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These are not very smart people, and things got out of hand.

Those who are easily outraged are easily manipulated.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

The only way through is to slog through the muck one step at at time.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Dumb motherfuckers cannot understand a consequence that most 4 year olds have fully sorted out.

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Second rate reporter says what?

You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Respite Open Thread: Meet Alfie

Respite Open Thread: Meet Alfie

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O. Felix Culpa’s son adopted a new fur baby:

“This is Alfie, the new family member we adopted yesterday! We weren’t exactly planning on getting another beagle, but we found the sweetest little guy.
He just turned 5, and until last month he spent his entire life as a test subject in biomedical research labs. We got him from a rescue that specializes in finding homes for retired research beagles. He’s barely lived outside at all, let alone in a big city, so right now every truck, bicycle, staircase, child is just way too fascinating! He’s very handsome, very shy, follows us around everywhere and (knock on wood) doesn’t seem to make a peep.”
O. Felix Culpa added: “As you can imagine, I’m very proud of my son and his wonderful girlfriend. My other son does cat rescue, so our family’s got the canine/feline world covered. No ducks yet.”
So much win there! Congrats to all, especially Alfie!

h/t Aleta for this (if I remember correctly):

Reader Interactions

55Comments

  1. 1.

    p.a.

    Hi Alfie! Also too: test test- I can comment, it seems, on a 2 day yes, 2 day no, schedule. Anyone else w issues?

  3. 3.

    MagdaInBlack

    I have a soft spot for beagles. My first dog, at age 4, was a beagle. ?
    Hi Alfie ?

  5. 5.

    gene108

    I went to Kansas City, MO last week for business.

    I set up weather alerts. I have not turned them off. Today I got 4 warnings. Two for T-storms and flooding and two for tornado watches.

    We had a tornado watch their last week.

    My corner of SW NJ has zero weather alerts.

    Couldn’t deal with weather trying to kill me several times a week, like KCMO seems to have.

  6. 6.

    MazeDancer

    Ohhhh, so sweet.

    So not right research done on dogs. And even though I know how well all research animals are treated in the lab, still not right.

    But how wonderful Alfie has such a great home now!

  9. 9.

    TaMara (HFG)

    @gene108: My last two years of high school and college were in NE. It’s an almost every night thing from about May to July. You kind of start to tune them out unless they are in your direct path.

  13. 13.

    Patricia Kayden

    Alfie is a sweetheart. So glad that he ends his life on a high note away from the lab. Hope he has many years of fascination to come.

  15. 15.

    JPL

    @Patricia Kayden: I know. He’ll have happier days to come. My little mutt had a panic attack at the vets and the dr. sat on the floor and held him and then read his report. Abandoned, heart worms, weeks at the humane shelter and adopted at six. The vet looked at me and I said I know who adopts that and then said Finch let’s go home. Culpa’s fur baby will be the same.

  16. 16.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Baud: Thank you. Not all of us Culpas are as adorable as Alfie, but my Pippin (rescue Maltese fluff-dog) holds his own in the cuteness quotient.

  18. 18.

    dexwood

    Great rescue, love his name. Here’s to a long, sweet life. Wag on, Alfie, wag on.

  19. 19.

    Caphilldcne

    Yay for Alfie. Oh my what a sweet doggo. That article and twitter feed on Floyd, the retiring postal worker, made my day. Thanks for pointing us to it, Tamara. Thanks too, balloon juicers all, I read and appreciate you every day even if I rarely comment. Keeps me sane here in DC. And now I’m gonna grab a beer and go watch the fire flies. While they’re still buzzing around.

  21. 21.

    MomSense

    Oh Alfie, I’m so happy you found such a nice home. Alfie is such a cutie. Beagles have the prettiest eyes.

  22. 22.

    JeanneT

    Let us know when Alfie finds his voice – I’m betting no later than 6 months (that’s how long it took my son’s adopted beagle to start singing). Anyway, hounds are wonderful: may all enjoy a long life together

  24. 24.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @JeanneT: My son’s previous dog – also a rescue beagle – sang copiously when they first got her. Which, as apartment-dwellers, was problematic. He and his girlfriend trained her out of that habit and a few other less desirable habits as well. They are excellent, admirably patient and loving dog parents.

  29. 29.

    Barbara

    I would like to give Alfie a hug. I hope he gets to sleep in close proximity to his new family because that’s what makes beagles happy.

    My next door neighbor of 30 years died last week, just a few months after his wife, who had increasing mobility problems in her last years. One day, she fell and he had difficulty getting her up, and when he saw their mail carrier, he asked if he could help them, and he did.

  30. 30.

    Barbara

    @JeanneT: My beagle found her voice pronto. She would not stop howling until I lay down beside her and petted her to sleep. She howled whenever we left, and whenever a human singing voice wondered into soprano terrain. When we took her to my in-laws’ rural home, we always received offers to buy her. She would have had a nervous breakdown to be separated from us, her fourth set of owners.

  31. 31.

    cain

    @Barbara:
    When I was a kid, the mail carrier was the friend of hte neighborhood, we all used to know him and talk to him when he showed up. I don’t have that much of that here in my neighborhood. Maybe it is a west coast thing. The story about Martin is really touching and worth reading.

    Alfie looks super sweet. Welcome to the family, buddy! :D

  32. 32.

    cain

    @JeanneT:

    Let us know when Alfie finds his voice – I’m betting no later than 6 months (that’s how long it took my son’s adopted beagle to start singing). Anyway, hounds are wonderful: may all enjoy a long life together.

    Let’s hope nothing like Huckleberry Hound’s singing voice :D

  33. 33.

    Percysowner

    I suspect that Alfie will eventually become a vocal beagle. I adopted a little rescue beagle 4 years ago. We have no idea her history she was just running in a rural county. It took them forever to catch her. She seemed so calm and quiet at the adoption event. It turned out she was just scared out of her mind. The first month she would crawl on my lap and shake. She was scared of everyone and cringed when we saw new people on walks. She never howled. Then she started feeling safe. It took like 6 months and she found her voice. She now greets strangers on walks, usually, she loves every dog and every person once she gets to know them. Beagles are pretty resilient and so sweet.

  34. 34.

    HumboldtBlue

    Alfie is gonna be popular.

    My dad was alone in his house and fell. Broke his femur. Two years ago.

    He’d already had hip replacement. Nice he was able to see the same excellent doctor.

    Now the family text threads are about clearing out and selling the house he bought in ’85 (still has a mortgage under $800) and moving him in with a brother.

    We’re fortunate my dad and my brothers and sisters were far more competent than I. We have the resources.

    So many don’t.

  35. 35.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    Alfie!!!! What great love he’ll know now.

    The Floyd Matin’s last day story is heartwarming. Always a treat for the pups on his route, and so many who wanted pictures with him at the party!

    I saw a text from my employer (before I logged into work email) asking for a response about whether I was in or out of the office today and if I’d been affected by the tornado last night, not affected by the tornado, or affected and in need of assistance from the firm. The email indicated if it did not generate a response by 8:30 am, other devices would be pinged. I work remotely on Monday and the tornado was well north of here, in the vicinity of the office.

  36. 36.

    Major Major Major Major

    Respite!

    My summer intern started today. He seems nice. He’s on an IT loaner laptop until Thursday, so I could only half-onboard him, since setting up the development environment takes hours, and we don’t want to do it twice. But there was plenty to do. He’s supposed to take up about half my productivity for the summer, so that’ll be interesting.

    In writing news, I just got a little weepy at a passage I wrote (I know I know) where an arborist has to kill a beloved tree.

  37. 37.

    JeanneT

    @Barbara:
    @O. Felix Culpa:
    I wish I could remember when my basset hound Lucy first gave her big bay after we adopted her – we were the fourth household for her, too. Not for the first few months: we spent those first months teaching her not to jump onto the dining table and to vacate furniture without grumbling. It was not the easiest transition! But she had a beautiful voice, a resonant alto. I just love hounds.

  38. 38.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I once wrote a spy story where the good guy got trapped in the IT cupboard in the meeting room of an evil lair. During the obvious expository meeting that followed, he almost got caught when the A/V stopped working, and the bad guys got into an argument about who should go try to fix it. The good guy had to race against the clock to diagnose the problem himself from inside the cupboard! That never got published, but I just remembered that scene reading your post.

  39. 39.

    Steve in the ATL

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I just want to snorf his face and boop his head and skritch his ears.

    Google Translate was no help with this.

    @gene108:

    Couldn’t deal with weather trying to kill me several times a week, like KCMO seems to have.

    Or with a super shitty airport, which KCMO definitely has.

  41. 41.

    Amir Khalid

    @TaMara (HFG):
    The tweet had scrolled below the bottom edge of the box, and I didn’t remember to check there, alas. I’ve had a recurring problem with photos not loading for me and the image not being viewable.

  44. 44.

    Barbara

    @JeanneT: Among other feats involving food, I once cut some cake and set it on the table before calling my husband inside, and when I returned I found one slice remaining and the beagle with frosting all over her nose.

  45. 45.

    chris

    @Amir Khalid:

    a recurring problem with photos not loading for me and the image not being viewable.

    Same here, Linux with Chrome. Works fine on my Android phone though. Odd.

  49. 49.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    @Steve in the ATL:

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    I just want to snorf his face and boop his head and skritch his ears.

    Google Translate was no help with this.

    You needed a translation? And I thought you were fluent in adorable dog squee; it seems I was mistaken.

    @Steve in the ATL: No other reply was appropriate!

    @satby: Nah, just medium thunderstorms here. I appreciate the thought! The office brought in bottled water because there’s a boil warning there.

  53. 53.

    spudgun

    What a sweet face – I’m so glad Alfie gets a chance at a normal, wonderful life!!

  54. 54.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    @Major Major Major Major: That sounds like a fun scene! Fear of discovery is a good tension provider. I used to hate meetings at work. I believe I’ve previously mentioned the one where we were arguing about something, and someone asked the dept chair how long he was going to let the discussion run. And he said until everyone has said everything they want to say. I got up and left.

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