#had to take my dog to the vet and buy her more food and go to the grocery store and buy gas today

[fuckyeah-bears]

whhhhyyyyyyyyy is everything sooooo motherfucking expensive????? don’t they know I can’t afford all this shit???

[lovewithmary]

(not) moving on — a max verstappen x stark!oc x charles leclerc series

★ fc: madison beer ☆ summary: evangeline "evie" stark is in love with her best friend, max verstappen, but he tries his best to keep her at arm's length. but what happens when she starts to get close to his fellow drivers in the paddock? ★ notes: since the chapters will be more like one shots, requests about stuff you want to see with evie, charles, and max are now open!

previous next series masterlist

liked by charles_leclerc, maxverstappen1, and 3209192 others

eviestark: max and i lost charles at the pet store trying to buy jimmy and sassy stuff... then we found charles sat on the floor, playing with mimi

needless to say, welcome to the stark-verstappen-leclerc household mimi! 🫶

comments

user1: OKAY BUT HOW DID SASSY AND JIMMY REACT TO MIMI? ↳ eviestark: it was surprisingly chill 😭 however max was worried that they were gonna react badly to mimi and vice versa ↳ maxverstappen1: I wasn't worried, I just didn't want the pets to get hurt if they fought ↳ eviestark: says the one who refused to let go of jimmy and sassy from your arms so charles and I had to convince you 😭😭

user2: stark-verstappen-leclerc household? sounds like a mouthful 🫡 ↳ eviestark: it is 😉 ↳ charles_leclerc: EVIE! ↳ maxverstappen1: ANG! ↳ eviestark: what? you try to say our last names in a row and see how successful you are the first time 🙄 ↳ user3: it's like evie has no pr training ↳ eviestark: oh, I have, I just choose to ignore it

user4: jimmy, sassy, and mimi are probably the most spoiled pets in the world rn ↳ eviestark: tonystark and pepperstark have their very own pet store in the tower... at this point, I'm inclined to agree ↳ tonystark: well i have no choice considering you think of us as your pet babysitters and you keep on making us babysit ↳ user5: tony stark being a pet grandfather was something I didn't know I needed until now ↳ tonystark: me being a grandfather to a bunch of pets wasn't something I dreamed of doing, trust me ↳ eviestark: you love my children, don't act :( ↳ tonystark: you once texted me "you're a grandpapa!" and i nearly had a heart attack until i realized you were talking about JIMMY, SASSY, AND MIMI

eviestark’s instagram story

"That vet doesn't know what he's saying! How could he even say that?!" Max angrily said, holding Mimi like one would hold a baby, with Mimi's head resting on Max's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Evie and Charles were holding Jimmy and Sassy, amused at how Max was reacting to what the veterinarian had said. "Max, it's not really a big deal—" Charles tried saying, but Max cut him off.

"Not a big deal?! He called Mimi—" Max cut himself off so he could adjust Mimi to cover her ears (as if she could understand what he was saying) and whisper, "overweight,"

"He just suggested to make her portions of food smaller and to take more walks," Evie tried saying to calm Ma down but to no avail.

"Smaller portions?! Does he want her to starve? Also, Mimi is very active, she goes on runs with us every time and she loves it!" Max argued.

"Maxie, I'm not arguing with you, I'm just saying that he only suggested it, and we don't have to follow it," Evie told him, and thankfully, it helped in calming his anger, no matter how amusing found how angry he got for Mimi.

As the three started walking to the car, Charles and Evie could just hear Max cooing to Mimi. "We're not going to listen to him, you are beautiful just the way you are," he quietly reassured the dog, who was not aware of what just happened.

Evie turned to Charles and said, "Remember when Max said he didn't know if he could love Mimi as much as he loves Jimmy and Sassy when you first got him?"

Charles nodded and said, "Now I'm starting to think that he might love Mimi more than he loves us,"

[unusuallysubtext]

Hey, can I request a oneshot where Y/n (Mycroft's spouse) suddenly brought a puppy home; they found the puppy on the sidewalk. They brought the puppy home, cleaned him up, and then went to the pet store to buy supplies like dog food, toys, a bed, and a pad for the puppy to pee or poop on. They returned home with all the supplies.

Mycroft finally arrived home after a long day at work. He found Y/n on the floor and was confused at first until he saw the puppy they were playing with. He was perplexed and definitely against it at first, but a few weeks later, Y/n finds Mycroft in the living room with the puppy on his lap while Mycroft reads his newspaper.

Thank you in advance!

Thank you for your request! Requests are open as of 18/06/2024. Tags at end. To be removed/added to the taglist, send an ask or DM me. Critics welcomed, reblogs appreciated! :)

Today was one of those rare days off you had from work, but as usual, it was never in sync with Mycroft's busy schedule. You had awoken to a cold bed with the sun already beaming through the crack in the curtains. With a sigh, you climbed out of bed and stretched, making your way downstairs. A vase of sunflowers stood on the kitchen counter, a card beside it on top of a box of London’s finest pastries.

Good morning, my love. 

Salon appointment at two p.m. 

Take care of yourself.

Love,

M.H.

You smiled, admiring the set up and the time taken out of Mycroft’s morning. Of course he had booked out an entire salon; nails, hair, facials, drinks…

After getting comfortably dressed (a change from your usual business attire), eager to eat more than a few pastries (it would be unfair to try only a couple, after all), you ran downstairs and popped the kettle on.

As you sipped your tea, you pondered how to spend the rest of your day until a car picked you up at one-thirty. The idea of a long walk around the estate seemed appealing, especially with the rare London sun. 

Spring coat and boots on, you set out for your walk. The streets were quiet unlike the bustling inner city, and she much appreciated the calm; it allowed for decompression after high stress days at your demanding job. As she turned a corner into a small park, she noticed a small bundle of fur huddled in the bushes fronting the blue-painted metal rails. Curiosity piqued, you approached cautiously.

To your surprise, it was a puppy, shivering despite the unusual warmth, alone. You were expecting a rabbit, likely dead after the foxes got to it, not an uncommon sight in this area. The little creature looked up at you with wide, fearful eyes. You kneeled, allowing your hand to be sniffed before you picked it up. Upon further inspection, it was only a couple of weeks old, the size of your hand, and bore no collar.

"Poor thing, you must be freezing," you murmured, stroking its soft fur as you held it close to your chest. "Let's get you home."

She made a quick stop at a nearby pet store and vet clinic, purchasing everything the puppy would need—food, a bed, toys, and a small collar, which you left unetched without a name, only your phone number on the back of the tag. 

By the time she arrived back at the house, her arms were full of supplies, and the puppy seemed much more comfortable in your breast pocket. The clinic had not detected a microchip, making you wonder how long the pup had been outside as you set up a cozy corner in the living room. You watched as the puppy explored its new surroundings, following you with tiny, tentative paw taps to the kitchen, where you poured some water and food into its bowls. 

"Mycroft is not going to like this," you thought out loud with a wry smile, imagining his reaction. But the sight of the puppy, now curled up contentedly in its new bed, made her feel certain she had made the right decision.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of playing with the puppy, canceling your salon appointment and ride through Anthea, and preparing dinner after the pup grew tired enough to fall asleep in its bed. As evening fell, you found yourself anxiously awaiting Mycroft's return, wondering how he would react to your new addition and fearing his disappointment of being unable to enjoy his planned day for you.

The grandfather clock struck once, indicating five-thirty and you arose from the dining table to head to the front door. You opened it to see Mycroft, who was pleasantly surprised at your greeting.

“Good evening, darling. How was your day?” he asked, heading in. His smile immediately turned to scrutiny as he sensed something was wrong. “You didn’t go… Why do you have cat hair on you?” Mycroft asked, looking at you.

“Dog, Mycroft,” you rolled your eyes. You weren’t anxious anymore, just keen to see Mycroft discover what you’d done. You followed him to the living room, where he froze at the sight of the sleeping puppy across from you.

“Y/N, what on earth were you thinking? How will you care for it?” Mycroft cried. He never called you by your name. Only ‘Mr/Miss/Mx L/N’ before marriage, and ‘my love’ and ‘darling’ after.

“Mycroft!” you were taken aback, but still attempted to explain your situation. “She was abandoned on the side of the road, no collar, no chip. I couldn’t leave her there!”

“Do you know how many shelters there are in London? One-thousand-two-hundred-and-twenty-seven! Any one of them would have taken it in.” Mycroft was exasperated. “Y/N, please think before making such decisions…” he trailed off, softening his tone and expression as he caught sight of your teary eyes. He walked to you, touching your cheeks and kissing your forehead. “I love you. I don’t love that,” he indicated to the puppy with his head. “I do not want this matter to cause any stress to our relationship. I’m sorry for shouting at you.”

You nodded, forcing a smile. “It’s okay. I’ll see what I can do about her as soon as possible.”

You understood where Mycroft was coming from. Both of you worked full-time, and taking care of a puppy who was rapidly transforming into a full-grown dog was like taking care of a toddler. She would need to be trained, spayed, played with for mental stimulation… it was going to be a lot.

While Mycroft showered, you heated up dinner. As the two of you ate, the puppy awoke and padded to the dining room, watching Mycroft curiously. The two of them stared at the other intently, frozen in place, and you watched in amusement. 

That night, you lay in bed on your side against Mycroft’s chest. It was a miracle that the puppy had not followed you upstairs, but was instead sleeping soundly in the living room. 

-

Mycroft had been sitting on the sofa after dinner, reading their mail while she tried to reach the seat beside him. Watching her struggle for a couple of minutes from the corner of his eye, he finally sighed and picked her up. She lay down next to Mycroft’s side, and he begrudgingly had let her. She fell asleep, as Mycroft mumbled, mostly to himself. “You don’t have a name, do you? You are rather annoying, going to places you don’t belong. Sofas are for humans, the dog bed, as implied in the name, is for you.” Mycroft thought for a moment, then chuckled in revelation. “Sheryl.” He seemed pleased with the name.

-

“Mycroft?” you say quietly, unable to see him. The curtains have been drawn for the night, the bed toasty from your combined body heat. 

“Hmm?”

“Are you jealous of her?”

There is a pause. “That is preposterous! Go to sleep,” you can feel him shaking his head as he is ripped from his near sleep.

You smile to yourself, turning around and kissing his cheek before drifting off to sleep.

-

Days went by, and you spent all of your lunch breaks and the extra ten minutes you had in the mornings at work calling animal shelters in London, despite the heartache. It would not be difficult at all to get the pup into one, just inhumane. Unsurprisingly, they were all overcrowded and underfunded. You glanced up from the website you were reading on your phone to the stack of paperwork overshadowed by your boss. You sighed.

“Working, are we, Mr/Mrs/Mx Holmes?” Ms Smallwood sneered, saying your name as if it were sour milk.

“Yes, apologies, ma’am. No excuses,” you said, grabbing a pen and opening the first file. 

Her beady eyes watched you for a moment before huffing and storming out on her four-inch heels.

You shot Mycroft a quick text.

Going to be late, sorry. Lots of paperwork, ughh. Can’t wait to get a transfer. - Y/F/I.H.

Don’t worry, my love. I’ll have dinner and a bath ready. Don’t stress, my darling. I shall see you this evening. - M.H.

You smiled at your husband’s preemptiveness, silently thanking the universe for having him to go home to. 

It was quarter-to-seven when you arrived home. You walked through the hallway past the empty study and dining room, the aroma of dinner making your mouth water. In the living room, you could see Mycroft, engrossed in reading the newspaper… out loud? Mycroft saw you, and hushed you, pointing to the sleeping puppy curled up against his belly. He finished reading one last sentence of today’s headlining news: ‘Two murdered bodies found in abandoned freezer at Wembley Sainsbury’s.’ 

“Goodnight, Sheryl, sleep well,” Mycroft said quietly, putting the newspaper down and patting her gently before picking her up and placing her in her bed. He then walked over to you. “Hello, darling, how was your day?” 

“Sheryl, huh?” you laughed.

“Too late to change it now, I have already had it engraved,” Mycroft said matter-of-factly. “I have already fed her–one cup–walked her around the estate, had her pee, and read her a bedtime story, of course.”

You squealed in joy, engulfing Mycroft in a hug. “We’re keeping her?!”

“Yes, of course we are, darling. How else will I keep in shape?”

“Oh, Mycroft! You’re already perfect. I love you! I can’t believe we get to keep her!”

Every night onwards, Sheryl lay in wait in front of the dinner table for the two of you to finish eating and take her for a walk. She would chase butterflies in the very park she was found in before returning to her home, where Mycroft would read her the headlines and let her pick her bedtime story from the papers. Some days it was stock trading tips, obituaries and juicy celebrity gossip, other days it was how her Uncle Sherlock was saving the arses of the Met Police, and gruesome murder-suicides. Every night, she fell asleep in Mycroft’s lap, even when she grew up to be a huge German shepherd. Every night, you snapped a picture of the two, compiling the photographs into an album that showed how their bond strengthened and their kinship blossomed.

-

Tagging: @anonymoussherlockandmarvelgeek @that-ace-idiot

[kangals]

ok now that i've had a day to get my panicky moping out of the way. here's whats going on with stellina (writing down for my own reference but also bc i am a chronic pet over-sharer):

yesterday morning when i got out of bed she came out of her crate and was walking on 3 legs, completely non weight bearing on her right rear. i thought maybe her foot had just fallen asleep but when it didn't improve after a few minutes i got very concerned. i did a quick check and she seemed resistant to me bending that knee but otherwise didn't show any discomfort.

and here's the thing about stellina - i love her so much, but she is kind of a pussy. she has a very low tolerance for stress or pain - at the first sign of discomfort, she will go tuck herself into her crate and stay there. she is NOT stoic. when she fucked up her tendon as a puppy, she yelped and went into her crate and didn't leave for a week. but knowing this... she was acting completely normal, even while on 3 legs. tail wagging, alert, calm, totally at ease. which told me that while clearly her leg was not right, she was also not in pain or distress.

after a few minutes she had progressed to toe-touching lame instead of fully holding it up, so i was able to coax her down the stairs and then into the yard. after another minute she was limping, but bearing weight. again, acting normal: sniffing around, went potty, even played with kep. i took them both for a short leash walk and by the end of it she had pottied, scent marked, sniffed, etc totally normal, and only had a very slight limp by this point. cool, crisis averted!

i let them back inside and she went and layed down for a few minutes while i got their food ready. but when i called them over to come eat, she was non-weight bearing again. and again, same pattern: it would gradually improve after a few minutes of exercise, but sitting/laying down for any period of time would make it stiffen right back up.

i ended up taking her to my work's urgent care office to get looked at. the vet did a manipulation test of her knee and said that she noticed two things. first, that her patella (knee) was very slightly loose (patella laxity is graded on a 0-4 scale, with 0 being normal not-moving knees, and 4 being "this dog's kneecap has left the building." vet said stellina's was like a 0.5 - very slightly loose). second, she was able to slightly move her leg sideways in a way that you shouldn't be able to if your CCL (ACL in ppl - the ligament that keeps your knee vertically aligned basically) is intact. so her suspicion was that stellina's right CCL has a partial tear, likely due to the slight movement in her patellas slowly increasing friction on the CCL.

she also tested her left leg and said while that patella is also very, very slightly loose, there's no sign of CCL damage on that leg yet. however about 60% of dogs who injure on CCL also injure the other within a few years.

she sent her home on some NSAIDs and requested a consult with the surgery department. the good news is that after a single dose of the meds, stellina is acting like 95% better - still has some resistance if i bend her knee, but is walking without lameness and still acting very normal.

so right now, we're waiting for a consult with the surgeon so she can do an exam and either confirm the first vet's findings, find something else, and talk about options for treatment.

unfortunately once a CCL has been damaged, it can't repair itself. so assuming the surgeon agrees that there's CCL damage, it leaves us with the following options:

use NSAIDs, physical therapy, and restricted exercise for several weeks. hopefully this will let the tissue around the knee scar up/thicken enough that it creates a bit more stability in the knee. it doesn't fix the tear, and the CCL is still at risk of tearing more/rupturing in the future, but it may buy some more time - just impossible to say if that will be a month or two, or years.

go in and surgically repair the CCL before it has a chance to worsen or rupture. this is done with a TPLO surgery where they cut part of the leg bones and add a metal implant to stabilize. it's a very common surgery with a very high success rate, but it is expensive (at least $4-5k per knee) and has a long recovery period (6-8 weeks restricted exercise + 2-4 months rehab and building up muscle).

i'm trying not to get too ahead of myself on either option until we talk to the surgeon for their opinion first. on one hand, i don't want to put my dog through surgery, especially one with such a long recovery period - we've already done that when she fucked up her achilles, and it sucked. i hate the idea of signing her up for months of crate confinement and discomfort for an elective procedure. but on the other hand - if the CCL is torn, it's not going to fix itself. it seems stupid to just sit around and wait for it to rupture and become an emergency, especially if there's a chance that the other leg might go as well. if we do the surgery within the next month, she'd already be halfway through recovery by christmas time.

so yeah, that's where we are currently. hopefully we can talk with the surgeon this week and get a better idea of the options, and make a plan. i want to do whatever is in stellina's best interest, whatever that ends up being.

[maceofpentacles]

help my family afford to get my dog the treatment she needs

tw // pet health + injury

this is my almost 7 year old corgi named macy!! she’s had chronic ear infections due to allergies for the past 4-5 years of her life. the vets never give us a straight answer, always saying it’s some sort of allergy that could be food related, something airborne, or even something in the house. they flush her ears and then send us home with steroids to stop the pain in her ears that last for 2 weeks at most and it costs us around $300 every time we go in.

recently my mother noticed blood in her urine and her taking a long time to go potty which is leading us to believe she has a bladder infection on top of her allergies. my dad is going to call the vets tomorrow and schedule an appointment to get her checked out but i have no idea how much the tests and treatment is going to run us, all i know we don’t have the money at the moment. hence us being forced to forgo getting her the steroids to help her ears.

she’s in pain every single day. i hear her crying in pain at night when i come home to visit. we have to avoid her ears when petting her or she screams out in pain. my younger sibling tells me that it’s basically a constant thing at this point.

i hate doing this but i hate seeing my dog in pain more so please consider helping if you can. literally anything helps, even a single dollar. i offer all sorts of divination readings if you’d like to buy one to help.

paypal

venmo

cashapp

[yonderlyporcupine]

I had a conversation today with an older coworker about the entitlement of my generation (millennials) and wanting to be rich. Which, I told her, is not the case. So in case you were wondering,

I would be happy to be paid $21 an hour for the rest of my working life if it would’ afford me the following

A small 1 maybe 2 bedroom house (I’m single and child free so I don’t need too much space) with maybe a small yard or even just a deck/balcony where I can grow some herbs and veggies and let my dog go out to pee rather than having to take her on a walk every few hours

Enough food to not go hungry, like not enough to go to waste but frozen veggies that I can eat more than a cup at most at a time. I would be ok if chicken was my only protein, but I’d like maybe the occasional steak. Maybe some ice cream every so often. Cereal and milk for breakfast. Deli meat for lunch. Tea and sugar, flour, some basic spices and ingredients to make bread etc. nothing fancy. Just so I don’t have that one to three days at the end of a pay period where I only eat cream of wheat made with water and not milk for every meal…

I would like to be able to consistently afford my life saving medication and not have to worry about whether or not I may suffer serious health complications because I can’t afford to see a doctor.

enough gas that I don’t have to decide between my obligations. Like I would like to be able to attend class and go to work in the same week while also not having to walk over an hour one way to my dog’s vet appointment because I couldn’t make that work with my fuel budget. I’d love (but could maybe live without) to be able to drive to local hiking trails maybe once every other day or maybe just once a month to once a year being able to go on like a little in state road trip to say idk Yosemite or Joshua Tree or the Volcanic Tablelands.

speaking of, I’d like to be able to afford maybe like an early 2010s model SUV or hatchback, something I can put a dog crate in the back of and still afford car insurance. And I’d like to be able to afford regular maintenance (oil, tires, smog, belts and plugs every 50-100k, etc) without having to choose between that and eating or paying rent

I’d like to be able to afford my dog’s pet insurance and have just enough saved to cover me in case of an emergency. I’d also love to be able to afford her life saving medication without having to worry if I can buy that and her monthly flea/tick/heart worm preventative. And I’d love to be able to always get all of her necessary vaccines rather than picking and choosing

I’d like to able to afford school without having to take out a loan. Not like graduate or medical school, just my undergrad. And like not all at once, I could do the monthly payment plan for all four years if that’s what was needed

I’d like to do all of this and still have enough time (I.e. not working more than 40hours a week) to give back to my community. It doesn’t have to be much, maybe like one day volunteering in a soup kitchen or cleaning kennels at the local shelter or something.

I don’t need to be rich. None of us need to be rich. We just want to be be able to afford our lives like everyone else was before we were born. I just want to have the security of my basic necessities being covered. I want a car that doesn’t break down every month and that I don’t have to lie every time I need it smogged vs driving around for months illegally because I can’t get it registered.

We just want to be able to live. And I for one, would like to see the next generation do even better …

[bonfire-at-the-crossroads]

I’m going to try and list the events of today - just so I don’t lose track.

Dawn. Barnum got us moving by 7:00 as usual. Maggie had a pee accident in the night, and the stench was horrible. Bri took Bernie and Maggie out, I took Murphy, and followed up with the Woodge.

Fed the cats and started a fire in the stove in the kitchen. Yeah…we ran out heating oil yesterday afternoon. Had a limited supply of wood and coal, but it began to take the chill off…

Maggie threw up.

And now it gets serious. I googled up pyometra a deadly infection which un-spayed female dogs can get post-heat. Yup. Bri called the vet and talked them into seeing her immediately.

He called the fuel oil company and begged for a delivery - then off he went with Maggie into town.

I continued cleaning and moving things back to the studio - my client guy is coming at 2:00 to pick up his paintings. I bake two loaves of cinnamon bread, and loaf of white bread for tomorrow mornings breakfast. Swill down a cup of coffee, and keep tidying up.

The belt on the dryer busted yesterday, leaving me with two loads of wet laundry which will continue to be wet and will soon begin to get moldy. Bri ordered a replacement part and we will look forward to taking the dryer apart (AGAIN) in about a weeks time.

I mix a bucket of green mold killer and have a go at the front step and walkway - it’s become ridiculously slippery and neither one of us wants to hit the ground hard. I scrub with a chunk of old broom, and leave it to do its thing…

Bri returns with some cat and dog food procured from the vets - but no Maggie. “Shes going to have surgery today. She’s infected and has to have a hysterectomy.”

Barnum had surgery four days ago to remove a cancerous mass in his belly. Now it’s Maggie’s turn.

I take Murphy out again, apply the xeroxed info onto the back of all the completed paintings, and keep tidying. Magda the vet calls to say that Maggie will be operated on this evening, and promises to call and let us know how things went.

The oil guy shows up, pumps €500 into the tank - and leaves. Bri goes out to jump start the boiler.

It doesn’t start. “I’m going to drive to Belleek and buy more wood and coal” - and so he does.

I find the boiler-guys phone number. He’ll be here in two hours.

My client shows up, we chat, drink coffee - he refuses my cinnamon bread, but likes Woodgie very much? We load his Mercedes with the paintings (he’s brought me another BIG one) - I tuck several of my pillows and blankets around the art to cushion them for the ride home.

He does not hand me money.

Which leaves John the boiler guy unpaid. He arrives, works his magic over the next hour - I wrap up a fat slice of cinnamon bread and tell him we will drop his money off at his house tommorrow.

I start making the dough for tonight’s pizza. A figure looms in the doorway - it’s Pat. “I’m just coming from a funeral in Kilty and had to stop as we were passing. Do you mind if I show some people your house?”

Pat is always welcome, I would say “drunk or sober” but somehow we never see “sober”

He rolls in. He is followed by four other people from the funeral - three of whom are smashed. The kind woman who IS sober apologizes for the drop-in, but it really doesn’t matter at this point. They are roaming around the house, tripping over dogs and enjoying Pats tour.

The funeral is for a young g man who “was shot” -?! There is confusion as to whether it was suicide? “In his side” - and yet nobody mentions murder. We offer our sincere condolences.

The tour comes to an end, they all roll outside again - and we bid them farewell- “safe home.”

It’s now 8:00. The pizza dough is rising, the dogs are passed out in front of the fire - and we still have not heard from the vet.

It’s been a day, and no mistake.

[skellymom]

Hi, Skelly! Really random question here but I think your honestly the best person to ask on this topic. This is non-Star Wars related btw. Feel free to ignore.

I have these neighbours who arent the best of people. They got a dog 2 years ago I believe, a Belgian Shepherd. Unsurprisingly, she barks a lot.

We don't think the owners are abusing her or not feeding her or anything, just not taking her for a lot of walks. It's their first dog (the mum, dad and two sons, to be exact, none have ever had a dog before) and obviously shouldn't have gotten a Belgian Shepherd when they have a smallish backyard.

I was wondering if there was something I - or my family - could do? None of us blame the dog, just the inexperienced-ness of the family.

You don't have to reply to this, as I know its out of pocket and not what you expect. Was just curious.

Have a great day/night!

~Jamie.

P.S. My puppy had a scare last year when she was only 2 and a half months or so and we had to go to ER for her. Geez, that place is stressful so my thanks to you and your workers everywhere!

Buckle up and get comfortable, I have A LOT to say on this issue:

(TRIGGER WARNING-I WORK VETERINARY ER AND THERE WILL BE MENTIONS OF DEATH AND OTHER DARK ASPECTS OF WHAT VET STAFF SEE IN THE FIELD. Consider yourself warned. I am ranting as a PSA and FYI for those not familiar but REALLY need to know what we do! If you feel brave PLEASE give it the time to read. Thanks!!!)

OHHH, I LOVE SHEPPIES!!! They are SO smarticle, sweet, energetic...and extremely spirited. However, they DEFINITELY need exercise. More importantly, they need mental stimulation. A several mile walk is great for the body, but not something everyone can do daily. Plus, these guys are brilliant (only second to the esteemed Border Collie) and their mind is like a hamster on a wheel. So, training, commands, tricks, agility courses and anything that requires not just exercise, but mental stimulation is top priority. These guys were bred to run and think on their feet. THEY NEED A JOB! They AT LEAST (and this is foundational) NEED TO BE WALKED DAILY!!! Every dog needs to be walked daily as this also helps with bone density, muscle strength, balance, cardiovascular function, etc. Same with humans. If you don't exercise, you can become depressed, overweight, brittle bones, diabetic, constipated, and a host of other health issues later in life that cost money to regulate and fix.

Most owners buy a dog as a companion, and these guys can be amazing ones. However they aren't your lazy Golden Retrievers or Greyhounds (while sporting class they do a burst of energy and lay around a lot normally). Unfortunately, dogs not given mental stimulation will show the following behaviors: excessive barking, destructive chewing, inappropriate urination/defecation, escaping out of the yard and getting in trouble/injured, misbehavior to commands, possible self injury, and unfortunately even aggression towards people and other animal housemates. A LOT of working/sporting dogs wind up in shelters and euthanized due to these behaviors when all they needed was regular exercise, training, and mental stimulation. A LOT of regular non sporting dogs do too.

In order to keep their dog, they need to include them as a true member of the family. Plan family activities with the dog. Can they run errands with a family member who might just want to do a ride along and the dog comes with to sit in the car when the person goes in. They can also research places that allow shoppers to bring their dogs into the facility: Home Depot, Lowes, Michaels, some downtown shops in their area might allow it. Shop for dog snacks/food and take the dog with them to pick it up as many pet stores allow dogs in their store. Heck we have restaurants and coffee shops that cater to outdoor dining patrons who bring their dogs...and the dogs get spoiled too.

If their dog is too rambunctious, then they DEFINITELY NEED TO SIGN UP AND GO TO DOG TRAINING CLASSES. ALL THE CLASSES, and more than just puppy training. Really, this should be foundational too. Every dog needs training. Again, get the whole family involved, because the dog (like children and adults) need consistency and everyone needs to know what to do when walking, interacting, and commanding "Sheppie" to behave like a Good Canine Citizen. There is a a right way to train and a horrible way to reinforce negative behaviors in a canine. EVERYONE needs to put in the work. Everyone needs to feed the dog, fill it's water bowl, pick up the poop, and walk the dog. Everyone needs to play and pet the poochie. That's why you get a dog!

The family needs to do some honest soul searching to figure out if this dog and breed REALLY fits with their family dynamic. If not, they the dog should go back to the rescue or shelter (many shelters have a return clause in their paperwork that says they MUST return the dog to them. It's for safety reasons) or find a RESPONSIBLE new owner to adopt "Sheppie". There are rescues, shelters, and fosters online. Again, they took on the responsibility and they need to do their due diligence to find a good home for this living breathing animal.

Let me also debunk a horrible myth that still circulates: REHOMING YOUR ANIMAL IS NOT WRONG IF YOU CANNOT TAKE CARE OF OR PROVIDE FOR IT! Screaming it for the people in the back!!! I have been working in the vet field for over 8 years (general practice, shelter med, emergency, high volume TNR) and have seen some horrendous shit when people keep an animal that they no longer wish to interact with. It can be mild contempt for the perceived burden to downright neglect and abuse. Also, I have seen family members and household pets in danger or actually mauled from dogs that people refused to put more money/couldn't afford/didn't have time for training that kept/refused to rehome to a place with no children/no pets/etc. And, understandably, many of these people LOVED that dog and kept trying to fix the situation. But sometimes you cannot, and the aggression, destruction, ingestion of foreign objects (we have frequent visitors to my ER that have foreign body surgeries due to anxiety chewing/swallowing-some end as euthanasia's). I have had owner's come in with animals that needed to be euthanized for aggression due to high drive, with their housemate mauled, and the owner mauled and bleeding (trying to pull them apart)-all of them showing up together. We have had bored dogs jump the fence to find something interesting to do and get hung up on it, needing emergency surgery. We have had them run out into the street and hit by cars. These things happen to all dogs that require someone to tend to their needs EVERY DAY!

I had to rehome a Dutch Shepherd that we took on as a foster (from a not good situation-putting it mildly) when she tried to maul my elderly German Shepherds (and that was with daily walks, daily at home training, professional training, and veterinary medical evaluations), we found a rescue that deals with security/military breeds to take her to. Sometimes the animal you choose to have in your home may NOT FIT WITH YOUR FAMILY. It happens.

So, you asked what you can do? First, thank you for caring and wanting to do something. Second, you can print out information on local dog training places, agility, and specific breed information (Belgian Shepherds include: Malinois, Turveren, Laekenois, and Groenendael, so tailor it to what their dog is), and anything else you can think of to offer to the owner. Try to approach it as helping and not frustration. HOWEVER, I will warn you now that sometimes people are not open to outside help and will not take this positively. Even people seeking out medical veterinary help can get defensive when we try to help them. Unfortunately, nice people who take on a high drive/high energy breed for their first dog are unaware of the huge responsibility they have. And, not demonizing here, but they buy the dog with the ideal they have for themselves and forget this animal has needs and is languishing without proper care...even a mental/physical outlet. And from what I have seen, this is an epidemic. For those reading this: if you feel you have to "come at me" go volunteer at a shelter/rescue or go have a heart to heart discussion with ANY veterinary professional. If someone was entrusted as your guardian with the responsibility of your mental healthcare and didn't see to your mental health needs and you had no outlet, how would you feel?

Actually...that is happening now in epidemic proportions. It sucks, right???

I wish you luck @fionajames . It's NEVER bad to reach out and attempt to help. At least you tried and I LOVE YOU FOR IT!

[offmychest-official]

i am incomprehensibly angry today. my mother and her fucking republican boyfriend are out getting a dog and i cannot TELL you in writing how stupid of a decision this is.

we have a cat. i love him very much but he has some medical issues. he has a tendency to itch at his face, presumably due to the buildup on his chin and poor cleanup of his food dishes.

we are poor. we had to hold off his vet visits for about an entire year and a half because my mother didn't have the money. it was REALLY bad; he used to have a bunch of gashes near his eyes damn well constsntly because of how terrible and itchy he was all the time. we got him to the vet in early september and his meds have helped him. a lot!! hes okay now & all healed up.

but the vet visit was very very expensive and my mom could only afford it with some kind of vet card? idk but my point is vet visits are very expensive and we can't afford to take our cat there regularly.

and suddenly in comes my fucking mother off to get a puppy because idk her boyfriend wanted it So so bad because yeah? geniunely ridiculous.

she forgets to wash the cat's chin repeatedly, which is for his itchiness. the reason WHY he was sick was because my mother apparently never cleaned his food dish in the four years of taking care of him once. 2 of our previous cats were too obese to clean themselves properly, and our elderly cat had so much buildup on her bottom that when i think about it it makes me want to fucking throttle my mother. she adopted four cats on complete impulse, which led to us inevitably giving them away when no landlord wanted to deal with the wear and tear of having 4 cats. neither my mother or her shithead want to play with buddy for the required time and i can't do much about it because i'm at school all day and when i get home im exhausted and hungry. our cat is also fairly anxious and he DOES NOT like new things; he growls at the mailman and runs away whenever i come home from school.

and now, with all of these problems she wants to get a fucking PUPPY with our anxious adult cat? EXCUSE ME? EXCUSE ME???? Do you not see a flaw here. Is there not something wrong here. Hello. Can anyone hear me

she had the balls to act surprised when i had an immediate negative reaction to her announcing the dog to me in the car. ok. i don't get a say in it bc im her daughter. not like i live here or anything. nahhhh that'd be so crasy

im not even against the idea completely as long as i have my own space where the dog isn't allowed to go! i like dogs theyre silly! but my mother is the type to buy from backyard breeders because its a cheap animal. i doubt she even knows about FIP or bird flu or ANYTHING like that. that dog is not going to be fucking trained or socialized properly i know it in my BONES. and im not even sure she knows how to introduce the cat to the dog. where the hell is my cat going to stay while they get used to each other? my room has poisonous plants in it and the office is almost completely empty, i wouldn't want him staying in there for a long period of time. my cat can't stay in my room especially since i'm gone in the mornings and my mother works while i'm at school, so there's nobody to supervise him. he eats plants and the plants will make him sick/kill him possibly

do we even have enough money for a dog bed? dog toys? for it to be sterilized? enough time for it to play safely? time for it to walk outside? proper training? i bet you the answer is no. lmfao

this entire situation is just so fucking STUPID and irresponsible. i will admit that i do have a hand in this, and i'll try to rectify it more especially with my cat's chin wipe thing. but i have to deal with this fucking shit until i move out in 3 years. what happens to our cat when im gone? is he going to turn into another Lola? completely inable to manage himself because my mother is too distracted with the dog? will she get MORE dogs like she did with our cats?

im going to kill everyone in this HOUSE!!!!!!! FUCK ALL OF YOU SERIOUSLY AND FUCK YOU EVEN MORE FOR NOT TALKING TO ME ABOUT IT IN ANY DEPTH

.

[dumpsterfireofsubtext]

what kind of science fiction does emo beatrice/1930s au beatrice tend to write? is it “oh no! aliens!/oh no! creatures!” ala war war the of worlds and like, godzilla

dystopias like 1984 & episodes of black mirror, humans doing fucked up stuff that comes to bite them in the ass aka frankenstein and like every 1960s sci fi film about some giant creature that came about because of nuke bombs (which were pratically all the films then it seems), Weird Shit Happens ala the twilight zone, Exploring Them Oceans, Exploring Them Earth, or Exploring the depths of the earth ala journey to the center of the earth

Woag, space, ala more star trek esque stuff (spef tos), boom bam in space ala more star wars esque stuff? Normal people with normal problems but in sci fi settings! Among Us? (Side note that gave me the mental image of jonty in an among us costume thx to ava who convinced beatrice to let her dress him up via them puppy dog eyes and now i’m laughing my ass off.

semi related do you think beatrice would be the type to have a bunch of random & obscure dog merch? feel like she isn’t, that’s more ava’s thing, and ava’s thing is more on weird ass clothes for the dog that she deems cute, but i feel like beatrice probably has the occasional impulse buy or something that in hindsight was either stupid and/or the dog didn’t like collecting dust in her attic or something

((pls tell me beatrice has had the often universal pet owner experience of buying something more expensive than usual only for that money to just go to waste as the pet is near apathetic and likes something cheaper. i’m in hysterics imagining beatrice being Extra MopeyTM because she got some new relatively expensive dog food that was highly recommended by dog owners & vets w a bunch of Nutritional Benefits and she was excited to gift it to jonty, only for jonty to just sniff at the food, not touch a morsel of it and then whine that he didn’t get his usual birthday bone))

but i feel like beatrice might have like, a bunch of pictures of her dog and/or her & the dog, maybe even a whole album for them, and beatrice might have like a bunch of silly and/or matching pictures, like taking a picture in one of these type things, etc etc

Great questions.

I think (unsurprisingly) Beatrice would be suuuuper influenced by H.G. Wells and definitely Shelley. The sci-fi she writes would be along the lines of what if the world was the same as it is now except for this one fucked up thing or like The protagonist meets this one character or thing that changes them and flips their world on its head.

Her novels were probably verging on social satire and were inspired heavily by the war. She retaliated against her upbringing through her books. her father was absolutely Oxbridge educated and had a lot of books/subscribed to literary journals so Beatrice had a lot of material as a kid.

(The more... ahem frowned upon books she had to source herself. she definitely read Flowers of Evil and Carmilla etc and was left feeling very 123?!!13XZSDVFGH4????!!!1f?? by them. Also definitely read The Well of Loneliness and hated it a little bit.)

Short stories like The Croquet Player and A Dream of Armageddon were a reference point for her early writing probably. (she definitely had a wild time reading the time machine, as did I) Themes around Duty vs Love etc are just very very Avatrice so A Dream of Armageddon felt very them. It was sort of like what if Avatrice chose to leave together instead of fight etc and rejected their responsibilities in favour of being together and unbothered and in love and ran away back to Switzerland (but in the story it's Capri) idk it just made me think of that a little bit.

I imagine one of her more popular novels would be something about the intersection between religion and Science and some sort of reconciliation and/or divide between the two. Like maybe a new theory/invention/revelation that seemingly disproves a major theological belief, a la Ted Chiang's 'Omphalos' except in 1930 lol. Idk I'm not about to write an entire novel inside of this fan fic. Or am I... probably not,,, but who knows??? (not me).

I don't think Bea would hem herself in too much though. So there'd totally be weirder more experimental books the older she got (and the more comfortable she got in being a bit weird). Overall she'd lean more towards speculative/dystopian fiction rather than full-blown Star Trek-type sci-fi. Like, imagine how fucked up we can be as opposed to how fucked up things from outer space can be.

In regards to the pet tangent:

Beatrice has a million comfy dog beds for Jonty but (a lot like my own dog) he sleeps on none of them, much preferring cardboard boxes, people's shoes, or the windowsill. The Cardinal (Beatrice's cat) appreciates the beds though.

Jonty is far too wriggly to be still enough to have his picture taken/be put in clothes. The Cardinal on the other hand is perpetually :| and chill with everything so Ava would probably convince Bea to spend money on buying a camera or paying for professional pictures of him like these:

Beatrice would scoff but then, a few days later, would have them framed and put up.

This hc spiralled a bit but god was it fun. Thanks as always for the great question/thoughts.

[k--havok]

@starlit-hopes-and-dreams suggested I share my cat-related horror stories that have scarred me for years to the point that, to this day, I refuse to own a cat.

I have 2 stories, one a little longer than the other.

TW: My stories contain the neglect of cats (and a beta fish), so if you're sensitive to that... I suggest not reading further.

--

Story 1

As I mentioned before, I am very sensitive to "cat smell" which is what I have dubbed the ammonia-like stench that seems to permeate most houses and people who have cats. I'm so sensitive to it I can smell it whenever one of my local pet stores has a "caturday"

A person who I was friends with at the time dragged me to one of these caturdays one a day we were planning on hanging out due to her dad randomly deciding they could get a cat.

There was no prep for the house to get a cat. They already owned two senior dogs, one of which was blind, who did not grow up with cats and were never really around cats.

I took her to the pet store after she got some cash from her house and helped her buy all the supplies for said cat... and then she had to actually pick out a cat. She eventually picked up a tabby who did not like being put in the cardboard carrier. Driving her and the cat home nearly gave me a heart attack I am pretty sure. Especially sine I am very protective regarding my car and did not want the cat to bust out and possibly hurt itself, us, and my seats. There was also the cat-smell. Which stayed in the car for several days after this trip. Eesh.

Anyways, after that kerfuffle I let her get settled with her new pet... feeling a bit worried for the cat. This girl was well-known to forget to feed her beta fish for weeks on end. Why her parents decided she could get a cat... I do not know.

This cat made multiple escape attempts, which was not hard as they had a doggy door for the two senior dogs.

As bad as the cat escaping was, its litter box conditions were bad. See, she did not clean it all the time (even tho she promised her parents she would) and they made her move it out of the laundry room (which kinda makes sense for a litter box) into her carpeted room. Next to her bed.

I visited her one night and her room stank. I could barely breathe. Not only that but litter was everywhere. In the carpet. On the TV stand. Even in the bed. I decided to go sleep on the couch as I could not stand how nasty everything was. And when I got home I washed my clothes and took the longest shower I could. My clothes were permeated with cat-smell and I had to wash them twice to get it out.

I fell out of friendship with this person due to how... childish she was. When all this was taking place, she was like. 22 years old. Her disposition really affected our friendship and it had to end. I don't know what happened to the cat but I do hope it was ok. Despite the gross litter box, and it escaping twice, it wasn't in any danger. It was chunky, the dogs ignored it, and the parents seemed to be keeping an eye on it.

I will note, before I go to the next story, one other incident. She kept buying like... Iams or purina or whatever. And listen, I don't know much about cat food, but I do know dog food and what shitty dog food looks like. And it was shitty cat food I'm pretty sure. Well the cat kept getting sick so she took it to the vet and long story short she had to change to a different food that actually had nutrients in it. And she bitched about how the new food cost more. She bitched about this constantly.

And she was not destitute! She worked a full-time job and the majority of her budget was spent on fast food daily and clothes. She did buy the new food but boy she would not shut up about how much she did not want to. Like... girl having to pay for a pet is like. Pet Owning 101.

Anyways.

Story 2

This one is a little... sadder. I had a friend who had two cats that he got to help with his depression and to make his apartment feel less lonely when he was kicked out of his parent's house. And in the beginning years the cats were very well taken care of.

But then the pandemic hit. Personal life and mental illness hit him. And his life was not the same.

His now-wife's grandfather passed away suddenly and he had to help her and her family drive across the country to attend the funeral. Her parents are very cheap and did not want to get plane tickets, even tho the drive would be over 20 hours. On top of that, his wife cannot drive, so he also went to make sure they got up there safe and could switch around drivers since they were going to drive straight up there with no overnight stops.

They would be gone for at least a week, maybe more, so he asked me and my partner to watch the cats for him. I went in the evenings and my partner went in the mornings.

Now the last I saw this apartment it was a little messy but nothing worse for wear. When I entered after years of not visiting due to the pandemic... holy hell. The cat-smell hit me before I even opened the door. I could smell it standing on the other side.

And... god. It was a hoard home. That could not be denied. Things were everywhere. Rotting food in the kitchen. Clothes and trash piled up in corners and all over the floor. And worse, the floor was carpet.

He, like my friend in story 1, kept the litter box on carpet. Except this litter box was an open one with no cover. And the cats were not the most well behaved and liked to kick the litter out. Litter was all over the floor. And so was poop. Cat turds were everywhere, some just sitting there, some smushed into the carpet. And speaking of the carpet... he fed the cats both wet and dry food. The wet food he did not put in a bowl. He just peeled back the little containers and set them on the carpet. And the cats would knock over the containers, the wet food spilling out, and would smush it into the carpet as well as they ate it. The entire carpet was brown rather than beige and crusty as well.

The dry food went into a flat, oval-shaped dish. When I first went to feed them, I picked up the dish and looked for a trashcan to dump out the old food. Well my friend left his trash can full. And he had no trash bags. So I had to go get trashbags. And when I did go to dump out the old food... only part of it came out. Half of the food was completely crusted to the bottom. I went to find a papertowel to scoop it out. No paper towels. So another trip to the store.

I could not get the food out. It was crusted so badly that it would need to be deep cleaned. But... I think ya'll get the picture. No dish soap.

Now, another part of this story is how skittish these cats were. They would flee like cockroaches as soon as I entered the apartment. So I decided to Pavlov' them. They came whenever I shook their treat can, so I made an effort to give them treats whenever I first entered the apartment, whenever they came up to me willingly, and whenever I left. The first cat only took 2 days to catch on. She'd be meowing at the door for treats as soon as she heard me unlocking the door. The second took almost all week, but by the end of it, I could pet both of them and have them come up to me sans-treats.

Now the second cat, when he finally came up to me, I realized he had some matted fur. Both these cats were long-haired. And his matted fur was around the neck area. I looked for a brush and... okay, yeah ya'll know what is coming next.

Well, I fed him treats, and using my fingers, I did my best to gently brush out his fur. I couldn't get the entire knot out, but I did manage to smooth his fur out somewhat.

When my friend got back, I gave him an earful about brushing the cats fur. He said the male cat did not like his fur being brushed. I told him to buckle up butter cup cause it still needs to be done even if the cat did not like it. He had no answer regarding the full litter box he left me and my partner nor the food crust or anything else. His now-wife agreed with me on the state of the apartment and said she'd been bugging him about everything but... yeesh.

Well, he moved from there and I briefly visited his new place. In the new place, the cats are only allowed in one of the bedrooms. Altho he had only lived there for a month, the cat-smell punched me yet again.

There was no poop in the carpet, but there was litter and wet cat food already starting to crust.

Besides the fur and gross living conditions, the cats seemed fine. Claws weren't overgrown, healthy weight, normal behavior (even tho they were skittish).

I did not really know what to do in such a situation. I just let him know how I felt and chewed him out. He said he would start cleaning out their bowls better, claimed he cleaned the litter box every other day (lies but I don't own cats... and maybe his do poop that much....), and promised to start brushing out their fur. He really does love his cats, but I also know he is not taking care of them, or himself, as well as he should. As gross as the living situation was, he was also living in that mess too. But its still incredibly sad. I thought about calling animal control or some society to take a look at the situation, but sadly, there are already too many animals out there in foster homes. And besides the living conditions, the cats were fine. Up to date on all shots and everything. Unless they were physically being harmed or had signs of neglect minus some knotted fur (like being underweight or had wounds), I figured not much would be done.

Either way, I did what I could. I avoid this friend a lot now. And furthermore, the second situation is what scarred me. I cannot overstate how disgusted I was. To this day, I do not own a cat. And I cannot see myself owning one anytime in the near future either.

[taurielofmirkwood77777]

71. I already act like no one is judging me. Again, I have no sense of shame.

72. If I started over in the present, everything would be changed anyway. If I were to go back to the past to the day I was born and re-live my life in the same decades, I only have one regret, but it's a really long story. Out of context, I'd ask to get my chicken back before the owner of the house died and her animals were taken to a another city. I will not elaborate on that story here.

73. Save a life? What law? Would I do it publicly, or could I hide it? You have to be more specific.

74. Last September when I moved to Ireland.

75. My cat.

76. I don't have dreams. I just do stuff as the opportunity arises. I don't have an end goal.

77. A paleontologist.

78. For the last time, I don't. have. dreams.

79. Probably in class when I had a question and I thought I could find the answer myself. Happened a lot during my life, so I can't point to a specific moment.

80. The next three years will be in college and the two years after that I have no idea.

81. I'm not good at imagining what-ifs and all that. I'm sorry.

82. See answer 69.

83. First buy an apartment for myself, and save a part of it for the utility bills, because you never know. Second, pay my college fees. Third, take my cat to the vet and do all the tests for all diseases in existence to make sure she doesn't have any "invisible" illnesses. Fourth, buy myself a new bike. Fifth, start/donate to an animal rescue shelter.

84. Depends on the rules of time travelling. Does changing the past affect the present? If so, I'll travel to the future. If it doesn't, I'll travel to the past.

85. The fact that if I don't, I'll have to try again and I'm too lazy to do that.

86. None. My dreams are weird as shit. And I don't mean that as a "I dreamt a three headed dog riding a horse inside a hospital", I mean that as "I dreamt I was a policeman with an otter instead of a dog that sniffed out my real life friend's stack of marijuana hidden in a rotten log".

87. City. Access to food, clean water, clothes, cats etc.

88. No.

89. My primary school teacher. By being a good teacher, because at that age, I had no experience. Even though I had bad teachers in high school, I don't resent them, because I already had formed opinions about things and could distinguish right from wrong. And because I knew they were wrong, I was not affected by it. If I wouldn't have had such a good and kind teacher in primary school, I wouldn't have developed properly.

90. Nobody ever asked me this, I've never thought about this, even though I think about my childhood quite often. One thing I find absolutely hilarious, though, is that I told my middle school crush I liked him, and two years later when I discovered social media, I saw that everyone else was afraid/ashamed to do it and made me laugh my ass out. And to make it even funnier, the context for me was a summer camp in 7th grade and we had a party where all the boys had to dress up as girls and all the girls had to dress up as boys. I didn't have proper resources, so I "burrowed" white face powder from my roommate and spread it all over my face (make-up was not something common among middle schoolers back in my day). The guy used pink and blue powder in his hair, his make up was exaggerated on purpose, and after the whole party, I asked him if I could talk to him in private. Outside the building. In the rain. (I was wearing my pyjamas, by the way). So now, considering this insanely comical context in which I told my crush I liked him, I just cannot take anyone else seriously when they say they can't do it.

92. No clue.

93. That school manufactures robots, not people.

94. Our bodies decompose, and the nutrients are reabsorbed in the soil, giving trees and other plants resources to grow. Unless you're cremated. Then you just sit in an urn on someone's shelf.

95. Crimes.

96. Be invisible.

97. I don't fucking want children.

98. I don't know how, I only know the circumstance, and the circumstance was the middle school biology olympics.

99. Self-pity, because it's completely useless, it doesn't help me accomplish anything.

100. I just exist.

100 questions to invade my personal life

[inappropriate-aunt]

I still miss my dog every day. I wish he could have lived just a few more years. I wish I'd had time to process that I was going to lose him.

It just happened so fast. I remember desperately thinking that I could save him if I just got the right treatment, if I had the test results, and going to the grocery store and buying every food I could imagine that he might eat because he had stopped eating. I spoon fed him ice cream and yogurt and chicken baby food. He licked little bits but the cancer was in his lymph nodes. It must have hurt to swallow. Pain medicine can only do so much.

I knew it was happening but I couldn't accept it. Why couldn't my love and care keep him alive? Why couldn't I, with access to medical treatment and a perfectly ruinable credit score, why couldn't I save him? I knew it was going to be expensive but I didn't care. I thought, I can sell every part of my body that someone would buy if it means I can get him healthy again, get him walking without bumping into walls or falling down, get him well enough to eat. I just didn't have enough time, and I thought, I should have noticed sooner. I thought, god if I had figured it out sooner I could have done things right, and scolded myself that I was so wrapped up in my own issues that I didn't notice.

But I did notice, and I took him to the vet, and I did everything you can do, and still he died. And it's been almost two years but I still miss him. I think about my current dog, and I worry if I'm missing signs, not feeding her right, not taking proper care of her needs. A month after losing Ed she came into my life, and a month after that she nearly died of bloat. It cost every penny I had but I kept her alive. Now sometimes it's hard to believe how healthy she is, when she romps around and barks at me and pulls me off the road so she can try to eat something in the grass. It all seems so ordinary, so domestic, compared to the anxiety and terror and grief of those tense emergency vet visits. When I get frustrated with her or stressed about her behavior, I want to scold myself, I want to remind myself to be grateful.

But that's life, I think. We're grateful for who we have but we can still be frustrated by them. Because we love them. I think about my grandma, and how frustrated her children are with her. I know they'll cry when she's gone.

And I am grateful. I know every day with her is borrowed time. I know she would have died if her old owners hadn't given her up for adoption. Selfish pricks who used her body to sell puppies and discarded her as soon as she got too old for their liking. Would they have even noticed?

I like to think I notice when people aren't doing well, but I'm so oblivious sometimes, so wrapped up in trying to keep myself alive. But I worry. About my friends, about my family. I try to pull them back from the despair of living and grieving. Grandma doesn't walk anymore and it's suffocating her. I bring her plates of cookies and gossip with her and get her to laugh and I wonder if it's enough to keep her with me for just a little longer.

I think about my friends, most of whom suffer from the same mental illnesses that I do, and I wonder if I'm doing enough to keep them around. Please don't leave me. You can move to the other side of the world and never speak to me again but please, don't go. I promise them, I won't leave you, all the time, even when it's hard and I'm thinking I can't do this anymore. I remind myself why I can't die. That it's not fair to them. They keep going, and so do I. We're all hoping together that things will get better. We're all trying to make life a little easier to bear for each other. Because we all know how hard it is. We all know the feeling of grief that tugs at us, and keeps piling up year after year.

Maybe that is why we can't live forever. I'm 32 now. My grandmother is in her 80s. She carries so much more grief. I'm so scared of losing her, and my parents, and my friends. Because I can't do this life alone. But she went on and on, even after losing her husband, her parents, brothers, sisters, friends, second husband. She keeps laughing and teasing people and scolding us. She still has spunk enough to demand that I bring her baked goods, and play against her in word game apps that have too many ads. So I know it's worth it to keep fighting past the grief.

I just miss them so much, and missing them makes me want even more time now with the people I still have, the people I have found, the people who are far away but still fighting to live. To me, life is worth living to keep others alive, to remind them that there are times when they will laugh and smile, and eat good food, and listen to good music, and to remind them that just by existing they make one strange woman very very happy.

[n1xspaceshaker]

Expo's, Arguments, and Other things

I got a cat last week and she's a calico cat, with mostly grey fur with brown spots all over and a little random white patch underneath her chin. She's the most adorable thing I've seen, besides my friend's cats but those are theirs, so it doesn't matter that much to me. My mother and I had a fight about how to treat each other when she was the one being an ass and she threatened to take the kitten back with her. I told my sister if that cat wasn't there that morning, I would've disowned her. Yes, I would've. We kind of made up- kind of. The morning after, she basically said she was sorry but she was a little passive-aggressive about it and said, "I hope you treat everyone else like this." What it sounded like to me was that she wasn't really sorry but I let it go. I tried to complain to my dad about it twice but he was drunk the first time and the second time it got lost in the flow of conversation (probably on purpose- then again, that could just be me being cynical and negative). 

My brother and I went to the World Oddities Expo, and I got a muskrat pelt, a blue sandstone crystal, a plague doctor mask, and a pen with an embalmed tentacle inside. I wanted to buy this knife that was made out of crystal and bone but I would've ran out of money if I did that. Maybe I'll buy it off the web; I also have a few business cards from that event, so I should probably do something with those. My calico cat named Eris got her shot yesterday and for a little bit, she was lethargic and upon closer inspection, she was probably really sore and the effects of the vaccine were kicking her ass really hard, so to speak. Today, she is feeling so much better but she still can't chase her ball around, which is her favorite toy. She was so stiff and sore that I ended up moving the litter box and food and bowls into my room, where she was hiding as her comfort zone. Still can't pick her up, otherwise she'll meow in pain. 

I'm going to call up the vet on Monday and ask to reschedule Eris' appointment because I cannot cancel my camping trip. It's more or less a follow-up appointment and I'm sure she'll be fine. She really had me concerned for a bit but I should've known that everything was going to be all right. Let the wine flow forever and let us eat good food and be merry! I might watch Terrifier tonight or that documentary about the Satanic Temple by Dead Domain. I played PS1 mod for Minecraft and and it creeped me out when the T.V. static effect happened but so far, it feels like regular Minecraft. However, I watched a video about the mod and the thing is that it can get pretty creepy; it is awesome to see how much the game has progressed since 2016. I can't believe that was 8 years ago when I first started playing! I remember this slideshow on Tiktok and how it said how O.G. you were or how new you were- it turned out that I'm pretty o.g. Idk if it's just me but it seems that dogs are rare to find in minecraft nowadays but I could just be not looking hard enough. 

[ryuzakemo128]

Blue and Red make Purple - Stranger Things

Polyamorous Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson x Oksana "Gorgon" Uvarova headcanons

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Oksana "Gorgon" Uvarova x Steve Harrington

Links: Dividers /Masterlist 01 / Masterlist 02/ Vikings Masterlist / Dividers 02 /Dividers 03 / Dividers 04

[Part Two]

Oksana got into Butterscotch pudding most of the time. As it was the first thing she had the first night in America with her sisters and her mother.

Oksana's dark humour comes from a broken home. Much like Eddie. Only she won't hide it.

Oksana encourages people to do things they like. While also pushing for financial independence. "Go to band practice more often. If this is your passion, keep going." - About Oksana talking to Eddie about his band Corroded Coffin.

"I hope I never see him again, and if you see him, ignore him. He will try anything he can to his advantage. Think of him as a man child and deny, deny, deny. I won't get offended by it. It will save your sanity and your emotional bandwidth later. It will prevent needing therapy later." - About her father.

Most of the furniture Oksana buys are secondhand, and she ends up-scaling them afterwards to make them look far more expensive than what they were.

"I don't think my father was a handy man. My mother knew how to learn different things to fix stuff at home." - Oksana about her mother. Oksana embroiders ripped up couches to add more colour to them. Oksana reads up on how to fix things and then fixes it while they're asleep. Oksana likes to stay busy at all times.

Oksana does part-time work like newspaper delivery, dog walking, lawn mowing and various small jobs other people won't do. As she struggled to get someone to hire her.

Oksana had the thing of, 'I'm too good-looking to keep and too much of a handful to leave'. Steve did not like it when she talked about herself that way. It was like she was putting a price tag on her self-worth, and he had enough of that in his life. She stopped saying it, which he thought was a good sign. Eddie said it was because she realized that Steve didn't think of her that way.

Oksana bought the first place they all moved into together. She jokes and says, "Look where this brings you. Back to me." She also adopted a ginger cat named Walter beforehand.

Oksana also buys hair products for Eddie's curly hair. Stating it was important for him to take care of his hair and that she loved his curly hair.

Oksana started studying to become a tattoo artist during her first senior year, and has been doing it ever since. Some of her new tattoos were inspired by Eddie's npcs in his D&D campaigns.

The herb garden, the hydroponic fruit and veggie gardens provide fresh produce for them. The beehives give them honey. The chickens give them eggs and meat. The ducks give them eggs and meat. The rabbits give them meat and fur. They also have a small orchard of fruit trees and berry bushes. The garden is their main source of food, and it's where they spend most of their time when they're not working or studying.

Oksana is still encouraging Steve to go study in collage too. But Steve is hesitant. Steve worries about leaving the financial burden on Oksana and Eddie. Oksana assures him they can manage, and that his happiness is important too. She even offers to help him study while he works part-time. She even says she has plans on going to college when she feels like it. Just not now.

Oksana got into death metal, heavy metal and other subgenres of metal when Eddie met her the first time. Eddie was amused when Oksana told him she was high at the time. He said, "I'm not surprised, you were pretty high, and you were very open about it."

When Walter brought in a stray kitten. Oksana immediately adopted the small calico kitten from the veggie patch. She took it to the vet inside her light blue truck and carried the tiny kitten inside a shoebox. She named her Dusty. The same nickname Dustin had. She introduced Dustin to the cat after a while.

Oksana's Gorgon nickname came from being bullied in her old boarding school in Russia. She said, "Gorgons are hot, though, and I'm hot. It is just a win for me."

Oksana insisted on separate bedrooms to keep their own space and privacy. Oksana with her sleeping on her stomach stops after a while because it happens if she had too much to drink the night before. She also can't sleep on her back because she gets nightmares from it.

Oksana's bedroom is an eclectic pick of different styles. From metal to goth. From the fur jacket to the platform boots that added five inches to her height of 6'6".

Oksana's female character crush being Elvira. Which before dating Steve and Eddie, she came out as bisexual.

Oksana often reads H.P. Lovecraft books before going to sleep at night. The look of her getting ready for bed with rollers in her hair and reading a book in bed for an hour before. Sometimes its crocheting tiny horror plushies or eyeball sweaters.

NSFW:

Oksana's lingerie is bought from different Adult sex shops. Some of them were custom-made, with intricate details and fabrics that feel like whispers against her skin.

Steve said Oksana wore pink lingerie. It's not something anyone would expect from someone with a nickname like "Gorgon". It's not that she's not pretty, she's gorgeous, but the softness of pink didn't quite fit with her tough exterior.

Oksana prefers to wear a silk nightgown with nothing underneath it. She doesn't need the extra layers to feel confident. Her body is art, sculpted by the harsh world of Hawkins.

Eddie's never been in a relationship before, but he's seen enough movies to know that good lingerie can make anyone feel like a star. He tries to find something special for Oksana, but ends up buying a leather ensemble that's more "rock star" than "romantic".

Steve, on the other hand, has experience. He goes for something elegant yet simple. A black lace number that he knows will make her feel desired without overshadowing her fiery personality.

The night they all decide to share, Steve and Eddie both give Oksana their gifts. She's touched by the thought, but also a little nervous. She's never been with two men at the same time.

[delphiniumarchangelmoon]

Advice from someone who just turned 25

Advice from someone who just turned 25 (I don’t know why I’m putting a second header but smart people on this site retype their titles so I’m not gonna question it)

You can Pavlov yourself into doing chores you usually hate by buying a record player + some good albums and putting them on every time you need to do that thing. It’s how I escaped the Laundry Curse

In that same vein: physical media. Buy physical media. Or steal it, fuck if I care. But have physical books, music, photos, etc. cause while yes, putting shit on a usb is convenient as hell (my family hard usbs with decades of music) they’re also really easy to lose. I hope whoever found my fanfiction usb I lost in college had fun reading my dumbass shit.

2 things it’s always worth splurging on are sunscreen and shoes. Don’t buy cheap sunscreen cause it’ll probably break you out and don’t buy cheap shoes cause they take more of a beating than any item you wear so they need to last.

Don’t wait until your body starts to hurt to take care of it. Stretch before bed, make sure to get done light exercise a couple times a week at minimum, etc. I have two grandmothers, both 85 years old, one does all of her gardening and spends all her free time traveling the country in a motorhome with the young guy (well like 65 years old, young for her) she started dating after divorcing my grandpa. The other? Nearly immobile, has had multiple strokes, barely a full person anymore. They both worked demanding jobs and had several children, they lived less than 30 minutes from each other. The only difference is one took care of herself when she was young and kept active.

I understand that we’re all poor but listen to me. Listen. If you’re going to eat the skin of a fruit, buy organic. If you’re gonna peel it and discard the peel, buy what you can afford. And don’t take this as an excuse to not eat any fruit goddamnit just eat the fucking banana.

People suck, there’s no getting around that. And sometimes you have to put up with your best friend being completely fucking irrational about their ex boyfriend and just suck it up. And sometimes you have to let your other friend play T*ylor Sw*ft in the fucking car and talk about gacha games. I guarantee you do something that annoys them just as much and they love you anyway. Have boundaries, but make sure they’re good ones. Don’t drop good friends because they have bad music taste.

Most people shouldn’t have pets. I did not say most people don’t deserve pets, frankly the vast majority DO deserve pets, pets are great and I wish everyone could have them. But it’s also really fucking expensive. And if you can’t reasonably pay for a dog’s vet bill, or can’t buy food that actually needs their nutritional needs, don’t get a fucking dog! Every time e I see someone say they’re living paycheck to paycheck, barely able to pay their bills, and then they just get a FUVKING PUREBRED LABRADOR PUPPY???? It makes my blood boil.

Shut the fuck up about your eating habits no one fucking cares if you’re vegan