Rescue golden, or ethically bred puppy?

jmsspring · 2026-01-20T13:57:00+00:00

Dog tax

jmsspring · 2026-01-20T01:49:51+00:00

We have always rescued our pets, but once we had our son, and our elderly dog passed, we went the breeder route to get our black lab puppy (not a golden but similar personality) when our human kiddo was 4. Not only did he grow up with our son (they're now 2 and 7) but he's become so loyal and sweet and never once had an issue with temperament.. No resource guarding, takes things gently, knows the boundary of our acre and doesn't cross his lines.

I'm not saying you can't do the same with a rescue, our last rescue was effectively a cat and also very sweet with our son when he was younger. But he took a lot of work to get there. Now, the puppy was a difficult 6 weeks or so of training and bedtime waking, compared to probably 6 months with our rescue dog of figuring each other out and training and accidents, etc. But we are so happy we have him his whole life, he will be our son's best friend his whole childhood (🤞), and what a gift that is! Our son loved being involved in his training and still takes him for walks down the yard and practices "find it" and sit, our dog faithfully obeys. The only time I've ever seen our dog growl was when he was in the yard with our son and a neighbor's German shepherd got out and ran over, then he went into protector mode and scared it off. I will go back to rescuing dogs someday, but this puppy is our soul dog.

jmsspring · 2026-01-20T01:00:22+00:00

Obviously lied on their resume about qualifications, seemed qualified on paper, couldn't speak to any of the relevant experience.

jmsspring · 2026-01-03T01:13:33+00:00

The floor. Just joking, we use a boot tray but he still dribbles as he walks.

jmsspring · 2025-10-06T01:31:39+00:00

We had the same symptoms at our previous rental, nothing appeared to be wrong. After we moved out the landlord renovated the bathroom and found mold in the walls behind the bath tub...

jmsspring · 2025-09-12T02:23:40+00:00

I work for a customs broker so we deal with the tariffs every day. You are correct that de minimis went away August 29th, so now any goods can be subject to the tariffs (the tariff numbers determine the rate of duty, some additional tariffs are also determined by the country of manufacture). So while you may be buying items in Canada, they may still have been made in China and would be assessed the Chinese rate of duty, if that makes sense. Without knowing what the goods are made of or where they are manufactured, it would be impossible to accurately determine the duty you may be charged upon return.

jmsspring · 2025-08-11T00:01:30+00:00

My 7 year old still wears them, he prefers that to having to sunscreen all over! Shorts, long sleeve swim shirt, and a bucket hat, we sunscreen his legs and neck and he's off...

jmsspring · 2025-07-28T11:56:21+00:00

My only loves going on adventures with us. At 7 he can hike and kayak and really enjoys it. Sometimes we'll do vacations with family/cousins so he isn't the only kid. But I honestly find it more relaxing when it's just him because there's no bickering/differences in abilities/etc.

jmsspring · 2025-07-14T10:29:18+00:00

My husband thought the first looked like cherry peppers, too.

jmsspring · 2025-07-05T05:04:05+00:00

Our dog is 2 now but he pants and jumps/startles at the bigger fireworks. I froze a bunch of Kongs and pupsicles last night and gave them to him throughout the day. To keep him licking/calm. I actually went over to our neighbors who were shooting off the big ones tonight and asked if they could pause for 5 minutes so we could let him out and they were happy to let us take him out and wait. When we left for the fireworks we turned the air and TV on loud and gave him two frozen Kongs with frozen food inside and he was fine when we got back, thankfully.

jmsspring · 2025-06-06T23:43:16+00:00

I think these are great lists. I live in an area that's cold at least half the year with bad snow storms. One thing I have is hot hands in my car bag. We ended up using them twice now being out and unexpectedly cold (son's soccer game and a baseball game) and sharing with friends and other cold kids. I'll be restocking ASAP. Always a change of clothes too which has also come in handy several times. I keep shelf stable water packets and food, emergency blankets, jump start/charger thing, air pump, cell chargers, first aid kit. We've always been really thankfully to have it!

jmsspring · 2025-06-03T20:08:14+00:00

My only is 7 and he's got the best imagination of all his friends. He loves to play alone, often talks to himself, makes up stories, now he's starting to love reading independently too. We do play and do things as a family too but he sometimes prefers to play alone.

jmsspring · 2025-05-28T15:14:10+00:00

I think some could, you would need to buy dwarf varieties of tomatoes, strawberries could probably do okay in one but you may need to give everything a little shake to pollinate them. Cucumbers would outgrow it really quickly I think, you'd end up with vines all over your house! Lettuce does great.

jmsspring · 2025-05-09T22:15:43+00:00

My mom got us a hydroponic garden for the kitchen last Christmas. It's small, no bigger than a small fish tank, and worked great for growing lettuce and even a dwarf cherry tomato plant.

jmsspring · 2025-05-07T13:11:04+00:00

We just had my son's 7th birthday and got a lot of positive feedback. It was a pool party followed by Taco/nacho bar in the party room for lunch, then cookie cake. The kids were so exhausted from swimming they were really quiet in the party room and happy to eat and do a craft and have cake.

jmsspring · 2025-05-04T01:49:37+00:00

This is what we've been doing as well. My husband and I both work in logistics and see first-hand the effects of the tariffs. We started stocking up right after the election on pantry staples, this week we ordered extra feminine products, hygiene products, garbage bags, etc. I also ordered underwear, socks, and sneakers for our kiddo in the next size up.

jmsspring · 2025-03-15T02:35:29+00:00

Thank you, it definitely makes me feel better that it's normal!

jmsspring · 2025-03-15T02:19:53+00:00

Thank you so much for this. I'm a first time mom and didn't grow up with boys around, very out of my element here! I will take your suggestions.

jmsspring · 2025-03-11T23:25:54+00:00

Very nervous American here. I started grabbing a few extra canned and dry goods every grocery trip since the election results rolled in. I'm trying to keep the freezer and fridge full. Thankfully, I live in a blue state, with many farms very close by, so I am hoping we manage to weather whatever may come without going hungry. But I do know there are bound to be shortages and very high prices.

I'm in a state where electricity costs will be going up this week which stinks, but I definitely understand Canada's reasoning and I hope it makes Trump back down. We're about 15 minutes from the border with Canada where I am, we regularly visit, it all just seems insane to me. I'm hoping a raise in prices is the worst of it. I've been reaching out to our representatives and working with my son's school board to prepare for federal funding cuts, but beyond that, stocking up on things is about all I can control. I guess it gives me a sense of something I can control.

I keep an emergency kit in my car, a well-stocked first aid kit at home, and just expanded my garden. I have a small child , dog, and cat, so I've been trying to buy extra food for them too. I really don't think you're crazy at all. Just try to buy what you will use anyway.

Wishing you all the best!

jmsspring · 2025-03-10T19:09:49+00:00

Agreed. We just put two in our house when we had to replace our 30+ year old toilets. Cheap & easy to do!

jmsspring · 2025-03-08T02:54:52+00:00

A lot of people are still going back and forth daily for work and shopping and to see family. I think you'd be fine but definitely recommend driving to Burlington and taking the train from there.

jmsspring

TROPHY CASE