insta: j_shearer23///trying to try my best///low key want to speak every language///no motivation central///(Intermediate: Italian, Japanese (?), I want to learn: French, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, German)///they/them/maybe she/her(just not he/him?)//musician///other blog: peachypioggia.tumblr.com
Dogs actually do have a language center in their brains. They process language just the same way we do, just not as well.
They do understand our words. This is not true of all domesticated animals (horses, for example, can only manage to distinguish a relatively small number of spoken commands…but boy do they know what you’re really saying).
They don’t understand “just your tone of voice” as a lot of people think.
As of 2016 the record vocabulary for a dog demonstrating understanding of words is over 1,000.
So if you give them a way to talk back, they’re going to use it.
The development of language skills is probably a side effect of domestication and of being kept in close contact with humans. A dog that was a better hunting partner would be kept and bred and over time they developed a better understanding of language.
In other words, dogs are pretty dang smart because we need them to understand us.
And also that is a very good boy.
^ Would like to agree and make one amendment - very good GIRL. This is Stella the dog!
Check out the owner Christina’s Instagram: one of the first things I saw was a video where the dog started barking and, when prompted by the owner, said “outside, look look look look look look look, come outside.” Which is basically exactly how one would expect a dog to speak.
The owner described bringing an unknown package into the house, and the dog ran away to push the buttons for “help no no help help” which is also about what I expect goes on in a scared pup’s mind.
In another video, the dog tried to push a button, and the button wasn’t working. The dog paused and then pushed the buttons for “No. Help.”
In yet another (which the owner seemed impressed by), Stella said “come eat come play.” The owner asked the dog which she wanted to do, to eat or to play? And the dog clarified “come eat.” After eating, then the dog tried to instigate play. So the dog may have been able to understand a short spoken question, and how “questions and answers” work, and also understands sequences, even if she can’t express them (”I want to eat, THEN I want to play”)
Stella can even recount short-term memories, like when her family returned from the beach for dinner and she said “water good, no eat, play”
By the way, the owner uses the buttons as well, which probably really helps reinforce their meaning. She uses them to say things like “Stella all done eat” or “Stella and Christina go outside, bye!”
Wanna know my favorite part? Stella sometimes pushes the buttons for “Stella good” when she’s done a good job. Stella IS good! :D She also makes phrases using “love you,” like “Christina, love you, come play!”
in palermo, italy, a teacher was suspended because her students compared the actions, laws and political positions of current interior minister matteosalvini to those of mussolini’s in a class project. police and firefighters have repeatedly been ordered to “prevent peaceful acts of protest” ahead of salvini’s visits to towns across Italy. anti-salvini banners, hung from citizens’ houses, have been taken down systematically. the draft of a new law to be presented in parliament includes larger decisional powers for the interior minister salvini over naval traffic, to control and block arrivals of migrants via sea - powers that, at the moment, are within the ministery of infrastructures; includes severe repercussions for NGOs and protesters acting against police; looks at giving more resources to police forces, whom have already been provided with tasers in towns with over 100,000 inhabitants. i want the international community to know this. matteosalvini does not care about freedom. italy could as well be becoming a fascist state before our eyes and we are the frog in the yet-not-boiling water.
I’m so sorry to do this but I am super tight on money and don’t get paid at all (I’m at school) and I need to buy some pads and other medicine. if anyone could chip in like $20 at most I’d be enternally grateful.
in case you haven’t heard it today, or don’t fully realise it yet: i promise you that most people in this world are kind, loving and understanding. the people around you want you to succeed, they do not want you to fail. your friends don’t hate you, they love you, and they want to see you grow and prosper.
the world is not as bad as it seems. don’t forget that.
Sounds fake but ok
good news: it’s not fake. everything i said is true. being dismissive towards good things is a damaging mindset to have. you’ll feel a lot better if you have some trust and if you’re willing to consider optimistic viewpoints.
Is this what non depressed people feel like ? Damn. You’re so lucky
i’m extremely mentally ill and extremely depressed at that. deflecting good advice that encourages you to think positively about life by claiming that the person who said it is not depressed (when i very much am) is also a very damaging mindset to have.
Tumblr really has to stop shooting people down for trying to be positive and bettering themselves. Really, it’s almost creepy how people get offended when someone says something innocent like ‘Things will get better’ or ‘Here’s how to improve your mental health’
hey friends. as many of you know, i am really struggling after being cut off financially from/kicked out by my adoptive parents for medically transitioning. i have a gofundme up to help me pay for college, but that’s not as urgent as some medical bills that need to be paid in the coming few days.
the first one is $48 for when i had the flu and wasn’t covered by insurance when i went in, it’s part of a 6 month payment plan and it’s the first installation. it’s due 3/25/19
the second is $20 bill for my hrt blood tests; i don’t have a picture rn but i was covered by insurance at that time so it’s a lot cheaper than it’d normally be.
the last thing is that i need to travel to chicago for tests in about 2 weeks. since i am on hrt, it’s really important that i monitor these levels. it’s sliding scale at hbmc and i have my scripts already, i just need the tests done. it’s $60 for transportation to/from chicago including the service fee ($56 without the $4 fee)
please boost this, and anything helps. thanks to everyone who has helped me already, it’s really appreciated.
venmo: @stoat
cash.me/$stoat
paypal: ask
$45/$150 raised
$50/$150 raised
$90/$150 raised
$115/$150 raised. thanks guys!
ticket price went up by like $10 and idk if it’ll go up more the longer i wait, pls reblog!
$115/$160 raised
happy tdov my bus trip is this week and im gonna need to eat
Capitalism will put the bill on your grave and harass your grieving family until they pay
One of my cousins passed away unexpectedly at the age of 35, and had been paying back a loan from the bank. About two weeks after his death, my great aunt received a statement from the bank (his mail was being delivered to her house) about a late payment. She called the bank and explained the situation and the only thing a manager could say was “Well, that’s unfortunate. We can arrange so payments will resume in 30 days, that should be enough time to have already paid for the other arrangements.”
On top of the unexpected $10,000 funeral, cremation and burial bill, my aunt had to finish paying my uncle’s $5,000 loan. She’s a disabled retiree, on a fixed income, and could barely afford to pay for her insulin for diabetes. She nearly lost her home of more than 40 years. Fuck the system.
She didn’t need to pay. When people die, their debts are not their family’s responsibility.
In fact, it is outright illegal to try and collect those debts from a person who didn’t cosign the loan and isn’t executing the will.
Banks count on people not knowing that last comment so that they can still get money
They really do.
My great-grandmother had her identity stolen before she died at the age of 93, and thousands of charges were racked up on credit cards in her name. After she passed away, they called my mother to try and collect. My mom laughed at them, and told them: “She’s dead, good luck collecting.” The credit card asked my mother, “Don’t you want to clear your grandmother’s debts? Don’t you want to clear her good name?” My mom laughed at them again. “No,” she said. “Because a 90 year old wasn’t watching porn with those credit cards, and her name is fine. Don’t give credit cards to old women likely to pass away soon. This is on you.”
Which is how I learned as a young child to always question collection agents, and to never pay off debts that aren’t your own. They often can’t even collect that money from the estate, if there is one, depending on how you write your will and what kind of account the money was kept in.
DO NOT EVER PAY OFF DEBTS THAT AREN’T YOUR OWN.
If a loved one of yours dies and bill collectors (credit cards, loans, etc etc) start calling you off the hook and request that you pay off their debts, tell them in no uncertain terms to go fuck themselves.
The reason being is that the moment you give them a single penny, that debt is now on YOU because you’ve now agreed to pay it off.
Do not agree to pay off their debt. Do not pass go, do not give them $200.
