Your Most Disturbing Realizations

[Edward]

My favorite John Barrymore picture, "When A Man Loves," a silent from 1927 based on the story of Manon Lescaut, prominently features a cat in the first half of the picture -- in one scene, Barrymore swordfights a whole gang of rogues *while holding the cat,* who seems perfectly calm about the whole thing. But after about the halfway point, the cat just drops out of the story and you never hear what happened to her. First time I saw the picture I waited expectantly for the dramatic heartwarming reunion scene, but all that happened was Barrymore sailed off on a ship with Dolores Costello without so much an acknowledgement of the cat.

That has bothered me ever since. The cat really did steal the picture, and probably Barrymore demanded that she be written out or something.

I recall reading somewhere cats were routinely sedated to appear on screen in those days...

I'm also reminded now of inside Evan Davies - there's a prominent ginger cat in that, and I remember all my sympathy towards the protagonist evaporating when he leaves the cat behind - conventionally, far from the worst thing he does in that film.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The cat scenes that always infuriate me are the ones where the cat is being goaded or frightened into puffing up into a battle position for the sake of a cheap gag. The Our Gang comedies, especially in the silent era, were notorious for this -- a homemade vehicle might be powered by a dog running on a treadmill trying to catch a caged cat who is clearly terrified. Ha ha ha that's a laugh I'll say. I hope the handler got his eyes scratched out.

 

[tonyb]

Attitudes toward pets have changed dramatically just in my lifetime. I can only imagine how it was in decades prior to that.

It was common to see dogs running loose (our dogs did), and to see them dead alongside the road. Cats, too, although our feline friends were less likely to end up that way.

It wasn’t but a couple decades ago that I found it almost nuts that people wouldn’t let their cats go outside. Now it’s the norm. The cat we assumed responsibility for a year and a half ago never ventures out of doors.

Remember the kids with boxes full of free puppies outside supermarkets on Saturday mornings? How long has it been since we’ve seen that?

 

[Tiki Tom]

Now it is normal for people to spend thousands of dollars on their pets medical conditions. My parents would have thought that was crazy.

 

[Turnip]

Spending a month on a road trip in North East USA about 25 or so years ago we watched seniors, real old folks way above 65, packing shopping bags for customers at supermarket counters or retrieving shopping carts from all over supermarket parking lots to make a few bucks and thought to us that this was unthinkable at this end.
25 years later you can watch seniors browsing bins, collecting cans, bottles and retrieving shopping carts here as well.

 

[tonyb]

Now it is normal for people to spend thousands of dollars on their pets medical conditions. My parents would have thought that was crazy.

I have similar thoughts. I can just imagine my grandfather’s reaction should he have heard what I’ve spent on our pets’ dental care.

 

[belfastboy]

Now it is normal for people to spend thousands of dollars on their pets medical conditions. My parents would have thought that was crazy.

Yep, who would have though that 'Dog chemotherapy' would become a thing? My neighbour, an 84 year old former farmer said he had a 25 cent cure for dog cancer........a .22 calibre bullet out behind the barn.

Different times for sure.

 

[LostInTyme]

Animals, as pets, become part of the family. Today, diseases that once were fatal to pets can be used to prolong the lives of our animal family members. We have spent considerable amounts of money doing just that. When our pets reach the point that they must pass on, we once again choose to pay for humane euthanization, rather than let them suffer.

 

[Edward]

Animals, as pets, become part of the family. Today, diseases that once were fatal to pets can be used to prolong the lives of our animal family members. We have spent considerable amounts of money doing just that. When our pets reach the point that they must pass on, we once again choose to pay for humane euthanization, rather than let them suffer.

Indeed. Our rescue dog has a very happy and active life, with her epilepsy very well managed with medication that she, fortunately, is very good about taking. We do pay for that as we took her on as a rescue with a pre-existing condition; my late cats were both insured. The insurance was superb; during the last nine months of Marlene's life, we spent £1500 on her, all of which we got back on the insurance with no quibble. I'd rather she was still here and we'd never had to claim, but the peace of mind it gave knowing we'd never have to turn down anything that was worth doing for her on grounds of cost was well worth it. Fortunately, Mimi Dog's meds really are minimal cost; as an older dog, anything super-expensive probably wouldn't be fair to put her through. Still, she's now an estimated twelve, and has the energy of a puppy. Quite typical cockerpoo in that respect.

My/our pets have definitely been our family. We have no children by choice, so they're certainly not baby-substitutes, but I am nevertheless no less attached to them than I have been any human. I preferred my cats to most humans, to be fair.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'm currently nursing my cat thru thyroid disease. She needs meds twice a day, which I crush up and mix into a spoonful of baby food to get them into her. Sometimes she's reluctant to take them and I have to coax. Sometimes that means I'm late for work in the morning and late getting to bed at night. and that's just too g-d bad. She's my top obligation right now.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Attitudes toward pets have changed dramatically just in my lifetime. I can only imagine how it was in decades prior to that.

It was common to see dogs running loose (our dogs did), and to see them dead alongside the road. Cats, too, although our feline friends were less likely to end up that way.

It wasn’t but a couple decades ago that I found it almost nuts that people wouldn’t let their cats go outside. Now it’s the norm. The cat we assumed responsibility for a year and a half ago never ventures out of doors.

Remember the kids with boxes full of free puppies outside supermarkets on Saturday mornings? How long has it been since we’ve seen that?

You never see "mutts" anymore, the random-bred dogs that ran around every neighborhood -- the result of dogs roaming free. Pretty much every dog I know is a "bred" dog, even the rescues. Sometimes that's not such a good thing for the dogs, especially the novelty breeds that are manipulated into existence to satisfy various human vanities regardless of the poor health that results for the dogs themselves. As a mutt myself, I miss the company of other mutts.

 

[LostInTyme]

We just rescued a Mutt, so-to-speak. His Mom is a Siberian Husky, and his Dad is a Treeing Walker Coonhound. His name is Cody, and he is currently 6 months old.

 

[tonyb]

You never see "mutts" anymore, the random-bred dogs that ran around every neighborhood -- the result of dogs roaming free. Pretty much every dog I know is a "bred" dog, even the rescues. Sometimes that's not such a good thing for the dogs, especially the novelty breeds that are manipulated into existence to satisfy various human vanities regardless of the poor health that results for the dogs themselves. As a mutt myself, I miss the company of other mutts.

Every dog I’ve had are/were mutts, with the possible exception of a family dog we had when I was a kid, who may have been a purebred dachshund, although we did get him at the local dog pound on my little sister’s second birthday, so that leaves my mutt-loving credentials untarnished.

My Dear Old Ma once took a purebred longhaired dachshund off a friend’s hands. The friend had a child who tormented the poor thing. That little dog came to a tragic end, but one in which a person might find humor, now that several decades have passed since the unfortunate event.

 

[belfastboy]

Spending a month on a road trip in North East USA about 25 or so years ago we watched seniors, real old folks way above 65, packing shopping bags for customers at supermarket counters or retrieving shopping carts from all over supermarket parking lots to make a few bucks and thought to us that this was unthinkable at this end.
25 years later you can watch seniors browsing bins, collecting cans, bottles and retrieving shopping carts here as well.

I worked til I was 69 years old as I loved my job......lots of talk I was preventing a younger person from gainful employment......I just read a recent study that claims the current labour shortage is caused by us boomers leaving the workforce....(finally) and there are just not enough youngsters out there to take our place. But no, I ain't goin' back!

 

[LostInTyme]

I made it to 68, and THAT was ENOUGH! New bosses, young, inexperienced engineers, and smart-assed project managers were too much to deal with.

 

[tonyb]

I made it to 68, and THAT was ENOUGH! New bosses, young, inexperienced engineers, and smart-assed project managers were too much to deal with.

As one of my specialist physicians put it to me when he hung up his spurs on account of his group practice being acquired by a large corporation, “I’m getting a bit too long in the tooth to be answering to a snooty 25-year-old.”

I always liked that guy. I hope he’s enjoying his retirement.

 

[ChiTownScion]

You never see "mutts" anymore, the random-bred dogs that ran around every neighborhood -- the result of dogs roaming free. Pretty much every dog I know is a "bred" dog, even the rescues. Sometimes that's not such a good thing for the dogs, especially the novelty breeds that are manipulated into existence to satisfy various human vanities regardless of the poor health that results for the dogs themselves. As a mutt myself, I miss the company of other mutts.

Smartest dog we've ever had, and technically, a mutt. Even if he's a "designer hybrid" ("Teddy Bear:" A Bichon/ Shih Tzu), as he can't be AKC registered, he's a mutt. (The non- shedding part is nice after two pugs.)

Got him from relatives who neglected him: urinary tract infection, ear mites, and matted hair because he hadn't been clipped in ages. Kept in a crate 20 to 22 hours a day, except when the relatives needed a few laughs and would let him run around like a madman. So yeah, he's a rescue dog.

The fifth dog that we've owned, and I've never felt closer to a dog as I am with him. And I've always had an aversion to small cutsie dogs before.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Looks a lot like our Sandy, who went to doggie Heaven late last year. He, too, had been neglected before he came our way. The rescue we got him from showed us a photo of him when he came into their shelter. He was a vaguely dog-shaped pile of matted fur. He was the type of dog that really needed a haircut at least a couple times per year.

 

[tonyb]

“And how should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we should also stop being so serious. Jokes help a lot. And get a dog, if you don’t already have one.”

— Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I worked til I was 69 years old as I loved my job......lots of talk I was preventing a younger person from gainful employment......I just read a recent study that claims the current labour shortage is caused by us boomers leaving the workforce....(finally) and there are just not enough youngsters out there to take our place. But no, I ain't goin' back!

I retired ten years ago this October. A few years back I took a security job: what I did to work my way through school at some points. I quit after 3 days: when you're not desperate for the money you suffer fools a lot less. Job itself was fun: I provided security (onboard and perimeter) for Navy vessels at a shipyard. Management of the company that signed my check, not so great.

My wife recently got her nursing license in the state where we retired and will soon (at 70) be returning to work for 20 hours a week. She's excited about the job, and it does pay well. For her, it's more about getting back into her field than the money: she actually misses providing clinical care.

I love being retired, although this pandemic has cramped our wanderlust a bit. So, we're saving a little money <shrug>. Others have suffered severe financial hardships because of the pandemic, so I'm grateful for what we have.