had been sitting next to him the whole time.
Allan
I take it more as a sign of the dog’s intelligence that it notices in the first place.
Mine has perfected the look that says, “It’s not punishment enough that I must be dependent on the humans for access to my own bathroom, it’s got to be outside, and cold, and wet, and I’m barefoot. Great.”
Mark S.
Mark Levin, of course, is still butthurt by what Manzi wrote and somehow managed to piss off another Cornerite I’ve never heard of. I bring this up merely because Levin has got to be the shittiest writer who has ever written for National Review:
And
So not only does Levin have the most unlistenable radio show on Earth, he is practically unreadable. Please don’t take offense, Mark, say, link way.
Mark S.
Mark Levin, of course, is still butthurt by what Manzi wrote and somehow managed to piss off another Cornerite I’ve never heard of. I bring this up merely because Levin has got to be the shittiest writer who has ever written for National Review:
And
So not only does Levin have the most unlistenable radio show on Earth, he is practically unreadable. Please don’t take offense, Mark, say, link way.
asiangrrlMN
@Anne Laurie: Thanks! It’s fixed. I posted my oh-so-trenchant comment. Snert.
@Hob: That’s bad-ass. I like your dog!
@Mark S.: Man, my brain just died a little reading those two excerpts.
de stijl
@Mark S.:
I was about to Google “in sest” thinking it was some fancy Latin phrase that a pedestrian lumpenschlub like me wouldn’t understand.
Dan Quayle must be damned proud.
Mark S.
@de stijl:
You know Levin, always quoting Virgil.
Nah, I was just mad he tripped the spam filter on me.
MikeJ
@de stijl: As much as I despise William F. Buckley, he would have flogged anybody who attempted to write for NR with Levin’s skill set.
Don’t get me wrong, he was completely evil, but at least he was literate.
de stijl
@MikeJ:
Totally would’ve gone full-on Gore Vidal on his unlettered ass.
Randy P
@veralynn:
We’ve never had anything but adults. We joke about being a pet retirement home. The shelters in my experience give you a chance to meet the prospective dog and see how you get along. While you may miss a quirk or two in that meeting, you should get a pretty good feel for basic friendliness and personality. Our shelter dogs have come to us as adults and all been valued additions to the family.
At this point I have no intention of getting a dog simply because of my lifestyle. There are no humans in the house for extended periods, including frequent overnights. The last remaining cat is fairly self-sufficient, but even she’s become emotionally needy and when I’m home I have to pick her up every once in a while and reassure her she’s still a pet.
@IronyAbounds: I say the same thing about small dogs in the abstract, but even the little ones can grow on you in person. My youngest sister has a chihuahua. I wouldn’t go out of my way to own a chihuahua, but that little guy is awfully cute and friendly.
The exception is if they’re disturbed and weird. My mom had a bichon frise (actually he now lives with the chihuahua after my mom’s passing) who was always completely terrified of me. I have only very rarely experienced a dog who I couldn’t make friends with.
stuckinred
Lil Bit doesn’t like to get her feet wet but the Bohdi loves to find deep puddles and roar through them like a motorboat with his mouth in the water!
MikeJ
This isn’t an up note, so I guess it’s OT, even in an open thread. Didja see the “joke” Leno had about the would be car bomber?
Is there anybody who didn’t already think Leno was a petty shithead?
WereBear
@BethanyAnne: Yay, hope so!
My malamute mix, Roscoe, was a good puppy who got the hang of housebreaking quickly, but on the fourth day, it rained. I found a puddle by the back door and expressed my dismay, and he gave me a look that said, Even in the rain? I made him go out anyway, and after that he would go out in the rain and do all his usual stations, only at triple speed.
I appreciate that for some people pets are more trouble than they are worth, but I have yet to feel that way. It simply does not feel like home without some little furry face in it.
It probably is unlikely and deleterious to find alien life, but reaching across the species barrier and communicating with intelligent life in one’s own home; that’s an adventure I have yet to get tired of.
kommrade reproductive vigor
This is why the cats got barred from the bedroom. When I was single there was (usually) just enough room on the bed for me. The furry assholes like stretch out side ways, poking me with their hind claws, causing me to shift over. Then they’d creep closer and repeat the stretch tactic until by morning I woke up because I was precariously balanced on 1/3 of an inch of the bed.
Try this with two people and two bed-hogging cats and a human will wind up with no bed half-way through the night, so out they went. And now years later they still scratch at the door and howl for an hour (or hide in the room until we’re asleep and then howl when we throw them out at 3 am) because they can’t believe we won’t let them sleep on their bed.
Rosalita
@kommrade reproductive vigor:
you mean like this? In addition to being a bed hog, he’s so heavy I can’t move. But he’s so damn cute.
Rosalita
@stuckinred:
and then shake the water off wildly, amirite?
stuckinred
@Rosalita: Oh yea! He’s a husky samoyed mix (we won a DNA test for him) who looks like Lily but is about 45lbs.
brantl
JC, you officially have a spoiled dog, now.
Avid Reader
Both of these traits describe my two dogs exactly. HATE getting their tootsies wet, and routinely kick me at night to get more room in the bed.
pika
@BethanyAnne: That is f’ing fantastic! Thank goodness.
kommrade reproductive vigor
@Rosalita: Exactleee. And the chief offender is that big (or bigger). The smaller cat seemed to gain weight when in bed hog mode so shifting either of them required me to wake up all the way.
Mumphrey
Where did you get Lily from? I have a dog I brought from Honduras, where he was homeless and lived on the beach, and he hates to get wet. Sometimes I have to drag him out if it’s raining. This makes sense; he lived out in the open until he was a few years old, and when it rained, he couldn’t keep dry, so no he’s made up his mind never to get wet again until the end of time. He won’t go into snow, either, unless I pull him outside.
Anyway, if she was a rescue, maybe that’s why she doesn’t want to get wet. The weird thing, though, is that our other dog was also found and given to a rescue group. Somebody found her when she was about 4 or 5 months old, running loose in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, where she’d been for some while. But she doesn’t care if she gets wet. She’d stay out all day in the yard when it’s raining if I would let her, so amybe my theory is only so much bullshit…
flukebucket
@Mark S.:
That is the first time I have ever read anything he has written and it was worse that I had even imagined it would be. But you are absolutely correct about his radio program. I cannot understand how anybody can stand that screechy, whiny, nasally voice of his. As somebody here once said it is like a homeless person screaming from the sidewalk. How he got a radio show I will never know.
dan robinson
Your pets pwn’d you and you are okay with that?
Pussy.
tim
and general egali psycho suck is a cyber sychophant who specializes in typing incessant comments while keeping his tongue up JC’s ass on each and every topic.
You know, the term “troll” is just so sad. Apparently one is not looked upon favorably as a poster if one posts one’s honest reactions. the little general only wants posters at BJ who echo each other’s thoughts and feelings back and forth so they don’t have to feel, you know, uncomfortable about anything.
Just a couple of days ago I posted a nice, uncontroversial comment suggesting to JC a great type of composter to purchase. Funny, the little general did not commend my post. He only goes out of his way to insult and demean those that contrast with his own.
I reiterate: I think people who allow their pets to sleep with them are doing their pets and themselves no favors. Why is it controversial that I would have the gall to say that? If you don’t agree, just…don’t agree. I ahve two rescue dogs. They sleep in their own beds on the first floor every night. I know what I am talking about. If cole and the little gen want to roll around in bed with their animals each night they are welcome to do so…but I get to comment. That’ skind of what blog comments are for.
There are lots of things I disagree with cole about, but I’ve also been upfront in saying that there is some quality in his posting that keeps me coming back here each day. Wouldn’t that be a good thing?
did I mention that the wee general is a loser and apparently very insecure?
Lee
It is great that so many people have commented that their dogs hate getting their feet wet.
I have a big black mutt dog (rescue) that is the same way. If it is raining out side (or just wet) she will NOT go. If she has to hold it too long, she will do her business on the concrete and not get on the grass.
The odd thing is she LOVES when it snows (we live in the Dallas area so that rarely happens).
This dog is the strongest dog I have ever owned or known. She is amazingly strong. I have to walk her in case she bolts. I watched my youngest literally pulled off her feet and horizontal in the air the first time she tried to walk her.
We think she is half black lab and half Rhodesian ridge-back. Because of this she has a 1 inch mohawk of hair down her back that sticks straight up.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@tim: LOL
And top of the morn to you mr.jackass troll.
Your first comment
@tim:
yer second comment
@tim:
Mine and others pets can sleep where they want. Your first comment was “can’t”, second “allow”. You violate the truth jackass troll. Now tell us again your thoughts on compost. I am sure that this is your best topic.
You skind of just did comment. Now go forth and wank some more.
Nannergrrl
On How I Met Your Mother this week, Lily and Marshall realized that twin beds would allow for a much better sleeping experience. I turned to my husband and said, “Yeah, that could work for us. We could have one of the twin beds and the dogs could have the other.”
Years ago we had to buy a king-sized bed to accomodate the two of us, our two golden retrievers and the cat. Somehow, it still isn’t enough.
burnspbesq
JC:
“But around 2:30, I woke up because Lily was kicking me. I thought she was dreaming and running in her sleep, so I just moved a little bit. But then I looked at her and noticed she was wide awake, and was now taking advantage of the extra room and stretching. I looked at her and said “You have to be shitting me. You couldn’t move? You had to wake me up and make me move so you could stretch out?”
Sounds like my wife. Watch out, the next thing that will happen is that she’ll start dropping hints about diamond tennis bracelets.
Nannergrrl
@Tim
You vigorously espouse your right to voicing an opinion and yet get cheesed when John doesn’t respond to you (which is having the opinion that you aren’t worth responding to) and get your undies in a bunch about that. So only YOU get to have an opinion and it’s fair game, but everyone else has to respond or not in a way that you deem acceptable.
How’s that personality disorder working out for you?
Church Lady
@scav: Um, it was said kiddingly, to tease John Cole about how much Lily (and Tunch for that matter) rules the roost. Lighten up.
JWC
Love love love the pet stories. But since I’m a relatively new reader, and a cat owner (i.e. servant) could use more stories about Trunch.
DaddyJ
John, face it, you’re puppy whipped!
Dog is My Copilot
We have a rescued Chihuahua/rat terrier mix. We make him sleep in his own bed, and quite often he’ll crawl under our bed. To let him sleep in our bed all night long, I just wouldn’t get any sleep. I’m off Fridays, however, and when my husband gets up early to get ready for work, he’ll let the dogs out and feed them. The Chihuahua/rat terrier mix bounds back up the stairs as soon as he’s done eating and will come up on the bed and snuggle with me. That’s really the only time he’s allowed on the bed, and he takes full advantage of it!
Randy P
@General Egali Tarian Stuck:
To throw a little more gasoline on this fire…
While I don’t agree with the troll’s tone, I do kind of agree with the sentiment. I’m a big believer in establishing pack dominance with dogs and I’ve never had an issue with a dog sleeping in the bed. They know they’re not supposed to and they don’t try it. At least while I’m in it.
The sofa is another question. They know they aren’t supposed to but they try to get away with it anyway when nobody’s looking (maybe that’s why bed discipline works better). My wife had a certain tone of voice she’d say “what are you doing on the sofa?” that would make our black lab instantly scramble to get off and pretend she wasn’t breaking the rules, oh no. One favorite source of hilarity for our kids used to be inviting the dog onto the sofa and then holding on to the dog when mom came by with the Question of Doom.
Cats, on the other hand… eh. Can’t control them. Don’t even try.
RobNYNY1957
Our Canine Overlord (“Oco” for short) is our Jack Russell terrier, and he hates getting wet. No matter what part of his body is wet, he tries to dry it by wiping his face on the rug.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@Randy P:
This is a matter of choice. I believe in pack dominance also and that I as owner, am the pack leader. There are a number of things that my dog knows I don’t want him to do, and usually it only takes a stern look from me and he gets the message, or sometimes a simple voice command.
I do not coerce my dog to sleep in my bed, but it is my choice to let him if he wants to. Has nothing to do with pack dominance, or setting boundaries. This is the first dog I have let do this for the simple reason all the others kept me from a good nights sleep from fidgeting and such. Charlie doesn’t do that and is very small, and half the time I wake up and he is on his floor blanket, likely cause I kept “him” awake with my tossing and turning.
Now that it is getting hotter, he is crashing in his little floor bed and that is cool with me too.
Rosalita
this. me either, comes across patronizing…
horatius
You love your pets?? Singular Mr. Cole. You love your pet. Your master Tunch loves you.
Randy P
@Randy P:
On reflection I probably should have added “to the best of my knowledge based on observations when I went to sleep and when I woke up”.
One thing I’ve learned about dogs, at least the smart ones, is that they WILL attempt to get away with whatever they think they can, even when they damned well know the rules. I’ve never trusted a dog around food for instance, pack dominance or no pack dominance.
Mona
My Scott was exactly like that, no wet feet ever! I thought he was the only one.
ET
I’ve been known to sleep horizontally on my bed almost at the top because the cat just had to have his way.
Must. Obey. Kitty. Overlord.
asiangrrlMN
@Rosalita: Your bed hog is so cute!
I actually don’t let the boys sleep with me because of my allergies and because I have a hard enough time sleeping as is, but when I nap on the couch, they are right there. I don’t know how two small kitties take up so much space.
tim
@Nannergrrl:
I was actually referring to The Wee General’s lack of response to my noncontroversial compost post. I thought he’d be sure to drop in with some of his usual shit to help things rot more quickly. I don’t post here expecting personal responses from the proprietor.
And I’m gratified to see that The Wee General and Rosalita are here today as per usual to police my “tone” and parse my use of proper verbs, pronouns, whatever…it does make me feel special.
Yours in Christ and Cole, Tim the Troll.
OMG, Cole and Troll rhyme. THEY FUCKING RHYME. Wee General, please research this immediately!