Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

The revolution will be supervised.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Let there be snark.

…and a burning sense of injustice to juice the soul.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

American History and Black History can not be separated.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Back From the Farm

Back From the Farm

by | 141 Comments

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I think Walter had a good time, and he is pooped. He got along with all the dogs, sniffed all the cats something solid, was very well mannered and didn’t beg for food. He even waded in the pond a little bit:

walter1

He sorta just sat in the water halfway in and cooled himself off like an old guy dipping his toes in the pool but nothing else. This is a super good pic of him:

walter2

Angel was swimming laps and tried to get him in:

walter3

He ate his dinner when we got home and went to his doggy bed and passed out from exhaustion.

Reader Interactions

141Comments

  15. 15.

    trollhattan

    Best happy ending evah, or at least not involvìng the Total Legit Lotus Massage Day Spa.

    Walter looks like a dog should look. All in two weeks? Zounds.

  21. 21.

    CaseyL

    Oh, this makes me cry. Walter had a good time! And his coat looks a LOT better – are those bald/thin patches really gone?

    Good on ya, John Cole.

  22. 22.

    I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet

    Thanks John. You did a great thing for Walter and I’m sure he’ll never forget it.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  24. 24.

    Ruckus

    That tongue is the right color of pink. A very good sign that he is doing good. That and the fact he seems to be happy. Now about that crack about old guys soaking their dogs…… Wait did I get that right?

  25. 25.

    John Cole

    @raven: Like 400 over what was needed. You damned people kept sending money after I said to stop. I already sent Debit the money and then went to Petco today and spent another 100+ bucks and bought another bag of food and another case of wet food and a shitload of treats. Going to take him to the groomers on Monday or Tuesday of next week and get him a proper makeover, too.

  26. 26.

    Hilfy

    Thank you, John Cole. I’ll bet the god/godess of dogs is giving you gold stars in heaven.

  27. 27.

    Elmo

    @schrodinger’s cat: When my wife and I were building a deck at our house in Mammoth, I once stepped on a board that I thought was anchored and wasn’t. It went out from under me and my other leg ended up going down through the deck with most of my weight against the outside quad, scraping along the joist.

    I had a bruise from knee to hip that turned absolutely jet black for weeks. To this day – 18 years later – there is a sort of granulation to the muscle that can get sore and tender.

    ETA: I can give John a run for his money in stupid injury stories. Ask me about falling off a 30′ ladder doing theater lighting in college, or falling off a cliff in the White Mountains, or – ooh, this is a good one – smashing a post driver into the top of my own skull.

    My wife says I have the worst luck, and the best luck, of anyone in the world. Cuz with all of that I’ve never been seriously hurt.

  28. 28.

    the Conster, la Citoyenne

    @Elmo:

    This and this again. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for anyone **cough**John Cole**cough** who does the right thing. Thank you John Cole.

  34. 34.

    laura

    That dog had a day to dream about. You need to go take an ‘atta boy’ out of the petty cash box, because you maximized joy and minimized suffering in a creature who has sorely known and endured grievace unkindness, and now, there’s something in my eye. . .

  38. 38.

    donnah

    We are inundated daily with horrible stories of cruelty and disaster, so following this wonderful story of Walter, another animal saved by John Cole, really truly raises my hope and my faith in the goodness of others.

    Thank you, John.

  40. 40.

    J R in WV

    Thank you John, for looking after Walter, and Christion too.

    They both need caretaking, evidently.

    Wondering which one needs it more, hearing about that tooth thing. Owww. Been there. Get it looked after soonest. Did you not say he had a job coming up, had graduated and all? Congratulations to him!! Harder than people think, that is.

  42. 42.

    Mary G

    Happy happy joy joy.

    Good on you, John.

    The middle picture is life. What a difference a week and a half can make. Dogs can absorb so much punishment and bounce back so fast.

  44. 44.

    Bobby D

    Outstanding! Probably good he didn’t try swimming, without normal amount of bodyfat on him yet, may have been a problem (get cold, don’t float as well so you have to exert more energy to not drown..as any of us skinny folks can tell ya).

  45. 45.

    Calming Influence

    There are some things that restore my belief in the basic goodness of people, and one of them is animal rescue posts and comments on Balloon Juice. You’re all a great group of people. Now I’m gonna send John a little more “critter money”; he can’t stop me. It does me as much good as it does the animals he helps.

  49. 49.

    Captain Oblivious

    @Devon: Labs and water. Kind of like me and chocolate. I’ve never know a lab that wasn’t happiest when getting soaking wet.

  52. 52.

    ThresherK

    Mens’ soccer: I’m an American and have never been particularly fond of Honduras. Their dickish actions to waste time on dead balls didn’t change that. Wondering what Richard Mayhew (if you’re out there) thinks of the ref’s actions after about the 85th minute.

  53. 53.

    JPL

    OT… It appears that the forum that Trump chose for his CT rally doesn’t have air conditioning. Paramedics have carried a few people out already. There is no news when Trump will arrive.

    The A.C. might have just been turned on.

  56. 56.

    Gin & Tonic

    Somebody quoted from this NYT article in an earlier thread, but I just got around to reading it, and was puzzled by this:

    He broods about his souring relationship with the news media, calling Mr. Manafort several times a day to talk about specific stories. Occasionally, Mr. Trump blows off steam in bursts of boyish exuberance: At the end of a fund-raiser on Long Island last week, he playfully buzzed the crowd twice with his helicopter.

    I don’t recall ever reading that Trump is a licensed pilot, let alone with a helicopter license. Does anyone know if he is? If he is not, as I suspect, then that’s a really stupid piece of writing, because he “blew off steam” by ordering an employee or hired contractor to do something that could theoretically endanger that other person’s livelihood. Hardly what I’d call “boyish exuberance” – more like “a dick move.”

  57. 57.

    The Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion

    This isn’t the only reason that knowing you helps me to hang on to hope for our species. But by God, it’s one of them.

  58. 58.

    Aleta

    @JPL: This would line up with the conspiracy theory in the backwoods here that he’s trying to throw the election …

    His support has dropped in places since he started saying the election is rigged. (So why vote?) And if that won’t discourage his supporters from coming out, he’ll send them to the hospital? (I’m joking about the last part.)

  59. 59.

    RSA

    What have you done with the real John Cole? I mean, the subject matter is spot-on, and heart-warming, but those photos are too competent.

  61. 61.

    Lizzy L

    Thanks for the Walter update, John. Puppy had a GOOD day! Cruelty to animals (and children, and the elderly) makes me ferociously angry. Your kindness to animals and to your friends and the BJ community’s pride and support is so so sweet.

  64. 64.

    rikyrah

    New documentary on black swimmers is right on time
    A dive into the exclusion of blacks in American pools and the culture of blacks and water in the Caribbean
    BY MARTENZIE JOHNSON
    @MARTENZIE

    On Thursday night at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Stanford University swimmer Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual swimming medal at any Olympic Games. Manuel tied with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking an Olympic and American record with a time of 52.70 seconds on the way. She was joined in triumph by Stanford teammate and good friend Lia Neal, who earlier in the week captured a silver medal as a part of the 4×100 freestyle relay. Together, along with Maritza McClendon, who in 2004 became the first black female U.S. Olympic swimming team member, these women are also breaking down the barriers of entry for African-Americans into pools.

    The Black Line, a new documentary from Emmy-nominated producer Stan Jakubowicz, takes a deep dive into the historical exclusion of blacks in American swimming pools while also examining the rich culture of blacks and water in the Caribbean. Featuring a star-studded cast including three-time Olympic gold medalist Rowdy Gaines, U.S. women’s swimming coach Dave Marsh and 16-year-old black swimming sensation Reece Whitley, The Black Line is poised to eliminate the stereotype that black people don’t swim. “The fastest woman in the United States is African-American,” a contributor stated. “She’s black.”

    “Nothing about the top layer of your skin has to do with swimming,” another said.

  67. 67.

    Gin & Tonic

    An imam in Queens, New York was shot and killed, along with his assistant, by a lone gunman as they walked home from Saturday prayers at a local mosque this evening.

    This is Donald Trump’s America.

  68. 68.

    raven

    @rikyrah: You may want to read this piece written by one of my high school classmates:

    I recall so vividly the humiliation I felt as an undergrad at U of I when my swimming teacher announced to the class: Negroes can’t swim well because their bones are too dense; they sink. I was the only “negro” in the class. As I finished my 1/2 mile in the pool today, I thought of Mom who swam open water in Lake Michigan and became a lifeguard at 19, the same year she learned to swim. I thought of Simone Manuel’s triumph, winning gold. I thought of the many, many African American friends and family who are making certain their children learn to swim….
    because they didn’t. We were denied community pools, forbidden to swim in whites only pools and beaches and shamed into not learning. Now we drown at disproportionate rates. Let’s always remember the past doesn’t have to be our present or our future.

  70. 70.

    Miss Bianca

    @Elmo: I remember actually stepping into an open – not quite manhole, it was too narrow for that – but some sort of opening in one of the pedestrian walkways on the NU campus a bit over 20 years ago. I was walking my bike, in a trance because I was in luuuvvv (I had just hooked up with the man I was to marry), and all of a sudden – BAM – I was up to my waist in a leg-sized, cement-lined hole. Shook me out of trance mode right quick.

    The NU maintenance guys had been sloppy and hadn’t bothered to rope off the hole – but they probably had figured it was narrow enough that no dipshit was going to fall in it. They hadn’t counted on me.

    Anyway, scraped the ever-living shit out of that leg along the thigh, bruising – and yeah, a kind of indentation along the muscle. That bruise must have gone down to the bone and back out the other side, because just like you, I had some residual tenderness in that leg for years. There’s some kind of lesson about love or something in there somewhere, but I’m not going to try to tease it out. We report, you decide!

  72. 72.

    JPL

    Trump is not running against crooked Hillary, he’s running against the media. He’s been ranting for twenty or thirty minutes about the media.

  75. 75.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @Origuy: My machines are doing fine.

    ETA: I did have problems with this machine because I had cloned the hard drive to a SSD and the original hard drive was still in the computer. Unplugged the drives except the SSD and installation went fine(since I had multiple machines I installed from an ISO on a thumb drive).

  76. 76.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    Even saw lights on the Goodyear Blimp
    And it read “Walter’s a pimp”
    Doggie as hell but no throwing up
    Half way home and my blog still blowing up
    Today I didn’t even have to use my AK
    I got to say it was a good day

  77. 77.

    Ruckus

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Hardly what I’d call “boyish exuberance” – more like “a dick move.”

    Well chronologically he isn’t a boy, but by all recent accounts and from all I’ve heard over the years he is the poster boy for the concept of dick.

  78. 78.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I just shared Walter’s story along with the before-and-after pictures on my FB page. (My friends will be glad to see something from me that isn’t overtly political, for a change.)

  79. 79.

    PaulWartenberg2016

    @JPL:

    The media’s getting so much abuse from Trump I dread the crowd physically attacking reporters at these rallies.

    At some point, the media (sans Fox, but even THEY have to start hating this) is just going to have to say, “If you feel that way about us, fine. No more coverage. No more name-dropping in the news. We’re not going to send cameras or reporters anymore. You’re done.” He can yell and scream all he wants about THAT, but he’s bringing it on himself.

  83. 83.

    geg6

    @Captain Oblivious:

    My Koda hates, hates, hates water. She’s a chocolate Lab. We’ve had several Labs, all of whom were happiest in and near water. And then we got Koda. LOL!

  85. 85.

    dmsilev

    @PaulWartenberg2016: They’ve come close to that. From a behind-the-scenes from MSNBC’s Katy Tur:

    It’s unlikely, however, that any of Trump’s future attacks will be as scary as what happened in Mount Pleasant, where the crowd, feeding off Trump, seemed to turn on me like a large animal, angry and unchained.

    It wasn’t until hours later, when Secret Service took the extraordinary step of walking me to my car, that the incident sank in.

    The wave of insults, harassment, and threats, via various social-media feeds, hasn’t stopped since. Many of the attacks are unprintable.

    “MAYBE A FEW JOURNALISTS DO NEED TO BE WHACKED,” tweeted someone with the handle GuyScott33, two weeks after Trump lashed out. “MAYBE THEN THEYD STOP BEI[N]G BIASED HACKS. KILL EM ALL STARTING W/ KATY TUR.”

    Let’s repeat that: The Secret Service felt they had to protect a reporter from the crowd at one of Trump’s rallies.

  86. 86.

    raven

    @SiubhanDuinne: You can’t see it but there is a little bird house on my dash that has been there for 30 years! I have a cassette radio with a plugin thingy for my iPod and phone but the truck is so loud you have to really blast it to hear at all.

  89. 89.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @JPL:

    Having suffered from heat exhaustion a few times in my life, I feel very sorry for those people, even if they are Trump supporters.

    I was obliged to say that, because my next sentence is BWAHAHAHA, of course Trump’s super well-organized and meticulously planned event never bothered to make sure the A/C was up and running.

    These people couldn’t organize a farting contest after a baked bean supper.

  90. 90.

    rikyrah

    @raven:

    Now we drown at disproportionate rates. Let’s always remember the past doesn’t have to be our present or our future.

    I’m so passionate about Black folks learning how to swim because our kids die at FIVE TIMES the rate of White children due to drowning.

  94. 94.

    Lizzy L

    @PaulWartenberg2016: I doubt that will happen, though I wish it would. The reporters and camera-people are in the arenas and halls, taking the abuse, but the folks who actually make the money decisions are sitting in air-conditioned offices, and Trump is making money for them. Can’t see them turning off that spigot.

  95. 95.

    Trentrunner

    @rikyrah: There’s a lot of ignorant fuckery in that very short article. As Propane Jane says (paraphrasing):

    Before you begin blaming Obama, explain exactly how he was supposed to bring you a pony when his opponents planned from day one to obstruct everything he aimed for.

  100. 100.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah: Damn. Damn. Damn.

    . The cleric, who police identified as Maulama Akonjee, and the second man were both shot in the head at close range at about 1.50 pm local time after leaving the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in the Ozone Park neighborhood. Both men were wearing religious garb at the time of shooting.

  101. 101.

    cckids

    @JPL:

    They still don’t know the motive.

    You sure about that? Not to jump the gun, but one motive pops immediately into mind.

    To quote Stonekettle Station:

    “These fucking people”.

  102. 102.

    Patricia Kayden

    Lovely to see photos of a much healthier and happier Walter and to hear that the fundraising was a huge success. Great note to end the week.

  103. 103.

    Luthe

    @geg6: Sounds like our Comet. She would consent to going into water up to her chest (mostly for the purposes of wading in streams), but actual swimming was out of the question. She hated rain and baths, too.

  105. 105.

    raven

    @Luthe: Lil Bit jumps over puddles to keep her little feet dry , but, if they are big enough Bohdi likes to motorboat through them with his nose in the water!

  106. 106.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Calming Influence:

    Now I’m gonna send John a little more “critter money”; he can’t stop me. It does me as much good as it does the animals he helps.

    Because it’s John, you know there will be another critter, probably sooner rather than later. And there will be an amazing, unbelievable, “Only John Cole” story attached to it. So I, for one, feel certain your donation won’t go to waste (and in the meantime it can earn interest. Win-win).

  107. 107.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @SiubhanDuinne: Wasn’t that the contest supposed to be run by the Berniacs in Phila?

    Because I don’t remember their fart-in making a lot of noise.

  108. 108.

    Elmo

    @rikyrah: That’s just awful. Awful. I can’t even. What is to be done? Swimming and water fun is such a vital and important part of my own life – how do we extend that to AA youth so that doesn’t happen?

  109. 109.

    geg6

    @Luthe:

    Koda might get in to her ankles, if that. Baths and rain are full out assaults as far she’s concerned. As for Lovey, she’s the honey badger. She don’t give a shit.

  111. 111.

    JPL

    @dmsilev: Trump puts the media that is covering him, in a fenced in area. Often they sit while the trumpettes attack them. Reasonable executives have to ask themselves, whether or not it’s worth it. They are endangering their employees.

  113. 113.

    Brachiator

    @Origuy:

    Don’t install Windows 10 Anniversary Edition. My laptop is hosed.

    Worked for me, no problem. Take reasonable steps to create a restore point, but don’t fear opening up some Windows.

  114. 114.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    BTW, could I prevail on you to post (again) that puppy picture of The Bodhi the day you got him? It’s one of my faves, but it disappeared last year when I* had a crash.

    *(meaning my iPad, not me)

  115. 115.

    Amir Khalid

    @rikyrah:
    Eric Alterman was the first American blogger I ever followed. Robert Bateman got his blogging start there. Sad.

  117. 117.

    Pogonip

    @dmsilev: “…I bought a pair of [expensive shoes] to feel powerful.”

    Yep, that always worked for Mike Royko. Goodness. I’m surprised the Trumpians took her seriously enough to bother to threaten her.

  122. 122.

    Pogonip

    @Luthe: ha! All dogs know that Bath Water and Fun Water are two very different things.

    I have always suspected the rain they shake off on us and the furniture falls into a third category, Wicked Fun Water.

  123. 123.

    Brachiator

    @JPL:

    . Reasonable executives have to ask themselves, whether or not it’s worth it. They are endangering their employees.

    Reporters cover the news. This Trump crap is more obnoxious than dangerous. And Trump is desperate for coverage. I think he might be willing to be more accommodating if editors pulled his coat tails.

  124. 124.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    So. Fuckin. Cute.

    Thanks (I was remembering a picture just of B, but Raven was such a beauty I’m glad to have this one).

  125. 125.

    JPL

    @Baud: They have a pool that films. Before storms knocked out the live feed, Trump was explaining that he knew about the red lights, and CNN cut their camera cuz he was complaining about them. He has a power that can recognize every light that shines.. Truthfully I have no idea what he was talking about but the audience agreed. btw. .. CNN wasn’t broadcasting the speech, so it would not have mattered whether or not the camera was on.

  127. 127.

    ThresherK (GPad)

    @SiubhanDuinne: Ha! I like setting up other people for the punchline. I was hoping someone in this high-class assortment would know what to do with my gambit.

  131. 131.

    Mary G

    @raven: Awwww…Baby Bohdi is my fave, too. Those paws! That face!

    Sounds like Walter will be fine with debit’s current critters, if all he did was sniff the cats.

    Maureen Dowd isn’t even bothering with grammar anymore.

    All these woebegone Republicans whining that they can’t rally behind their flawed candidate is crazy.

    The rest is standard Hillary bashing; she’s also crazy, and really a Republican, also too.

  133. 133.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    YES!! Love that photo! And it is so cool to see how that little roly-poly fluffball has grown into such a dignified and distinguished grown-up.

    Thank you. Hope I get to meet him in person one of these times.

  136. 136.

    Karen marie

    The last photo is my favorite. The blond dog in the water looking at Walter is wagging it’s tail so fast it’s a blur. Everyone likes Walter. He’said such a nice boy.

  137. 137.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Just occurred to me that by removing only one two-letter verb, the second sentence is as true (and gratifying) as the first:

    I think Walter had a good time, and he is pooped.

    I think Walter had a good time, and he pooped.

  139. 139.

    sukabi

    he playfully buzzed the crowd twice with his helicopter

    Pretty sure drumpf doesn’t do “playful” , also doesn’t do sarcasm or jokes.

    What he does do is incite crowds, promote hate and ignorance…so what are the odds his helicopter buzzing the crowd was playful?

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