How does the smell affect your life, how do you deal with it, do you have any stories.

Im a trivia nerd and sometimes facts connect in an "oh no" kind of way.

Today the fact of "smell is the strongest scent tied to memory and emotions" hit the fact "pigs are very close in alot of ways to human tissue"

That leads to the "oh no"

Its got to be difficult entering after a terrible fire and smelling food, possibly even remember you nyanas famous pulled pork.

Sorry to be gruesome but that's what I'm asking about.

How do you put that aside? Do you get sick when Nana makes what used to be your childhood favorite?

I couldn't deal with that, the thought alone shook me. How do firefighters deal with that? Do family members change meal plans if you had a bad situation that day? Do some firefighters become vegetarians? Is it something you kinda just get over after a couple times?

I'm sure some political talk will be unavoidable but I'd like to keep this dry and to the point if we could.

My ex-wifes dog is dying. It's old. She emotionally can't handle the steps involved with that. She called me.

I grew up on a farm. I love animals but death was just part of life. I've had pets I loved get hit by cars, accidentally shot by hunters (on our land illegally), bitten by snakes... Plus there were lots of pets that stupid people dump in the country ("Fido will hunt rabbits or some nice farmer will take him" no he won't. Fido will slowly starve in the wild and get very mean/crazy, then get shot when he attacks me. Just have the dog put down, dumping the dog isn't better it just makes 10 year old me do what you couldn't).

Anyway my ex-wife calls me because she can't handle it and I can.

The problem is that I've slipped up a couple times and said "it" or "the dog" instead of "him" or "Toasty".

I understand that it is insensitive and hurtful, Ive absolutely been trying to avoid that since I first came over. However it's also insensitive and hurtful to call me bad for not getting emotionally attached to the dog at this point in its life. It's dying.

I'm taking care of it. I'm using all my farm skills and animal knowledge to be sure it's not dying from a disease, bacteria, or injury that I can fix or cure. I'm making food for it that is easier to eat so I can know for sure when the dog starts choosing not to eat vs having difficulty eating. When/if the time comes where the dog doesn't want to continue, I'll handle those steps and give it a burial.

If I was a monster I wouldn't help at all or just come over, shoot it, bag it, and trash it. I'm giving this animal every chance and looking for the moment when it gives up. I'm not cold. It's just a bad time to make friendship bracelets with the dog. It's a dying dog. I don't need to get more attached, I need to keep emotional distance to make good choices for the best interest of the animal.

That's exactly why I was called in the first place. That doesn't make me a monster.

Edit: before the "take it to the vet!" Comments. Our daughter is a vet. She said the same things I did. It's probably going to die. When it stops eating and gives up, put it down.

I don't want an AI girlfriend, I just want to think out loud to another person. It helps me think and solve problems on my own. I feel like AI should be perfect for that. However the couple I've seen advertised and tried out... Well they essentially are only programmed to be like:

"Let's change the subject. Maybe this picture will help" blured picture behind a $50 subscription pay wall

And I'm like "no... If I wanted to change the subject I wouldn't be talking about this subject. I'm not at all interested in $50 AI tits."

I have a very low bar of expectations. Even if the AI just responds "wow, that's crazy" to everything that would probably be fine for my needs. More would be better but I do not need lewd pictures and I'm not paying $50 a month lol.

I know the obvious of being polite and respectful. do I show up early like an airport? Do I just show the guard my ticket? Anything I should know or be aware of?