I’ll let Maxwell summarize Thurston’s behavior to date.
While Steve and Max have been perfect angels (other than Steve kicking all the litter out of his litter box in to the rest of his crate and sleeping in the litter box and shitting on the crate floor), Thurston has now strung together two days of being the WORST FUCKING DOG EVER. He got a full pill of gabapentin this morning and was still a total cocksucker the entire ride, and chewed through his crate so now tomorrow I have to stop somewhere and I can find another one.
We’re staying at the Empress Hotel in downtown North Littler Rock, an old mansion that has eight rooms. We are in the carriage house which features a steam shower and jacuzzi. I have already had two jacuzzis and one steam shower, and might have another. I had a cold one after the steam shower and it was amazing.
Joelle and I went to eat at some place called the Whole Hog, which was fine, and now we are relaxing and getting ready for bed as Joelle sips prosecco from the bottle like she a diva.
Here is a picture of asshole feeling quite pleased with himself. The dick.
WaterGirl
Steve theme song: “I did it myyyyy way!”
laura
That’s the face of a Bad Dog! I can’t help but love him.
devore
that picture is worth a thousand words. At least you’re about half way there
Suzanne
Is there any way Joelle can drive and Thurston can sit on your lap? Maybe the closeness might chill him out.
WaterGirl
Thurston looks pretty pissed to me.
edit: or scared.
NotMax
Did you bring along a (non-squeaky) toy to put in the doggy crate?
satby
Prosecco from the bottle sounds good. I may join her in spirit (heh) from afar.
Read the entire first Lady Sherlock book in one four hour sitting and really enjoyed it. Now I have to get the other seven books.
satby
Get a metal crate for Thurston like the cats are in. the worst he could do is chew the plastic tray, and I wouldn’t even put it in, just cover underneath with pee pads.
Josie
I dunno, John, Thurston looks sad to me, like he knows he’s in trouble, but he just can’t help himself. Maybe some therapy?
Alison Rose
Steal that loveseat and bring it to me, please. NorCal ain’t that far from Arizona.
Chief Oshkosh
Good Lord, Cole, you’re driving cross-country with a lovely woman who drinks Prosecco straight from the bottle — focus on the positive, dude!
And who knows, they may be handing out free bottles of mustard at the other end.
ETA: But thanks for the travelogues. I’m living vicariously through you two. :)
Steeplejack
Lord, that Thurston picture is pure Frank Costanza “You want a piece of me?!”
Raoul Paste
I’m surprised that hotel is so pet friendly
thalarctosMaritimus
@Raoul Paste: For now.
OzarkHillbilly
He’s soooooo cuuuuute!
Kristine
@satby:
Those sound good. ::makes note::
I really enjoyed the Enola Holmes movies on Netflix, so looking forward to another variation.
dr. bloor
Other than that.
Thurston appears ready for his Jack Dawson moment.
geg6
I ❤️ Thurston. He’s not an asshole. Lovey is.
Mai Naem mobile
Pretty sure Thurston’s reading this blog and not liking what you’re saying about him. Maybe try positive reinforcement instead of negative reinforcement(says the one whose dogs have chewed a kitchen cabinet edge and entertainment center edge, destroyed 2 doggie beds, and several cushions.)
Denali5
And Thurston behaved himself while you were out to dinner? He’s turning over a new leaf.
karen marie
The poor dog is traumatized. You take him to someone’s house without making sure his bowel is empty, he gets yelled at while in a place he’s never been, surrounded by people he doesn’t know, shoved into a cage in the back of a car, given drugs he doesn’t understand.
I’m astonished by the anger you seem to have toward Thurston. He’s done nothing to deserve such treatment. Try a little empathy. There are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners.
BeautifulPlumage
Awwww, look at that handsome face; and he’s sitting so nicely on the loveseat. I say he’s innocent and that Darth would back me up: no plastic bits on the lips, you must acquit!
Jackie
Off topic. Chickenshit Boebert is switching districts; the soon to retire Ken Buck’s district.
Suzanne
@Jackie: I wonder why she thinks she can’t win in her district. Hmmm. She’s acquitted herself with such dignity thus far.
Is she actually relocating?
Alison Rose
@Jackie: I’m honestly she can run at all, with those plastic melons glued to her chest.
Betty Cracker
@karen marie: You’re not serious, right?
WaterGirl
@Jackie: That makes me wonder about the person / people in Ken Buck’s district who have surely been planning to run when he retires.
Maybe the primary will get so ugly that they will take each other out.
raven
@Betty Cracker: Don’t bite, she’s been on this for a while.
Charluckles
Ask your veterinarian about ACE.
TriassicSands
John Cole: I don’t know if anyone has pointed this out to you, but, quite unbelievably, you are transporting Thurston all wrong. The world’s foremost authority (Gee, I forget his name) on transporting dogs by vehicle strongly recommends there is only one way to properly transport a dog by car in a carrier/kennel.
On the roof of the car. Duh!
It’s so obvious and elementary, I’m shocked, shocked, I say, that you aren’t aware of this well known fact. It might be advisable to fit Thurston with a cool pair of eyeware (sunglasses if it is sunny or glasses with flip-up dark lenses to cover all conditions) in order to prevent him from damaging his eye(s) should a random bug make it through the carrier/kennel bars. (I understand human beings have pretty much eliminated bugs through their super-smart overuse of pesticides and other measures, but there still might be rogue bug lurking out there somewhere. Some other piece of flying debris might also pose a threat, so be careful.) Otherwise, “Up on the Roof”* is the way to go. Thurston will thank you for it in the future, but his gift probably won’t smell too good.
Oh, and be sure to secure his carrier/kennel to the roof. You wouldn’t want the little guy to fly off the roof at highway speed. (Or maybe, from the sound of your foul-language-filled description of the little angel, you DO want him to go flying off. However, beware the Deep State ASPCA. They’re everywhere.)
Glad I could offer this helpful reminder. Bon voyage, Thurston!
PS Ignore the windchill factor. Thurston will be fine. (Probably.)
*To make certain that Thurston appreciates your thoughtfulness, to assure him that you haven’t forgotten him and to avoid any unfortunate consequences should you, for example, enter a low clearance parking garage, I suggest playing “Up on the Roof” on continuous loop (Drifters, Motown Records, 1962) with the windows open.
danielx
Um, that first picture appears not to be Thurston but rather some horrible feline fanged demon creature. Do I have this wrong?
Betty Cracker
@raven: Good to know, thanks. 🙄
Another Scott
“Hey, I was hungry!! Just look at me – I’m wasting away here!!1 And you won’t let me in the front seat with you!!11”
Our 50 pound border collie/shepherd mix Colleen insisted on standing on the armrest between our bucket seats and having her head resting on the dashboard with her nose almost against the glass so she could look out and see what was going on when we drove up to Boston with her.
Best dog ever. We still miss her.
Good luck with the rest of the trip!!
Cheers,
Scott.
TriassicSands
@danielx:
I think that is Cole telling us what he thinks of Thurston. I guess they decided the only way to transport John was in a kennel.
Lyrebird
@TriassicSands: Hey Triassic, did you make your journey, and were you able to get the treatment you needed? Not trying to pry, just wishing you the best! That sounded even harder than three days of driving pets.
danielx
@TriassicSands:
The Laura Nyro version would be better for cooling his jets.
sab
@danielx: Our black cat looks like that also, even when she is happy. All you can see are her eyes and her teeth.
eclare
When I go to the vet with my dog I put her in a harness that gets hooked in to the seat belt. Maybe that would be better for Thurston?
danielx
@TriassicSands:
Cole can be (okay, is) cranky, but that’s normal. The cat in the cage looks insane with rage.
sab
Isn’t it ironic that they always intended to take Thurston and wanted to leave the cats at home?
NotMax
Maxwell: “Are we there yet?”
Thurston: “Are we there yet?”
Steve: “Whatevs.”
Jackie
@Suzanne: The article states she doesn’t have to move to be eligible. She “says” she plans to move to that district “sometime next year.”
I hate that rule! If you’re running to represent a district, you should have to be a resident in said district for a minimum of one year – IMO.
TriassicSands
When I was a kid, my parents (what were they thinking?) decided to load our cat (Smoky — large, male) into the car and take him on vacation with us to the Jersey Shore. My father put Smoky in a heavy-duty cardboard box (didn’t carriers exist yet?). As he put the box into the back of the stationwagon, Smoky came blasting out of the top of the box (think gray Saturn V rocket) and disappeared into the forest across the street.
The following year, in a continued display of profound “dumbosity” my father put Smoky in a wooden orange crate. As he was placing the crate in the back of the stationwagon, Smoky came blasting through the top of the orange crate and, as before, disappeared into the forest. Smoky was a beast! And apparently had a really hard skull. Thank goodness it wasn’t a crate made out of oak.
Times were very different then. Cats weren’t routinely fixed and there clearly wasn’t the universe of cat products available that there are today, but it’s still hard to believe there wasn’t some type of rudimentary pet carrier — that was in the fifties. My father was a very intelligent man, but you wouldn’t know that from this tale.
Epilogue: We never tried to take Smoky on vacation again, which was good, because I have no doubt that being the wanderer he was, he would have disappeared and we never would have seen him again. He was a really nice cat (if you weren’t on his list of prey items) and it would have been heartbreaking to have lost him while we were on vacation.
CaseyL
Is that how Thurston looks when he pleased with himself? Because he looks like he wants some of that prosecco. More than some. Maybe the whole bottle.
Joelle swigging sparkling wine straight from the bottle just warms my heart.
Kelly
Just finished Slow Horses season 3 on Apple TV. Liked it a lot.
LiminalOwl
@satby: There are several (at least) different Lady Sherlock series. I recommend the Sherry Thomas ones; hopefully that’s what you’re reading.
@Kristine: Recommended. (And we loved Enola Holmes too.)
Jackie
@WaterGirl: Yah, the people already planning to run in the 4th District aren’t going to be happy with her. She’ll be labeled a Carpetbagger at the very least. I’m more frustrated that with her not running in the 3rd, the Dems chances for flipping that district are much less likely 😡
Omnes Omnibus
All dogs are good dogs.
Gvg
I would suggest a variety of safe few toys for Thurston who seems to have nerves or other issues. Maybe do some trial circling the parking lot with Joelle driving and you holding Thurston in different places in the car to see if he can find a comfort place. View, no view, see you, get fresh air, least sway of the car in case he is having car sick issues. Metal crate. Maybe even check local craigslist. I don’t really know.
Possibly vigorous exercise before starting, to tire him out like a toddler?
When you get to Arizona, do short trips frequently with him so he is more used to it for return, and keep that up ever after because there will be more trips right?
Kristine
@Kelly:
So did I. Looking forward to S4 and wondering if they will continue with the next 4 books in the series (which I really should read as well).
Kristine
@Charluckles:
Ace isn’t recommended as much anymore because while it sedates, it doesn’t always help with the underlying anxiety. It works on the body, not the mind.
My vet used to prescribe trazodone.
Miss Bianca
@Jackie: OMG. It’s not *just* that I hate that bitch forever – it’s that by doing that we’re looking at losing CD-3 to another goddamn Republican tool.
Buck’s district wasn’t going to be gettable, but CD-3 might have been.
God DAMN I hate that bitch forever.
ETA: Although Adam Frisch has a pretty impressive war chest. He might be able to pull it out. It was pretty close last time.
TriassicSands
Maybe you don’t have a cat (or cats). They have impressive dentition and I wouldn’t be surprised if Maxwell is just meowing. Their canines are impressive. Given the difference between cats and dogs, it would seem to make more sense to call those fangs “felines” instead of “canines.” Maybe they are called canines because wolves were domesticated long before any cat species were.
OK, it’s December 27, but I think you may have just won the “Understatement of the Year Award” for 2023.
But with john it is all bluster. No one does more for their pets than he does. He takes in dogs, can complain about them (even a lot — Thurston and Rosie, RIP) and while some people would abandon them or even have them euthanized,* Cole is there for them until the bitter end. If Americans treated there fellow citizens the way Cole treats animals, this would be a much better country. If ever someone needed a pet to be immortal it was John with Lily. I doubt a day ever goes by without him thinking about her.
*People can be unbelievably cold and even cruel. I brought a cat home when she was a month shy of 16. Her previous people had asked a vet to euthanize her because she was 15 and had a UTI. She was an absolutely wonderful cat and lived to be 20 years, one month, and one week old. She had about five years left in her when those people wanted her killed. And the entire time I had her, she wasn’t sick at all. I gave her sub-cutaneous fluids twice a week and a couple of pills everyday, but she didn’t have any overt signs of illness other than arthritic hips.
TriassicSands
@Lyrebird:
I won’t spend too much time on this, but I went to the UWMC ED twice — once last Friday and then again on Christmas day. The first trip was amazing. I got three units of blood (my hemoglobin was really low — dangerously so, for me). I got home that night just before midnight.
The following day I was surprised to wake up and be short of breath lying in bed. Overnight, I lost almost a full unit of blood. I tried to get another CBC on Christmas day, but once again met with insanity. The local lab was “closed” to outpatients, but when I called and explained, they told me to come in. When I did, they refused to do a CBC unless I got an order from a doctor in the walk-in clinic. (I have a standing order to get a CBC whenever I feel I need one).
The doctor at the walk-in clinic refused to give me an order for a CBC telling me “They have to do a CBC if you have a standing order.” She also told me she thought I might be in “complete liver failure” due to the results of my liver enzymes on Saturday.
So, without a new CBC I drove 75 miles to the UWMC ED, where the doctor treated me like I had come off the street and was trying to get opioids. “So,” he said, “Just how many units of blood do you want us to give you today?” (Exact quote.) I tried to explain why I was there, what the doctor had said about my liver, and that I needed to figure out a plan so that I didn’t drive 150 miles RT only to be sent home. (There is more, but this is too long already.)
He sent me home. No plan. No advice, except to return to the ED if I experienced any worsening shortness of breath, etc. in the future. Of course, that was why I went to the ED on Christmas day.
I finally found a terrible doctor at the UWMC.
Baud
That last picture proves that everything you said about Thurston was a lie.
Matt McIrvin
@TriassicSands: Yeah, to me that cat looks like he’s just saying he wants something, probably to be let out. But is not too enraged about it.
TriassicSands
@Matt McIrvin:
Or maybe some treats?
Jackie
@Miss Bianca: I agree wholeheartedly with your hatred, and I don’t live in Colorado, much less your district.
I’m hoping enough Independent voters and some republicans are fed up with the whole situation, they’ll vote for Adam Frisch regardless. Maybe the GQP dude who was going to challenge Boebert in the primary is a MAGA asshole🤞🏻
My hope is Boebert loses the primary and is booted out of the House one way or the other!
Suzanne
@Gvg:
Ahahaha…. so for Merry Puppymas, I ordered a Nerf gun that shoots tennis balls. It arrived this afternoon. I am sooooo excited to take Coco to the park and try it out tomorrow.
satby
@Kristine: @LiminalOwl: Yes, the Sherry Thomas ones.
I’m a sucker for all things Sherlockian.
TriassicSands
@Baud:
Poor Thurston. However, that’s not the first thing Thurston has chewed through or up. I remember some other photos that weren’t exactly evidence of good behavior on the part of poor, misunderstood Thurston.
Jackie
@TriassicSands: I don’t think that cat is Max. At least I HOPE NOT! John said he’s been a good traveler (so far!)
satby
@eclare: He chewed through his harness the first night, John wrote.
Geminid
@Miss Bianca: I wonder if Republicans told Boebert she’d be a shoo-in for the 4th District nomination, just to get rid of her. I don’t think 4th District Republicans will rally behind that idiot, but Boebert’s gullible enough to believe they will if that’s what she’s been told. This primary could be fun.
Lyrebird
@TriassicSands: Lawdy that’s rotten. Bad enough to get that kind of red tape runaround over, say, a bum knee, let alone something major! There’s a whole class of doctors who imagine that most people dream of spending as much time as possible in waiting rooms in discomfort.
Here’s hoping that the exception to your usual experience stays an exception & you get better help soon.
NotMax
@satby
Slept in through the morning thread today. Have something both seasonal and Sherlockian had planned to post there; now shifted to Thursday morn (if Morpheus cooperates). Keep an eye out.
;)
Alison Rose
THIS is how you do statues. We gotta follow their lead. Let’s tear down all the fucking Confederate monuments and replace them with ones of Dolly Parton and Tina Turner and Prince. (Click through for the photo, it’s a pretty good statue of her!)
I mean, she does have a body that was kinda calling out to be sculpted.
zhena gogolia
Nobody watched the Kennedy Center honors? I thought I’d be able to back the streaming up to the beginning, but I guess it doesn’t work the same way as Biden speeches. Caught the last 40 minutes. Ben Platt was good singing “Nights on Broadway.” The rest just makes you want to hear the original artist.
Another Scott
Speaking of rocks, … AlJazeera.com:
Cheers,
Scott.
Matt McIrvin
@TriassicSands: Might settle for a skritch on the head.
Baud
@Another Scott:
Om, Motherfuckers is an amazing tract.
Another Scott
@Alison Rose:
She’s a great talent. I like this version – My hips aren’t alright (3:25) better than the original – Hips don’t lie (3:38).
But, I admit I’m weird.
Cheers,
Scott.
Soprano2
North Little Rock is nice. We went there in 2014 to see the Springfield Cardinals play the Travelers – we had vouchers for free tickets. While we were there we toured the submarine that’s in the river there, and went to the Clinton library. They had a Chilhuly exhibit there, it was cool. The library has a Chilhuly piece that was in the White House when Clinton was president – they liked it so much they bought it and put in the library. We stayed at a hotel across from the police station. One of the nights we were there (Friday night, I think) there was a young guy who was getting ready to go to Marine boot camp having a party on our floor. A couple of his friends got in a fight, and one of them had the great idea to pull the fire alarm at 1:00 a.m. It was one of those alarms that makes you feel like you want to run away until you can’t hear it anymore, going off in our hotel at 1:00 a.m.! That was fun….. Oh, and I had the second-best lasagna I’ve ever had at a restaurant in North Little Rock. It’s too bad you can’t go to the Clinton Library, it was an interesting place.
Alison Rose
@Another Scott: First link isn’t a link?
Another Scott
@Alison Rose: Aaargh. Sorry.
My Hips Aren’t Alright (3:25)
Cheers,
Scott.
Joelle
@Chief Oshkosh: ya know I said the exact same thing. And then took a big ole swill of Prosecco during my second Jaccuz of the day like some real housewives Hollywood spinster and felt really satisfied with myself.
Soprano2
@zhena gogolia: I watched about half of it. The Renee Fleming tribute was nice. I like Queen Latifa as an actress, not as much for hip hop. It’s not my kind of music. People make fun of the BeeGees now, but they were huge when I was in high school. I wonder why Travolta wasn’t there – “Saturday Night Fever ” launched his movie career.
TriassicSands
@Matt McIrvin:
Agreed.
Joelle
@Raoul Paste: so was I when I found it. And the price is very affordable during the week. 5 stars. The owners are just the kindest sweetest fellows. JG gave them some apples from the orchard he frequents. They were probably up baking hand pies with them all night long.
NotMax
@Soprano2
And Battlefield Earth all but buried it.
:)
TriassicSands
@Lyrebird:
Maybe he was just angry about having to work on Christmas day, but I don’t think that was it. He actually did a search to find out if I am someone who tries to get excessive and unneeded care. I found that quite offensive. And it kind of ignores my medical history.
Joelle
@TriassicSands: so true about JG and his animal platoon. They are his world and he is theirs. He takes the ones that don’t belong anywhere and makes them his. As I write this El Thirstino the Terrible is wedged between us in an elaborate turn of the century king goose down bed blissfully snoring away despite being a defiant napoleonic lil prick during the majority of this trip.
different-church-lady
Have you considered abandoning the trip and just living in the carriage house full time?
TaMara
Having traveled with various numbers of Great Danes and cats, I can empathize with this entire endeavor. Including swearing profusely at: cats who would not stop yowling and Danes who decide they should drive and then chew through expensive items when rebuffed at those attempts.
Carry on
Joelle
@Soprano2: yeah I wanted to go there. Loved the Clinton years. I’ve heard great things about the library. Might get a drive by pic on way outta town.
Joelle
@different-church-lady: multiple times.
piratedan
its possible that Thurston is overwhelmed with all of this change. So I can empathize with his troubles. Trying to think of something that would keep him engaged and distracted and about the only thing I can come up with is something like a Kong treat filled with something that will keep his ass busy trying to get all the goodness out of it. Depending on his dietary and bowel issues (in other words, what doesn’t give him the shits) you could cram it with his favorite wet food (as long as it isn’t gravy train), or mix in something like his kibble and cream cheese or peanut butter or even his wet food). No guarantees mind you, but just something to keep him chewing on something else and distracted for a bit.
Alison Rose
@Another Scott: LOL uhhhh…that was…interesting. I’ll stick with the original, though :P
eclare
@zhena gogolia:
I watched! I actually thought the tribute to Barry Gibb was the weakest. I don’t think Ariana duBose was the right person to lead the disco segment.
Another Scott
@Alison Rose: :-)
DJ Cummerbund loves Danny DeVito and Randy “Macho Man” Savage so they often make appearances.
He’s a great talent too. I’m amazed by his skill in matching such incredibly different styles of music and editing videos to tell a funny story.
Cheers,
Scott.
Cathie from Canada
@TriassicSands: From 1950 to 1962ish, we drove 50 miles out to the farm to live there for 2 months every summer, then back to the city in the fall, and we must have had our cat(s) with us both ways, just loose in the car, but I cannot remember that they ever caused any problems.
Of course, in those days – no seat belts, no consoles – — everybody just piled into the car any which way – we competed for who got to lie across the back under the window, and who got to sit between mom and dad in the front. God help us if Dad ever had to slam on the brakes.
BeautifulPlumage
@TriassicSands: this sucks so bad, I’m sorry you had that experience. Your (very) easily viewed medical history should have satisfied the MD.
Ruckus
@Another Scott:
My last dog was a black cocker spaniel who I nicknamed Ornery Bastard. His actual name was Bud – and no not after that horrible beer. He was a rescue, likely about 7-8 yrs old, and the only things he did nicely was sleep in the front seat on the road and about 2 weeks after I got him he came over and slept next to me. That night and from then on. Of course I couldn’t move during the night, he’d growl. Prior he’d lay in the farthest corner of the room. Most interesting dog I’ve ever had. Also the most ornery, which is how he earned that name.
TriassicSands
@BeautifulPlumage:
Sadly, that kind of doctor has been very common in my experience.
@Cathie from Canada:
Those were the daze [sic].
@Joelle:
Thurston probably just has too much competition. He’s one of those unusual dogs who wants to be an only cat.
Paul in KY
@TriassicSands: Am very sorry to hear this. You’d think they would understand what a Standing Order is! Did they think you’re a vampire or something?!?
Hope it gets much better for you very soon.
Paul in KY
@Another Scott: They oughta do Bonnaroo. Would fit in great!