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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Respite Open Thread: We Don’t Deserve Dogs

Respite Open Thread: We Don’t Deserve Dogs

by Anne Laurie|  November 21, 20204:05 pm| 115 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads

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I assume (hope) this is some kind of parody?

After any adventure I like to enjoy a cold one, and I’m stoked to be partnering with @BuschBeer to tell you about #BuschDogBrew!
Now your pup can enjoy a beer after a day on the trail or on the lake. It’s made with simple ingredients, and your dog will love it. #BuschPartner pic.twitter.com/QrrgCHOBaH

— john (@johncwingfield) November 18, 2020


Sometimes when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss begs for treats…

(??: Reddit user alex_square6) pic.twitter.com/KuBqAyCeKg

— Clare Logan ?? (@withchillies) October 14, 2020

This is The Pack, an epic adventure competition featuring twelve teams of dogs and their humans. Only one can win, but spoiler alert: they’re all good dogs. Tune in November 20th on @PrimeVideo #ad pic.twitter.com/PWWB9yTapl

— WeRateDogs® (@dog_rates) November 9, 2020

SOUND UP ???? pic.twitter.com/9O43bfCyJO

— Jay Arnold ?? (@jadedcreative) October 16, 2020

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Previous Post: « Pandemic Turkey Day: Sharing Is *Not* Caring, Unless It’s Health Info
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Reader Interactions

115Comments

  1. 1.

    JaneE

    November 21, 2020 at 4:11 pm

    Apparently the “dog beer” is really just broth with a good publicist.

  2. 2.

    Catherine D.

    November 21, 2020 at 4:17 pm

    oh, I’d heard about The Pack on a podcast.

  3. 3.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 21, 2020 at 4:17 pm

    A cousin once poured beer in our dog’s water dish. The dog sniffed it and then turned away to look at us reproachfully.

  4. 4.

    Dan B

    November 21, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    I await the Cat Adventure.  Comedy and tragedy, plus lots of minimalism, ie. sleeping.

    FYI: I had a cat that commuted to work with me for a couple years.  She sat in the back window of my Tercel wagon and stared down the drivers behind us.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 4:19 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My first cocker spaniel LOVED beer.  First house after the dorms, she would intentionally knock over beer bottles just so she could drink them.

  6. 6.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 21, 2020 at 4:21 pm

    @WaterGirl: Did it affect her?

  7. 7.

    Yutsano

    November 21, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: @WaterGirl: Dogs usually don’t have much affinity for alcoholic beverages. Notable exceptions noted.

    But if you give a horse a beer…you better have more. They seem to love the stuff.

  8. 8.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 4:22 pm

    @Dan B:  I knew the people who owned Morris the Cat. Leave it at “that cat was trippin”.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    November 21, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    @WaterGirl

    A puppydog belonging to one of the group of us who lived in very rural PA for a time liked beer so much he could sniff it out when the can was sealed, then proceed to bite through the can to get at it.

  10. 10.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 4:25 pm

    Best sort of cocker bud light ad.

     

    I hope ya like jammin too!

  11. 11.

    O. Felix Culpa

    November 21, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    @raven: Most excellent.

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    @WaterGirl: 
    Oh yes, there are beer hounds among us. One suspects certain German breeds especially (our GSP has not learned the taste because I’m afraid he’d love it and then pester us endlessly).

  13. 13.

    Feathers

    November 21, 2020 at 4:29 pm

    That Busch dog beer ad looks like the creepiest rom-com ever. Or maybe a movie where a dude’s brother or best friend turned into a dog.
    I guess it’s the way it just narratively swaps out a person for a dog. Often the best solution in real life, however.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 4:30 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Heh. Since it starts off as grain I guess horses are smart enough to recognize that. And how do you say no to a one-ton critter?

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    November 21, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    !) How to make a dog beer.

    2) Brew pooches.

  16. 16.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 4:36 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: At my 21st birthday party – party started at noon, outdoors in the empty field next to our house – someone found me at about 1 or 2 o’clock and told me Mellon had been over served.

    I found her, poor thing, I had to hold her head up so she could drink from the water bowl, and then I put her down for a nap.  When she woke up, she was back at it again.

    I am horrified thinking about that now, but in my experience, when you’re 21, you’re not very smart.

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 4:38 pm

    @raven: That was great!

  18. 18.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    @WaterGirl: My 21st birthday I got slammed on Tequila at the Esquire and drove drunk to our house on Oregon. The cops followed me and rousted me in the driveway. They let me go.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 4:46 pm

    @raven: At that time, “don’t drink and drive” wasn’t a thing.  I don’t think that happened until later than that.

    We used to drive home from drinking all the time.  Just a few years later, all that had changed.

  20. 20.

    Wapiti

    November 21, 2020 at 4:49 pm

    @Yutsano:  Silage is fermented; I’d expect both cattle and horses are good at recognizing such foods.

  21. 21.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 4:50 pm

    @WaterGirl: Ever go to the Turtle Races at the Possum Trot?

  22. 22.

    Doc Sardonic

    November 21, 2020 at 4:53 pm

    When I was in high school I had a Bassett hound that loooooved beer. The dog could out drink a lot of humans. We had a pool party at one of my relatives and people would leave their beer cans on the sidewalk next to the pool. Folks finally decided that was not a good idea as Party Boy would wander up, knock over a beer and make it disappear. Once he got about 4 in him somebody’s poodle came into the pool area and like any other male 3 sheets and a lampshade in at the office Christmas party, he decided he was get some. He started chasing the poodle around the pool and as the poodle had much longer legs she was out pacing him, so he decided he was gonna take a shortcut across the corner of the shallow end, hit the water, swam to the steps, climbed out of the pool, shook himself  and knocked over another beer, drank it and proceeded to take a nap.

  23. 23.

    Another Scott

    November 21, 2020 at 4:55 pm

    1. The corgi clip is good.  J loves corgis but would hate the clip because she hates Billy Joel.
    2. Our dear departed Sophie would sneak into the bedroom and have a drink from J’s nightcap glass of wine when she wasn’t looking.   “Why is there splashes of wine on the nightstand again??”  ;-)
    3. I was young and irresponsible once with tequila at a superb owl party in grad school.  Nobody got hurt, and no law enforcement was involved, but that was much more than enough for me.  It only takes one stupid mistake…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  24. 24.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:07 pm

    @Yutsano:

    In the early days of TV (1950s), there was a delightful sitcom called Topper, based on a series of ‘30s screwball comedies. Premise was that a zany young married couple are killed in an avalanche, along with the St Bernard that tried to rescue them. All three spirits return to haunt a prim, stuffy man named Cosmo Topper. Neil, the St Bernard, is portrayed as alcoholic, and just about every episode had him lapping up ghostly martinis from a phantom bowl, to Topper’s befuddlement.

  25. 25.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 5:07 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Leo G Carroll.

     

    Sophisticated but stuffy Cosmo Topper (Carroll) is the vice president of City Bank, married to sweet (but rather clueless) Henrietta (Lee Patrick). They live in a Los Angeles house they bought from the estate of a young couple, George and Marion Kerby (real life husband and wife Robert Sterling and Anne Jeffreys), who died after being swept away by an avalanche. A St. Bernard, Neil, who attempted to rescue them also died with them. Topper discovers his new home is haunted by the former occupants as well as Neil. Strangely, he is the only one able to see or hear them. Neil, the St. Bernard, loves martinis and a running gag is the invisible dog lapping up the drink.

    The Kerbys try to bring some excitement and joy into the life of stodgy and conservative Topper. The ghosts cause strange (but humorous) events to happen, which an embarrassed Cosmo has to try to explain to others baffled—and even frightened—by them.

  26. 26.

    germy

    November 21, 2020 at 5:08 pm

    These dogs:

    Block or charge? pic.twitter.com/wcFFivtOAM— jamie (@gnuman1979) November 21, 2020

  27. 27.

    The Moar You Know

    November 21, 2020 at 5:13 pm

    My dog LOVES beer.  LOVES it.  Now, dogs don’t have very good livers or kidneys, so I imagine that this “beer” is non-alcoholic.  I’d check that before giving it to the dog.  Otherwise, mine will get about two-four ounces of regular beer and no more, even though he will drink more.  He’d drink enough to kill himself if I let him.

    What you REALLY don’t want to do is let your dog get into wine (grape products kill dogs) or hard liquor.  Mine has an affinity for both, so we have to keep him under control if there is booze around.

    I think my dog might be an alcoholic.  But his intake is something I have absolute control over.

  28. 28.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 5:15 pm

    @raven: No, I didn’t.  Not sure I even heard about them.

  29. 29.

    germy

    November 21, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-J0xPfbRr0

    My favorite St. Bernard, the one who rescued Yosemite Sam from an avalanche.

  30. 30.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    It’s not just dogs that indulge. I can recall more than one housecat “back in the day” that would come running when their hoomans fired up the bong, demanding to have smoke blown at their little cat face. Never understood how they made the connection.

  31. 31.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    @germy: That’s great!

  32. 32.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:20 pm

    @raven:

    That’s the one! I used to love that program as a kid.

  33. 33.

    catclub

    November 21, 2020 at 5:21 pm

    @germy: no harm no foul

  34. 34.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:22 pm

    My Luna is an everything-aholic, and as a result, we are always trying to watch her weight. So no beer.

    Also, we live in PA now, and the liquor laws in this state are fucking ridiculous and booze is overpriced so the state can collect taxes on it. So I am not wasting beer on my dog.

    It is a cold rainy day indoors, so we watched “HAMILTON”. Fuck, it is so good. And it is so tied up with the greatness of the Obamas in my mind. I feel like art of the Trump era has mostly been trash; hell, even the Kardashians are getting canceled. Maybe I just don’t have perspective on it yet. I wonder what the art of the Biden/post-pandemic era will be like.

  35. 35.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 5:25 pm

    @WaterGirl: They moved it from the Possum Trot after I left but, damn, we’d party all day and most of the night a drive home!

     

    ANVILLE — The 50th and final Turtle Reunion won’t have turtles racing out of a circle, but it will have plenty of entertainment and there will be a lot of reminiscing, according to organizers.

    The Final Lap, as the event is being called, will run from 4-11 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 at the Knights of Columbus, 310 Bryan Ave.

    There is no admission fee.

    “We can’t race turtles anymore,” said Turtle Club president Mike Puhr.

    After last year’s Turtle Races, it was decided that in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Conservation Police and the University of Illinois School of Veterinary Medicine, that the 49th annual Turtle Races was the final year.

    A disease has been decimating the box turtle population throughout the Midwest and United States, called Rana Virus. The club realizes the need to protect the turtles, other reptiles and the ecological environment from the spread of this disease.

    Puhr said the Turtle Club doesn’t want to contribute to that problem. The club hoped its mission, devoted to helping those with disabilities, could continue.

    The Turtle Club raises money for children in east central Illinois and western Indiana.

    The club contributes to The Eastern Illinois Shrine, Western Indiana Shrine, AMBUCS — Challenger Baseball League, and summer camp, District 118 and No. 2 Special Education, Danville Area Community College Scholarship Program, Grotto Humanitarian Fund, Masonic Learning Center for Dyslexia and Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll fund.

    Puhr said the funding helps the organizations with equipment and other items they normally can’t purchase on their own.

    The races normally raise almost $10,000 each year.

    “Some of the groups do rely heavily on our contribution,” Puhr said. “That’s a significant amount.”

    “It’s kind of bittersweet,” Puhr added about the event ending.

    He said he’s sure people will come and share their memories.

    “We always hope for a big crowd,” Puhr said. The event can see 400-plus people.

    There also will be plenty of food, drinks and entertainment. There will be three bands — Mike Ellis and the Midnight Sons, NTB and The DeVillez.

    Puhr said the food will include pulled pork, cole slaw and chips for a meal, hot dogs and chips and plenty of cold beverages. There also will be a 50/50 drawing.

     

  36. 36.

    MagdaInBlack

    November 21, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    @trollhattan: Oh yes, I had one who always came to sit by me and get a contact high. We called her Stoner Kitty =-)

  37. 37.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    The races started at The Possum Trot, but outgrew that site. They then moved to the Moose Lodge and Vermilion County Fairgrounds, before landing at the K of C. They also were conducted at the Gao Grotto. The races have been at the Knights of Columbus for at least 16 years.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    @raven: Just reading about that is bittersweet.

  39. 39.

    The Moar You Know

    November 21, 2020 at 5:28 pm

    and like any other male 3 sheets and a lampshade in at the office Christmas party, he decided he was get some. He started chasing the poodle around the pool and as the poodle had much longer legs she was out pacing him, so he decided he was gonna take a shortcut across the corner of the shallow end, hit the water, swam to the steps, climbed out of the pool, shook himself  and knocked over another beer, drank it and proceeded to take a nap.

    @Doc Sardonic: I should probably never admit this, but the same thing has happened to me (in place of the bassett) pretty much step by step, including the pool detour and “nap”.

  40. 40.

    Frank Wilhoit

    November 21, 2020 at 5:31 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: The author of the original stories.  A narrow style but pretty nearly unsurpassed at building cumulative, spiralling slapstick.  The adaptations are lobotomized beyond recognition.

  41. 41.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 5:31 pm

    @WaterGirl: God it was fun. The year I broke my back I went in my full body cast. A druken country lady thought I was mocking the turtles and when she realized I’d been injured she about expired apologizing.

  42. 42.

    O. Felix Culpa

    November 21, 2020 at 5:32 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: Me too.

  43. 43.

    The Moar You Know

    November 21, 2020 at 5:33 pm

    so I imagine that this “beer” is non-alcoholic.

    @The Moar You Know: Huh, it’s bone broth.  I’m surprised, being that it’s Busch.  Most dogs like actual beer, but hey, ALL dogs like meat products.  Better for them too.

  44. 44.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 5:33 pm

    @The Moar You Know: There was a basset named Colonel Riggs in Champaign. These were the days of huge parties with tons of dogs and Riggs would get all the other dogs chasing him but he could cut the corners so tight they could never catch him!

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    November 21, 2020 at 5:35 pm

    @trollhattan: While my husband and son went scuba diving I sat at a beachside cafe and watched birds peck at the remains of cocktails left on tables. This was in the Caribbean, but apparently it happens in nature too, when rotting fruit ferments naturally.

  46. 46.

    germy

    November 21, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    @Barbara:

    I’ve read about elephants going on drunken rampages.

  47. 47.

    topclimber

    November 21, 2020 at 5:37 pm

    My adult daughter is on self-quarantine in her tiny upstairs room. I hope the Pack is something we can watch together on separate screens while texting comments.

    I have held off on episode 1 until she joins me and the Ms. The good news is we can marathon it in a day or two, at which point her test results should be back, hopefully negative.

    She is a super extrovert, though more so with dogs than people. Now a cat lover as well because of lifestyle constraints. But her heart is big enough to love almost all mammals. She even lacks my perhaps male-instinctive fear of ferrets.

  48. 48.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 21, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    @WaterGirl: My cocker liked beer, but only once it had gone flat.

  49. 49.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    On a booze-related note, I have a question. I have a sealed bottle of Dewar’s that was in my grandfather’s collection when he died. He died in 1997, but the bottle has a label over the bottlecap that reads “NY-I-68”. Never opened. Is it OK to drink? Is it worth any money?

  50. 50.

    Zelma

    November 21, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    Re drunken pets, we had a parakeet who used to perch on my father’s hand and drink his Manhattan.  He would then go on a talking jag until he sobered up.  Never saw a bird who so enjoyed cocktail hour.

  51. 51.

    hells littlest angel

    November 21, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    The Busch Brew ad needs some bitches in bikinis.

  52. 52.

    JPL

    November 21, 2020 at 5:45 pm

    Don’t let your dogs drink and drive..    just sayin

  53. 53.

    The Moar You Know

    November 21, 2020 at 5:45 pm

     

    There was a basset named Colonel Riggs in Champaign. These were the days of huge parties with tons of dogs and Riggs would get all the other dogs chasing him but he could cut the corners so tight they could never catch him!

    @raven: It’s that low center of gravity.  Corgis and dachshunds as well.  If it’s not a straight line race, they’ll win.

    And none of the three to be fucked with, serious hunting dogs.  All of ’em.

  54. 54.

    hells littlest angel

    November 21, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    @Suzanne: Pretty sure alcohol doesn’t go bad. Doubt if it’s worth money — whiskey doesn’t age in the bottle — but you never know what sort of crackpot collectors are out there.

  55. 55.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Three German Shepherds ago, I took my boy Straka into a dog-friendly bar on Clematis Street in West Palm. I stood at the bar and he stood up with his paws on the bar. The bartenders asked me what I wanted, I told him, then he asked, “What about your buddy?” I said bring him a Becks, the guy brought a Becks and a bowl. I poured and put the bowl on the floor and Straka enjoyed it, the only dog I’ve ever had who liked beer. This was before Beck’s started being brewed in St Louis by Bud. I like to think Straka would turn his nose up at it now. He was an excellent boy.

  56. 56.

    NotMax

    November 21, 2020 at 5:51 pm

    @JPL

    Gasoline and alcohol don’t mix.

    Drink one or the other.

  57. 57.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 21, 2020 at 5:52 pm

    @Suzanne: @hells littlest angel: Mostly what HLA said.  The scotch will not change for better or worse.  It is basically inert once bottled.  It might have some value if there is some explanation behind the date or if you find a specialty collector.  Otherwise, it’s basically just another bottle of okay booze.

  58. 58.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:53 pm

    @hells littlest angel: We just had a bit of fun thinking about how many miles this bottle has traveled during its time with my family. I’m not likely to ever drink it, I only grabbed it when he died because it seemed wasteful to throw away an unopened bottle. He wasn’t a big boozer, either.

  59. 59.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    @Suzanne:

    It’s stable as long as the cap is intact. Open on a special occasion?

    Bet it’s a fifth and not 750ml.

  60. 60.

    persistentillusion

    November 21, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    You haven’t lived until you’ve seen robins get smashed on fermented juniper berries.  They stagger around in circles, unable to fly for about 15 minutes.

  61. 61.

    The Moar You Know

    November 21, 2020 at 5:55 pm

    On a booze-related note, I have a question. I have a sealed bottle of Dewar’s that was in my grandfather’s collection when he died. He died in 1997, but the bottle has a label over the bottlecap that reads “NY-I-68”. Never opened. Is it OK to drink? Is it worth any money?

    @Suzanne: Sounds like a NY state tax stamp.  From 1968.  Now, Dewar’s is bar scotch, its not connoisseur-grade stuff by any means, but the age might make it worth SOMETHING to some hipster who wants some real midcentury modern Mad Men booze.  You’re not going to buy your next house off it, I don’t think.  Look on eBay.

    As long as it hasn’t been left out in the sun (best is left in a cabinet) it should be fine to drink.  If it tastes weird, toss it is my rule for booze

    ETA (far more accurate as it’s not me guessing):

    The 68 on the tax strip is the importer’s ID, it’s not the year of bottling. It’s hard to tell from the photo but it looks like the tax strip says Bureau of ATF (and not US Internal Revenue). That would date your bottle to between 1977 and 1984. The presence of a UPC code also confirms this dating.

    If the bottle volume is 750 ml (instead of 4/5 Quart) it would be 1980-1984.

    Since this is a relatively recent example of a common blended scotch its value is not great. I would say less than $50, and possibly much less.

  62. 62.

    cain

    November 21, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    @trollhattan:

    Those who follow my twitter will be familiar with this but I have a picture of my cat on my flower pot and make several jokes about him on pot. :-)

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 5:57 pm

    @trollhattan: It is “4/5 quart”.

    Also from his collection, I have a bottle of the private label scotch from the House of Commons. Unopened. That one stays unopened.

  64. 64.

    cain

    November 21, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    @Suzanne:

    yeah the liquor laws in PA is definitely ridiculous – I think we could continue to be popular in PA if we started dismantling these Puritan based laws. Good grief.

  65. 65.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 5:58 pm

    @Jager:

    German shepherds seem to be making a comeback–I see a lot in our town lately. Noble critters, and smart.

    My old man had them but apparently I was very allergic as a wee lad so he had to give away our last one.

  66. 66.

    hells littlest angel

    November 21, 2020 at 5:59 pm

    @Suzanne: A fifth is one-fifth of a gallon.

  67. 67.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    @raven:  The summer I turned 21, my girlfriend called and told me she “thought” she was pregnant. I was working on construction that college summer, I went to my rat’s ass apartment, got cleaned up, and went to a quiet bar owned by a friend of my dad. I had known Kenny since I could walk, I had a couple of beers, told Kenny about my little problem. He said, “A man’s problem calls for a man’s drink” and started pouring Jack Daniels. I woke up the next morning on the floor by my bed, when I looked out the window my car was parked with the driver’s door hanging open. I have no idea how the hell I drove home. And no she wasn’t pregnant.

  68. 68.

    WaterGirl

    November 21, 2020 at 6:00 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Interesting.

  69. 69.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 6:02 pm

    Catholics of a certain stripe, being “helpful.”

    As Fresno anticipates receiving the first doses of a coronavirus vaccine by mid-December, Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno warned Roman Catholic against jumping on the “COVID-19 vaccine bandwagon.”

    In a video statement posted on the diocese website this week, the bishop said he is typically a very optimistic, hopeful person.

    “I don’t like to rain on anyone’s parade. But I’m going to rain on a parade today. It’s the vaccine parade,” he said.

    In the 12-minute video, during which the bishop quotes from the church’s Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and also from the TV series “Star Trek,” Brennan said the church is not against vaccines created by good, ethical science. He had recently received a flu shot, and has taken shots to protect against pneumonia and the shingles.

    But Catholics must “always and only pursue vaccines that are ethical and morally acceptable,” and that the use of fetal stem cell material at any stage of a vaccine’s development means it would be off limits to Catholics.

    “My brothers and sister I must tell you, as your bishop, as you teacher, as a believer in the ultimate value of life and how that forms and fashions our conscious and our choices, I must tell you that there’s some serious problem with a number of the vaccines.”

    That includes the vaccine made by Pfizer, which appears to be 95% effective in treating the virus. The company has asked U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of the vaccine.

    There are some vaccines that would adhere to the church’s ethical standards, Brennan said, including one in development at the John Paul II Medical Research Institute. He pointed to the National Catholic Bio-ethics Center, which has been following the vaccine developments and will help Catholics determine which are morally accessible.

    You know what is not moral? Encouraging people to die when there is an option.

  70. 70.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    @hells littlest angel: I understand. I thought it was charming the way it was labeled.

  71. 71.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    @Jager: Nice!

  72. 72.

    MC

    November 21, 2020 at 6:05 pm

    Can anyone recommend a good place to get a cat collar online? It’s time for my 1.75 year old boy to start wearing one.

  73. 73.

    Van Buren

    November 21, 2020 at 6:06 pm

    @Yutsano: When I first got married, we lived in an apartment downstairs from my brother in law. One day, while wife and I were out bike riding, BIL sent his 6 year old daughter down to our place with 2 Pina Coladas. Girl dutifully put them on kitchen table. We returned to a very lit Bichon who had hopped up on a chair, then on the table, and drank down as far as her tongue could reach.

  74. 74.

    NotMax

    November 21, 2020 at 6:06 pm

    @Suzanne

    Life was sunnier when our choices were a pint, a fifth, a half gallon or a gallon.

    ;)

  75. 75.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @Suzanne:

    House of Commons private label sounds darn unique–I’d keep it for the novelty value.

    Binging “The Crown” I’m stricken by how nearly everybody’s day incorporates cigarettes and whiskey, both of which are made available at all times.

  76. 76.

    Brachiator

    November 21, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @Suzanne:

    On a booze-related note, I have a question. I have a sealed bottle of Dewar’s that was in my grandfather’s collection when he died. He died in 1997,

    Years ago, a former boss discovered a case of Prohibition era Scotch in the attic of his home. He bought the house from his wife’s family and her grandfather may have stashed the booze away. I think some of it was drinkable.

  77. 77.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @cain: I really miss buying booze at Costco and BevMo.

  78. 78.

    zhena gogolia

    November 21, 2020 at 6:07 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I am so looking forward to rewatching Hamilton in the post-Trump era.

  79. 79.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 21, 2020 at 6:08 pm

    @MC: We use chewy.com for all things pet-related.

  80. 80.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    @trollhattan: I fell in love with them when I was 6 years old, my grandparents had one on the farm, If Dukey was with me, they’d let me roam the countryside. Our latest (11 years old) is snoring beside me at the moment. He hates beer.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:10 pm

    @trollhattan: It is totally unique, and it also has a story. The other cool artifact that is part of that same story is a brass ram that was a tap handle (I think), which the security team at the House of Commons had set in resin and gave as a gift to my grandfather. That thing weighs a significant amount and has pride of place on top of my piano.

  82. 82.

    WereBear

    November 21, 2020 at 6:14 pm

    @MC: make sure it’s a breakaway version

  83. 83.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:15 pm

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    I wanted to be Anne Jeffreys, and I wanted to marry Robert Sterling. SWOOOOON!

  84. 84.

    gbbalto

    November 21, 2020 at 6:17 pm

    @Suzanne: It doesn’t age after bottling but should have kept. Drink it whenever you feel like it.

  85. 85.

    JMG

    November 21, 2020 at 6:18 pm

    I was just a little kid, but I loved Topper on TV.

  86. 86.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 6:20 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Ooh, tap handle it may be. There was a historic Ram Brewery–just checked and it closed in 2006. Might be one of theirs.

  87. 87.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 21, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    @Barbara: This was in the Caribbean, but apparently it happens in nature too, when rotting fruit ferments naturally.

    One of the most fascinating animal videos I’ve seen recently was the school of adolescent dolphins passing around a puffer fish because apparently small doses of the poison makes them high.

    So no, humans did not invent intoxication.

  88. 88.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    @Frank Wilhoit:

    I’ve known about Thorne Smith all my life, but never read any of his books.

    This, from your Wikipedia link, made me laugh:

    Smith drank as steadily as his characters; James Thurber’s The Years with Ross tells the story of Smith’s unexplained week-long disappearance. When asked why he hadn’t called in sick, he retorted, “The telephone was in the hall and there was a draft.”

  89. 89.

    Aleta

    November 21, 2020 at 6:21 pm

    After the beer hike, sharing a nice plate of bolognese. 

  90. 90.

    J R in WV

    November 21, 2020 at 6:22 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Re: Dewars:

    Never opened. Is it OK to drink? Is it worth any money?

    Almost certainly safe to drink, though can’t say if it will be any better than a bottle of Dewars from the local liquor store.

    Also can’t guess if a collector would pay extra for it. Some older beverages are collectable.

    I’ve decided I prefer bourbon to scotch. Or Irish…

  91. 91.

    SiubhanDuinne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:23 pm

    @germy:

    Like this?

    https://youtu.be/jcZUPDMXzJ8

  92. 92.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:27 pm

    @raven:  My first legal drink the summer I turned 21 was in a bar in Denver’s “21st Birthday Special” a flaming Singapore Sling, haven’t had one since. My wild ass roommate Tom got stopped for speeding, the young state trooper asked him if he was drinking after noticing a bottle of vodka on the seat of his 65 Impala convertible and his girlfriend drinking out of a bottle of orange pop. Tom fessed up and did a routine on the cop about being in ROTC and if he got a DUI he’d get kicked out, etc. The cop had been in the Army and sympathized with Tom and had him pour the vodka out and let him go. Tom’s GF had a pint in her purse and saved the evening. I’m lucky I survived that summer.

  93. 93.

    Mike in NC

    November 21, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:  We just started to use Chewy since our vet no longer allows walk-in traffic. Even to buy cat food we’d need an appointment. So they mailed us a prescription and the customer service person who assisted me with the order was super helpful in placing the order. We’ll use Chewy a lot more going forward.

  94. 94.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:28 pm

    @J R in WV: Yeah, I like bourbon, too. I’m not fancy, though…. I don’t want to get spendy! And booze in this state is more than I am used to paying. I have joked to Mr. Suzanne that when we can cross state lines again, I am going to drive to Rochester and stock up at their Costco.

  95. 95.

    trollhattan

    November 21, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    They removed pyracantha bushes along CA freeways because birds would get drunk on the fermented berries and smack into traffic. Now we get oleanders.

  96. 96.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    @Jager: I came home from Vietnam in September 69 and I was 19. I got thrown in the clink  for underage drinking in a campus bar. The cop was a Nam vet and he didn’t give a fuck.

  97. 97.

    jl

    November 21, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    @JaneE:

    ” Apparently the “dog beer” is really just broth with a good publicist. ”

    Excuse me, bone broth. Only the best for the pups. I wonder if cats would like it.

  98. 98.

    Suzanne

    November 21, 2020 at 6:34 pm

    @trollhattan: Yeah, that is a good thought. My grandfather made frequent trips for decades to the House of Commons and was invited into the private bar once, and every trip thereafter, and he made lifelong friends there. Apparently the ram was an ongoing joke, so one one of this last trips in the early 90s, they presented it to him.

    He was very conservative, and racist in the way most white men born in 1920 were racist (for example, he HATED Italians), but he also was absolutely repulsed by Donald Trump during his prime tabloid years in the 80s. He would have turned 100 just about three weeks ago. I have been thinking about him a lot.

  99. 99.

    CaseyL

    November 21, 2020 at 6:36 pm

    I remember watching Topper but not the context. Possibly reruns or syndication on a VHF channel. I remember liking it, but all I remember.

    Wait! Now I remember – it has to have been syndicated, because I remember recognizing Leo G Carroll, who I knew as the leader of U.N.C.L.E.   (I was a huge “Man From UNCLE” fan at age 8.)

  100. 100.

    jl

    November 21, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    BTW, how is ” Respite Open Thread: We Don’t Deserve Dogs ” a respite thread?

    Is someone coming to take our dogs? Or are we going to FEMA camps for the crime of felonious unworthiness of dog ownership? (or guardianship, or domestic canine mentoring, or whatever the PC version is these days).

    Maybe it’s trauma from 2020, and I’m getting paranoid.

  101. 101.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    @raven: I hadn’t seen my old roomie Tom for years, I was in the Twin Cities on business, and we went out. He hadn’t changed, he was one of those guys who would drink, throw up, and start again. So here we are in our 40s, he was pounding beers like a college kid. I was driving him home, we stopped at a light, Tom opens his door, projectile vomits in the street, coughs a couple of times, and says, “Let’s stop for one more.” Haven’t seen the crazy bastard since.

  102. 102.

    raven

    November 21, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    @Jager: Many of the people I ran with are dead now and if I hadn’t quit some 26 years ago I would be too.

  103. 103.

    jl

    November 21, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    @CaseyL:

    17:29 / 22:05

    Topper S01E01 Topper Meets the Ghosts

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhW0Lk6GT9A

    I vaguely remember seeing a rerun. I was so young I had a hard time figuring it out. I remember it being a married couple with one ghost, but it was a stuffy upper class swell with with two ghosts.

    But, when I saw it,  I knew it was ghosts, so worthy of attention.

  104. 104.

    O. Felix Culpa

    November 21, 2020 at 6:46 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: They were so debonair.

  105. 105.

    zhena gogolia

    November 21, 2020 at 6:53 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    Well, I assume you know that that role was originated by Cary Grant. That’s who makes me swoon!

  106. 106.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:56 pm

    @zhena gogolia: How do you feel about his roomie Randolph Scott?

  107. 107.

    MC

    November 21, 2020 at 6:56 pm

    @WereBear: Definitely. Last year we tried a collar on him and he soon jammed his paw between it and his neck and was choking himself. Hoping he doesn’t hate it so much this time around!

  108. 108.

    Jager

    November 21, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    @raven: I have a couple of those guys in my past.

  109. 109.

    zhena gogolia

    November 21, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    @Jager:

    I ADORE HIM!!!!

    He was Shirley Temple’s best costar!

    He and Cary were a fabulous couple. Cary went both ways, apparently. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  110. 110.

    zhena gogolia

    November 21, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    @MC:

    Spoiler alert: He will.

  111. 111.

    Aleta

    November 21, 2020 at 6:59 pm

    @MC:  I used these for years.  https://www.lupinepet.com/

    (Made in VT.  They’ve gotten more expensive lately, but good quality, seemed comfortable and the break-away was always reliable. They also have harnesses now.)   We get lots of things at the chewy site too.  They deliver orders fast and good cust. service people if problems.

  112. 112.

    Amir Khalid

    November 21, 2020 at 7:27 pm

    @MC:

    You should be aware that not all cats will put up with a collar. Mine made that very clear.

  113. 113.

    NotMax

    November 21, 2020 at 7:31 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    Loosely was acquainted with someone who was a bellhop at a chi-chi hotel in NYC way back when and swore on a stack of whatever was handy he once inadvertently walked in on Tyrone Power and Rock Hudson engaged in an intimate encounter.

    The kicker was the wistfully expressed coda when he told the story. “Such a shame they couldn’t have children. Their kids would have been gorgeous.”

  114. 114.

    Anotherlurker

    November 21, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: My girl Ginger loved beer.  I would never give it to her voluntarily.  However, she once knocked over a bottle of Michaelobe Amber Bock and she sampled the ejecta. She liked it.  From that moment on, any unguarded beer was fair game for a swipe of her paw.

    She was a beautiful, smart girl who knew what she liked and figured out how to get it.

    I miss her everyday.

  115. 115.

    SWMBO

    November 22, 2020 at 6:38 am

    I groomed pets to pay my way through college.  There are some colorful folks out there that just happen to be dogs.  One of them was an Old English Sheepdog named Pogo.  He was a party animal.  She would throw a party on a Friday night then bring Pogo in to clean him up on a Saturday.  This dog could drink everyone (except George Clooney) under the table.  He ate pizza, popcorn, hot dogs, cheese, whatever she served at the party.  And would get a lot of stuff in his hair.  It was with trepidation that we knew he was coming.  You never knew if/how many guests had barfed on him.  Or if he rolled over a plate of food and had it stuck in his hair.  And, dear God, if he belched in your face…

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