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My Service Dog, Mia, Christmas shopping for her Poodle pals. This was our Christmas card that year. She turned 14 in April and has no intention of retiring.
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Nov 24, 2014 08:19
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When you see them live, their tails seem to be bigger than they are.
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Nov 26, 2014 12:17
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ultrabindu posted:Does anybody have any stories or pictures about service animals and their owners or service animals in training? I thought you'd never ask. You start their training when they are young, teaching them about other animals.  If you think you love your job, I have news for you: No one loves their job more than a service dog. This is Mia. She is my Seizure Alerter. She will be 15 this year. She's given us some real scares: she had to have a splenectomy last year, and bloat surgery in September, right after her daughter died of cancer. Mia is a Standard Poodle. She adores going to work, especially when it means making new friends and introducing them to service dogs--and poodles. What we stress to people is that she's quiet because she's working. Poodles are very high energy dogs, which makes them ideal for service work. Off work she's not so quiet. Here's her niece, International Champion La Marka Mercedes Blanc. (yes, that's her whole name)  Mercedes has gone from show champion to runway model, to costume model, and now seizure alerter. She loves babies. If we run into a baby in a stroller, she insists on a full inspection. Woe betide the mother if even one hair is not where Mercedes wants it. She gives the best Evil Eye while fixing the error. Children will often run up and hug them. They love it. They do have a special command for visiting people. It's not always possible to stop a toddler in time, though, so we train them to enjoy it. It's an easy thing to teach.
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Jan 30, 2015 23:37
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blunt for century posted:Mia is cool as hell! With her coloration, she looks like a fuzzy weimaraner Aww, thank you. She is as loving and sweet as she looks. Right now she's raising the roof because she wants pizza. She's actually a silver, and in the right light she looks metallic. When her coat was grown out, my sister liked to curl her toes in Mia's soft sides. Uh-oh. She's barking at me, telling me to go into the other room. I always do what she says--she knows me better than I do!
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Jan 31, 2015 07:21
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Beardless posted:My uncle has a friend, Randy, who, due to a neurological condition, went slowly blind, starting when he was 22. For several years he was in a wheelchair because of it. He eventually was able to walk again, and started hiking, with his guide dog Quinn, as well as some friends. Quinn was happy his person had him along to keep things under control. Service dogs tend to consider their humans to be totally helpless without their constant attention. I'll bet Quinn preferred the snow to the rocks--if Randy fell, he was less likely to get hurt. They get stressed out if their partner isn't in sight. It's the deepest bond you will ever have, short of a marriage. And a lot of marriages aren't that close.
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Jan 31, 2015 09:16
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EoRaptor posted:Dogs are selected for training based on temperament, and that is reinforced throughout the training period. Most dog training is about reinforcing or suppressing a basic dog instincts (find, stalk, chase, get, kill, return) that they have 'built in' from their wolf days. In this case, we take a universal instinct, 'parent', and reinforce it instead. This is pretty close. Caring for both young and the pack is instinctive. What the dog learns to do is understand that the person is its partner, and that they are responsible for each other's safety/well-being. Once the dog is placed with its partner, the normal human/animal bond is amplified by the constant interplay between the two. Dogs quickly become used to the idea that they are responsible for the success of the team. That's why the dogs will raise hell if they can't be with their person. You can't trust the stupid, hairless apes to do anything right!
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Feb 1, 2015 00:23
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McDragon posted:because we have It only takes a couple of times before the dogs associate the jacket with Work, it's like putting on a uniform. It works on even the wildest dogs. Bats are great.
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Feb 2, 2015 07:55
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instead
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IslamoNazi posted:Don't stop at one billion, get ONE BUDGIELLION If you have the right boxes and an equal number of male and female, you'll end up with 2 BUDGIELLION They're seriously into group sex
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Feb 7, 2015 07:17
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Dove from Above posted:When I was a kid I read a book about a girl growing up in Depression-era Australia who loved drawing, but her family couldn't afford paper just to draw on, so she always looked forward to her mother buying bacon, because instead of wrapping it in newspaper the butcher would put it in a nice smooth paper bag that was really good for sketching on. OMG! I had that book too! It was called "Guilda". They were Dutch immigrants and the girl desperately wanted to live in a house instead of a tent.
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Apr 2, 2015 05:24
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Haruharuharuko posted:Squint or Cocoa (bean). Name him after his California hometown.
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Apr 2, 2015 05:25
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We adopted a feral kitten, Meket, right before Christmas. He's still shy with people, but has found himself a BFF in Miss Mercedes. He waits at the door for her to come inside so he can be with her, winding through her legs and batting at her puffs. Their favorite game is tag, and their favorite time to play it is between 2--4 AM. The cat tree is his 'safe'; hers is the bed, which she sails into despite those lumpy humans being in the way. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10206470077056242&set=vb.1399016778&type=2&theater
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Apr 2, 2015 05:50
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Winklebottom posted:
Yes it is. It belongs in a museum!
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Apr 20, 2015 08:55
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My Service Dog, Mia, turns 15 today. She has no interest in retiring, thankyouverymuch.  About an hour ago, I was outside with Mercedes, Mia's backup. Mia started raising the roof. Our niece came running to see what was wrong (she's been staying here while her place gets fixed). The problem? I was on the wrong side of the door. Mia didn't quiet down until I was in and safe. We'll probably go to her favorite restaurant for her party Saturday.
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Apr 22, 2015 08:42
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Horses love tetherballs, too.
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May 7, 2015 08:37
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Short Penguin posted:
Did the caption on that video make anyone else angry? It's the YOOL 2015, and we have to have 24/7 armed security around baby animals to prevent a rich fucktard in Vietnam from having it killed so he can drink ground horn. Drinking it proves he's so rich he doesn't give a gently caress. I thought Vietnam was Communist so there wouldn't be rich people. Goddamn. 
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Jun 15, 2015 09:26
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OH MY THOSE BABIES.
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SinineSiil posted:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171941 I love this poem.
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Jul 2, 2015 07:53
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Elias_Maluco posted:Reminded me of this Anton LeVay? That lion has seen things, man.
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Aug 5, 2015 12:04
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McPantserton posted:Raccoons?! This, right here, is Probable Cause.
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Aug 9, 2015 09:49
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I have a new trainee. Nate has just--as in October 21, 2015--retired from a lifetime of showing and being prepped for shows. He's been with different handlers, groomers and trainers all his life. He's stayed kenneled or crated, unless he's been trained/groomed/shown. He is owned by a group of ladies who asked if I'd like to take him and try to make him my new service dog, as my beloved old partner recently died and her 'backup' isn't too keen on working. Modelling, being adored by the public, visiting people--yes; paying attention to warn me of seizures--well, if she really has to. She's actually quite good, but it isn't her favorite thing to do. Mia, the one I just lost, would rather work that eat; Mercedes, the backup, has different priorities. We got a baby puppy in June, figuring that 15 year old Mia was healthy enough that the baby would be able to grow into the job do Mia could retire. Since Mia's passing, the puppy, Liberty Belle, is still growing and learning, but she's a long ways from true service work. Which comes back to Nate. I asked all my Poodle friends to look for a new Mia--a young dog, fresh from showing, who needed a home. I expected to wait a year or more. It's expensive to maintain a show Poodle, so people want some kind of return on their investment, which usually means breeding. My co-breeder/trainer/groomer met with us for dog grooming. She was reminding me that the wait would be good for me when she got a phone call. She came back and said, "Would you like a dog?" Ch La marka in Combination with Sharbelle--Nate--is 18months old. He has never known an actual 'home'; everywhere he's been has been kennels. It took him two days to eat. He's literally skin and bones; they like them thin, just like models, but this is excessive. I was warned that he wasn't an eater. No kidding. We found food he likes, and he will chow down. He had never slept on a bed. He'd never had chew toys or bones or met a cat. Amazingly, he is housebroken. He's wonderful on a leash. Right now I'm in the process of getting him settled into house life so we can start service training. I think he will be good. When I sleep, he climbs on top of me and slides down so he's tight against me. As soon as I get a picture of him where he doesn't just look like a black blob, I'll post it.
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Oct 29, 2015 07:21
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blarzgh posted:Christmas Kitty This would make the best Christmas card.
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Dec 6, 2015 12:42
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whiteyfats posted:Those kids are appalled. And rightly so. If anything, it's only going to confuse them more. Except for the one kid who has Nick for a brother. He's gonna be a playa.
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Jan 16, 2016 12:05
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Captain Postal posted:Nope. It is, was, and ever shall be Cricket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-8Fq0HaaYc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJmaSMzaV2Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTwIyR44qjs That cattery is superbly clean and well-maintained. Those kittens will be healthy and happy. My house isn't as clean as that place.
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Feb 4, 2016 14:10
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Alteisen posted:I've always wondered how service dogs react to the loss of their patient. Well, as someone with service dog partners... It is the closest relationship in your life. Many marriages aren't as close. The dogs willingly and happily work with their people. When one partner dies, it's as devastating to them as you might think. I lost Mia, my partner of 13 years, in August. My life is empty without her, despite the fact that I have another partner whom I also depend on to work. I love her, but it is not the same. My old girl Mia told me when to get up, have breakfast, go to work, do chores, play, everything. Miss Mercedes is more hands-off, unless it's goodie time for her. I have a rescue youngster and a puppy I am currently training. Nate, the young boy, just finished his show championship. He is gorgeous and timid, much like Mia was when I first got her. Nate is trying very hard to learn his job. Liberty Belle, the puppy, is your typical hooligan & juvenile delinquent.
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Feb 4, 2016 14:23
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HogX posted:He just ordered a club sandwich. 
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Feb 6, 2016 08:43
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Alder posted:
No. Just no. Now, if it was a Totoro...let's just say we'd find the room.
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Feb 27, 2016 01:37
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President Ark posted:cats are intimidated by staring, so when you go out of your way to take allergy meds and want to find the kitty for cuddles you scare it and it wants nothing to do with you, whereas if you haven't you try your best to avoid it which in the cat's hosed up backwards brain means "well I guess this person's chill" and want to hang out with you If you want a cat you don't know to come over, try this one weird trick: Catch its eye, then close your eyes and turn your head. You've just told the cat you're aware of it, and would like to be friends. Most non-rear end in a top hat cats will come over and headbutt you.
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Feb 29, 2016 07:08
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VendaGoat posted:Wait wait wait... That's a baby Pomeranian. He'll eventually be somewhere between 6-11 pounds. They're bred down sled dogs.
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Mar 15, 2016 06:41
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Octolady posted:Hi guys, sorry to be a downer but my cat suddenly passed away this morning due to a severe reaction to anaesthesia during a routine dental check up. He was black and white and the best cat ever. Terrible news. I'm sorry.
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Mar 17, 2016 07:21
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StandardVC10 posted:Pretty much corgis.gif When we moved to Silicon Valley, the previous homeowner left a tortoise in the yard. Couldn't even be bothered to take her to the shelter. We had to, because our dog wouldn't leave her alone. The people at the shelter said she'd be picked up that week by a local reptile rescue group. When you accept responsibility for a life, you take care of that life, no matter how much it inconveniences you. The 'loving, socialized' feral cat we 'adopted' may live under our shed, but when we go to move we'll catch him and take him along. He may put up a fight, but I'm not going to take the chance that someone else will care for him.
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Mar 21, 2016 22:09
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