From commentor Shadow’s Mom, formerly KDP:
Your post of the kitteh wearing antlers prompted me to send you this picture of Shadow today. He doesn’t like his antlers either, particularly when the little bell dangles and swings. He was very patient while I took his picture.
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It’s been 2 years tomorrow since Shadow joined our household. He was 15 months old when we got him.
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Shadow had been given to my partner’s employer, who lives at the site of his tow business. Although Shadow was loved, when the boss went back to Lebanon to see his mother at Christmas 2008, he left Shadow in the care of his son. The son, a somewhat spoiled and irresponsible young man, would get my partner to catch the dog and so that the son could lock the dog in the garage while he took off for 3-4 days at a time. I don’t know whether he left Shadow with adequate food and water during those days; however, when he came to us he weighed in at just under 13 pounds. He is now a robust, but healthy, 15 pounds. Steve, my partner, is too soft-hearted to keep watching an animal be treated with such a lack of compassion, and when Shadow stopped coming to him when he called, he had had enough. A day or so before Christmas, he asked me if I would mind if he brought the dog home so that he could get proper care during the boss’s absence. I didn’t mind, my biggest concern being whether the dog was housebroken. On Christmas night, he stopped by during his work shift with the dog in his truck. Shadow has been with us ever since.
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On the boss’s return, I kept asking Steve when he wanted us to bring the dog home. About a week later, he came home one day and told me the dog was ours. I believe he told his boss that I had fallen in love with the dog and did not want to send him back, but it was actually Steve who could not bear to give him up. Shadow was most devoted to me until this past summer when I had to travel for work every other week. I think he’s decided that I’m not reliable and he’s now directed his adoration to Steve.
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Shadow has been a great joy in our household. He’s sweet-natured and the children at the local playground love him calling his name and coming over to play when I walk him there. He has his own set of canine buddies in the neighborhood, and the only remaining issues in his behavior are a bit of separation anxiety and a tendency to exhibit aggressive barking (fear-based, I think) towards a very few dogs that we encouter when he is on the leash. Off leash, though, he is mild-mannered, and everybody’s buddy. The separation anxiety was not a problem until he figured out how to get up onto my work desk and use my laser printer as a perch from which to watch for us out the window. I’m very glad it’s winter in California now since this means he can travel with me most of the time and I can leave him in my vehicle without having to worry about either heat or cold.
Yutsano
Obligatory PUPPEH!!
Other than that don’t really got nothin’. Though if my SIL don’t wake her ass up she’s not going to get to drive the new car before she has to jet off to work.
asiangrrlMN
Awwwwww! Shadow is just a doll! Good on your partner for rescuing him. I’m sure Shadow forgives you the antlers.
@Yutsano: She’s still asleep? She sleeps later than I do!
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: They got up earlier today to go visit her side of the family. I think I hear stirrings up above however. I shall investigate and report back anon.
Gina
Cute, in a kind of ornery way. As I would be if photographed in antlers :-)
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Ah. Makes sense. Let us know.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: False alarm. Sigh. I’m gonna snag the one brother who is conscious. Or just fuck em all and take care of myself.
JPL
All real dogs hate the antlers!
The Dangerman
@JPL:
True; it’s like they know their canine buddies will laugh and point (especially the Pointers) at them.
stuckinred
Whiteout in Blacksburg and the pups love it!
Southern Beale
Every year we dress our dogs in elf costumes my sister gave us for the 10 minutes it takes to take a picture. You can see from this 2007 blog post pic that they are not amused. We lost Zelda, the black dog on the right, last year. Chaka, the newcomer, seems to tolerate the elf costumes a little better. We didn’t get a decent enough picture this year for me to post it on the blog, and I really don’t have the heart to make them suffer in elf outfits longer than 10 minutes.
In other news, we saw “True Grit” this afternoon and loved it.
Mark S.
What’s with the Lakers’ neon green shoes (that only some of them are wearing)? As Christian Bale would say, it’s fucking distracting.
jeffreyw
The Three Tees
Yutsano
@stuckinred: Whiteouts r fun when you don’t have to drive anywhere. So if that matches your situation, have fun!
johio
Just back from family dinner where I was told the Obama administration will be closing all farmers markets next year. Has Rush freaked out Again?
Elizabelle
Enchanting dog. Thinking “lose the antlers.”
Merry Christmas.
Maude
@johio:
Did you tell them that the year after he’s shutting down all of the farms?
We’re going to get snow starting tomorrow afternoon.
May be a lot, may be not so much.
Shawdow is thinking, I don’t deserve this.
johio
No, but about four of us said simultaneously, No he isn’t. Nice to have backup. But then she told me the southern states didn’t succede over slavery but because the federal govt was “telling them how to think just like Obama is trying to control how people think now.” Evidence? We don’t need no stinkin evidence.
Don’t cha just love big family events?
AliceBlue
@Southern Beale: My husband and I saw “True Grit” a couple of days ago and enjoyed it as well. I love the way the old hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” was woven into the soundtrack.
Shadow looks totally disgusted, but what a sweetheart.
In other news, it’s a WHITE CHRISTMAS in northwest/central Georgia!
Left Coast Tom
@johio: If all the farmers’ markets are going to be closed then doesn’t this mean Michelle Obama’s plot to make all of us eat locally produced foods has been foiled? Shouldn’t the wingnuts be celebrating?
Ruckus
@Left Coast Tom:
Facts man facts. We don’t need no stinking facts.
quaint irene
I think my pup, Katie, had more presents to open then any of the resident humans. She got such a kick out of her new stuffed squeaky toy, playing wildly with it all day, I felt a little guilty that I don’t treat her more often.
johio
Left coast Tom, excellent point but you’re thinking logically. Clearly you must be a socialist, atheist nazi. Actually the thing that drove me to the wine bottle was her admission that she had no evidence for any of her opinions. She hadn’t read any documentation on what the southerners said AT THE TIME about seceding, hadn’t read any proposed law or regulation about Obama’s hideous plans to force all good christian doctors to perform abortions. And she didn’t seem to recognize that this might mean she should re-examine her views. She learns every thing she needs to know from people wno think just like her. And she home schools her kids. Here’s hoping they get introduced to the concept of critical thinking somewhere along the line.
quaint irene
Oy. This morning they predicted about a dusting. By 2 pm it was up to 2-4inches. Now we’re under a blizzard warning, with up to 15 inches over all. But maybe not.
Ugh, what’s the point of these meterological idiots?
Linda Featheringill
@quaint irene:
My goodness! Where are you?
Linda Featheringill
I checked on weather dot com. You must be in the Mid Atlantic area, Norfolk to Boston.
Major snow coming, I guess.
asiangrrlMN
@johio: Kindly direct her to Ta-nehisi Coates’ website so she can get thoroughly schooled.
@jeffreyw: Toby is such a cutie.
Shadow's Mom
Well, it’s likely no one will see this, but I agree that he looks disgusted. I did not touch my computer all day yesterday, but thank you, Anne Laurie, for featuring my holiday rescue puppeh on his rescue day.
He was very patient with me over the antlers. I did wear a Santa hat while walking him in his antlers.
@johio: Ah, geez, I’m glad my extended family are not wingnuts. I support AsianGirlMnn’s suggestion that you point here towards Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Merry Christmas to all!