sheepdogsandsidesaddle

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I don’t think I’ve talked much about having a service dog on here, but maybe I should

Boom used to be my service dog, I got him the summer before my last year of high school bcuz I needed a nurse 24/7 to ensure I could eat/sleep/stay alive due to a recent very traumatizing event in my life and my mom came up with the service dog idea.

Getting him was hard. And expensive. No trainers were up to my standards. I, who could barely take care of myself, had to train my own dog. The problem is no matter how hard I worked, my own family or other trainers would ruin it all by messing up my commands, by letting my dog do things I had trained him not to do. It wasn’t training anymore, I ended up simply having breakdowns because everyone kept ruining my dog. People close to me thought they could be an exception to the rules I had taught my MEDICAL AID because surely my DOG would learn the difference between them and strangers.

Eventually I brought him to school. Printed papers explaining what a service dog was and how to behave around him and I plastered them all over the place.

People barked at him, petted him, tried to grab his attention.

His harness was hot pink, patches and signs on it that very clearly said “DO NOT TOUCH” and shit like that.

Someone defaced one of the papers.

Going to school was already hard, I could barely leave the house, my mom had to accompany me to the school doors every morning and then a social worker at school would greet me there and take care of me throughout the day.

I had my own locker at a floor mostly unoccupied so I wouldn’t see other people much and my dog wouldn’t be too distracted.

But it was still to much and I ended up dropping out four months before graduation.

I couldn’t leave the house. I had Boom but he wasn’t perfect yet. People kept ruining him.

But eventually I managed to leave the house. Go to a shopping mall from time to time with him to just walk and have fun.

Too many times people came up to me to tell me the gear I used was hurting my dog. Too many times people came up to me to tell me that their own dog died. Too many people came up to him and pet him without even acknowledging my presence. Too many people telling me they wished they could bring their pets anywhere. Too many people disrespecting me and my service dog.

I stopped going out. I stopped being with my dog.

All this stress and trauma drove a wedge between my dog and I. I consider him my mother’s dog now.

I had to learn to handle myself alone when I went out. It took me years to learn to go out by myself. Only last year I started doing that.

My dog doesn’t live in my room with me anymore.

Having a service dog did still save my life. But those around me ruined that. They made it about themselves. They prioritized my dog over me. My dog that LOVES working. If you tell him “do you want to go to work” chances are he’ll get so excited he will attempt to do a backflip.

We used to have a deep bond. That bond is now broken. People took that from us.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is:

Let people and their service dogs alone.

You are not an exception.

You are not special.

You are disrupting the dog’s training and distracting it.

You are endangering a human life because you can’t resist petting the cute dog.

This isn’t about you. This is about a disabled person trying to simply live their lives.

You don’t know what you’re talking about, your advice is unsolicited and lacks understanding of what the life of a working dog is.

Just leave us alone.

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🇨🇦recall of frozen pet food due to deadly bird flu contamination🇺🇸

Voluntary Recall of Northwest Naturals Brand 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe Raw Frozen Pet Food Due to HPAI Contamination FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-December 24, 2024 Portland, Oregon, Northwest Naturals is voluntarily recalling one batch of Northwest Naturals brand 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it was tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. Consumption of raw or uncooked pet food contaminated with HPAI can cause illness in animals. To date, one case of illness in a domestic cat has been reported in connection with this issue. The recalled product is packaged in 2-pound plastic bags with “Best if used by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1. The product was sold through distributors in AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IL, MD, MI, MN, PA, RI and WA in the United States, and British Columbia in Canada.

This recall is being conducted in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, Oregon.

some emphasis mine. although it says one batch, it is not listed how big that recalled batch is. given the lengthy list of states (and province), it seems like a lot.

also not mentioned in the recall is the fact that the "one case of illness in a domestic cat" resulted in death. which is pretty fucking important information here. the oregon department of agriculture (ODA) had the following to say about their investigation.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

the oregon health authority (OHA) also reports that to date, no human cases of bird flu have been linked to this pet food.

the best by dates of the recalled pet food extend well into 2026, so it is going to be an ongoing challenge to get this contaminated food out of people's freezers before it can do more harm and cause more pet death.

as always, when it comes to contamination like this, it is likely that more than just the one cat has been or will become infected. whether human or feline, illness from food contamination is very under-reported.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled product should immediately discard the product and contact the place of purchase for a full refund. For additional information or questions, customers may contact Northwest Naturals of Portland at info@nw-naturals.net or 866-637-1872 from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM PST, Monday through Friday.

high quality for the front, potato quality for the back. not sure why.

this recall was announced on december 24th, meaning a lot of people probably missed it, and potential emails about the recall may have gotten lost among a torrent of holiday marketing. bird flu can be transmissible through contaminated raw meat, unpasteurized cream or milk, and contact with infected animals.

although very unlikely, the US CDC reports that it is possible for a human to become infected from contact with an infected mammal. one person got sick from a pet cat in 2016, and another person got sick from a cow in 2024. no person-to-person spread has been confirmed in the united states.

right now, the main risk from this contamination is pets getting sick.

help keep pets safe! check those freezers!

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And this is the rest. Which will have to be sorted hair by hair and will loose her natural pattern in the process. I fucking hate it here.

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I got enough to put an elastic around. Most of the hair on the floor is just confetti and not savable.

This is probably a sign of being seriously unwell. So much of her tail is literally chewed to bits. Only a few hairs so far are longer than 3"-4"

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This is probably a sign of being seriously unwell. So much of her tail is literally chewed to bits. Only a few hairs so far are longer than 3"-4"

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It's gone. It's all fucking gone. Torn to shreds.

I don't know if I can do this

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Is there any way to restore hair into a braid or am I just completely fucked for Christmas. My mom's dog destroyed the braid I had of Rainey's tail and I'm going to fucking run out in traffic if it can't be fixed

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‪”Fireball” 24 x 18 inch ink and acrylic on paper.

Available on my website.

#ink #inked #drawing #acrylic #painting #paintings #horses #equestrian #horseart #equineart #horse #equine #art #artist #artists #artwork #artstudio #fineart #contemporaryart #animals #animalart #portrait‬

https://www.equineartiststevemessenger.com

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“How’s your depth perception?”

Bad. Very bad.

thankfully my dog is very good 🫶🏼

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Merry Christmas!

(x)

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Coyote | Sheryl Hester

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God jul!

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An acrylic piece I did this spring of one of my favorite borzoi, Katz Orb of Deception.

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A friend wrote an essay analyzing the connection between sexual assault and the bitesports community, with a focus on the culture of silence, power dynamics, and the lack of structural support for survivors. Milly left us with a final line:

Absent action, our community remains complicit in sexual abuse.

Kleiner, Milly. (2024, December 23). Arm candy: An analysis. Medium. [URL]

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wild horses

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Ojinegro Qahira (Ghandour x Bel Princess) - Spanish Arabian Stallion

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Storhaugs Gerwyn - Welsh Cob Stallion