Weekend Open Thread: We Love Our Pets
Miles got sick again this week. It wasn’t anything like how sick he got back in September when the vet suggested we consider putting him down, but it was still pretty scary. As I write this, he’s not quite out of the woods, but tests show his diabetes is very well-managed, so it seems it’s just a little bug that is (hopefully) on its way out. Seeing him so vulnerable again made us stop and take stock of how lucky we are to still have him around and how we need to make sure he knows every day how much we love him. I’ve been pretty good about carving time for just the cats — usually when Jackson is sleeping — but this was a reminder to keep that up and not just assume the cats “understand” that I’m a busy mom now. Pets are like people — they need continual love, affection and companionship. They need to know they matter.
So, in honor of our pets, let’s devote this open thread to them. Who are the animals in your life you love? Who are the animals you miss?
My fiance and I have a black kitty named Elvira and a black/white Boston Terrier named Gizmo. I’ve had Gizmo for about 3 1/2 years and my fiance and I got Elvira shortly before we moved in together last fall. One of the many ways I knew my man was the one for me? Before we lived together, I mostly spent the night at his place and usually brought Gizmo with me. One morning I was leaving his place to go home to get ready for work and Gizmo didn’t want to come with me. It was his day off so it wasn’t a big deal, but it hurt my feelings a little that she liked him more than me. I’ve since agreed to marry him so I can’t really complain….
I love that picture of Miles! I hope he feels better soon!
Right now my husband and I have 2 cats. He rescued Tux off the streets while he was stationed in SoCal, and we adopted Cocoa after we moved in together. They are the sweetest 2 kitties. The younger one, Cocoa, I think has some separation anxiety, I’ve never had a cat be so excited when I come home from work, and she won’t leave me alone until I’ve petted her. Both of them like snuggling with you, but it has to be on their terms, no picking them up. They really like sleeping under the blankets with us, it’s quite cute, and great for me in the winter, it’s like my own little space heater 🙂
When I lived at home, my dad gave my mom a kitten when I was in probably first grade. We had him for at least 13 years. He was my buddy. He was black and white and his spots made him look like a mini Holstein. I was devastated when he passed. He was very old when he did, and had been declining for a while. There was a few nights before it happened that were rough, and the night he went, I was at work, but he waited until my dad got home. I feel like he waited knowing my dad would take care of him and my family. My family buried him before I got home, knowing I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
I better end here, thinking about my cat and my dad, both gone now, is making me tear up, and I’m still at work. 🙁
One of my bunny rabbits got sick on Monday (I have two, a lop and a Dutch)! I knew that something was wrong when he didn’t devour his hay pellets like he usually does. He’s usually so interested in people, but he was apathetic and lethargic. I did some internet sleuthing and vet-calling, and with some at home remedies he is back to normal now, but it was scary!!! GI stasis, which he was showing early signs of, can be fatal so I was freaking out.
My fiance’s mom and my mom consider them their grandbunnies, and I definitely consider them family members. (They say that they are fine substitutes for grandchildren FOR NOW.) They are my first pets, and I love having pets. They are so fun and cheerful. AND THEY WILL NEVER DIE.
Yogi was the best dog ever. He was a chow and black lab mix. He had the pretty face and nice demeanor of a lab but that puffy coat of fur like a chow, and a purple tongue. He was sweet and cuddly, and very handsome; he got all the ladies. He was also really lazy. I used to try to get him to run with me, but that was a no go. Even when I took him for a leisurely stroll around the block, he’d insist on stopping to sniff everything. But he was so transparent; he wasn’t interested in sniffing at all. He just wanted to sit down. Sometimes he wouldn’t even pretend to sniff; he’d just sit and look up at me like, “come on, do we really have to do this? Let’s go home already.” He was technically my sister’s dog. She divorced and somehow my parents got the dog in that break up. I was still in high school then, so that meant I got the dog too. I went off to college and at some point during those 4 years my parents put Yogi to sleep. They didn’t tell my sister until afterward. I think they had reasons at the time – but I think they just were afraid she’d say no and that would make them feel even worse about doing what they had to do. But my sister was really hurt by that. #badparenting? I don’t know.
RIP, Yogi Bear the Dog!
haha my family dog growing up was a golden/chow mix (see below) she was puffy coated with the black tongue too.
I commented on yours while you were commenting on mine. I think that’s a sign of love.
you love everything.
au contraire, mon amour. i do not love: mustard, cars, mustaches (unless it’s movember), wasabi, white wine, wearing pants, the Bachelor, FOX news, Nancy Grace, inconsiderate people, people in general sometimes, men that aren’t Budj.
this is fun. i also don’t love: people who talk during the movie; gum smackers; people who get their panties in a wad when you do things like forget to pass both the salt *and* the pepper because “you’re supposed to” even though they only asked for the salt, bridesmaids (not the movie though – loved the movie), brides, mothers of the bride, clubs, sleeping in, shorts, flip flops, bloody mary’s, and creepy crawly things.
and to clarify, i always pass both the salt and the pepper because you’re supposed to. i just don’t like people who get their panties in a wad over it and similar random things we do because “we’re supposed to” because Emily Post said so.
you know what i am in love with these days, besides Budj? those sweddish meatballs at IKEA. so damn good.
I never knew you had to pass those together…haha…my family doesn’t? We just have two sets on the table during larger meals so people don’t even have to pass them…
Now that you mention it it does actually kind of make logistical sense to pass the salt and pepper with one another…otherwise people get confused where one is…
I also don’t like re-heated chicken, or going potty on handicapped toilets. (They’re too hight; angle is off; it’s not normal; not relaxed enough, you see.)
Poor Miles! Feel better!
This is a very timely weekend open thread, because I’m getting my new puppy TOMORROW!!!! For those of you who didn’t see the picture, here she is: !/MissRachelEast/media/slideshow?url=pic.twitter.com%2FSBxiYKCx I’m naming her Scarlett, after the one and only Scarlett O’Hara.
I’m SO. EXCITED. But also kind of terrified. I’ve never raised a puppy on my own, so I know it’s going to be a learning experience. Oh! And I’m also super excited to introduce her to my family’s 13-and-a-half year old black lab, Abby. Abby was never properly socialized, and therefore has no idea that she’s a dog. When in the company of other dogs, she tends to be incredibly disdainful and standoffish, and in her old age I’m sure it’s gotten so much worse. My mom and dad and I are looking forward to how Abby responds to meeting a new puppy, haha.
I’m so excited for you!There’s something so special about puppies <3
My favorite part about puppies is how their body parts look too big in certain areas while they are developing…definitely adds to the cute factor…that and that adds to their clumsiness which also adds to cute factor.
Giant, floppy, puppy paws make my heart melt.
Its like babies, they have huge heads and those big eyes…Its a survival feature so that they look cuter and more innocent. Sure works on me!
Congrats on the new puppy! She’s adorable! 🙂
My sister & brother in law have 2 black labs (Misty is 10 and her mom Jazz is 14). Jazz has always been much more mellow than Misty, although Jazz was trained to compete in hunting contests so she’s much more disciplined. They tried with Misty (she won a couple of ribbons), but they were a little too relaxed and therefore she has more bad habits (like getting on the couch when she is not allowed). Misty can jump and lick me square on the nose. If I’m around, it means it’s “play with ball” time. Labs are so much fun! I’m excited for you.
She looks insanely cute! I love puppies, they are so clumsy <3
I’ll give you a week to enjoy her to yourself before I start demanding new pictures.
She’s so cute RR! Take so many pictures because they grow FAST!
I miss my old family dog Ginger…she was a golden/chow mix, very independent, but also very smart….
My little brother and I used to share a room and she would always wake us up during thunderstorms to keep her company. She wasn’t allowed upstairs, but snuck up there anyways…when we tried to go back to sleep she would chew our socks to get us up and out of the bed. I was the main victim of this for whatever reason, but I secretly didn’t mind…
Another thing she used to do that I thought was awesome is she had this innate sense for when someone was upset. She would wander up panting with this look like “everything is going to be fine” and make you pet her and hang out with her a bit before she left you…haha…
I had a lab/chow mix. He was beautiful! I think they should bread chows with everything. They make ’em so fluffy. 😉
we had a shepherd/chow cross when I was a kid, he was the best. dog. ever. so smart, and so gentle with all the kids. ahh i miss him 🙁
By the way, one of my really good friends named her new puppy Janet. Janet. Three’s Company Janet. Jackson sister Janet. Rhymes with planet Janet. 48 year old woman Janet.
I contemplated breaking up with my friend over it.
My boss named his cat Joanne.
Bwhahahaha – what’s worse, Joanne or Janet? That’s a close one.
Dammit Janet.
Hahaha! Ok, sorry Addie, cat named Joanne has to win.
I think a pet named Greg would take the cake.
My co-worker has 2 cats – Frank and Gary.
What! I think it’s hysterical when pets have people names. My cat’s name is Rafiki, which is TECHNICALLY a people name, even though I’ve never met a Rafiki.
My boyfriend and I want to get an English bulldog and name her Beatrice. Then we’re going to teach her to roll over when she hears the command “Get sexy Beatrice!”
We would already have an English or French bulldog if it weren’t for the fact that we live in a fourth floor walk-up, and that’s just not humane for heavy breathing, short-legged breeds. One day we will fulfill this dream! One day!
My friend’s dog responds to “sexy pose.” Which means roll over half way and stick his legs out to the side.
that is too funny haha!
My cat’s name is Gus!
We have a cat named Frank. And he has a brother named George.
My aunt has a springer spaniel named Oscar. Some animals just need people names. Juss sayin.
I have a friend who named her dog Dr. Huxtable, and a cousin who named his dog Uncel Buck!
That’s so cute. Does she dress him up in doggy sweaters?
If I had a Scottish Terrier I think I would name him Mr. Peabody.
Oh my goodness I say the same thing! Gasp! Not really but I love having those magical moments.
I feel tipsy.
My ex wanted a Scottie. =(
My close girlfriend since high school has a teddy bear that she’s had since childhood named… Elizabeth. It’s always struck me as so bizarre.
That it’s named Elizabeth or that she still has a teddy bear at all?
My old roommate had a cat named Steve. And I had a (female) cat named Jimmy Page.
I got Penelope (a tiny grey tabby) just over a year ago – I brought her in as a kitten and though she’s had her menacing moments, she definitely brings joy to the apartment.
Now, let me get crazy for a moment: Yesterday, everyone was posting picture of brooms standing up on their own on Facebook – when I inquired what was going on, someone mentioned a planetary alignment that allowed the broom to stand up on its own. I didn’t try the broom, but Penny was INSANE last night! She was running laps around the apartment screaming and crying out nonstop from 2:00am – 5:30am. Did anyone else have a batshit crazy animal last night? Could have been something to do with the planet alignment? (Is that even a thing?)
One of the loves of my life is my miniature-dachshund, Summer. She’s about 9 and a half pounds and brindle like a rottweiler (which is very rare in dachshunds). She’s super shy around other dogs, and a little shy around people even though we went to puppy class/pet stores/walks to socialize but I guess dogs are just like people and have their own personalities! I love coming home to her every night since I live alone. On the weekends my bf and I take her for long walks or can let her go off-leash in state parks by his house (although we have to watch out for hawks!). I love watching her run because she’s super fast. She was born with a lot of instinct that you can see by her digging in blankets, loud bark, and loyalty to me. She’s a lot of work since she’s only 2 and still has a lot of energy, but she’s totally worth it because she’s affectionate to everyone she knows and loves (my mom refers to her as her grand-dog).
haha – my bros. gf’s dog is a mini dachshund too and I never thought about a bird preying on a dog before until I was walking with her outside and I look up and see this hawk circling our apartment…I thought to myself…that is weird…10 seconds later I said to myself “oh, shit” and hurried the dog inside.
What is…brindle? I’m ignorant!
Dark colors all mashed together in small spots…like brown, black, rust colors, etc.
google it, silly!
I googled “it” but still nothing.
(I’m on fire today.)
Can’t lie. You’re cracking me up.
It’s like the dog version of tabby- They have stripes. You see it on greyhounds and pitt bulls a lot.
Hope Miles feels better soon!
My husband and I have two dogs, both of whom are rescues. Lady is a pit bull (we think)/lab/random mix dog and Cajun is a spaniel/lab/random mix dog. Lady lived at the shelter for 3 and a half years and Cajun was her run mate for a year of that. We wanted two dogs and got Lady first, we took her to pick out our second dog and Cajun was the only one she didn’t try to attack. We went through 11 options. Some of those poor dogs are probably now scarred for life. Both dogs have a lot of special quirks. Lady was very attached to the shelter since she was there for awhile and had a hard time leaving. She is very moody and too smart for her own good (or mine). I swear if she could talk she would be the most hilarious person I know. She loves belly rubs and begs to be rubbed to sleep. She snores like an old man and is always warm, which makes her both a great and terrible cuddler. Cajun is just special. He is both high strung and very anxious. His greatest loves in life are eating food he’s not supposed to and cleaning beards/trying to make out with anyone who comes in to our house. He loves to curl up in bed and share my pillow with me.They are both super cuddly/loving and if they could would spend their entire days curled up next to someone in bed, getting rubbed of course, and probably eating hot dogs and dreaming of those cats.
We always had dogs and cats growing up. Right now my family dog Jack still lives with my Mom. He’s 14 but thinks he’s still 2. He has a ton of life left in him. He loves chasing after squirrels and eating toads. My Grandmother had a dog named Ebonee for 14 years that she got when I was in 7th grade. She was a poodle chihuahua mix who was adorable and feisty. She had diabetes (diagnosed at age 4) and had cataract surgery at age 12. She love to chase her toys until she passed away. She lived a long full life despite needing shots every day 🙂
Man I wrote a book. But, I really love all my pets.
I have 2 little kitten faces that I adore. We have The Fat One a.k.a. Whelan. He is the cutest, sweetest, neediest cat you will ever meet. We have so many pictures of him because he is just so cute and photogenic. He’s so patient and lets me torture him with kitten sweaters and hats. He loves pets but he doesn’t like to cuddle or be picked up. When my girlfriend and I went on vacation we had some friends stop in to check on them and one of our friends called him “aggressively affectionate”. He WILL have his pets whether you like it or not. He also has separation anxiety to the point where he has to be shut up for bed or he’ll spend the whole night yowling and clawing at the bedroom door. He’s also fat, it’s ok he knows it too. It’s the cutest thing in the world when he sits like a real person and tries to clean his belly but he cant bend over enough because he’s so fat. He has seen a vet and he is healthy and he is a diet to at least keep him from gaining any more weight. The perils of getting him fixed…
Then we have Corbett. He is honestly the smartest cat I’ve ever seen. He gets into everything and I have no idea how. He can open doors, yes, we have the regular door knobs and he climbs everything. We tried taping our cupboards shut and he just clawed at the tape until it split. He really personifies the gymnast cat, he likes to climb the shower curtain and hide on the shower head until someone comes in and then jump down to scare them. Sometimes he’ll trick Whelan into getting stuck in places. I know he’s tricking him because then he sits there and teases him as he tried to get out. If he could laugh, he would. He’s the sweetest cuddler, he’ll climb in your lap and purr for hours if you let him. He’ll follow your face until you let him “kiss” you (rub his face against yours). He’s also skinny, part of the reason why putting Whelan on a diet is so hard. He can’t afford to diet. We try to feed them separately but Corbie just doesn’t eat that much. They’re my kitten babies and I dread the thought of not having them one day.
Feel better Miles!
My fiance and I have three cats. We are so, so outnumbered. Somehow, three cats becomes something infinitely more than two cats plus one cat. They all hate each other, even though I constantly tell everyone that since they color coordinate, they should EVENTUALLY get along. Then again, I discovered that the weird scab on my fuzzyboy’s paw was from one of the tuxedo boys biting him while they bat at each under from other sides of the bedroom door, so… We have to keep Two-Face separated from my cat, Rhys at all times. Sometimes while we are home, we let them all roam around and inevitably Two-Face and his brother, Spot, team up to terrorize Rhys. Every time.
On the plus side, we love our cats SO MUCH and are those crazy cat people everyone talks about. We have a stool in our kitchen so that one of the kitties can sit and be easily admired while we’re cooking (usually Rhys, since he finds Two-Face doesn’t bother him if he’s up on the stool). I bought one of those pricey, fancy, not-carpet-covered scratching posts to have in the dining room.
Annnnd we may or may not be trying to get whichever photographer we hire to take our wedding photos to take professional pictures of the cats, so we can have nice framed photos of the cats at the wedding. Yep, we’re crazy cat people.
Don’t worry I had professional pictures taken with our dogs too. You’re not the only crazy pet person around 😉
Haha my fiance and I seriously contemplated bunny ring bearers for our wedding. Unfortunately bunnies don’t do well with new locations or travel, so sadly it is not to be. But it is definitely a priority for my photographer to take some pics of me and the buns on the wedding day while I’m getting ready! 🙂
Oh and we have bunny cake toppers (for the carrot cake). Count me as another crazy pet person.
Every time I see your user name I smile.
Teehee.
My dog is going to be included in our engagement pictures, to be taken tomorrow morning. Pets aren’t people, but they are a part of the family.
My cats are my soul mates. My little Siamese cat Nhuri, and my little brown tabby Na’ima. They sleep with me every night. They follow me around the house. I take pictures of them constantly. I talk to them and tell them how pretty they are and how much I love them. They are my precious baby girls. I couldn’t live without them!
Random question to cat people: Why does my cat like to lick plastic bags? Give him a plastic bag and he’ll lick it like it’s coated in catnip and I don’t get it. Just wondering if anybody else’s cat did that and if they knew why…
I think it’s pretty common…my aunts cats all do it (6 total). She is super paranoid (and probably for good reason) that they will eat the plastic so she tries to keep it from them.
I used to have a cat that did the same thing (RIP) – never did know why…. I loved that cat – I got her when I was 14, She passed away when I was 28 – We spent several years and several thousands of dollars treating her cancer. In the end, I had her put to sleep when the doc couldn’t help with her pain anymore. I learned a huge lesson from this…..I took me a while to realize…..I kept her alive because I couldn’t let her go, and that was selfish. I should have had her euthanized a year or two before. I will never make that mistake again. I will never allow a pet to live a life of suffering and sickness because I can’t handle letting go. I feel guilty about it still.
It’s OK, you’re only human.
Mine likes to chew on them. I’m always afraid she’s going to choke! I have no idea why she does this. She also chews iPod cords, and headphone cords so long as the headphones cost more than $150. She has expensive taste in wires. She will lick anything adhesive left exposed like envelopes and tape. I’m always terrified of what she’d ingesting that I didn’t think to cat-proof before leaving the house. She’s a certified weirdo.
I, too, would like an explanation!
Omg, mine does this ALL THE TIME– we have to hide every plastic bag that comes in the house immediately, or else you turn around and the handles are missing. And it seems like once she gets a taste for it, she’ll wander around the house looking for more. So weird!!
Really? I have 3 cats and none of them do this. And they do LOTS of weird things. Stella makes love to shoes, belts, and purses (I guess she likes leather and foot smell). Zeke grooms the couch and my bed pillows (once he gets licking, he wont’ stop). They also lick armpits and seem to LOVE the smell of my morning breath (I swear they stick their heads in my mouth when I yawn in the morning). But alas, they do not lick plastic bags.
OH, and hair. Zeke likes to get up behind me (or whomever else is there) on the couch, head-butt the back of my head a couple times, and then he starts with the licking.
One of ours does that when he wants to be fed… I thought it was weird, too.
Maximillenuem (he was born in 1999) best Australian shepherd mix ever! – he herded children (no sheep were avails in the suburbs) and was nicknamed Maxi-Pad for his preference for the girls of the family. I miss him so much.
hahaha Maxi-Pad. That’s awesome.
We had an Old English sheepdog who herded the entire family into one room on the weekends. I still have no idea how she did it – we just sort of looked up and realized that the dog had us all in the living room.
my fiance and I have a cat, a grumpy little thing named Giblet. she’s a sweetie, well to me. she dislikes everyone else, except the girl that gave her to us. she rubs up against anyone who comes in the house, but pet her and get hissed and swatted at. no claws though, she’s not very ‘cat’ like for a cat. slow reflexes, doesnt seem to know how to use her claws..
but she’s my kitty! 🙂 we’ve thought about getting another, but i cant bear the idea of her hating it :/
When we went to get our second bunny, we went to the humane society with Bun #1 and he had dates with the other bunnies and we adopted the one that he liked the best. They love each other now!
OOoo you can do that? I’m going to have to bring Rafiki to go on some dates because I’m fairly certain she will terrorize any other animal we bring into her territory.
It’s so important to make sure they allow that! If not I wouldn’t adopt from them. I wrote above the we took our girl dog in to pick out a second dog and it took 11 tries to find one she didn’t want to kill.
They actually highly recommend it with rabbits. Rabbits are pretty social, and they have unique personalities, some of which match better than others. The first rabbit we introduced Bun #1 to mounted him!! Which is a normal dominance behavior even for altered rabbits, but he was so scared he ran back behind my legs. The second rabbit sniffed him and then plopped down next to him for a cuddle. So we adopted her. Call your humane society; I think they’d probably let you bring your cat in for some test dates!
Often (again I only know about rabbits) it’s WAY easier to bond the bunnies in a neutral setting (we used the bath tub) until they develop a friendship, and then move them into the rest of the house together. But keeping them separate until they bonded was easy with the rabbits because they stay in exercise pens when we’re not around. Not sure how you’d keep the cats apart.
aw i miss having bunnies! with my first husband, we had two house bunnies 🙂 i have to say, it was really weird at first to have litter box trained rabbits!! if my fiance would go for it, i’d love to have a flemish giant!
Just go get one… he’ll adjust! (Kidding of course 😉 ) What kinds did you have? Mine are both tiny little things (mini lop and dutch, about 5 lbs each) but I’ve heard good things about giants in general. People generally are surprised when I tell them that they are litter boxed trained, but we didn’t have much trouble training them.
Are we still talking about pets or other rabbits?
Seriously, I am the funniest person! At least here in my office. It’s time to go home.
5 lbs would be heavy for other rabbits 😉
Sending well wishes to Miles!!
I LOVE talking about my pets. They’re awesome critters. Currently my fiance and I share our apartment with 2 cats and a dog. We each came to the relationship equipped with our own cat and got the dog as a couple 6 months ago.
I had Gus for over a year when we met and he’s now almost 4. He’s a big (15lbs) fluffy all-black Maine Coon who’s afraid of his own shadow. He’s annoyingly affectionate with me but weary of most other people and he’s very talkative.
Mr.LuWho got Rex (who is a female… yup) about 3 years before we met and she’s almost 5 now. She’s a teeny tortie short-hair with a very big personality. She’s our one-cat welcoming committee and she loves to be helpful, especially in the kitchen or when making the bed. She gets in a mood easily though and hisses at us multiple times a day. Our other animals know Rex is Queen Bee. Rex got very sick this past fall and almost didn’t make it. She stopped eating mysteriously which turned into fatty liver. They had her on fluids and a feeding tube in the vet for almost 2 weeks and we had another 2 weeks of feeding her watery cat food from a huge syringe through her feeding tube after she got to come home. Once her fur grew back from where they shaved for the tube and taking ultrasounds of her belly, you couldn’t tell she had ever been sick. She’s completely back to normal. But it was touch and go for a couple of weeks and we were really scared to lose her.
Lily is our newest addition. She’s a rat terrier/Italian Greyhound/we’re not really sure rescue from a local no-kill shelter. They rescued her from Alabama after the tornadoes and miscalculated her age so we think she’s turning 1 soon? She has huuuuuge ears and she’s mostly white with black spots and a brown/white/black masked face and she’s about 6.5lbs. We’re still not totally there with potty training (she isn’t consistent about asking when she needs to go so we still take her out on a schedule and sometimes have to clean up the odd puddle even though she’s crate trained) but she’s solid on sit, paw, down, roll over, and “where’s your chewie?” She’s a giant cuddle bug and a face washer and loves every creature she’s ever encountered. She adores Rex and they play together but Gus is still afraid of her because she tries to chase him. She loves to visit my mom’s house because my mom has 2 dogs (a 1yr old shepherd mix and the shepherd mix’s 4 month old puppy who looks like a black lab who my mom just adopted around new years) and they run around and chase each other and wrestle for hours. We just visited for the last 2 days and Lily has been asleep on my lap the entire day today.
We’re moving in a couple of weeks to a bigger place and acquiring a third cat once we get there from a coworker who can’t take him with her when she moves. He’s a grey and white Maine Coon mix and we’re naming him Archie. I’m not sure how adding a third cat to the mix will go but I’m eager to meet him and see how everyone likes him!
Longest comment ever. But pets are awesome. Seriously.
We’re hoping to rescue get a Maine Coon and name him Gus!
I know his blurb is the shortest but Gus is THE BEST CAT EVER and my fiance is excited about our new cat because he realized how awesome male Maine Coons are and wants one that’s obsessively attached to him. Gus thinks his name is Goose (thanks to my mom nicknaming him right after I got him) and he breathes really loudly and cries in a high pitched voice and doesn’t like to jump the baby gate we put up to corral the dog but all he wants is snuggles, food, and a comfy place to sleep. And I respect that.
When I was researching the breed of cat I wanted it came down to a Rag Doll or a Maine Coon….but then I moved in with someone allergic to cats. haha.
I would LOVE a rag doll.
My dad’s got a giant manx named Gus. He’s a monster.
I wish we could put pics in our comments 🙂
you can upload them to picasa and make it a public album 🙂
Our family has always had room in our hearts for dogs (but no cats!). Nothing against cats but they scare me and I’m so afraid one will scratch my eye out. The next door neighbor’s kitten has taken a liking to me but I just talk to it through the fence and from a distance.
Anyway, I have three dogs right now. Two chihuahua’s and what I think is a cocker spaniel/poodle mix. I don’t have any friends so they are my companions in life right now and I treasure them so much. My oldest chihuahua is already 12 years old and I recently read about one of the Osbourne dogs passing away at 12 years of age and it was like wow… how many more years will I have left with my dog? She has so much energy that I can’t imagine her ever slowing down. I try not to focus on it too much but being a pet owner comes with the knowledge that they are only here for a short time so I cherish it as much as I can.
One of my past dogs was with me during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. I was walking home from the grocery store with my mom and she stopped to talk to one of our neighbors. I noticed my dog crying hysterically and trying to push the gate open. It was definitely out of the norm for her so when I went over to calm her down the earthquake hit and all I could do was push against the gate (was about six feet tall) while my dog was pushing against the gate on the other side. Of course with the earthquake, the gate was swinging back and forth and swinging me with it! It was… an experience that’s for sure and I truly believe dogs can sense earthquakes before we can.
Anyway, I’ve learned so much about unconditional love and compassion with my dogs. Having to decide between putting a dog to sleep or going through a costly operation was one of my first adult decisions. Nursing a dog when they are sick and in pain and I’m covered in tears and doggy throw up… I’ve certainly been through the worse with them. But I know whenever I look at them and they look up with their smiles and wagging tails, nothing feels better than to see the pure look of joy on their faces. I truly believe dogs can smile and at the very least, they make my heart smile.
Poor Miles!! I hope he is feeling better. It is so hard to have a sick animal!
Growing up we had a St. Bernard named Bubba. He was awesome. We rescued him from a center city Philly apartment where he was kept in the kitchen all the time and brought him to our farm. He was 90 lbs when we got him and full grown he was 220. Seriously he was the BEST dog ever. We all used to lay on the floor with him and cuddle. He LOVED ice cream; my mom took a great series of photos of him licking a Ben & Jerry’s container clean which is framed and in our formal living room. He died almost 5 years ago, and we still talk about him like he’s still here. Man I loved that dog!
Currently I have an adorable kitty, Frank. He is a silver tabby cat and super fat and I love him. I almost 5 years ago I had a litter of 6 kittens land in my lap when they were about 24 hours old. I spent the summer bottle feeding the litter ever 4 hours and decided to keep my Franklin. He is awesome! He’s had an upset tummy a few times recently, which makes me really unhappy…but his yearly physical in is May so we’ll get him checked out then. I’m off to cuddle with my cat 🙂
I have a tuxedo cat named Shakespeare. She was the friendliest kitten ever…ran up to a friend of a friend on the street, one eye completely swollen shut with infection, the other getting there. That friend already had two cats, and mine had just run away, so I adopted her. She was sooo sweet. Played with everyone, ran right up to people and wanted to be loved, totally adorable. And her eyes healed up perfectly 🙂
Unfortunately when she got about 6 months old she stopped liking other people. She still runs right up to them to sniff them, but if strangers try to touch her she hisses at them. Even the roommate we’ve lived with for seven months now! It’s ridiculous. She’s still sweet as candy to me, though. She comes to greet me every time I come home, stretches up on my leg when she wants me to pick her up, is my shadow around the house, and sleeps on the pillow next to mine every night.
We’ve got two cats, sisters, Kiki and Ginger.
Kiki looks a lot like Miles, actually. She’s like a fat otter, or a hippo. Or a Roman sex goddess… Either way, she’s hilarious, and some sort of Buddha reincarnate. Or hedonist…. She does love food.
Ginger takes herself too seriously, and brings me my socks, yelling for attention the entire time. She’s got a bacon ear (she went through the dryer a few years ago, had to get a lot of treatment), and think she’s a vicious monster, but she’s really kind of a wimp. She’s my little buddy, though.
Me and my girl had a cat, Scooter. Best cat ever! We adopetd him when he was just under a year old. Scooter was the most affectionate kitty ever. He would lay on my chest (as close to my face as I’d let him and stay there for hours. He never scratched our furniture, ate shoes, or got into general mischief, ever. Problem with Scooter (and why I reference him in the past tense), is he had no intentions of being a house cat. He would escape at every chance he’d get. Come back two, three days later, sometimes scratching at the neighbor’s door & they had to come ring our bell to tell us poor Scooter was trying to get into their house! The last time he escaped, he never came back! My poor girl was heartbroken. We’d occasionally see him darting in and out of bushes of some of the neighbors, but the last time I saw Scooter was when my daughter had some friends over for the weekend. I heard her scream “SCOOTER”!!! I went out onto the deck and saw my daughter chasing scooter – full speed…and all of her friends chasing after them both screaming his name. We haven’t seen Scooter since. Poor thing must have been traumatized.
My BF and I have a giant black cat named Valentino who is like a dog in a cats body – he was found by his aunt who is a vet outside of a night club which i think fits very well with his bad ass attitude and fashion designer name.
We have a little kitten too named Baby (nobody puts Baby in a corner) who my BF’s friend found on the street at 5 weeks old. She was the tiniest thing!! She is very talkative and pretty, she is black and white and has a white heart on her belly. I don’t know what i would do without her, i feel like she was meant to be in my life!!
I have a puffer fish named Spike! He’s 6 in. long and has brown eyes (that glow like blue/green glitter under light). I like to pretend that he’s sweet and is giving me kisses against the glass of the aquarium if I’m around, but I know he’s just hungry. Viciously hungry. Always. Even if he just ate. He will eat everything that we put into the tank. Frozen or dried krill (the only thing that is put in with the intention of being his supper), snails, crabs, anemones, other fish… He’s even bitten my finger by jumping out of the water and grabbing onto me. It hurt like a bitch!
Technically he’s my dad’s, but I pretend he likes me the most since I’m the one who’s seen him puffed up the most (four times, I think). It’s pretty rare since he owns that tank and eats anything that causes him problems, honey badger don’t give a shit about anything.
I have a three year old vizsla (pictured, and hence the username) that I love unconditionally. He used to eat inanimate objects as a puppy (socks, underwear, scrunchies …) so we had a couple of very touch-and-go late night surgeries when he was younger. He grew out of that habit, luckily. He is the sweetest, cuddliest dog in the history of time who has nothing but love love love for everyone he meets. He is incredibly athletic, best friends with my rabbit, Lumpy, and got me many first dates before I met my now-fiance due to his rugged good looks and goofy smile. He’s my first dog as a grown-up that isn’t a family pet, and I kiss him a thousand times a day.
But he doesn’t sleep in the bed, except sometimes during nap time. 😉
Vizslas are lovely dogs! I’m more into rescuing than buying from breeders but one day when I can afford a dog of my own they’re definitely a breed I’d want.
You just have to find a vizsla rescue! There are pretty much rescues for any breed you can think of.
I have a little ginger tabby named…Ginger 😀 hehe
I bought her after I broke up with my boyfriend after 3 years. I was looking for a russian blue cat and I wouldnt settle for any less, and when I saw an add for one I jumped at the chance. They confirmed they still had the kitty, and I promised I would be there within the hour. Sadly as soon as I showed up they informed me that they had just sold her to someone else…Grr! I was all ready to leave when I glanced back to see these giant blue eyes in a ball of fur looking back at me from underneath the tv stand. I knew i wouldn’t want anyone else but her 🙂 So she’s been my special girl ever since! The people I got her from said she was 7 weeks but she couldn’t feed herself, kept throwing up, had no idea what a litter box was and even her walk was all wobbly. Poor thing shivered and huddled in my arms. After the 2nd day of her puking and going to the washroom right where she sat in my arms I took her to the vet and he said she was much more likely to be 5 weeks old. I bought kitten formula, a syringe, and training pads and set to work. Now she’s a healthy beautiful loving cat 🙂
Since we are on the subject of pets maybe somebody has some advice for me-Ginger is very protective of me and doesn’t like other animals. When people come over she gets very protective and will attack if they try to pet her (although she will rub against them, strangely..) I have never met one person she was able to tolerate. As a kitten she was very affectionate, then she just changed overnight one day. As far as other animals goes she has only ever come close to ‘tolerating’ my boyfriends mothers male cat. She hisses and attacks their female cat and outright despises the dog. I’ve always wanted more than one cat and eventually a dog, but I’m afraid how to go about the situation?
Does anyone have any ideas? Once I have a pet they are my love and responsibility for life so I’m never giving her away. I don’t want to get her declawed either, but sometimes I think there is no other option…Thanks guys!
I’ve heard that when cats rub against something it is actually a sign of ownership, not affection. So that might solve that little mystery!
I love my dog. He sleeps on the bed and he sits on the furniture. I have so much fur on my clothes I am now an honorary golden retriever. I wouldn’t change anything, he lights up my life beyond imagination. He loves me completely and without question. If my husband gave me the same greeting that my dog did, he’d get laid more often.
Uhh, does your husband know that? Because if not then I think you should tell him.
Haha, my boyfriend does attempt to greet me like my dog sometimes. He’ll bounce up and down and yell “hello! Hello!”
My parents rescued a Border Collie/ Canaan from an SPCA shelter this summer. He’d been there three weeks, and since it wasn’t a no-kill shelter, was only about a week from being put down. He was so timid and scared when we first brought him home that he would pee himself, and so skinny that you could practically count his ribs. We named him Gryffin. Now he’s almost doubled in weight, and he’s still a slim, muscular (and totally handsome) guy! He’s SUPER smart, but has a little bit of attitude- he won’t do certain tricks unless it’s for a really good treat..if you ask him to do it without, he’ll just give you the side eye. And he’s a giant lap dog. If he thinks you’re upset or angry at him (and if there are ever raised voices, he seems to think he’s done something wrong) he crawls into your lap and puts his head on your shoulder.
As much as I and the rest of my family adore him, rescuing a 2 year old dog has not been without some serious challenges. He was likely abused or neglected and is really wary of strangers, so we have to crate him if people come over. He’s also not great with other dogs. My parents take him to obedience training once a week and he takes some pharmaceuticals to tone down the anxiety. He’s making progress, slowly but surely!
How on earth did you get that hat to stay? Adorable! My cat would shake that off before I could even move my hand away.
My boyfriend and I have a chinchilla named Yuffie and she is our princess. She’s about a year and a half old and is so cuddly, playful and affectionate. The ONLY problem is that she likes my boyfriend SLIGHTLY more than me…he is her favorite, haha. It’s cute to watch him go to total mush when playing with her, though.
Aww, I’ve always kind of wanted a chinchilla!
They make great pets! They require a lot of patience at first, because they are super shy, but once they bond to you they are sweet and curious and playful. 🙂
I was omgthisclose(!!!) to starting a forum thread TODAY for all the crazy cat ladies and gents out there, so I’m glad this is the chosen topic.
INTROS:
I have 3 cats: Zeke, Zoe, and Stella. Zeke is a tuxedo, fairly overweight, exceptionally photogenic, and a bit of a dick… but also really cuddly and entertaining to be around. Stella isa fluffball, and the sweetest thing you could ever imagine; she is my best friend, she always wants to be near me, and has the cutest most high-pitched squeak of a meow you’ve ever heard. We have conversations often. Zoe is all white with a grey strip on her head that looks like a mohawk, blue eyes, and a grey nose. She is a scaredy cat and mostly keeps to herself, but she has a major crush on Zeke.
QUESTION:
I broke down and bought some cat harnesses and leashes. Has anyone else here tried to use them? I mainly wanted one for Zeke because I want him to get more exercise, but also because my cats are strictly indoor and I imagine they must get bored. They enjoy going out on the screened in porch / patio thingie on occasion, but I can’t imagine it’s too exciting for them. So… When Stella went out on the leash, she instantly freaked out and kept trying to dart away, and I took her back inside pretty quickly because I think she could weasel her way out of the harness if she wanted to, and when she gets loose outside, she’s REALLY difficult to catch.
Zeke, on the other hand, handles the leash well, except…. if I tug on it gently or try to guide him in any way, he just flops over and starts rolling around on the ground. And he’s oddly nervous… he only ventured off the porch ONCE – on his third trip outside! – and then went straight into the bushes.
So I guess my question is, for anyone else who has attempted to walk their cats this way, HOW the heck did you do it? I’m rewarding them with treats, but Zeke doesn’t seem to “get it”.
And, IS THIS CUTE OR WHAT – Zeke brings me his leash sometimes, like a dog would do who wants to go for a walk. He FINDS it and brings it to me. So adorable.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST,
I am super grateful for my pets right now because I just broke up with the boo this week, and I KNOW they can sense when I’m upset (especially Stella) and they have been awesome company for me this past couple of days. It’s amazing what a comfort it can be to hold a warm purring cat, or wake up with ALL them cuddling with me in my bed.
Answer!
We have leashes and harnesses for our kitties, mostly because they cannot stand their carrier and the leashes were an easier way to get them in the car and to the vet when they were little. Now we don’t use the carrier at all. I think it depends entirely on the cat – one of ours, Wicket, is scared of the leash and scared of the car and scared of the outdoors in general, and because he knows the leash means he is GOING OUTSIDE (gasp!) he’ll take off and hide under furniture when he hears the bells on the harness. We have to manhandle him into it 😛 Obi, on the other hand, seems to like the leash, but the most he’ll do when we take him outside is kinda wander around and then flop over when he finds a comfy spot. Also, hilariously, he won’t walk when he’s outside on the leash – he gets down on his belly and scoots around in this little cat army crawl. It’s the best thing.
haha, mine scoots too! And then flops over.
Interestingly enough, Zeke and Stella LOVE car rides. I moved across the country twice with them. Zeke learned pretty quickly how to escape his carrier, and he would sit in the back window. Stella liked to sit on my lap while I was driving.
My cats HATE the car, I tired using a leash with my first cat but he would sit down and wouldn’t move so yea…
Back to the car, they can SENSE when I’m about to take them to the vet, and they try hiding away. Once they are in the car they just meow and walk all over the car and they sound like they are getting tortured. And then while I walk with my cat from the car to the vet he tries to escape. The reason I don’t use carriers it’s because it’s pretty much impossible to get them inside it, and it turns into a long battle of trying to get the cat inside one. They might be small creatures but they are STRONG
My Calzo walks on a leash. I’ve even taken him to the park. He LOVES to smell and chomp on the pants/grass outside. Some cats take to the harness, others don’t. If they’re not into it, don’t force it. Calzo doesn’t quite walk like a dog does on a lease- he sort of wanders around and I follow him around. I get a lot of odd looks when we’re out 🙂
Here’s a video of him on his leash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBIKgCVzA2c
Growing up my family had a yellow lab named Rosie. Remember Marley from Marley and me, and how he ate everything? That was Rosie. She never destroyed shoes or furniture but if it was small enough to fit in her mouth, it was food. Crayons, bouncy balls, toy cars, bars of soap (always with the soap – she legit barfed bubbles once.) She totally failed at being a dog – she would refuse to fetch, just chase after things and catch them and then sit there daring you to come take them back (and then take off when you tried). She was afraid to jump into water; we’d take her up to the cottage and throw sticks off the dock, and she would tear off the dock and down the beach and into the lake to go get them, but NEVER EVER jump from the dock into the water, not even if she was pushed.
We had to put her down a few summers ago because she was a million years old (about fifteen, I think). She had bad arthritis and couldn’t climb up and down stairs any more, so my dad ended up carrying her (she always wanted to be wherever we were in the house) and when she started having digestive issues too and then the vet discovered some possibly-cancerous tumours in her mouth, we just realized we couldn’t take care of her any more. It was hard 🙁
Now we have two young kitties, both longhair tabby/himalayan mixes (they’re brothers.) They live with my parents because my boyfriend is allergic, but that turned out to be a good thing since they keep my mom’s empty nest syndrome from getting too bad 😛 Every time I go visit I hear “you will not believe what the cats did….” They’re incredibly affectionate, and both think they’re dogs – they know their names and will come when they’re called, and when they’re in the mood they’ll play fetch. They also alternate their people time…during the day, Wicket absolutely MUST be sitting in a human lap at all times. If no one’s sitting down, he’ll weave around ankles and cry until someone does. Obi, on the other hand, is pretty independent during the day, but has gotten into the habit of sleeping with my parents and gets EXTREMELY vocal if he finds the door shut. I think we may have spoiled them.
That photo of Miles is so so cute. I think every photo of Miles that I’ve seen on here has been super cute! I’m glad he’s getting better. 🙂
Anyways, my family has a crazy kitty who adopted us (I was living at home at the time so I consider her my cat too). She was a stray living in the backyard, and was very unfriendly and would never come near us. We saw her licking my dad’s barbeque tools one day, looking pretty bony, so we left her some food and she never left. That was in 2003, and she still looked a bit like a kitten, so I am guessing by now she is about 10. Her name is Kitty. She does not like to be held, and spends most of the day out in the backyard, but comes inside to eat and sleep in the evenings on the couch. She will come and find me (or my mom or dad), meowing, until you follow her, and all she wants is for you to stand with her while she eats or plays with her toys. She will meow for cheese when anyone is cooking (and usually gets it), and if I’m reading the newspaper she will come and sit down right where I’m reading. (How does she know?) If I’m standing by the apple tree, she will climb up and go right out on a branch that it eye level with me. I think when I go to visit my parents, subconsciously I really just want to go hang out with Kitty.
I´ve always been surrounded by animals, when I was little my parents had and bred weimaraners (those puppies were the cutest thing ever!), lots of cats (I had 2 abyssinians that were absolutely beautiful, show cats).
Since living in Argentina Ipve had heaps of cats, and dogs as well, now my husband and I only have one, Ita an argentinian mastiff, that is the sweetest thing ever.
Pets that stand out in my mind were the abbys, a siamese cat named Shari that liked to sleep curled over my neck like a scarf (terribly comfortable, especially in Summer!!) and Sami, a tiny little black dog that my mum rescued from getting run over on a main street when she honestly fit in the palm of your hand. Sami was so amazingly sweet, she even breastfed Shari´s kittens when Shari would leave them with us to go out to sunbathe (and before that Sami had never had puppies). I still get really upset thinking about Shari and Sami, they both had horrible deaths, poor things. 🙁
I forgot to add that Ipm dying for a cat now, but my husband doesn´t like them, and up to now has resisted my pleas (and those of our 4 year old), maybe once the baby is talking more he´ll relent? He has recently mentioned a couple of cats that he´s liked, so here´s hoping! I´ve always been more a cat person than a dog person.
Siamese and Abyssinian cats are amazing. Maybe showing him lots of cute kitten videos would help?
My cat (he is also Siamese) sometimes sleeps around my neck too, but never during summer. He gets hot too, lol. Whenever it’s cold he gets super cuddly and curls up either on my legs, or my tummy or my arms or my neck 😛
If we do get a cat it will almost definitely be a siamese, they´re one of my favourite breeds, and one of the cats my husband actually likes is a siamese (a cross eyed one, which he´d never seen).
His main reason for not getting one is because he´s afraid the dog will want to eat it, but I know she wouldn´t (when we lived in a house with a smaller yard I would walk her, and she´d get scared and freeze any time we went by a cat!)
I had my first pet when I was 13 (if i remember correctly). My mom decided my brother needed a pet so I of course said I wanted one too. We got 2 kittens from the same litter. I called mine Athenea at first, thinking it was a female cat, and convinced my brother to name his cat Gandalf (he was grey with black stripes). They were half Siamese and half random street cat :P. Some weeks later I realized my cat was a male so I changed his name to Zeus. A couple of months later Gandalf disappeared 🙁 and Zeus would meow around the house calling for him.
A couple of weeks after he disappeared, my mom got my brother another kitten, about 2 months younger than Zeus. This time it was a female so we named it Athena. At first Zeus hated her, but then they became really close and were like siblings.
About a year afterwards my mom adopted another (male) kitten, and called it BooBoo. Zeus and Athena acted a little bit jealous at first but accepted him into the family pretty fast.
Some time after that my mom adopted yet ANOTHER (female) kitten. We named her Jade (no her eyes were not green). Zeus and BooBoo had no problem with her. Actually Zeus and Jade became lovers. Athena HATED her though, and they only reason the peace was kept was because of Zeus. He was the owner of the house. He would sit on top of the table and look like a wise old cat, and keep an eye on the rest of them.
When Zeus was about 4 years old he just disappeared. He went out on one of his walks (he was neutered but would sometimes leave for 1 or 2 days) and then it started raining and I called him, but he never came back. 🙁
Poor Jade had to go through some painful things. I have a garden and my cats spend a lot of time outside and they go to neighbors houses and walk around. One day Jade walked into the house limping, so we took her to the vet. It turned out her hips were completely shattered, and there was nothing we could do to make her recover. She was only 2 years old if I remember correctly, and despite her hips being shattered she still had a lot of energy. She would still make the effort to use her litter instead of just peeing or pooping anywhere. We gave her pain killers and next thing you know she recovered on her own. The vets had told us that she would have a limp forever, but she didn’t. The sad thing was that not long after that, Athena decided to chase her out of the house and poor Jade was eaten by our neighbors dogs 🙁
Not long after Zeus died, my mom decided to accept a 6 year old British short hair. The poor thing had always lived in a tiny apartment, and it took him forever to adapt to our house and the other cats. He was also scared of us at the beginning. It was good of my mom to accept him I guess, but he had been used to something so completely different, and he was already a 6 year old cat, and from one day to the other his life changed completely. I always felt so bad for him. His owner was bored of breeding British short hairs so that’s why he got rid of him, and I have no idea what would have happened to him if my mom had not taken it. He died about 2 or maybe 3 years later of an autoimmune disease (and because my mom was scared of picking him up and taking the poor thing to the vet -_-).
About 6 months after Zeus died, my mom got me a Siamese cat and I named him Kyle. He died 2 weeks later. He was given to us sick 🙁 The first red flag happened the first day, he was constipated and having a real hard time pooping. I told my mom something must be wrong, it had never happened with any of my other cats. Next thing we know he is sneezing, and mucus is coming out from his nose and then his eyes. We took him to the vet, I’d feed him and give him water myself, but he kept getting skinnier so we decided to put him out, but he died before our schedule with the vet.
There were 2 kittens at this vet, one was a Siamese (not 100% though) and one was a street cat. They were almost 3 months and I knew no one would take them by then so I convinced my mom to take both of them because they had been living in the same cage for about a month. The Siamese was a male and i named him Caine, and the other one was a female and I named her Abby ( because of E.R.).
Abby died of food poisoning in 2009 when she was 3 years and some months old 🙁 She died the day before I got back from the US. She had also been hurt, probably by some neighbor. I remember my mom called me to tell me Abby had a limp and that she was giving her ibuprofen (we had done the same with Jade when her hips got shattered) and not long after that, she stopped eating and drinking and was vomiting, so she took her to the vet again and was told she had food poisoning, and to give her lots and lots of water, which my mom did, but she died anyway.
Caine recently had some health problems. In December 2010 we had to hospitalize him. He had stopped eating and drinking water and was dehydrated and was peeing blood. He had tiny little crystals in his kidneys and because he is a male (cats penises end in like a very tiny tip) the crystals started accumulating at the end of his penis 🙁 We were told to feed him a special food ( Urinary from Purina Pro Plan). After that he was perfectly fine. Last December the same thing almost happened again. He ate chicken bones and next thing I know, he is having trouble using the bathroom. So I went running to get him his special food again, and that fixed the problem. (I wasn’t buying the special food all the time cause its much more expensive than normal food, and the vet had told me that after a couple of months he could go back to regular food). Now I know that if hes on regular food I can’t give him anything that has calcium in it. I did have to take him to the vet last month because he had lots of plaque and his gums had gotten all red. While they were cleaning his teeth they told me that he has a weird thing at the back of his mouth that could either be an autoimmune disease or a tumor. So they did a biopsy on that and I have to call them to ask what it is.
Athena had the same problem than Caine with her teeth. But it took a very long time for my mom and my brother to listen to me and take the poor thing to the vet. She had lost a lot of weight cause it hurt her to eat and she was pulling out her own hairs because of stress. Now shes much better and she started being more active and to go outside like she used to.
So now I have 3 cats, Athena, BooBoo and Caine 🙂 And every time I see a kitten or a cat video I want to get another one, but something bad happens to one of the cats every time we have more than 3 cats =| and my mom doesn’t want any with all the health problems they’ve been having recently.
The 3 of them make me super happy and watching them do silly things makes all the bad things disappear for a while. They all have some quirk that makes them extra special. Athena for example loves pillows. If you are suing them, and she decides she wants them, she’ll figure out a way to make you get up so that she can jump on the pillows and sleep on them. She also loves to get inside cupboards and throw all the clothes to the floor so that she can sleep on them of course. And if you happen to leave a drawer just a tiny bit open, she’ll use her tiny paws to open it more and get inside the drawer.
BooBoo for some reason loves to scratch the floor, I don’t know if its because of his own reflection or if he sees things I can not see. But it looks like he is trying to get rid of some tiny spot on the floor.
Caine will meow for absolutely everything. If he wants to go to bed at night and I am still awake he will meow at me until I go to bed, and then he jumps on the bed and sleeps on top of me. If I’m cooking chicken or beef or fish he will stand up on 2 legs and put his front paws on my legs and meow. Sometimes he’ll gently lick/bite my nose while purring. When I arrive home he always comes to me meowing and when I pick him up he starts purring and stretches his front legs around my neck ^_^ or puts one of his paws on my face. If I make purring sounds or gently blow on his face he starts rolling over to get petted.
ALL of them love (loved) cardboard. They just do. The best thing you can ever give to a cat is a cardboard box. They use them to play, to scratch and to sleep and curl up in.
Sorry this is so frigging long. I just love my cats 🙁
I have Otto the Wondermutt. He is the sweetest, smartest, funniest, cutest, most protective bad, bad, bad dog ever. He’s labradoodle and probably something else given that he sheds like crazy, but he’s gray and shaggy with a huuuge nose and a tail that looks like a feather duster and can clear the coffee table on a good day. He’s a rescue, and I got him when he was about 2, and he’s 9 now, so some of his bad habits were ingrained from the start – like the separation anxiety that caused the hole in my bedroom door at my last house, or the occasional fridge-raiding, but I’ve learned to adjust to it as much as I can. He’s also an escape artist – doors, gates, fences don’t even slow him down, and about a year after I got him he ran off during the 4th of July fireworks display and disappeared for three days. My heart was broken, but then he showed back up. He’d been clipped by a car and the best I can figure was he was lying by the side of the road all that time (heavily wooded area) until he could hobble home. He had been at my parents, and my dad was getting ready to go to work when he heard a scratch at the door. Otto was standing there all bruised and cut up but okay, and he ran in looking for me. My dad called me, and I came right over. When I sat down, my massive 80-lb dog climbed into my lap and gave my dad this look that clearly said, “I found her!” He wouldn’t leave my lap for about an hour, and I was perfectly okay with letting him stay as long as he wanted. It was one of the happiest moments I’ve ever had. So anytime he tears something up or eats food right off my plate, it’s hard to stay mad at a dog who got hit by a car and still came looking for me.
what a cute story about your doggie getting home! awww….
That store made me tear up!
My kitty cat, Cricket, just turned 17 years old. I had had an indoor / outdoor cat for 7 years (had her before I met my hubby), and she disappeared one Memorial Day weekend while we were out of town. I was devastated. He found Cricket at the SPCA while I was out of town on a business trip and surprised me with her. Actually, I should say that she found him. As soon as he opened the cage to take a look at her, she marched up his arm and began sucking his earlobe. We’ve been hers ever since. One Christmas, she ate a ribbon that tangled her intestines and had to have much of her intestines cut out. We didn’t do much in the way of Christmas decorations for a few years after that.
We don’t have kids, and she is our wonderful baby – I hope she will be around for many more years.
I have a 4 year-old boxer named Maggie, and she is the absolute best dog ever! She’s so sweet and cuddly- the only thing is she’s not very smart, bless her heart. I guess that’s what you get when you have the most loving dog ever- she wants to be everybody’s friend, including the mean feral cats and the skunk that lives in the drainage ditch..
we have the same issue with our male dog. he just can’t read other animals. he just wants some lovin’ lol!
aw, pets.
i have 2 kitties. we got zoe first, and she was waaaaay to young to be away from her mom- like 5 or 6 weeks. the good cat people wont let them go until 8 weeks usually.. so then she was tiny, and me and my boyfriend worked a lot, so she was home alone a lot and she developed really bad anxiety. cats show stress and anxiety, i learned, by peeing on things, and she showed us by peeing on our bed. i slept out on the couch with her for like 2 weeks… but basically we messed her up… being so alone during the most crucial part of being a kitten, and then being so young…. she only likes me and my boyfriend, and hates everyone else. she bites everyone, never hard, never draws blood, she just likes to chew….
so then i finally decided that she needed a boyfriend. i read and read and read about cats who dont operate well on their own. she was definitely not operating well, so i finally talked my boyfriend into letting me have another one. i found this wonderful 10 month old boy at our local shelter who has become my second love. he is the most adorable, friendly, cute thing ever. he sleeps with me under the sheets, so we get to cuddle a lot. we named him leo.
zoe was not ok with leo at first. we actually had to seperate them- zoe lived in our bedroom, and leo lived in the rest of the apartment. it was terrible. i thought that i had messed everything up! zoe was even worse then she used to be. then, in november, me and my boyfriend spent 10 days away from them for his brothers wedding. i have no idea what went on when we were gone, but when we got back, i had my zoe back. and now everyone is happy! …mostly. zoe still hisses at him sometimes, and they have never slept together, but atleast there is peace now. they play and chase each other, which is what i wanted. now i dont feel so guilty leaving for work everyday!
i love my little babies.
Yay, I love pets! I’ve got a cat and a dog.
My cat, Kydoimos is 6 and 1/2 years old. I’ve had him since he was the runt of the litter at the store my ex and I found him at. He was INSANE as a kitten, which is why we chose his name (basically chaos personified in Greek mythology). He’s the bestest cat ever, and even people who don’t like cats love mine because he’s super friendly like a dog. I credit this to the fact that most of his first year was spent in my crazy college house that had 6 people living in it, so there was always someone to play with him. He often sleeps on my side at night, and he nose-slobbers when he’s really happy.
Toby is my puggle (shown in my avatar). I got him about 2 1/2 years ago at the Humane Society and he turned 4 earlier this week! He is wiggly and kissy and adorable, though he is damn good at getting in trouble. And he sleeps curled up as close to me as possible in my bed at night 🙂
Also, Cricket is a part -Siamese, so she is very family-oriented and very vocal. I can’t imagine having a cat who would not talk to me as much as she does!
She began limping a couple of years ago, and we purchased “doggy steps” so that she could continue to get onto the bed and sleep with us about a year and a half ago. We also recently purchased some for the sofa and gave them to her for her 17th “birthday.” We don’t know the exact date, so we assume her birthday is Valentine’s Day.
We are going to be very sad when she is gone.
I have the best cat. She is a white flame point ragamuffin. She is so affectionate and just turns to jello when you pick her up. She has big blue crossed eyes and meows all the time. I could easily have full conversations with her all day long. She is the most docile cat except when it comes to our new puppy! We’ve had our puppy Aspen since she was 10 weeks old (she’s almost 8 months now) and I just love her to pieces! I didn’t realize how much I would attach to a dog, but she’s like a little person. She loves carrying her towels around the house with her, so she looks like she has a blanky. She’s really easy to train and can already be trusted off leash to come right on command. My boyfriend and I got Aspen together (we’ve been together for nearly 4 years) and I think the experience of puppy parenting definitely brought us closer!
I am THE crazy cat lady, but that’s mostly because my lifestyle is not yet conducive to dogs. Once I have a house and a yard, I will definitely have a dog. However, I wonder what that will do to my kitties. Do you think your cat will ever get used to your puppy?
My cat doesn’t really mind her unless she’s hanging out too close to her. I actually think Suki enjoys chasing the puppy around the house. It’s probably the only thing that has ever been afraid of her! We taught our puppy early on that the kitties were off limits (we have another one named miss kitty, but she’s more my boyfriends cat) and that seemed to work pretty well.
My family has had hamsters (4 i think, each lasting 2 years) fish when we were little, and now finally we have two Bengal cats.
My dad has always loved cats and so in 2009 he basically said we are getting a cat whether you like it or not. He had been waiting 25 years (since my parents were married), so i’ll give him a a break. Our first cat is named Ginger for his coloring, he is a marbled, i think, Bengal and has absolutely gorgeous coloring, all caramel and dark brown, so nice. Shortly after we got him he became very sick, i will spare you the details. But we found out that he had a virus that breed cats get, so for about the first 6 months we dealt with kitty messes and MANY trips to the vet to figure it out. He is fine know, but he is not as social per se as he was when we first got him as the meds and constant needles and such really turned him. But he basically gives you attention on his terms. He is quite a brute, always getting off his lease (We have him as a semi-outdoor cat where we take him for walks and leave him on a long lease in out backyard) In the summer he likes to hunt for voles in our garden, and the chipmunk is his mortal enemy, he has caught them several times, but never killed one yet. He is also very vocal, LOVES to talk and you can have cat convos with him, and he likes to look out our big window we have in the living room, we call it his cat TV, as he looks at the birds and chirps at them.
Cleo our second cat is a Bengal as well, can’t remember what kind, but she has light tan colored fur with small black rosettes. She is very girly and dainty. When we got her she was a few months old, younger than when we got Ginger. So she was very small with out of proportioned body parts:P She has since grown into them for the most part, but is still small. She used to like going outside, but lately she has been a little more leery of the outdoors. She is not very vocal, only chirping if she is being held for too long. She has spurts of super hyperactivity literally bouncing off the couches and going crazy. She and Ginger have become best of friends, if Ginger cannot find Cleo he will cry for her, and they like to sleep together.
For the most part i don’t mind our cats, unfortunately i am allergic to them so i am constantly drugged up when at home. I personally prefer dogs as i find them more interactive and playful than cats. So when i move out after school and get settled i hope to find a dog!
Okay here are two links for what our families cats look like.
Cleo look alike(scroll down a bit and its a small kitten on a leopard print couch, looks IDENTICAL to our cat) http://artsonearth.com/2008/08/top-10-list-of-exotic-pets.html
Ginger look alike (but fatter:P) http://cats.eeberfest.net/the_pan6/sm52pandora02.jpg
Dogs are so, so important for my family. I can’t even be rational about them, and neither can anyone else. They have gotten us through so, so much. We had four dogs while I was growing up— two cockers, Penny and Bobby (christened Patches, but he got nicknamed Buffalo Bob at a young age), a labrador, Gracie, and then the baby of them all, Millie, our basset hound. Penny was my baby— she was a little bit of an oddball— which suited me perfectly, and she and I grew up together. Especially as we both got older, we bonded a lot— I worked at a pet grooming salon, and would bring her in on Sundays to get gussied up and hang out with me. When I moved away 40 minutes north to go to college, I would see her almost every weekend, and she would bite my nose for leaving. I took her to Pride one year and she was the star of the show. Bobby was her partner in crime and the biggest, gentlest sweetheart— even when he tried to steal food, he would gently and politely try to pull it away rather than just running off with it.
Penny died when she was almost sixteen, and I was utterly broken-hearted about it. I was with her for the few days before she died, and I still miss her so much. Bobby went the year after at fifteen and a half— both of them were far past the cocker lifespan, but we were all devastated to lose them. My sister said that she didn’t have a memory of her childhood that didn’t have Bobby in it, and that was how it was for all of us.
Gracie, our lab, thought Bobby and Penny were kind of morons, but put up with them— she was so happy to get Millie, and the two of them were the closest of buds. Gracie loved mountain walks more than anything else— she was always so happy going up there. She was entirely bark, no bite— she looked like a beast, but she was the biggest baby. As she got older, she got into the habit of “talking” with my dad— she would make noises at him to try and mock conversation, and she had him wrapped around her paw.
Gracie got cancer about the same time my mom was diagnosed with lymphoma, which made it harder for everybody. She had surgery to remove the tumor, but it grew back (although my mom has, so far, been in remission for six months— praying for that to last longer). Our last month with her she ate whatever the hell she wanted, which included half a pumpkin pie, pork tenderloin, and chocolate chip cookies.
We still have Millie, who is the most utterly spoiled and adored creature on the planet— since she’s the last dog my family has out of the four, everyone is very protective of her. She knows she’s adored, too— she behaves, but she has favorite treats, spots on the bed, demands attention. . . it would be a problem if she weren’t such a sweetheart. We’ll probably get her a buddy when the weather warms up a bit, since it’s easier to train a pup in the summer here, and it’ll be fun to see her be the grown up one.
Anyway. Overflowing with love for dogs. In a way, they’re the center of our weird, dysfunctional family, and keep us together even when we’re getting pulled in opposite directions. The only problem is that it’s been a bit of an adjustment for my partner, who’s a cat person, but she’s come to love my family’s dogs (if not all dogs) almost as much as we do.
I had a boxer named Tyson growing up that my family sadly had to put down five years ago. I still miss him so much. I was thinking about him the other day when I made a cake for the oscars. He used to LOVE whipped cream, and would actually hold his mouth open for us to squirt some straight from the can. So cute.
I love kitties! I have one now, a little black three- legged cat that my ex-boyfriend got for me almost three years ago. His name is Doc. The two cats I grew up with were girls, and their personalities were so different from Doc. He’s much more vocal, especially if I’m on the phone. My mom and sister both think it’s obnoxious, but adorable nonetheless. I’ll tell him, “Say hi to Grandma!” if I’m on the phone with my mom, and he’ll yowl in response. He follows me around the house and comes when called, like he’s a dog! It’s even funnier because of the missing leg- I hear “thunk, thunk, thunk” whenever he walks around the house. He also loves people- he’ll let pretty much anyone hold him and pet him. The only thing that kind of sucks is that he hates other animals; I’ve tried introducing him to other cats and dogs, and even brought another cat home for a few days, but he wasn’t having it. So it looks like he’s probably going to stay the only pet in the house as long as I have him. I’d love to get a dog, but I would feel awful leaving a dog home as much as I’d have to.
I have two tortie kitties, Dusty (8) and Sassy (5), they are the best thing that came from my former marriage. I love these girls and would do anything for them. When I was going through my divorce they would sit with me while I cried and then do something so silly that I would laugh. I found out last year that Dusty has silent heart disease, so sad, and to help prolong her life I have to give her Atenol twice a day in a chew form that only comes from one specialty mail order pharmacy in Arizona that costs $60 a month and I don’t care!
One of the things I love most about my cats is our Saturday nap. When I lay down to take my nap on the couch I end up with two kitties sleeping on me keeping me warm. It really is such a pleasant feeling to listen to them purr and see their smiles in their sleep.
I’ve had a lot of pets growing up but most recently was Hannah and Gracie.
My best friend at the time got a new puppy from the animal shelter and called us over to see her. My friend said her new puppy had a sister back at the shelter and we should go get her, so we headed down, but by the time we got there, she was already taken. So, we looked thru the dogs still available. All of them were so cute and wanted to be taken home, jumping on the fence and barking… except one. This one was sleeping with her back turned to us. She was a pretty light brown. I told my hubby that I wanted to see that one. He went in, got her and she was perfect. They said she was a Mastiff mix (which she wasn’t – We think she was a Boxer/Sheperd mix), about 9 weeks old. Her name was Hannah. She later developed cancer in her throat and snout and had to be put down when she was 5. We still miss her terribly. She was such a great dog. Here is a picture: Hannah Banana
And now we have Gracie. My best friend had a friend who was about to have puppies, but couldn’t keep any so she talked me into taking one. Her mom is a Sheperd mix and her dad is a Black Lab mix, so Gracie is… a mutt. She is named after Mark Grace (used to play for the AZ Dbacks, now is a commentator for their games) and also, if you ask my best friend, Gracie Lou Freebush. She is silly and likes to bring home sticks she finds on walks and chew them into splintes. She is awesome and we love her! This is Gracie:Gracie Furface
And this is Gracie doing one of her favorite things! Beach Puppy
Both so gorgeous!!!!
Thanks! 🙂
I have been owned and loved by curly-coated retrievers for over 25 years. I love them, train them, show them, enter field events with them, and we do therapy dog work together. I am on the board of my national dog club, as well as the field committee chairperson and archivist and served as editor of our newsletter for five years. Curlies are the best dogs with quirky personalities and luxuriant coats you can’t stop touching.
Our current curly is Ozzy, named for Mr. Osbourne. He’s a goofy, unfocused teen (two years old) who wants to be friends with almost everyone but knows how to stand his ground. His best friend is our neighbor’s cat Master Shake and his favorite toy is any ball he can get us to throw for him to retrieve. He has the uncanny ability to find balls while we’re out walking. Oz will suddenly disappear into a bush and emerge, tail wagging with a tennis ball, soccer ball, mini-basketball. I have no idea where all the balls come from but if it’s hiding somewhere – Ozzy will find it!
My website has a lot of photos of my dogs through the years. Each and every one was special in his or her own way. They will always be a part of my life and I love them for the joy they’ve shared.
so because we have two dogs in one little apartment we’ve been house hunting and i think we found the perfect house today. i keep freaking out that something is going to go wrong and i’m trying not to get too excited. but it’s a low country style home with a wrap around screened in porch and fenced in yard. we’re putting an offer in tomorrow morning and i’m feeling like i’m going to throw up! did other people feel like this when they purchased their first home?
The house sounds great, good luck!!!
When we bought or house it was an atypical situation, we were already house hunting (and had put an offer ona house we kind of liked) when the house we were renting got burgled,and we lost heaps of stuff, the next day we moved into a tiny apt. with my MIL, where we spent the worst 2 months of my life (MIL and FIL chain smokers, I hate smoke; both really nosy, etc) 2 days later the house we´d put an offer on went off the market, so we were starting all over again.
Thankfully because of the burglary I managed to convince my husband to get out of the area he had lived for his whole life, coming to a much nicer place, we found this house and liked it, and I was so desperate to get out of my MIL´s that we did everything quickly, so it was more a sense of relief than anything else, when we finally bought it.
But I´m guessing your nerves are the typical big life change ones!!! Word of advice: try to keep things hush hush until something´s confirmed. Before we got this house we´d put offers on 2 others, and had told people about it, and both of those fell through. This one we didn´t say anything until we were nearly ready to sign, and everything went well!!!
DW readers are the only ones who know so far 🙂 i’m definitely keeping it that way until i actually know it’s going to be mine!! i’ve also told myself i can’t look at the pictures anymore because it’s not helping the nerves.
and your situation sounded awful. glad you all were able to finally find something that worked for you!
Thanks 🙂
I would definitely recommend if you can getting some kind of building professional to look at the house, unfortunately we didn´t and then discovered several issues (nothng major, but stuff we didn´t notice when we visited it).
Good luck again, let us know what happens!!!!
thanks!! 🙂 yes the offer is contingent on the inspection and the termite letter. if either fail, the offer is voided. and we get our earnest money back. hopefully we know something early in the week. otherwise i’m going to have to take ap’s lead and go to yoga. something else to focus on 😉
atta girl!
hey, remember when i was all obsessed with chik-fil-a? and now yoga? that’s definitely an improvement, health-wise, eh?
I hope you get the house! I love front porches. If I were to ever buy a house, I’d want a big front porch. I had a similar feeling — excited and wanting to throw up at the same time — when I bought my new bike. It is so pretty and has a basket and a big springy cushiony seat so my ass can ride in comfort. I’m sure my bike cost a lot less than your house, but I hate spending big bucks. I especially hate shelling out lots of money on a shiny new bike in the bike theft capital of the world (Chicago). I had a bike stolen two summers ago. And my seat was stolen 3 times before I bought a lock for it. (Slow learner.)
haha thanks, ap. i don’t know. i’m buying in a small southern town so i wouldn’t be surprised if you city bike and my house cost the same amoutn 😉 and the front porch is my favorite part. i can see myself sitting there all the time. now time to go take my mind off of this! 🙂
hmm, well, my bike was about $1000 — $700 for the bike and $300 for the bells (literally) and whistles (well, seat, etc.). … not too expensive compared my “serious” biker friends but really expensive when you consider my record for having things stolen. … but it’s so slick and goes “wooooosh” when I fly by effortlessly because the bike does all the work. your house is probably a *little* bit more expensive.
i have a huge ass zit on my face that i’m trying to clear up by eating chocolate and watching The Proposal. think that will work?
Try a dab of toothpaste on the zit, otherwise put alcohol (pure) on a cotton bud and pass it over the pimple, that worked for me in my pimple years!
I only have Captain Morgan – will that work?
And by qualifying the word “years” with “pimple,” I assume there must be “non-pimple years.” Otherwise you wouldn’t have qualified the word “years.” Which leads me to: screw you –all my years have been pimple years. 😉
haha, in my adolescence I never had a single zit, they all came in my 20s.
My 30s thus far I haven´t had any, hopefully it remains that way!!!
My favorite little boy in the world is my Calzo (See kitty to the right in the Pirate hat). He’s my best little guy, and I don’t know what I’ll do when he dies. I’ve had him for about 7 years now, and he had 2 other owners before me. I’m guessing he’s about 12. My husband had a cat, Fuji, when we met, so now Fuji and Calzo are brothers. They’re both brown/gray tabby cats, so they look like real brothers, even though they’re not. Fuji is a beast. He weighs 20 lbs, and he’s crazy.
A piece of my heart will always belong to Mr Squiggles (RIP), my deceased guinea pig. I had him durning college, and putting him to sleep was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do. Squiggs was a 2nd-hand pet as well. His first owner worked with me in college, and when it was time for her to go away to school she couldn’t take Squiggs, so she let me have him. Mr Squiggles was actually technically female, however his first owner didn’t find that out until after he’d been named for a while, so she still called him “Mr”, so we just pretended he was a boy 🙂 He was the sweetest little piggie ever, and even now, 7 years later, I still miss him terribly.
I have a seven-month-old tabby named Abbey–white paws and a belly; she’s super-adorable.
We got her after my mother passed away last August, and she has brought my family such joy. She really came to us at the worst time in our lives, and we’re grateful to her for that.
She’s a little rascal–we try to keep her off the tables and counter, but she just does what she wants. But we love her. And as much as she hates being picked up, she still comes up and cuddles against you when the mood strikes her. And I love her for it.
Best part: my father, who i never thought was a cat person, is just smitten with her. It’s pretty hilarious and super-cute.
I loved the cat that my family used to have – it was a black cat named Cabernet and my parents had had her since they first got married. She was an old cat when she finally died, I think maybe 15 years old, somewhere around there. After Cabernet passed, we only had rabbits because I developed an allergy to cats. My favorite one that we had was a big, fat brown lop-eared named Brownie (you’ll see that I wasn’t very original with my pet names). He was so friendly and loved being petted. He also loved food and was kinda dumb about it, because it was really easy to trap him in the rabbit hutch with food. Sadly, he was killed by a neighbor’s dog when I was starting 8th grade, and that was so traumatic for me, because I was home with two friends at the time, and my family was in Austin. I saw it happen, and I actually had a panic attack one night shortly afterward and had to sleep with a nightlight again for a while.
At the same time we had Brownie, we had a second rabbit named Ginger who was a smaller lop-eared with orange fur. She and Brownie were so sweet together, they were totally in love! She survived the dog attack by hiding out in a hole and wouldn’t come out for two days. She was skittish around people when she was younger, but in her later years she grew much more comfortable and even followed us around the house (we brought her inside after the dog attack so we wouldn’t have to worry about it happening again). She never liked my mom and I as much as she liked my dad and brother, and so I never really loved her as much as the other pets we had, but I was still devastated when we put her to sleep this past fall. I was there when they put her to sleep and I cried so, so much. We had her for half of my life and then she was just gone all of a sudden. I still miss her, especially when I stay awake late at night, because I would always go look for her and pet her late at night.
Now my parents don’t want another pet, which makes me sad. But the neighbor’s cat seems to have adopted us, so I guess he’s kind of our pet now.
Aren’t lop-eared bunnies the sweetest? I am not sure if it is a known trait, but I find them very gentle and friendly.
I had a cat, Samantha, who became best friends with my childhood lop-eared bunny, Thumbelina. I don’t even know how it started. You might think we are crazy. But, we could let Samantha hang out with Thumbelina with no trouble at all. I have a picture with them lying quietly together, Sam’s little paw around Thumbelina. They were both incredibly sweet.
Sadly, I just lost my kitty Samantha last year. She was 16. I will absolutely miss her forever. (And tears just sprung to my eyes!)
I love lop-eareds!! Every rabbit that we had was a lop-eared. The non lops are cute too, but something about the floppy ears just makes them even cuter. Our cat and our first rabbit were also semi-friendly with each other. It was more like the rabbit liked the cat, while the cat just kind of tolerated the rabbit, haha.
I’m sorry about the loss of your cat, I know how you feel. I’m still sad about the death of our rabbit in the fall. I still miss her a lot. Pets, man…they really affect your lives.
I never really had a pet until I was in High School…and up until that point my experience with animals had consisted of fish (which, unfortunately, as a child I often killed by forgetting to feed them) and sea monkeys. Eventually, I guess, my sister wore my parents down and during my senior year of high school we got Honey, a german shepherd mutt, from a local shelter. She was, and is still, a riot! She’s super needy, LOVES my dad (he’s the only guy in a house full of women), sings along with certain songs (kid-songs, cat stevens, the kinks, the gilmore girls theme song, etc) and just generally has a TON of character. When I went away to college, and then finally moved out of my parents’ house 3 years ago, she was what I missed most. I mean, you can talk to your parents and your sister on the phone, but it’s not like you can skype with the dog!!
My fiance and I were determined not to get any pets until we had a house (and a yard) of our own, and that worked out well…for about two years. And then one day we had to go to Office Max to see if they had some kind of resume paper or something, and our Office Max is right next to a pet store, and in front of the pet store a local humane society had dogs for adoption. Even though my fiance tried his best to steer me away, I went right over and saw Maizey. I just fell in love. She’s a 4 year old beagle mix and she was there with her foster mom who just raved about how easy she was to care for. My fiance is allergic to dogs so we played with her for a while and then went home to see how he’d do but we could NOT get her out of our head, and the next week we went to pick her up and bring her home. She is the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. She’s laid back, too friendly (she licked the cable guy’s eye once), and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her be aggressive once. She steals things for attention but is pretty terrible at it – she does it right in front of your face and doesn’t fight you one bit when you take it back. She is a MASTER at shaking – and tries to initiate it herself to get a treat (meaning she’s often swatting and pawing at our pants).
Even though she wasn’t in our plans, I’m so glad to have my dog (and my family dog). Having a pet just makes everything better – it’s hard to imagine how my family and my fiance and I went on for so long without my two girls!!
I had several dogs growing up (Australian Shephers and a Rottweiler) and now have my own dog. Owning a dog as an adult is so much different than as a kid. I honestly feel a lot more attached to my current dog than any of my childhood ones. Especially since I adopted my dog not too long before my ex-husband moved out, so she has really been there for me during some hard times.
I’ve had my dog for 3 years now. I have no idea how old she is and that drives me absolutely bonkers. When I adopted her, she had allegedly been surrendered to the shelter (she was pregnant). Although if that’s true, why didn’t they ask the owners her name/age? I’d say she’s about 5 right now, although the shelter had her at age 4 (three years ago!) but she just didn’t seem that old at the time. Anyway, she had her puppies at the shelter and they all got adopted, which is a bummer, because I would have loved to see what they looked like. When I adopted her, she was scrawny, didn’t have much fur, had an ear infection, etc. She was also scared to death. Best I can figure she is part Border Collie, part Golden Retriever, part who knows what else. She is orange and white, and so fluffy. Her fur never stops growing. My daughter was 4 when we adopted her, and when people asked what kind of dog she is, my daughter would say “a multi-colored dog”. So that stuck. To us, her breed is multi-colored.
She is super smart, but doesn’t have that intense desire to please me (unless there is food involved), so coming when called is an optional command in her mind. Given the chance, she’ll run off (and has a few times) but always comes back. She drives me crazy sometimes. She’s not really cuddly, and hates water. And yes, she’s the best dog ever. Love my Moxie.
My current kitteh, Gus, adopted ME. I think the people who lived on my block moved away without him (HOW RUDE), so he started roaming around my backyard and eventually peeking in my backdoor. I must send out catlady signals or something. So then he eventually moved into the house. He was already fixed and declawed (no idea why someone would declaw an outdoor cat, but they obvs were not interested in his well-being anyway, soooo).
All my co-workers and Facebook friends like to hear his stories and see his photos. He likes to sit on my car in the driveway (we have supervised outside time), and he also likes to dig a hole in the flowerbed and roll in it >_< He's a talker- he yodels at night and makes little BRR! sounds to get your attention. He doesn't like brooms or plastic bags but he does like fresh catnip and potato chips. He snores when he sleeps.