brooke

[brooke @brookebagley0]

@TysonMacEachern Honeycrisp or nothing

[Michelle Maxwell ™ @MichelleMaxwell]

The neighbors call the cops on my dad every six months. They think he’s running a fighting ring or flipping pets for profit. For years, I wasn't sure they were wrong.

My father, Frank, is a man of few words and even fewer friends. He lives on a fixed income in a small, weathered house just outside of town. He’s 68, walks with a limp he got in ’71, and spends most of his day in his garage.

But his most controversial habit involves the local animal shelter.

Like clockwork, Dad brings home a dog. Not the cute puppies everyone wants. He picks the "unadoptables." The three-legged pit bulls, the senior labs with gray muzzles, the curs that cower in the corner. For six months, that dog lives like royalty. I’d visit and see Dad hand-feeding them steak scraps, walking them for hours, talking to them in a soft voice he never used with me.

Then, six months later? Gone.

The dog vanishes. No photos, no collar left behind. Just an empty bowl and Dad driving his rusted pickup truck to the shelter to get another one.

"Where’s Barnaby?" I asked last Sunday. Barnaby was a one-eyed Golden Retriever mix he’d had since spring. That dog worshipped the ground Dad walked on.

"Moved on," Dad grunted, staring at his coffee.

"Moved on? Did you sell him, Dad? The neighbors are talking. They say you’re sick."

"Let them talk."

I couldn't take it anymore. I loved Barnaby. The thought of my father selling that sweet soul to some stranger for a few hundred bucks made my stomach turn. So, when I saw him load a bag of high-grade kibble and a new leash into his truck the next morning, I followed him.

I expected him to drive to a breeder or a shady parking lot exchange. Instead, he drove two towns over to a drab apartment complex near the VA hospital.

He pulled up to a ground-floor unit. I watched from my car, phone ready to record evidence, as he knocked on the door.

A young man answered. He couldn't have been older than 25, but he looked 50. He was missing his right arm, and the way he stood—tense, scanning the perimeter—screamed PTSD. I recognized that look. I’d seen it in Dad’s old photos.

Dad didn't say a word. He just whistled.

From the passenger seat of Dad’s truck, a dog jumped out. It wasn't Barnaby. It was "Duke," a German Shepherd he’d had last year. Duke looked incredible. Focused. Calm. He trotted right up to the young man and sat by his left leg, leaning his weight against the boy’s thigh.

The young man crumpled. He fell to his knees, burying his face in Duke’s fur, sobbing. Duke didn't flinch. He just held his ground, anchoring the boy to reality.

Dad handed the young man a thick envelope. Not money—paperwork. Vaccination records. Training logs.

I got out of my car. "Dad?"

He jumped, looking more terrified than I’d ever seen him. He walked me away from the boy, lowering his voice.

"You weren't supposed to see this."

"You trained him," I realized. "You didn't get rid of them. You trained them."

Dad sighed, lighting a cigarette with shaking hands. "A fully trained PTSD service dog costs anywhere from fifteen to thirty thousand dollars. The insurance doesn't cover it. The VA has a waiting list a mile long. These boys... they come home, and they can't sleep, they can't go to the grocery store, they can't breathe."

He looked back at the young man, who was now smiling through tears, throwing a ball for Duke with his left hand.

"I can't give them money," Dad said, his voice cracking. "I don't have any. But I know dogs. And I have time."

"But why the secrecy? Why every six months?"

"Because that’s how long it takes to turn a scared shelter dog into a soldier’s lifeline," he said. "Basic obedience, task training, desensitization. I take the broken dogs nobody wants, and I turn them into the partners these kids need."

"And Barnaby?" I asked, my throat tight.

"Delivered him yesterday to a female marine in Ohio. She hadn't left her house in two years. She went to the park this morning."
🐾 on my ❤️ Please share if this moved you.

[꧁♛𝓑𝓵✯𝓷𝓭𝓲𝓮𝓼♛꧂ @heyitsmeCarolyn]

Dogs get to choose humans for adoption at this shelter 🐕 😭

[leia ☆ @leiamons]

i kid u not i’ve been laughing for ten minutes straight 😭😭 this poor bear waking up in different climates

[liyah @hm_liyah]

this is humiliating

[Richard Hirschman @r_hirschman]

This is a video of me removing one of the strange white fibrous clots, from the right jugular vein. The person who was recording it is Nicky King, who is also an embalmer. I didn't notice it until I lifted the vessel up. I could feel it inside the vein. I only show this because people still don't believe it and ask for video evidence. What's causing this? I can't say for sure, but I didn't start seeing this until early 2021. Unfortunately, I still find strange clotting in several bodies that I embalm.

[Hayl @healinghayl]

eventually you get to a point where you’re so tired of combating peoples narratives that you just let them think what they want. no use in explaining yourself to people who are convinced you are exactly what they say you are. your defence won’t change their mind .. let them.

[bail🤍 @oopsiebaileys]

i wonder if i have mental illness because my mom had me listening to The Chicks on full blast in the car and i knew all the lyrics to goodbye earl, travellin soldier and cowboy take me away by the age of like 8

[brooke @brookebagley0]

I'm super close in winning! Can you help me??
https://t.co/JS0SoPpC2j

[Hayl @healinghayl]

i’ll never change 😅

[olivia @oliviuuuuhh]

there are animals who need glasses i bet:(

[Hayl @healinghayl]

fair

[Jo @JoJoFromJerz]

Republicans will force a 10 year old to carry her rapist’s baby to term, let a 6 year old carry a gun, permit a 12 year old to work an 8 hour shift in a meat packing plant and allow a grown man to marry a 14 year old with a Judge’s consent, all while telling us that the reason they’re banning drag queens, gender affirming care and books about Rosa Parks is because they want to ‘protect our kids.’

Bullshit.

[Morgan Webb 👑 @_morganwebb]

I remember when Aspyn was a baby I had myself so stressed out with the breast feeding and the sleep schedules and the house work and the need to follow all the ‘rules’ and advice from everyone but when I finally learned to just trust my instincts and go with the flow it was bliss

[Kate McKenna @katemckenna8]

This PEI toy store is taking a firm stand

[McDonald's 🇨🇦 @McDonaldsCanada]

Ever hacked a Big Mac with Chicken? ❤ this tweet to hear the good news!

[brooke @brookebagley0]

@alyssamckayfr add me on snap love. I feel like we’d be good friends. xo

broookebagley