Are You A Dog Or Cat Person?

I just got a heartbreaking request from my ex-wife's mother, who's 87.

Her longtime friend died a month or so ago so Lu went to the rescue shelter and found a beautiful brindled American bulldog who has been in shelters for damned near her entire life.

She asked me if I'd walk her and let her get some sun and air. She offered to pay me for it, and I almost broke down right then.

That dog will be socialized before the first frost. She was terrified of my little guy, shivering and growling those deep ones that lead to an attack, y'know. She outweighs the legume (his name is Peanut, if I haven't said so already) by more than half, but she was a cage dog.

I'll do my very best. I think it'll be a month before I can let her off her lead, but we'll see...

[whine]Dammit, I'm old. All I want to do is listen to good music and cook good food. I don't need any more children.[/whine]
 
I'm really bummed out over this. Not for my old ass, but the job of taking on an unsocialized dog at her age is daunting.

Wish me well, please.

Yeah, I guess I'm a dog person now.
 
mmatt9876 said:
Did the rattlesnake rattle its tail as you two approached it? I believe rattlesnakes give you a warning rattle before they strike. I would not like to come across a rattlesnake while walking around.
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this isn't always the case. Sometimes, if you come up on them too quickly or surprise them they can strike without warning. Most people think of the Western Diamondback with regard to this type behaviour and it will typically warn and stand it's ground, but it's not always the case.

then there is the type of snake itself. that is important.

For instance, the Pygmy rattler (Sistrurus miliarius) is quiet and you may not hear it till you're right up on it - and you might not quite interpret that buzzing if you're unfamiliar with it (city folk do this alot - it's all about familiarity).
The Timber Rattler ( Crotalus horridus ) is more mild unless you really tick it off.
The Eastern Diamondback can be quite silent (and, quite frankly, a real d*ckhead), as herpetoligists note here
Some people wrongly believe the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake must rattle before striking, but this is not true. It can lay silent and motionless, and then strike without the usual nervous buzz from its rattle. In fact, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes that rattle are more apt to be heard, seen and killed, and those that remain silent are more apt to go undiscovered.
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here is a link to some good information : https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2012/04/30/safety-alert-spider-and-snake-awareness-tips/

I would add a cold pack (chemically activated) to your emergency kit. it helps with swelling and some with the pain of a snake bite.

.


Dr_Toad said:
I'm really bummed out over this. Not for my old ass, but the job of taking on an unsocialized dog at her age is daunting.

Wish me well, please.
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I definitely wish you well!
 
Truck Captain Stumpy said:
this isn't always the case. Sometimes, if you come up on them too quickly or surprise them they can strike without warning. Most people think of the Western Diamondback with regard to this type behaviour and it will typically warn and stand it's ground, but it's not always the case.

then there is the type of snake itself. that is important.

For instance, the Pygmy rattler (Sistrurus miliarius) is quiet and you may not hear it till you're right up on it - and you might not quite interpret that buzzing if you're unfamiliar with it (city folk do this alot - it's all about familiarity).
The Timber Rattler ( Crotalus horridus ) is more mild unless you really tick it off.
The Eastern Diamondback can be quite silent (and, quite frankly, a real d*ckhead), as herpetoligists note here here is a link to some good information : https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2012/04/30/safety-alert-spider-and-snake-awareness-tips/

I would add a cold pack (chemically activated) to your emergency kit. it helps with swelling and some with the pain of a snake bite.
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Thanks! It is scary that the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake does not always rattle before it strikes. It makes sense that they will sometimes stay silent when you get too close to them to avoid detection and only rattle their tail when they need to warn you to get away.
 
Dr_Toad said:
No, he didn't. They don't always warn. This one was only five years old, so maybe he didn't know...

If you're walking in snake country, you have to watch for the quiet ones anyhow.
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I think the younger rattlesnakes can sometimes have an undeveloped rattle until they grow up.
 
Dr_Toad said:
I'm really bummed out over this. Not for my old ass, but the job of taking on an unsocialized dog at her age is daunting.

Wish me well, please.

Yeah, I guess I'm a dog person now.
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Welcome to the club! And I wish you well.
 
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Truck Captain Stumpy said:
this isn't always the case. Sometimes, if you come up on them too quickly or surprise them they can strike without warning. Most people think of the Western Diamondback with regard to this type behaviour and it will typically warn and stand it's ground, but it's not always the case.

then there is the type of snake itself. that is important.

For instance, the Pygmy rattler (Sistrurus miliarius) is quiet and you may not hear it till you're right up on it - and you might not quite interpret that buzzing if you're unfamiliar with it (city folk do this alot - it's all about familiarity).
The Timber Rattler ( Crotalus horridus ) is more mild unless you really tick it off.
The Eastern Diamondback can be quite silent (and, quite frankly, a real d*ckhead), as herpetoligists note here here is a link to some good information : https://nationalsafetyinc.org/2012/04/30/safety-alert-spider-and-snake-awareness-tips/

I would add a cold pack (chemically activated) to your emergency kit. it helps with swelling and some with the pain of a snake bite.

.



I definitely wish you well!
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that's a very good point. i remember reading somewhere but the herpetologist you quoted alluded to is that thanks to things like rattlesnake round ups and the like rattlesnakes are rattling less in heavily populated areas. I've run into some copperheads and cottonmouths but thankfully never a rattler.
 
When I was a kid I once saw a person handling a python and another time I saw a person handling a boa constrictor. They were handling the snakes for people to see and pet if they wanted but I do not remember if I pet either snake either time. I do not believe I have ever seen a venomous snake such as a rattlesnake in person however.
 
mmatt9876 said:
When I was a kid I once saw a person handling a python and another time I saw a person handling a boa constrictor. They were handling the snakes for people to see and pet if they wanted but I do not remember if I pet either snake either time. I do not believe I have ever seen a venomous snake such as a rattlesnake in person however.
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Some of my cousins are snake-handlers. They've invited me to their "services", and gotten a FOAD in reply.
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
Some of my cousins are snake-handlers
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I never quite understood that one in religious circles. I asked a few of those xtian snake handlers if it wouldn't be a far better demonstration of "faith" to piss off a room full of snakes and then walk through them.

(of course, I also asked if we were going to kill and eat the snakes, which got me a lot of hard stares and asked to leave)
 
Truck Captain Stumpy said:
I never quite understood that one in religious circles. I asked a few of those xtian snake handlers if it wouldn't be a far better demonstration of "faith" to piss off a room full of snakes and then walk through them.

(of course, I also asked if we were going to kill and eat the snakes, which got me a lot of hard stares and asked to leave)
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Just morons taking the bible literally. I swear there's an anti-imagination gene.
 
Truck Captain Stumpy said:
I never quite understood that one in religious circles. I asked a few of those xtian snake handlers if it wouldn't be a far better demonstration of "faith" to piss off a room full of snakes and then walk through them.

(of course, I also asked if we were going to kill and eat the snakes, which got me a lot of hard stares and asked to leave)
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i would love to see them try that with a snake that wasn't underfed, under watered, and kept cold. they get away with it because they are abusive to the snakes.

https://www.npr.org/2013/10/18/236997513/serpent-experts-try-to-demystify-pentecostal-snake-handling
 
Gawdzilla Sama said:
Some of my cousins are snake-handlers. They've invited me to their "services", and gotten a FOAD in reply.
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I have seen the rattlesnake services on a tv documentary. They go out into the wild and catch them. They only handle the snakes inside the church because they believe God does not protect them from the snake bites outside of a holy space.
 
Where do the rattlesnake handling pastors get the idea that it is safe to handle a rattlesnake inside a church? Is it written in the Bible handling snakes is safe inside a church?
 
mmatt9876 said:
Where do the rattlesnake handling pastors get the idea that it is safe to handle a rattlesnake inside a church? Is it written in the Bible handling snakes is safe inside a church?
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I don't know of anything that specifically calls out a church being the safe space in the bible. There are passages they like to quote that deal with faith, not location. I know they typically ascribe their practices to Mark 16:17-18, [URL='https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)/Luke#10:19']Luke 10:19, or [URL='https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)/Acts#28:1']Acts 28:1-6[/URL][/URL] (all: KJV).

here is a good answer to the practice, if you're interested: https://www.gotquestions.org/snake-handling.html
 
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