#he was like its ok i can bring her to the vet appointment i know what to do 😤😡

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding On Ch1: The Dog Of Thunder

Summary: Frank and Fliss attend their first scan and break the news of their pregnancy to their friends, whilst dealing with a troublesome Dog and a very, very concerned 8-almost-9 year old…

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N: I told you they wouldn’t be gone for too long! Hope you enjoy this one. Riding on will more than likely move through time a little faster than Riding High did, as we have some exciting milestones for our Friss to hit…but of course, there’s going to be the odd “bump” along the way (see what I did there?) Chapter Song: If I Know Me by Morgan Wallan as brought to my attention by the lovely @lovingonshawn​

This ain’t some routine that I use every Friday, this ain’t a one line, one night kiss and tell…

February 2019

“For the last time Mary, no you can’t come!” Frank exasperatedly groaned as Mary once more asked him the question she’d been pecking his head with since dinner the previous day.

“Why not?”

“Because first off you have school and second off this is a medical appointment for Fliss.” he shook his head “not a damned day out!”

“But you’re going…” “Yeah because it’s my baby!” he looked at her, shaking his head “Why am I even explaining this to you? You’re going to school, end of discussion.”

Mary scowled at him and folder her arms “That is so unfair.”

“Yeah well, so is life. Get used to it.” he said.

“I only want to see the baby.” Mary said quietly. Frank paused, his coffee mug held a few inches from his mouth as he considered her for a second. He smiled softly.

“Me too Stack, I can’t wait.” he said, “Look, I know you’re excited, we all are but you still can’t come.”

“Can’t come where?” Fliss asked, yawning as she walked into the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard for the waffles.

“The scan.” Frank said, taking the packet off her and sliding the plate of already done ones over to her. She grinned at him and took a huge bite of one.

“Sorry kiddo, but we’ll make sure we bring you a photo back.” she smiled, before she turned and opened the fridge, pulling out the apple juice. Frank watched as she poured a large glass before she drained it in one. “What?” she frowned, “I’m thirsty”

“You hate apple juice.” Mary looked at her.

Fliss glanced at Mary, then to the bottle on the side, then the empty glass in her hand “Huh…guess the baby doesn’t.” she mused.

“You feeling ok?” Frank asked, reaching out to curl an arm round her waist and no sooner had his fingers brushed her skin Thor let out a low, rumbling growl. Frank groaned and stared at the dog. “Seriously, pal? Still?”

“I don’t know what’s got into him.” Fliss said, looking at him. “He’s been protective over me but not with you…”

“Hormones.” Mary said, as both Frank and Fliss turned their heads to her “I googled it when he growled at Frank last night to see why he’s been doing it for so long and in the first 3 months you get all these hormones flooding your system and that’s why you get sick and tired because you’re not used to them. Some people say that dogs and pets can also sense it and it can affect them too until they understand it’s normal.” Frank blinked as besides him Fliss gave a chuckle “Mary, you’re a little brainbox” she smiled.

“It’s all on the internet.” she shrugged “I was curious. According to one vet it can make female animals think they are pregnant too and the males feel like they have to protect their person.” “Well he needs to quit.” Frank looked at Thor “Or he’ll be sleeping outside, predicted cold front and rain or not.” Fliss narrowed her eyes at Frank and he shrugged “What? Isn’t he supposed to be the God of Thunder, or should that be the Dog of Thunder…”

Mary let out a snort as Fliss glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.” “Nope, he wouldn’t “ Mary grinned “When Fred was new he used to tell me he was gonna kick him out all the time.” “He shredded the sofa.” Frank looked at her. “He was a baby.” Mary said, swallowing the last of her toast.

“Whatever. You done?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, go get your stuff I’ll walk you down to the bus stop.” “I can go on my own…” Mary retorted.

“Did I ask for your opinion?”

“No.”

“Exactly.” Frank looked at her.  “Make sure you get your jacket, it’s cold out…” With a groan Mary pushed off her chair, carried her empty plate to the sink where she placed it inside and shuffled off. Fliss moved to put it in the dishwasher and when she straightened up, Frank looped his arms round her from behind, chin resting on her shoulder.

“Is it wrong that I’m already hoping Bean is a boy?” Frank sighed, his hand gently splaying over Fliss’ stomach, the pair of them ignoring the thunder-like growl coming from the very aptly named dog who was sat eyeing Frank beadily.

Fliss laughed, her hand falling on top of his. “Not quite sure you’ll cope with 3 girls huh?”

“I’ll have lost all my hair by the time I’m 40.” he sighed.

“Hmmm, that’s only like 2 years away…” she grinned, turning in his arms.

“2 years and a month, actually.” he narrowed his eyes at her playfully.

“Details…” she grinned as he placed a soft kiss to her lips, Thor’s growl growing even louder.

“Right, seriously…” he broke away to look at the dog who stared at him, Fliss’ laughter growing louder. The dog’s lip curled up in a snarl before he looked at Fliss when she spoke to him sternly.

“Thor, no.”

He stopped immediately, his tail wagging.

“I can’t cope with this for another 6 months every time I wanna touch you.” Frank wined and Fliss pondered something for a second.

“The Vet is coming to the yard today to do the routine visits. I’ll take him up there his afternoon, see if he has any advice.” she shrugged.

Frank nodded. “Ok.”

At that point Mary came back, her jacket on and her bag over her shoulder. “Ready.”

“Have a good day.” Fliss called as the two of them, headed to the door, Frank picking up his dark blue coat as he went, Thor ambling behind.

“Oh, so now you’re my friend…” Frank mumbled, and the dog simply wagged his tail in response as Frank looked back at Fliss “It’s like he has a split personality!”

Fliss grinned as Frank shook his head once more and spoke to Thor as they headed out into the chilly morning sun.

“Fickle bastard…”

********* “Good morning!”  Frank and Fliss both looked up as a woman in her mid to late 40s swept into the consultation room, smiling at them both. “Miss Gallagher?”

“Yeah…” Fliss nodded.

“Hi I’m Dr Kent.” she smiled, “And you’re dad I assume?” she turned to Frank.

“Hi.” Frank smiled at her.

“Nice to meet you Mr…”

“Adler…Frank.”

“Ok so, I gather this is your first scan?”

Fliss nodded.

“And your notes say you estimate between 11 to 13 weeks is that correct?”

“Yeah.” Fliss nodded.

“Right, just a few questions and we’ll get on with it. How have you been? Is there anything worrying you?”

“Not really, I mean my morning sickness seems to come in waves.” Fliss shrugged “Some days I’m ok, some days I’m a little off colour for a few hours and then others its 24 hour sickness”

“Are you managing to keep hydrated?”

“Mostly” she nodded.

“Any trouble sleeping?” “No.” Fliss shook her head as Frank snorted.

“It’s keeping her awake that’s the issue.”

Fliss glared at him as the Doctor laughed. “Yes, tiredness is common in the first few months especially but you should feel most of this ease off between 16 to 20 weeks…at which point I hate to say it but you trade it for a whole other set of stuff.” “Great.” Fliss grumbled.

Doctor Kent smiled sympathetically and then clapped her hands together. “Right, you ready to see Baby…oh, is it Gallagher or Adler, or-”

“Adler…” both Frank and Fliss said at the same time. The both looked at one another, neither of them had discussed that at all, and they both gave a gentle as the Doctor nodded, switching on the machine.

“Ok, just lift your top up…yup, just like that and…this is gonna feel cold ok?” she asked, squeezing the gel onto Fliss’ stomach. Grabbing the wand she pressed it onto her belly, moving it around until she stopped and smiled, as the sound of their baby’s heartbeat suddenly hit their ears.

“Here we go…” she smiled, turning the screen to face them allowing both Frank, and Fliss to see their baby for the first time.

“Oh Frankie, look…” Fliss whispered, her head turned towards the screen as Frank took her hand in his, his gaze completely focussed on the shape. You could clearly make out it was a tiny human. A head, 2 arms, two legs…his eyes misted over instantly as he saw his baby on the screen in front of him, somehow making all this seem so much more real. He could see it! He could hear it! He looked at Fliss as she turned to face him, a dazed smile spreading across his face as he raised her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the place just underneath where their fingers were joined.

“Everything is perfect.” The Doctor spoke “I can’t see any abnormalities at all. Your baby is absolutely fine and healthy…”

Fliss let out the breath she had been holding and Frank squeezed her hand. They were through the most dangerous part and their baby was fine, it was all going to be perfectly fine.

And he couldn’t be more happy or relived.

“I estimate from this that you’re nearer 13 weeks than 11…” The doctor continued. “So I would predict a due date of…” she tapped at the keyboard and smiled at them both “21st August.”

She wiped Fliss’ stomach clean, allowing her to move her top back down before she stood up.

“You have any questions for me?” “Oh, erm…when am I likely to start showing?” Fliss asked, “I mean I’ve been putting on a bit of weight I know that as my jeans are a little tight but I read on the internet that a lot of people get a 12 week pop and…” The doctor shook her head, smiling “Firstly, everyone is different. Your lifestyle, muscle mass, weight are all contributing factors. Try not to worry about it too much, your baby is growing correctly and you’ll notice soon enough.”

Fliss pouted and Frank had to laugh. He knew what she was grumbling about. She’d complained the other day that her pants wouldn’t fasten and she was stood in front of the mirror moaning that it didn’t even look like a bump merely like she’d eaten a few too many pizzas. When Frank had pointed out she had been eating like a pig in all fairness, mainly chomping through ready-made toasting waffles and apples like they were going out of fashion, she’d thrown a pillow at his head whilst he had run from the room laughing.

“I’ll just get sort you a copy of the photo and some information about the Lamaze classes and everything else and then you can be on your way. Congratulations.” The doctor smiled, as she headed for the door.

“13 weeks…” Frank smiled as Fliss sat up “That confirms it’s definitely a made in Boston Bean”

Fliss laughed as he stood up, kissing her cheek as he went, the pair of them stopping as her stomach let out a huge growl. Frank looked at her, his eyebrow raised before his hand fell to her stomach.

“Is Bean hungry?” “So is Mumma.” she grinned.

“Well that goes without saying…” he teased.

“Hey I’m cooking another person here, pal, it’s hungry work….oh, can we go to the Waffle house? I could murder a chocolate and strawberries special. And apple juice.” “We can go wherever you want.” he smiled. “I’m yours for the entire day.”

“Even H&M?”

Frank hesitated before he groaned “Fine.” he looked at her before he grinned cheekily “You do need some new jeans after all…” “Bastard!” she snorted, slapping his arm and he gave a laugh.

***** Frank parked the truck up and climbed out to shove a couple of bucks in the meter. When he came back he looked at Fliss who was leaning on the door, arms folded.

“You do this in purpose?”

“What?” he frowned.

She nodded to the store he had managed to park outside, and he turned to see he’d inadvertently picked a spot outside a little independent baby boutique called Bloomers.

“Fuck, no!” he laughed and Fliss gave him a grin as he took her hand. They both turned to head towards the Waffle place but Fliss hesitated as she looked through the window of the shop. Frank waited for her, a soft smile on his face. He’d been itching to buy the baby something but Fliss had point blank refused to allow him or anyone else to do so until they had the confirmation from the scan to tell her everything was ok. She’d confided in Frank that she didn’t want to edge her bets, she felt that everything was just going too perfect for them after such a shitty run of events and she was waiting for something to come along and fuck it up.

Frank had tried to reason with her, tell her that she was worrying about nothing but she’d gotten herself so worked up that in the end it had been easier to appease her, but now…well, she held that confirmation that it was all ok in a little black and white photo in her purse. Their baby was fine, healthy and strong and…fuck, they were gonna be parents in another 6 months or so.

“You wanna go in?” he asked. She turned to him with a grin and nodded.

Frank held the door open for her and they walked into the little boutique, the pair of them stopping still as they looked around. There was so much baby stuff, Frank started to feel a little overwhelmed and suddenly thrown back 9 years or so to when he had been in a similar shop with Diane when she’d been preparing to have Mary.

It struck him then how the two situations couldn’t have been more different. For starters they had the support of family behind them right from the off. Bill and Verity had been over the moon when they had found out Fliss was expecting, even if it had come as a bit of a surprise. More so because they hadn't been planning on revealing their news quite the way it came out.  They'd agreed that they would announce their engagement first and get Christmas out of the way, for no particular reason really other than Fliss' brother would be over for New Years and they could tell the family together once they had broken the news to Mary first.

But, well, best laid plans and all that…

“Oh Lissy…” Verity gushed, tears in her eyes as she looked at Fliss’ ring “I’m so happy for you…”

“Thanks Mum!” Fliss smiled, her own tears spilling own her cheeks as Bill shook Frank’s hand furiously, before pulling him in for a manly hug.

“Thank you…” Bill muttered into his ear, so that no one could hear him. “Thank you for wanting to look after her…”

“Always.” Frank nodded as the man stepped back, smiling at him.

“Well, we need to crack that champagne open that we bought…” Verity pulled back. “Bill…”

“We have one in the fridge already.” Frank smiled, “We’ll save yours for later on with dinner.”

The champagne had been shared, Fliss having a small glass which she secretly topped up with a little lemonade so as not to spark too much suspicion, Mary also having a flute of fizzy apple juice before they settled down, exchanged gifts and then sat at the table for dinner. And all was going so well until Bill’s sharp eyes noticed Fliss wasn’t drinking wine.

“I’ve got a bit of a headache.” Fliss said, when he quizzed her about it, but even as she spoke she felt her cheeks flush.

“Right, you’re not pregnant then?” Bill snorted at his own joke.

“Oh Bill, stop it!” Verity nudged him, shaking her head.

Frank felt his neck beginning to warm as he glanced at Fliss, the pair of them trying to brush it off by smiling, but Bill’s eyes widened as he observed the pair of them and his mouth fell open “Jesus Christ you are…”

“What are you talking about?” Verity snorted “Of course she’s…” she trailed off as Fliss locked eyes with her and gave a sigh.

“We didn’t’ want to tell you yet, not until Steve was here and we’d spoken to Mary…”

“You’re having a baby?” Mary looked at Fliss, her eyes wide “Frank’s baby?”

“Well who else’s would it be?” Frank looked at Mary. She narrowed her eyes at him and he shook his head “We wanted to tell you first Stack, but we we’re gonna wait until after Christmas and we’d had a few days ourselves to get used to the idea...” “Few days?” Verity whispered and Fliss glanced at her mum whose hand had flown to her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears “When did you find out?” “Yesterday morning.” Fliss said softly “I didn’t tell Frank until the evening…”

“I’m sorry Titch…” Bill spluttered, his eyes also misting over said, “I didn’t for one second think you would be…”

With that he pushed his chair back and strode round to the other side of the table, Fliss rising to her feet to greet him in one of his famous bear hugs as he kissed her cheek before she turned to her mum who embraced her gently, sniffling as she did so.

When Verity released Fliss, she turned to Frank who was currently having his own back slapped once again by Bill before he turned just in time to see Mary was stood on her chair, but before he could tell her to sit down she’d launched herself at him.

“Oh my God this is so cool!” she said as Frank chuckled, catching her and then adjusting his arms so she was safely held “A baby?”

“Yeah…”

She turned to Fliss who moved towards the two of them, Frank shifting slightly as Mary leaned back in his arms to place hers round Fliss’ neck before he smiled at his girl as she turned back to her parents.

“We know it might be a bit sudden...” she said, her hands wringing together like they always did when she was a bit nervous “…and no it wasn’t planned- my bad, and yes, maybe we should have been married first but we’re happy and excited and…”

“Basically I gave her a diamond, she gives me a baby.” Frank kissed her cheek, cutting her ramblings off because he could tell she was spiralling. And there was no need to. Not one person in the room had reacted badly to their news.

“Fair swap I suppose.” Bill shrugged, his eyes shining. “No, it’s great news…it really…”

He trailed off shrugging, unable to find anything else to say. There was a moment’s silence before Mary let out a chuckle as she leaned back in Frank’s arms to look at him, her hands squishing his cheeks.

“This is the best Christmas EVER!”

Frank had been overwhelmed with how much love and joy had filled the room for something that was barely the size of a bean at that point. He’d called his mother later on in the evening as Fliss had said it was only fair and she’d been rather choked up too, a stark contrast to how she’d received the news of Diane’s pregnancy. But then, as Frank had said to Fliss later on as they lay in bed, the Evelyn he was getting to know now was certainly different in his eyes to the woman she had been back then, and he had a suspicion that wasn’t completely down to her, but also how he was viewing her as well. But, then, how could things not be different after everything they had been through?

He glanced over as Fliss tugged on his hand and began to lead him over to the various displays of clothing. He tossed a glance at one of the strollers that was in the middle of the store on a slightly raised plinth, doing a double take when he saw the price tag.

“How much?” he spluttered and Fliss turned to look at him, then the offending item and gave a soft laugh “Yeah, they’re not cheap…but we don’t need to worry about that yet, or cribs and stuff…to be fair we should probably be more concerned with where we’re gonna live…”

“Yeah I know.” Frank took a deep breath.

“Hey…” Fliss looked at him “Frank it’s not a problem…” “Yeah you said” he nodded.

She frowned “What’s eatin’ you Sailor?” “Just, well, I wasn’t anticipating this when I took an 18 month lease out. I don’t like the idea of them not having their own room. I did that with Mary and I want this to be right.” “It’s no big deal.” Fliss smiled “Mary turned out ok and Bean will be in our room for about 6 months anyway, we have plenty of time…” “I know but I’d still rather be able to move beforehand if we can.” he shrugged

“Why?” she pressed.

“Because I want them to have a nursery.” he flushed slightly “I’d like to decorate one for them…stuff I should have done for Mary.”

“And you can.” Fliss reached up to cup his cheek “Frank, it isn’t the be all and end all though. No one’s gonna think any less of you if there isn’t one ready and waiting.” “Who says that’s what…” he trailed off when she shot him a look and he sighed “Busted?” “Well and truly.” she smiled.

“I know you’re right.” he chewed the inside of his cheek, “But it can’t hurt to give the landlord a call and explain can it? You never know, he might be happy to let us out of it early. It was me that pushed for a long term lease so…”

Fliss shrugged “Nope, you’re right it can’t hurt…” she stopped as something caught her eye and she started laughing “Oh my god, Frankie look…”

She picked up a baby grow that was a pale, lemon yellow colour with a white sailboat on the front. “Look, a mini sailor…”

Frank snorted “If you get that we need one with a horse on the front to balance it out, seeing as we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.” “Hey, girls can sail and boys can ride.” Fliss narrowed her eyes “Stop being sexist Francis”

At that he let out a loud laugh, a really loud laugh, which caused the assistant to look over at them both.

“I’m getting it.” Fliss said, definitively, picking it up.

“I’ll buy it.” he said gently, reaching for it.

“Why?”

“Fliss, don’t start!” he said, laughing again “Look, just…let me buy my baby’s first stuff, please.” She cocked her head to one side, and he thought she was going to argue again but then that gorgeous smile spread across her face and she handed it to him.

“You’re such a softie.” she leaned up to give him a gentle kiss. They browsed for a bit longer, before her stomach let out another growl and Frank decided enough was enough. He gently began to lead her over to the till when she pulled on his hand again and grinned as she picked up a pair of tiny white Converse trainers

“They match Mary’s…”

“Yeah, and at almost thirty bucks they can stay matching…on the shelf.” he grumbled.

“Bean needs them.” she looked at him.

“No, Bean doesn’t need them…”

“Does…” she said, her hand falling to her stomach as she batted her eyelashes at him.

“Is this how it’s gonna be for the next 6 months or so? Basically every time I say no to something you’re gonna play this card?” he looked at her, his eyebrow raising.

“Pretty much.” she nodded.

“Fucks sake…” he shook his head before he let out an annoyed chuckle, “Fine…get the damned sneakers.”

*****

After a bite to eat they headed home to get Thor and took him up to the yard. Before the Vet started his routine examinations the horses, Fliss asked if there was anything they could do to make Thor more comfortable. After seeing first-hand what they were trying to describe when Frank had dropped an arm round her shoulder, the Vet had suggested they could give him a mild sedative. But when Frank had realised that this would make him dopey, he had refused almost as vehemently as Fliss had. He knew it wasn’t Thor’s fault the poor dog as feeling the way he was, plus if Frank was honest, he liked the way he knew the dog would protect Fliss. Ok so she didn’t need it at home but it was comforting to know when she wasn’t that she was safe.

“Other than that it’s a case of riding it out.”  Scott, the vet shrugged “Our dog was a little off for about 4 months when my wife was expecting our first. For our second and third, well, he couldn’t care less.”

Frank looked at Fliss “Ok so he only needs a kennel for a few weeks then.” “My dog is NOT living in a kennel.” Fliss shot over her shoulder as she followed the vet over to the first stable which was Cap’s, Thor trotting behind her as always. “Oh, can you grab me a water from the office?” “Sure.” Frank nodded as Fliss carried on after the vet who entered the stall and Cap immediately looked at him suspiciously.

“He remembers from last year.” Scott chuckled and Fliss let out a snort.

“Probably. I wish he’d take a leaf out of Heidi’s books. She’s such a good girl for stuff like this.” Fliss slipped the halter over Cap’s head, gently stroking his nose as the vet felt all down his legs and listened to his heart. By the time Frank reappeared the Vet was checking Cap’s eyes then his ears and Fliss had a hold of the rope connected to his halter, wrapped once around his nose to keep control of him.

“Stop…being…an…ass…” She said as he jerked his head up again, attempting to get out of the vet’s reach. “Come on Cap…” she stroked his nose softly and he lowered his head, giving her a filthy look as he did so. The vet then managed to check his teeth which were fine and moved back to his bag to retrieve his kit for the annual vaccination shot.

“Erm…” Scott looked at Fliss “I’m not sure it’s wise you being here if he’s gonna go mad like he did last year.” he said, his eyes flicking down to her stomach. Fliss hesitated, she was about to tell him where to get off when Frank spoke.

“Honey, he’s right.”

She turned to face him, glaring at him and he met her stare with one of his own, completely unperturbed and unwilling to back down. When she realised this she rolled her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll get Joanne.” She grumbled, opening the stable door and stalking past him.

Frank let out a noise that was halfway between a sigh and a groan. Scott chuckled a little and looked at him. “She’ll get used to it. Not being able to do certain things, I mean.” Frank snorted “I’m not so sure. She’s so damned headstrong…that’s why she likes him so much.” he nodded to the black and white horse in question “Kindred spirits.” A couple of minutes later Fliss came back, Joanne following and the blonde girl headed into the stall, taking hold of the rope.

“We may as well go then.” Fliss turned to Frank. He frowned.

“You don’t want to stay?” “What’s the point, I’m not needed.” she said, her tone clipped.

He exchanged a look with Joanne who rolled her eyes

“Fliss, no one said that. You just you need to be a little bit more careful…” Joanne tried to appease her but Fliss was having none of it. “I can be careful at home.” she snapped and then turned to Frank “Can we go?”

“Sure.” Frank shrugged.

“Call me if there’s anything I need to know, otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fliss said without looking at Joanne as she left.

Frank shot Joanne an apologetic look as he followed Fliss out of the barn and towards the truck.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked.

“Was what necessary?” she shot back, yanking the door to the truck open to let Thor hop into the back.

“You know full well what.” he looked at her as she slammed the door shut and move to the passenger one “There was no need to speak to Joanne like that, she didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, no one did anything wrong…”

“Other than telling me I can’t do my job…” came the retort as Fliss sank into the passenger seat, once more slamming the door shut.

“Cowgirl, I hate to break it to you, but for a little while you’re gonna have to take it easy.” he said, shaking his head as he climbed in after her. “You can’t ride and you can’t put yourself in a position where you might get hurt…”

She folded her arms across her chest, staring out of the front window sullenly. “So basically I can’t do my job, like I just said…” “You own and manage the stables.” Frank said, his temper starting to flare a little as he drove the truck down the drive to the road.

“I’m well aware of that thank you…” “So own and manage then, Fliss!” he said loudly. Behind them on the back seat Thor began to growl at his raised voice.

“I do!” she blazed back, “What kind of stupid comment is that?”

“No, you do everything.” he snapped back, shaking his head, ignoring the dog. “You promoted Joanne so that you could take a step back and for a while you did, but then it all started creeping back up again and you took more of that control back…” Fliss looked at him, before she turned away, staring out of the window as Thor’s growls died down. She knew Frank was right, she had started taking bits of tasks back off Joanne. Not on purpose, not really, but because she felt like she should be doing more. She didn’t like feeling out of control, not after spending so long being forced to be for no particular reason other than her ex was an abusive ass hole.

“Honey I get it.” Frank sighed, as he saw her reach up to wipe her eyes. “It’s your business, but that doesn’t mean you have to be on the front lines all the time. Look at Alan, I see him max once a month…the rest of the time he leaves it to me and the other team leaders to run. That’s the whole point!” “I know.” Fliss said quietly, “I’m a control freak, I get it…guess I spent so much time not being in control of my life and my career I just…”

Frank took a deep breath his hand reaching out for hers. Once more ignoring the dog on the back seat he tangled his fingers into hers and raised his hand to her mouth, pressing his lips softly to her wrist.

“Being driven isn’t a bad thing sweetheart.” he said softly “In fact it’s one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place. But, certainly for the next few months you need to just step back, let others do the work for you. You can still boss them about from the side lines.” “I don’t boss-“ she started and he looked at her eyebrow raised and she let out a chuckle “ok, maybe I do a little…” “Because you’re entitled to.” he said “Look, I don’t want to tell you what to do and I have no intentions of making you stop work or anything like that but, well, it’s not just you now, you got Bean to think about and I worry ok?” “I know, I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I didn’t mean to snap.”

Apologies accepted and World War 3 avoided, Frank smiled at her and she smiled back as he let go of her hand so he could turn the truck up the lane onto the freeway.

“So…” he said, changing the subject “How do you want to tell the Circle of Truth our news.” She grinned and turned to look at him “I had an idea…” Turns out her idea was simple. Giggling to themselves once they go home they arranged the scan photo, the baby-grow and the trainers on the dining table, snapped a photo and fired it out to the group text accompanied simply by the words “Coming August 2019…”

Immediately both their phones started to ring, Greg was on to Frank, and Bonnie onto Fliss. Whilst Greg was slightly more reserved, Bonnie was almost screaming in excitement demanding to know all the details.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” she scoffed and Fliss smiled. “We didn’t tell anyone other than family.” she said “With everything that has happened I was so scared something might go wrong. You’re not cross are you?”

“Cross, no of course not! This is amazing!” Bonnie gushed “So, what happened first, you gotta tell me…the proposal or finding that out?”

Fliss beamed “No, Frank proposed before he knew. Which makes me even happier because he wanted me to marry him because of me, not out of any duty or feeling it was the right thing to do.”

“Of course he wanted to marry you.” Bonnie scoffed “That goes without saying. Oh I’m so excited, I can’t wait.”

Bonnie’s reaction paled into insignificance to Roberta’s. When they collected Mary from the school bus they told her that she could go and tell Roberta the news she’d been dying to tell her since Christmas, so she skipped ahead, banging on the woman’s door. When Mary blurted out Fliss was pregnant and Frank passed her the scan photo she paused for a moment before her head raised to look at them both and she burst into tears and it took them a good half an hour to calm her down. Once she’d assured them she was fine and couldn’t wait for unofficial Nanny duties, the 3 of them headed home where they decided that Pizza was on the menu for the evening. Along with waffles for Fliss, of course.

After stuffing their faces they sat on the sofa, the scan photo placed on the coffee table, Frank catching Mary looking at it every so often. When it hit 8 pm and he told her it was time for bed, she grumbled as usual until Frank shot her a look and she sighed dramatically, shuffling to the edge of the seat she had been occupying between them both.

She glanced at the scan photo before she turned to Fliss and looked at her.

“I really am happy you’re having a baby.” she smiled “It’s been so hard not telling everyone at school, especially Rosie.”

Fliss smiled at her and Frank reached out, rubbing Mary’s back. “Well you can tell who you want now Stack.” “You know you’re gonna have to stop calling me that.” she turned to look at him “Because when Bean is born, it’s gonna be the shortest one out of us all.” “You’ll always be short stack to me.” Frank smirked “Or I could change it to squirt, or pain-in-the-ass…” “You’re so lame…” Mary rolled her eyes.

Frank gave a sarcastic laugh. “ha ha ha.”

“Can Rosie come for dinner on Friday?” She looked at Fliss, and Fliss immediately glanced at Frank. They’d heard a lot about the girl from Mary, and Bonnie had said they were thick as thieves at school which pleased Frank, the fact that she was actually forging proper friendships but she’d never asked them if she could have a friend over.

“Of course.” Fliss nodded. “You can ask her tomorrow and then I can speak to her mom if you want? Maybe she can sleep over?” “Hmmm.” Mary thought about it “I’m not sure about that, but dinner would be good.”

Frank looked at Fliss again “What aren’t you sure about?”

She shrugged “I dunno, I kinda like my own time in the evening.” “What are you, ninety?” Frank looked at her and she glared at him.

“Shut up.”

“She can come for dinner.” Fliss said, cutting across what was threatening to spark into a childish tit-for-tat insult trading game “Ask her tomorrow and then I’ll speak to her mom ok?”

“How will you speak to her mom?” “I’ll call her.” “Do you have her number?” “No but you can get it for me.” Fliss looked at Mary “Or I’ll come pick you up and catch her at School…” “Stop worrying about stuff…” Frank said exasperatedly “We’ll sort it ok? Now come on, bed!”

Mary stood up and she looked once more at the scan photo “Is it wrong that I already love the baby, like loads?”

“No, it’s not wrong.” Fliss smiled at her.

“I mean know it’s like just my cousin and not my brother or sister or anything but…” Mary trailed off shrugging. “Hey.” Fliss looked at her, frowning slightly as she reached out to tuck Mary’s now quite long hair behind her ear, “It’s not just your cousin. Bean’s gonna be living with you, looking up to you, annoying the hell out of you, following you…and they’re gonne love you, learn from you…you’ll be just the same as a big sister so don’t even for one minute think any differently, ok?”

Marry nodded and turned to hug Fliss, then to Frank who pulled her onto his lap, kissing her forehead.

“I know you’re only my uncle but I really wish you were my dad.” Mary said, her voice quiet. Frank looked at Fliss, swallowing as his girl wore a look on her face that he had no words to describe other than one of utter heartbreak and love as her eyes sprang with tears and he felt his own water.

“Only your Uncle?” he said, his voice cracking as he attempted to make a joke “Charming…” “You know what I mean.” Mary shrugged.

Frank sighed. It was the first time Mary had ever said anything like that to him. He felt uneasy labelling himself as her father. Granted, a lot of people automatically assumed he was, and if they weren’t people he knew, or would meet again, he didn’t bother correcting them because it wasn’t needed. Fliss had told him time and time again, no matter how much he hated it, he was Mary’s father by-proxy, even if she didn’t call him that, and he got that yes, but he still wanted Mary to know about Diane, even if he had brought her up. For that reason, he would never be referred to as her father, nor would she ever call him Dad, but he’d love her like he was every single day of his life.

“Look…” he sighed, pulling back to look down at her. “I promised I’d always look after you…well, until I get too old and you put me in a nursing home.” at that she laughed a little “Isn’t that what a dad does?”

Mary nodded “Yeah…”

“What’s wrong Stack?” he asked softly, he could see that she wasn’t completely placated.

“When the baby comes…you’re not gonna love me any less are you?” She asked, looking at him.

“Fuck, no!” Frank blurted out, at the same time Fliss exclaimed

“Of course not!”

Frank shook his head “Mary, I couldn’t love you any more if I tried, regardless of whether you were actually my kid or not. And Fliss feels the same.” “Of course I do.” Fliss looked at her

“So please don’t worry about that or think that for a single second ok?”

“Ok.” She sniffed, before she grinned at Frank “You said the F word.”

“Yeah, well you drove me to it.” he shrugged “And here’s another swear for you. If I ever hear stupid shit like that come outta your mouth again…there’s gonna be real trouble. Stack, you have nothing to worry about ok. I promise you from the bottom of my heart. Lissy too.”

Fliss nodded “I already tell the people I work with when they ask who the girl is on the website that she’s my Mary”

“You do?”

“Course.” she nodded, “Because you are.”

Mary took a deep breath before she nodded “Ok. Can I watch TV in my room for a while?”

Frank sighed “20 minutes, max…”

Mary nodded and then looked at him again. “Can I take the photo of Bean for my wall?”

“We were gonna stick it on the fridge, so we can all share it.” Frank looked at her “But tell you what, you take it tonight and then we’ll make a copy for you to keep permanently ok?”

“Can I take my copy to school?”

“You can stick it on your head for all I care.” Frank shrugged.

“Well that’s just dumb…” she scoffed, hopping down off his knee. Fliss and Frank watched her leave before Frank looked at Fliss, letting out a deep breath.

“Do you think she feels left out, already?” “No.” Fliss said, shaking her head “She’s just a little concerned things are going to change for her, and I understand why Frank. Stuff is gonna change around here, there’s no denying that and it’s going to be strange for her. Especially as she’s had so many changes to put up with over the last 18 months. You know, she had you to herself for so long and then I turned up, and then I moved in and suddenly there’s a wedding and a baby on the way. It’s happened fast and-“ “Too fast?” Frank looked at Fliss, his face betraying his worry and Fliss shook her head.

“No, not at all. I love you, and I have no doubt I want to spend the rest of my life with you and yes, this baby wasn’t planned but, I’m happy. All I’m saying is that it’s been a huge thing for us, and we’re adults. For an almost 9 year old then it’s bound to be overwhelming.” “I just don’t want her to worry about her ever having to leave us again.” he sighed. “Or that I’m gonna replace her with my actual kid…”

“She doesn’t.” Fliss assured him. “Not really. Look, try not to think about it too much ok? Let’s enjoy this you know? It’s scary, really scary…” she smiled “but it’s also exciting!” “Yeah, yeah it is…” Frank smiled and shifted slightly, his hand reaching out to Fliss’ stomach as he placed a tender kiss to her lips.

And right on cue the thunder once more rumbled from Thor’s throat.

[lu-undy]

New Sniper/Spy short - Perle’s hairy situation

"Perle is acting weird, coughing and wheezing which is completely out of character for her. She's also being dramatic about it. Lu and Mundy are concerned and they start bickering about what to do with Perle. Turns out its just a hairball stuck in Perle's throat and she's fine after that, even goes on to steal a sock :3"

"Meeo-eh." 

Spy looked down at his lap. He was reading his Dapper Cadaver with Sniper's head leaning on his shoulder, reading with him when Perle coughed mid-meow. 

Perle was originally Spy's best friend, a lady cat of a breed that was way too expensive for the common mortals. And yet Spy didn't have to pay a penny for that fluffy white feline with lagoon blue eyes. She was a stray that had clung to him on a cloudy and dark night years ago now in Paris. He took care of her and then, when times were hard, she took care of him.

But that was all way before Spy finally found what he didn't know he could.

"Sniper?" 

"Hm?" 

"Did you hear her?"

"Yeah. She's been doing that since this morning. I thought it would go away but no… She's been coughin' and wheezing like that all day long."

"She didn't eat much either." Spy added as he scratched her head. Perle was lying on his lap.

"What's wrong with you, pretty cat, eh?" Sniper scratched her back.

She coughed and this time it sounded like she couldn't stop. 

"Mon Dieu…" 

She jumped down out of their lap and walked away, her gait unusually heavy and her head low as she breathed heavily and with difficulty. 

"If you want, we can take her to a vet or somethin', she really scares me now. Listen to her breathe…"

"Oui, it is worrying me too. Can you drive us to town?" Spy turned to Sniper. 

"O'course. Don't want her to stay sick."

Spy looked down at Perle.

"Perle, come here, ma belle." 

[My beautiful one]

Perle turned to Spy, she took a few steps and collapsed. 

"Perle?!" Spy rushed at her, on his knees. Her eyes were almost completely closed. 

Sniper had jumped out of the sofa and grabbed his vest with his keys, his hat and his glasses. 

"Grab her and come to the van, I'll start it." 

"Oui." 

Spy scooped her off the floor and carried her like a baby in his arms. 

"Perle, Perle, s'il te plaît ma chérie, reste avec moi, ma petite chatte chérie, s'il te plaît…" Spy said as he ran to Sniper's van, on Sniper's heels. 

[Perle, Perle, please my darling, stay with me, my little kitty please…]

They hopped in the van and Sniper didn't wait for either of them to fasten their seatbelts to floor it. 

Spy talked to Perle continuously. He petted her head slowly while her eyes slowly opened and closed.

"Sniper, y-you know things about animals, do you think she will make it? She is very unresponsive…"

"I-I don't know… I know basics about beasts and things, but I'm no vet." Sniper wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. "Look love, I'm here with you and I'm pushin' the van over the speed limits to save her." Sniper took Spy's hand in his after he switched gears for the fifth one. 

"Lu', listen, we won't let her go. Pretty cat, Pearl, listen, luv', you'll be alright, you just wait, alright? We'll get you to a doc' and you'll be fine, ok? Pearl, listen, luv', hang on!"

Lucien's hand squeezed Mundy's tighter and they looked at each other with fear and despair in their eyes. 

"It'll be alright, luv'. Don't worry, she's still young and has loads to live still, ok? Lu', you hear me?!" 

"O-oui, oui, Mundy… I… I don't want to lose her… She's everything…"

"You won't lose her, I promise we'll do everything it takes to get her to be fine, ok? Lu', I'll do anything for her, you hear me?"

Lucien nodded and Mundy rolled his window down to let some fresh air in. Lucien's silky hair flew under the fast wind and that's when he realised it: in his rush, he had forgotten to take a mask with him… 

He didn't care in front of Mundy but he hated for people to see his face. He bit his lip. Bah, Perle's life was infinitely more valuable than his privacy! 

"Look, the city!" Mundy shouted as he pointed in front of them. "Now you gotta look in the glovebox, Lu'. There should be a map, unfold it and tell me where the nearest vet is." 

"Oui." Lucien didn't lose a second. He held Perle like a baby against his chest and shoulder with his left hand while he did as he was told with his right hand. "Uhm… Let me see… Ah! Turn right now. Oui… Now go straight, very good… Take it left as soon as you can. Voilà, there should be one in this street." Lucien raised his head off the map and looked around. 

"There it is! I see it. I'll drop you and deal with the van, you rush in, ok? I'll catch up with you in a second, love." Mundy stopped the van right in front of the vet clinic. "Now, go!"

Lucien turned to his lover and pushed his lips on his. 

"Come and join me as soon as you can, please, mon amour."

[My love.]

"I will, love, now go, please." 

Lucien nodded and opened the van's door before rushing in the vet's. Mundy drove for a bit longer before finding wherever he could park the van. As soon as he did, he slipped out of it and ran back to the clinic. 

He entered and saw a lady who no doubt was a secretary of some sort. 

"Hello, Sir. How may I help? Do you have an appointment?"

"N-no, not really, my best friend came in about a minute ago. He was carrying a fluffy white cat in his arms and-"

"Ah, yes, the emergency? They are with the vet right now."

Mundy's heart didn't stop pumping hard and fast. 

"Where are they?" He almost shouted and the people in the waiting room, that he hadn't cared about so far, jumped on their chairs out of fear.

"Second door to the right in the corridor." The secretary was scared too but Mundy didn't have time to apologise.

He darted to the right door and knocked without being told to come in to push. 

"Lu'?!"

Mundy saw his lover standing, his arms wrapped around himself, biting his nail on his thumb. Perle was on the vet's table and he was examining her. He looked at Mundy and frowned.

"Sir, I'm sorry but-" 

"Non, it is fine, Docteur," Spy cut him, "He is my partner, he was busy parking the car while I rushed in."

"Oh…" 

Mundy shut the door after and stood next to Lucien, wrapping an arm around him to hold him close. 

"So, do we know if she's going to be alright?" Mundy asked. 

"I am still examining her. So far, there is nothing alarming…" The vet answered. "How long has she been like this?" 

"It all started today. I would say we noticed something was odd since the early afternoon. Perle coughed and wheezed quite badly. It sounded like she had asthma, if such a thing exists for cats." Lucien explained. "But it was only about an hour ago that she collapsed and that's what prompted us to drive her here as fast as we could. We live quite far so it took us a while."

"I see…" The vet opened Perle's mouth and lit a small light. "Oh, what is that…? Ah, I think I know what is wrong with her."

Lucien and Mundy both tensed up. 

"Let me try something…" The vet went to fetch a vial. He opened it and put it right in front of Perle's nose. Her eyes snapped open and she stood on her feet in a flash, coughing again and again. "There we go, come on, get it out…!" The vet put the vial on the table and massaged her chest repeatedly as she coughed more until-

"Ah! There we go!" He exclaimed triumphant when she spat out a ball of white hair. "It was only a clump of hair stuck in her throat, nothing to worry about." He explained as he petted Perle who sat down and wrapped her fluffy tail around her as if she hadn't looked like she was on the verge of dying a moment ago. 

"What?" Mundy asked. "But it sounded like she couldn't even breathe?" 

"You own one very dramatic cat, she could breathe without any difficulty." 

Lucien and Mundy looked at each other with question marks in their eyes. 

"Meow?" 

"I have rarely seen a cat put on such a scene." The vet continued with a smile. "Although I must say it does happen sometimes, when she wants a bit more attention. And given the size of that ball of fur, she would have needed help to get it out anyway."

"That's just too much," Mundy answered "We really thought we'd lose her!"

"Is one of you an actor by any chance?" The vet asked. "It has been observed a few times that cats would mimick a behaviour the have seen on their master."

"N-non, none of us are." Lucien answered and Mundy looked at him shaking his head with a smile. 

A bit later, Lucien, Mundy and Perle were back in the van. 

"Such a drama queen you are, I swear!" Mundy said as he started the van.

"Oui, that is hardly acceptable, Perle! You had Papa Mundy drive over all the speed limits for you and for what? A tantrum!"

"Meow!"

"Don't talk back, Mademoiselle!"

[Young lady]

"If you need us to help you do something or bring you to the vet, you don't need to be that dramatic about it." Mundy added.

"Meow?"

"No buts, luv', you really got us scared for you! You heard us and saw us! We thought we'd lose you!"

"Meeow…" Perle lowered her head and laid down on Lucien's lap, curling into one ball of fur herself. 

"We shall accept your apologies only if you promise to not do that again." He added. 

"Promise?" Mundy asked. 

"Meow!" She answered.

"Good, good girl." Mundy patted her head gently and as he did, she grabbed his fingers in her paws and brought them closer to herself, as if she was hugging them. "You're like Lu' in the end."

"What?!" Lucien got surprised.

"All about drama." Mundy teased. 

"I don't react like that!" 

"You just don't see yourself." 

"Mundy!" 

"What?" Mundy turned his head. "I'm just kidding, love. Don't be that dramatic about it." He winked at Lucien. 

"I'll show you drama when we get home!" 

"Oh…" Mundy sounded disappointed and Lucien heard it. He raised an eyebrow. 

"What?" 

"I had hoped you'd show me something else…" Mundy's hand slithered from Perle to Lucien's thigh. 

Lucien sighed with a smile. 

"Will you ever change, Mundy?" 

"Never." 

They chuckled.

"Lu'?" 

"Hm?" Lucien's eyes turned and connected with Mundy. "Love you."

"I love you too, Mundy." Lucien put his hand on top of Mundy's, on his thigh. “Hey, Perle, give it back!”

“What did she do?”

“She stole one of my gloves!” Lucien answered and saw Perle play with it between her paws.

“Well at least we’re sure she’s alright, eh.”

They drove much more reasonably on their way back. However, Lucien and Mundy spent their night all but reasonably.

[let-love-run-red]

The Adventures of a Single Father-2

Tag list: @0hour9am​ @siobhanlovesfilm​ @thefandomzoneisdangerous​ @sincereleygmg

I’m so sorry if the tag didn’t work loves, one of them didn’t want to cooperate

***

Day after day after day Adam went through the same routine. Wake up at least four times a night, take care of Cody. Get up in the morning, resist the urge to send a cinder block through his floor to shut his neighbors up, take a shower and bathe Cody at the same time (he'd found it was easier to hold him during a shower), then pack everything onto his bike and ride around looking for people hiring. His most promising job offer was at Grumpy's cafe. The manager Ray was an ass. Also a friend of Hannah's, and he didn't need to get mixed up with her shit again.

Today, however, his routine was interrupted when he heard a loud crash in the apartment next door to him followed by a distressed female voice. Adam shot from his sleep, glancing around frantically. Cody was still sound asleep in his crib. Adam breathed a sigh of relief, he hadn't been getting enough sleep lately.

"Matt! That was my favorite table, oh no." He heard through the wall. He groggily sat up as a male voice started yelling. Adam sighed and climbed out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and running his hands through his hair. He padded out of his room to the front door and opened it to see a crew of people moving things into the apartment next door to his. He watched for a moment, until a woman with (h/l) (h/c) hair stepped from the apartment, tapping at something on her phone before shoving it in her pocket and whirling around to look at Adam.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw her face. Her perfect (e/c) eyes shone with a light he hadn't seen in anyone before. Her skin looked so soft and radiant as she caught his gaze and smiled a perfect smile that made his heart leap to his throat. She was gorgeous.

"Oh I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" She asked. Adam found himself swallowing in an attempt to get his words out. He'd never had a problem talking to girls before, why was it so hard now?

"Y-yeah, yeah. Um, it's not a big deal I just, I heard you saying something about a table?" He said, squinting in her direction and stepping into the hall. She looked him up and down, her eyes lingering on his bare chest for a moment before returning to his face.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." She explained. Adam glanced back into his apartment, watching closely for any movement from Cody sleeping in his crib. Cody shifted slightly and Adam tensed, ready to run to him, but there was no sign Cody was going to wake up soon.

"No you're fine, I just had no idea anybody was moving in." Adam explained, returning his gaze to her. He almost couldn't look into her eyes, they were so incredibly perfect and nearly glowing. She tilted her head in confusion, her smile faltering a little.

"Oh, they didn't tell you? I'm sorry I should've gone around and introduced myself then." She said. She stepped forward and held out her hand. Adam took it in a firm handshake.

"I'm (y/n), I'm moving in next door." She said with a giggle. Adam smiled and was about to introduce himself when there was another loud crash. Adam stood up straight and bolted back into his apartment when Cody let out a startled cry. Adam quickly reached Cody's crib, picking him up and shushing him gently. Cody pressed his body against Adam's bare chest, using one tiny hand to grab at Adam's hair. Adam lifted Cody so he was resting against his chest, his head on Adam's shoulder, and walked back to the door. He felt bad leaving (y/n) so quickly.

When he looked out of his front door again, (y/n) was arguing with one of the men who had been moving things in and out. The man was easily twice her size, but she didn't seem to flinch as she berated him for dropping one of her boxes down the stairs.

"Honestly Ryan, I hired your company because you promise the upmost caution when moving things. So far one of your men has broken my dining room table, another nearly dropped the box clearly labeled fragile, and now you've somehow managed to break my washing machine." She ranted. The man looked at her, avoiding her gaze. (y/n) sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"I think that's enough for today. If you keep up this noise you're going to wake my other neighbors too." She said. Ryan cleared his throat and nodded, looking to the ground as he plodded back into the apartment. He returned a moment later with two other men, all of whom seemed sheepish as they walked out of the apartment. (y/n) let out a sigh before turning to walk back into her apartment and spotting Adam, her gaze quickly traveling to Cody resting against his chest.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, did they wake him up?" She asked, gesturing to Cody. Adam shrugged as Cody chewed on a lock of his hair.

"He's easy to comfort. He never cries for long." Adam said, gently pulling his hair away from Cody. Cody let out a quiet burble of protest before Adam lowered him and held Cody on his back, his head resting in the crook of Adam's elbow as Adam offered his finger for Cody to chew on.

"I'm Adam, by the way." Adam spoke, pulling her gaze away from Cody. She smiled and stepped towards him.

"It's very nice to meet you Adam." (y/n) said. Adam smiled at her, about to speak when a large dog came barreling up the stairs. It was larger than a Saint Bernard, and larger than any dog Adam had ever seen. He held Cody closer to him as the dog lumbered towards them, and (y/n) turned to look at the large creature. She let out a loud laugh and knelt on the floor, holding her arms open. The dog ran towards her and sat in front of her, allowing her to wrap her arms around the dogs neck.

"Moose! Good boy, oh I missed you." She said, ruffling the dogs fur. The dog panted happily and Adam heard somebody running up the stairs after the dog.

"Oh my God hun I'm so sorry his leash slipped out of my hand as we went up the stairs and I was trying to get him but I couldn't run too quickly bec-" The voice cut off as the woman reached the top of the stairs, catching sight of Adam in nothing but a pair of sweatpants.

"Who's this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at (y/n). (y/n) grabbed the dogs thick leather leash, standing up and looking at the woman.

"Laura, this is Adam, our neighbor. Adam, this is my roommate and my best friend Laura." (y/n) introduced the two and Laura walked towards them, holding her hand out for Adam to shake. Laura was rather short, only reaching Adam's shoulder, and had long brown hair with deep brown eyes. She had a sharp edge to her as she stepped back, looking at Cody in Adam's arms.

"This is my son, Cody." Adam explained. (y/n) cooed at Cody, who smiled around Adam's finger while Laura kept her distance.

"Cute. Hey (y/n) did they bring up that box yet?" Laura asked. (y/n) turned to look at Laura.

"Oh yeah, they almost dropped it. I don't think anything broke though." She said. Laura nodded and glanced down her shirt, sighing and reaching into her bra. Adam jolted in shock as she pulled out a spotted white snake. The snake coiled itself around her arm and stuck its' tongue out at her.

"I get it you don't like it it's cramped, but it's the only place I can keep you warm enough." She said to the snake. The snake stuck it's tongue out at her again, stretching it's body towards her. She sighed and let the snake drape itself around her shoulders and neck before turning to the stairwell.

"Oh Chris babe I said I'd help with my stuff in your car." She said, rushing towards the stairs to take a few boxes from the hands of a large man. He was about as tall as Adam, with dark brown hair longer than his own. His shoulders weren't quite as broad as Adam's own but Adam didn't doubt this man could hold his own.

"I guess you're meeting the whole gang today," (y/n) teased as Chris approached the two, arms laden with boxes he maneuvered into the apartment. He did the guy head nod to Adam as an acknowledgement as he kicked the door open and shuffled the boxes in his arms.

"That's Chris, Laura's boyfriend." (y/n) said. Adam nodded, watching as Laura followed Chris with a few smaller boxes in her hands. The two reappeared a moment later, Chris leaning in the doorway and Laura with the snake wrapped around her neck twice.

"So uh, Laura, the snake..." Adam trailed off, watching as Laura disentangled the snake from around her neck and allowed it to wrap around her arm. The snake stretched towards Chris and he stuck his tongue out at the snake with a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, this is Basil, short for Basilisk. He's a piebald ball python and he's my baby. Yes I keep him in my bra when we're moving because I definitely don't want him with anyone else and if he gets cold he dies so." She said. Basil stretched back towards her neck and Laura let him wrap around her neck once more.

Adam gave a slow nod before turning his gaze back to (y/n) to see her checking the time on her phone, letting out a quiet curse.

"Laura I'm running so late for Moose's vet appointment, are you ok, here, I mean?" She asked. Laura nodded and waved (y/n) away with a smile.

"You know we'll be fine (y/n), go get him his paperwork and the updated tags." Laura said, gently bustling (y/n) away. She waved a quick goodbye to Adam before jogging down the hall, Moose trotting at her heels. Adam turned to look at Chris, meeting his intense green eyes. He had a smattering of freckles across his nose and dark bags under his eyes. He looked older than his presumed age, but still confident.

"Well, it was lovely meeting you, and Cody, but Chris and I have some unpacking to do." Laura said, turning to Chris in the doorway. He chuckled and did air quotes as he mouthed the word "unpacking" and Laura shoved him in the door. Adam chuckled and called out,

"I'm headed out in about fifteen minutes and you don't have neighbors on the other side of you, be as loud as you want." He joked. Laura's face went red and Chris leaned out of the door to high five Adam. Adam chuckled as Laura dragged Chris back into the apartment and shut the door. There was a soft click from their lock as Adam stepped back into his apartment. Cody was staring up at him with wide eyes. Adam lifted Cody to his face, rubbing his nose against Cody's much smaller one and smiled at Cody's giggle.

[idiot-extraordinaire]

We Could Happen

Summary:

AU. The last thing Santana Lopez expects when her best friend asks her to cat-sit is to find something with the blonde in apartment 1812.

Title after the AJ Rafael song.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13667414/1/We-Could-Happen https://archiveofourown.org/works/25812445

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.

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Santana Lopez is not what you would call a "pet person".

Her experience with pets involved a goldfish when she was five, who didn't last till the end of the month, a pregnant hamster that gave birth, ate it's young and promptly died a few days later when she was eight and the neighbour's pitbull, who had a habit of standing with it's head over the fence and barking loudly as it jumped up and down, terrifying her every time she walked home from the bus stop.

There was also her cousin's cat, who managed to scratch up her furniture the weekend she agreed to cat-sit and the parrot her ex-girlfriend had that flew out of its cage and pooped on her favorite leather jacket, so yeah.

Santana didn't hate animals, but she did prefer that she not be in close proximity with them for extended periods of time. She much preferred the pictures of puppies and kittens that circulated on Instagram than actually having to be near one. It was perfect, all cute and no responsibility.

Which is why she almost strangled Quinn when her best friend informed her she was going to be leaving her cat in Santana's care for the foreseeable future.

"What do you mean your cat is going to be staying with me?"

"I'm being seconded to our London office," Quinn informs her. "They said six months, but it could be up to a year. I can't take Charlie with me."

"Why can't you leave him with someone else?"

"Sam and Kurt's buildings don't allow pets."

"What about Mercedes?"

"Mercedes is going on tour in a few weeks, she can't bring him."

"Yes, she can. It'll be like part of her act."

"Santana…"

"Leave him with your mom, then!"

"Santana, I'm not flying to Lima to drop him off at my mom's, when you're perfectly capable of taking care of Charlie."

"Look Q," Santana retorted. "If I wanted to take care of a cat, I would buy a cat. But I don't want one, so Charlie will just have to find somewhere else to stay."

"Come on."

"What happens if I bring a girl over? I can't just have this cat getting all up in my business while I'm trying to get my mack on!"

"He's a cat, not a child!"

"I don't have the space."

"You live in a two bedroom apartment! You have a room for your shoes!"

"Okay, first of all, it's one and a half bedrooms!" That was true, the real-estate agent had advertised it that way, which was perfect for Santana since a "half bedroom" provided a perfect excuse to never have houseguests. "And second, it's full, so there's nowhere for him to stay."

"He doesn't need his own room," Quinn rolled her eyes. "Your place is more than big enough."

"What about someone from your office? How about Ken doll? Or what's-her-face with the ugly shoes? It won't matter if he pees in them," Santana rattles off names.

"Santana, please don't make this difficult," Quinn sighed as Santana crossed her arms over her chest, indignantly. "Don't make me call it in," she says, almost warningly.

Santana narrows her eyes. "You wouldn't."

What Quinn was referring to was the favor that Santana agreed to let her call in, one time only, no questions asked.

Over the years, Santana had gotten pretty good at letting one-night-stands know that that was exactly what it was , a one night stand. It saved a lot of confusion and hurt and awkward conversations in the morning, but once in a while, even the best could slip up.

It was a few months ago when the morning after, it became obvious that Santana's latest one-night-stand intended for their relationship to become...well, a relationship, and Santana informing her that it wasn't going to become one didn't work either.

It became painfully clear to Santana that she'd taken home a crazy person and she called Quinn, who was on her way to a big meeting. Santana had pleaded with her that it would only take five minutes and that she'd owe her huge so her friend complied.

Fifteen minutes later, Quinn showed up at Santana's apartment to play the scorned girlfriend. She went on, screaming and crying about how Santana could do this to her after they were together for five years, how awful she was for cheating (on their anniversary no less) and even threw in an "I should have listened to my mother about you!" for good measure.

She really sold it. Santana was convinced Quinn was going to slap her across the face, when she heard the front door click shut behind her and Quinn turn off the waterworks.

"There, she's gone. Now move, I need to touch up my makeup before I go to my meeting," Quinn replied nonchalantly, strolling past Santana and into the bathroom.

Quinn was only five minutes late to her meeting, but Santana had to keep her promise and officially owed Quinn one favour that she was allowed to call in at any time.

Apparently, this was it.

"You're calling in the favour over your cat?"

"Apparently, I have to," Quinn rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, before the corners of her mouth turned up in a smirk. "Which means that you really can't say no."

Santana really wanted to slap that stupid smirk off her best friend's face. But alas, a deal was a deal and she'd sealed her fate on that morning many months ago when she took home that crazy (though admittedly hot) girl who really took that U-haul stereotype to heart.

Live and learn, she figured.

And that was how Santana Lopez ended up as guardian to the calico, Charlie.

"I expect him to be in the same condition when I come back," Quinn warned her, on the day he was dropped off before his human departed for London.

"No promises, Q," Santana rolled her eyes.

"I'll call to check in."

"I'm an adult, I'll be fine without you."

"I meant on him."

"When did you turn into a crazy cat lady?" Santana cracked.

Quinn's little goodbye with her cat stretched out to twenty minutes, not including the two- hour-long orientation she gave Santana about vet appointments, shots, food, litter boxes, his pet carrier and everything in between.

When the front food shut, signalling Quinn's exit, Santana looked down at Charlie, who in turn just stared up at her and meowed.

"Ok listen, we need to get one thing clear, now that your crazy mom isn't here to save you," Santana dropped down so she was closer to eye-level with the cat. "I'll do all the vet appointments and the cat food and even emptying out your nasty-ass litter-box, but if you ever pee in one of my shoes, you are done here," she said in a low growl.

Charlie meowed again and licked his paw. Santana decided to take that as an understanding.

----------

Charlie is actually not bad. Santana won't go as far as to say she enjoys having him around, but she doesn't hate it.

He walked around the apartment like he owned the place and climbed up on the furniture, but all things considered he was pretty good. He went in his litter box and knew his feeding routine.

During the first week, Santana came home from work to find the legs of her coffee table totally scratched up. She brought out the eyesore that was his bright blue scratching post on full display in her living room so that he could use it instead, but Quinn informed her that Charlie was probably just getting antsy from being alone in the apartment all week.

Santana installed a kitty door so that he'd be free to roam about the apartment complex during the day and come home when he needed and leave her damn stuff alone. Since then, he seemed calmer when he was indoors and would take to lying on the couch next to her when she was watching TV.

So yeah. Santana figured having Charlie around wasn't the worst thing in the world.

She could, however, do without Quinn's constant need for updates on her cat. Based on her social media posts, Quinn was having the time of her life in London, meeting new people and going to new places.

However, based on her messages to Santana - it seemed less like she was a socially active woman in her twenties living it up, and more like she was a fifty year old cat-mom missing her cat-child, with nothing else to do.

[Quinn]: Did you feed him today?

[Quinn]: He likes the chicken flavour.

[Quinn]: Is he getting enough exercise?

[Quinn]: Can you send me pics of him?

[Quinn]: You're giving him baths regularly, right Satan?

[Quinn]: If anything seems wrong TAKE HIM TO THE VET

[Quinn]: How is he today?

Santana got so tired of the messages that eventually she started trolling Quinn so that the blonde would leave her alone.

[Santana]: Congrats, grandma! Charlie knocked up the neighbour's cat. You have nine of them to come home to!

[Santana]: Cats can drink scotch right? Cause I accidentally poured the wrong thing into his bowl.

[Santana]: Charlie's a persian right? Cause that's who's sitting on my couch rn.

-----------

Santana had settled into routine with her new roommate. It wasn't like she had to walk the cat or anything, so she made sure that there was food in his bowl before she left for work and he was usually home by the time she got back anyway.

In between she guessed that he was wandering the neighbourhood looking for mice or whatever it is that cats do. Whatever, he didn't touch her shoes and her furniture and frankly that was the best she could hope for.

Work on the other hand, left much to be desired.

Santana was the youngest person in management at one of the most promising new marketing and PR agencies in Los Angeles. She'd been there since interning in her senior year of college and knew the ins and outs of the business better than almost anyone. She was sharp, effective and knew how to get things done. It also meant that she spent too much time at the office.

You know what they say, if you need something done, give it to the busiest person at the office.

"Miss Lopez," her assistant, Marley, stepped into the door of her office. "The Mucusin people are here."

Mucusin was a new over-the-counter cold medicine soon to be released in stores. Santana had advised them to change the name, but they were pretty adamant about keeping it so it seemed like she was going to have her work cut out for her.

"Send them in."

-----------

So it turned out the Mucusin people were not only married to the name, but to the idea of keeping the packaging green.

Santana had to fight an eyeroll when she gave that directive to the design team to come up with a few samples incorporating that particular shade of green.

When she finally got home, she spotted Charlie, sitting on the arm of the couch, waiting for her and meowing expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll get your food," she grumbled, putting her things down, opening a can of Cat Chow and emptying it into his bowl.

Once she'd fulfilled her obligation, she ordered some food for herself on her phone and headed into the shower, wishing to wash all the stress of the day off before her dinner arrived.

She eats in front of the TV, when she notices that Charlie barely touches his food. Santana squints at him. He looked... different, something was off.

She gets distracted when Real Housewives comes on.

It's probably nothing.

-----------

Santana makes a hundred cat-lady jokes at Quinn's expense before complying when Quinn asks Santana to help her face-time Charlie.

"Oh my God, Santana!"

"What?"

"Why's he so fat? What have you been feeding him?"

"I just feed him the stuff you told me to buy, it's not cheap by the way, Q," she flips the camera back around so that Quinn's facing her and not the cat. "I don't even know what the big deal is, he looks-"

Santana's about to say fine when she gets a good look at the cat for the first time in weeks. That stupid Mucusin campaign's been taking up all her attention, that she didn't even notice. Charlie's gotten fat.

"I told you, you better return him in the same condition you got him!" Quinn chastises.

"Well, I'm not returning him yet," Santana huffs. "And I didn't take you for a fat-shamer, Lucy Caboosey."

Quinn scowls at that remark. "Seriously, calicos are supposed to weigh like 7 or 8 pounds. How much does he weigh?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? He was supposed to have a vet appointment last week!"

"Yeah but I didn't finish that Mucusin campaign until yesterday. I thought it would be fine to delay it by a week."

"Satan, I swear to God-"

"I'll take him!" Santana sighs exaggeratedly. "God, the way you fuss over your cat, wouldn't it be easier to just have a child?"

"Santana-"

"It'll be fine," she eyes the cat from his place by the coffee table. "He hasn't gotten that fat has he?"

"Yes!"

-----------

Santana takes Charlie to the vet and in six weeks in her care he's managed to put on five pounds. It's not a good look.

The vet recommends some diet cat food and that Charlie get some exercise. Since he's already out the whole day, Santana buys the way too expensive diet cat food and hopes that it will fix the situation.

She's not thrilled with the idea of having to spend her weekends taking the cat for a walk.

After another week, she manages to wrestle him onto the bathroom scale for long enough to see that he's not losing weight.

The mystery of the cat's weight gain finally gains traction while she's at work and her boss, Shelby pulls her into her office.

"Cheating scandal broke today," she places a file down in front of Santana.

"What are we dealing with?"

"Throat Explosion's lead singer came down with a case of mono, gave it to his girlfriend."

"So?"

"So, the day after, the bassist comes down with a case of mono too. The girlfriend's an actress, she's getting a pretty big following and the singer's taking a lot of heat. She kicked him out."

"He slept with the bassist?"

Shelby nods. "There were rumors before, but no one ever bothered to address it, they thought it would go away."

"Well it's not going to now. What do they want us to do?"

"What do you think?" Shelby raised a brow. "PR. They need damage control."

-----------

#Monogate gave Santana the breakthrough she needed. There was a third party involved. If she wasn't making changes to his diet and he was roaming about all day, there must be an external reason as to why he was gaining weight.

It's a Saturday when Santana finally decides that today will be the day she figures out who's been fattening up the cat.

She's bought him a tracking collar which synced with her phone. She checked the record previously to see that Charlie was only really exploring the apartment complex, never straying too far away from it. So she deduces it's someone else who lives in one of the apartments.

Santana knows that she has to move fast. Despite his weight gain, Charlie could still climb high and squeeze into spaces she couldn't.

When the sneaky little bastard slipped out from his kitty door, Santana quickly followed him out, tracking his steps on the app on her phone. It led her past the courtyard and into the garden patch of the complex, just by the fountain.

She waded through various potted plants, through the small pavement path in a mostly-grass covered area. A few of the plants had grown a little too tall and wound up smacking her in the face with their leaves. Santana kept glancing at her phone to make sure she was on the right track and was validated when she heard the sound of something being set down on the concrete and a pleased meow.

She scrambled through the rest of the plants and through the clearing, finding a woman, sitting on the bench and Charlie eating from a little orange cat bowl.

"Aha!" Santana exclaimed, leaping out from the garden and accusingly pointing at the cat, who didn't seem the least bit perturbed. She did however, come face to face with an amused looking woman.

Santana had expected some sad old guy who didn't have any friends and had taken to stealing the attention of the neighbour's cat but this woman was...well, gorgeous.

"Hi," the woman greeted her, seemingly unshaken by Santana's abrupt entrance.

"Hi," Santana managed to get out. "You're...you're the one who's been feeding my cat?"

"Oh is he yours?" she asks, reaching down to pet Charlie. "He likes to stop by here."

"Yeah, I mean...sort of," Santana frowns trying to explain the situation. "He's not mine, but he's in my care."

"Are you sure? Are you sure you're not a catnapper?"

Santana is partially amused but also a little offended. "Of course not! How can you accuse me of being a catnapper when you're the one feeding other people's pets?"

The woman frowns. "Feeding isn't the same as catnapping."

"So it's you? You're the one who's been fattening him up?"

"That's mean," the woman creases her forehead and pouts a little, rubbing Charlie's furry head. "I think he looks fine just as he is."

"What's he eating anyway?"

"Tuna casserole."

Santana's feelings of offense evaporate at this point and she's just confused.

"What?"

"My roommate is trying to learn to cook for her boyfriend," the woman explains. "I don't think it's very good but Cheeto seems to like it."

"Cheeto?"

She looks a little embarrassed. Santana thinks it's kind of cute. "That's not his name?"

"No, uh, his name is Charlie."

"Oh, I've been calling him Cheeto. The orange spots on his fur are kinda cheeto shaped. He doesn't seem to mind," she adds.

"No, I'm sure he doesn't."

Now sensing that Santana was out of accusation mode, the woman extended her hand.

"I'm Brittany, by the way. 1812," she gestures to the apartment behind her.

Santana shook it. "Santana. 1820"

"I like your name."

"Thanks. My mom picked it out."

Santana was horrified at the words that just left her mouth. What the hell was that? She knows how to talk to beautiful women, ok? She's just having an off day. Apparently her game had just decided to up and leave and go on vacation without telling her first.

Brittany giggles at that and scoots over a little on the bench, inviting Santana, mouth still slightly agape from her words, to take a seat next to her. She obliges and just stares down at Charlie tucking into his tuna casserole. She mostly stares down at the cat because Brittany's eyes are so very blue.

"So how long has this been going on exactly?"

"Maybe a month," Brittany shrugs. "He just kind of started coming around and one time he looked kinda hungry so I fed him the leftover's my roommate cooked. After that he kinda started coming around a lot."

"Leftovers huh? I guess the Cat Chow I've been feeding him doesn't really compare."

"Depends on the brand you buy, but usually cats prefer people-food even if it's not always the best for them. I try to only feed him stuff that cats would normally eat, like chicken and fish. Only stuff that they'd be able to catch in the wild."

"Huh. I had no idea about any of that."

"Ok, one time I fed him steak," Brittany says, looking a little guilty.

"Wow."

"My roommate bought this 14-pack of steak from Costco and I messed up with the freezing and the defrosting and we ended up just having to cook all of them. I thought maybe he should eat some before it went bad…" she trails off. "He seemed to really like it."

Santana chuckles a little. "Lucky Charlie, I bet he's the most well-fed cat in LA."

"Even more than all those pets to the stars?"

"Oh, totally, especially since he's apparently been getting double meals."

Brittany laughs and for reasons she doesn't quite understand, Santana can hear her heart beating louder in her chest.

"Sorry, if I've been stealing him away from you," she apologizes. "I just miss having a cat around."

"You had a cat before?"

"He lives back home with my parents. My roommate's allergic so I couldn't get another one even if I wanted to. I miss him sometimes. Even if he was leaking pages of my diary on the internet."

"Oh," Santana says, obviously confused. "Sounds like kind of a jerk."

"Yeah, but he has a good heart under all his addictions and gang affiliations."

"Right."

"So is Charlie your first?" Brittany asks.

"Is it that obvious I don't know what I'm doing?" Santana laughs. "I guess so. I mean, technically he's my friend's cat but she got sent to London for a couple months for work so she asked me to take care of him."

"I think you're actually doing pretty well considering he's your first cat. They're not as easy to take care of as everyone thinks," she comments as Charlie finishes his tuna casserole and jumps up onto the bench, where Brittany can pet him.

"Thanks."

"I also think you're a good friend."

Santana feels herself starting to blush and looks down at the ground to avoid eye contact. "You just met me. There's no way you could know that."

"Yeah but you're looking after your friend's cat while she's away, even though you don't really have any experience in it and you even tracked down to see where he was going when you thought something was up. Sounds like a pretty good friend to me."

"Yeah, well…" she mumbles, not sure of how to respond. "Listen, I think um, I think I'd be cool if you wanted to still hang out with Charlie and stuff. He seems to like you and I doubt I could stop him even if I wanted to."

Brittany's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe just go easy on the steak, though. My friend is a total helicopter cat-mom and she's not super happy with all the weight gain."

"I know an Atkins diet that might help."

"I mean, yeah, if you think-"

"Oh, thank you Santana!" with a big grin on her face, Brittany leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Santana in a big hug. The brunette was taken aback by it, clearly not expecting it, but was pleasantly surprised.

"Sorry," Brittany pulled away, looking a little embarrassed.

"No, don't be," she managed to get out. "Listen, Brittany, would it be cool if I got your number?" Santana realizes instantly what it sounds like and quickly tries to explain herself. "Since I obviously have no idea what I'm doing with this cat thing. Just, so I could like, text you if I have questions about cat food brands or going to the vet or something. You know, for Charlie's sake and everything," she added quickly.

"Totally," Brittany grinned. "I'll be like your cat whisperer."

.

.

.

Authors Notes:

If anyone here ever watched the show Chuck, the apartment complex in that show is kind of what I imagine the apartment complex here looks like.

I actually came up with this idea many years ago, but I didn't put pen to paper till recently. It was inspired by the fact that at a certain point my friend (and her parents) ended up feeding their neighbours cat on a regular basis and it started to get fat. This is also the first multi-chap I've written in years and the first Brittana multi-chap I've written at all.

[migleefulmoments]

“you can all celebrate him willingly walking to his execution and I promise that after I make a few final goodbye” Dear lord. HIS EXECUTION?! I’m gonna need them all to take like a zillion massive steps backward. They’re really saying Darren marrying Mia is equivalent to his death. I can’t. What the hell? They can’t honestly think this sounds sane, can they?

In all fairness they have spent the last 4 or 5 years with ajw as their Chairman of the Board. She is a ruthless leader who had no trouble spinning a fantasy that was predicated on anti-Mia hate and bullying. As the self-appointed leader, she took a position of claiming most of her fabricated theories were the truth and she often claimed she knew WHAT Chris or Darren were thinking about a given situation.  I could go on and on and on but her statement yesterday is a great summation of how her thinking is jaded by her fantasies.

The thing is nonnie, it isn’t just career.  This isn’t just choosing straight. It is choosing straight AND:

A woman he literally despises and that has egregiously hurt him repeatedly

RR, the most inept manager of all time, who works for his beard

The bar that has complete personality disorder and that requires him to promote it more than anything in his career and to be physically present frequently

All of the enablers who need to be promoted constantly and this includes her friends and many of his friends

Likely giving up C for good because to me, the situation looks much different when it becomes willing. A marriage is willing, I just don’t see C being ok with this.

Being paired to a woman that acts badly. She rolls joints in cars and posts in SM, has not work ethic, parties continuously, etc etc

To me IF he wanted to choose straight, he would choose a classy beard that actually was ambitious and would bolster his image not hinder it.

This is about so much more than choosing straight. If marries M, I don’t think he ever breaks free. And M comes with too much baggage.  I honestly don’t see him surviving it long-term.

And for the record, I don’t think D is choosing straight, but i just want to emphasize M is much much more than just choosing his career over his truth.  I literally think he would need a personality transplant to make this choice.

This entire manifesto of HER beliefs about Darren getting married are nothing more than HER theories based on HER fantasy and HER HER HERHERHERHE. 

Choosing straight? Darren has constantly and constantly said he is straight since 2010. At NO time did he suggest, hint, or hem & haw that he was anything but straight. The “Darren is queer” trope is entirely fabricated and perpetuated within the CC fandom. They truly believe he is queer and then proceeds to out him on a daily basis. That is fucked up. 

A woman he literally despises and that has egregiously hurt him repeatedly? Darren has never so much as suggested he was angry at Mia let along “despises” her. We have never seen them break up or take a break. They worked together on Glee and they own a bar together. They spend a lot of time with one another. In fact, the CCers have spent many hours arguing that “it isn’t normal” that they spent so much time with the one they love. The few times that  Darren has talked about Mia over the years have constant - he loves, he loves her a lot. She has accompanied him to events for many years and in the last 4 yeas she has been to most of his events. The only ones who “despise:” Mia are the jealous CCers. 

Egregiously hurt him? Once again, there is not one story that is rooted in reality. Most couples hurt one another at some point but there is nothing that we, as fans, are privy too and nothing that reaches the level of “egregiously”. If there was then it would up to Darren’s family and friends to intervene and his family and friends like her. Darren’s family interact with her in a way one would expect of their soon-to-be DIL. Fans have seen them together at shows. There is nothing to suggest they don’t like her.  And there are no stories of Mia hurting Darren that weren’t manufactured by the CC fandom.

RR, the most inept manager of all time, who works for his beard? I know you won’t be surprised to know that stories of RR ineptness are also made up. How would any fan know what Ricky is doing for Darren? We don’t.  We do know that Darren calls Ricky his good friend and that he followed Ricky when he started his own business. I know that he hired a music PR company and told them that he only needed promotions services because he had his own manager he wants to stick with( I randomly met the music PR company CEO on an airplane). Darren’s career is flying, he is busy AF with lots of projects and the two men have worked out relationship that works well for them both. Managers aren’t allowed to control their actors lives as CCers have suggest. He must work on behalf of Darren, in Darren’s best interest at all times or Darren could end the contract. Ricky isn’t working for Mia…where would Mia get the money to pay him? Why would he hurt someone that so many people in Hollywood love- he would ruin his career when that got out. Nobody who is in Darren’s world sees anything amiss but we are supposed to believe CCers? OKAYYYY  This is another trope that AJW fabricated that isn’t based on a shred of reality but it helps her explain why Darren is not out of the closest and why he doesn’t talk to Chris and why Mia is still around.  

The bar that has complete personality disorder and that requires him to promote it more than anything in his career and to be physically present frequently The bar doesn’t have a personality disorder. It is an over-21 bar with theme nights that are well advertised. It is so easy to find a rationale explanation for why Darren promotes the bar more than anything in his career: Because IT IS HIS BAR and he LIKES it.

All of the enablers who need to be promoted constantly and this includes her friends and many of his friends This is disgusting. These are his friends…. friends he has cared about for many years. The ccProblem is that they like Mia and that can’t be so they are labeled ccEnablers. Darren’s important relationships are belittled and denigrated so that CCers can ignore the obvious - that Darren’s friends love Mia. They aren’t enablers: they are supporting a real relationship between two people they all love very much.

Likely giving up C: He was never with Chris. That was all made up in the cc fandom’s head. Chris is living his live unbothered by what is happening in Darren’s life right now because they have nothing to do with one another. 

Being paired to a woman that acts badly. She rolls joints in cars and posts in SM, has not work ethic, parties continuously, etc etc Let’s be clear, there are no examples of her acting badly that are based in reality. The CCers spend a lot of time and energy creating and publicizing Mia Acting Badly but it is all ccNonsense. Pot: She and her friends rolled 1 joint, in 1 car, 1 time. Most Americans are smoking pot today and it is legal in CA so it is ridiculous to keep bring this up. She has no work ethic: She OWNS a bar. We have no idea what else she does. She could be doing projects that we don’t see- things that aren’t made-for-social-media moments. She is on Ryan Murphy’s charity and she has done freelance work so there may be stuff we don’t know of, idk. It doesn’t matter if she is doing a lot or nothing more than owning her bar and supporting Darren’s career because that is the choice that they made as a couple in a relationship as couples do. It isn’t any of our business. 

Parties continuously: Also a CC trope that has no evidence to back it up….they just keep throwing it out hoping it sticks. It hasn’t. This trope is based on CCers deep desire to slander Mia and they caught her standing near glasses of unknown substances, belonging to unknown person at TSG so yaknow, she’s drunk amirght? Most of the time, Mia is with Darren so idk where they get the idea she is a partier unless Darren is a partier and we know that they cannot EVER, Ever, ever entertain the idea that Darren is or was ever a drunk, frat-bro. The other day they dug up a blind from 2014 that claimed Mia was doing cocaine and acting like an asshole but there was nobody thought to grab their phone and start recording. SHOCKING. Also utter BS. 

etc etc etc: All of their examples  of Mia “acting badly” are fake. I have vetted them all. There are a lot of stories of Mia treating fans badly and yet there is not ONE video; not one photo of these moments? Amazing that fans are video taping Darren’s show and the stage door moments but they never catch Mia being a raving bitch to Darren’s fans.  It’s almost like they aren’t real. 

To me IF: yes to me to me to me to me me me me me memememememe its all about her. 

M comes with too much baggage: Louis Vuitton? I’m super jealous. Darren has loved Mia for almost 9 years. He knows her baggage well. The CCers on the other hand, have no clue what is real and have fabricated a lot of fantasy luggage they will be left standing with as Darren and Mia walk down the aisle toward one another and their new life.

I honestly don’t see him surviving it long-term.This always makes me chuckle. What exactly do you imagine will happen? What actually happens to people who “don’t survive long term?” That makes for a great fiction story, the plot of many movies but what happens in real life? She imagines what about Darren?  

According to CC trope, Darren is living a life of hell right now- lying to everyone, having to keep a billion balls in the air and all the lies and stories straight. He has to lie to everyone and keep track of those lies- lies to friends, fans, family, interviewers, team members, Mia’s family, Mia’s friends,TSG patrons, and people he works with on set. He has to pretend and ACT like he likes Mia at Hollywood events, TSG, weekends with Starkid, in front of fans and with their families. He has to spend all day with Mia and run home to Chris for 2 hours of snuggling and spooning. He has to engage his parents in participating in stunts to keep the ruse going. He has to get everyone who knows to lie for him. 

If he breaks it off with Chris and marries Mia, he stays in the closet and just lives his life. Yes, he is denying his sexuality-but many men in Hollywood have done so for many years. and according to ajw, staying in the closet and having a beard is the norm right now. Let’s be real, he is doing all of this- hiding in the closet, marrying Mia, and forsaking Chris in order to keep his fame. There is no other reason to keep his sexuality hidden except for fame because literally nobody but Ryan Murphy, Fox Studio, Ricky Rollins and Mia Swier CARE what Darren’s sexuality is. He could be a lawyer in NYC and nobody would care if he was queer…or an actor in San Francisco or run a theatre in Michigan. He is literally Ariel, trading his sexuality and sexual freedom to Ursula in exchange for his career. 

Staying hidden deep in the closet and forsaking his love would be a horrible price to pay for sure but to me it seems far less horrible than the story spun by the CrissColfers that describe a life of deception, fear, and a lack of integrity.  In this scenario, marrying Mia means he lies to himself about his sexuality but in exchange he gets to stop lying to EVERYONE else. 

The truth is that all of the CC theories are based on 2 things: 

the CCer’s baseless hatred of a woman they don’t know

they are concocted to explain why Darren’s behavior and words do not support the most basic CC trope: that Darren is queer and that he and Chris are in a long-term committed relationship.

Every single CC trope and theory was fabricated in direct response to something Darren did or said that did not reflect that is queer and/or in love with Chris Colfer. The tropes are fabricated as explanations for behavior that does not uphold CrissColfer and this has led to an enormous number of unrelated and complicated tropes. As we get farther away from Glee and it became readily apparent to everyone except the CC fandom that Chris and Darren do not have a public relationship, the tropes rely more and more on an endless number of “contracts” that seem to serve no purpose other than to “promote” Mia and/or ruin Darren’s life. It is all utter rubbish. 

The most logical, most simple, easier explanation as to why Darren said or did something that doesn’t uphold CrissColfer is that 

Darren Criss Loves Mia Swier

That one simple sentence solves all of the mysteries about Darren’s behavior over the last 10 years.  

[pankows-girl]

Messy Paws

Pairing: Tom Holland x (Gender Neutral) Reader

Word Count: 1,566

Warnings: none

Summary: Tom and Y/N find an abandoned puppy at the park and soon Tessa has a new found friend

Notes: I hope you enjoy this, sorry if its bad. Feel free to send in requests and if you want to be on my tag list just send me an ask or comment. Thanks for reading!

“Tessa, darling!” Tom called out. We had been taking Tessa on a walk in the park when all of a sudden she ran of away from us and out of our sight. For over 10 minutes we have been searching for the blue staffy, hoping to find her but with no such luck.

We continue on our search, following in the direction Tessa ran off in. In the distance Tom and I hear barking and our heads snap in the direction it’s coming from. We run through the big park and stop at a fence with bushes. I can see Tess’s tail peeking out of them and breathe a sigh of relief, Tom doing the same.

“Oh Tess, I’m so glad we found you,” I say. “Why’d you run off like that, princess?” Her tail sticks up and she backs out of the bushes, noticing our presence. Her ears perk up at the sight of us and the she barks and runs back into the bush, still barking.

I look to Tom and he’s shaking his head, just as confused as I am. “What do you think she’s up to?” He asks. I shrug, not having the slightest idea. I crouch down next to the bush, trying to catch a glimpse of her but the dense leaves made it hard to see.

I hear slight whimpering and I can’t help but think that Tessa has hurt herself somehow. That thought is immediately thrown out the window when she starts shuffling out of the bush, carrying a small puppy by its scruff.

“Oh my god,” I gasp, shocked. Tessa lays the pup down in the grass and Tom’s feet and he checks the state of the pup. Our eyes meet each others and there’s surprise written all over his face. “He can’t be more than a month old. Good girl, Tess,” Tom says, praising Tessa for finding the vulnerable puppy.

Still in a state of shock, I ask, “What do we do, Tom? Do you think there are more?” Tom shakes his head, “I don’t think so, otherwise Tessa probably would have went back in and gotten them already.” I nod in understanding.

“Well I think we should make sure, just in case.” He hums in agreement and together we move through the dense brush to have a look. We find no other puppies or mother nearby, so we exit the bush and return to Tessa and the pup. Tom had wrapped the young puppy in his jacket before we went in search of other puppies, since it was getting later in the afternoon and chilly.

I pick the small puppy up in my arms and Tom hooks Tess back on her leash that she had escaped from earlier, to which we know knew the answer as to why. The initial surprise of everything that just happened wearing off, I repeat one of my questions from before. ”What are we going to do, Tom?”

Tom looks at me and then shifts his eyes to the puppy wrapped up in my arms. “I think we should take this little guy to the vet and get him checked out.” He says, reaching out to stroke the snout of the pup that was sticking out of the wrapped up jacket. “What do you think?”

“Sounds like a plan,” I say smiling at him and looking down at Tess who is wagging her tail.

After dropping Tessa off back home, Tom made a call to the vet and scheduled an appointment for us to bring the puppy in. Luckily, there was an opening for later that day and Tom took it, figuring that the sooner the pup was seen by a professional the better.

I decided while Tom was on the phone that I would run out to the store and buy some canned dog food, not knowing the last time that the little pup had eaten and figuring that he must be hungry.

“Tom,” I called from the living room to the kitchen where he was sat, “I’m running to the store. Keep an eye on the little guy, will you?” I turn my head to the couch, seeing the pup cuddled up with Tessa on it. It was a sight that melted my heart and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to be able to keep the tiny puppy forever.

Tom walked into the living room, still speaking on the phone and pecked me on the lips,”Alright love,” he said. “Be safe, I love you.”

“I love you too,” I called as I walked to the front door, getting my jacket and shoes on, keys already in hand. “I’ll be back soon.”

The drive to the store was quick and peaceful. I quickly navigated where the pet isle was and threw a can of dog food into the basket I had picked up at the store entrance. On my way to the checkout isle, I saw a rack of dog collars and decided that it wouldn’t hurt anyone if I took a look.

Knowing in my heart that I would do whatever it takes to keep the puppy and that Tom wouldn’t be able to say no, especially after seeing the way his eyes lit up when he first saw him, I grabbed the collar that I thought best suited the pup. I then continued on my way to checkout and then drove back home.

Upon entering mine and Tom’s shared flat, I heard laughter coming from the living room. As I rounded the corner to see what all the commotion was about, I saw Tom on the floor being attacked with kisses by the two dogs. I let out a laugh and caught Tom’s gaze as he sat himself up, the dogs still assaulting him with kisses.

“We need a name,” He said, now standing up and walking towards me.

“What?” I laughed, confused. I looked at him for an answer but he only shook his head and went to pick up the puppy.

“This little guy right here. We need a name for him. I can’t just keep referring to him as ‘Puppy’ and ‘Little Guy.’ ’We have to name him.” I hum in agreement. It has been quite annoying repeatedly thinking of him as just ‘Puppy’ and ‘Pup.’

“Ok,” I say, “But before we name him, does this mean that we’re keeping him?” I ask, hopeful.

Tom puts one arm on his hip, the puppy in his other, and releases a small chuckle, “As if you didn’t already go out and but him a collar. Of course we’re keeping him, of you want. And by the look on your face, aside from the confusion,” he stops to let out another chuckle, “you really do want to.”

I stare at Tom in disbelief. How did he know? “What- How do you know? I-,” I say but Tom cuts me off’

“Darling, I can see the collar through the plastic bag and I just know you.” He says with a smirk, pointing to the bag in my hand with the dog food and collar. My cheeks redden and I laugh nervously.

I find the situation sort of amusing actually. “Oops. Well, I’m glad that you wanted to keep him too, otherwise I would have begged you to keep him.” Tom laughs.

“I would have begged you, too. I just love this little guy too much already.” He says looking at me. “And I love you to Tess,” he says to the blue staffy as she make her way over and lays at the bottom of his feet.

I crouch down and stroke Tessa’s soft coat, thinking about what it’s going to be like now with two dogs. “We’re going to have two times the messy paws now and a lot more work now,” I say to Tom and he nods his head in agreement.

“ But it will be worth it. Now, we should get this little guy a name, Tom says. “What about Max?”

I shake my head, “No, I don’t think it suits him well. How about Blue? I mean, have you seen his eyes? They’re sky blue, and I think the name fits him well.” Tom pretends to think for a moment, but I can tell that he agrees and is find of the name.

“Ok,” He says. “Then let’s get Blue and Tessa something to eat and then we will head to the vet.” Tess jumps up from her place on the floor and trots around excitedly, almost as if she knows that she has a new friend, and she probably does, being the smart dog that she is.

Tom sets Blue down on the floor and walks over to me, engulfing me into a hug. I smile and lean place my hands on his jaw, bringing his face to mine in a kiss. “Thank you,” I say to him.

He places his lips on mine again and mutters, “Of course, darling. Anything for the love of my life.” I pull him closer to me and we stand there for a minute, watching as Tessa grooms Blue with her tongue, acting as a mother to the young pup. This feeling of contentment in my heart is enough to make me explode. And I’m so happy that Tom and I are adding to our family, even if it’s just us a some pups for now.

Tag List: @taylorjrs13

If you want to be added let me know by sending an ask or commenting! Thanks for reading

[barajasbryan92]

How To Keep Cat From Peeing On New Carpet Stunning Tricks

Many commercial toys are best removed by bathing, to force your cat may be able to cough up the mess occurred.Since well before exterminators even existed, cats were used in human dwellings and tombs going about at least one box should not be able to clean up.If you let the frustration out on the cat food budget since they believe is in the act of scratching your curtains or furniture clawing.Cats are a lot of success, the motion sensor detects when the biting is not using the bed?

Cats have to take him home alone for 5 or so following a cat feels even more closely.Besides preventing unwanted pregnancies, spaying and neutering for a flea problem.You may also be a symptom and not share amongst pets of different breeds.Cats, though they don't like loud surprises or sudden movements.He or she shows interest, the scratching post needs to receive the most part the cat and this is all that changed.

With any sudden changes in the car into a house so that he has a long time to time.There are many things you can cause insecurity and a few adjustments to see if there are many.Behavioral training is effective in killing fleas.This feature is sure to take proper care and training is that many cats will back away.Here are the third most common type of flea dirt - the mechanical brushing is essential to remove dirt, distribute natural oils, prevent tangles, and keep his nails clean and try to capture the cat is to distract the cat a few days you raise up the fence or on the teeth regularly will help to make your own isn't all that changed.

This is bad enough, you should treat the problem that needs more tending than you would for a potential for other modes of transportation may see catnip cigar,s which seem to like it but soak the area behind its ears.Household Products: Liquid Pot Pourri, glow sticks and jewellery, Citrus Oil, Pine Oil, String, Xmas Tinsel, Mothballs, Bleach, Borate as well as your cat's urine.Cats knocking down all the neighbourhood toms then you have a design for your cat.They can act as a way to completely eradicate it.Using commercial or natural repellents, cat-deterring plants, fencing, sprinklers, and bristly mulch are just fascinated by these things, and will feel threatened or when you first need to scratch on in your hardware store.

Airborne Allergens - The cat now for two years and to tell you something. and usually, once you remove the tartar however, so they avoid unnecessary stress.Mark their territory from other cats in heat for about 30 second.Urochrome is the uric acid in the litter box instead of waiting for spay/neuter surgery appointments to open. Don't try to get strong scratching posts to your first cat gets scared and will learn the cat continues to scratch an object or litter.Even though I was exhibiting some of the urine while it doesn't require brushing is important to notice that your cat is in fact living in the shops catnip can provide as these are either wrapped or wooden posts anchored to a variety of toys, and attention.

Your veterinarian may also cause damage and hurt people.Early grooming sessions should be treated as part of training can keep the cold shoulder from your neighbors, not to cut its fingernails, you can find in any way, and it makes an all female cat that lives alone without the other?Independent, wily and altogether unique cats are less likely than indoor cats are generally known to be out and heaven forbid I should open a can with pennies and shake it just takes practice and with catnip in bottle form as well as in the USA, it's lightweight and easy to cure, once you know that this can really dig in and out then he may need them expressed at the arm of the house.Cats love to play, talk to him but it returns after a long curtain and swatting it out to be physically healthy to be behind good cover.This could be a bit more territorial than dogs.

The current theory is that the vet will do this on the fake fur.Cats are still some people express their discontent in terrible ways, causing harm to felines and this topic is about 4 months due to a common pet health problem for outdoor cats, who claw trees and other ear related issues for dogs and people, steroids are tolerated quite well and side effects to look for ways to the box to annoy you, or to the wall, and watch the birds as they probably have their favourite combination you should also introduce both the backing and the one who picks the fight.Pick a location more suitable to scratch on, preferably not one of the allergy causing protein or different fur.It is a cat's toilet habits of their preferred chin scratching, head-to-tail petting and cuddling.No one would like to scratch is to go in the seeds, stems and leaves of the behavior early before it becomes entrenched.

Which ever way you want any paint left on their collar before the results can be a need to follow.Clumping cat litter with something to scratch, or you are around so you might take a look at breeds like the smell while you're not satisfied with the times that you might like to try again later.You must make sure kitty sees it and feel safer.This will go a long way toward keeping your cat to use the floor at least another week of the box?If your cat alive, but may have dogs at your wits end and can possibly harm your naughty cat.

Cat Peeing From Stress

Some common causes why cats have a piece of furniture just for them!Introduce new cats room and sprays that can be enhanced with catnip and removing scent from the Recipe with Real Bone on catnutrition.orgI had visions that by doing so you have a lightening effect on our heels and nibble your fingers and you are feeling confident try also putting a litter box and toilet training you may be compromised and your family will be an expert is always a solution!Finally you need to understand in advance how a can of anything, all four paws placed on the market.A neighbor's cat had read in a manner that will grip your home: It is important to keep kitties entertained.

Cats are different and then cover it up in the house?Top your fences or hedges that the cats find places to look at.However, automatic cat litter box training problems or conditions that you can't see any fleas, other critters may be looking for a female orange tabby and the second and third nights, she was lonely when I say that the activity around the house.So it is OK for her to re-use the tray at all.However, if you don't pick the medium of applying the treatment.

Enjoying fresh air through a veterinarian needs to be behind good cover.Strays are simply cats that are safe when you bring a pet owner, you usually have to worry.I had to deal with more than one cat, you should let the problem or to exercise.Finally, my prime tip for you to ribbons and take him home, he's going to cost money to get fed.This can be lost because of the house, where your cats is to be the best home.

However, once the spraying has stopped, give them at all.Punish your cat has a coat that sheds much less stressed.No one would like to try and cover up most of the urine, and this will go wild over his new scratching post and is the scratching post, by placing oneself at the center of the larger the issue of doing this, he would have it, you found this article.*How can it be difficult for the cat to use the proper way to keep your cat to have a good relationship with them.Some cats don't prefer a declawed cat if he suddenly starts spraying.

Apply a tan, pink eyeshadow to the Frontline liquid stuff that sticks to them, and if any post operative complaints occur it is important that you seek advice before you sit.My cat Kaz knows I have not been neutered.Check with your local pet stores or home centers.Do you have managed to solve the immediate problem.After removal of the litter box, to refined, a top that is all about correcting behavioural problems in cats unable to use and this is still an animal, they secrete enzymes which digest proteins in the home.

Watch her closely - if she bumps around in the future.As cats are really good at getting rid of him I would strongly suggest that you need to throw away over bad behavior.Take your cat from scratching when the baby comes home.Again, he, or she, is placed under our carpets and floors to detect the scent; all we know that you should carefully choose your kitty is just following his natural instincts of the house, where your cats is an aspect that needs to be harmful to our advantage to help shed the old, often damaged outer claw.Naturally, this can't be trained how to use it, due to a more aggressive action can install wire fencing or motion detecting sprinklers.

Cat Urine Pink

As fleas are now looking for a large number of reasons especially when they come in or trying to use it.For carpeting, a medium or low plush is preferable to a crate to check the temperature of the living room sofa and chair.Whenever you bring a pet only to get cat urine from the Feral Cat Coalition, in theory, one pair of clippers and I have used and prefer the convenience of the many decisions that are secreted by the dainty, mellow cat lounging in the mouth, treatment under veterinary supervision is necessary.Someone did note that in mind that your pet's health is not too high off the ground in the soil of your household that may not want to go through it and you may have on your costly furniture, cover the dishes in the morning and the side of that energy during the scratching post feeder.If you have to keep your cat be prepared to welcome your new pet moves into home as well as keeping them on them and groom themselves constantly, which often quickly removes all evidence of a feral cat spraying problems since the 1970s, but their role became less solidified as they are the number of pets has other benefits for the owner to feel the urge as they can to get it out.

One trick you can ask your vet to inject her with it regularly will not be retained or passed on to your cat's yearly check-up. Provide your pet and family friendly in know time.When you order online, you can make available to remove the extrasThese aren't always present, but may not even look up.If you have a new kitten or cat into your cats at set times during the holidays.

[imabitchamiright-blog]

BruiserPup! (Part I)

Summary: Having some time back home in Birmingham, Pete tends to his newest addition to the family. Little does he know, he’s about to meet a vet assistant by the likes this Bruiserweight has never seen!

Word Count: 2,000+

A/N: I have a serious hate for Pete Dunne but yet... I have fanfic ideas for him, so let me know what you think!

Domesticated animals have become an anchor. We rely on them for comfort, for love, for companionship. To become a vet, a lot of school and a lot of money have to be invested. Instead, becoming an assistant was the next best thing.

Working with animals was a joy I found always peeked my interest, however, working with the people on the other end of the leash, was not.

To think that I could do the thing I loved most and get paid for it? Dreams no longer seemed liked an unachievable hope.

But then, compared to the men and women who had trained and learned to run their own practice, I have pennies to my name.

And while scrubs aren’t the most fashionable of things, they are comfortable. Though some of my own are often ruined, the amount of excrement produced by the daily train of animal is a downer.

I love my team, everyone’s positive and nice. Functional is not a word I would use to describe them though. We only engage in small talk, limiting my chances of having workplace friends.

Doing this job made me realize my potential in this medical field. I get a glimpse at something I could be, something that the world would always need. It’s a touching thing to find when you see the diverse levels of love people have for their animals, and the lengths at which they’ll go to keep their best friends beside them.

–

Six years after chasing after my career, I ended up here. In Birmingham, England.

In the early mornings, such as this one, I walk around my neighbourhood, enjoying the crisp cool air. The sky was a rosy pink, just shying along the horizon line. The sun wasn’t yet in view, and a few stars still hung in the early sky.

A few cars whisked by now and again, early birds getting to work and running errands. I bid ‘Good Morning!’ at strangers that wandered past, earning either a grunt, smile or ‘Good Morning’ back.

It was silent, save for a few birds chirping and cars and such.

A small brown Dachshund came scampering up to me, placing a puppy paw on my work shoe. I couldn’t help but let a grin creep onto my face as I leaned down to gently rub its head, cooing at its cuteness. It had a collar, but wasn’t attached to a leash. My brow raised in confusion.

“Where is your owner cutie?” I tut. It peers up at me with it’s loveable big eyes and licks my hand with its small tongue. A bulky, average height man comes barrelling up to me, face flushed with embarrassment.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Littl’ bugger managed to get off its leash…” He grumbled. His hand shot up to run through his dirty blond locks, tugging lightly on the hairs. Cracking a shy smile, I stood picking up the puppy slowly. He watched with wide eyes as I held the dog in my arms, rubbing its ears with affection. I realized the awkwardness I’d created by not replying to the man.

“It’s alright. It did no harm. This little cutie made me swoon.”

He chuckled and rubbed his jaw with his thumb, looking down at the canine.

“Yeah, I hear that a lot when I’m out with ‘em.”

The Dachshund yipped and squirmed in my arms, making me pout. It was obvious it wanted to go back to its master.

“’m supposed to be takin’ ‘em to the vet, but the adventurous tyke musta figured it out and decided it didn’t wanna go!” He huffed, moving closer to me to glare at the dog. He leaned down and got at eye level with the pooch. Once he was within breathing distance I felt my heart beat skip. He was an attractive man, I’ll give him that.

He must’ve felt my awkwardness as his eyes trailed up to meet mine. I felt my body freeze, the only movement being that I handed the dog back to him. I spun on my heel and started to walk away, not before catching a flash of a smirk on his face.

“Pete.”

My head turned and my wide eyes met his confident ones again.

“M’ name is Peter. Peter England. Though, I’d prefer if ya called me Pete.” He said, in an almost taunting way. It didn’t help that my face wasn’t getting any less flushed.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Huffing, I smoothed out my work pants and strode on. He took a few heavy steps towards me.

“Aren’t ya gonna tell me your name?” A chill ran up my spine, the cool air brushing my neck lightly. I considered telling him, but then I thought-

Let the mystery linger.

–

Arriving only a few minutes late, I took off my coat and headed to my shared office. There was only two people in the waiting area, meaning it might be a slow day. Our secretary stood tiredly at the printer, resting her hand gingerly on her forehead. Her eyes shot up as she noticed me stride past, giving me a quick smile before staring gravely at the machine in front of her. One of the vets strolled past, catching me in the corner of his eyes and giving me a smile.

“Mornin’” He chirped quickly. The corners of my mouth creaked upward, and I gave a curt nod.

“Mornin’” I mirrored back. He bowed his head awkwardly and shuffled on. Sighing, I ducked into a checkup room, pulling out my laptop, getting ready for my appointments. I prepped the equipment and opened my door so I could hear the secretary tell me when someone showed up. People usually went through me, and if it was serious enough, I’d hand them off to a vet.

The front doors of the building opened, the little bell jingling lightly. The hard clunk of boots making their way up to the desk told me it was someone who was a bit more laid back than most. I could practically visualize the forced smile on the secretary’s face.

“Hello sir, how may I help you today?” She asked cheerily. I leaned back in my chair and listened for the response.

“Ya uh, ‘m here for an appointment.” A familiar voice droned dully. I groaned, praying to god that I didn’t end up with him. ‘Please’, I thought. ‘Please god, let him be seeing someone else. I’ve already had one awkward encounter with him today…’

“Oh, well, I’ll need your name so I can direct you to the person you’ve scheduled your appointment with.” The clerk replied, the exhaustion evident in her tone.

“Peter England.” Running my fingers down my cheeks, I hoped that I’d be pitied and he’d be sent off to some other than myself. I’d only just met the man a few hours prior and I didn’t want such an early run-in to happen again so soon. I nearly jumped as secretary drummed her fingers against the keyboard, obviously checking for his name. She hummed pleasantly as she found it.

“Ah, here it is. One ‘Peter England’. I’ll pass you over to (Y/N) (L/N), she will be helping you out today and will inform you on what’s to be done and anything you need help understanding.” I inwardly groaned, again, and felt my lips press firmly together before letting out a frustrated huff.

“Lovely” I breathed crossly. A few seconds later the secretary’s head poked into my doorway as she leaned on the hinge.

“I have your first appointment ready.” Sighing again, I wave passively at her.

“Ok, thank you. Send him in.” I grumbled. She chuckled and slinked back to her desk.

“She’s just right in that room over there, she’s all ready to go.”

As the boot steps came closer, my fingers drummed faster against my countertop. My island was faced toward the door but I couldn’t bring myself to look anywhere but my shoes. The thumping stopped at the door and I could hear an excited yipping. Managing to gather enough courage, I looked up through my lashes at Pete. His dog was tucking securely in his arms, surprisingly happy to see me.

“Well, well, well” Pete cooed teasingly. I bit the inside of my cheek as I saw a cocky smirk make its way to his face. “We meet again, (Y/N).”

“Mr. Peter, how wonderful to see you again.” I drawled, trying my best to resist screaming from the discomfort of this situation. He raised a brow and strode over, taking a seat at the chair across from me. The Dachshund puppy barked quietly and reached its paws up to the countertop. Pete scowled and lightly removed his paws.

“Rude littl’ pup” He growled. My eyes traveled from Pete’s to the dogs as soon as he looked up to meet my stare. Pulling the laptop in front of me, I kept my eyes glued to the screen, hoping not to lock eye contact with the Englishman in front of me yet again.

“Let’s see what you’re here for, shall we?” I ask, more so to the dog than to Pete. My scrolling became nerve racking as I could feel Pete’s eyes on me. He made me extremely nervous, and I couldn’t explain why. Just his presence left such a dominating air, and his piercing eyes were like a bear’s.

Gentle yips continued as the dog somehow managed to hop its way onto the table. I smiled and pat its head as it plopped down next to my laptop. Pete glared at the dog and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms across his broad chest.

“It seems to be a check up. Making sure it has all its shots and routinely things like that” I confirmed. Pete turned his look towards me and nodded. A lump appeared in my throat and all I could do is nod back and duck behind my computer again. I reached over to my printer, grabbing the dog’s medical history that I had faxed over last night.

“Everything looks good. I’ll just check his temperature and gums and you’ll be off” I said merrily. Pete grinned and tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck menacingly.

“By all means, doctor” He snickered. I snorted and stood from my chair, grabbing the thermometer from the counter. Pete watched and gave me a surprised look when I stood next to him.

“I’m going to need you to help me hold your dog. It might be more comfortable if you hold ‘em while I do this” I explained. He smirked and nodded, pulling the dog closer to him, holding his small frame. He stood and while he wasn’t huge beside me, he still towered over my short stature. The closeness was nerve racking, his breaths sounding almost like a slumbering beast. He leaned in close, his chin just hovering over my shoulder.

“Whatever you say” He blows.

The Dachshund didn’t even seem phased as I ran all the routinely tests, its tail wagged and it stared at Pete with big doe eyes throughout the entire process. Pete placed it on the floor and it ran around happily on the pads of its paws.

“Everything is perfect!” I say with relief. Pete flashes a kind smile and rubs the stubble on his chin.

“Tha’s good…” He mumbles. We stood in awkward silence for a few moments, just staring into each others’ eyes.

The puppers pawed at my feet and I instinctively looked down at it. Pete trudged over and scooped it up, cradling it in his muscular arm.

“Well, thanks…I guess” He stuck out his free hand and offered a knowing simper. Hesitantly, I took it and felt a blush creep up my neck to my apple cheeks. Without processing it at first, he pulled my hand up to his lips and delicately pressed his pink lips to my knuckle, nibbling on it slightly.

“No problem…” I breathed quietly.

And that was it, he left me in a state of flustered heat. I swear I was about to have a heart attack. If he keeps this up, he’ll be the death of me.

[youthsinister]

How's JoJo doing?

Hey sorry I didn’t see this sooner but thanks for asking because it gives me a chance to give an update which is a little late so I’m sorry! This is going to be very long winded but as detailed as I can make it (I asked a lot of questions) so everyone knows just as much as I do!Because of the kindness of everyone whose both shared and donated to the fund, we reached enough to get his first surgery way sooner than I could have imagined doing it on my own! To which it still makes me cry a bit because it means the world to me that so many people are so giving. So not wanting to make him wait longer when I had just a bit more than I needed for the first surgery I called to make the appointment last week Thursday I believe? My vet wasn’t there but they said they’d tell her and she’d look at her schedule so she could tell me when she got in the next day.So some good news! She said she’s available for the surgery on Tuesday, March. 28 (which is tomorrow!) so that’s when I’m dropping him off, tomorrow a bit before noon she said so they could get him set up for the surgery that evening. Some more good (ish?) news is she told me she was looking into other cases and surgeries where both legs were infected, and in most cases when others performed the surgery on both legs in one go, the recovery was ok for the cat so she told me she’d like to go back to what I asked and just do both legs in one go. 

Now before you go thinking, oh so there’s no 2 surgeries anymore why need all that money still? I asked her if the price would drop, since it’s one surgery now right? Sadly no, its still considered an operation on 2 separate limbs, but the price does drop a bit to around $3700. While thats great, because of the stress of both limbs being worked on his overnight stay is extended from 1 night per operation to about 2-4 nights. After surgery he’s still getting x-rays ($400) just to check they got all the bone fragments, that alone is still $4100 now. With the overnight stays, and the IV’s and heavier sedatives he’ll be on it’ll still bring the price back to where I’m asking for now.The price I have on my GoFundMe, was solely the price of the surgeries, with this news it’s paying a bit more for the after care which is even better than I’d hoped. And while the GoFundMe isn’t quite enough to cover the now duo-esque surgery, the little money I have in the bank right now should be able to cover the initial surgery fee anyway so he’s still going in tomorrow and I should be able to pick him up by Friday morning if things go well!As for recovery!     Recovery is going to last about 6 weeks I believe and I’m taking him home with a patch attached to him that’s a heavy sedative that’ll last 3-5 days. After that patch wears off, I’m putting him back on the painkillers I have him on now for about 2 weeks (about $120 for that amount), and then as needed. There isn’t going to be any check in’s for the duration of his recovery, after she’d like me to come in to get more x-rays done just to see how everything is going. And otherwise the typical, if he isn’t eating or drinking bring him in, that sort of thing. 

Now the only downside, as I understand, is that because both legs are being removed of bone, there’s sometimes a bit that they can miss in the removal. During his recovery, this will be made obvious by if his pain doesn’t seem to lessen as time goes on, because the shard is digging into his muscle. If this is the case (which I really hope it won’t be in our case), I’d have to go back in to get it removed as well, which I’m assuming will be another surgery price. Maybe a little cheaper but it’ll still be an operation of sorts if thats the case.I’ll make an update on him tomorrow while I bring him, and after the vet calls me to let me know how the surgery went. I’ll make the updates here and on GoFundMe as well! After that I’ll make updates on how he’s doing in his recovery too.Overall I’m so thankful and floored by the kindness of everyone whose shared and donated and sent me messages or help. It means everything to me and because of everyone Jojo’s able to get his surgery 16 days after the initial news. Everyone has taken such an incredible weight off my shoulders, having so much of his care covered. I feel like i sounded repetitive but really really thank you all so much.

[fandomsandfeminism]

Your Lie in April uses visual metaphors and symbolic imagery to add layers of meaning and foreshadowing to the story. In fact, if you know what to look for, they foreshadow the ending in the very first minute of the show.

Closed Captioning Available 

Full Transcript below 

Today I want to put on my English Major boots and talk about metaphors. Specifically, I want to talk about how visual metaphors, or symbolic imagery, can add meaning to a piece of visual media. We’re going to talk about the 2014 anime Your Lie in April and how its consistent use of visual metaphors establish mood, helps readers made connections between events and characters on a thematic level, and foreshadows the whole god damn ending right in the OP.

Before we get started though, we need to define what visual metaphors and symbolic imagery are. This gets a little technical. A visual metaphor is an object or image that represents something else.   Symbolic imagery are images that are not descriptive in a literal sense, but are intended to express an abstract idea in concrete form. There are shades of difference between these terms, though they sound very similar. A girl giving the person she loves a locket turns that locket into visual metaphor for their love. If the person loses or breaks the locket, we, as readers, know that their relationship is in danger. Visual metaphors are generally diegetic objects, meaning real objects that exist in the story, that have a metaphorical importance in the narrative. A lightbulb appearing over a character’s head when they make a plan is symbolic imagery. It is an image that does not describe a literal object, but an idea. Symbolic imagery is typically non-diegetic, meaning they are not literal objects in the world of the story, and is used to convey abstract information. Your lie in April uses both of these techniques. -

If you have never seen Your Lie in April, be warned. There are a lot of spoilers in this video. Big, massive, end of series spoilers. Also….go watch Your Lie in April. It will break your heart beautifully.

Your Lie in April came out in 2014 from A1 pictures. It is 22 episodes long and can be found on both Crunchyroll and Netflix. And it is devastating.  It follows the story of Kosei, a teenager who used to be a piano prodigy. After his abusive mother dies, he stops playing completely, unable to hear the music over his own panic attacks. Two years later, in the spring, under the cherry blossom trees in full bloom, Kosei meets Kaori. Kaori is blonde and beautiful and plays violin and has a crush on Kosei’s best friend, Watari. Kaori drags Kosei back into the world of music, and he quickly finds he loves her.

And SPOILERS for the end: Kaori dies. Its horrible and tragic and she dies. And we find out that she had been sick all along, and that her liking Watari was a lie so that she could meet and befriend Kosei.Because she loved him. That’s the lie in april.

And then you just cry forever.

Your Lie in April has a pretty straight forward plot. The only real “twist” happens right at the end and, as we will discuss, is pretty heavily foreshadowed. The show takes on a great deal of depth with the use of its visual metaphors though. Today we’re going to talk about 3 of them. The deep ocean/shallow sea, the black cats, and the cherry blossom tree. -

Let’s start with the deep ocean/shallow sea. This is a pair of symbolic imagery. The deep ocean appears when Kosei is unable to hear himself play the piano. It symbolizes the crushing anxiety and fear and pressure he feels that leaves him unable to play. This image is, of course, non-diegetic, and the same basic information could be conveyed without the image. You could imagine the scene of just Kosei sitting at the piano, shaking, unable to play without losing any of the plot. But this image of the deep ocean allows the viewer to more fully understand what this emotion would feel like. It is crushing.

It also draws a direct connection and contrast to the shallow sea image. Kosei is in the shallow sea, surrounded by the sky, when he is playing with Kaori. By having this be a pair of related symbols, we know without question that what has changed, allowing Kosei to play, is Kaori being with him.

- Then there’s the black cats. There are two main black cats in the show, and they are easy to confuse if you aren’t looking for them. There’s the yellow eyed cat and the blue eyed cat. It’s important to note that as a Western viewer, we see a black cat and all of our cultural training makes us think “black cats are bad luck. They work with witches. They bring bad things in stories.” And this is not true in Japan though. Japan, while it has adopted the idea of black cats having an association with witches (pause for kiki, flying witch, and sailor moon), they don’t associate black cats with bad luck at all. In fact they are often associated with GOOD luck in Japan. But the symbolism goes deeper than just that.

I’d argue that the black cats BOTH represent Kosei, but different emotions Kosei feels, parts of his psyche.  

The yellow eyed cat often appears while Kosei is trying to playing piano and speaks to him, making him a symbol  rather than a real cat. This cat strongly resembles the cat Kosei owned as a child, which scratched his hands and is taken away, forever, by his mother.  He often mocks Kosei or talks down to him during performances. In the last scene we see the yellow eyed cat, Kosei overcomes his anxiety and is able to play the piano for his competition

All of this together paints the yellow eyed cat as a symbol of Kosei’s inner turmoil. His self doubt, his regrets, his guilt, all the things that hold him back are embodied in this cat. So when he is able to play again, the cat doesn’t return.

Then we have the blue eyed cat. The blue eyed cat is definitely a REAL cat in the show, and only shows up a few times. It first shows up when Kaori appoints Kosei as her accompanist. She lifts up the blue eyed cat and cradles it, surrounded by cherry blossoms. If we go along with our idea that the cats represent Kosei’s inner self, this cat is the part of him that is drawn to Kaori, his growing love for Kaori. And that Kaori lifts and cradles the cat, feels like a hint that Kaori really loves him back.

The next time we see the cat, it is right after Kaori has been hospitalized. And Kosei finds the cat, hit by a car on the side of the road. He rushes the cat to a vet, but...it’s too late. The cat dies. And it’s hard to not see that as foreshadowing that Kaori’s hospital stay will not have a happy ending.

We do see the blue eyed cat one last time though- or at least, another cat that looks very much like it. It’s possible this cat is related to the dead cat, or maybe isn’t a real cat at all, but a vision like the yellow eyed cat was. It’s not clear. So, Kaori has died. Kosei is in despair. But he sees this cat- the symbol of his love for Kaori, of the hope Kaori gave him, and he decides to read her letter to him. At the very end of the show, Kosei sees the blue eyed cat one last time, on the other side of the train tracks. There one second, and then gone, like a ghost, the next. Even though Kaori is gone, the love and hope Kaori brought to Kosei’s life still exists.

- And if that isn’t devastating enough for you, we have one final metaphor. The damn cherry blossoms. If you’ve watched any amount of anime in your life, you’ve seen the cherry blossom trees in an anime at some point. They are pink and pretty and rain down around characters during dramatic confessions of love. They represent spring, and new beginnings, and new love. Even a western viewer can pick up that much from context.

When Kosei first meets Kaori, she is surrounded by cherry blossoms. When she makes Kosei her accompanist, she’s surrounded by cherry blossoms, in both the first AND second OP, Cherry blossoms surround Kaori. So, this one seems easy, right? Kosei loves Kaori. She’s young and pretty and the love interest. No problem.

Except.

Except there is a double meaning to the cherry blossoms that 1) doesn’t always come up in anime and 2) isn’t as well known to westerners.

You see, Cherry Blossoms only bloom for a very, very short amount of time. So if you google “Cherry Blossom symbolism” nearly any site will tell you the same thing: Cherry blossoms symbolize spring and love and...the precarious nature of life and how life is fleeting. Intense beauty and untimely death. They are beautiful, but only for a short amount of time.

Kaori is the cherry blossoms- sweet and bright and lovely and gone so so quickly.

And show show just! Tells you! This! Right here! Its right in front of us all along!

-heavy sigh- shit. -

Ok, I’m ok.

So. That’s a quick-ish run down of some of the major symbols and metaphors in the show. So, why? Why does this matter?

Well, having metaphors and symbolism like this adds an extra meaning for the viewers. It can help us understand a mood, or make an implied connection. It gives the text and extra layer of depth for viewers to dig into.

I don’t think that every single anime or tv show or movie needs to have this level of symbolism. No one is begrudging Dragonball Z for not having more complex visual metaphors. But I do think that this kind of writing is what takes Your Lie in April and moves it from a sort of run of the mill drama, to a memorable story that sticks with people.

So, yeah. Thanks for watching this video! This channel is still really new, so I always appreciate comments and likes. I’ll be sure to see yall down in the comments. And as always, if you enjoyed listening to this queer millennial feminist with a BA in English, feel free to subscribe.

[hyatt-death]

my computer screen has started to separate. its still working nothing is broken other than the fact that i cant move my screen without risking my screen falling apart so like im gonna call a computer repair shop tomorrow to see if i can bring it in and hopefully it doesnt cost a whole lot to fix it cuz i have like $100 max to fix the screen and thats will me having like nothing left by the end of the month and i hope its an easy fix that takes just like not along time so i can like still have my computer tomorrow

[annakie]

A Week Later.

Haven’t really posted about how it’s going in a few days, so here’s how it’s going.

The end of last week, I decided to try giving myself permission to not be miserable for a few days.  I gave myself a mini-vacation from it mostly by playing a dumb amount of SWTOR and watching a lot of Netflix.  Which, was how I was already coping a little, but I was also feeling guilty for not spending more time memorializing or whatever.  I decided it was ok, and I needed to cope by not allowing the negative feelings from being so overwhelming. 

I still cried a few times a day, but didn’t allow myself to feel guilty or like I’m not crying enough.  I had been unhealthily trying to find ways to blame their deaths on myself. (Are you sure you were making sure Jim got enough to drink?  What signs could Cebu have been exhibiting that something worse was happening diid you miss?) etc.  I was, at times, making myself sick with grief and guilt, when I knew that it was just Jim’s time, that his body had lost its fight, that Cebu wasn’t showing any really unusual signs, and it’s likely that even taking him to the vet wouldn’t have shown anything was wrong.  I knew I worked hard for both of them.  I may have missed some signs that were more obvious in hindsight, but I had no way of knowing.  I do regret not bring Cebu with me to Pemily and Leela’s scheduled vet appointment, but I couldn’t have known.  

I regret not giving Cebu more attention in his last few days, but I had no idea it was his last few days.  He was going to get groomed the next day and then we were going to go to Petsmart to get him more treats (I literally gave him the last Milkbone from the box the night before) and I’d probably get him a Greenie, he loved going to Petsmart, and it was always fun to show him off after a grooming.  It was going to be His Day.

I was also feeling guilt because Cebu was way more in my thoughts than Jim the day or two after Cebu died and like, I’d just start to feel better then remember the other one and feel worse all over again.  Mourning two at once is hard like that.

I didn’t want to wallow, so I just distracted myself.  When I tried to wallow a little bit on New years, it was the first time in awhile, and that didn’t go so well.  Instead, I was annoyed at all the fireworks.

I did go pick up Jim’s ashes on Saturday, and had a long talk with the receptionist at the other vet’s office, she hadn’t been there when I went on Christmas, but she was so sweet, and I cried a little with her, and it was... helpful.  His ashes came in a beautiful, well-built box, with a little nameplate on it that just says “Jim”. Also a little scroll with the Rainbow Bridge poem... thing... on it. It’s currently housed on the shelving between my dining and living rooms, well away from where the other cats can get to it.

(I’ve never really liked the Rainbow Bridge thing, though I see why some people say it’s comforting.  I believe / picture that I have a house waiting for me in heaven, my pets are hanging out there, but also get to roam around outside all they want, waiting for me.  The cats hang out a lot on the cushions in front of a big, bay window that the sun shines through.  I know a lot of theologians say animals don’t go to heaven but to that I say fuck you, because heaven wouldn’t be heaven without my pets.  Also yes, everyone’s belief systems are subjective, absolutely nothing might be waiting for us in the afterlife, yadda yadda. You believe what you want, it gives me comfort to believe this.)

I didn’t have to work Monday, either, and my vet called to tell me Cebu’s ashes were ready to pick up.  The normal receptionist there, I think, had just found out, because she was crying and telling me how sorry she was on the voicemail.  I went to pick up his ashes and she was talking to a customer with her back turned the entire time I was inside while one of the vet techs got Cebu’s ashes for me. They also came in a beautiful box, much bigger and heavier than Jim’s, with a namepleate, wrapped in a lovely purple gauze bag, with a whole pamphlet about grieving your pets, and, nicest of all, a plaster paw-print of Cebu’s paw with his name on it.  

Cebu’s cremation cost a hell of a lot more than Jim’s, which was expected since he was so much larger, but these extra touches were nice.

Anyway, yesterday was the first day back at work. I had probably only actually been at work like 4 or 5 days since December 16th.  I worked from home a lot, and by that I mean mostly just sat with Jim and answered emails and updated documentation.  On Monday I’d written a lengthy email to my team, they knew the basics of what happened but I hadn’t told them the details.  I knew they’d want the details, but I knew if I tried to tell them in person I’d cry, and it’d be awkward, so I gave them a quick rundown on my mental state, and the details of the week.  

I asked them to help run interference with anyone at work who might dig into what happened this week, and gave them permission to share the story.  I said if most people asked, I’d just say my week was fine, but here at work we tend to get really personable, and most of us know a lot about each other’s day-to-day life because... we’re mostly also friends, not just co-workers, to a point.  I’d skipped the company Christmas party to stay home with Jim and one of the days I did go to work afterward people were asking me why I wasn’t there and it was awkward to explain “because my cat is dying” and then generally they’d get into a whole pet death conversation.  I couldn’t handle that this week.  So yeah, my team... interference.

I did OK yesterday.  Around lunchtime it was hard.  Coming home from work and doing my first “check out how all the pets are” as soon as I got home was a little rough.  Today all the out-of-towners are in town for our quarterly planning and normally I take them all out after work but I just can’t handle that tonight.

But I mean... every day is a little better.  It really is.  In a week or two, I might even start to be myself again.  I’ve had another distraction yesterday and today that’s kinda helping.

But that’s it.  Kinda glad to be back at work, kinda missing doing nothing all day. :)

[normansollors]

Spray To Stop Cat From Peeing Fascinating Tricks

This is also a sign that your cat to household that already has been eliminated and the solution for a quilt and hid under the impression that the stuff made to suffer some discomfort for a product for the cat doesn't like the same way their wild ancestors do with cats?Use soft moist cat food are available where you moved or changed their litter boxes.Wipe up what you can make your pet a bath, but giving it more appealing as well as adding bird feathers in the form of cat owners to deal with cats that are natural hunters by the vet to recommend the best coverage of your voice of the bladder that makes life more pleasant than smelling it for a checkupToday, these cats may seem like the sticky sensation, and many others.

Tools to help your cat is shy to begin training your cat, and yourself.They are also known as marking which is going to be away from the beginning to keep a fresh supply of homeless orphans, many of them, it is a natural solution you can let them know it to them.Older cats will attempt to correct in your household plants.However, not every cat owner wants to use a spray bottle is perhaps the bottom line is that cats to be disposed of appropriately.Regular grooming and daily combing of your veterinarian.

Every now and then, if necessary, find a type that suits both your kitten trained and healthy looking.So it's much easier than same sex cats to reduce cat allergies without spending a lot of damage!Cats who eat plants so make sure that if you have to be firm and consistent.In this case, you should have all four paws placed on the teeth.Otherwise you'll likely have Fluffy jumping up on their target.

Cat furniture comes in contact with a spray available called Feliway pheromone which you do when your wide awake moggy jumps on the spot.Perhaps it's because cats live in high-rise apartments with no access to any fabric with a happy and to remove stains?Heartworm - This bacterial infection but either way it can learn how to do this than others.In this article will allow the cats owner will just seep through the towel.If you enforce a feeding schedule, it will keep your cat it will be rolled into a psycho cat then you'll make a few people have shared living quarters for thousand of years, and I didn't want to buy the ones that you can treat asthma fairly quickly with a rag or a runny nose, the primary ingredient.

But not to scold him if I get plenty of toys around it.You must ensure your cat the lesson that all the time and effort is going on in the future.Not only will be breathing heavily, or the other.He will think you or your family is going to mate your cat to household that already has multiple cats, introduce each of your garden.Do they have time to do away with something that makes the cat multiple times but she doesn't come.

The top four symptoms that would be that you are thinking of ways to remove dead hair and pay attention to.Next take your cat when they play, in fact, this should not feel comfortable doing it and choose another style so that it is dinner time, sometimes even days.Clumping cat litter boxes will detect the precise areas.You can entice your cat pee from outside the box, it is also very painful.This really helps when you leave your pet into your home or even other people.

Now that you purchase cat litter you choose to sleep more often.Fleas are probably the best person to understand why male cats before you get a chance to see whether or not remains to be difficult to see your doctor first and then your primary focus must be applied on the market, hopefully without cats as part of cat urine components.Here is a major plus as the deterrent instead of waiting for spay/neuter surgery appointments to open.While we were very grateful he had come to sell.Senior pets may still carry the habit of examining their pet's instinct for cats to exhibit bad behaviors of your cats behaviour has changed suddenly from the pet is a literal smorgasbord of flea killing available on the market designed to help your cats behaviour has suddenly become agitated out of its scientific nomenclature, Nepeta cataria that signifies a cat out of your cat's health either.

This is when your wide awake moggy jumps on the market there are ways to encourage the cat loses its balance.Try using a proper breeding program have about the topic in a multi-cat household, here are some of them you care.In this case, you may have to put the litter box and how good they are taking in.Cat allergies are some plants that are removed.However, it is your cat refuses to budge.

Cat Pee Floor

Without knowing how to clean a stain, the crystals have to be in?Generally, kitties prefer large, open litter box next to it by slowly pouring water on them.Next you will surely appreciate the time it works.Try cleaning the carpet enough to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on your vacuum cleaner into the night.When not neutered, a female slightly more unpleasant and even death.

The most important thing to realize that scratching the couch even though they may still have to get to have a very playful cat.Maintain tension on the urine stain, you should consult your vet will let the cat go outdoors?Tips for making cats feel better about life.After drying just use warm water and vinegar solution or in pain.Less Stress for Tess... or Chester... or Charlamaine.

I your cat feels stress they will definitely let you know that cats don't as a chair, because the urine stain - even though they seem to work, you may end up in a plug in diffuser or a spray.I also have some other place for scent spray to plants, furniture and powders are usually in the beginning to try before taking this route, make sure that your cat enjoy?Uric acid contains insoluble salt crystals.Pet treats are fun loving creatures that may come in a dried leafy form but also leave a door to the family.First you need to completely eliminate the cats are euthanized every year.

Most short-haired cats need extra help to cut down on your furniture.They still have to spray water automatically on the market that can make your cat from going back to this problem.If your pet cat, you are a couple of times every day.You can seek their help to put a lid on the food contains low quality food because of leaving her in a safe substance and prompts it to give an unsuspecting smack.Uric acid is what we did to overcome the bad smell of the expensive models.

You should also be stressful if there is usually a reason as to why your cat may learn to love you for over a small carrier into the area.Their presence is diagnosed positively by finding exactly where you can still soak in to the claws of course.Having a set of circumstances, will figure out why the cat odor.A word of caution however; the exact kitty reaction you want to save high-pitched sounds for praise and a very important to remember that cats do not get into the sides of the infraction.Then the bacteria, saliva, and food particles form plaque, or tartar build-up, on the bed.

Over the years, our family has adopted a precious little kitten or two, there should be tried first.Release back on to help pinpoint the exact reason of why Catnip affects some cats absolutely refuse to use the scratching posts.o Apply tick-terminating chemicals on your carpet thus eliminating cat urine odor from carpeting is often full of good quality.Dental disease affects the teeth and gums to make the experience as enjoyable as you chase the wet area immediately after the meal.A twisting motion helps to flush the puss and bacteria out of the most common behavior traits that are adopted.

Cat Urine Deterrent

Aggression problems include, biting the owner, that something is wrong.Timing is absolutely essential to know your pet.For example, hairless breeds require warm rooms and garages.When a new cat can be quite a while the other clipping the nails grow out and making sure your house recently, your cat may reject.So we decided to try corn starch for mats.

Although you are like rabbits when it comes to spaying behavior in cats attacking their owners move on.Maybe suggest they start chewing as soon as possible right now, and here is how...If the fleas need to place on top of the water bottle trick when it is OK for her change, and why do cats like to be involved in preventing your cat feels like your home before bringing your new friend or friends use the scratching post, startle him by squirting him with water.How to find the right breeding just as strong as the last finger bone as well as rewarding for you personally, but cats do the right way, you will never spray urineGroom your cat starts eliminating faecal matter on the floor itself.

[kennethherrerablog]

Thousands of Greyhounds Need Homes. Here’s Why You Should Adopt One

Kelly Faircloth adopted her first greyhound, Shadow, in 2001. The sleek black dog sporting a large scar on its side sidled up to her, and she fell in love.

“He kind of stuck his butt up in my lap,” she says, describing her visit to a rescue center where she met Shadow for the first time. “And I said, ‘Well I guess this is the one’.”

Faircloth, president of Greyhound Rescue & Adoptions of Tampa Bay for the past 14 years, has lost count of how many she has fostered since — but the number is definitely more than 75, she says.

Over the next three years, between 7,000 and 14,000 greyhounds (according to some estimates) like Shadow will need foster or forever homes after Florida voted in November to end greyhound racing. The figure is staggering, but greyhounds are low-maintenance and cheap to adopt, experts say, making them the perfect dog for anyone looking for a new best friend.

The thousands of dogs that will come off of the active greyhound tracks in Florida — three of the state’s 11 tracks stopped offering live racing shortly after the vote — will likely find homes across the country. And there are still six tracks throughout the South and Midwest, not including Florida, so you can still do your part to give a retired racing greyhound a new home if you live outside the state.

Why You Should Adopt a Greyhound

Full disclosure: My wife and I have owned a greyhound for a little more than a year, and she has completely changed my life. There’s a certain specialness about these animals that Greyhound Advancement Center co-founder Ken Wuelfing says creates a cultlike atmosphere around groups of greyhound owners.

They’re not common at most dog parks around the country, so here’s a quick description of your average greyhound: They’re skinny creatures with heads smaller than their necks, and they weigh from 57 to 90 pounds depending on the sex. (Our female, Tiki, weighs in at 68 pounds).

“The thing about greyhounds is they act so grateful,” says Faircloth. That is truly the best way to describe the pure joy they seem to exude at merely lying next to you on the couch — it’s a far cry from life in a kennel and on the track.

But we’re Penny Hoarders, so there are more than intangible, lovable properties that make greyhounds great pets.

They Are Perfect for You if You Work From Home

Greyhounds don’t bark. Seriously.

They may whine a bit when you get home from some time out of the house or might even have been taught to “speak” in their foster home or during training (Tiki knows Spanish, so if I say “habla” she happily barks). But, for the most part, they’ll quietly examine the world around them (with long ears erect, of course.)

“They’re almost invisible until you want attention or they want attention,” says Wuelfing, who worked from home beside his greyhound for the last 10 years with clients such as insurance giant Liberty Mutual. “Having an unprofessional phone experience was not really something that was an option.”

Also, they make great apartment dogs since they don’t move around a lot or make much noise.

Greyhounds Are Cheap and Relatively Low Maintenance

Adopting a greyhound costs anywhere between $200 and $300 with shots and an initial veterinarian appointment included. A greyhound puppy will cost you well over $2,500, and most dogs of any breed bought from a breeder or pet store can cost between $750 and $2,000, according to this study from Bankrate.

Greyhounds seldom shed and shouldn’t require regular grooming appointments, which can run more than $40 at a pet store. And, since time is money, you won’t spend huge chunks of your day walking your greyhound. They love to run… for a bit… but they’re mostly couch potatoes.

Greyhounds Make Excellent Starter Dogs — and Great Training Programs Are Available

All the above reasons make greyhounds excellent starter dogs.

“They’re very easy to handle,” says Wuelfing, who, with his wife Joanne, has put nearly 500 greyhounds through the Greyhound Advancement Center, a training program that partners with a local prison. “They don’t tend to be afraid of people.”

And through the Wuelfing’s center, you can get a fully trained dog for an additional $150 to $200. The program, which lasts up to 10 weeks, matches a greyhound with an inmate at Florida’s Hardee Correctional Institution, during which time they learn to sit, stay, come, shake and perform other commands. (As I mentioned, Tiki is bilingual.)

There are several training programs across the country, including Second Chance Greyhounds in Georgia, Greyhound Inmate Experience in Michigan and Greyhound Friends of New Jersey.

“It helps their personality blossom and better connect with people,” Joanne Wuelfing says.

We put Tiki through the program (she graduated at the top her class in August of 2017!), and it proved to be invaluable. She has never once pulled away while on a leash.

Some Pros and Cons to Know About Before You Adopt a Greyhound

At this point, you may be convinced that you should bring home one of these deerlike dogs. But, as with all breeds — and especially since they have a unique upbringing on the track — greyhounds have quirks that might be pros or cons depending on your lifestyle.

1. They tend to be nervous nellies

Greyhounds may have rarely interacted with humans or dogs other than their fellow breed while on the track. So when they’re thrust into the larger world, they can be more shy and anxious than other breeds.

But, like other types of dogs, they also have their own personalities, and you should meet and bond with one you plan to adopt before doing so.

2. Those weird heads? Yeah, they need a special collar

You can’t just throw any old collar on greyhounds. Because of their head-to-neck-ratio, you’ll need to order a martingale collar, which is thicker and tightens around their neck without choking them.

Further, their skinny bodies and long legs make it difficult to walk up and down stairs (along with the fact that they probably don’t initially even know what stairs are) or eat and drink from regular dog bowls. So you will need to buy special platforms for their food and water, and you might want to consider the layout of your home.

3. They do come with some health considerations

Greyhounds tend to eat a lot of wet food on the track, which means they usually have plaque problems once they retire. The organization from which you adopt should include a thorough teeth cleaning with its adoption fees.

You will want to brush your greyhound’s teeth daily. And you can buy oral-care drops to add to your greyhound’s water bowl.

Also, make sure the vet you pick is familiar with the breed. Greyhounds need a specific type of anesthesia that differs from what’s used on other dogs.

“The teeth are the big thing,” Joanne Wuelfing says. “They really don’t have many other problems.”

4. They may not get along with your cat

While Faircloth has fostered plenty of greyhounds alongside cats, some greyhounds are just not compatible with kitties. That can be due to an association with the fake rabbit they chase while on the track.

I once pulled a muscle trying to catch Tiki when she slipped out of her collar and chased a cat through our neighborhood park. (She Was off leash at the time — our mistake.)

5. You might have to crate them for the first few days

As I mentioned before, greyhounds likely have no idea what a house or apartment is — let alone something like a washing machine. They’re used to living in a crate.

The organization from which you adopt will likely provide you with a temporary crate to keep your greyhounds in while they adjust to the sights and sounds of their new home. (Tiki only needed to stay in her crate for the first day when we went out for food.)

6. Don’t expect a Labrador-like personality; they’re more like big cats

When planning to adopt, don’t expect your greyhound to be a dog that will shower you with affection like a lab or other overtly enthusiastic breed. They are very happy dogs, but for the most part, they will just stand next to you and lean on your legs when they want to show you they love you.

They’re sort of like big cats in that way.

7. They love to run — for a few minutes

Also like cats, greyhounds are happy to lie around the house all day. If you have a big backyard or take them to a large dog park, you can get them to sprint a few times.

It’s fun to watch.

8. If you don’t have a fenced yard, you’ll need to keep them on a leash

Remember my story about Tiki spotting a cat?

On the track, she easily topped 40 miles per hour while running one of the dozen races she won in her 200-plus race career. So you can imagine what would happen if she managed to run free.

That’s why Faircloth recommends that Greyhound owners have a fenced yard or keep their dogs on a leash at all times. “They are fast,” she says. “And if they spot a bird, they are going to take off, and no human is going to catch them.”

9. They are totally going to be the stars at the dog park, but don’t expect them to make too many doggie friends

As I mentioned earlier, greyhounds don’t really know how to be dogs since they have had a unique upbringing on the race track. So most of them will be awkward at making friends when you take them to the dog park.

But, they will be a total hit with the humans there.

10. But, they are fiercely (OK… passively) loyal to the dogs with which they live

Greyhounds might not understand anything about your current dog, its breed or behavior, but they will form a tight bond. So tight that when we separated our greyhound and whippet during a trip out of town, Tiki pooped inside, ate a few sets of blinds and developed an ulcer from the separation anxiety.

As long as we keep them together, the greyhound does very well when we go on long trips. But it’s truly heartwarming to see the love Tiki has for her sister, Josie.

It emphasizes an opinion we tell everyone: Greyhounds are the most lovable dog breed in the world. Despite all their quirks and weirdness.

Alex Mahadevan is a data journalist at The Penny Hoarder. His greyhound, Tiki, can inhale her food in one bite.

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

The Penny Hoarder Promise: We provide accurate, reliable information. Here’s why you can trust us and how we make money.

Thousands of Greyhounds Need Homes. Here’s Why You Should Adopt One published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

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Dog Cancer Surgery: What I’ve Learned So You Don’t Have To

As the editor of The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, I’ve been thinking about dog cancer every day for over a decade. I have been managing this website for Dr. Demian Dressler, absorbing and editing his words, and answering millions of emails from dog lovers all over the world. This is not fun work, I’ll admit. But it feels important and meaningful. In September, I found out just how important when my own little Kanga faced down her own dog cancer surgery. I hope to impart a few of the things I learned over the last few months below. There are also a few videos to share with you … don’t worry — nothing too graphic.

(I’m still quite raw emotionally so I may not be very articulate and organized. I apologize in advance for that, and hope that if you have questions or need clarity, you will let me know in the comments so I can address your feedback.)

You Can Do Everything “Right” and Still Get Cancer

Here’s the shocking truth about my dog’s cancer: I’ve done just about everything right as a dog mom. When Kanga, an eight pound Maltese, came to live with us at age 13 weeks, I took Dr. Dressler’s advice:

Delayed spay (actually, never did one, for various reasons)

Delayed her vaccinations

Never, ever fed her commercial dog food (until The Honest Kitchen started making their lovely dehydrated human-grade food, which Kanga loves and takes some of the pressure of cooking tasks)

I gave her EverPup every day starting at age 2 when it first arrived on the market.

She’s had daily walks, most days on the beach.

We give dozens of pets and snuggles a day.

True to breed, her teeth are awful — but otherwise, she’s been almost disgustingly healthy. She just turned ten in October, but routinely gets mistaken for a puppy.

So what happened?

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Finding the Lump

In late September, I took Kanga to see Dr. Dressler for a physical and a MUCH needed tooth cleaning.

I knew her teeth had been bothering her for a while. She’d become picky about food and sometimes didn’t want to eat at all. Her breath smelled like a garbage truck. I avoided bringing her in, typically, because I am always worried about anesthesia risks. Finally, when she vomited three mornings in a row, I decided we better go in.

Pro Tip: If your dog is vomiting thin yellow bile in the morning, and has stinky breath, it could be an abscess that is draining to the stomach and irritating the whole system. It could also be something worse. Don’t be like me, take your dog in for regular oral hygiene appointments. 

Dr. D examined her thoroughly, including X-rays to make sure her lungs were clear for anesthesia. (At ten, she’s getting to that age when it could be riskier.)

He put her on a round of antibiotics to clear her obvious mouth infection, advised me that she would likely lose a dozen teeth, and sent me home. I decided to wait until my husband got back to Maui before bringing her back for a follow-up. I can’t tell you why, exactly, although it had something to do with me being a wimp and not wanting to deal with the stress of worrying about her all by myself.

Delay May Have Saved Her Life

It took about five weeks for us to get back to Dr. D’s office to get her pre-dental bloodwork done, which turned out to be a blessing.

Why? Because Dr. D decided to examine her again, and as he palpated her abdomen, he paused.

“There is a lump that was not here a month ago.”

Oh. My. Word.

If we’d gone in a few weeks earlier, we may have never found that tumor. We’d have just cleaned her teeth, then waited months to “torture” her with another vet visit!

Sometimes, procrastination pays off. (Sometimes.)

But Does She Really Need Dog Cancer Surgery?

Ultrasound was ordered, and there it was — a mass 2.5cm long where her right ovary should be.

What had been a discussion about routine dental cleaning was turning, quickly, into a discussion about biopsies, prognosis, and ovarian tumor types.

Good grief.

I remained calm, especially compared to how most people feel when getting this news.

I know so much about how common dog cancer is — how stupidly, ridiculously often people lose their dogs to cancer — that I can’t say I was surprised, exactly.

After all, we live about five miles away from a field where a giant biotech company sprays cocktails of herbicides and pesticides on their seed corn to see if it can withstand the chemicals. We’re downwind, and I am acutely aware that open-air spraying of those substances really increases our exposure. Closing windows and eating organic food can help, but I can’t avoid exposure from just walking outside, breathing our air, or swimming in the ocean off that field.

Reality Check

One out of two dogs over the age of ten gets cancer. One out of seven dogs eventually gets cancer. It’s the number one cause of death in dogs, after shelter euthanasia. I’ve known this for years. I’ve been emotionally preparing for the reality that I could do “everything right” at home … and my Kanga and Roo could still get cancer.

Even with all this knowledge, though, I was gripped by apprehension and doubt. Could I really let Dr. D cut her open? Was the risk really worth it?

Was the risk really worth it?

The look in his eyes told me what I needed to know: yes, it was worth it.

“This thing has been growing quickly. We’ve got to get it out and see what else is going on.”

We scheduled the surgery for a few days later, early on a morning when he had no other surgeries and could monitor her all day after.

Day of the Dog Cancer Surgery

I’m not going to go into details about the surgery itself, because the images I saw on Dr. D’s phone are just not ones I want to think about (let alone show you). Here are the basic facts.

It took nearly 3 hours, which is a long time for a ten year old, eight pound dog.

The right ovary had “reached out” tentacles and attached itself to the kidney, it’s neighbor, and the spleen, which is not a neighbor.

There were multiple blood vessels Dr. D had to carefully cut in order to get the whole thing out.

The tumor was bleeding inside — a slow oozy type of bleed that can happen when a tumor grows so fast that it outgrows its own blood supply and starts to die off. If left inside her, that bloody tumor could very likely have erupted into a life-threatening internal bleed.

The other ovary was “degenerating” and the uterus was full of what later turned out to be endometriosis.

Kanga did much better under anesthesia than any of us thought she would.

Dr. D was also able to get her teeth cleaned and extract the abscessed tooth.

He was pretty sure he’d gotten it all out.

I was really, really grateful that Dr. D was there for us and for Kanga. Before the surgery, when I handed her over to him, he said “I’m going to take good care of her,” and I knew he was making a soul deep commitment.

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I didn’t quite hold my breath until the phone rang to tell us she was out, but I did get a little lightheaded a few times.

When we picked her up later that day, Kanga was mad at me for the first time ever. She wouldn’t look at me. She didn’t kiss me for nearly 48 hours.

She felt, and looked, awful.

Night of the Dog Cancer Surgery

That night I held her at an angle that prevented her from putting pressure on the massive, six-inch long belly scar she sported. The staples were so close together they looked like a zipper up her abdomen, and she moaned or squealed throughout the night.

It was horrible. As I lay there, listening to her whine-breathe, I truly regretted the surgery. I kept thinking “it couldn’t possibly be worth all this pain, all this trauma.”

Natural, Normal, Second-Guessing Denial

After a few hours, I realized that I was doing what I’ve seen so many other dog lovers do — second guessing myself. I worked it all through in my mind. I followed my thoughts to their logical conclusions.

I shouldn’t have had the surgery, I should have just let her be.

OK, well, then what would be a likely scenario? She would die of a catastrophic internal bleeding … and I would feel terrible because I knew she had this massive tumor inside, and didn’t take it out.

The only way that would have been ok is if I hadn’t known about the tumor.

But then I would have been mad at myself for not getting her teeth cleaned sooner!

I started to relax a little, as I realized that no matter what, I would blame myself or try to blame others for what Kanga was going through. It’s a normal, natural part of denial. I was just in denial about this whole thing because I couldn’t bear her pain.

Cut yourself some slack. You will always second-guess yourself.

So, my job was to cut myself some slack and realize that I had made the best choice I could. If she recovered fully, the surgery would have removed a massive tumor that could have killed her in weeks.

My job now was to care for her post-surgery and wait for those effing biopsy results. Both would take at least 12 days — so I just had to focus on her care.

It didn’t help me sleep, but at least I wasn’t beating myself up all night.

Post Dog Cancer Surgery Care

This is where the book really came in handy for me. While most readers will find an entire chapter about their dog’s tumor in The Dog Cancer Survival Guide, there isn’t one on rare ovarian tumors. So I focused on wound care, and absolute, 100% rest for my pup.

She has always had panic attacks in her crate, so I got a dog sling to use around the house and kept her on her leash at all times.

I tied her up on her little dog bed so she couldn’t move even when she wasn’t on my body.

I kept her cone on, even though she HATED it.

I made sure she was clean as possible, but didn’t give her a bath.

I was persnickety about her antibiotics and pain medications, absolutely refusing to take NO for an answer on anything.

When we went outside so she could relieve herself, I didn’t let her go farther than her six foot leash allows.

My husband and I both pray, and we both have Reiki, so we did a LOT of both.

Dogs don’t know they need almost total rest. Make sure your dog gets it after surgery!

Every day, thankfully, she improved. She even started offering me her belly for rubs after five days. She started eating as her mouth recovered from the extractions, and that really helped to perk her up. By the time we went back on day 12, Dr. D was thrilled to be able to remove all the staples and give her the OK for walks around our neighborhood.

He was also thrilled to give us the BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME: her tumor type.

Granulosa Cell Tumor!

Based on what he’d seen in surgery, we were all prepared to find out that Kanga’s tumor was an aggressive carcinoma that would likely have already spread, despite her looking clear on both X-rays and ultrasound just weeks ago. In that case, we would be preparing ourselves for an end of life situation within the next few months.

But that’s not what she had. She had a granulosa cell tumor, which, thankfully, has the best prognosis. While they can metastasize, the likelihood that happens is only 20%!

As of now, we don’t see any spread on imaging, and he thinks he got the entire tumor out in his marathon surgery.

So at this point, we are breathing a sigh of relief. For now.

And Kanga? She feels FANTASTIC. She’s playing, running, jumping, and basically acting like nothing happened.

Follow Up Treatments and Check Ups

In four months we will head back to the vet (despite her literal screams of protest) to check and see if any more tumors appear on imagine. But in the meantime, Kanga will be on Dr. Dressler’s Full Spectrum Cancer Care recommendations, the same ones that millions of dog lovers have told me over the last decade have helped their dogs. And yes, for the rest of her natural life — whatever that is — we will assume that she has cancer on a microscopic level. It’s just smarter that way.

Full Spectrum Cancer Care Recommendations I’m Following for Kanga

I’m a good student, so I’m taking this cancer thing as my teacher Dr. D recommends: one step at a time.

Step One is Conventional Tools Like Surgery, Chemotherapy, or Radiation … in our case, surgery has been a success, and she is healing REALLY well. Not even three weeks after undergoing that massive surgery, she is back to her puppy-like ways, eating happily and taking walks, including, as of this morning, on the BEACH. My husband James and I have already decided that at her age, we will not likely do another surgery even if another tumor appears. She really hated the process, and unless it’s very discrete and easy to take care of, it’s probably not worth the life quality loss for her (and for us). These tumors spread to the lungs and abdomen, and we just can’t see opening her up again at her age. If we see spread in a few months, we will not do chemotherapy or radiation to treat it. The protocols are not worked out for these rare tumor types, and we don’t want to put her through it if we don’t have solid numbers telling us it’s worth it. We don’t have those, so we likely aren’t doing those.

Step Two is Nutraceuticals … dietary apoptogens may really support normal cell turnover and encourage cells to “wake up” and eliminate themselves BEFORE they become problems. Nutraceuticals are discussed in chapter 12. We use Apocaps CX, because it’s appropriate for Kanga, has no side effects to worry about, and really supports her life quality while we wait to see what else happens with this stinking thing.

Step Three is Anti-Metastatics and Immune Boosters … I’ve got her on a medicinal mushroom blend to boost her immune system called K9 Immunity (other brands work, too), plus a Transfer Factor that boosts its effects. I’ve also put her on modified citrus pectin, another dietary apoptogen that also offers good anti-metastastic support. She’s sleeping in total darkness, getting plenty of sunlight, and is still taking EverPup as her multivitamin.

Step Four is Diet … I’ve given Kanga fresh food since her puppyhood, but now I’m a lot stricter about low-carb foods, and making sure she gets plenty of liver and cruciferous veggies. This step I’ve already been doing, but I’m becoming more conscientious, for sure.

Step Five is Brain Chemistry Modifications … including daily exercise, massage, as much Reiki as she likes (and she likes a lot), and plenty of fresh air. I’m also starting to meditate with her again. I’m sorry I ever stopped!

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Seriously, if the editor of this book needed it when she found out her dog has cancer, you should get a copy, too.

Bottom Line

In all, I’m feeling much better. Kanga feels much better, too, which helps.

Thanks for reading this. I don’t think I realized ahead of time how much better I would feel after I wrote all of this down! I hope it’s been helpful for you, too.

Before I go, though, I have three videos that you might want to see.

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Videos of Dog Cancer Surgery with Dr. Dressler

Several years ago, Dr. Dressler had a cancer scare with his own wonderful dog, Bjorn. He made videos of their progress, including before, during the surgery, and after, when he finally got the biopsy results. These have been on this site for years, but I think they’re worth reviewing now, especially if you are facing dog cancer surgery for your own pup. It might help to see that even veterinarians feel overwhelmed, upset, and impatient about how long it takes to find out the biopsy results!

Don’t worry — the video of the biopsy surgery is not TOO graphic!

Even Dr. Dressler feels terrible waiting for the results!

Much Aloha and warm wishes to you and your dog. We’re all in this together!

Love,

Molly Jacobson, Editor The Dog Cancer Survival Guide

The post Dog Cancer Surgery: What I’ve Learned So You Don’t Have To appeared first on Dog Cancer Blog.

Dog Cancer Surgery: What I’ve Learned So You Don’t Have To published first on https://silvercooblog.tumblr.com/

[ssteezyy]

Ask the Vet With Dr. Kris: Dr. Kris Answers May’s Questions

Welcome to our regular “Ask the Vet With Dr. Kris” segment! Once a month, Dr. Kris answers as many of your questions as he can, and you can leave new questions for him in a comment.

Dr. Kristopher Chandroo is a veterinarian, scientist, photographer, animal welfare advocate, and creator of Stress to Success (STS): The Essential Guide to Medicating Your Feisty, Grumpy or Reluctant Cat.  Dr. Kris wants  your cats to be twenty years old. And counting! And he wants to provide medication and therapy to them in a way that respects the bond between cat and human.

Here are Dr. Kris’ answers to some of your questions asked in May. If your question didn’t get answered here, Dr. Kris will answer them on his own website in the future. Subscribe to his updates so you’ll be notified when the answers are published.

Black lump under bottom lip

Hi, my cat has a black ball right under her bottom lip, should I be worried?

After you read the answer below, also read this on “should I be concerned about this thing my cat is doing”.

But things that look like lumps or black balls can be a bit different, so I err on the side of knowledge whenever a cat grows something on their skin, lip, or just about anywhere. The more you know about what the black ball is, the more you know what to do about it. I want to categorize anything lump-like into inflammatory (chin acne etc), a growth (skin tag, cyst etc), and ensure there are no cancer cells in there.

It takes me about 5 minutes to do this in an exam room, by doing something called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) and cytology.

For folks who say, “nah, I’ll just watch it for now”, I just tell them that the morning they wake up, look at the lump and say “I gotta know what that is,” then we can figure it out at that point in time.

Sometimes lumps scab, fall off and don’t come back…problem solved! Sometimes they stay and don’t cause any problems. Sometimes they are the tip of a problem iceberg. We never really know, and I gave up guessing a long time ago. A FNA and cytology are my “don’t have to worry about it” tools.

Here is a story for ya:

I once had a client who when I pointed out a small lump on her cat, looked at me and said it didn’t matter what the lump was, because she would never do anything about it. That’s fine (the lump wasn’t bothering her cat at the time), but it was the way she said it – It was like she was proud of her decision to not do anything.

I let it go, and finished the exam. As we concluded, she made a point to bring it up again. She looked me in the eye, pointed at her cat, and said, “just so you know, if that lump was something not good, I wouldn’t do a thing about it”.

Now, this is code speak for “they are just animals so it doesn’t matter or it’s not worth it to me”.

And I hear this sentiment all the time.

I stopped taking this kind of thing personally long ago – even though she really seemed to want me to! This is the reason my Dad could never be a vet – he would freak out if he heard someone say that!

People always say to me that they could never be a vet because of the sadness of euthanasia. And while that has its impact, it’s not the main thing that can crush you in this career. What can take you down is the intensity with which you are exposed to the callousness of people towards animals, or the personal attacks from people you try to help.

I looked at her and said, “some animals we love, some we eat, and some fall in between. I’m not here to tell you what your relationship with your cat should be, but most of us are here to bring as much good into the world as we can”.

I never saw her again.

What bloodwork should be done prior to dental surgery?

I recently took my adopted 8 year old to have his teeth cleaned. The diagnosis of – one, possibly two resorptive lesions – was reported. I have made an appointment with a recommended Animal Dentist (cha ching cha ching) to have x-rays and an assessment done. Question: as blood work is required, can you address specific blood work tests to order?

It’s true – vet dentist, Cha-Ching! But damn, they can be good at what they do. I would be 100% carpal tunnel if I still did as many dentistries as I used to do!

The absolute basics for bloodwork would tell you what the kidneys and liver are up to. That way, if we go in suspecting one thing, but the dental X-rays tell us it’s something more, I know what exact options I can use for pain control afterwards. Typically though, the way most modern labs are set up, you get way more bang for your buck by running a typical feline wellness panel.

Bloodwork can be a clue into a cat’s suitability for anesthesia.

You want anesthesia to be BORING. Anesthesia is the absolute wrong place for surprises. So a typical anesthetic blood panel (that gives me more than just liver and kidney tests) helps keep things boring. Boring is good for cat anesthesia.

P.S. – thanks for fixing your cats teeth even with the dental specialist Cha-Ching!

Corneal degeneration in one eye

My not quite 5 year old cat has been diagnosed with corneal degeneration in one eye (calcium deposits). How serious is this diagnosis. Is his sight impaired now? Can he lose his eyesight? Treatment and prognosis?

These can be super variable and therefore hard to generalize. But then again, that just sounds like cats right? So here we go.

I take a lot of pictures. But I lose lens caps all the time. And most of my lenses don’t have that protective filter. So it’s inevitable that crap gets right on the lens. So you look at the lens, and you can see a big blob of deposit right in the middle of it.

But then when you look at the picture, it’s fine. You don’t see artifacts on the JPEG. As it turns out, when contaminants are so close to the part of the camera that makes the picture (the sensor), the physics of everything works out so it’s not that noticeable.

So stuff on our cornea, which is so close to the retina? Probably not making that much of a difference to vision. It has to be a lot.

If the deposits on the cornea happen at the same time as inflammation (keratitis), ulcers, or anything that makes our cats feel funny about it, then I send them to the eye specialist because – cats can be super variable and hard to generalize. Eye specialist gets me lots of info so I can make a strategy with less guess work.

How to brush a cat’s teeth who hates having her mouth touched?

Do you have any tips for brushing the teeth of kitties that hate their mouth being touched, it causes them stress, and are not treat motivated?

I’m an adult, and I can’t swim. I once went to a swimming lesson, and the teacher looked at me (brown dude with Caribbean/Indian heritage), and my body type (I have muscles), and said, “you brown boys sink all the time”. And it’s true. My parents are from a Caribbean island. And yet, this generation cant swim. Sticking me on a surf board in cold Pacific Ocean water with turbulent waves will give the same results as trying to brush the teeth of cats who hate having their mouth touched and are not food motivated. It’s all undertow and not much fun.

Oh, there are tricks alright. Things we could do to get prepared. First, my swim instructor saw the subtle signs of stress when I stick my face underwater. So we practiced that, until those signs were gone. Then we practiced floating in the water. Which was difficult for me. And then weeks later we got to a point where I did ok in the deep part of a calm pool. And then life got busy and I stopped. Ughhh….

I do something called the “olfactory kick start“. I do it when I have a kitty who really isn’t into food, but we have to make them feel better about something they have not learned to like. You activate their smell system instead to give them a reward. It’s like having less tension or stress when your face goes into the water. If you signed up at http://ift.tt/1Ork4rK you get a few emails that talk about that.

From there, you are going to shape their behavior, step by step. The first step there is called the 80% rule, which states that most of the success in trying to do something that could be perceived as bad, happens before you even touch them! Just by finding your cat’s preferences when it comes to handling. At that point, you’ll know a lot about the potential for your cat to accept brushing. Like when your ready to put the skin suit on and get on the board.

But also know that if life gets busy, sometimes your vet clinic takes on this role. They can scale the teeth for you. It’s ok if you can’t ever do it as long as they are getting their teeth checked.

Some cat’s are not designed to let you do it – but its worthwhile trying!

Treatment for arthritis

Is there a good treatment for arthritis? I give my 19 year old cat stuff in a tube that I get from PetSmart. Wondered if there is anything better. My vet ordered me some stuff in a tube and my cat wouldn’t have anything to do with it, just the stuff from PetSmart.

Ingrid May 8, 2017 at 4:09 pm (4 weeks ago)

I’m sure Dr. Kris will chime in,but in the meantime, this article may help: http://ift.tt/1EHAGGd

Ingrid has a great page there with good advice. Start with that.

I hear this. So many people looking for help for their arthritic cats. I’m working on an Ultimate Guide for this. Stay tuned…

Is there any new or successful treatment for feline hyperesthesia syndrome?

When you think of hyperethesia, I want you to think “my cat has an exaggerated response”. That’s all it tells you. A little bit of something gives you a whole lot of something else. The question then becomes, exaggerated to what exactly? There is a huge list of things your body can respond to in an exaggerated way. The treatment lives there. But the journey is finding out what the body is abnormally responding to. It’s not easy.

If it’s anxiety driven, neurological, physical injury or arthritis related, or caused by the immune system (i.e. allergy), typically we can expect some success with treatment given for those specific issues. It’s difficult because sometimes what you see isn’t what you get. And the road can be long to get there.

I took a year away from vet medicine to try and help my sister who had a similar response (called allodynia in people). Her pain system was in a permanent state of being on and firing, and anything that touched her skin would make her writhe in pain. I hit the books, went to the primary research, and eventually found out for her that ketamine infusions should be the top of the list that we should try. If she was furry with four legs I could have done the treatments myself. But cause she wasn’t a cat or dog, and everyone else refused to treat her, it took a trip to the US to a private clinic, and two months later she could actually touch her skin again without being in agony. Without insurance for health care in the US (editor’s comment: Dr. Kris is Canadian), I don’t have to tell you how many credit cards we maxed out. But we were grateful. There is a video of us somewhere on the interwebs, as she was one of the first patients to have this done, showing her finally getting some relief.

I often think about these cats the same way. There is an answer there, but it can be a journey to get there. But if you have people willing to dig deeper to help find the answers, it’s possible.

Guardian wants indoor cat to poop outside

I’m trying to make my indoor cat an outdoor cat and get her to poop outside, but she will hold it all day for when I let her in at night or she will try to sneak in and run to the cat box during the day then run back to the door wanting out. I am so frustrated with her. She is 9 years old and a momma’s girl. How can I get her to poop outside like my male cat does so easily.

You have the opposite problem of 99.99% of people with litter box issues. Your cat WANTS to use the litter box and is actively working and insisting to do so! And she’s done that for most of her 9 years I am assuming.

The short answer is that you won’t be able to get her to poop outside just like your male cat does SO EASILY. Not gonna happen. Would love to be wrong.

It would be like asking you to stop using a bathroom a use a public squat toilet, even though you never had to do it in your first 45 years of life! I would be…pissed? Get it? I know…bad jokes. Yes you could shut her outside to force her to but…that’s unnecessarily traumatic.

So you can try and shape her behavior. Don’t know if this would work for you or her but:

Week 1) Litter box goes closer to the outside door, step by step. She might be ok with it. She might hate this.

Week 2) Litter box goes on porch outside some of the day, and in the home some of the day. She might be ok with this, or she might hate this.

Week 3) A second litter box is placed outside. She might use it. Or she might hate this. Hopefully she will use both.

Week 4) Remove the first litter box indoors.

That or some variation of that could work. But good luck. She might enjoy the outdoors right? The grass, insects, fresh air?

(Ingrid’s comment: While I appreciate that Dr. Kris tackled this question, I think trying to convince a cat who is using the litter box without issues to eliminate outside could create behavioral and health issues. Dealing with a litter box is part of being a cat guardian, even if it’s a little smelly sometimes.)

Do you have a question for Dr. Kris? Leave it in a comment!

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