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This Weekend Open Thread is a Birthday Party

IS THERE CAKE?

Our birthday is drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still party. We need some cake.

Gif of Linda from Bob's Burgers licking a slice of cake.

And dancing.

A gif of Lisa Simpson dancing.

Dance with me. Happy weekend!

By [E] Liza

PhD student. Knitter. Brooklynite. Long-distance dog mom. Reluctant cat lady. Majestic unicorn whose hair changes color with the wind.

12 replies on “This Weekend Open Thread is a Birthday Party”

So, things in Casa SmartyPantses are…interesting. The KITTEN is great, adjusting very well, getting along as well as possible with roommate’s five-year-old cat (Dinger’s warming up, very slowly, and trying to eat her food). BUT.

Roommate adopted a dog that was in a “rehome or leave at a shelter, just get her gone now” point; she’s a sweet dog who will be great for someone, some family. But she’s just not right for us, nor we for her. Only the kitten is entirely happy right now. Dinger’s gained almost a full pound because he’s anxious and there are very few places that don’t Smell Like Dog right now, so he’s perching and sleeping most of the time. The dog is anxious, picks fights with Dinger, and is especially unhappy when there isn’t a human around (several hours each day, since Roommate and I are both full-time students). Humans are frustrated and want to have a peaceful house, but know that we can’t do that with all three animals.

I’m looking for non-breed-specific rescues and other organizations in the area. I wrote up a description for her, intending to put it on Petfinder, but they don’t allow non-shelter/rescue listings?

I know we have LOTS of animal people and animal rescuers here…What do y’all think? Any tips for contacting county shelters, SPCA, etc?

“Harley is a two-year-old mix (she acts like a shepherd) with a very sweet, loving personality. She is very energetic and makes a great running partner. She loves humans, and spends more time visiting people than other dogs at dog parks. Harley will make a great family pet! She would be best with school-aged kids and an adult at home all day, with frequent walks, hikes, runs, and lots of fenced-in-yard fetch. She does tend to be anxious, especially when left alone, and needs an experienced human to help her learn to relax and trust that her people will always come back. Crating is not especially helpful. She is not good with our cats, but is okay with other dogs. If you want endless cuddles, hours of fetch and serious loyalty, talk to us about Harley!”

It doesn’t sound like she’d do great at a big place, especially with the anxiety. The noise, chaos, and lack of human interaction could exacerbate her issues. Try finding smaller, more foster-based rescues, or even smaller shelters that might be able to give her more one-to-one attention. It sounds like she’s pretty take-in-able for someone with a less full-time schedule and without a cat to pick fights with, so you may have some luck! But I do agree that if Dinger isn’t doing well with it and the dog has separation anxiety issues, it’s probably best to find another place for him so that both animals can be happy. :)

Yeah, Harley wouldn’t do well at a shelter at all. She has stranger anxiety and gets wound up when people walk past the house. Roommate and I have agreed that the best plan is to find a fostering situation or keep her at the house (though fostering would be better) until we find her permanent family.

Dinger is fine with the kitten, fortunately. He’ll meow loudly at her to assert his position as Lord And Master, Owner Of The House And Its Contents (including humans and kitten), but they’re fine ignoring each other. They’ve play-chased each other a few times (last weekend, when the dog wasn’t at the house) and are fine with either human giving the other cat attention, so long as they get some too. And Tessie has no problem recognizing Dinger AS the dominant cat, which is helpful. (We just need to keep her off of His ledge in the kitchen, so he has ONE space that is just his.)

We just need to find Harley’s forever family.

Hmmm. I haven’t seen Cristela yet, though the commercials look like it could go either way. Selfie wasn’t as awful as I thought it’d be, but it’s still pretty bad. I fucking love Black-ish. I’ll marry Black-ish and reserve judgement on the other two.

Out of the dramas I’ve only seen HTGAWM, and I’ll definitely have to pick Fuck for it because marrying doesn’t seem to work out so well on that show. Not that fucking does either, but at least it was the benefit of being, well, fucking.

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