GiantChickDicks

There are lots of dogs and cats who crave variety in their diets, too. Like humans, it's a behavioral thing rather than a nutritional necessity. My shepherd will simply stop eating regularly unless I vary her diet. I usually have three or so options I rotate through to keep her interested in eating. Lots of people add toppers and mix-ins when they have dogs like mine, but I find that only increases food rejection, as smart pups learn to hold out until we sweeten the deal enough.

I worked for a pet food manufacturer, and it amazed me what customers would do to try to entice their picky pets to eat. One guy was giving his dog lasagna, and he was shocked that his dog didn't want to eat kibble anymore. Imagine that.

You keep going on and on aggrandizing your own very limited experience. "When I was young.... when I was poor... when I was in college.. after I wasn't poor". Do you hear yourself?

This might come as a shock, but not every low income person has the same opportunities you did or the same resources. Just because you found a path out doesn't give you license to oversimplify the many situational nuances that come with being poor, nor did it give you some special knowledge to lead you to think you've somehow solved poverty.

I'm glad you've bettered your financial circumstances, but you seem to have lost something else important along the way.

He's pretty fantastic in Shrinking, so that's something.

Nah, fuck you for pretending to have the moral high ground in this comment while openly saying you're just in it for free dog food in others. This commenter is absolutely correct in calling you out for trying to abuse a program meant to aid the disabled, as people like you who take unnecessary advantage harm the future availability of these kinds of programs. Especially when pet food assistance programs are a thing.

As someone who's fostered and trained both service dogs and ESAs, this is highly offensive. These designations are meant to help people with disabilities, not those who have financial needs. As others have already pointed out, abuse of the ESA designation has had serious negative impacts on service dog handlers. There are also many people out there with serious need for an ESA, and if others keep abusing this lax system for frivolous reasons, eventually rules are going to be in place that will inevitably hurt those with actual health needs.

If your roommate needs financial assistance feeding their dog, there are social services available to help with this. Many communities offer pet food pantries, and there are national charities available to assist with the financial strain of keeping animals in their homes. I can send a list if that's helpful.

Most dogs I know are wonderful and brighten even strangers' days just by being themselves. That doesn't make it okay to abuse safety nets put in place to help disabled people in order to make their care more affordable, though.

She was incredibly talented. I loved her so much in Best In Show.

I've been struggling with this for a while. I can understand and respect the moral dilemma that comes with participating in elections. I think, though, too many people look at it in a black and white lens that creates blinders.

I've never in my life voted for a candidate that I agreed with on everything. Yes, the moral importance of some issues weigh far heavier than others, but the ultimate goal is to do the least bad. I will continue to vote for the candidates I believe offer the most harm reduction if voting is available to me, because these are the options I have to work with. We have to make decisions in the moment that reflect the reality of where we're at.

We're living through the consequences of inaction that presents itself as protest. Had Kamala won, do we think we'd be seeing the absolute fucking insanity we've found ourselves in right now? I'm glad this moment is pushing more and more people to action and resistance, but at what cost? People are being disappeared, deported, and murdered in the streets by our government right now. And Gazans certainly haven't benefitted from the current administration. This is a level of bad I never expected to see in my life, and I think there are a lot of terminally online people who are seeing this in a romanticized way that obscures the severity of the situation we find ourselves in.

We likely would have had more ability to push things to the left without the levels of harm, destruction, and violence that we're seeing now under just about anyone but Trump and Project 2025. Instead of activism and outreach, now we have to play defense and protect our neighbors and communities. Not to mention the roll acks of rights to the health and safety of women and queer people are more passively costing lives and creating suffering.

Yes, the status quo was terrible. Democrats offer pretty words and little action. They aren't going to save us or give us the futures we deserve. I'd give just about anything for us to be out of this, though. Humiliation and disgust on an international scale, the daily violence, and reading new horrors every damn day is absolutely the greater of two evils, though. I can't see a scenario where anything is worth what's in store.

Non voters aren't the sole reason we're here, but I'm sick of pretending that those people's choices didn't play a large role in our current situation. These times demand we all do some soul searching, take accountability, and work together to get out of this in one piece. Because, again, we have to live in the reality of where we're at.

Yes! Throughout my life I've had some very special relationships with wildlife. It started when I was quite young and had a red bellied brown snake that always hung out in the same place. They were incredibly docile, and would let me carry them around in my hands for hours as I explored outside. This went on for a couple of years.

Later, I got to play foster to baby raccoons when my grandfather would find them orphaned on the farm. They were so much fun, and it was always bittersweet when it was time for them to be released.

In 2016 an injured squirrel showed up on my porch. I tried luring him into a carrier to get him to the local wildlife rehabilitation center, but he was too clever. I wound up nursing him back to health myself as best I could. Any time I'd go outside he'd climb all over me and was so friendly. I think about him a lot, and that experience was very special to me.

After that, I moved up to the UP and lived in a national forest. A herd of deer became like outside pets, and they'd come onto the porch and stare in through the glass door when they wanted to be fed. In the spring they'd leave their fans in my yard for daycare, and it was a delight to see them chilling in the yard with me during the day.

The chickadees up there would get daringly close in the winter, so I decided to see if they'd eat out of my hand if I had high value treats. It worked a little too well, because they'd come and land on me when I got home from work or was outside for other reasons. I ended up winning over some cute little nuthatches, too, but they weren't as fearless as the chickadees and wouldn't bother with me unless I had food.

I live in a good sized city now, so I don't have the same opportunities I did in other places I've lived. I miss it so much.

Drag makeup can also be effective!

Minnesota is full of lakes. Cut an oversized ice fishing hole, and a lot of problems could sink away.

Silly string is highly flammable.

Thank you!