Ace of Spades Pet Thread, September 12

Courtesy Donald Sensing

* * *

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.

* * *

You can adopt police dogs that flunked training for being too friendly.

Instead of sending them to shelters, agencies like the TSA, Department of Defense, and various police departments have their own adoption programs, giving these lovable “dropouts” a second chance as family… pic.twitter.com/Wel7Yp9PFf
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 9, 2026

* * *

They left yesterday.
None in the garage last night.
8,000miles, bound for southern Africa.
I always feel melancholy when they leave.
Safe journey, you wee beauties.
See you next year. 💙🙏🌍 pic.twitter.com/mhEcyiBO66
— Simon Forrest (@SimonForrest11) September 12, 2026

Would you dare employ a monkey?

* * *

Monkey snapping green beans: watch his face.

[📹 Gaitlyn Rae] pic.twitter.com/rlSbhrwyY3
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 12, 2026

* * *

Meet The PetMorons

I lost my pup Bruno last Tuesday to Lymphoma. It had been in remission but came back over a few days and just overwhelmed him. He's buried down by the woods, where he loved to run. I miss you buddy, and your wagging tail thumping against the cabinets in the shop.

- fd

Oh, no. So sorry that you have lost Bruno. What a wonderful boy.

* * *

This is the good Little Mama who brought her four kittens to our house and demanded that we feed them. She splits her time between our house and some unknown locale. She has been spayed and her boys have all been neutered now.
K.T.

* * *

My kitty boy, Kovu! You can see his spots in real life, but they don’t show up in the pics. He is asleep so his big ears are wilted. pic.twitter.com/DOvRTTqnjt
— Piper (@piper_moves) September 6, 2026

* * *

Thank you for sharing your pets and animal photos and stories with us today.

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, September 5

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

Posted by: K.T. at 03:41 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Yay! Pets!

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 12, 2026 03:45 PM (FZ29D)

2
RIP, Bruno. You were your dad's bestest boy.

Posted by: Hadrian the Seventh at September 12, 2026 03:46 PM (eRlcH)

3 Yes, yay pets!

Posted by: Hokey Pokey at September 12, 2026 03:47 PM (wxsGM)

4 Yay, Pet Thread!

Thank you, K.T., for something pleasant to think about today.

And my sympathies, fd, on your loss of Bruno.

Posted by: barkingmad59, wandering lurkette at September 12, 2026 03:47 PM (R3yzU)

5 Meow...

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at September 12, 2026 03:49 PM (sAmhv)

6 Sorry for your loss fd. Bruno looks like he was a real sweetie.

Posted by: Tuna at September 12, 2026 03:49 PM (lJ0H4)

7 Saw trumpeter swans on the lake near the house this week. Means they are headed south, but they usually hang out here until hard frost. The sandhill cranes came through a couple of weeks ago, also headed south. Another month or so and we can put up the bird feeders for the winter. If we put them up before then, the damned bears get into them which sorta defeats the purpose.

Posted by: tcn in AK at September 12, 2026 03:50 PM (Ntshk)

8 barkingmad59, wandering lurkette at September 12, 2026 03:47 PM

Posted the Gardening for Apples thread late today. If you want something pleasant to read, it's not too late, even to comment!

Posted by: KT at September 12, 2026 03:53 PM (1RGZ5)

9 Afternoon, pet folken,

Piper, in the pic, Kovu looks very much like my Stirling. I don't know what you mean about "wilted" ears, though; they look pretty much normal.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 03:55 PM (wzUl9)

10 If we put them up before then, the damned bears get into them which sorta defeats the purpose.
Posted by: tcn in AK

Even in Western PA, bears enjoy a good feast from a bird feeder. My friend, who lives in the burbs of Sharon, PA, had a black bear casually feeding from her bird feeder. A fairly populated area but deep woods aren't too far away. Bear didn't care. It was hungry. Anyway, it wandered off and my friends had to bear proof a bird feeder. Not sure what they did to do it.

Posted by: Puddleglum, drive by meow at September 12, 2026 03:57 PM (sAmhv)

11 That good Little Mama whacked DH on the shin when she showed up for food for her babies. When he came out to feed her, there were two kitten sitting on each of her sides.

Posted by: KT at September 12, 2026 03:58 PM (1RGZ5)

12 Woof

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at September 12, 2026 03:59 PM (9Qx17)

13 Happy Caturday everyone
All but done at a new Animal Hospital job, hope they can help lots of pets when they open.

Posted by: Skip at September 12, 2026 04:01 PM (Ia/+0)

14 I learned a valuable lesson about unconditional love this week.

I chose NOT to sell my cats' organs as aphrodisiacs on the Chinese black market after they knocked my Lego Star Destroyer off the bookshelf in my library.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 12, 2026 04:02 PM (FZ29D)

15 Sorry about Bruno, fd. He looks like a very nice dog.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 12, 2026 04:03 PM (JrHfD)

16 That good Little Mama whacked DH on the shin when she showed up for food for her babies. When he came out to feed her, there were two kitten sitting on each of her sides.
Posted by: KT at September 12, 2026

***
KT, you mean she clawed at him -- drew blood? If a strange cat did that to me, she wouldn't get any food, that's for sure.

I have a second cat visiting my door. This is a brownish-grey male tabby with white, about 50-50, a feral who hangs around with the non-feral shorthair gray, "Alfred," who visits me from time to time. This new boy won't come close, but actually cries for food just as Alfred does. I tell Linda, "If he's gonna visit at a distance, I'll feed him at a distance. Just throw him a handful of dry food!"

Just kidding. I put out a scoop of Iams dry food for them in a plastic bowl.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:05 PM (wzUl9)

17 Regarding that meme of the cats spying on their humans: You'd think, after some 8000 years of cats living with and observing humans, they'd have reported everything necessary for the Great Take-Over.

Well, maybe reporting wasn't so easy back then. Hard for a cat to send a message by carrier pigeon without eating the messenger.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:08 PM (wzUl9)

18 Millard the kitten continues to make me laugh. He goes under his scratching post and not scratch, so it's like what my husband calls a "tunnel with a tail."
My friend has three cats with scratching posts in every room but the bathrooms. He enjoys the scratching post in the living room but needs others.

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 12, 2026 04:08 PM (JrHfD)

19 It's like I don't know you people anymore:

African or European?

Posted by: goatexchange at September 12, 2026 04:09 PM (xHuLt)

20 fd, my condolences on the loss of Bruno. A Rin Tin Tin lookalike he was.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:09 PM (wzUl9)

21 Monkey face is cute, but. . . so many questions about the context - where? why? who's giggling?

Posted by: Lizzy at September 12, 2026 04:11 PM (rOKnE)

22 I chose NOT to sell my cats' organs as aphrodisiacs on the Chinese black market after they knocked my Lego Star Destroyer off the bookshelf in my library.
Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 12, 2026

***
Chinese black market, you say?

(*CRASH* as Dagny knocks over and shatters a lamp)

Whereabouts can one find a dealer, pray tell? Asking for a friend, of course. . . .

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:11 PM (wzUl9)

23 Very sorry about the loss of your boy, fd.

Posted by: JackStraw at September 12, 2026 04:12 PM (viF8m)

24 Condolences, fd!

Posted by: Lizzy at September 12, 2026 04:12 PM (rOKnE)

25 What kind of swallow is that in the pic, that travels 8000 miles to southern Africa on a regular basis? (I'm guessing "swallow" based on the tail. We call men's format coats "swallowtail" coats for a reason.)

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:13 PM (wzUl9)

26 The monkey looks as if the smell of the beans as he breaks each one is unpleasant, or as if he has arthritis in his paws and it hurts him to snap each one.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:15 PM (wzUl9)

27 Losing a pet is hard to take.

Posted by: Skip at September 12, 2026 04:15 PM (Ia/+0)

28 Monkey face is cute, but. . . so many questions about the context - where? why? who's giggling?
Posted by: Lizzy at September 12, 2026

***
The monkey's mate? "Another bowl, Seymour, and then maybe I'll let you watch Monkey Business with the Marx Brothers. Snap to it!"

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:16 PM (wzUl9)

29 So sorry to hear about poor Bruno.

He sounds like he was a wonderful pup.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at September 12, 2026 04:25 PM (FZ29D)

30 Afternoon all

fd, so sorry that you had to say goodbye to Bruno. Such a handsome boy.

Always so tough, we know.

Posted by: Pony Tail at September 12, 2026 04:28 PM (v8m9Y)

31 What kind of swallow is that in the pic, that travels 8000 miles to southern Africa on a regular basis?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:13 PM (wzUl9

Posted by: Joe Kidd at September 12, 2026 04:29 PM (nbLIj)

32 1 What kind of swallow is that in the pic, that travels 8000 miles to southern Africa on a regular basis?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:13 PM (wzUl9
Posted by: Joe Kidd at September 12, 2026 04:29 PM (nbLIj)

The unladen kind, of course..

Posted by: Joe Kidd at September 12, 2026 04:29 PM (nbLIj)

33 I'm so sorry about Bruno. Beautiful dog.

And such pretty cats.

Snowflake comes in and sleeps with Ralphy and I at night on the chair. She used to get up with me around 4 am and want to go outside. Lately though she waits until I've completed another REM cycle and am just out of sleep and she'll jump on the bed and meow. That's pretty remarkable.

I've been feeding her and her outdoor Mom Starry. My friends family came home and I asked the kids how Starry looks. She's not fat by any means.

But you wouldn't think she's homeless.

Posted by: Stateless - Ralphy 105 years old - puppy at heart at September 12, 2026 04:32 PM (Sco7b)

34 I often write about our goodly gal Daisy the Malinois. Our old black kitty, not so much to write about.

Ony (short for "Onyxia") was bestowed upon us by our son Prod (short for "Prodigal") when he left college in 2009, when she was maybe three years old. We had many cats then, and Ony has outlived them all.

She has always been a pretty hearty housecat. Tolerates the dogs, demands food on time, lets us know when the litter box needs cleaning.

However, in recent weeks, she seems to have started showing her age. She scrambles, rather than jumps, up on the bed. Moves slowly and cautiously — we think she may be losing her sight She doesn't really leave the bedroom now. Rarely comes out to get in my lap at the desk. Still likes to sleep on the bed between us.

She started peeing in inappropriate places, so we moved her litter box from the bathroom to the bedroom, next to the cat tree and her food, and that seems to have worked.

Other than that, she mostly just seems to be getting a little slower, a little weaker. Of course, we hope she'll hang in there for a long time to come, but, well, just giving her plenty of hugs and scritches.🐈‍⬛🥺

Posted by: mindful webworker - Ony, the Queen of the Critters here at September 12, 2026 04:38 PM (k0Y0k)

35 What kind of swallow is that in the pic, that travels 8000 miles to southern Africa on a regular basis? (I'm guessing "swallow" based on the tail. We call men's format coats "swallowtail" coats for a reason.)
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:13 PM (wzUl9)

Is it an African swallow or a European swallow?

Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at September 12, 2026 04:38 PM (TlKpx)

36 Stateless, Stirling has a habit of waking me by jumping over me and kicking me as he goes -- at 3:45 am. He only started this about a year ago, and he doesn't do it every morning. But when he does, I glance blearily at my watch and it's between 3:40 and 3:50 every time.

I'm glad he didn't do this 45-60 minutes before my alarm when I was working!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:39 PM (wzUl9)

37 Mindful, so Ony is about twenty? I've never had a cat who lived that long, only Arizona the red tabby part-Coon who made it to 16.5. And he had health issues in his last two years. Clearly Ony is going for a record.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:43 PM (wzUl9)

38 Stirling has a habit of waking me by jumping over me and kicking me as he goes -- at 3:45 am. He only started this about a year ago, and he doesn't do it every morning. But when he does, I glance blearily at my watch and it's between 3:40 and 3:50 every time.
----
Clearly Stirling and Lily are texting each other to synchronize their attacks.

Posted by: All Hail Eris, She-Wolf of the 'Ettes 'Ettes at September 12, 2026 04:43 PM (kpS4V)

39 Hey guys!

Fd, so sorry for the loss of your Bruno. Sending hugs your way.

KT, so glad mom and kittens are fixed.

Piper, Kovu is beautiful.

I won't be posting our cat blog update today. I'm going to assume that anyone who has been following or donated the last 2yrs+ can already read the posts. :-)

I have been approved for SSI, so thankfully I can take some of the bill burden off my sister. I can now also apply for disability homestead deduction.

Posted by: Joyenz at September 12, 2026 04:45 PM (2F0/Y)

40 36 Stateless, Stirling has a habit of waking me by jumping over me and kicking me as he goes -- at 3:45 am. He only started this about a year ago, and he doesn't do it every morning. But when he does, I glance blearily at my watch and it's between 3:40 and 3:50 every time.

I'm glad he didn't do this 45-60 minutes before my alarm when I was working!

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:39 PM (wzUl9)

That's when I put the cats back outside. But she NEVER wakes me up now. Apparently I'm studied to an incredible degree but this works well.

And I'm amazed at what goes on outside at 4am. Starry is sometimes by. Another orange cat. 4am is cat party time.

Posted by: Stateless - Ralphy 105 years old - puppy at heart at September 12, 2026 04:45 PM (Sco7b)

41 A couple of memes

The many names of my dog
https://bit.ly/dog-many-names

Memorial to the search-and-rescue dogs of 9/11/2001
https://bit.ly/rescue-dogs-9-11-memorial

Read (on this blog, I think) that the 9/11 search folks thought the dogs were getting depressed at not finding folks in the rubble, so they would have folks 'hide' themselves in the rubble, so the dogs could find them.

The dogs surely suffered after-effects as much as the humans - physical as well as emotional.🐕‍🦺❣️

Posted by: mindful webworker - good dogs at September 12, 2026 04:45 PM (k0Y0k)

42 Is it an African swallow or a European swallow?
Posted by: NemoMeImpuneLacessit at September 12, 2026

***
Well, assuming the swallow is traveling due south, Africa is only 5000 miles long, so the bird would be starting from somewhere in northern Europe. And the poster mentions his garage -- not something you'd find often in northern Africa -- so again I think Europe.

Maybe not, though. Qwant's AI says the distance from NYC to southern Africa is about 8000 miles, so maybe the birds go southeast?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 04:50 PM (wzUl9)

43 I nap 30 minutes between two cats.

Posted by: Eromero at September 12, 2026 04:53 PM (LHPAg)

44 Clearly Ony is going for a record.
Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius

Yes. Never had a cat get that old. Obviously, after so many years, she's deeply entrenched in our lives and hearts, and irreplaceable.

That failed police pup sure looks like a young version of our Daisy. We never had her as that young and when I see Malinois pups, I get a little sad we didn't. Never had to house-train her, though.

Great pic of Bruno. GS and Malinois, wonderful (and closely related) breeds.

Posted by: mindful webworker - skritches all around at September 12, 2026 04:54 PM (k0Y0k)

45 I like the many names for your dog, mww. And I appreciated the statues for the rescue dogs. Here is an article about some of the rescue dogs for 9/11:

https://tinyurl.com/2ezrjjnj

Posted by: FenelonSpoke at September 12, 2026 04:55 PM (JrHfD)

46
I miss you buddy, and your wagging tail thumping against the cabinets in the shop.
- fd

A guy at work brought his Basset hound to work once.
The dog was slamming his tail againt a metal filing cabinet. BAM BAM BAM! I thought it would be painful but I guess not.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at September 12, 2026 05:00 PM (Cqx++)

47 There was a pale gray tabby named "Cocoa" for adoption at a local Petco this morning, where we stopped after World Market just to see what was new. She (I assume "she") is bigger than a kitten but not an adult quite yet. The sticker said that she'd prefer a home with large dogs or other cats to which she could be introduced gradually. "Not a fan of small dogs."

Most Petco stores, not that long ago, used to have four to eight cats available for adoption on a Saturday morning. Now it's unusual to see even one. I wonder why? Shelters are still going; you'd think they'd ship a few over to catch a family's attention as often as they could.

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 05:00 PM (wzUl9)

48 https://bit.ly/dog-many-names

***
The many names of my cats:

Stirling: also Duke of Vicksburg, Big Black, Black Thug, Tiny Jaguar, You Battleship, What Are You Doing?!, Dammit, Stop That

Dagny: also Dagnetta, La Siberienne, Gray Girl, Puffball, Stubby Tail, Little Gray; and she shares What Are You Doing?!, Dammit, and Stop That with Stirling

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 05:05 PM (wzUl9)

49 Can't "bear proof" a bird feeder really. Unless it's "bird proof" too.

Near as I've been able to figure out, bears must associate pain with humans. Their natural inclination is to run at top speed, at first sight of a human.

If they determine the worst that can happen is a little yelling, or maybe somebody banging pots and pans, then they don't GAF and will be nothing but trouble.

Posted by: Common Tater at September 12, 2026 05:05 PM (/ijqt)

50 Sorry for your loss fd. Bruno was a handsome boy.

Posted by: Biergood at September 12, 2026 05:05 PM (PwgSL)

51 Cocoa was a pretty cat for a shorthair. I suggested to Linda she adopt her. "You need your own cat."

Ha. She has my two to play with and fuss over; what does she need with her own?

Posted by: Wolfus Aurelius, Dreaming of Elsewhere at September 12, 2026 05:08 PM (wzUl9)

52 Condolences for Bruno, fd.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at September 12, 2026 05:09 PM (zZu0s)

Processing 0.01, elapsed 0.0137 seconds.
14 queries taking 0.0052 seconds, 60 records returned.
Page size 50 kb.
Powered by Minx 0.8 beta.