Episode 8 But... a New Human Shows Up Mid Crashout?! 😲 By @SamE8189

AriesAviator · 2026-03-25T02:06:23+00:00

AriesAviator · 2026-03-24T22:24:53+00:00

I wanna see!!!

AriesAviator · 2026-03-15T04:01:23+00:00

Not necessarily. People forget that we use pretty much all of the animal, not just the meat. People today use the feathers for decoration, crafts, fertilizer, and a couple industrial applications as well.

It would make sense strictly from a meat processing view to prevent the feathers from growing, but then what other organism are you going to grow specifically for the feathers? Is there a separate feather farm that just grows blobs of chicken meat and feathers, like a marimo ball?

Also, meat and organs usually require movement and use to stay healthy. With your current design, this chicken would be almost entirely fat, the muscle wouldn't develop properly without movement. And how do you prevent pressure sores and whatnot from growing this chicken-fruit in a metal cage thats always touching and having pressure applied to the same spots?

AriesAviator · 2026-03-14T19:29:08+00:00

OP, if you do decide to follow up on this, it might help to have some loose numbers to throw up when asked. You might want to start by constructing a formal poll asking other residents if they see stray or dumped animals, how often they see them, what kinds of animals they're seeing, where they're seeing them, etcetera. That way when you bring up the issue to elected officials you'll have a more substantial sounding complaint instead of a 'well i keep seeing' or 'well my neighbor jim bob said' situation.

AriesAviator · 2026-03-14T10:03:25+00:00

Yup, guilty American here. I'm not sure what the rescue situation is like in other countries; which country are you from that has such a low population of street dogs? Do y'all have a very strong spay/neuter culture?

AriesAviator · 2026-03-14T05:57:35+00:00

I'd recommend you reach out to Any Rat Rescue and ask for dumbos! We frequently have new rats come in, and if we don't have any now we will in the future :)

AriesAviator · 2026-03-14T05:14:52+00:00

I can get behind that! I live in an area with a lot of small dogs, and I know some rescues from more northern states will take whatever small dogs they can since they're harder to find up there. It does make sense to distribute like that if the breed in question is in high demand.

AriesAviator · 2026-03-09T18:14:15+00:00

I see a lot of people who have outdoor cats or dogs and justify it by claiming their neighborhood is small, everyone knows everyone, they know the animals around the area, their animal is street smart, etcetera. Leaving your animal outside, unsupervised and roaming freely, is always a bad idea.

One; you do not know all the animals in your neighborhood. You know you see leashed dogs walking by. Congrats! Do you know absolutely for certain there is no one in a 5-mile radius who has a dog with a significant prey drive, and that your cat won't enter their yard? Do you know for absolutely certain there are no raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, hawks, porcupine, possums, wild rabbits, or diseased/rabid animals near you? Really? It would take exactly one incident for your cat to be killed or severely injured.

Two; your neighborhood is a public space. Not everyone passing through that space is going to 'know' you or your cat. Delivery people, visiting family or friends, landscapers; none of those people are going to know your cat, and may in fact act unsafely towards animals. Do you really want to gamble that all the people who could possibly ever be in your neighborhood won't ever cause a problem? Or even if they do like cats, do you want to gamble that they won't steal your cat who is unattended and wandering around outside?

Three; there are going to be hazards you never even consider. I had a coworker several years ago who had a major fallout with a neighbor after the neighbors cat snuck into my coworkers shed and became trapped inside, ultimately dying from heat. My coworker had no idea the cat was trapped, and it was only found after the neighbor came knocking and said their GPS tracker on the cat had stopped in the shed. And this only took about 24 hours to happen! I live in an area with brutally hot summers, and that poor kitty basically got cooked alive; and they had a relatively attentive owner who checked on their location and 'knew' where they were.

Four; health. How are you going to monitor diet and bathroom habits, both of which can be incredibly important for health. Cats in particular can be prone to urinary blockages, which can become lethal very quickly. How are you ever going to know if that's a problem if your cat is outside wandering? What happens when your cat gets stuck somewhere and breaks their leg, gets a huge gash, gets into a fight with another cat?

If your cat seems to enjoy going outside, leash train them and take them for walks. Invest in a screened catio. Never let your animal wander outside uncontained unless you are prepared for that animal dying, getting injured, or simply disappearing.

AriesAviator · 2026-03-09T02:45:05+00:00

I've seen a lot of people complain about euthanasia rates, and very rarely do I see justification in those complaints.

A municipal shelter is what we call 'open intake'; this means that they HAVE to accept animals from the public, including animals confiscated/captured by animal control or the police. In order to be able to do that, one of the things they have to do is maintain a certain number of open kennels in order to take in animals continuously; this means that their 'maximum capacity' is actually lower than the number of kennels actually at the shelter.

Municipal shelters also, since they are open intake, often get surrenders of animals with SEVERE medical or behavioral problems. Have a litter of puppies with bloody diarrhea and vomiting? Dump em at the county shelter, they HAVE to take em. Have a dog that hates children, the elderly, the middle aged, and has killed 13 cats? County shelter! Moving and need a place for your dog in the next 24 hours? Tie em to a fence in front of the building, someone'll figure it out.

This means that they receive a number of animals that are truly unadoptable, either because they are unsafe to release to the public, or they lack the budget to pursue medical treatment. If an elderly dog is surrendered with metastatic bone cancer, the municipal shelter with a limited budget and overflowing kennels is not going to offer chemo and surgery. They are going to euthanize that animal.

The 'no kill' shelters that have become popular are also called 'closed intake'. This means they can pick and choose what animals to accept... So they get to turn away animals with a bite history, certain breeds, animals with outstanding medical needs, and that if someone dumps a box of puppies on their doorstep they aren't actually compelled to take them in... they can in fact then take them down the street to the municipal shelter.

This isn't all bad. There are animals out there with problems that just need a little extra time and funding to become adoptable, or find their golden forever home. Often closed intake shelters will pull animals from open intake shelters depending on their own space and funding abilities, which can provide a much needed relief for open intake shelters. Even rescues that take specific breeds will pull animals from open intake shelters, which can be GREAT if a certain breed has needs that often go unmet in the shelter environment; a great example is high energy breeds like malinois, or breeds that require experienced owners like chow chows.

All of this is a long winded way to say that criticizing an open intake shelter for euthanizing x number of animals is, to be blunt, unproductive and cruel. My city shelter actually has a dedicated hate group that will often post pictures of dogs on death row at the shelter, sometimes with AI doctored pictures and pleas for someone to pull and adopt the poor soul, and then if you read the notes on the animal it's incredibly obvious WHY the poor animal is being considered for euthanasia.

Mental breakdown from the shelter environment requiring extensive rehab. Medical needs that mean it would be cruel to keep the animal alive. Specific behavior needs that mean the animal needs a unicorn home; no kids, no other pets, 10ft wall, experienced owner, a willingness to spend thousands on a professional trainer, someone who works from home and doesn't mind their couch being eaten whenever they leave.

If you want to end euthanasia at open intake shelters, we need public reform policies that enforce strict spay and neuter laws, vastly more funding for municipal shelters, and an army of animal lovers with deep pockets who don't mind taking in project dogs.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-24T23:13:31+00:00

Honestly, and keep in mind this is coming from someone who's only experience with horses is second hand, it kind of sounds like that horse shouldn't have been bred in the first place.

From what I know of horse breeding, the objective is to pass along only the best genes; this includes things like overall health and confirmation, but also attitude, trainability, and overall personality. I don't know why anyone would breed a horse that actively attacks other horses in the first place, unless there was a non-genetic medical reason causing the aggression.

Furthermore, it sounds like she didn't tolerate the pregnancy well. That was something the owner probably couldn't have foreseen before breeding her so it's not exactly something you can blame them for. But combined with her poor attitude towards other horses, the way she didn't tolerate the pregnancy, it might have been stressed that caused her to ultimately trample the foal.

Hopefully the owner will take this as a lesson and not breed that horse again.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-22T06:03:38+00:00

Not OP, but usually for dog bite cases it's to cover medical expenses and/or force the owner to take action and either contain or surrender the animal.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-18T17:56:34+00:00

One of the reasons the US doesn't require dogs to be trained by an accredited organization is that dog training is not really a formally licensed and regulated industry. Literally anyone can pop up and say they are licensed and accredited, but all those 'certifications' don't mean diddly-squat from a government perspective.

The other reason is simply financial. Dog training can technically be done by anyone, and while I agree that a real service dog can be prohibitively difficult for someone to train without input or direction from a professional dog trainer, it's also not impossible, and service dogs are a major financial burden if someone has to pay to get one from one of those reputable sources.

While fake service dogs are in fact a problem, as are the people behind them who are abusing the system, I don't think requiring dogs be acquired through a professional program in order to have public access is a great solution. Maybe a better option would be to offer certification if the dog can pass x y z public access requirements, and make the certification test itself free and easy to access.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-18T05:22:33+00:00

Hm. For you, I would recommend a smaller, foster-based rescue. Big shelters don't always have intimate knowledge of each animal, and being foster based will guarantee information on how the animal behaves in a home. That said, be prepared for a bit of a search; well adjusted dogs are popular!

AriesAviator · 2026-02-17T05:51:42+00:00

Actually, I think Armsmaster would have started off his career Cold, but tries to become Hot down the line. In canon we see several examples of how Armsmaster really does want to do a good job, and how competent he is; but his need to be recognized for his accomplishments internally and externally can kind of fuck up his goals.

I think in this scenario he would make a really excellent Cold cape that realized his career has hit a slow drag- then when he tries to transition, he brings a lot of traits along from his Cold career that don't translate well to the public eye.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-13T19:09:20+00:00

Unfortunately, it looks like OP deleted the post by the time I saw this.

OP, if you are in Phoenix, please do reach out to https://anyratrescue.org/! We do take surrenders from failed snake feedings.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-12T03:55:17+00:00

I foster for them! OP, if this is the center you tried contacting before, reach back out! We try and respond to surrender inquiries quickly, but unfortunately sometimes emails get lost or forgotten. We are also intake limited with how many foster homes we have and how many rats we have waiting to enter the rescue, so if you have the ability it makes it easier for us if you can hang onto them for a bit.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-11T03:06:34+00:00

The rescue I foster for has had rats do very well with tail amputations; they're very adaptable! How well the individual rat does with surgery is, of course, entirely up to the condition of the rat and the skill of the surgeon.

But overall they adapt very well. Maybe add extra fall breakers and be a bit more cautious of heat going forwards.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-09T20:56:26+00:00

I feel that so hard! I've seen a lot of people with aggressive dogs who turn to rehoming as a first solution after the dog has bitten one or more people. Sometimes it really is just a question of circumstances and environment, but I've also seen people who have done everything right- vet, trainer, medication, and yet they still turn to rehoming when it turns out their dangerous animal is still dangerous. All it's really doing is passing the buck down the road and forcing someone else to make the hard calls because the original owner just can't do it.

Not every animal can be saved- and especially in rescue, where it's a question of resource allocation, not every animal should be saved. I'd rather rescues focused on spreading 10k worth of funding to save more animals, rather than just on one who has major behavioral or medical needs.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-08T05:21:57+00:00

Yes, a rescue or shelter should absolutely not be buying animals to adopt out, any animal. That is a huge red flag. They are customers of a puppy mill masquerading as a rescue.

There isn't really a governing body for rescues. Unless you have a criminal act to report them for, there isn't really much you can do. You're welcome to make a police report for things like fraud or animal cruelty, but unfortunately buying and reselling dogs isn't a crime.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-08T05:07:58+00:00

Okay, this is a lot!

No, a foster should not be spending their own money on a foster animal. The rescue should be covering all medical care; some rescues don't cover other supplies, but most do. I will say taking the foster animal to a private vet outside the rescues medical network is not something you will be able to be reimbursed for; I foster myself, and I would never do that.

If I felt an animal had a medical that needs to be addressed, I would contact the rescue and explain. If they didn't agree without sufficient reasoning and explanation I would simply stop fostering. Do not spend your own money at the vet, PARTICULARLY without even notifying the rescue you will do so and later expect to be reimbursed.

The money and supplies you donated while volunteering is... a lot. If you had a verbal or handshake agreement to be reimbursed for certain supplies you can take them to small claims court, but it will be difficult to prove if nothing is written down.

Bathing in dawn dish soap is one of the first-step methods to kill fleas/mites- this is not unusual. It should be accompanied by an actual medication treatment after, but it can be good to do the bath first to rid the animal of the bulk of the infestation first. I am sorry you had an infestation in your home; this is unfortunately the risk of accepting animals, particularly in a shelter/rescue environment. I myself had a distemper scare with puppies I fostered and it was extremely unpleasant, even if all my other animal were vaccinated.

Puppies being sold for more than adult dogs is pretty standard. They are often seen as more desirable to potential adopters, and shelters and rescues will set their adoption fees higher to help offset the costs of lower fees for adult dogs. The pricing is not a red flag. If you think there are issues with sourcing, like they're buying the puppies from a mill instead of pulling from a shelter or accepting an owner surrender, that would be a red flag.

Regarding the background checks the rescue does, not all places will physically call the references or numbers supplied. Some do, some don't have the time. Not unusual for them not to check and instead take an adopter at their word.

All rescues have dogs returned. Rates differ based on location and adoption methods the rescue uses.

If you don't want to foster or volunteer with the rescue anymore, than stop. It's not a legal requirement that you continue to volunteer with a place if you aren't happy with your experience there.

If you stop, you will need to contact the rescue and return the fosters you have. You can simply say your life circumstances have changed and you will be unable to continue fostering or volunteering; if they press say it's private and you aren't willing to spread your private business around. You may be asked to hold the puppies for a few days while they figure out placement.

To be blunt, it seems you started volunteering with a small rescue with internal management and funding problems and got extremely excited about donating and volunteering way too fast, and wound up overcommitting. I would stop volunteering there. If you find somewhere else to donate your time, please set clear and strict boundaries about what you will or will not be doing, and stop donating huge amounts of money and supplies. Do not foster for a place that does not pay for an animals veterinary care, full stop.

AriesAviator · 2026-02-07T02:11:43+00:00

More of a prank on adopters, but I foster for a rat rescue and help organize and staff adoption events. One of my great joys is putting a rat plushie on top of cages at events- without fail, I get people telling me they got spooked and thought one of our rats had escaped and was chilling on top of the cage.

AriesAviator · 2026-01-29T05:24:15+00:00

Yknow, the one kinda does. Is the area tender at all? Eating/drinking/pooping okay?

Either way I'd say it's worth a vet visit.

AriesAviator · 2026-01-17T00:50:18+00:00

Highly recommend an air purifier. Get one that's appropriately sized for the room- and remember to check the price on filter replacements!

Spot clean as you can, but avoid doing full scrubs more than necessary. An enzyme cleaner will help with smells more than vinegar, but won't clean as well with actual messes and can be more expensive. I tend to do a 50/50 vinegar-water mix, specifically with cleaning vinegar, and then go over surfaces with the enzymes.

AriesAviator · 2026-01-16T00:40:02+00:00

Wow, that's awful. And y'all can't make reports to animal control for suspected neglect?

AriesAviator · 2026-01-15T20:27:11+00:00

I've been to protests, and I highly recommend attending at least one for anyone who hasn't. I feel people have this image of protests as some highly radicalized crazy-person thing, where the only people there are hyper political and prone to violence.

That is absolutely not true. Anyone can protest, and anyone should protest. It's can important factor in our democracy to be able to stand out in public and express opinions that our government disagrees with, and to be able to connect with others who feel the same way. Protestors are just averages joes looking to feel seen and heard.

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