Ann Arborite freelancer here too. Clever name.

I won a pair made in a block-print kiddy fleece at a raffle at a greyhound event. I've never used them on Pooka, who already has a couple of different coats. They've never been tried on. Send me a private message/post so we can swap info and I'll be glad to send them to you. I'd like to see them get some use.

Paczki? Detroiter?

What lovely critters! I do love a herding dog—so intelligent. My spotty dog also has large spots scattered on the overall background of ticking (hidden by her coat). So attractive.

She's very floofy indeed! The rescue people said Frida is a Saluki-Borzoi cross. She grunts loudly and bounces when she walks. Her foster mom described her as "more like a caricature of a dog than a real dog." The greyhound has a tremendous amount of contempt for her.

My Michigan dog's a snowbunny. Galloping in her booties makes her absurdly happy.

Yeah. My skinny hounds have to wear thick padded coats for their quick walks around the block. The one with the hairy feet also has to wear booties, even if she only goes out in the yard.

Albania is exceptionally interesting. It pretty much closed its borders to travelers from the 1940s to the early 1990s, during a period when Hoxha declared it an atheist state. It was hyper-Communist, and when the borders opened it was a mixture of early 20th century agrarianism, 1950s industrialism, and extreme…

I know a 70 year old woman who had whooping cough this fall. She hadn't been vaccinated for pertussis as a child. So much for herd immunity in my town.

People with higher education and income levels don't vaccinate because they have absolute faith that they're capable of interpreting information and making informed decisions about stuff they in no way understand. Why pay attention to how immunization works when they can look at Mercola.com, listen to Jenny…

You "guess"? So we still don't know the full story, do we?

Trans-racial adoption, frequently from economically stressed countries, is a big thing among those looking for souls to save: The Child Catchers.

I have Crocs flip flops, and they are pure heaven. $20 and 4 years of weekend wear.

I know. But since he never participates in discussions, the chances of him seeing this and correcting the post are zip. Recall that after the Chris Brown sex-at-8 post an anonymous "editor" apologized, not he. Someone in Groupthink recently posted a question asking for details on why people seem to hate Doug Barry.…

Obviously? This child has been treated for the effects of a severe neurological illness, so I think it's a pretty safe bet that she's been monitored as an inpatient by medical professionals. Because, brain tumor. Pediatric neurosurgery generally isn't an outpatient procedure. Also, I presume that her endocrinologists…

He doesn't know what "blind item" means, if we can judge by the post atop this thread. post above.

And so easy to accessorize—the LBD of dogs.

Oh no, no, no. I pay property taxes of around $2500 a year on my dumpy little 1350 sq ft house, for which I paid $130K in 1998. That's based on purchase price +another 3% levied annually. According to my assessment, the state of Michigan considers its market value about $275K.

To put it another way, I pay about…

My lovely black greyhound girl sends best wishes to yours.

Not you—LE zippers are shit. The zipper on the not-bad-looking long down parka I got on sale for $60 broke after 4 weeks. They didn't have any more, so I replaced it with a more expensive (and less attractive) Squall parka. It came with a hangtag that details how to use the zipper so it doesn't jam. Instructions on…