Per (considerable) readership demand: Pictures of Lovey (and Koda), from valued commentor GEG6.
Top: This is a new thing where she loves to sit on the back of John’s chair, almost like she’s sitting in his head or shoulder. She’s so funny.
Koda and Lovey basking in the sun, as they love to do.
A typical pose for them. Koda loves to lie on the couch in the sunroom and Lovey loves to perch on top of it so she can keep an eye on what’s happening both in the room and in the back yard.
Thanks, GEG6, for a lovely start to the day. Lovey’s got that bright-eyed poodle expression, even if she doesn’t look much like her mother otherwise…
Mary G
Adorable! Those ears and eyes are amazing. She’s full of personality. Thanks for the update, geg6.
Keith G
Yay!! Off to work with a smile.
Trinity
Great way to start the day! Lovey is pure adorableness.
raven
Look at that little varmit! Bondi used to love to sit up in the back window of our honda!
satby
Nice! Great pics, geg6! Koda has grown since the last pictures I saw as well, which probably were from shortly after you adopted her. They both look like very contented girls.
OzarkHillbilly
Heh.
OzarkHillbilly
Shit be happenin’ in Dallas: Dallas police in standoff after HQ attack from armoured van
Dallas Police Chief David Brown told reporters that witnesses said as many as four suspects were involved in the incident, which began around 12:30 a.m. He said that a motive was not yet known.
Brown said when police responded to reports of automatic gunfire, the van rammed a squad car and at least one person opened fire. The van drove off when the police returned fire and the police gave chase, Brown said.
The van stopped in a fast food restaurant parking lot in the city of Hutchins, some 10 miles (16 km) south of Dallas, where there was another exchange of gunfire.
Brown said police negotiators had since been in contact with one of the suspects inside the van, who identified himself as James Boulware.
Brown said that the suspect had said that police had taken his son and had accused him of being a terrorist. Brown said that the man then threatened to “blow us up.”
Four bags were found scattered around police headquarters, one of which had explosives inside, Brown said. Nearby residents were being evacuated from the area, he said.
No officers have been injured, but the suspect speaking with police said he had been hurt, Brown said.
Tommy
Wonderful pics, just wonderful. I am not sure why, but my lady always likes to be the highest position in the house. Looking down on me. She is always trying to go vertically. I like she has goals!
JPL
Cute overload and a wonderful way to start the day!
geg6 I apologize for comparing Lovey’s namesake to Ann Romney yesterday. It was pointed out to me that Lovey, although wealthy was actually a nice person.
@OzarkHillbilly: The local news said one bomb exploded on it’s own and they are now attempting to explode the others.
Just odd.
geg6
@JPL:
LOL! Lovey accepts your apology.
I happened to get a Ginger update yesterday when I sent these pics to the lady from Furkids yesterday. She is still fostering Ginger and says she’s doing well and is happy there. Says she is becoming more comfortable being an actual pet and not just a puppy-making machine. It was good to hear that.
sparrow
“Police found a previous record of domestic violence under that name, but said that they could not independently verify it as that of the driver. The driver told police that he was angry because they took away his child and labeled him a terrorist. ”
That’ll stop them! What an idiot. I thought at first this was going to be some right-wing anti-govt loons but it might just be a moron. Glad no one was hurt (yet).
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: At the link they reported the cops sent a robot to move it but it was booby trapped and blew up. Way too early to say anything for sure outside of Whacko + 2nd Amendment Lunacy = Stupid shit happening.
NotMax
@OzarkHillbilly
Open carry, but without all that pesky hardware.
(Snark-o-meters should be registering now.)
HeartlandLiberal
Apropos our animals, the love of which obviously binds many readers of this blog:
We returned on June 4th from a six week trip to Europe.
We wondered if our two cats would even remember us.
One is 17 years old, and fading, a Maine Coon mix who used to weigh 15 pounds, and is now a skinny 10.5 at best. He takes a daily pill to suppress hyperthyroid, and hopefully give him a couple more years quality life. He is one of the most loving, gentle cat we have ever had. He has to be cradled like a baby in your arms, he flips after you pick him up so he is lying on his back, while he purrs and drools, his head nestled on your shoulder and chest. Our friend who came over and fed the cats daily and pilled the older one rechristened him Mr. Drooley while we were gone.
The second cat is only five years old, and still a half-wild creature who skitters and vanishes in a puff of smoke at any loud noise or sudden movement.
The evening we returned, both cats came to greet us. The older one of course demanded immediate cuddling. The young one started approaching both of us again and again, chirping and yowling loudly and repeatedly, pretty much clearly asking “where the Hell have you two been?”, and nudging his chin and head into our hands non-stop.He is not the cuddly type. Only occasionally will he let my wife hold him and walk him around. In the wee hours of that night, he woke us up at 3 and then again at 4 with the same loud talking and demands we let him push his chin and head against our hands. Obviously checking to make sure we had not run off and left him again.
raven
The van had a Georgia liicense plate, and online records indicate that a company in Newman, Ga., sold a similar vehicle on eBay for $8,250.
The company that sold it, Jenco Sales Inc., described the vehicle on Facebook: “Zombie Apocalypse Assault Vehicle and Troop Transport. This full armored zombie busting vehicle features convenient gun ports so no zombie juice touches you during a mass zombie take down. It also has benches in the back so you can take turns resting during long Zombie sieges. The tactical step boards are installed for when you only need swords and axes for drive by mow downs. The bumpers are made of reinforced steel tubing, so no dents from smashing zombie heads! It’s full armor plated and has bullet proof windows just in case you run into other zombie hunting hordes who might try to take this bad boy from you. Like anything, there is a price attached to this fine piece of zombie fighting machinery.”
Althea
Adorable li’l pup! The eyes, the ears!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: Unfortunately, they sold it to someone with the intellect of a zombie.
Baud
D’aww.
JPL
@OzarkHillbilly: Who else would buy it?
Emma
What a lovely thing to wake up to. Pretty doggies!
sparrow
@HeartlandLiberal: Very cute. :) Funny enough, we are about to leave for a six-week trip to Europe, and I’m worried about our cats, as always.
But the Russian Blue (who weighs in at a hefty 20 lbs) is really smart. This is the fourth summer we have left at about this time in June, and he knows what’s up. He keeps following me around, purring, head-butting, meowing, and generally being a nuisance, so I think he knows that “the humans go away when it gets hot”.
Baud
@raven:
$8,250 sounds pretty cheap for a tripped up van.
OzarkHillbilly
@JPL: You got a point.
J.
What a lovely way to start the day. So happy to see that Lovey is so loved — and so adorable. :-)
PurpleGirl
Doggie pictures are good to wake up to and start the day on a smiling note. Thanks AL for posting them and Geg6 for sending them.
Pet stories are always welcome.
magurakurin
@sparrow:
So, he decided to launch a terrorist attack on the police station to prove them wrong. doh.
But, I do wonder, will the talking heads on cable news ask every white guest if they condemn this violence or not? I’m guessing no…after all white people can’t commit terrorist acts. It’s probably all just a big misunderstanding.
Pogonip
Cute! Thanks Geg!
gogol's wife
Lovey and Koda are so sweet. Great start to the day, indeed.
OzarkHillbilly
Hmmmmm……
White Georgia man opens fire on state troopers, dares cops to kill him — and survives
debbie
@HeartlandLiberal:
Six weeks is nothing to a feline:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A71WDPSR66Q
Betty Cracker
Good looking dogs! Looks like Lovey is a daddy’s girl.
It’s been super rainy here for the last few days, so we’ve been cooped up indoors a lot. It’s supposed to return to the regular summer pattern today — high in the 90s, high humidity and afternoon thunderstorms. But looking out the window now, there’s a ton of cloud cover, with lower-hanging clouds flying fast, as if there’s a hurricane in the Gulf (which there isn’t).
Germy Shoemangler
@debbie: Why are my eyes wet now?
Josie
Thanks, geg6 and AL, for the happy pictures and the update on Lovey and Ginger.
Joy
Both puppies are growing so fast and are so cute. I read this blog every day but somehow I missed what happened to Ginger? Where did she end up?
Matt McIrvin
That one droopy ear!
Aleta
@HeartlandLiberal: @HeartlandLiberal: That’s a sweet story. I can picture it ….
Aleta
You’ve got to be kidding me.
debbie
@Germy Shoemangler:
I wish I could have found the clip I was looking for. It was on 60 Minutes some years ago, about two Brits working at a NGO in Kenya who found an abandoned male lion cub. They took care of the cub until they were assigned to some other country and dropped the cub off at a preserve. A few years passed and while they were back in Africa, they decided to try and find the lion. They did, and what I remember is a moment where this maned lion recognizes them, jumps on them, and then does that leg-rubbing thing that house cats do (only almost knocking them over). There were definitely tears in my eyes watching it.
Aleta
That Lovey look (and was there ever a more perfect name for one such as her):
http://news.sciencemag.org/brain-behavior/2015/04/how-dogs-stole-our-hearts
geg6
@Joy:
Re: Ginger…she was not fitting in at Cole’s place so the woman who runs Furkids (the rescue organization that rescued them and that Devin Cole works with) took her back and is fostering her. I am told she is doing well and is better as far as her socialization. She’s happy, I think.
Betty Cracker
We’re listening to the bluegrass show on our local community radio station, and they played a bluegrass version of The Moody Blue’s “Story in Your Eyes.” [YouTube link] I love it when musicians adapt songs to different genres. My hubby is a jazz pianist, and he was in a small band that used to adapt old Beetles tunes to swing. It was awesome.
Pogonip
I’m happy to hear that Ginger’s becoming a true pet at last. Poor thing. She deserved some happiness after all those years in a puppy mill.
Germy Shoemangler
@debbie: I remember seeing that clip somewhere.
Stories like that always get to me.
I remember Mr. G and Jellybean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv2OGph5Kec
Baud
@geg6:
Nice. Was worried about her.
Germy Shoemangler
@Betty Cracker: Have you heard the 1920s jazz reworking of “Love Is The Drug?” from the great gatsby?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr45hyHCiMQ
There is also a reggae band who covered the entire Sgt. Pepper’s album and it is wonderful.
Botsplainer
Why doesn’t the Dallas Police Department just treat this guy like a lippy, unarmed black teen and finish him off already?
Baud
Interesting Newsmax headline
Pogonip
@debbie: I saw that! He stands up on his back legs and hugs each one and rubs like crazy. It was so sweet.
Germy Shoemangler
Pogonip
@debbie: P. S. i saw it when bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com ran the link. He’s from South Africa and seems to keep an eye on news from the old country. It was a couple of months ago so you’d have to scroll through a lot of posts but he did have it.
SRW1
Many, many moons ago an aquaintance had a dog called Florian who was a 95% collie / 5% German shepard mix, which is to say he looked almost entirely like a collie but one of his ears was that of a German shepard.
So when Florian noticed something curious, the German shepard ear perked up while the other ear remained flaccid. If the goings on were particulary curious, Florian would also rotate his head slightly so as to study events particularly intently with one side of his head.
I got to take care of him on a few occasion when his mistress had to go on trips and have photos from those occasions. The ears still make me smile when I look at those photos. As does the memory of Florian’s reaction when his mistress returned from those trips.
Germy Shoemangler
Quote of the day
Germy Shoemangler
http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/why-joe-biden-should-run
Amy Davidson over at the New Yorker says Joe Biden should challenge HRC for the nomination:
Betty Cracker
@Germy Shoemangler: I have now — thanks!
Aleta
Mary McCaslin Things We Said Today
Ramones Needles and Pins
http://youtu.be/CJW69RFXTgY
http://youtu.be/fGWR3uI3Qa0
Sent from my iPad, and it took 12 tries
MomSense
Yay Lovey and Koda pics! They look like the perfect companions and so happy.
Ok going to swig some Benadryl now. I discovered after a late afternoon walk with the dog in the woods that I am allergic to Brown Tail Moths. Had no prior experience with them as we have never had them here before.
The Thin Black Duke
@Germy Shoemangler: Obama’s unpopular? According to who?
Baud
@Germy Shoemangler:
No matter who wins the nomination, they’ll need to count on the Obama coalition.
Germy Shoemangler
@The Thin Black Duke: According to Amy Davidson.
I can’t figure her out. What is her agenda?
MomSense
@Baud:
Hope the nominee doesn’t take us for granted.
the Conster
@The Thin Black Duke:
My question too! WTF.
Lovey looks just like I thought she would, with the added benefit of that one droopy ear. What a sweetfaced soul. I’m so happy for you geg6, and thanks for the happy ending.
kc
So cute! Lovey & Koda look like happy pets.
bemused
A beloved, very smart kitty who lived to 19 let us know how she felt about being left for a week after we arrived home from a vacay. She came up from the basement, saw us and proceeded to yowl loudly at us for a long time with an affronted expression on her face. No amount of talking and cooing to her stopped her flow of bitching at us. She then disappeared downstairs for awhile before coming back up as her usual sweet self. We think she believed she had made her views clear and had punished us and herself enough.
Germy Shoemangler
Okay, I see that Amy Davidson is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations:
I don’t know much about the CFR, but reducing financial regulations is at the top of their list.
Aleta
My World is empty w/o You, Mary McCaslin
https://m.youtube.com/watch?list=PLVpVXVe3RM8HWA7b0qt_fUnykF_3u6elL&v=xG_3sJxSepo
Betty Cracker
@Germy Shoemangler: I guess it depends on the group with whom Davidson is assessing PBO’s popularity. He’s wildly popular with Democrats and has been throughout his presidency. His job approvals are middling nationwide but not terrible. Bush’s were hella worse at this point in his disastrous presidency.
shell
Cutie cute-cute!
Unlike her brother, Lovey looks like she’s not gonna get much bigger.
Hill Dweller
@Betty Cracker: Obama would win a third term if he ran again. And I suspect history will be kind to his Presidency.
WereBear
Koda is an excellent example of rehoming a beloved adult. When their only problem is lack of a home; we can fix that.
I went away and came back 3 weeks ago and Tristan, my Special Buddy cat, is still a bit clingy. Currently sprawled all over me since I promised I wasn’t going anywhere today.
Baud
@MomSense:
The Democratic nominee has to take someone for granted. It’s in the platform.
rikyrah
they look gorgeous together!!
thanks for the pics
SuperHrefna
Oh wow, I love Lovey’s face! What a good looking little dog.
Germy Shoemangler
@Betty Cracker: I feel like Davidson is just playing games. She writes a piece calling for Joe Biden to enter the race.
She doesn’t write this because she wants Biden to be president. She just wants to disrupt whatever unity exists between Obama/HRC supporters.
I’m not a huge fan of HRC, but I find Davidson’s relentless anti-Clinton opinion pieces a symptom of some larger personal agenda. I just wish she’d be more honest about that.
Some past Davidson headlines on HRC:
The Coming Hillary Clinton Train Wreck
Can Hillary Clinton Close Her Benghazi Chapter?
What the Clinton Foundation is Costing Hillary
Which Of Hillary’s Pasts Will She Want Us To Pay Attention To?
Hillary Clinton Is Ready For Hillary
Baud
@Hill Dweller:
Anyone who supports Obama better hope the Dem wins in 2016. Remember how long they blamed Carter for everything.
Betty Cracker
@Hill Dweller: Most likely and most definitely, barring unforeseen events to come.
@Baud: Yep, it’s right in the bylines under the “Sister Souljah Selection Committee” clause.
cahuenga
@Baud:
So it wasn’t Mondale’s fault? I just can’t keep up.
JCT
Thanks for the follow up geg6 – they look like pals!
Kristine
@Germy Shoemangler: Goats apparently form strong attachments. Nature had a show on animal companions. One pair consisted of a blind horse and a goat–they were together for years, the goat acting as the horse’s guide. The horse passed away at a ripe old age, and the goat started slowing down soon after. He missed his buddy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJjWwr-AjiQ
I hope Jack is still around. He was as of this post:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152249789130510&set=a.10151765118505510.863750.217649245509&type=1&
WereBear
@Germy Shoemangler: There is a big chunk of my support for HRC pinned on the hope that’s she’s been wanting a chance for some serious payback on Right Wing Attack Machine.
Poopyman
@Germy Shoemangler:
Nah. She’s paid to have that opinion. Nothing personal, just business.
Felonius Monk
@Betty Cracker: Then you must really love Post Modern Jukebox.
jeffreyw
Thread needs moar hummingbirds.
Germy Shoemangler
Today’s NYTImes:
Poopyman
@Germy Shoemangler: Could there possibly be a lower bar?
geg6
@JCT:
Oh, they are the best of buddies! I wasn’t sure because of the size difference and because Koda’s been so spoiled and she is still fairly young herself (going on three), but she’s been great with Lovey. She lets Lovey crawl all over her, bite her ears and feet and lets her have a chance during tug of war games. They chase each other all over the house, Lovey darting around like streaked lightning and Koda galumphing around like an elephant. So cute and so much fun to have them around!
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: Gallup’s head-to-head comparator is worth looking at:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/124922/presidential-approval-center.aspx
The disadvantage being that it’s Gallup, whose polls are not the greatest, but they’ve been taking them for a long time.
Bush’s job approval at this point was at 32% and about to drop into the high twenties. Obama is at 46%, interestingly close to the mean for all polled Presidents. The unusual thing about his presidency in approval-rating terms is how little things have changed: most people basically figured out how they felt about him by the summer of 2009. Most Presidents have far more dramatic swings: they do well or they do badly, and their popularity rises or falls as a result.
Germy Shoemangler
Michael Barbaro is the same journalist who wrote a glowing piece about Jeb’s eating habits, and accused Obama of not being a “relatable” eater-in-chief?
Does he pull this stuff out of his ass?
Iowa Old Lady
@geg6: They sound like a great pair. Thanks for the pics. They brightened my rainy morning.
TaMara (BHF)
Lovey and Koda look happy and both are adorable. Thanks.
Elizabelle
Lovey’s beautiful.
Do you think she and Thurston are min pinschers? Not seeing poodle traits manifest. Were it not for Ginger nursing them, you’d think they’d been switched at birth.
And — to go all Andrew Sullivan theory re Trigg Palin on you: do we know that Ginger did not end up being their wet nurse, and not the mom? Someone suggested a few threads back that maybe Ginger’s puppies did not survive, and she was given two other pups to nurse.
Anyway, love looking at that little face. She and Koda look happy together.
Elizabelle
@TaMara (BHF): Good luck with the house hunt.
Baud
@Germy Shoemangler:
Mark my words. If Jeb is the nominee, he gets the NYT’s endorsement.
Amir Khalid
@Germy Shoemangler:
Never mind that ¡Jeb! is more knowledgeable and curious than W about foreign policy. I suspect the same to be true of Koda and Lovey. The question is, is ¡Jeb! knowledgeable and curious enough about foreign policy to be president?
geg6
@Elizabelle:
From talking with Devin and the lady at Furkids, I’m 100% sure they are Ginger’s puppies. They also suspect that dad was a min pin. Having done some research on min pins, Lovey very much resembles one, both physically and personality-wise.
Elizabelle
@geg6: Thanks. It’s just fascinating that Ginger’s genes do not seem to have manifested much at all. Maybe as they get older ….
Please keep the pics of Lovey and Koda coming. Always a pleasure to see them. I think Lovey is a perfect size, and love her sporty little harness.
Baud
@Amir Khalid:
Damn, that’s cold, AK. True, but cold.
WereBear
I’ve rescued pups that looked 85% one breed, then another breed popped up by maturity and they went 50/50 in the end.
Betty Cracker
Anyone gonna watch Hillzapalooza, the Big Reveal? I think I will. Starting now.
WereBear
@Baud: Truth hurts.
This family had every advantage in the world and could have done great things with that. Instead they went for arrogance and influence instead of character and intelligence.
Their call. Their result.
Karen in GA
Lovey the Tiny and Cute!
I did a Wisdom Panel DNA test on Muppet. One parent was a mix of breeds Muppet looks like; the other parent was a purebred that neither I, the rescue, two vets, nor two groomers ever guessed. Genetics — fun and surprising!
Glaukopis
A lot to catch up with morning but had to see the Lovey and Koda pictures first. Very cute! Thanks geg6 and AL.
MomSense
@Baud:
Guess we got our answer.
HRC speech: Republicans party of yesterday. Democrats party of Roosevelt and Clinton.
Karmus
Great pics. Especially love the top one. Lovey is a doll.
bob
Anybody know what breed of dog Lovey is?
Joy
@geg6: Thanks so much. I knew whatever happened she would be well cared for.
Brachiator
@Amir Khalid: By the way, I appreciated your link in an earlier thread to the Slate article about Rachel Dolezal. No one seems to know quite what to think about her.
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
The day John Ellis Bush (not named Jeb!) first decided he had to put his influence into the Schiavo sadness was the day he disqualified himself from becoming President of the
USA.
The man is a dangerous religious fanatic, and his leadership is that of a prison warden using a shotgun. He doesn’t understand how America got to be the country we are, doesn’t like the country we are, and wants to make unacceptable and unAmerican religious and political changes to the country that we are.
Mr. Bush lost me on day one of his involvement with attempting to intimidate Mr. Shiavo! What an evil and stupid bully that man is. And how brave Mr. Schiavo had to be to persist in doing the right thing for his late wife in the face of Mr Bush’s intention to punish him with the full powers of the state. In Florida the full power of the state includes torture and death, and Mr Bush appeared to be fully willing to use exactly those powers to punish Mr. Shiavo for doing what he believed was right.
A monster on the level of the chief torturer of the Spanish Inquisition quite some time back… Tomas de Torquemada, was the guy, and Mr Bush only aspires to achieve the evil of Torquemada, so far. Let’s not allow him a chance to catch up with the good Father Torquemada, shall we?
The puppies are more fun than the politics, shame that politics is as important as it is!! I agree that most puppies are more qualified for Presidential leadership than John Ellis Bush or his brother.
Our dogs are doing well and enjoying the summer, just as long as they can come in and lie on cold floors after just a few minutes out in the damp heat.
J R in WV
@jeffreyw:
Thanks for the bird photo, that guy looks pretty silly head down into the lily! What a happy clown the hummers are!
SWMBO
@Pogonip: @debbie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Co3N4-6B2pM
sharl
Thanks AL and geg6! I’ve been looking forward to an update on Lovey, with photos.
Thanks as well, geg6, for the news about Ginger. I’ve occasionally wondered about that girl with her sad history, and it’s really good to learn she’s doing so much better. And though it kinda-sorta* didn’t work out, big thanks to John Cole for taking her so far down that road to a better place. [*So in a way, it kinda-sorta did work out.]
Kristine
Thanks for the Lovey update!
@Karen in GA: I want to run that test on Gaby. When I had it run back in 2008, the only breed they could specify was Husky/American Eskimo. Gaby looks like neither–she looks like Benji–but dogs don’t always present breed characteristics. Anyway, I understand that the Wisdom folks have added data on more breeds, so I am going to give it another try. I really want to find out which terrier is buried in there.
Anne Laurie
@bob: Lovey’s mother was an apricot (strawberry blonde) miniature poodle. Her father… was not.