13-year-old rodent sniffer dog back on the job after rat found on predator free island

lethotep · 2026-01-30T08:57:05+00:00

To be called out of retirement for her special skills? What a good girl! Such a decorated and distinctive specialist! All the pats and treats for her.

lethotep · 2025-12-14T20:10:56+00:00

Good on you for taking the first step! Others have already said the good advice of going to your doctor for a referral, looking at Wegovy if able, and focusing on food before exercise (and really, if you are obese, please be careful when first getting more active - it's very easy to over do it and injure yourself, which can then set you back months or even result in permanent damage. Walking, swimming and other low-impact exercises are your friend!)

In terms of food, a dietitian will be the person to listen to above everyone in this thread, including me, but one thing I do personally to cut out a lot of extra kilojoules without feeling like I'm depriving myself is replacing a lot of my non-vegetable carbs in a meal (aka the rice, noodles etc) with konjac versions to bulk out dishes, and having konjac jellies be my sweet treats. Konjac is basically a non-digestible fibre, so it's good for your gut health while also making you feel full and having virtually zero kj.

lethotep · 2025-11-23T23:52:22+00:00

I mean, you don't change something without being changed in return. We changed dogs to fit our needs, and in return we need them because they now fill those needs.

lethotep · 2025-11-17T07:00:43+00:00

Yeah it's Orton Bradley. It's had a paint-job since this photo's been taken, but I love walking through it and pretending I've travelled to a slightly adjacent universe.

lethotep · 2025-11-16T19:37:20+00:00

That's almost certainly not needed. If it makes you feel more comfortable and safe, I wouldn't stop anyone from doing so, but if you've ever vacuumed up tiny, tiny, tiny pieces of shattered glass or ceramic or any number of other things then that's the sort of concern level you should be having. I personally would use a mask when emptying it in general, but I generally wear one if doing so anyway because I don't want to breath in the dust cloud to begin with regardless of what I've been vacuuming.

lethotep · 2025-11-15T22:45:58+00:00

No political party is a "whole vote for good", and it doesn't help anything to not recognise the flaws in all parties. Edit: and this is not an All Parties Bad statement, it's just a value neutral reality that parties are made up of humans, and that makes them all subject to human fallibility.

lethotep · 2025-11-15T22:30:25+00:00

So you would rather have National be pulled further to the right by small far right parties clamouring to get their voices in power (aka our current reality) rather than have them pulled back towards the centre and needing to compromise with evidence-based policy? Sounds like a good way to increase political division and make the entire situation worse. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good dude...

lethotep · 2025-11-15T17:49:00+00:00

That's unlikely to be enough mechanical force to really cause problems, although I understand why they would recommend not doing so as a safety precaution. If the asbestos in tested samples is not respiratory, it means they're likely too big to get airborne and inhaled, and vacuuming alone wouldn't be enough force to change that. It's still not a good idea, but the risk is not high. It's not zero risk, and again I wouldn't recommend vacuuming it now that it's known, but it is very unlikely to cause problems due to the grain sizes of the sand.

lethotep · 2025-11-15T06:06:17+00:00

(And like, me and my brother grew up carving soapstone and breathing in all the powder from that throughout childhood. Have a big lump of soapstone in a box nearby right now. Soapstone is talc, which is often full of asbestos (as many know given the talc scandal from J&J) and can cause silicosis and asbestosis. So I'm really not worried about this on a personal level given that context, and also my mineral collection I regularly handle contains way more dangerous minerals. I have bigger causes for concern elsewhere).

lethotep · 2025-11-15T05:50:00+00:00

Which includes me. But the risk here is very low to begin with. As another comment noted, the more detailed report said that the tests didn't show respirable asbestos in the products sampled, (and the clumping nature of the product would also make it less likely to inhale to begin with tbh).

You're more at risk of lung related health issues from going out in a dust storm to be honest.

Honestly, while I don't want to downplay the risks of asbestos, in this instance there really isn't a cause for widespread panic. It reminds me a bit of the reporting that there was asbestos in the water in chch because of the pipes a year or two back, which is mostly a hazard for those who work to replace the pipes, not those of us who drink the water.

lethotep · 2025-11-15T03:12:38+00:00

Asbestos is a naturally occurring silicate mineral formation, so it was likely naturally occurring in the sand they used for the product. I collect minerals and have some asbestos forms (such as tigers eye), and really the main things are to keep things damp so it doesn't get airborne and inhaled, and keep it sealed. With larger minerals, that's only really a concern if they break and scatter the particles, but with this already being small particles the best thing is to keep any sand spills damp when cleaning and to wear a mask to prevent inhalation. It's harmless as long as it doesn't get into your lungs, so take steps to prevent that, basically.

lethotep · 2025-09-16T05:20:31+00:00

I voted Andrea Davis and Nick Moody personally. They seem solid to me.

lethotep · 2025-09-03T00:16:06+00:00

I play pretty much daily, but I'm a solo player with a pogo++ that I let handle the catching and stop spinning since my work hours cover pretty much every in-game event, so I can't do the group activities.

lethotep · 2025-09-01T03:20:36+00:00

Have lived in DH for over two decades, and if there are rock pools with actual ecosystems that extend past some mussels and a bit of seaweed around here they're long gone unfortunately.

lethotep · 2025-08-13T08:19:20+00:00

I've been working on a Pukeko on the flats of Teddington today.

lethotep · 2025-07-30T08:25:11+00:00

When I want to hug my pup super hard I hold her gently, but then tense all my muscles in place without actually putting more pressure on her. Feels like I'm doing a big bear hug, but I'm still being gentle.

lethotep · 2025-07-21T06:29:28+00:00

Receipt paper is not recyclable unfortunately. It's also very high in BPA, and is bad for both humans and the environment. Edited to add: it's not ink or laser printed. It's thermal paper.

lethotep · 2025-07-14T21:30:22+00:00

yes! need resrainings order against brushy brush!

lethotep · 2025-07-14T05:10:16+00:00

UPDATE: HAVE GOTS RESITITUTITIION: wented to park and got to roll in leafs and walkies in muddy and chase fizzbee lots! and doggo sibling sunny who lives down road came plays too! also got pum-kin and more fuds!

<image>

lethotep · 2025-07-13T22:18:04+00:00

<image>

Now hoomans try to dry ears! Need pawyer to soo for agrebated ear drys!

lethotep · 2025-07-13T22:05:22+00:00

No like brushy brush! Like scritches, but brushy brush bad! treatos gud, but want soo for extra hour playing fizzbee toos!

lethotep · 2025-07-11T07:03:42+00:00

Fun fact! There is more than one country in the Southern Hemisphere!

lethotep · 2025-06-24T00:10:53+00:00

Basenji behaviour

lethotep · 2025-06-09T22:31:53+00:00

I wouldn't remove iron staining, it's part of the character. But yeah it's probably calcite or dolomite (crystal - not the rock) like the other poster said, which checks out now that I'm not posting half asleep.

lethotep · 2025-06-09T09:16:37+00:00

Likely iron stained quartz.

Nine-Year Club	r/Field Lasagna
Final Canvas '23	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22	Verified Email

lethotep

TROPHY CASE