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A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

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

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John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

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The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Sunday Morning Open Thread: Easy Targets

Sunday Morning Open Thread: Easy Targets

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Because even the trained professionals get tired sometimes, the Washington Post (nb: business section) goes for the clickbait — “Dog owners are much happier than cat owners, survey finds”:

The well-respected survey that’s been a barometer of American politics, culture and behavior for more than four decades finally got around to the question that has bedeviled many a household.

Dog or cat?

In 2018, the General Social Survey for the first time included a battery of questions on pet ownership. The findings not only quantified the nation’s pet population — nearly 6 in 10 households have at least one —they made it possible to see how pet ownership overlaps with all sorts of factors of interest to social scientists.

Like happiness.

For starters, there is little difference between pet owners and non-owners when it comes to happiness, the survey shows. The two groups are statistically indistinguishable on the likelihood of identifying as “very happy” (a little over 30 percent) or “not too happy” (in the mid-teens).

But when you break the data down by pet type — cats, dogs or both — a stunning divide emerges: Dog owners are about twice as likely as cat owners to say they’re very happy, with people owning both falling somewhere in between…

If you read the article (there are graphs!), the author *does* discuss most of the predictable variables. People who live with dogs (and respond to surveys) can afford to spend more on a ‘luxury’, and are more likely to own their own homes. And they’re healthy enough to walk the dog on a regular basis, or they live with another person who can do so, or they can pay someone for the chores (social interactions being one of those generic ‘makes humans more happy’ markers).

But they missed one of my personal biases: I’ve always thought people who lived with dogs-but-not-cats tend to be the sort of people who regard ‘happiness’ as the baseline human condition — they consider themselves ‘happy’ unless they’ve got a particular problem right at the moment they’re asked. People who live with cats-not-dogs, on the other hand, are generally people who assume that ‘happiness’ is a special blessing to be enjoyed when it happens… not something that can be taken for granted. As the cliche has it, your dog loves you because dogs love, whereas your cat loves you (if you’ve earned their love) because the cat chooses to love you.

(And, of course, people who live with both are comfortable with contradictions!)

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    OzarkHillbilly

    (And, of course, people who live with both are comfortable with contradictions!)

    Not sure what that says about me. Supposed to hit 77 today. Blech.

  2. 2.

    Aleta

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    5- 11 inches of snow forecast tomorrow. Which will probably end up around 3-4. We never can tell though. Two weeks ago the plow guy said I’d see him once more. I want to get him some chocolates or something. Or make him a pie.

  3. 3.

    Aleta

    Instead they should ask people what they’ve learned about happiness from their cats and dogs.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Aleta: Uck. I’m just wishing the highs would stay in the 60s a while longer, my ideal happy temp.

  6. 6.

    Barb 2

    I was trained to look for experimenter’s bias in research like this. Were the Es all dog owners?

    I have both a dog and cat. They sleep together when it is cold – on a heating pad.

  7. 7.

    RAVEN

    Bohdi’s Friday night fight resulted in a hefty vet bill but, fortunately, there’s no lasting damage. The found one puncture and his left front is swollen and his limp was bed but better this morning. The big girl that he fought with has had one other incident with another dog and her folks will make sure she doesn’t have the opportunity again. I didn’t tell my wife since today is her last day in London and it wouldn’t do any good to worry her.

  14. 14.

    ola azul

    But they missed one of my personal biases: I’ve always thought people who lived with dogs-but-not-cats tend to be the sort of people who regard ‘happiness’ as the baseline human condition — they consider themselves ‘happy’ unless they’ve got a particular problem right at the moment they’re asked. People who live with cats-not-dogs, on the other hand, are generally people who assume that ‘happiness’ is a special blessing to be enjoyed when it happens… not something that can be taken for granted. As the cliche has it, your dog loves you because dogs love, whereas your cat loves you (if you’ve earned their love) because the cat *chooses* to love *you*.

    Fair enough. But:

    Comfirmation bias. In every way. Uncut, purest form.

  16. 16.

    Amir Khalid

    Cats and dogs are individuals. Generalisations about large classes, e.g.domestic dogs or domestic cats, are typically not true of all individuals in the class. Some dogs are going to be picky about whom they love, and some cats love everybody.

  17. 17.

    NotMax

    Floriduh Man never takes a day off.

    A Florida man was re-arrested within minutes after he was released from jail for burglarizing cars in the jail’s parking lot. Source

  18. 18.

    Anne Laurie

    @RAVEN: Get well soon, Bohdi!

    One reason I’ve been so cranky recently is that our 17-year-old Zevon is sliding slowly towards the Rainbow Bridge. He’s almost completely blind (Spousal Unit chose to spend $3k on glaucoma surgery), his joints pain him unless we can get the painkillers (which he fights) down his throat, his dementia is getting worse by the week, and his appetite is *extremely* picky. Spousal Unit is… not taking it well; one or both of us have to spend up to an hour a day coaxing Zeev into eating, but S.U. is convinced that if a certain number of calories aren’t consumed within a 24hr period, dog will DIE IMMEDIATELY and it will be OUR FAULT!!!

    Meanwhile… 14-year-old rescue alpha Gloria, who is just a little bit bigger (18lb v 15) and a *lot* more dangerous than Zevon, is also beginning to show her age. I worried that as Zevon started to slide, Gloria might actually attack him seriously enough that we’d be forced to euthanize one or the other of them. (The only two cases I know personally where dogs actually killed one of their ‘packmates’ were bigger females attacking smaller but indominantly feisty older males.) She’s gone for Zevon once or twice, fortunately not very seriously, yet. But since it takes both of us humans to get the liquid metacam doses down Zevon’s throat — and the alternative, sneaking galliprant pills into the dime-sized food morsels which he lets us hand-feed him, is even less reliable — I’m not looking forward to trying to get painkillers into a bitch with a history of biting…

    That’s the problem with loving an old dog… you want to keep them going for as long as you possibly can, but it’s so hard to judge their needs against your wishes… and unlike your four-legged buddy you know there’s the same destination at the end of every junction!

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    Down Mr. Cole’s way.

    A woman was criminally charged for falsely reporting that an Egyptian man tried to kidnap her daughter from a West Virginia shopping mall, a police detective told The Associated Press on Friday.

    Santana Renee Adams appeared before a Cabell County, W.Va. magistrate Friday afternoon. She is charged with falsely reporting an emergency incident.

    The charge would be the latest turn in a sensational tale of a mother who used a gun to thwart an abduction that quickly unraveled amid inconsistencies in her story. Source

    One guess who she voted for (assuming she voted at all).

  20. 20.

    ola azul

    @NotMax:

    Guy’s gotta up his game. Knew a guy who got two DWI’s in the same *day* before killing his boat on Six Mile Rock (Kulichikof).

  22. 22.

    JPL

    @NotMax: On the same site there is an article that Manchin might run for governor. wtf he’s not a great democrat, but he’s still a democrat and the minority can’t afford to give up any more Senate seats.

  24. 24.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @NotMax: A guy I used to work with stumbled out of a bar late one night to take a leak (small town). Walked behind the nearest vehicle, whipped it out and began pissing all over the car. The front driver side door opens and out steps a sherriff’s deputy who was waiting in the lot for DWIs.

    “C’mon, my car? Anybody else’s and I wouldn’t care, but mine??? While I’m sitting right here???”

  25. 25.

    Baud

    @Anne Laurie:

    I am dogless now for the first time in a long time after having gone through what you are going through. You are in my thoughts. Best wishes to you and your furry children.

  31. 31.

    Anne Laurie

    @Baud: That means a lot, coming from you!

    I don’t want to (further) bum everyone out by whining about my problems, given how many people have much worse problems. But it’s cheering to know that, worse comes to worst, I can still bitch in the comments & you guys will understand.

    (P.S. If I didn’t say so earlier: Condolences on your loss… )

  32. 32.

    Nelle

    @rikyrah: Thanks for linking to this. I’m moving to Iowa today and have been thinking about who to put my energy behind. I’m fond of Warren, but I hesitate because of age, for one thing. We don’t age alike but my own experience with aging gives me pause.

    Over and over, I find myself thinking of Harris. This clip just adds to the inclination.

  34. 34.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    My neighbors on either side of me are the worst kind of big dog owners. One side keeps his dogs fenced but he lets them out at 2 AM so they can bark at the deer and raccoons in our neighborhood. They can go off fifteen feet from our bedroom window while the old fuck who owns them has his hearing aids turned off. I’ve taken to going out and hosing them down and laughing at the idea of their owner trying to figure out why they are wet and muddy. They eventually figure out that they are much dryer staying away from me. The dog owners on the other side of us don’t believe in using a leash, leading to our cats having to flee for their lives when the dogs spot them in our yard. Both of them never water their back yards, making our back yard unusable in the summer because of the stench. The dogs are never walked and the assholes are bitter Trump supporters so I guess they were the outliers in the study. I’m a cat owner and I’m not happy with the dog owners that live around me so I guess I fit the study?

    I think the dog owners are lying.

  36. 36.

    Betty Cracker

    @Nelle: How exciting to be an Iowa voter and get in on the early primary action! If I were in your shoes, I’d be mulling the choice between Warren and Harris too. I love that Warren has rolled out so many big, bold ideas already. I like Harris a lot too, plus I just have a feeling she’s going to be our nominee. I’d be thrilled to pieces to work to get either one of them elected!

  39. 39.

    SFAW

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    A guy I used to work with

    Ooh, a semi-new (well, not really) spin on “Asking for a friend.”

    Does this “guy I used to work with” also post to political blogs, using the nom/nym “MozarkBillhilly” or something similar?

    Asking for an imaginary friend.

    ETA: And by “semi-new,” I mean “not as old as you, but close to it.”

  40. 40.

    ola azul

    @Baud:

    My old guy tipped over after 16 years right about now last spring. It just hurts. Feels like (to me) innocence and goodness unjustly perishes. Sorry for your loss.

  42. 42.

    Anne Laurie

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:

    Both of them never water their back yards, making our back yard unusable in the summer because of the stench.

    Hardly an ideal solution, but I have heard of people in your predicament stealthily spraying Odormute outside the perimeter to bring down the stench to the point where they could use their own property.

    Presumably you’ve already investigated your local ordinances, but there might be an animal-welfare issue if your elderly neighbor is adjudged ‘unable to properly care’ for his late-night noise-makers.

  43. 43.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @RAVEN: Best wishes for the pup and good decision on waiting until after the trip. May all go well for you and yours.

  44. 44.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Nelle: What district will you be in, Nelle? Will you have a chance to vote out Steve King? For sure you’ll have one to vote out Joni Ernst!

    I’m missing Iowa right about now. Illinois doesn’t offer the same suspense.

  45. 45.

    Betty Cracker

    So, today in cheap home renovations, I’m going to attempt a faux granite finish on our crappy old laminate kitchen counters. I’m a little nervous about it, but I keep telling myself that the existing laminate is so hideous (it’s this awful urine color) that even if I fuck it up, it won’t really be any worse!

  46. 46.

    tobie

    Dogs, cats, hamsters, birds–for once I can say, I don’t have a dog in this fight. :-)

  47. 47.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @Anne Laurie: He’s buddies with a couple of guys on the local force and a customer of mine. I’ll stick to the stealth hosing. I’m going to go after him this year on the yard since we had a huge tree removed last fall and want to use it more now.

    I should just hose his yard with bleach. ;)

  48. 48.

    Anne Laurie

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:

    I should just hose his yard with bleach. ;)

    I know the temptation!

    OTOH, Odormute is safe for pets / plants / etc. And once it’s dried out, it’s just about impossible to spot outdoors. If the neighbors don’t see you spraying over into their yards, they may never realize (or may not admit, at least) that you’ve been driven to extremes.

  51. 51.

    Lapassionara

    @Nelle: Warren does not act like she is aging at all. I would not let her age stop me from supporting her. On the other hand, it is early, and I can wait to see how the debates and primaries turn out before deciding. What worries me are the purity people I see on Twitter who are threatening to take their marbles and go home if they don’t get their way. We are in an existential crisis. I don’t think we will survive four more years of this.

    And my condolences to those whose beloved pets are getting to that awful stage, or who have gone already. And nice to see Baud this morning.

  53. 53.

    JPL

    @Lapassionara: This is not age related but Kamala displays more energy. Their personalities are different and Warren is more reserved. Against trump either one would be quite a contrast.

  55. 55.

    debit

    @Anne Laurie: You have all my sympathy. Our old man cat, Max, hung on until he was 21 but at that point had all his teeth pulled, required subcutaneous fluids daily and (until we discovered the milk trick) enemas.

    Ellie is 14 now and we’re bracing for decision time. She’s starting to have old dog issues like incontinence in her sleep, is obviously very creaky and slow. But as long as she still bounces for her food, we’ll keep doing what we can to keep her happy and comfortable.

  56. 56.

    narya

    @Anne Laurie: There was an article in the FYNYT in the last few weeks that had a questionnaire that you could use to help make these awful decisions. Sending good thoughts your way . . .

  57. 57.

    Raven

    @Anne Laurie: Our bellwether is eating. When they stop it is time. We’re thinking Lil Bit is having cognitive issues but, being deaf and almost blind, it’s hard to tell. I pick her up and carry her outside and she just stands for a couple of minutes and finally will go. The fight was something I should have anticipated when they both were vying for a cookie and growled. I should have gotten him out of there right then and there but I was enjoying the fire and empanadas!

  59. 59.

    Raven

    @debit: We got some re-useable diapers for Lil Bit that really help except if she does happen to use the doggie door she’ll poop or pee in them when she tries to be good!

  60. 60.

    Raven

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:Yea and the motherfucking cats use our yard as a bathroom and Lil Bit loves to eat their goddam poop. Chances are with her “tie back” surgery one of these days she’s going to get it in her lungs and die. Fuck some cats.

  62. 62.

    Elizabelle

    Guten tag from Bavaria. At lunch. About to have some of this seasonal white asparagus the Germans apparently go wild over. That and local strawberries. ? Pleasantly surprised that it’s been mild and sunny all week.

    We were in Nuremburg yesterday. Albrecht Durer’s house has survived, from the 1420s (he lived there until maybe 1526??). Toured it yesterday. Durer was a successful artist in his day, and his original art has long since left his city.

  64. 64.

    O. Felix Culpa

    Supposed to hit 77 today. Blech.

    So, in my pre-caffeinated state I was about to wish you Happy Birthday. Now that I’ve had my first swig of the morning, I’ll wish you a Happy Blech-day instead.

    @Baud: Good to see you back. Wishing you heart’s-ease on the loss of your furbaby.

  65. 65.

    JR

    @Barb 2: these studies are basically worthless. The dependent variable “happiness” is esoteric and arbitrary, the independent variables are very much not independent and extraordinarily hard to control, etc. I always wonder who funds this, obviously not the NIH or NSF.

  68. 68.

    debit

    @Raven: She is a lucky pup and you’re a damn good dog caretaker. We may get there with the diapers, but right now a puppy pad on her bed is working (she’s actually pooping in her sleep).

  77. 77.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Odie Hugh Manatee:

    I think the dog owners are lying.

    Did the study control for IQ? Less informed, incurious people tend to be happier through ignorance.

    Just sayin’

    PS: Cynical cat person, so no confirmation bias in the above at all.

  78. 78.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    Open thread: Question about Amazon pricing. The Wind Reader (my new book) is officially $14.99 in ppb. Yesterday it was listed at $12.85. Today it’s $12.21.

    Is Amazon now doing dynamic pricing?

  79. 79.

    MagdaInBlack

    I love both dogs and cats (and pretty much any warm blooded critter, except humans) but Ive always thought of dogs as children and cats as room-mates: I’m happier with room-mates.

  81. 81.

    debbie

    @Elizabelle:

    Sounds like a lovely day! I remember being in awe of Durer’s etchings back when I tackled a zinc plate or two. What detailing!

  82. 82.

    Immanentize

    @Elizabelle: I went to my friend’s wedding in the reconstructed church in Nuremberg. The Durer rabbit sculpture still haunts my dreams

  84. 84.

    debbie

    @rikyrah:

    Anyone who knows Trump (and don’t we all?) knows exactly what the fuck he was saying. He’s saying exactly what he has said about POC since the 1970s, FFS.

  86. 86.

    tobie

    @Elizabelle: Thanks for checking in! Sounds like you’re having such a great trip from visiting Dürer’s house and workshop to eating weisser Spargel. Count me as one of those who goes berserk when they’re in season.

  87. 87.

    Percysowner

    @Anne Laurie: I’m so sorry about your baby. I lost 2 of my 4 pets in the last 18 months. I was “lucky”because in both cases there was no real decision to make. My 16 year old cat, Percy, just keeled over one day and when I rushed him to the vet, they said he had lung cancer and there was nothing to do. I’d taken him to the vet 6 months before for his annual physical. It turns out that when cats get cancer it spreads fast, and being cats, they really don’t show pain or signs that they are ill. They just soldier on.

    My 12 year old dog, Agave, was having a multitude of minor problems due to aging, collapsed trachea, compressed disc in his neck. obviously not feeling well. In his annual physical they noticed enlarged kidneys, but nothing too bad. Then he started whining and being in pain, so I took him in. The kidney enlargement was worse and it was almost certainly cancerous, he had pancreatitis, he was in agony the only way to keep him out of pain was with giving him pain shots that knocked him out. Again, there was really no other choice for me. I couldn’t let him suffer.

    I can’t imagine how hard it is for you to have to make these decisions. We give them our hearts, they give us their love and eventually they break our hearts. My thoughts are with you.

  89. 89.

    Elizabelle

    @Immanentize: did see that sculpture. Not scary cuz toddlers were all over it.

    @debbie: an amazing guy. Very modern. He would flourish today, too. And get away w the long curly locks

    Nuremburg airport is named for Albrecht Durer. He would feel he merited the honor.

  90. 90.

    MomSense

    @Aleta:

    Seriously? Ugh. Guess I should drag myself outdoors today while it’s still sunny.

    I’ve got so many stupid house chores to do today.

  92. 92.

    Barbara

    @Anne Laurie: You can tell your SO that one of the things that happens when you age is that your metabolism slows way down, and when an elderly member of the species really doesn’t want food, it’s probably better to let them eat a lot less than you think they should. Marked loss of appetite in an elderly person is often a significant symptom of impending final decline. But you don’t reverse that decline by trying to force them to eat. So sad. I hope your doggies, most of all, are comfortable, however much time they have left.

  93. 93.

    Barbara

    @rikyrah: Just like it isn’t Democrats who think that Netanyahu is “their” prime minister.

    Has anyone heard from TaMara? Still thinking of you and Bixby and waiting anxiously for good news.

  94. 94.

    tobie

    @rikyrah: I’ve always admired Schiff’s prodigious intellect but, until recently, I had no idea just how lethal he could be in his jabs. I love this guy. If Harris becomes President or Feinstein retires, I hope Schiff will become one of California’s senators.

  100. 100.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Elizabelle: Spargelfest!!!

    Have you gotten to the Spielzeugmuseum? When I was there many moons, asteroids & comets ago, I was most impressed by the amazing Omaha Model Train Layout, > 30 square meters of detailed reproduction of the rail switchyards in Omaha, Nebraska.. German TV even made a video about it, which you can view at the museum.

    @Immanentize: IIRC “reconstructed church” means damn near any church or for that matter, any structure) in Nuremberg – RAF Bomber Command & USAAC 8th AF made the rubble bounce in the Nazis’ adopted home town (that didn’t even vote for them).

  102. 102.

    Barbara

    @rikyrah: Anyone who criticizes Harris for “going to the dark side” and becoming a prosecutor must really have zero sense of strategy and tactics — in most states, cities and counties, defense bar are basically begging for crumbs and scraps of mercy from the prosecutor, who often exercises discretion solely according to what political aims require. So you don’t prosecute hard rape cases even when the victim is willing to take the risk (acquittals bring down your stats) and you don’t look too hard for the murderer of a young black kid with a record of his own but you do prosecute drug possession because it’s so fucking easy and who cares about these people anyway? Criminal prosecution isn’t going anywhere, and to have an ethical prosecutor who really feels accountable to all of her constituents is a victory for criminal justice.

  104. 104.

    MomSense

    @Anne Laurie:

    Really sorry. I remember how depressed we all were when all three of our fur babies died within a few months of each other. We go through so much with them and it’s hard to let them go.

  107. 107.

    geg6

    @Betty Cracker:

    My sister did this and her counters look great! Took a lot of time but not a lot of effort and certainly very little money compared to new counters. You’vE got s lot going on in the home improvement arena, so I think you’ll like the temporary fix until you can get new counters.

  108. 108.

    tokyokie

    As I am way late in joining the parade of limericks about the Indian woman bagpiper, and this is an open thread, let me drop what I came up with here:

    A musical lass from New Delhi
    Mastered pipes stuck in a sheep’s belly
    Snakes found her tunes charming
    Albeit alarming
    As her playing turned them to jelly

  109. 109.

    Barbara

    @Betty Cracker: Good luck! The thing people need to remember when choosing any color for counters or cabinets is that some materials and colors tend to fade, while others tend to darken with age. So that pretty lemon yellow could look like cat piss over the course of the counter’s lifetime.

  111. 111.

    StringOnAStick

    @tobie: I want Schiff as a Senator too, but more so if we have the majority. Since he is in the majority in the House and has that committee chairmanship, he’s got a lot more power than he’d had as a Senator in the minority. Just one more good reason why we MUST take back the Senate!

    It is a gorgeous high 60’s today and may hit a record breaking high 70’s on Tuesday, to be followed by a high of 47 and overnight snow potential on Wednesday. Pretty typical for Spring here though I’m always amazed how so many people turn this into an excuse to be bummed about the weather. I guess if it wasn’t the weather they’d find something else to be bummed about.

    I’m going back to work tomorrow, exactly 4 weeks after I had my left knee replaced. I’m not thrilled about having my leg down all day but I can ice at noon and that will help. Thankfully I only work 2 days a week but I do expect the the next few weeks to be less than fun, and since I’m a dental hygienist it is going to be tough because the job is face paced even when you’re feeling 100%. I’m considering doing the other one next March, and I might just quit before that surgery so I don’t have to deal with the constant undercurrent of pressure to get back to work. I’ll certainly give my boss the choice of either letting me have 4 weeks or giving my notice.

  113. 113.

    Barbara

    @Baud: Adding my condolences. I still cry when I think about the last days of my little corgi, who died more than 25 years ago.

  114. 114.

    bobbo

    Also too if you are a good human your dog makes you get up in the morning to take you for a walk, and getting yo lazy ass up staves off depression

  115. 115.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: oh baud, both of your sweet pups, my heart breaks for you. when this happened to me about 7 years ago, i was suddenly dogless after always having had a dog since I was 21. besides dealing with the terrible loss of my beloved guys, the world felt so terribly wrong without a dog in the house. I have always been slow to bring someone new home after a loss like that, but that time I couldn’t even make it a month without a dog in the house.

  116. 116.

    Barbara

    I think that owners of cats and dogs are a self-selecting bunch. Cat owners are more likely to be loners or at least live alone and perhaps work longer hours, and many have cats because they think that cats can endure longer absences than dogs.

  117. 117.

    MomSense

    If any Jackals haven’t yet seen the movie Dean Spanley – go watch it today. There is a funny scene about dogs and cats in the beginning but mostly it’s just magical and beautiful. The scenes of the dogs in the countryside are wonderful. I definitely cried but at the end it was really affirming. Also too a stellar cast.

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    @Anne Laurie: My vet has a phrase: “you’re not at the end of the road, but you’re on the road”, and that’s a tough place to be.

    For my part, I have learned to let them decide if it’s time, which can be best described as “if they’re in it, I’m in it”. As long as they still like their food or their ball or their walk or whatever it is that makes them happy, then I’m in it for as long as they are. When they’re done, I’m done.

    It’s still unbelievably hard, and it doesn’t help with the pain of the loss, but for me it relieves the angst of trying to decide if it’s time.

  121. 121.

    trollhattan

    @Barbara:
    My observation: poor communities want and need lawn-d’order as much or more than other parts of town, they just want it to be fair and just. Nothing inherently wrong with being part of the solution. Seeking twenty years for possessing a joint? Then we have a problem.

    Harris will ultimately succeed or fail on her merits relative to other candidates. Am already done with breathless counting of contributions to measure who’s “ahead.” It’s not useful and I do not care.

  123. 123.

    Ruckus

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:
    I have no desire to read his tweets.. Zero. I consider that I thought he was insane long before he ran and nothing I saw after that changed my perception, there was and is no need to read what he pukes up. I’ve seen dementia up close and personal and watched it in a president before. I have no need to see this again.

  126. 126.

    Ruckus

    @KSinMA:
    Warren is a month older than me. I don’t consider that young. But then I’m having health issues that clouds a lot of the concept of aging. I’ve know people 20 to 25 yrs older who didn’t look or act like the number of years was a problem in the least. But I’ve known far more for whom even 5-10 yrs younger is a big deal. We all age somewhat differently and for Warren her age may mean nothing yet, but I’ve been to my 50th HS reunion and seen about 250 people in one room who are all her age. The vast majority are starting to feel the weight of those years. I’d hope that she’s one of the lucky ones who still can contribute rather than just sit around waiting for the inevitable. Because I know of a few of those and while the not having to get up and go to something is nice, that doing something can have a positive effect upon one’s outlook and health.

  127. 127.

    Fair Economist

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I have never paid attention to Trump’s ravings. I don’t listen to other mental illness cases if I hear them raving on the street- why should I listen to him?

  128. 128.

    opiejeanne

    @Immanentize: It’s not by Durer, The statue Der Hase is by Juergen Kurtz, sort of an homage to Durer. It’s modern, 1980s.

    Pretty creepy statue.

  130. 130.

    Kay

    @Betty Cracker:

    I did the counters in a mudroom and it was a ton of work – sand until you cannot bear sanding any more (I think the key is to rough up the old top so the compound sticks) and really messy but it looks fine. It’s well worth the work. I pulled the sink out to replace it because it looked so bad next to the finished countertops and it’s an old house and it wasn’t a standard size so then I had to order one online and then the stainless lip/rim didn’t fit so I had to find a welder/fabricator and have him cut it and extend it. So. Don’t replace the sink and you’re good.

  131. 131.

    Avalie

    @Barbara:
    Thanks for this. Prosecutors are afforded enormous discretion and are often in the best position to shape the system for better or worse. Most of us take our obligations to seek justice rather than just winning very seriously

  133. 133.

    L85NJGT

    My first order candidates (in no particular order): Inslee, Castro, Harris and Hickenlooper. They’ve actually run large bureaucracies. The rest? Maybe they scale up, maybe not, but after the anarchy of TrumpCo, organizational skills are high on the list. Whether or not they were a prosecutor……. WGAF?

    The only big red no is Wilmer. We already have prickly, autocratic and out of touch. If voters want four more years of that, they’ll vote Trump.

  135. 135.

    Elizabelle

    @Uncle Cosmo: The spargel was delicious.

    And will definitely go to see the Toy Museum. Sounds enchanting. On my list, and Nurnberg is an easy 45 mins away by train.

  136. 136.

    scav

    Finally a place to drop this (if it was discussed before, I missed it): “Wolves lead, dogs follow — and both cooperate with humans”

    Especially in one point the two closely related animals show significantly different forms of behaviour. In their cooperation with human partners, dogs follow the behaviour of the humans while wolves lead the interaction: they are more independent.

    Cats may or may not even cooperate.

  137. 137.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @Elizabelle: Click here for an English-language link for the museum. My best guess is I visited in ’99, a few days after I flew into Frankfurt & then DB’d to Stuttgart for the Totalensonnenfinsternis of 11 August – which was rained out. (IIRC the makeup date is sometime after 2100 CE.)

  138. 138.

    SWMBO

    We have had several aging, declining dogs over the years. One of our last ones had pancreatitis. My mom had had pancreatitis 3 times before and I asked her for help/tips. “Jello. It was the only thing I could hold down without pain.” I used Knox unflavored gelatin with chicken broth. One cup broth per packet of gelatin. Boil the broth (keeps the gelatin from forming rubbery outsides). Pour into ice cube tray and put in fridge. Take one cube at a time so you can keep track of how much is going in. The dog loved the taste and feel of the jello and it rehydrated him without a big fight.
    Before this dog, however, we had Sparky who had brain cancer. He was diagnosed with it the first Friday of February and died the last Friday of February. It was incredibly fast and heartbreaking. The cancer left the inside of the skull and started down the right side of his face. After about a week, he couldn’t open his mouth enough to eat or drink. Baby syringes helped immensely. The vet had “recovery diet” in a can (doggie pate. Smelled good and must have tasted great.) You can load it in a baby syringe and squirt it in the side of the mouth. All that’s required is swallowing. Same with water. You can crush or grind up most meds and stir it in the pate. Try not to change the flavor or smell much. Some pain meds are EXTREMELY bitter and can be smelled after cutting or crushing.
    When one of Missy’s eyes ruptured, we couldn’t grab her face and force a pill down her throat. We did find that cream cheese surrounding the pill and then dip in ranch dressing (her favorite) made her meds go down. I would caution against peanut butter if it has xylitol in it. If you go the liquid medication route, you can get flavors added to it at a compounding pharmacy. We got beef or chicken flavor and they thought they were getting the royal treatment. Hope this helps.

  139. 139.

    Bonnie

    Dogs are subservient. People who like only dogs need someone to boss around. Cats are independent; and, cats will not automatically love you for giving them shelter and a home. You have to work harder at getting the love of a cat. Yet, I am a very lazy person, which is why I have a cat. I just clean the box and feed the cat. My cats are strictly indoor; and, as a result more healthy than my outdoor cats. Of course, there are people who like owning both cats and dogs; and, I admire their ability to do so. I actually like all animals; but, only own cats. All of us pet lovers, I believe, are special people. Notice the Idiot in chief never has pets; and, he is one of worst people to walk the earth.

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