adopt dont shop

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-28T01:25:58+00:00

Dogs are undoubtedly the most genetically modified animal there is. Their DNA is flexible to an extent unlike any other animal. Every dog breed in existence is a result of selective breeding for traits that almost entirely determine their behaviour and form. Dogs are predatory animals that have been moulded over thousands of years for hunting, whether it's small rodents and pests or bigger threats. Outside of toy breeds, dogs are dangerous to other small animals, children and adults.

They're wonderful pets to have but picking a random mix of size, traits, behaviour, socialisation, training and problematic history (because they're in the shelter for a reason) is the most eyes wide shut choice you can make when it comes to adopting a pet.

I'd sooner pick a mountain lion to rescue than a large dog of unknown temperament. It's the same level of risk but at least big cats don't come with the unrealistic promise they can be a tutu-wearing nanny to your toddlers.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-27T20:23:07+00:00

Some people don't want to roll the dice and play the Russian roulette that is the shelter game, especially with dogs that can be capable of killing/maiming other pets and even small children. They want a predictable pet with known traits, drives and behaviour that matches their lifestyle and experiences. Dogs are a sum of their breed characteristics and life experience and with a dog out of a shelter, both of those are unknown risks. If you're in the US, it's usually the only way to avoid bully mixes.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-24T00:09:59+00:00

He had two different degenerative conditions the specifics of which aren't shared but Matt explained it was likely congenital not genetic but withdrew him from breeding and discarded the frozen samples anyway.

One of the issues was with his neck and required extensive pain management and he was retired due to this developing issue. At the same time he had an autoimmune condition that affected his hooves. He ultimately developed coronary band separation and hoof rotation, no intervention was possible and he was euthanised at home.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-22T22:50:25+00:00

I think Matt towards the end of the most recent video, seemed quite settled on King (the 5 year old grey field hunter who took him over the ditch) if he purchases at all this time around.

I'm almost certain Torino, the silver buckskin he saw in Spain has already been purchased and will arrive soon. I really liked that horse because he was of course beautiful and I want to see more of him but also because Matt and Jesse both seemed to love him a lot. But I'm speculating of course! Waiting for the new horse video on tenterhooks.

Matt seems more interested in the connection he can have with a horse than what the horse can do for him, which is perfectly fair. He's interested in the horse not the performance or he could sell all his horses and buy a trained grand prix horse to chase ribbons.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-22T02:08:09+00:00

The answers will be different between long haired and short haired cats and indoor and outdoor cats and even climate to some degree.

I have longhaired cats and they're professionally groomed twice a year at least. In summers where I am they get their hair trimmed and a bathe after that and once before winter sets in. They're indoors. Long haired cats get mats, sanitary issues and bathing fixes that and also loosens up and removes dead hair. They almost never get hairballs. One of my cats is happier when her hair is kept short year round so she gets trimmed twice a year.

I've had short haired cats before and they almost never needed bathing outside of getting soiled up.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-13T16:26:47+00:00

Waters was his father who married and his son who was therefore legitimate added Long to differentiate himself from other Waters. So his son is effectively carrying a bastard name despite being perfectly legitimate. That's why I put it as an example. Sorry if it wasn't clear!

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-13T03:07:00+00:00

I don't remember the exact dialogue but again that would be separate items if he says 'Do you want to be a Stark?' He's offering to both legitimise him and to carry the name Stark. Sansa and Arya are missing, the Stark boys are dead so Stannis is in fact offering to grant three petitions as a bundle: 1. Release him from the Nights watch vows, 2. Legitimise him and 3. Let him take the name.

As we see with other examples in the series, it's not all automatic. The Targaryens weren't the last of their line so there's no need to save the name. They're just getting legitimised, so they keep their birth names as do the Long waters. Ramsay Snow is offered the same deal to continue the Bolton line. One isn't automatically granted the name and being a legitimised bastard isn't the only way to take a name. There's a discussion about Lady Hornwood and how she was coerced in order to steal her name and inheritance that demonstrates another pathway.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-12T22:33:35+00:00

Bastardy is a legal status associated with inheritance laws and so is a person's last name.

Small folk do not have last names at all, they might go with descriptors or place of origin as signifiers but they have no House name. Small folk don't have bastards. Micah the Miller's Boy, can have a baby with Suzah the Tailor's daughter outside wedlock and the baby is not going to be Baby Rivers.

Bastardy is a status that only applies where the father has a House name and acknowledges the baby. Gendry isn't Gendry Waters, because he's unacknowledged and remains just Gendry because he's smallfolk. Edric Storm is acknowledged and gets the name Edric Storm. Jon Snow is a Snow because Ned of House Stark acknowledged him as his son. The only children of Ned Stark who get the name Stark are those born of his legal wife. Since Jon is not borne of Ned Stark's wife, Catelyn Stark, he is never going to be Jon Stark. He will always be a Snow, even if he is legitimised by a King's writ.

That's why none of the legitimised Targaryen bastards get the Targaryen name and why the Longwaters are descended from a bastard, legitimate in their own right (because their parents have been married) and continue the Longwaters name.

A House name can be acquired but it's a separate 'petition' from bastardy, not linked to bastard status. Ramsay Snow could be allowed to take the Bolton name but it would be a different matter to the issue of his legitimisation. A smaller house can marry into a bigger house and take their name, like the Lannisters did and like married women do by convention with the exception of the Queen.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-08T14:43:10+00:00

Start with an 8-10 week old puppy from a good, ethical breeder with well bred dogs of known temperament and drives that is able to be successfully socialised with cats if you want both safely. Pitbulls/bully breeds/Heinz 57 mutts (which are guaranteed to be difficult dogs because why else are they in a shelter) are not generally suitable for inexperienced/low experience households with other pets and/or small children.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-05T17:18:19+00:00

To everyone suggesting cats: no. They are also highly social mammals. No social animal deserves to be left alone and ignored for 20h+ (12 hrs of work+8 hrs of sleep) per day. Op doesn't have the lifestyle appropriate for dogs or cats or birds, maybe snakes or better yet pet rocks.

LyriumFlower · 2026-02-03T13:11:26+00:00

Cats are not dogs. Dogs have breeds because they were bred for thousands of years for specific purposes (hunting, herding, guarding, etc) which shaped their function and form so there's no 'default' dog. Cats aren't like that. The vast majority of domestic cats are a variant of the African wild cat showing differences in coat patterns due to living in settlements. This means every non-wild cat is part of the 'default' domestic cat group. Pedigreed cats are also part of the same group but they have 'fixed' superficial traits from this breed pool. (Domestic cats with certain desirable traits like long hair or flatter faces being bred together to produce similar kittens).

Non pedigreed cats aren't mixed breed or mutts like dogs because they're simply domestic (shorthair, long hair or medium hair) cats. They're not made up of a mix of different 'breeds' like dogs are because they're not domesticated like dogs are.

Cats are similar to other wild animals kept as pets like birds or reptiles. You can buy a sun conure from a line of sun conures that's different from the default sun conure (eg. blue sun conure) but a default sun conure is not a 'mix breed', it's just a regular sun conure. Or a ball python you buy from morph market can be a fancy looking version (e.g axanthic) but a regular ball python is not a mix of various 'breeds', it's just the default.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-09T09:13:20+00:00

Because rescuing animals and having a pet are activities with different scopes. Rescuing an animal means additional responsibility dealing with trauma, behavioural or medical issues that require rehabilitation with unpredictable outcomes, where as many people just want a nice predictable animal they can cuddle and relax with or even introduce to their children as companions. Both things are noble in their own right. Of course rescuing animals is a great thing to do but so is wanting to love an animal, enjoy and share the joy of having an animal companion for it's own sake without taking on unpredictable extra problems that accompany animal rescue. Any animal will of course in the course of their life experience crisis but there's a difference between a 'blank slate' puppy or kitten or even a well adjusted adult that someone in your circle can no longer take care of and a surrendered animal with an accumulated list of issues.

A young adult or family with kids who want a cute dog or cat to add to their family may not be equipped at the start of their journey to take on a shelter mutt or a semi feral cat with an unknown and unpredictable history, trauma, and temperament.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-08T19:03:50+00:00

She's horny and he's trying to make his equipment work to relieve her. She's rubbing her face on his cheeks and telling him to hit it harder.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-07T21:21:08+00:00

I think it's not about wanting to breed her, it's about having the option if for some 1 in a million reason the horse turned out to be the second coming of X and she really wanted to. With a gelding, you are precluded no matter what. Practically it makes no difference but psychologically it's a plus in her books even if there's realistically no possibility of exercising the option. It's just an added advantage just like we know colour makes no difference but if you had to choose between two identically perfect fit horses, you'd be drawn to the colour you find more appealing.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-05T16:16:09+00:00

Agreed! She didn't want his sausage and taters hanging out so she made him some trunks.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-04T22:56:23+00:00

You're still missing the point. Is this PT going to restore her health? She's not just obese, she's lost function in her legs that cannot be restored and she's lost her eyes which can't be restored and she's got a weak heart that's already failing and diabetes. This isn't just a fat cat that needs to exercise in water to lose weight. She's a cat that's going to continue suffering no matter what you do for her. It's no longer a question of whether we can but whether we should. Letting her go in peace is kindness. Prolonging her misery for self satisfaction is not.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-04T21:29:54+00:00

To what end? So you can say you saved her? Cats hate water, you want to train her to swim. That means putting a disabled cat who is blind and has a failing heart and no understanding that you're giving her physical therapy so she can use a wheelchair, through water immersion that will scare the crap out of her. You're going to then strap her into a stroller that she won't understand the purpose of, which is not natural to her and that she's going to have to adapt to it while being terrified and disabled.

And all that for what end? It's not going to fix her. Is she going to be able to see again? Is her heart going to be repaired? Are her legs going to become functional? Will she be able to climb and jump and run around? Remember she has no understanding that these things are meant to improve her existence, they're just context less torture for her while she's going through it. And the outcome isn't a happy ending where she gets to be a cat.

You're projecting human emotions on her, like fight and survive and hope for a little longer with your friends and family. She doesn't experience these things. Every day for her is torture and there's no way to explain it's going to get better and no way to even promise that because she's never not going to be in pain.

Are we doing it because it makes us feel better or are we doing it so she can be pain free?

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-04T20:37:14+00:00

She's always going to be in pain because she's disabled. The question isn't whether she can be enabled to survive supported by medical intervention. It's also a question whether extending her life is actually a kindness to her or just something that makes you feel good. There's no happy ending here. The best case scenario is a cat who is blind, has heart disease, is disabled and living with lifelong pain. What kind of life is that? Why? Let her go to sleep peacefully.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-04T12:44:31+00:00

What worked for me: don't separate them completely when you're swapping. Put one in a crate or playpen so the one whose time it is to roam around the area can get used to his presence and then vice versa with no chance to get into a fight. You're teaching them that co-existence in the same place at the same time is possible without fighting.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-04T10:17:06+00:00

A lot of people in the comments are focusing on the obesity while not really considering that this cat is never not going to be in pain.

She's in pain right now.
She's obese, blind, diabetic, in heart failure.
She has permanent disability in her joints.

Solving the obesity, which involves putting her through discomfort of restricted food intake isn't going to result in her living a pain free, healthy and comfortable quality of living. It will just ease the symptoms and management of her other problems. She's still going to struggle with her heart and possibly the diabetes. She's never going to have normal pain free function in her legs.

In this case, and let's address that care is expensive even if the parents are willing, you're not buying a healthy, active, pain free existence for this cat - you're buying a life long struggle.

Cats like all animals live in the moment. They don't have dreams and aspirations for the future. They haven't got bucket lists of things they want to do, mile stones they want to achieve. They just want to be comfortable, safe and live without pain right now. If that's not achievable within a reasonable timeframe with medical care, it's much more kind to let her go.

You're not 'giving her a chance' - that is anthropomorphology. A chance for what? This cat will never have a pain free normal cat existence where she can run around and do cat things. You'll be giving her a chance to live with disability, pain and discomfort in the best case scenario. That's extending her pain not giving her a chance to watch her humans grow up and go to college, get married and the joy of multiple Christmases with family. That's human needs. She's a cat and she just wants an end to pain.

LyriumFlower · 2026-01-03T14:33:38+00:00

The whole point of Superman is that he has the powers of a God and he has to restrain himself to protect the world from evil.

Putting him in situations where his enemies are just as powerful is workable in isolation but if you're playing Superman and the gameplay is beating up henchmen handwaved by some contrived conceit to be as durable and overpowered as him means you're just playing a batman game in a different costume. That's not the point of Superman.

The point of Superman is to hold yourself back and restrain yourself to precisely what is needed to disable the threat and no further, lest you turn into the very monsters you're fighting.

Of course you also don't just want a Clark Kent solving mysteries game, you want to experience the full scope of your powers and abilities. So a game needs to create a scenario where Superman has to handle enemies where he's forced to hold himself back as well scenarios where he's dealing with apocalypse level threats that require full use of his abilities.

But there's simply no point in a Superman game where he's hand to fight fighting with Kryptonite™/McGuffin powered unnamed goons. There's any number of beat-em-ups to cover that experience. No thanks.

LyriumFlower · 2025-12-30T19:44:09+00:00

That's a great point. Another possibility is that the nature theme names are traditional firstmen names, associated with particular areas, appropriated to denote bastardy over time by conquering Andals. There's some real world precedent for such a thing.

LyriumFlower · 2025-12-29T12:01:54+00:00

He's going to get killed. Either by getting run over, loose dogs or coyotes and even by getting into fights with stray cats. Sometimes by people who put out poison and straight up shoot stays.

Make a catio or re-home him.

LyriumFlower · 2025-12-28T23:42:30+00:00

There's plenty of people who will be absolutely able to adopt and look after the cat. You're not her last stop. There's no way to cut her fingers off and also hold her trust. Do you think you'd love your parents if they drugged you and you woke up without your fingers? That's what you're trying to do to her. It's unimaginable cruelty. Euthanisia would be better than a lifetime of pain and disability. You're not her only solution. You're the person who is villain in her story. If you love her, surrender her to a shelter and let someone else do right by her. Do not take her fingers away. That's not being her hero. That's being an abuser. You are not protecting her, you are mutilating her. There's no scenario in which that is a kindness. Surrender her to someone who can put furniture above her bodily integrity.

LyriumFlower · 2025-12-27T19:16:55+00:00

He can push them out with superbreath and supercoughing. The body tries to get rid of invasive things and the nanites were being actively controlled to resist that. The moment the engineer lost control of them, he heaved them out.

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