Caucus Critters: Memorial Moondai Furbutts - The Start of Summer!

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 4:11pm

Picnic animals 67da1ce54b868312ef7ced866bdf00b5[1].jpg
We All Love Memorial Day Picnics!

It’s Memorial Day, the traditional if unofficial start of the summer season, and that means picnics! Our pets don’t want to feel left out. Our usual Moondai diarist, Mopshell, is convalescing and needs her rest, so we are taking a holiday turn. Since we are taking a guest turn today at The Site That Shall Not be Named, we thought we'd also post over here to gauge interest. Should we try to make this a regular feature? Should it have community lynx? Should it be an open thread? Please comment and leave your own animal/Memorial Day/etc. photos below. Pootie diarees must have lots of photo participation!

But first, a gentle reminder of the pootie diaree rulez. They apply throughout the InterWebz:

Tricia Wyse hammock_w_tricia_text[1].jpg
The Beach Over the Rainbow Bridge

No trolling the diary.
•If you hate pootie diaries, leave now. No harm, no foul.
•Share any and all pootie/woozle photos or issues that you would like.
•When it comes to problems, we may just have someone with experience who can help.
•Whatever happens in the outer blog STAYS in the outer blog. This is a place to relax and play; please treat it accordingly.
•There is no such thing as stealing a photo around here, but if you would like a pic from the comment threads, please ask the poster. He/she may have a copyright to those pics. Many thanks!
•It should not need to be said, but ANY/ALL photos that imply or encourage human violence against an animal will be considered verboten! Whether it is “comedic” or not, it will be frowned upon and considered out of bounds.

So, first we needz to grill out for our picnic, no?

Puppy cooks 15239e2132ef0fa1362471ddc8160542-corgi-ready-for-grilling[1].jpg
I be Ready!

Puppy cookoutsafety-dog-grill-thinkstockjpg[1].jpg
Looks Delicious to Me!

Cat at Grilli-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-09[1].jpg

Puppy GBGV-w-ingredients[1].jpg
Well, just start the preparation at home!

cats-in-a-a-blender[1].jpg
Oops! What are we doing in here? That didn’t work out too well….

Woozles, you do the prep, we’ll wait for you to bring the food to the picnic.

Cat Sleeping in Grill 4f56068901d463cc326547369ec44122[1].jpg
We’ll move… Eventually

Time to eat! Everybodiez gather together for the piquenique!

Puppies Picnic Big.jpg

Moar everybodiez!

Cats Picnic.jpg

Yum, the perfect picnic foods!

Picnic food 2467_tall[1].jpg

Picnic grilled-steak-ck-1215910-x[1].jpg

We’ll save you some watermelon

Puppy 2c9427d16d8cad681dae37c0f0aeb456[1].jpg

Or maybe not….

Puppy maybe with melon FsOx7yX[1].jpg
Wait… is this someone’s woozle??

We know, you made your own fancy melon dish:

Picnic triple melon salad img_1084[1].jpg
Triple Melon Salad

But now it’s time for dessert! We know you love your treetzes:

Strawberries in Chocolate 16954122-mmmain[1].jpg
Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries

Bourbon-Cheesecake-with-Boozy-Chocolate-For-Two[1].jpg
Bourbon Cheesecake with Bourbon Fudge Icing

Key-Lime-Pie[1].jpg
Key Lime Pie

That’s OK because we get our own special treetzes!

Puppy Desserts Screen-Shot-2015-03-13-at-9.27.50-AM[1].png

But now the day is done, so we’ll just clean up:

Cat on Grill 6604401-Un-hambre-gato-sentado-en-una-parrilla-de-barbacoa-Foto-de-archivo[1].jpg
Woozles Prepped, so Pooties Clean; It’s a Tough Job but Somebody haz to Scrub da Grill!

And get some rest until you’re ready to go:

Puppies 410492-bigthumbnail[1].jpg

Happy Memorial Day to you and your pets, with or without piqueniques!!

We can't figure out how to conduct a real poll, but please choose your answers and comment! Thenkyew!!

Poll

What are your Memorial Day plans?

A. Have a picnic
B. Spend time with pets
C. Have a picnic with pets
D. Remember loved ones
E. Commune with nature
F. Avoid bearz and wolfz!
G. Eat pie (and/or other goodies)
H. Work (Argh!)
I. Other (please to explain in Comments)

Tags:

pooties

woozles

Caucus Critters

Dogs

Vote

Comments

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 4:16pm

Lynx! Place yer Lynx here! Anyone have lynx?

Lynx Iberian_Lynx_cubs[1].jpg

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Submitted by Writerinres on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 4:51pm

Pooties, Wozzles, and Critters

Welcome to Caucus99percent! Now I don't have to visit TOP to get my Pootie fix. Great diary, both mouthwatering and cute.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 4:55pm

Thank you very much! This is our thinking. Of course we're

still missing the great participation over there in the comments, but I'm hoping we can gear up to do similar here. Are there peeps here who would like to volunteer, say one day a week or maybe just once in a while, so we have a regular or semi-regular schedule?

—

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Submitted by riverlover on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:17pm

B, E, F.

Friendly battle day with pup, after commemorative 4 month-old pix. Now on FB. Then an escape, nose-tracking neighbors. Another escape, uphill, not down. Owner retreat. She appeared, back inside the impermeable fence, muddy and happy, but thirsty. She is home and sleeping now. And would vote Sanders, if allowed. I am a driver.

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Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:39pm

She sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have photos?

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Submitted by riverlover on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:41pm

Of course,

but I am a Luddite about transferring them through. Courage!

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Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:46pm

Heh. Give it a try, I think you'll enjoy it.

It's not difficult. Click that picture to the left and follow the prompts.

—

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Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:43pm

Awesome! That works for me!

I think it's about the right size, actually. It takes up the column, but the print is fairly small and you want room for the bars. I will try it next time! Meanwhile, I think we might as well use this one here.

—

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Submitted by dkmich on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 6:41am

It could be as high but not as wide.

If you are on a notebook or ipad, embeds that are fine on a bigger monitor bleed into the right hand margin on smaller technology making the right hand column impossible to read. If you're on a phone, almost all embeds is too big. (not complaining JtC). So the smaller the embed, the more user friendly it is for everything. I except the phone. Trying to make anything small enough to work on a phone is likely to render it useless for everything else. Every time I embed, I publish and check the size. If it is too big, I hit edit, adjust the width and hit save until it looks good.

But then you might already know this. Thank for bringing the pooties here. If the series is our own version, I would love it. I would not like to share with dailykos. (this diary is an exception - for several reasons.) Could someone work on a pootie essay, contact you/someone when it was done to schedule a publishing date? For those of us who are commitment adverse, that would be the icing on the cake.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:08am

Good morning, dkmich! Thanks for letting us know it's too

wide for some machines. We'll work on it before using regularly.

Yes, I was envisioning the Caucus Critters as our own version. TOP has people who, I think, for the most part are happy there. So we would do our own. I don't usually post over there; Mopshell being out created this exception. I have promised, though, that anything interesting I posted over there, I would also post here. If I do another pootie diary both places, I may just go ahead and do it, and not mention it's cross posted if people here prefer not being reminded of there.

Absolutely, creating diaries and then signing up for a posting date/time is fine. Even if we get commitments for every day of the week, we will undoubtedly have gaps when people are indisposed for a variety of reasons, or just struggling to come up with ideas. So a stable of ready-to-publish posts would be great!

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Submitted by dkmich on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:55am

It would make sense for you to use your essays both

places. Cross posting would be fine with me if dk is not mentioned or linked in the diary.

c99 wants its own identity. We are not the anti-dk blog, nor do we want to be step-sister to it. We chose to leave; we didn't get banned. We were fed up with the restrictions, propaganda, pie fights, and juvenile moderating system. We wanted to walk away and leave the baggage behind. But then, you already know that. I look forward to a critters c99 series.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by dkmich on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 1:13pm

The open thread banner width is about what you want. eom

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:11pm

not too large

On my machine, Mollie, your poll was perfecto. Not too small to be read, not too big to fit the frame.

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:36pm

Thanks for the feedback, Sean! Guess screen size matters. EOM

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by Bollox Ref on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 5:46pm

Can't have a picnic with the cats

They're too busy.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:04pm

Ooh, they look very relaxed. Have they had a little nip

of the nip?

—

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Submitted by Bollox Ref on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:25pm

No, just doing what they do best.

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Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.

Submitted by littlevoice on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:25pm

Preventing levitating mattresses

It's a rough job, but someone has to do it.

I've spent most of this long weekend attacking the weeds in my yard. In the DC area, we had a full month of rain nearly every day -- 17 straight days from the end of April to the middle of May, and chilly. So, the weeds got a headstart, and I was catching up. My six indoor kitties didn't like watching me through the window, so, whenever I was done and goofing off, I had at least five little shadows following me around. The four ferals a neighbour got spayed/neutered and ear-tipped, who decided to live in our back yard (we feed them twice a day, so, it's all good), didn't like that I cleared out the weeds in back and we cleaned and stored the winter shelters we had out for them (they have summer shelters that aren't as heavily insulated). So, it was productive weekend for me, just a bit upsetting for the fur people who are actually in charge at our residence.

littlevoice

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:32pm

Aw, pooties are so funny. Some of them are greatly entertained

by what they consider our weird behavior; some are really bothered by changes in routine! I have one of each. Ginger is curious about everything, follows me and talks with me if I do anything new, and tries to participate.
Ginger Alert_0.jpg

Oreo is a neurotic scaredy cat and hides from new activity, more likely than not.
Oreo Sideview April 20.jpg

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:06pm

BTW, love 'all' the pics--but the Corgi is adorable! ;-) EOM

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:16pm

Heh. I have to admit, I have never seen an

unadorable corgi. They have that trait down.

In fact, here's a photo I considered, but decided I wanted more variety:

corgi-picnic4[1].jpg

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Submitted by Writerinres on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:28pm

Corgis

Love the one wearing the doo rag. Elizabeth II's favorite breed.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:37pm

Agree, WIR--started to ask if those 'are' the Queens Corgis! EOM

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:47pm

Heh. I don't know if she has quite that many, but she does

have quite a few!

Corgis and the Queen 6cbafe6afc516bb59e18c602d7160413[1].jpg

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:53pm

Touché! ;-D Just read--they descend from Spitz (Husky) line! NT

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by NonnyO on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:35pm

QE II doesn't have that many Corgis now

There was an article a while back that with advancing age she has ceased getting new dogs. There's even a Wikipedia page about QEII & her corgis (and other dogs). She also loves horses.

Queen Elizabeth's corgis

Queen Elizabeth's horses

Edit: The difference between Pembroke Welsh Corgis in America and England is that in England the do not dock the tails. In America the tails are docked. A friend of mine has a corgi that is the granddaughter of her first corgi; adorable dog!

I can't say I like the practice of docking tails on dogs. I put it in the category of declawing cats, or docking ears on dogs: it's cruel. It's one thing to have a cat naturally born without a tail (like two Manx-types I've had), but it's another matter entirely to do that sort of thing deliberately.

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I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute ..., where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. — President John F. Kennedy, Houston, TX, 12 September 1960

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:58pm

slicing and dicing your pets

I can't say I like the practice of docking tails on dogs. I put it in the category of declawing cats, or docking ears on dogs: it's cruel.

It is indeed.

My mother and I were out running errands when we saw someone walking a Doberman pup who had just had its dockings done and was still in bandages. We were horrified.....

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:03pm

I can't see it. There's no reason for it, other than

cosmetic. I'd liken it to plastic surgery, except that's the choice of the one operated on, our pets don't get a vote.

—

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Submitted by NonnyO on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:55am

Long time ago I saw a Doberman with bandaged ears...

Like you, I was horrified! I wanted to start screaming obscenities at the "owners" who did something so horrible..., but this was in a public place, so I turned around and walked away before I started to cry hysterically.

There is no reason for docked ears or tails. Why that became an aesthetic that was *pleasing to humans!* is beyond my ability to understand. To do that to an animal is the ultimate in cruelty. I view it as a form of torture, same as declawing cats.

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Submitted by gulfgal98 on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 8:01am

Well, our two springers

both have docked tails, but we got them as adults through the English Springer Rescue Asso. (ESRA). We also have the world's largest pomeranian, Willie Bear is about 23 lbs. I know he is not the world's largest, but he is the largest one I have ever seen. People see him and ask what he is. They will usually say, he looks exactly like a pomeranian, but he is too big! He is a throwback pom which means, genetically he is a throw back to the original size dogs which were around 30 lbs. I wish they would breed throw backs because he is so much more substantial and healthy than the tiny little 3-6 lb dogs they show. And he is every bit a pom in both looks and personality.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by mint julep on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:10pm

Love it!

I miss having a houseful of critters. Lost my last two dogs 2 years ago and still miss them so. Down to only three cats,but I have a coon mama in my closet in the back room I used for storage. Started cleaning up and out and found I was not alone. Trying to find a nice way to tell her she has to find other accommodations.

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" El pueblo unido jamás será vencido. The people united will never be defeated "

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:22pm

Thank you! My condolences on the loss of your dogs. They

leave an emptiness in the heart, don't they?

OTOH, having a wild animal in the house is kind of exciting! Perhaps a trail of food to the outdoors? That's how my parents evicted a squirrel when I was a kid - they used peanuts, IIRC. Then of course you'll have to figure out where her entrance is.

Unless you see babies. Then successful relocation might require help from a wildlife professional.

—

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:47pm

My condolences, too. mj. Hope you drop by

Elena's essays often. More than once (at TOP), I posted a short blurb in tribute to several fur babies. And a comment, here. It can be 'good for the soul,' as they say.

Again, I'm really happy to see a 'Caucus Critters' Group. A group like this will be a very healthy and happy distraction from 'politics,' all the time!

Everyone have a good one. Gonna walk the dog, and join the family in cooking out!

Later.

Mollie

"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me with a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:56pm

Oh please don't call them my essays!! We'll need a group to do

them steadily. And I'd like to propose that we do them, like over there, in tribute to Tricia Wyse, who showed the political pundits the importance of pooties.

—

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:15pm

Hey, EC--I stand corrected! ;-) You're right, it might

be nice to make it a collective effort--if that's what you want.

Hey, just linked to this diary from Joe's Evening Blues--hope you (and he) don't mind.

Mollie

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:23pm

Oh, definitely. Volunteers please? In an ideal world, we'd have

a different person for each day of the week, plus extras for backup. I'm happy to lead the charge, but I can't do this every day. I thought I'd post on Mondays for now, see how it goes.

—

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Submitted by Slightkc on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 11:05pm

I'll volunteer for an irregular for now...

But I can't do it this week due to getting curriculum, etc., ready for our "Teach the Teacher" workshop. AND I'm trying to set up a schedule with the realtor to check out 5 different houses this week (although I want to do that all in one day).

Could I sign up to do it for June 17 (Friday before Litha)? That'll also give me time to ask questions if I find myself suddenly stranded on high ground or deep in a forest of jpgs (gryn)

And THANK you. This was a huge part of what I was missing from TOP. I finally went over last night and did a week's worth of the pootie diaries. Scanned thru the "hover" previews of the diaries list...and YUK! I do kinda like the new name they have for us now, tho... the BoBCats. Ya know... somehow THAT just kinda fits us! (hehehe)

On the intro section.. maybe we could change the design just a little so it doesn't look like a straight copy from TOP. Although THIS is where all the cool people are gathering!

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:17am

Sure, that'd be great! Just message me if you have any

questions. One thing I noticed this go-round, when you hit the picture icon and then browse, sometimes it takes a little while for the upload button to show up, so you might need to give it a minute. Otherwise it was pretty straightforward for me.

—

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Submitted by CroneWit on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:46pm

I've had enough Trish-worship, thanks.

She and followers showed up as very nasty gang-bangers in several dead-threads in the various Purge Ears from 2013 on -- then would bring their actions up in the Pooties diaries, talking g about how worn out they were from fighting such nasty people.

Personally, I don't want to hear about her any more, let alone be expected to idolize her.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:28am

I'm sorry, I did not know that! By the time I joined, the pootie

diaries were safe space and completely apolitical, and I thought an apolitical space all about animals was a great idea. 2013 was before my time. No one has said anything about it being any different. The only thing that has been mentioned was fighting Markos for the right to post pootie diaries, but that would have been well before 2013. I assume you mean Purge Years? What's a dead thread? What was going on back then? Is there somewhere I can read about it?

It's funny, you live through Kos' current edict, you feel like this is the first time such has happened. Of course by now I've read about 2008 PUMAs. But when I joined it seemed like one big happy family.

—

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Submitted by dkmich on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 6:47am

I think the two sites should be kept seperate....

I don't even know who she is. If you get this established, I think you and your pootie avatar should be our founder and logo for c99's series. Let's build our own memories and shared times.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by mimi on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:00am

^^^ yes. /nt

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https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by pfiore8 on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:06am

and find another name for it . . .

have to admit, i kind of recoiled at the name.

—

“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:10am

Really? Why? I thought it was funny.

We can hold a vote, though. That's fine.

—

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Submitted by pfiore8 on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 9:08am

as soon as I saw it

i thought: TOP. but i do like the diary!!!

—

“There are moments which are not calculable, and cannot be assessed in words; they live on in the solution of memory… ”
― Lawrence Durrell, "Justine"

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 5:02pm

Ah. OK, thanks! We'll figure out how best to make it our own.

I'll do another as soon as I can (may have to wait til next Monday!) and we'll brainstorm and vote on making some modifications to give it some c99 pizzazz.

—

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 5:47pm

Great idea! Whatever the name, I hope

that the title is inclusive.

Mr M and I both came from 'dog' and/or 'bird' families, so we would up with those same pets for our Family. Mr M also had two rabbits for 15-16 years.

Having lived so many years in Alaska, we also have a great deal of liking of, and respect for wildlife; so, I particularly got a kick out of your top photo (picnic table critters). My point being, I hope that the title of this Group--or, at least the group banner or photo--has something in the title that refers to a broad swath of animal life--not just to domestic animals, or pets.

Maybe a question dealing with this, could be incorporated into a poll question. I may be alone, and everyone else may prefer only cats and dogs as topics. Dunno.

But, since we do a lot of backyard feeding of animals (including 5-6 'regular' rabbits, who knows who many squirrels, several bird families, and a 'possum that ambles through from time to time), I think it would be great fun to include most animals. Oh, and an occasional deer, since we pretty much adjoin a forest in one location.

Just food for thought . . .

Mollie

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu

Goodbye, Sweet Kaya (SOSD Screenshot).png
In Loving Memory Of Sweet Kaya, SOSD Rescue

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:03pm

I like a variety of animals too, actually. The only reasons I

focused on cats and dogs this time is because there were so many great photos! And guidance over there (TSTMNBN) said keep photos to a max of 22, so I figured that would probably be a good idea here as well (loading limitations being the reason). So I had to decide how to narrow it down. I have enough photos for a whole other picnic diary without any repeats, and that's just the cats and dogs!! But I've already been thinking I might do a wild animal picnic for 4th of July and the rest of the cat n dog ones for Labor Day.

—

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Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 11:12pm

Elena, definitely not intended

as a criticism.

I was very happy to see the picnic table photo with the Bear in it. IOW, that you used a photo that didn't have just house pets. (as much as I love them)

All I was trying to say, was that if the name 'critters' is taken out of the Group Title, I hope that you will consider using a photo that has all kinds of animals--including wildlife!

(which is what you did this week)

Sometimes, I put my foot in my mouth--sorry!

Have a good one!

Mollie

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage."--Lao Tzu

Goodbye, Sweet Kaya (SOSD Screenshot).png
In Loving Memory Of Sweet Kaya, SOSD Rescue

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Wed, 06/01/2016 - 8:09am

No worries, I didn't take it as criticism. Just explaining my

thought processes as I created the diary, because interestingly, they did run along that track. In fact also, in almost every pootie diary OT, if there are only cats and dogs in the diary, I stick a different animal or two in the comments!

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Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:18am

My problem with that is this is not my idea.

Tricia founded the pootie diaries at TOP and, as I understand it, fought for them to be included on the political blog until He Who Must Not Be Named realized how much they increased traffic and community staying power. She died earlier this year at age 45 and the pootie diaries there are being continued in her memory under MarTiger. While we can certainly tone it down, I think I have to give her credit. Of course anyone can publish an animal diary, but to have such amusing diaries on a political blog as a stress break, that's all Tricia.

I want to do what's appropriate and give credit where credit is due. But I'm listening.

—

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Submitted by CroneWit on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 12:40pm

'Anybody can publish an animal diary'

Is a correct statement, elenacarlena.

I cannot support an animal diary series that replicates and connects this site to dKos.

If you feel/believe that you must 'replicate and connect' as you did in this diary, then I have to ask you not to organize animal diaries here. Others here have previously suggested starting such a series. If interest is strong enough, such as series will arise when the time is right.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 5:05pm

This diary did not connect to TOP. That was the whole point

of cross posting it here.

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Submitted by CroneWit on Fri, 06/03/2016 - 11:23am

The replication connected the diaries, imo

Submitted by CroneWit on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 12:29pm

Thanks for reply, elenacarlena.

First, the typo: Wars. I meant Purge Wars. Damn tablet autocorrect.

Last night I realized that The Rules for the pootie diaries were invented and placed at the top of each diary as a necessity designed to keep the dKos perpetual shitstorm, and it's accompanying interpersonal rivalries, out. I think those rules should be excluded from pet diaries here.

C99 is intended and moderated to encourage CIVIL discourse.

I'd be okay with a header like, 'Caucus Critters' is intended to be a place for fun and relaxation, and for mutual support among animal lovers. Please, no political discussions here. You have the rest of the site for that.'

Thanks.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 5:08pm

Yes, I realized that too - keeping out the shitstorm.

Stay tuned, we'll have a brainstorming session and involve everybody and vote on what we want to see, next week at the latest.

—

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Submitted by mint julep on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:42pm

She has babies

I saw two little heads in there,cute as a buttons! I believe she gets in through a small vent inside the closet. It's an old,weird house. Nothing in this house is like it's suppose to be,but it's my house and I like it. I tried leaving the window open with cat food trails to the outside .Didn't work! She ate the cat food and went back into the closet. Someone told me they don't like a lot of noise so I might crank up the music and see if that works.
I will not call Wildlife people,did it once when I had a baby Skunk. They wanted to pick it up and kill it.I said 'no,thanks' and eventually found a lady in Lafayette who helped him get ready to be released.

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" El pueblo unido jamás será vencido. The people united will never be defeated "

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:53pm

Oh no! Try the wildlife rescuers or wildlife rehabilitators then

If the lady in Lafayette can't come to your rescue again!

—

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Submitted by Slightkc on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 11:31pm

She's not going anywhere

if she has babies in the closet! Wish I were close enough to help you. Depending on how old the babies are, if it were me I'd just leave 'em alone other than making sure they had food and water. But then, everyone tells me I'm bonkers.

If you try to do anything yourself, make sure you have very HEAVY gloves that come up high to cover your wrists. If she has babies in there, she's going to be in super protective mode. And oh, goddess, I don't know how I'd keep my hands off those babies!!!

Since she's feeding her babies, I'd probably put some cat/dog food in for her, as well as berries. I think I also fixed chicken thighs for him a few times a week. They're not regular meat eaters, although they'll eat anything. Oh, and Rocky, my old Raccoon LOVED Marshmallows!!! Every once in a while I'd give him sugar cubes (they have as bad a sweet tooth as I have!). He rarely got around to eating the sugar cube, tho... by the time Rocky was finished washing it first, it had disappeared in his hand. They also love to "catch" their own food -- minnows in some kind of container. But if you do all this like I did for Rocky, you'll end up with a family of raccoons who've decided you're "Mom," and your house fits them to a tee! (hehe)

I know what you mean by old houses, tho. We have one of those, too. A big old stone 3-story. Looks kinda like a castle without a turret. One of the ferals we take care of around here was in the basement because it was so cold that day, I let him come in and take the stairs to the basement cause it was so much warmer down there.

I went down to check on him before I went to bed that night and came face-to-face with a 'possum! I let him have some of the food I was going to give Electra, told him to have a wonderfully warm night and shut that door! Sure enough, there was Electra at my feet when I turned around, giving me all kinds of heck because that THING was in "his" room. I gave him the rest of the treat I'd brought down, fluffed the pillow on his bed, and told him the main basement was warmest, anyway.

Yes... I'm a sucker for critters - pets and wildlife of all kinds. With a dozen cats and a very large dog, life is anything but dull around my house!

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:33am

That is awesome! The only thing I'd worry about is friction

between the raccoon and the cats. I took care of a possum once, and with one show of those possum teeth the cats backed off and then it was smooth sailing. But I think raccoons are more aggressive.

—

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Submitted by mint julep on Thu, 06/02/2016 - 8:07am

You sound like me

I'm very protective of all critters in my yard. Feeding 5 strays,all bobtailed, and coons and possums. mama coon eats outside with everyone else,She can stay in the closet,but I do have to get that bedroom fixed up somehow,my niece is coming to visit in July.
I wouldn't do anything drastic to get her out.The babies should be ready soon to explore the outside. There is another coon mama in the attic,she has three.

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" El pueblo unido jamás será vencido. The people united will never be defeated "

Submitted by SiriusMoonLight on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:49pm

Welcome!

I am so happy to see you here Elena as the pootie/woozle diaries were the reason I still lurked "there". We are currently furry-friendless so these diaries help.

Me and Mr. Sirius are settling in for the Sharks/Penguins Stanley Cup final with grilled hamburgers and a few cold ones to end our weekend. I hope you too are having a great weekend.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:35pm

Thank you! I've been here, just haven't been diarying much.

We'll have to get a group to keep this going, it looks like there's plenty of interest!

—

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Submitted by featheredsprite on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 6:58pm

animal pics on c99!

Wonderful!

I really missed them when I quit going to the place that we never mention.

Thanks.

—

Life is strong. I'm weak, but Life is strong.

Submitted by NonnyO on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:47pm

A couple of Cuties: A Boy and his Dog

Get out the tissues - but not for sadness. Happy Story from Australia!!! [Print story, quite a few photos, no videos.]

Boy with dwarfism becomes best friends with dog with dwarfism

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Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 7:55pm

That is really sweet. Thank you for sharing! eom

—

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Submitted by NonnyO on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:11pm

I voted 'spending time with pet' ... because ...

... May is the month where I've lost so many people, including both my parents, two favorite aunts (one of whom was also my godmother), most of them during the last week (May 26, 27, 28, 30 (two on the 30th; my dad and his sister who was my godmother). One great aunt died the same day as Jackie Kennedy, both nine days before my mother's death. Sometime after midnight tomorrow night I can stop holding my breath waiting for another phone call about someone dying.

I don't really do May, as you may be able to tell.

Please don't send pity or condolences. I'm long over the mourning aspect of them all since their deaths were so many years ago and I've concentrated on the happy memories for decades now, look at old pictures that make me smile or giggle with good memories. At my age there are more and more deaths among both family and friends in my age category, including old classmates and people I went to high school with (some died in Vietnam).

The only death that makes me furious is still my maternal grandmother's death after she carried a dead fetus inside her for three months (the May 26 death). I never met her, of course, and after gathering family stories about her for genealogy research, it is my understanding that she was the favorite person of most of them because she was so nice; not one single person has ever said a negative word about her. I bet she would have been a wonderful grandmother.

So, when I'm not waiting for another dreaded phone call in May, it has become a month of reflection and thought.

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Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:44pm

What a terrible coincidence! I can certainly see why you would

not want to "do May" much. I don't actually know when my relatives died, I did not mark the dates. I know one grandfather was in the summer, July probably, as I remember nearly fainting from the heat while at the graveside.

I think it would be good to write family stories. I think everyone's a hero of their own story, and yet I'm not sure how to make such stories interesting to others. I tried to get my parents to dictate their stories and I would transcribe them, but they have refused so far. I hate to lose those memories some day, though.

—

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Submitted by NonnyO on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:46am

:-) I know the stories of some better than others

As a genealogy researcher I've gotten copies of original documents on ancestors that previous researchers who published books about the family didn't have. For others, I found the immigration info that led to documents in the three Scandinavian countries. It gets pretty interesting and involved.

Some ancestors are more interesting than others, and I have documented ancestors from seven different countries. I do research in all three Scandinavian countries and have info on some clear back to the 1620s. Norway and Denmark have their records online for free; Sweden's latest fee-based web site has been busy re-photographing the records in digital colored formats, so I don't mind paying the fee too much (but I do wish they had something besides that ugly Java program). Ergo, I can transcribe and translate old documents, some from Gothic handwriting, in four languages. If I have a problem with the translations, I have a world-wide network of people to turn to for assistance.

In American records, I have ancestors that go back to the Mayflower, and a couple of lineages were documented by previous authors who traveled to England and looked up records, some for a few hundred years before the Mayflower or shortly thereafter when other ancestors arrived. Some of my colonial New England ancestors were prominent people and even have Wikipedia pages devoted to them.

I gave up trying to remember lineages because I've also documented lines (especially from Norway) of those who married siblings of my direct ancestors and cousin branches and twigs, and I've had rather a lot of success with those, some of which go back to the 1600s, or 1700s when there are no records earlier.

Still, it's all interesting!

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Submitted by TrueBlueinWDC on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:36pm

She is watching over me as we speak

Couldn't resist adding a snapshot.

Or two

Always liked to stop by the pootie place. Before. But wasn't a regular and didn't contribute. Thanks for bringing the caucus critters corner here. I will keep an eye out for the posts.

Edited/typo

—

"Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change." Stephen Hawking

NEW: http://www.twitter.com/trueblueinwdc

Submitted by elenacarlena on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 8:46pm

Oh, what a beauty! She definitely needs to be a regular

feature around here!

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Submitted by lunachickie on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:16pm

YAY! Critters :-)

The King of the House here, his name is...what else? Elvis....

Elvis is half mutt-cat, half chocolate Himalayan--he's obsessed with looking good and also, with food. Brains, not so much, but he purrs really loud and he's really a mushy, lovable guy. He's big, too, probably tips the scales at about 17 pounds. The house wouldn't be the same without him

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:38am

What a beauty! His obsession with looking good has

served him well! Now I have Elvis songs in my head.

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Submitted by Damnit Janet on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:24pm

Black Cats Rule!

We have always had a black rescue cat in my home and we always will. I think my two kids will also try to keep this up as well.

Black cats as we all know because it is a fact. A fact. Because I said it was a fact. Black cats are great..

But Black Rescue Cats... well let's just say they are beyond amazing and the people who are graced with their presence are simply amazing peoples.

Not that I'm biased. cause I said so...

Beautiful Black Cat Luna!!!! I knew we had something special in common.

—

"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

Submitted by Slightkc on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 12:03am

Oh yeah, black cats rule!

I have one black cat among the dozen who've made me their slave. Here's a pic of her:

Izzie is a Japanese Bobtail - a breed distinct from the Manx (I had one of those, too, about 20 years ago). Izzie was named after a Japanese Goddess, Izanami, a creation goddess in Shinto.

This has taught me an important lesson: Never name your cat outside your own pantheon of god/deses. Life with Izzie has been... well... interesting (and expensive). She acts like a goddess. Refuses to eat what the "riff raff" over on those 2 tables are eating. Mostly, she likes the Fancy Feast Gourmet Entrees. She also loves Ham in ham sauce baby food. And she's on a squirt of medicine 3x a day.

Unlike Manxes, J. Bobtails have a shorter spine and where the spine ends gets in the way of their intestines. So, they are quite prone to constipation and obstruction. After digging her out one time, I took her to the vets from that point on. What the doc had her on wasn't working and we couldn't afford $250 every 2 weeks to get her cleaned out (also, I hated that I knew she was miserable and had to stay there at least 2 nights). Did my research and asked the doctor about this really sweet formula that I found. He was skeptical, but after reading about it he gave the go-ahead to try it. It would either work, or it wouldn't. Basically it's a stimulant and a moisture-enhancer. She takes it and one other med and so far, it's working like it should. We haven't been back to the vet's in months, and she's back to using the cat pan like she should.

She's also sassy enough now to slap at the biggest cat in here (my Maine Coon, Cammi), as well as my huge old dog's muzzle. Honestly she'd only be two bites for Porter, but these cats have him cowed. Still, when he gets close to Izzie (as in, he comes into the room!), she lets out howl after howl after howl... and I swear to you, each of them sound just like a kid yelling "MooooooooM!"

BTW... did you guys know you should never give mineral oil to a cat? It's too easy for them to aspirate it, and once it gets into their lungs there's nothing anyone can do about it. I've had this same vet for 25+ years now and I trust him implicitly... and this tidbit came from him.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:43am

She's a pretty too! What are you giving her? Ginger gets

constipated sometimes. They say she has IBS and we have her on a special diet (you think Fancy Feast is expensive? Pshaw!) and digestive enzymes and she does pretty well, but I'd like to have other options for her since she still has some episodes.

I did not know that about mineral oil, but it is the kind of thing I'd ask the vet about before trying. I have given them fish oil from time to time.

—

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Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 8:17am

Some cats will eat olive oil

At least, my current cat (Simon) will. He's got some rather odd tastes (doughnuts, for instance). Only once, though, have I had a cat that liked fruit, and that was many years ago.

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by lunachickie on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 9:34pm

Thank you! We actually have two cats

we have another black rescue cat named Priscilla (naturally!) She's little and slinky and very vocal and quite cute. Except when they're beating the crap out of each other, which they do fairly regularly, lol~! I had no freakin' idea it was so hard for shelters to get black cats adopted. This country is just whack sometimes...

Submitted by Damnit Janet on Mon, 05/30/2016 - 10:08pm

In Memory of our Shinobi

When she was born, she wasn't breathing. My husband rushed the kids away while I gave her mouth to mouth. She was a wonderful girl who cleaned up after all the potato chips I ever ate on the couch, near my computer, by the front window...

Her only job was to be ever so faithful at my side as I struggled with the diagnosis of my first born and the isolation I felt. She was the constant shadow of my little girl who never met a fence or gate that shouldn't be bulldozed down.

Three years ago today, we lost her after several other dear losses. Parents and dear friends. And it is tonight that I miss my girl so much as I always see the black lab being walked by a stranger and my heart just aches.

As you can see above, we were with her at the very end. Her ashes are on our mantel. Her face on our walls and digital artwork. Each time I use the ice machine of my fridge, I expect to her to be at my side awaiting a cube.

Shinobi was 15 when we helped her and told her what a good girl she was and that we'd miss her but the kids, the kids, the kids, the kids would be okay. She had loved them and protected them even when she could barely see or stand up. Her heart never stopped though.

15 is ancient for larger breeds. Her photo, her last photo, I think speaks so wonderfully of how we all here loved and cherished her.

I miss her. I want another dog at some point but my family just isn't over Shinobi. She had been there all their lives. She always will be. Just as our friends and loved ones are. Animals help us be better people.

Thanks for letting me finally share Shinobi. It's been just too damned hard and so many deaths we have been through. But writing about her was very hard.

Edit: missed many of the typos due to lots of tears. It has been three years today.

—

"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 2:58am

Oh, what a sweetie she was. I'm glad to hear all about Shinobi.

Kids and labs go together, they're so affable. I like Mollie's quote, "Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."

Some day my heart will be total dog and cat. The pooties are generous and loving too in their own way. I like to think there's some reason for these heartbreaks we sign up for every 10-20 years or so.

—

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Submitted by Damnit Janet on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 11:55am

Thank you elenacarlena

Yesterday we all felt a bit more exhausted, weighed down... and them I knew why. Shinobi. That it had been just three years. At times it felt like a long time had passed and then at other times it feels like only the other morning...

She was the best dog. I had a vet tell us that the reason she barked so much at strangers - was not due to disobedience... it was because she was hyper on duty as she was very dialed in to watching our son and daughter. Mostly because our son is disabled and dogs just have so much empathy and understanding. ... and patience.

Most labs would gobble up any food left or dropped. My son could lay his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the middle of the hallway and Shinobi wouldn't touch it. She just knew. She always just knew.

—

"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 5:11pm

They certainly were made for each other.

How is your son doing now? Tell him I said hello from pootie-and-woozleland!

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Submitted by Damnit Janet on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 7:36pm

sorry, I didn't see this

He's doing fine. He's the one who always keeps us talking about our pets who have gone ahead. We had many talks about Shinobi yesterday even though the Stanley Cup Final Game One was to take place. He's waited so long to see it.

He and I both are on the side who want to go out and get another dog. Like, now. But partner and daughter are so crushed and can think only of the cats. So logical those two... meh...

You spurred me on to maybe make an essay.... eek

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"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 8:31pm

I can see both sides. It sounds like you have a couple of

wonderful and personable pooties, and I can see not wanting to ask them to put up with a new dog right now. OTOH, possibly only a dog can heal a dog-sized hole in your hearts.

Go for it, write the essay!

—

Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 12:13am

*Janet, that was so lovely; and it makes two of us--with tears,

that is.

My deepest condolences to you and your Family. You were truly blessed to have her for 15 years, especially since most Labs normally would not live much past 10-12 years. She was clearly an exceptional Girl, in every way.

One good thing, though--they live forever in our hearts.

And no one can ever take that away.

Allow me to dedicate this song to your beautiful, 'Shinobi.'

From the lyrics,

You'll Be In My Heart
. . . For one so small,
You seem so strong
My arms will hold you,
Keep you safe and warm
This bond between us
Can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you cry

'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more

[video:https://youtu.be/Kq5TN0U-twk width:420 height:315]
[Video Slideshow Credit: "You'll Be In My Heart," DogRatandCat, English Springer Spaniels, YouTube, 4:20]

*Edited/To Center Video

If I may, I'll sign off with the photo of one of my own dogs in my signature line. She was our 'Second Dog Of A Lifetime,' and though 'Murphee' passed away on January 9, 2012, we still miss her tremendously, as we also dearly cherish her sweet memory.

Mollie

"Every time I lose a dog, he takes a piece of my heart. Every new dog gifts me a piece of his. Someday, my heart will be total dog, and maybe then I will be just as generous, loving, and forgiving."--Author Unknown

In Memory Of 'Murphee'
Murphee

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by Damnit Janet on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 12:39am

Thank you so much UL

that was so very kind. Shinobi was such a sweetie. I could never keep track of the years. I think of them in terms of the furrbabies we had. We never say, "remember Christmas of 1978?" it's always, "remember that Christmas when we had Cookie?" or "that time we went camping with Teddy." Not years, but dogs.

we have two old, fat cats with us now. One is my beloved Dylan, a liberal and a cat with one tooth. But we signed on for a black cat with mouth/dental issues. My $65 adoption of an "old" 5 yr old cat cost me $700 in dental bills. Hopefully this will be the year I get MY dental stuff done.... but as my family shared again tonight... they just can't rescue a dog right now. It would do some serious butthurt behaviour in our household with the two senior cats who are very happy in ruling the roost.

One day, I will find a dog but most likely it will find us.

Thank you for remember Shinobi with us. I read this to my family before the hockey game. It's been an emotional night of missing our dear hockey friend on the first night of the SCF and we kept thinking of Shinobi all day today.

—

"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 1:24am

'Thank you.' After all, there were

several fine diaries posted over the weekend, which honored our military members and/or 'human' loved ones. And that was nice.

But, it was your beautiful tribute to Shinobi that made this day of remembrance complete for many of us.

I'm glad that you've got a couple of wonderful cats, now. While it's true that there's no 'replacing' one pet for another--it's also very true that the love of another pet(s), can help fill the void one experiences after a deep loss.

Best to you.

Mollie

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went."--Will Rogers

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by elenacarlena on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 3:19am

I can beat you on the expense of a new adoption! My Molly

went into liver failure the second day after I brought her home! She was an 8-year-old beautiful longhaired pootie and if I'd taken her back to the Humane Society, they would have just put her to sleep. So I kept her. I couldn't afford intensive care, so I treated her at home. They have only a 10% chance of survival even with intensive care, but she survived being treated by me! Between meds, vet visits, special diet, and fluids, her care ran into thousands of dollars over a few months. I don't know exactly how much because it's just too painful to keep track of those expenses! It was a miracle that she let me pill her and force feed her and all that when we had just met.

We think she was upset at being given up for adoption (and who wouldn't be at age 8? I hate her former owners, whoever they are!) and stopped eating much. And a middle-aged fat pootie who loses weight too quickly is an almost sure bet for liver failure. Once she recovered and stabilized, the vet wanted her to lose weight, so we very cautiously put her on a diet at age 10, and darnit, she went into liver failure again! So we went through the whole process a second time!

Then the vet said never mind, just let her be a fat cat. She had a good life after that and finally succumbed at age 16 to congestive heart failure. Sigh. My only (huge!) regret is that she was at the vet's in an oxygen tent when she left us, and I wasn't there to hold her and ease her transition. But they thought she was getting better, until she stopped breathing. I just pray she didn't feel abandoned again. I visited her regularly while she was there.

Until that final week she was worshiped, though. She was gorgeous and soft and fluffy and she knew it. For some reason that I have never figured out, she found everything I did fascinating, even though mostly I just sat and worked on the computer. She would lie across from me on another chair and gaze at me, closely watching everything I did, whenever she wasn't sleeping.

I don't have any digital photos of her. I want to transfer all my old photos onto digital medium some day.

—

Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

Submitted by Euterpe2 on Tue, 05/31/2016 - 4:18am

Aw

I lost one to liver failure. He a pancreatic problem that started it. Tried to treat him at home, and he didn't make it. Have always felt guilty for trying too long to hold onto him. You are amazing.

Yours sounds like a wonderful girl. Sympathies on the loss.

I like this cat age convertor-calculator.

http://www.calculatorcat.com/cats/cat-years.phtml

According that that site, a lifetime of 16 cat years converts to 81 human years. (My girl is 73 and her two ex-feral "kittens" are now 65, reputedly!)

—

Euterpe2

Caucus Critters: Memorial Moondai Furbutts - The Start of Summer!

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