Ace of Spades Pet Thread, December 23

Good afternoon and welcome to the almost world famous Ace of Spades Pet Thread. Thanks for stopping by. Kick back and enjoy the world of animals.

Would you like a treat?

Let's relax a little with the animals and leave the world of politics and current events outside today.

This is Mr. Pickles, a critically endangered species of tortoise at the Houston Zoo, who finally became a father at the age of 90 earlier this year.

He and his partner, Mrs. Pickles, welcomed three tortoise hatchlings: Dill, Gherkin and Jalapeño.

Radiated tortoises are a… pic.twitter.com/GnHhVkog2k

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) December 21, 2023

This is a half-sider budgerigar, it has completely different colours on each side of its body,

This is a rare example of a tetragametic chimera, when two embryos merge during a very early stage of development

creating a harmonious merger of two budgerigars into a single,… pic.twitter.com/0L9MWesv15

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) December 19, 2023

The unexpected response of this jaguar when exposed to catnip
pic.twitter.com/AE6Bp5zrc7

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) December 20, 2023

Courtesy OCiS - a meme for all those on the World Famous AOS Pet Thread that has had to say a final goodbye (Hadrian - this is for you).

Sharing the hurt and comforting each other through these losses is part of what the AOS Pet Thread family does.

Dog Christmas Shopping in a Jaunty Santa Hat

Photo by By-Tor

here are my two little felines Dini & Smudge.
Dini is the tabby, Smudge is the Maine Coon with a long tail. Dini laying
on her back was one of times when Smudge was leaving her alone and she
could chillax. Smudge, up in the window, is looking for bugs to torment or
birds that fly by. Being close to Christmas, the last pic is the two of
them hanging out near the Christmas Tree. Thankfully they don't climb the
tree, but we are still hesitant to put up our nice ornaments. The tree
skirt, made by my late grandmother, is a favorite for both of them, for
different reasons. Dini loves laying on it, Smudge likes to hide under it.

Merry Christmas to you K.T., the cobs, and Horde.

Our Country is Screwed

Your Christmas tree is lucky that your kitties are so lovely. Their personalities show in the other photos, too.

The tree skirt is also lovely. No wonder the cats like it, too! Merry Christmas!

My little buddy Scout passed away last week. He's buried beside his big buddy Kasper. RIP guys, we'll meet again soon enough.

- fd

Oh, so sorry to hear about the loss of your little buddy. Nice that Scout has Kasper to keep him company on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.

The Universal Cat Distribution System felt that we needed a new cat, so it brought Serena to our back door a month ago. We first saw her talking with our current boss, Salem, through the screen. Then she began negotiating with the hoomans; the negotiations were very one-sided.

She was about 8-9 months old. No chip, not spayed, very friendly, and very very hungry.

A month later and it's clear that the Cat Distribution System put her in the right place. Even Salem is getting used to her, even if he's too protective of his spot under the Christmas Tree.

Merry Christmas to all the pets, their hoomans, posters, and lurkers.

DKE

Hi K.T.!

Last year we lost both our dogs, one in March and one in November. You were kind enough to memorialize them for us in the Pet Morons thread. It meant the world to us, and we can't thank you enough.

Even though I said I did not want to go through the heartache of putting down any more animals, my wife insisted the house was too empty with nothing to come home to, and we rescued two new dogs. Their 'Gotcha Day' was New Year's Eve, 2022.

Bailey ended up in the shelter as a product of divorce and Rufus...or Roo as we call him...had what the shelter owners said was 'not a good early life'. They are both male and both Beagles. Bailey is a smaller stature Lemon Beagle and Rufus is a Standard Beagle. Bailey acclimated quite well, but Roo had a LOT of anxiety. He chewed many furnishings, ate the side of our recliner and made our back yard resemble the moon. It was both challenging and heart-breaking seeing him like he was. Our vet put him on an all-natural calmer, which did take the edge off a bit. We persevered and figured out what helped him and what triggered him. He is now off the calmer and has become a model Beagle citizen! They are both excellent with strange humans and strange dogs, and are two of the sweetest boys you'll meet!

So, in honor of their one-year Gotcha Day Anniversary, we'd love to see them in an upcoming Pet Thread! We look forward to reading about and seeing everyone's fur babies every week! As always, keep up the great work!

Reene and Phil

Glad to hear that Roo is settling in. Both of them look absolutely charming. Thanks for sharing their rescue stories with us. And thanks for loving them.

From Monday:

This is Tipsy, so named because of the snow-white tip of her tail. She was our faithful companion for 17 years, very affectionate and a skilled hunter. I would often wake up in the morning to find her curled up and purring under my arm.

When my late wife was in hospice with cancer, she missed Tipsy and asked me to bring her a picture for her bedside. Tipsy was a comfort to both of us in the hardest of times.

Tipsy passed away last night. I buried her in my front yard next to an orange tree. Her eyes were still open, as if she was still looking at me with that cool, inscrutable look that was so familiar. She will be missed.

Toad-0

So sorry to learn that you have lost Tipsy at such a hard time. She was a lovely cat. Please stay in touch.

Delilah's puppies, filling the hole in our hearts. All redheads after their daddy (and great-granddaddy) Virago. From left to right: Zeus, Puff (the only girl), Phoenix, Spark (in Her Majesty's lap) and George (in her arms). All healthy, growing and developing little personalities.

Hadrian the Seventh Delilah's puppies, filling the hole in our hearts. All redheads after their daddy (and great-granddaddy) Virago. From left to right: Zeus, Puff (the only girl), Phoenix, Spark (in Her Majesty's lap) and George (in her arms). All healthy, growing and developing little personalities.

Hadrian the Seventh

So wonderful to see and hear! Do you have favorites?

Santa brought an update!

Daily lurker here. Posted a pic of Dolly the Tennessee Beagle up on the Blue Ridge Highway a couple months ago.

Now, we're anxiously awaiting for Santa to bring some special treats or a new stuffed toy to commence gutting.

Wishing all y'all morons a beautiful set of holidays. And thank you for the online community you've built here.

Have a holly Dolly Christmas!

-SmokyMtVol

Amazing the pet stories and photos today. Thank you for sharing your pets with us. We have a couple more for next week, but share yours, too!

If you would like to send pet and/or animal stories, links, etc. for the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, the address is:

petmorons at protonmail dot com

Remember to include the nic or name by which you wish to be known when you comment at AoSHQ, or let us know if you want to remain a lurker.

Until next Saturday, have a great week!

If you start feeling nostalgic, here a link to last week's Pet Thread, the Ace of Spades Pet Thread, December 16. Some special PetMoron stories and photos there.

I closed the comments on this post so you wouldn't get banned for commenting on a week-old post, but don't try it anyway.