Her first best friend
February 10, 2018 8:29 PM Subscribe
Nicole adopted an elderly dog. But she seemed oddly familiar.
*snif*
I was separated from way too many childhood pets. It would be nice to imagine they had this kind of happy ending.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 9:05 PM on February 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
I was separated from way too many childhood pets. It would be nice to imagine they had this kind of happy ending.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 9:05 PM on February 10, 2018 [4 favorites]
One of the great things about being human is that another's joy can become our joy through narrative. Lucky Nicole and Chloe, and lucky us.
posted by Thella at 9:07 PM on February 10, 2018 [49 favorites]
posted by Thella at 9:07 PM on February 10, 2018 [49 favorites]
Dogs don’t forget people. My dog recognizes people he hasn’t seen in 3 or 4 years, like when my daughter comes home for Christmas & one of her old high school friends comes over. They have a little reunion, & it’s marvelous. I’m sure Chloe is very happy to be back home.
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:11 PM on February 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
posted by Devils Rancher at 9:11 PM on February 10, 2018 [11 favorites]
Yay!
posted by Samizdata at 9:21 PM on February 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Samizdata at 9:21 PM on February 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh man, I needed that today. Good for them.
posted by jameaterblues at 9:38 PM on February 10, 2018
posted by jameaterblues at 9:38 PM on February 10, 2018
The rescue we work with knows we’re suckers and they keep sending up seniors. It’s very rewarding to give them as good a time as possible during their last years, but it’s hard because they don’t stick around near long enough. (They’re bulldogs.) Some came from bad situations. Others, though, were surrendered by families that couldn’t take care of them anymore. We know it’s heartbreaking. We have been in touch in the past with previous owners and they know we do our best to spoil them. We want to be the type of home that people hope the dog gets when they surrender it.
But there’s no better home than Chloe got. Party time, pup.
posted by azpenguin at 10:02 PM on February 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
But there’s no better home than Chloe got. Party time, pup.
posted by azpenguin at 10:02 PM on February 10, 2018 [25 favorites]
Yeah, except, DON'T GIVE AWAY YOUR DOG IN THE FIRST PLACE. I know it wasn't within the young girl's control, but I think people need to have the mindset that when you adopt a dog its forever, not just until its not convient any more. Of course there will be times when someone's death or illness makes keeping a pet impossible, but "we need the house to be quiet," seems a really weak reason to give away a family member.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:04 PM on February 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
posted by WalkerWestridge at 10:04 PM on February 10, 2018 [50 favorites]
More like, "We need Dad to keep his job, so we have to follow his employer's rules." If you really need the job, you don't have much choice.
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 10:59 PM on February 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
posted by artistic verisimilitude at 10:59 PM on February 10, 2018 [45 favorites]
And, I doubt the dog would have had a great life had they been destitute and homeless, due to Dad losing his job...
posted by Samizdata at 11:41 PM on February 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by Samizdata at 11:41 PM on February 10, 2018 [5 favorites]
I just hope the dog’s got a few more years before it dies.
posted by Segundus at 11:57 PM on February 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Segundus at 11:57 PM on February 10, 2018 [1 favorite]
And you post this just after I saw this one on Facebook. duffell's little heart can't take this shit
posted by duffell at 12:48 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by duffell at 12:48 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
This literally happened to my family just last year. Many years ago, my sister was given a cat, but within a couple of years we ended up moving overseas. The cat, we called Rosie, ended up staying with the people who rented our old house as taking her overseas was not an option. We believed that when they moved on Rosie went with them. Many years later, while renovating the house to sell it, my parents adopted a local stray which they called Pappadam. It was several years after that point that a vet found the. Microchip and the truth was revealed. Rosie/Pappadam still lives with us, but his time is coming, alas. Still, the re-union was unexpected and we're just glad he's been able to be loved.
posted by AnhydrousLove at 12:55 AM on February 11, 2018 [48 favorites]
posted by AnhydrousLove at 12:55 AM on February 11, 2018 [48 favorites]
Can all Sunday threads be like this?
posted by Beholder at 2:13 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by Beholder at 2:13 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
A friend of mine had a cat go missing after a new year’s party. She turned up eight years later - in Paris.
Moral of both these stories: microchip your pets, kids.
posted by doop at 2:23 AM on February 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Moral of both these stories: microchip your pets, kids.
posted by doop at 2:23 AM on February 11, 2018 [20 favorites]
Conceal don't feel.....argh!!!!!!!!!
posted by triage_lazarus at 5:15 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by triage_lazarus at 5:15 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
My cat just meowed at me to ask me why I'm crying.
posted by radwolf76 at 5:26 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by radwolf76 at 5:26 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
OK I'm going to be the killjoy again -
I find it hard to enjoy articles from TheDodo.com because they have a heavy emphasis on click bait and don't do anything in the way of sourcing or justifying any of the claims in their stories.
This story might be true, or it might be entirely fabricated, carefully worded to tug the heartstrings and maximise the viral impact.
I just think, if I was the person involved in this, why would I choose TheDodo.com to release the news?
posted by Lanark at 5:30 AM on February 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
I find it hard to enjoy articles from TheDodo.com because they have a heavy emphasis on click bait and don't do anything in the way of sourcing or justifying any of the claims in their stories.
This story might be true, or it might be entirely fabricated, carefully worded to tug the heartstrings and maximise the viral impact.
I just think, if I was the person involved in this, why would I choose TheDodo.com to release the news?
posted by Lanark at 5:30 AM on February 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
I have no respect for the parents who gave away their daughter's beloved dog. I wonder how much that soured her relationship with them? It was just heartless, glad they are together again.
posted by mermayd at 5:38 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by mermayd at 5:38 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
NO I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING SHUT UP
posted by hippybear at 6:16 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 6:16 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I don’t want to be judgmental about someone else’s situation that is only given the briefest of explanations in the story, however, I do hope that with telecommuting becoming more and more acceptable, scenarios like the one described in the article become less common, with the idea that people are simply more accepting that life noises are a part of “work from home” situations. I work from home (when I’m not on the road) and have to lead conference calls/webinars all the time, I don’t think my work performance has suffered for the fact that an errant “meow” or bark occasionally comes through. Do need to do something about my squeaky chair though.
posted by The Gooch at 7:00 AM on February 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by The Gooch at 7:00 AM on February 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
I just think, if I was the person involved in this, why would I choose TheDodo.com to release the news
i swear if we get to Monday and this dog story gets milkshake-duck'd, I'm turning this Internet around and we're all going straight back home! >:|
posted by slater at 7:00 AM on February 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
i swear if we get to Monday and this dog story gets milkshake-duck'd, I'm turning this Internet around and we're all going straight back home! >:|
posted by slater at 7:00 AM on February 11, 2018 [11 favorites]
MetaFilter: need to do something about my squeaky chair, though
posted by hippybear at 7:03 AM on February 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 7:03 AM on February 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
It looks like the earliest reporting on this was from a hometown paper – with video! (It's probably safe for us to feel good about this, is what I'm saying. :) )
posted by taz at 7:27 AM on February 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by taz at 7:27 AM on February 11, 2018 [15 favorites]
I have no respect for the parents who gave away their daughter's beloved dog. I wonder how much that soured her relationship with them? It was just heartless, glad they are together again.
Should Dad have quit his job, plunged the family into financial precariousness (if they weren't already there), and end up with everyone homeless or STILL needing to re-home the dog because the new landlord is an asshole? Probably broke Dad's heart as much as kiddo's, give 'em a break. They don't need your respect, they needed Dad's income. The pup had a lovely life with people who doted on her.
I don’t want to be judgmental about someone else’s situation that is only given the briefest of explanations in the story, however, I do hope that with telecommuting becoming more and more acceptable, scenarios like the one described in the article become less common, with the idea that people are simply more accepting that life noises are a part of “work from home” situations.
Depends on the "people" you're talking about. I've been WAH since 2002, and until 4 years ago, my gigs were strictly non-phone. Then I worked a season for TurboTax. They were pretty cool, they asked that noise be "kept to a minimum", but as long as you got your work done and your customers were happy, it was all good.
As an Apple At Home Advisor, I was REQUIRED to wear business casual attire, even though I was working from my own home. Supervisors would log in to your camera randomly to check! We were never ever on camera with customers, mind, it was strictly telephone technical support. If a customer complained about background noise, you were written up. Three strikes and you were out.
At HSN, there was a zero tolerance policy for background noise. If a customer complained or if QA pulled a call and your dog was barking/cat was meowing/spouse was sneezing/neighbor was cutting the grass, you were out. If you let the customer know in any way that you were WAH, you were out - nevermind that HSN advertises heavily for WAH reps, you were expected to pretend you were in a physical call center. The only people from my old team who are still there have no pets - the rest of us left or were fired because the dog barked and that call got pulled.
I've NEVER had a customer freak out about hearing my dogs bark. Hell, a month before I left HSN, I had a squirrel just walk right into my house, and the customer NAMED the little fucker. Customers pretty uniformly gasp and say "You get to work from home? That's AWESOME!" Some employers, though, are shockingly strict about maintaining the illusion that everyone goes into the office/call center - right down to managing how you dress for a phone-only position.
My current company - where I intend to be til the heat death of the universe, since they're so incredibly non-toxic, non-micro-managey, and committed to treating us like humans - is of the opinion that yes, people work from home, it's OK to tell people that, we want our customers to know that they're being taken care of by real people who actually give a damn. Keep the noise to a minimum, but don't worry if your dog wants to say Hi to your customer. Some of us gleefully tell our customers "Oh, yeah, I'm watching the game in between support tickets!", and the customers love it. WAH is a simple fact of the Information Age, and more employers need to pull their heads out and get with the program.
posted by MissySedai at 8:20 AM on February 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
Should Dad have quit his job, plunged the family into financial precariousness (if they weren't already there), and end up with everyone homeless or STILL needing to re-home the dog because the new landlord is an asshole? Probably broke Dad's heart as much as kiddo's, give 'em a break. They don't need your respect, they needed Dad's income. The pup had a lovely life with people who doted on her.
I don’t want to be judgmental about someone else’s situation that is only given the briefest of explanations in the story, however, I do hope that with telecommuting becoming more and more acceptable, scenarios like the one described in the article become less common, with the idea that people are simply more accepting that life noises are a part of “work from home” situations.
Depends on the "people" you're talking about. I've been WAH since 2002, and until 4 years ago, my gigs were strictly non-phone. Then I worked a season for TurboTax. They were pretty cool, they asked that noise be "kept to a minimum", but as long as you got your work done and your customers were happy, it was all good.
As an Apple At Home Advisor, I was REQUIRED to wear business casual attire, even though I was working from my own home. Supervisors would log in to your camera randomly to check! We were never ever on camera with customers, mind, it was strictly telephone technical support. If a customer complained about background noise, you were written up. Three strikes and you were out.
At HSN, there was a zero tolerance policy for background noise. If a customer complained or if QA pulled a call and your dog was barking/cat was meowing/spouse was sneezing/neighbor was cutting the grass, you were out. If you let the customer know in any way that you were WAH, you were out - nevermind that HSN advertises heavily for WAH reps, you were expected to pretend you were in a physical call center. The only people from my old team who are still there have no pets - the rest of us left or were fired because the dog barked and that call got pulled.
I've NEVER had a customer freak out about hearing my dogs bark. Hell, a month before I left HSN, I had a squirrel just walk right into my house, and the customer NAMED the little fucker. Customers pretty uniformly gasp and say "You get to work from home? That's AWESOME!" Some employers, though, are shockingly strict about maintaining the illusion that everyone goes into the office/call center - right down to managing how you dress for a phone-only position.
My current company - where I intend to be til the heat death of the universe, since they're so incredibly non-toxic, non-micro-managey, and committed to treating us like humans - is of the opinion that yes, people work from home, it's OK to tell people that, we want our customers to know that they're being taken care of by real people who actually give a damn. Keep the noise to a minimum, but don't worry if your dog wants to say Hi to your customer. Some of us gleefully tell our customers "Oh, yeah, I'm watching the game in between support tickets!", and the customers love it. WAH is a simple fact of the Information Age, and more employers need to pull their heads out and get with the program.
posted by MissySedai at 8:20 AM on February 11, 2018 [54 favorites]
Um, it sounds like getting rid of the dog was not a requirement of the job or a demand of the landlord, but instead a decision that the father made that he wanted to have a house that was free of distraction because he was working from home.
Yes, I think we can be critical of that. There are circumstances where people must give up their dogs, and those are heartbreaking, but there are other circumstances where people make lifestyle choices that don't include their dogs, and I think it is fair to say that this is violating the commitment you make when you adopt a dog.
posted by maxsparber at 8:30 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
Yes, I think we can be critical of that. There are circumstances where people must give up their dogs, and those are heartbreaking, but there are other circumstances where people make lifestyle choices that don't include their dogs, and I think it is fair to say that this is violating the commitment you make when you adopt a dog.
posted by maxsparber at 8:30 AM on February 11, 2018 [7 favorites]
In other words, I don't think we are in any position to assume that absolute silence was required by the job. It is not indicated in the story.
posted by maxsparber at 8:31 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by maxsparber at 8:31 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Did we read a different article? I feel like we must have.
When Nicole was 14 years old, her father got a new job working from home — but it came with a devastating caveat. The house needed to be like an office, free of audible distractions.
"He was told we couldn’t have any pets. Chloe was very yappy," Nicole said. "We had no choice. I was just a kid, so I obviously didn’t have any choice in the matter. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t want to get rid of my dog."
Having worked for toxic companies with shitty requirements, I've no reason to doubt this.
posted by MissySedai at 8:44 AM on February 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
When Nicole was 14 years old, her father got a new job working from home — but it came with a devastating caveat. The house needed to be like an office, free of audible distractions.
"He was told we couldn’t have any pets. Chloe was very yappy," Nicole said. "We had no choice. I was just a kid, so I obviously didn’t have any choice in the matter. It was heartbreaking. I didn’t want to get rid of my dog."
Having worked for toxic companies with shitty requirements, I've no reason to doubt this.
posted by MissySedai at 8:44 AM on February 11, 2018 [16 favorites]
Huh. Didn't see the "he was told," but I guess I have had too many experiences with adults who get rid of pets because they decided they don't want them and create excuses to tell their children to just assume that this was the actual story.
My own father got rid of at least two dogs because they turned out to be more work that he expected. I have friends who work at shelters that say dogs are turned in all the time because they make noise, they aren't housebroken, they require being walked too much, etc. All things that can be addressed with training or are just part of owning a dog, but it is amazing how many people think pets are just something you buy and then they take care of themselves.
I think there is very good reason to be suspicious of the reasons people give for getting rid of pets.
posted by maxsparber at 9:08 AM on February 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
My own father got rid of at least two dogs because they turned out to be more work that he expected. I have friends who work at shelters that say dogs are turned in all the time because they make noise, they aren't housebroken, they require being walked too much, etc. All things that can be addressed with training or are just part of owning a dog, but it is amazing how many people think pets are just something you buy and then they take care of themselves.
I think there is very good reason to be suspicious of the reasons people give for getting rid of pets.
posted by maxsparber at 9:08 AM on February 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
I've been on lots of conference calls where someone's dog started barking at something in the background, and everybody universally it's hilarious. No harm no foul. Unless the dog happens to be barking at a fowl.
posted by lagomorphius at 9:12 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by lagomorphius at 9:12 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've been working from home for the past few years, and before that I had a job for a year where I could bring my dog into the office and was often on videoconference calls. I'm so glad I have universally worked with people who are delighted (or at least not miffed) to catch glimpses of my dog. At my last job, people would actually ask me where Benny was if they couldn't see him in the background (actually, that just happened in my new gig this week too).
What I'm saying is that people can be really down on working for nonprofits, but no one at a nonprofit is going to tell you that you have to get rid of your freaking dog.
posted by lunasol at 9:34 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
What I'm saying is that people can be really down on working for nonprofits, but no one at a nonprofit is going to tell you that you have to get rid of your freaking dog.
posted by lunasol at 9:34 AM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think there is very good reason to be suspicious of the reasons people give for getting rid of pets.
I don't disagree. ALL of my furbeasts have been someone else's cast-offs. I spoil the hell out of them, because they deserve it.
Princess Zoe the Magnificent is mine because the asshole that bought her left her with his soon to be ex-wife because "Pitbulls are supposed to be mean, and she isn't!" Soon to be ex couldn't keep her because her new landlord had a "no vicious breeds" policy. (She's only vicious if you're a piece of cheese.) We drove an hour and a half to get her, and she happily tries to stuff herself up our noses at every opportunity.
Zoe is well beloved by my work crew and by regular customers. Weekly meetings with my manager and monthly "happy hours" with the crew are all on camera, and Zoe likes to sit on the arm of the sofa behind me and happily soaks up the coos and kisses coming out of the Glowy Thing. Sometimes Sir Rocky the Lunkhead joins her. Regular customers send me pictures of their pups, and I send them pictures of mine, and if one barks while we're on the phone, they ask which one is talking. Teammates refer to each other as "doge", and the CEO is affectionately called "Big Doge".
TL;DR: More companies should love dogs like mine does and not be a bag of toxic micromanaging assholes.
posted by MissySedai at 10:22 AM on February 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
I don't disagree. ALL of my furbeasts have been someone else's cast-offs. I spoil the hell out of them, because they deserve it.
Princess Zoe the Magnificent is mine because the asshole that bought her left her with his soon to be ex-wife because "Pitbulls are supposed to be mean, and she isn't!" Soon to be ex couldn't keep her because her new landlord had a "no vicious breeds" policy. (She's only vicious if you're a piece of cheese.) We drove an hour and a half to get her, and she happily tries to stuff herself up our noses at every opportunity.
Zoe is well beloved by my work crew and by regular customers. Weekly meetings with my manager and monthly "happy hours" with the crew are all on camera, and Zoe likes to sit on the arm of the sofa behind me and happily soaks up the coos and kisses coming out of the Glowy Thing. Sometimes Sir Rocky the Lunkhead joins her. Regular customers send me pictures of their pups, and I send them pictures of mine, and if one barks while we're on the phone, they ask which one is talking. Teammates refer to each other as "doge", and the CEO is affectionately called "Big Doge".
TL;DR: More companies should love dogs like mine does and not be a bag of toxic micromanaging assholes.
posted by MissySedai at 10:22 AM on February 11, 2018 [9 favorites]
It is rarely coworkers or customers who give two shits about occasional household noises so long as it's not a constant thing and you can make the noise stop when need be. Certainly none of my clients or their employees do.
It's the image conscious jackasses (the people I fire) that think everything will be ruined if any tiny thing is out of place. Even the people who get annoyed if the newspaper that is left for them on their private jet is the wrong way round don't mind the sort of things that result from life, like a dog barking once or twice on the other end of the phone.
The people that serve those people and the people who want everyone to believe they are one of those people are the low class shitheels that get upset over little things that don't actually affect them at all.
posted by wierdo at 10:23 AM on February 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
It's the image conscious jackasses (the people I fire) that think everything will be ruined if any tiny thing is out of place. Even the people who get annoyed if the newspaper that is left for them on their private jet is the wrong way round don't mind the sort of things that result from life, like a dog barking once or twice on the other end of the phone.
The people that serve those people and the people who want everyone to believe they are one of those people are the low class shitheels that get upset over little things that don't actually affect them at all.
posted by wierdo at 10:23 AM on February 11, 2018 [5 favorites]
> hippybear:
"NO I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING SHUT UP"
Between this and the rat thread, the dust has REALLY been making my allergies act up something fierce.
posted by Samizdata at 11:40 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
"NO I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING SHUT UP"
Between this and the rat thread, the dust has REALLY been making my allergies act up something fierce.
posted by Samizdata at 11:40 AM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
More like, "We need Dad to keep his job, so we have to follow his employer's rules.
Yeah, more and more I think that as pets are considered part of a family, that landlords and bosses should have anti discrimination in housing clauses applied. You can’t decree what race of people someone is allowed to adopt, or how big or tall their spouse can be, why can a landlord have a breed ban? Children can be just as destructive and noisy as dogs.
posted by corb at 12:31 PM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Yeah, more and more I think that as pets are considered part of a family, that landlords and bosses should have anti discrimination in housing clauses applied. You can’t decree what race of people someone is allowed to adopt, or how big or tall their spouse can be, why can a landlord have a breed ban? Children can be just as destructive and noisy as dogs.
posted by corb at 12:31 PM on February 11, 2018 [3 favorites]
Children can be just as destructive and noisy as dogs.
...to say nothing of allegedly grown adults. Or college students, for that matter.
I remember helping a friend of a friend when he was getting ready to move out of his college apartment. We spent three days spackling up and painting all the holes in his walls from drunken shenanigans like shooting BBs into the wall, throwing darts directly into the wall, punching the wall to see if he could blast through to the other side like the Hulk (answer: No, there's cinderblack back there, dumbass, and you deserve the broken knuckles).
By contrast, my actual friend's apartment was pretty well immaculate, save for a little corner of baseboard his pug chewed on as a puppy. 20 minutes to fill in, sand, paint.
posted by MissySedai at 12:59 PM on February 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
...to say nothing of allegedly grown adults. Or college students, for that matter.
I remember helping a friend of a friend when he was getting ready to move out of his college apartment. We spent three days spackling up and painting all the holes in his walls from drunken shenanigans like shooting BBs into the wall, throwing darts directly into the wall, punching the wall to see if he could blast through to the other side like the Hulk (answer: No, there's cinderblack back there, dumbass, and you deserve the broken knuckles).
By contrast, my actual friend's apartment was pretty well immaculate, save for a little corner of baseboard his pug chewed on as a puppy. 20 minutes to fill in, sand, paint.
posted by MissySedai at 12:59 PM on February 11, 2018 [4 favorites]
To be fair, if a customer is bothered by a dog barking / other distraction in the background of a call, they're probably not going to say anything about it. They might even say it's fine, or adorable; they might even think, in the moment, that it's not off-putting at all. Later, though, when the customer has to choose whether to go back to that brand or that communication channel, they might be likely to choose another direction, person, or company where things just "seem professional" -- with or without even knowing they're doing it or why.
That's not to say that people should at all be forced to give up their dogs. You gotta train them, and keep them feeling secure, from day 1. Or find other solutions if possible. If this woman's father didn't even consider that, that's a sad thing. I like to think that the general understanding of what is possible with proper training and upbringing is increasing, so that's helpful.
posted by amtho at 3:05 PM on February 11, 2018
That's not to say that people should at all be forced to give up their dogs. You gotta train them, and keep them feeling secure, from day 1. Or find other solutions if possible. If this woman's father didn't even consider that, that's a sad thing. I like to think that the general understanding of what is possible with proper training and upbringing is increasing, so that's helpful.
posted by amtho at 3:05 PM on February 11, 2018
This is beautiful.
But, also, I find the defense of Nicole's father astonishing. There are plenty of compelling reasons to give up a pet. They're all heartbreaking and sad. This is one is way out in the lazy asshole who didn't even try to find a solution category of treating your kids like garbage. (To be fair, being gifted a surprise pet is pretty horrible too. But the time to deal with that is during the first three days. Not after letting your kid spend four years growing attached to the dog.)
posted by eotvos at 3:08 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
But, also, I find the defense of Nicole's father astonishing. There are plenty of compelling reasons to give up a pet. They're all heartbreaking and sad. This is one is way out in the lazy asshole who didn't even try to find a solution category of treating your kids like garbage. (To be fair, being gifted a surprise pet is pretty horrible too. But the time to deal with that is during the first three days. Not after letting your kid spend four years growing attached to the dog.)
posted by eotvos at 3:08 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
Let's not focus on the dad (we don't know too many details about this situation, it could have gone either way, some employers are genuinely like that) and let's focus on these happy pet reuniting stories instead, mmkay? Hell, one family got their cat back from France! Freaking France!
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:27 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:27 PM on February 11, 2018 [1 favorite]
MetaFilter: let's not focus on the dad
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:31 PM on February 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:31 PM on February 11, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yeah, focusing on the dad is unfair. Media make stories fit their requirements. Hell, families make stories fit their requirements.
Case in point: My Dad shot and killed my favourite cat and then lied to me for the rest of his life. Bad dad.
True story: When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, we were bad cat owners. I mean, we were great cat lovers and all our many fur balls at home were happy and healthy and loved but we never spayed or neutered them. Mitzy the matriarch wedding-present must have had dozens of litters and her daughter Kitty dozens more. We were able to give away many females because Mitz and her daughter were full gingers (rare in the cat world, it's normally males) but the un-homed torties just kinda hung around. We loved 'em, and we made enough scraps in our big family to feed them, along with bags of dried food. But eventually some went bush. One of the bush cats was a big ginger beauty called Tom, the spitting image of his mother, Kitty. I made close friends with Tom, intending to bring him back into the family fold by making him friendly again. One day, after hanging and playing with Tom on the lawn under the clothes line, I realised I hadn't seen Kitty in a day or two. ...
Years after my father died, my brother let slip that Dad had killed Kitty. Apparently, my encouragement of Tom had caused some major fights with the other cats when I wasn't there. Plus Tom was slaughtering wildlife for fun (I told you we were bad owners). Mum pressured my non-violent Dad into taking Tom out. So Dad did. Only he was an old man when I was born, so ten years later he's getting on for elderly and his glasses prescription was out of date and the cat he ended up aiming for was not the cat he was after. Apparently he was devastated and every time he heard my child voice say "Dad, where's Kitty?" he was cut again. He told me about how old cats near their time of death often seek a quiet place where no one can find them and maybe that's what Kitty has done. And I was satisfied because I loved and trusted my Dad. I'm not surprised he could never tell me the real reason because he loved me and he valued my love and respect. But if the media had use of this story it would be: Dad kills daughter's favourite cat and lies about it.
posted by Thella at 12:55 AM on February 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
Case in point: My Dad shot and killed my favourite cat and then lied to me for the rest of his life. Bad dad.
True story: When I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, we were bad cat owners. I mean, we were great cat lovers and all our many fur balls at home were happy and healthy and loved but we never spayed or neutered them. Mitzy the matriarch wedding-present must have had dozens of litters and her daughter Kitty dozens more. We were able to give away many females because Mitz and her daughter were full gingers (rare in the cat world, it's normally males) but the un-homed torties just kinda hung around. We loved 'em, and we made enough scraps in our big family to feed them, along with bags of dried food. But eventually some went bush. One of the bush cats was a big ginger beauty called Tom, the spitting image of his mother, Kitty. I made close friends with Tom, intending to bring him back into the family fold by making him friendly again. One day, after hanging and playing with Tom on the lawn under the clothes line, I realised I hadn't seen Kitty in a day or two. ...
Years after my father died, my brother let slip that Dad had killed Kitty. Apparently, my encouragement of Tom had caused some major fights with the other cats when I wasn't there. Plus Tom was slaughtering wildlife for fun (I told you we were bad owners). Mum pressured my non-violent Dad into taking Tom out. So Dad did. Only he was an old man when I was born, so ten years later he's getting on for elderly and his glasses prescription was out of date and the cat he ended up aiming for was not the cat he was after. Apparently he was devastated and every time he heard my child voice say "Dad, where's Kitty?" he was cut again. He told me about how old cats near their time of death often seek a quiet place where no one can find them and maybe that's what Kitty has done. And I was satisfied because I loved and trusted my Dad. I'm not surprised he could never tell me the real reason because he loved me and he valued my love and respect. But if the media had use of this story it would be: Dad kills daughter's favourite cat and lies about it.
posted by Thella at 12:55 AM on February 12, 2018 [4 favorites]
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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 8:38 PM on February 10, 2018 [8 favorites]