(Note for new subscribers: On Monday, I recap some of the positive stories/funny memes I’ve come across in the last week. Feel free to add your own in the comments!)
Happy National Dog Day, Screamers! It’s been 20 years since Colleen Paige founded the holiday to celebrate our cuddly canine companions and promote adopting dogs from animal shelters! That means it’s time to put on the party hats!
….or whatever other doggie activities your pup enjoys!
Get in loser, we’re going to Petco!
What better way to celebrate National Dog Day than a video of happy dogs being adopted?
Special thanks to The Dodo for this and all their amazing videos!
Finally, National Dog day is a perfect excuse to re-post this gem:
Enjoy the day, ya dig?
On Friday, RFK Jr. announced he was supporting Donald Trump in this election. (Kennedy’s featured on Tucker Carlson today, but I haven’t yet had a chance to watch.) Today, former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee Tulsi Gabbard did the same:
(Check out the full 5-minute video here!)
This makes me happy because I — along with many of you — am a former Democrat who is very worried about the current direction of the party. The more former Democrats that come out for Trump, the easier it will be for others to do the same. I know reaction to Gabbard is mixed around here, but I’ve always considered her a reasonable person (even when she’s wrong) who’s willing to talk about issues.
And I’ve never felt better about my decision:
The media doesn’t seem to understand that we don’t WANT the GOP to be the party of Bush/McCain/Romney. (For that matter, we don’t want the Democrats to be the party of Bush/McCain/Romney, either!)
Around Kansas City, Salvador Perez has been a fountain of joy since the catcher was called up in 2011. Every day, “Salvy” brings an infectious joy with him to work. During the team’s World Series runs in 2014-2015, Perez was well-known for dumping Gatorade on teammates being interviewed on TV after a win. This led to one of the most creative billboards I’ve ever seen, in front of which fans could positions themselves just right to make it seem like they’re the recipient of a “Salvy Splash”:
So recently when Perez was driving around town on an off-day and spotted a local whiffleball game, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that he stopped to join in!
After the game, Perez posed with the local ballers:
What an incredible day for those kids! I’d say that dreams come true, but I’m not sure any of them ever dreamed Salvy would join in on their backyard game!
Update — Perez just hit a grand slam in the 6th inning of tonight’s game, winning a lucky fan $25,000!
Hold on…..I’m getting word that dreams indeed DO come true…….
It’s like watching somebody finally catch the leprechaun at the end of the rainbow!
Finally, it might be National Dog Day, but Bonnie’s threatening to steal the limelight! Check out what I saw when I turned around the other night:
And today, she’s claimed the window perch — the most valuable kitty real estate in the house.
She’s slowly getting used to ‘inside’ life — even though she’s mostly just inside to eat food and nap. She no longer gets worried when the dogs freak out about a visitor — she just yawns, stretches, and goes back to sleep.
That’s what I have for you this Monday, Screamers! In addition to telling us what made you happy this week, drop photos of your dog and I’ll add them to the end of the post!
Afraid of commitment? Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi — no subscription required!
Update — Perez just hit a grand slam in the 6th inning of tonight’s game, winning a lucky fan $25,000!
Here's this re doggies
Dog Music
by Paul Zimmer
Amongst dogs are listeners and singers.
My big dog sang with me so purely,
puckering her ruffled lips into an O,
beginning with small, swallowing sounds
like Coltrane musing, then rising to power
and resonance, gulping air to continue—
her passion and sense of flawless form—
singing with me, but mostly for the art of dogs.
We joined in many fine songs—"Stardust,"
"Naima," "The Trout," "Jeg elsker Dig," "Perdido."
She was a great master and died young,
leaving me with unrelieved grief,
her talents known only to a few.
Now I have a small dog who does not sing
but listens with discernment, requiring
skill and spirit in my falsetto voice.
When I sing her name and words of love,
Andante, con brio, vivace, adagio,
at times she is so moved she turns
to place her paw across her snout,
closing her eyes, sighing like a girl
I held and danced with years ago.
But I am a pretender to dog music.
Indeed, true strains rise only from
the rich, red chambers of a canine heart;
these melodies best when the moon is up,
listeners and singers together and apart,
beyond friendship and anger,
far from any human imposter—
songs of bones, turds, conquests,
hunts and scents, ballads of long
nights lifting to starlight.