Witch Hazel And Pale-leaved Sunflower

Do not obey in advance...you are only teaching power what it can do.

Service dogs and other disability assistance animals are a funny concept to me. Like of course disability itself isn't funny but the idea that sometimes people will have a highly trained live-in 24/7 professional medical assistant who also happens to be a beagle.

a few years ago I remember there was this big discourse topic on dogblr/catblr about “is it ever good husbandry to crate a cat” with people getting very heated back and forth on both sides and I believe the eventual final word was “no don’t ever crate a cat you fucking idiot” which I quietly disagreed with at the time but didn’t really want to get into fights about it. but anyway I’m reminded of that conversation frequently because almost every time a vet at my work sends home a cat to recover after orthopedic surgery or neuro procedures, the discharge instructions very neatly and firmly tell the owner to keep the cat in a large dog crate while recovering unsupervised. anyway.

So cute 🥺🥰🐈

use, and i cannot stress this enough, thriftbooks

Excellent wording as always

I was recently given these photos of my grandparents’ GSD, Prince. Taken around 1949-1951.

70 years later my grandmother can sharply recall endless stories involving him, and tears up when she says how she misses him. Dogs, man!

S U R V I V O R

Two months ago I was driving home, right as dusk was falling. A little black roe deer ran out onto the road in front of me. This painting shows what I wish would have happened: a screeching of brakes, a frightening moment for both of us, but ultimately safe passage.

But in reality I didn't even see her coming. Instead there was a huge crash, two ears over the edge of my hood. It took me a second before I realise what had happened and hit the brakes.

I found her quite a ways back, lying on the roadside. Dead. She looked perfect, spare the blood coming from her nose, and the fact the impact had landed her entrails several yards ahead. That same night she was collected by wildlife services. The next morning you'd never have known she was there, only the scratches on the tarmac still bear witness to what happened.

I'm lucky to have gotten out unscathed, Blue sheep was miraculously undamaged too. But I felt godawful about it and still do. I drive even slower these days. Black roe deer are a rarity, they only occur in a small part of the Netherlands. It always makes me happy to see them out and about. To have taken the life of one weighs heavily on my heart. This painting is a small part of me trying to do right by her and remember her. A little roe deer keychain now hangs off Blue sheep's keys too, to always remind me when I go out for a drive.