On May 22nd, Madison the German shepherd will be 13 years old – which is very, very old for a large dog. Her back left leg no longer works very well, and her hip dysplasia – a condition that is endemic amongst shepherds – is worsening. I know there isn’t the world of time with her that seemed to stretch out before us when I finally got to bring her home – she was still small enough to make the 90-minute trip in my lap as I drove -- on a hot Florida night in July 1994. She has been a source of such laughter and comfort to me so often, for so long:
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Madison has some detractors, of course, including a misguided exterminator in Southern California whom she held at bay for nearly 30 minutes after he made the mistake of peering at her through the window, and our postal worker when we lived in a town house that provided Madison with a bird’s eye view of suspicious uniformed persons bearing packages who dared approach the door. (She does the lying in wait thing -- especially the "lying" part -- as well as any of our cats.)
But Madison also has many friends and acquaintances – including her on-line friends in this community, who frequently inquire about her health and well-being, for which I am always so grateful.
I, too, am blessed with DKos pet friends, and tonight I am dedicating Top Comments to all of them, including:
my adopted godkitten, Little Dude, who belongs to our own BeninSC:
and my great pal, Chuck (the companion of FireCrow and DeannaHawk), with whom I correspond:
I was delighted to meet BeninSC’s graceful and well-loved KittenLittle:
and Mattes best friend:
iliketodrum recently adopted Higgins (Welcome, Higgins!):
ZappoDave loves Blue Heelers, like Indigo Girl and Lu:
I love hearing stories about MaryJulia’s rummy the beagle and rummy’s Valentine G. Watson Beagle, who belongs to pastordan and Mrs. Pastor, but, alas, is a Republican.
I have a big old soft spot for blue jersey mom’s Spooky
maybe because he reminds me so much of my beloved late Jane the Cat. But I also love Spookys' brother, Mr. Nicky, of course:
undercovercalico has a great Dutch shepherd named Arno, who got a diary in his honor today. Way to go, Arno!
And Arno's cat friends are adorable, too:
drchelo has a United Nations of dogs, including Dudley, who is a Louisiana Gumbo Hound and a Katrina rescue:
gloriana (without whom none of my Top Comments diaries would ever get published) has lovely Cassie:
and the charming (from left to right) Beaker and Cheeto:
Hmmm . . . these cats do not seem to be taking action! Nevertheless, they are Elise's (left to right) Buna, Nymphadora and Indigo:
Some of our loveliest DKos animals have crossed the Rainbow Bridge this year. For all the love and joy they brought to their human companions, they should be honored tonight, too.
In memoriam:
silvercedes’ Major:
emeraldmaiden’s silhouette:
ZappoDave’s Indigo Girl:
There have been so many upsetting stories about animals these last few weeks, including those about the catastrophic results of poisoned pet food and the unimaginable brutality being committed against baby harp seals in the atrocious seal hunt in Canada. I thought a celebration of our beloved companions would be a nice respite.
Let's honor all of our wonderful animal companions, tonight, whether furred or feathered, scaled or shelled. Please add yours in a comment.
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And now on to tonight's Top Comments:
From Crashing Vor:
osterizer had fantastic suggestion for a new way to use signing statements.
A Siegel sent him some great comments last night – a bit too late for our deadline:
From his own fun Celebrity Gossip: Stars, Stinkers, and Global Warming Hypocrites: NetGutCT coins the term EcoDolts and Dump Terry McAuliffe offers a perspective on Pat Sajak.
Praise to rserven for multiple instances of clever turns of phrase and witty definitions.
And with regard to tornadoes: XYNZ opines that corrosive experiences might matter; Johnny Gunn thinks he wants to beg his parson and LeadingEdgeBoomer wonders whether mobile homes cause them.
From LAMaestra:
stonemason’s exquisite comment on the lost art of eloquence.
From guyermo:
AdmiralNaismith makes a point with which it’s hard to argue!
From kath25:
rktect wonders when we got our 51st state.
From MissLaura:
LithiumCola seems to think this diarist is overreacting.
From Elise:
melvin on the chocolate Jesus. (Ed. note: do not read with full mouth.)
calipygian offers a possible explanation for Malkin’s objections to the chocolate Jesus.
CSIBentonville talks about her areas of expertise and about how we learn from one another while we build community.
From Pico:
In the middle of a heated discussion about cultural literacy, calipygian slipped in this hilarious comment on the sly: .
From Clem Yeobright:
grannus has the scientific solution for liars and the lying liars who tell them all time.
From Cronesense:
nonnie9999 launches a terrific thread with a comment about itchiness and lost opportunities in this diary from Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse.
And mine (Note: Jeepers! It's a good thing there was such a treasure trove tonight, because noweasels accidentally erased hers, so there are only two):
Shiborg stole my list.
melvin tries to put the kibosh on buhdydharma’s plan to enlist.
Top Mojo from our own wonderful gloriana:
Without obvious tip jars, C&J, and first comments:
1 Yeah, but I think that this by zashvil - 134
2 Why the Constitution should be taught in school by jhutson - 95
3 The Supplemental is the Key to Contractor Abuses by leveymg - 67
4 They should just refuse to fund the private by inclusiveheart - 65
5 That speech he gave to the Vietnam commission by kovie - 63
6 Speaking of Pets by edwardssl - 59
7 I agree with you... by Melody Townsel - 57
8 My FP is that one of my doggies has turned by Asinus Asinum Fricat - 51
9 Hit-and-run comment... by Plutonium Page - 50
10 It is the juxtaposition. by kath25 - 50
11 Here's my real fucking problem by edwardssl - 48
12 Somebody needs a tummy rub by LAMaestra - 48
13 On second read, I'd add one more thing to this by zic - 47
14 My fucking problem is by mango - 45
15 Blame the moderates on the Supreme Court. by Jimdotz - 44
16 Big FP for me this week... by drchelo - 44
17 just what you need by FireCrow - 43
18 trolls by Finn - 43
19 this is good too by inevitibility - 43
20 neither funny nor clever by draftchrisheinz - 43
21 Tachycardia by DMiller - 43
22 MFP by Dion - 43
23 Excuse me? Here in God's Country by Plan9 - 41
24 Thank you from Jess Radack by Jesselyn Radack - 41
25 The Kos in my head is much nicer. by ablington - 41
26 I just put in a timesheet for half a month by sheddhead - 41
27 Credit Cards In The Ready? by jimstaro - 40
28 Teach Constitutional literacy by jhutson - 38
29 This will move the tech community. by Faber - 38
30 Love is in the air by Sprinkles - 38
With everything:
1 Tips and taps and tops but not tups by Scientician - 310
2 Tip Jar - 31 March by Jerome a Paris - 243
3 Tips for truth in government? by One Pissed Off Liberal - 232
4 tips flames etc I loved the parks as a child by testvet6778 - 188
5 No use putting lipstick on THIS pig ! by Troutfishing - 179
6 Yeah, but I think that this by zashvil - 134
7 Tips and Recommends by jhritz - 110
8 Broder by MikeBaseball - 109
9 Tips for an end of being nickeled and dimed in by TomP - 104
10 Flame away; by pico - 101
11 Why the Constitution should be taught in school by jhutson - 95
12 tip jar by Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse - 94
13 Can you help a grrrl by renaissance grrrl - 83
14 We could "Grover" them by Ivan - 72
15 here i am! by buhdydharma - 70
16 Tips? by BillyZoom - 69
17 The Supplemental is the Key to Contractor Abuses by leveymg - 67
18 The other thing going on at by Frankenoid - 65
19 They should just refuse to fund the private by inclusiveheart - 65
20 That speech he gave to the Vietnam commission by kovie - 63
21 Speaking of Pets by edwardssl - 59
22 I agree with you... by Melody Townsel - 57
23 Tip jar by occams hatchet - 53
24 Strip Jar ! by Dave the Rave - 52
25 My FP is that one of my doggies has turned by Asinus Asinum Fricat - 51
26 It is the juxtaposition. by kath25 - 50
27 Hit-and-run comment... by Plutonium Page - 50
28 My fucking problem... by PsiFighter37 - 50
29 Somebody needs a tummy rub by LAMaestra - 48
30 Here's my real fucking problem by edwardssl - 48
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Remember, this is a community project: If you spot a Top Comment, send it to topcomments at gmail dot com! And don't forget to send along your screen name, so we can thank you!