Latest news with #Libby
Newsweek
a day ago
- General
- Newsweek
Hysterics Over Senior Labrador's Reaction to Puppy—'Not Today Thank You'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. People often share videos of their resident dog meeting the puppy they brought home, often leading to the cutest reactions. But that wasn't the case for senior canine Libby, who was thoroughly unimpressed by her puppy brother and refused to acknowledge the small bundle of energy. For many years, Sarah McHale and her partner, Steven, had their hands full with Bailey, Coco, and Libby the Labrador retrievers. The trio were the best of friends and lived such full and joyous lives. Unfortunately, Coco sadly had to be put down in November 2022, closely followed by Bailey in January 2023. Age caught up with them, and McHale, 31, from the U.K., told Newsweek that they "said goodbye as a family," so that Libby could be with her siblings until the end. Bailey, Coco, and Libby (center) pictured laying together on the grass. Bailey, Coco, and Libby (center) pictured laying together on the grass. @ / TikTok "Libby went a little bit within herself after that; she was very clingy and just had big, sad eyes," McHale said. In the months that followed, McHale and her partner deliberated getting another dog to keep Libby company. Although she was in her senior years, she had spent her whole life with siblings. The couple certainly didn't want her to feel put out by an energetic puppy, but it was clear that she had lost her spark when her brothers passed. "We had to consider Libby's age as she was slowing down, so the last thing we wanted was her to feel replaced. We considered rescuing an older dog, but I thought it brought extra worries coming into Libby's home. The idea of having a puppy was to bring our family together and make it full of adventure and love," McHale continued. On October 1, 2022, they brought home Loki, an 8-week-old Labrador retriever. From left: Sarah McHale holds Loki as a puppy; and the brown dog stands with Libby during a walk. From left: Sarah McHale holds Loki as a puppy; and the brown dog stands with Libby during a walk. @ / TikTok When Libby was introduced to her new brother, McHale might have hoped for a positive, and perhaps even-excitable, reaction. However, the reality couldn't have been more different. Libby hilariously refused even to look at Loki and simply demanded more scratches from her human instead. McHale captured a video of the first encounter and couldn't resist sharing it on TikTok (@ as a throwback. Internet users have lauded her underwhelmed reaction, leading to more than 441,700 views and over 17,100 likes on TikTok at the time of writing. Thankfully, after a few hours, Libby was ready to accept the new addition. She was patient and nurturing toward Loki. McHale said that they quickly became "the best of friends." She continued: "I initially thought when she went to Steven that we shouldn't have brought a puppy home, but she warmed to him and he injected so much life into her. She came to life and played with her toys again. Within days, they were playing tug-of-war and snuggling up together." From left: Sarah McHale pets Loki and pushes Libby in a buggy outside; and the two dogs sleep side by side. From left: Sarah McHale pets Loki and pushes Libby in a buggy outside; and the two dogs sleep side by side. @ / TikTok Libby and Loki got to spend two wonderful years together, until it was time to say goodbye in July 2024. Libby lived to the age of 15, and, in her final days, she was surrounded by her family and canine friends. McHale wasn't sure how Loki would react when the vet arrived to put Libby to sleep, but he seemed to understand and sat between his owners as they said goodbye. "Libby had her head in Steven's lap and her paw in my hand. Loki was a good boy and caught all my tears as Libby went to meet her brothers at the rainbow bridge. She wagged her tail right until the very end," McHale said. They may have got off to a rocky start, but Loki and Libby became inseparable. Losing her has been hard for Loki, who doesn't seem to play with other dogs as much, and just prefers to be with his owners instead. Loki often sits looking out of the window, and McHale wonders if he is waiting for Libby. Loki and Libby sleep together in their dog beds. Loki and Libby sleep together in their dog beds. @ / TikTok Loki's owners ensure that his life is still so full of love by taking him on day trips and hosting parties with his other canine friends. After the video of Libby and Loki's first meeting went viral, plenty of TikTok users have taken to the comments section to laud her nonchalant reaction. One comment reads: "Not the emotional support slipper." Another TikTok user wrote: "Aw bless her, she's like 'not today thank you'." A third person joked: "But it's not a slipper." Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? We want to see the best ones! Send them in to life@ and they could appear on our site.
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Small Business: How a shared kitchen led to success for Libby's Pork Crack
Back in 2012, I thought up a shared-kitchen facility that food start-ups and other small businesses could hire by the hour. Helping them to get their products to market, without the huge cost of setting up their own kitchen, giving them a better chance at getting their businesses off the ground. The site idea went really well and had great demand. I reinvested every booking back into the site and built the Kitchenspace business up from very little initial capital and while also running TopShelf Foods, my first business that I sold at the end of 2023. One of those customers about seven or eight years ago was Libby, who came along to make pork crackling for her CrossFit team. They had wanted her to make more so they could buy it. After using my kitchens and building up her business, she wanted out of the company and sold it to me. So I now run the company as a customer of Kitchenspace. Libby's Pork Crack is made with oven-baked, fresh, free-farmed or free-range pork, seasoned with organic spices and Himalayan salt. The snack market is diverse. What makes your products stand out? We actually request the skin to have fat on it. You get the crispiness of the skin, and then you get the cushiness of the fat layer underneath. That's where we still get some of the lard from, but the protein membrane that stays there provides quite a nice little, textural experience in the mouth. We also bake it instead of deep frying, which is much healthier, and I've recently made some adjustments to the cooking process, which has improved the product. We have also kept in line with Libby's edgy 'LA gangsta rap' branding tone, but pulled it in towards a more mainstream hip-hop flavour. The original mascot, 'Piggy Smalls' aka 'Notorious P.I.G', still adorns the playful, cheeky packaging that our customers love. You help support other businesses to start through Kitchenspace. How many are you helping at the moment? Currently, there are four or five regulars and then a bunch of casuals that come in and produce as and when they need more product. I've got more people in the pipeline, but typically over the past 15 years they've managed to get off the ground a little bit quicker. We have seen more inquiries lately, which is a good sign that people are thinking to try that idea that's been brooding in the back of their mind. There is the aspect, too, that sadly a lot of businesses are liquidating and closing down. It is a hard time to start a business, but it's also almost like, if you're a new business starting off with the right product at this time, you could do really well because you're starting in the worst of it. How has the business fared post-pandemic? It's been really tough. Last year, against the odds, I grew revenue by $70,000, mainly by developing a new production process to render down larger volumes of free-farmed pork fat and making the lard available to Foodstuffs. Sales this year have been slower than normal; it just hasn't really picked up the same as other years. Speaking to other businesses across all industries, I'm hearing the same story. A lot of industries are really struggling at the moment. These days, just staying in business is a big win. What would be your advice to a budding entrepreneur wanting to start a business? Firstly, understand your costings and profit margins to establish true business viability early on. Also, expect challenges and hurdles to land on your path, but see them as puzzles that help you develop your resilience and troubleshooting skills. I'd also recommend developing a solution-based mindset and avoiding dwelling on problems for too long; they are just the catalyst to test your response and see if you are ready to make use of it. Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here are the Republicans vying to replace Gov. Janet Mills next November
Both the Republican and Democratic gubernatorial primaries, slated for June 9, 2026, are open to all Maine voters. (Photo by Getty Images) Ben Midgley, a fitness executive from Kennebunkport, on Tuesday officially became the seventh Republican candidate in a crowded race for Gov. Janet Mills' seat. Midgley is the latest of 17 officially registered candidates vying to replace Mills, a Democrat who terms out next year. Both the Republican and Democratic primaries, slated for June 9, 2026, are open to all Maine voters. The primaries will be a ranked-choice ballot though the general election for governor in November will not. Most of the Republican candidates listed on the Maine Ethics Commission website have not held public office at the state level, with the exception of state Sen. Jim Libby (R-Standish). Bobby Charles, a lawyer who served under former Republican presidents, and former Paris selectman Robert Wessels have also been involved in politics in different capacities. In contrast, the Democratic field is stacked with party leaders, including Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, former Senate President Troy Jackson, and former Speaker of the Maine House of Representative and Mills administration official Hannah Pingree, among others. Other GOP candidates, including University of Maine System trustee Owen McCarthy, tout their financial credentials while framing themselves as political outsiders. All seven appear to have varying stances on issues including the economy, education and immigration, but almost all have expressed concern about the increasing cost of living in Maine, which according to a Pan Atlantic Research poll conducted this year was the biggest concern expressed by voters. Some have affiliated themselves with President Donald Trump, particularly real estate firm owner David Jones, who formed a political action committee to support his 2016 presidential campaign. Libby and Kenneth Capron are also the only candidates in the gubernatorial race so far relying on Maine Clean Elections Act funding. A bill this session that called to expand the fund failed, and the Maine Ethics Commission has raised concern about allocations not being enough if more than just two gubernatorial candidates run under the program in 2026. Sen. Rick Bennett of Oxford, who left the Republican party to run as an independent for governor, said he chose not to run under clean elections because of fear that there wouldn't be sufficient funding. Libby, who represents parts of Cumberland, Oxford and York counties, is in the middle of his second consecutive term in the Maine Senate. He has also spent time as a state representative after being first elected to the Legislature in 1992, serving for six non-consecutive terms overall. Libby first ran for governor in 2002, but did not win the Republican gubernatorial primary. He is a professor at Thomas College, and serves on the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. Among the notable bills he introduced this legislative session are measures to add political affiliation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and reinstate the failed Property Tax Stabilization Program, neither of which passed. The Kennebunkport Republican has served as the president of Planet Fitness, the national gym chain with more than 2,700 locations, and was a founding partner and the former chief executive officer of Crunch Franchising, another chain with 460 locations nationwide. In a Facebook post announcing his candidacy, Midgley highlighted his background, explaining that he went from relying on food assistance to building successful businesses, and saying that that path is becoming increasingly inaccessible. 'Like so many, I've watched the cost of living skyrocket while paychecks fall further behind. I've seen small businesses struggle under burdensome regulations, families buckle under rising electricity bills, and young people leave Maine because they can't afford to stay,' he wrote. Ken Capron is a Portland-based retired Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and financial fraud investigator, according to a press release from Capron shared with News Center Maine. According to his LinkedIn profile, Capron is founder of MicroRail Inc., a transportation research organization, and previously served as Maine Medical Center's accounting director, among other positions. He declined to provide comment to Maine Morning Star. In 2022, he lost against Democrat Jill Duson in a bid for Portland's Senate District 27 seat. In his statement to News Center Maine, Capron raised issues with Maine's 'broken' legislative system, saying it 'imposes laws upon us that infringe on our everyday lives.' David Jones, a real estate firm owner from Falmouth, added his name to the list of Republicans running this spring. Jones owns F.O. Bailey Real Estate, and according to the Bangor Daily News, previously founded a commercial construction company that built high-rises, apartments and single-family homes. Jones has never held public office, but ran for governor as an independent two decades ago, but ultimately withdrew and endorsed the Republican candidate. On his campaign website, Jones has a photo with President Donald Trump, saying he has supported Trump since 2015 and in 2016 launched the Making Maine Great Again PAC. McCarthy, a University of Maine trustee from Gorham, announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in June. On his campaign website, he said he was tired of the one-party rule in Augusta. 'The cost of living is spiraling out of control,' he said. 'We pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation to fund schools whose performance has dropped from among the best to nearly the worst. For too many Mainers, homeownership has shifted from the American Dream to merely a dream,' he wrote. McCarthy is a Harvard Business School graduate who co-founded MedRhythms, a medical technology company which helps patients recover mobility, the Portland Press Herald reported. He wants to focus on tax relief and 'crack down on illegal immigration by cooperating with federal law enforcement,' according to his website. Bobby Charles, a Leeds resident and lawyer who served under former President Ronald Reagan and both Bush administrations announced his candidacy in April. His campaign website highlights his tenure in federal politics, including as Assistant U.S. Secretary of State under George W. Bush. He has been vocal through his website, interviews and ads about making reforms including a 'crackdown on crime,' supporting law enforcement, cutting taxes and 'removing woke politics from the classroom.' In a campaign ad, Charles also called for the resignation of Rep. Deqa Dhalac (D-South Portland) for her 'pro-Somalia rhetoric.' Bangor resident and veteran Stephen Sheppard does not have political issues listed on his campaign website, nor has he spoken to any media outlets on his candidacy so far. His campaign filing shows two donations, both made in April, one from himself and one from a friend totaling $700. On his website, he says he will make the Appalachian Trail a top priority. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Times
03-08-2025
- Health
- Times
‘We had no idea our son was at risk': readers on living with epilepsy
When the writer Caroline Scott revealed how epilepsy had blighted her 24-year-old son's life, comments from our readers poured in. Here, you share your stories about losing children, living with the risks, caring for loved ones and building awareness around an often invisible disease. Despite epilepsy affecting 630,000 people in Britain, and causing 21 deaths a week, readers described pervasive misunderstanding of the condition, especially Sudep (sudden unexpected death in epilepsy). Hussey's daughter Libby died from Sudep last September. She was 38. The NHS was brilliant. We were close to a very good centre of excellence here in Bristol, where there was a neurology unit. The only time it wasn't helpful was when Libby left university and their advice from a nurse was that she should go home, join some local support groups and we should monitor her in every room. Libby turned to me and said, 'Bleep that, I'm going to live my life.' She was incredibly brave and always hopeful. She lived a full and fulfilled life. She went to university, eventually found a job she loved and was happily married. All the time I lived in dread of the phone, every ambulance siren could be her, every unanswered call could only mean one thing. My only comfort is that she lived life on her terms, despite the epilepsy. We miss her. Verbeeten was diagnosed at 25, after seven years of occasional seizures that doctors had attributed to lifestyle and work stress. I was not in a rush to be diagnosed with epilepsy! Finally, I had a bad [seizure] while driving and could not ignore it any more — I ended up in a ditch having crashed through two farm gates and a fence. I have had seizures on ski slopes, in public, at home and during important business meetings. I'm usually oblivious to what is going on — it's much more distressing for the uninitiated in attendance. • Read expert advice on healthy living, fitness and wellbeing I had my first seizure at 71. You read that correctly — people over 65 are the age group most likely to develop the condition for the first time. It is about time that epilepsy is properly recognised and resourced for research, diagnosis, effective treatment and public awareness of late-onset epilepsy in fit, active seniors like me. After his son Tom died from Sudep in 2015, aged 24, Sibree became a trustee on the board of Sudep Action, working with bereaved families and raising awareness about the condition. We had absolutely no idea that our son was at risk of dying. We found Tom in bed in the morning. He wasn't getting up, so his mother went up to him — and he was dead. And he went to bed the night before and all was well. It's so sudden and so heart-wrenching. There are no goodbyes. It's out of the blue and it's brutal. Through Sudep Action, we talk to lots of bereaved families. The story again and again is 'We had no idea', 'We were not told' and 'We didn't know that this was something that could happen'. Epilepsy itself is difficult to understand, and some GPs seem to have no understanding that Sudep — which clearly impacts more people than we might think — is a risk that epileptics run. When you think it's been a known condition for so long, it's staggering how little the medical profession know about it. Stone's son Dorian had his first seizure at 14. Now 37, he lives and works in Poland, where he has healthcare (both private and through work). Puberty, GCSEs and epilepsy all rolled into one catastrophic event for Dorian that has lasted years. While employers are mainly ignorant of the condition ('You don't look like you have epilepsy,' one said to him), the real everyday issues are with the medication. They make the sufferer exhausted, dopey (for want of a better word) and therefore less present and productive. I live in constant fear about him losing his job as he now has a son and a mortgage. He will never have a well-paid job but he seems to be accepting of that, while it gives me sleepless nights as we are not in a position to support him financially. • My shock epilepsy diagnosis at 50 — and what happened next From 1968 to 1969 I had about 18 jobs — out of one job, into the next really. I stopped mentioning epilepsy in 1970 … no sackings. More recently, I had a fit in the street. When I came to, cars were going around me with passengers leaning out, recording footage on their mobile phones. No one came to my aid. One lady said she thought I was one of many 'dipsos' [alcoholics] who gather nearby. I found my own way to the hospital, where I had a CT scan to see if I had a bleed — mercifully not — and an x-ray confirming a rotator cuff muscle had detached. Both of Colston's daughters are epileptic. The elder developed it later in life after her first pregnancy and has her seizures under control, while the younger has to navigate systems not well-suited to epileptics. The younger daughter, now 31, started having absence seizures at puberty, which progressed into tonic-clonic seizures first thing in the morning whenever she was ovulating or had her period. Her life changed dramatically. She was constantly put on different drugs as they tried to find something that worked. One of them led to weight gain, others changed her personality. She never learnt to drive, and she never will because her seizures are still not controlled. Her seizures all happen in the morning, and jobs that can accommodate that are so few and far between. She has found a job now which is based in the US and Canada, so the shifts start later in the day. However, she's paid minimum wage. And because she doesn't drive, and public transport is so useless and taxis so expensive, she really is stuck where she is. She couldn't possibly go on and study music as she would've done. She was a singer and a flautist, but sadly her absence seizures are exacerbated by hyperventilating.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hants take control after Worcestershire collapse
Rothesay County Championship Division One, Visit Worcestershire New Road (day three) Hampshire 293 & 139-2: Gubbins 55*; Finch 1-16 Worcestershire 249: Libby 100*; Baker 5-72 Hants (4 pts) lead Worcs (3 pts) by 183 runs Match scorecard Sonny Baker's five-wicket haul and a Nick Gubbins half-century helped drive Hampshire into the ascendency on day three of the County Championship match against Worcestershire. Baker's morning burst of three-wickets saw him to figures of 5-72, as Jake Libby's 100 not out could not see Worcestershire into the lead despite early promise, as his side were bowled out for 249. With a lead of 44, the visiting side batted through the day with relative comfort on a flattening wicket, as Joe Weatherly and Fletcha Middleton made early progress for their side. Nick Gubbins then scored an unbeaten 55 to see his side to 139-2 at the close, with the away side well in the hunt for a third County Championship victory of the season. With a lengthy delay to the start of proceedings on the third morning of the match, Hampshire enjoyed an excellent start to the day as youngster Sonny Baker produced an eye-catching three wicket burst to reduce Worcestershire to 189-5. The visitors welcomed a stroke of luck in the second over of the day when Adam Hose feathered a strangle down the legside, to depart without adding to his overnight score, before Baker picked up the wickets of Brett D'Oliveira (1) and Ethan Brookes (0) as the hosts reeled under the clouds at Visit Worcestershire New Road. Searching for their first County Championship win since mid-May, Hampshire began the afternoon session in similar vein to the morning, with Libby watching his side fall behind in the contest. Matthew Waite helped add 34 with the Worcestershire opener, before he nicked off to James Fuller for a cautious 21 as the Division One strugglers watched another promising position fall away beneath them as they limped to 223-6. Part-timer Nick Gubbins was thrown the ball in the 80th over of the innings as the visitors looked to move things on before taking the new ball but were overjoyed when Tom Taylor was pinned lbw in an innocuous over as the home side slid further behind the eight-ball. Hampshire tightened their grip on the match, as Kyle Abbott (1-27) and Baker removed Ben Allison and Adam Finch, with Libby 98 not out and his side still trailing by 46-runs. Libby added the two runs required to reach a gritty century off 235 balls, registering the first century by a Worcestershire player at Visit Worcestershire New Road this summer. Baker capped a fine individual performance as he returned in the next over to secure his five-wicket haul and ensure his side took a healthy lead of 44-runs into their second innings, with Worcestershire all-out one run short of a batting bonus-point. Hampshire lost Weatherley in the 11th over of their reply, when he was lbw to a full ball from Waite but marched on unphased to pass fifty with comfort. Middleton got in and showed signs of extending his good form from the first innings but was unable to capitalise on his positive start as he was caught behind off an Adam Finch delivery, with his side 120-runs in front. Gubbins made his way to a comfortable half-century as the evening drew to a close, as he and Tilak Varma batted through to stumps with Hampshire in total control at 139-2, with a commanding 183-run lead heading into the final day. ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport
