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4/5/06 How Do You View Your Pet?


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  • 3 weeks later...

Also just found this thread. My Koko, a shelter-rescue cat who spent his earlier life in a hellish collector household, is my best friend, confidante, entertainment, and what gets me out of bed each day. He is a delight to care for, and makes it clear he loves me as much (nearly) as I love him. The shelter where I adopted him worked with him for a year after rescuing him and they did a marvelous job of giving this little being self-respect and showing him what it is to be loved. His zest for life has been such an inspiration to me, and watching him go from being a narrowly restricted indoor cat to a self-confident outdoor hunter and explorer, and then learning caution without becoming a "fraidy-cat" has been a pure delight.

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I asked Napoleon. He said I don't have a pet, but he does.

If I think that over for a little while, I might be offended. :cocktail:

Deb

Definitely C for this household!

:stereo: Deb, my female pet rats will say the same thing...well probably variations...

If my ratties can talk, this is how they'd refer to BF and I

Gumball: Aaaahh, this life I have -- a huge penthouse cage, constant supply of food and water, my training wheel, and unlimited supply of love and attention -- this sucks! Get me out of this hellhole!! [she's super spoiled and has a love to try and jump into things. But she's my constant companion when I do my minis -- she loves being taken out of the cage, placed on my shoulder and watch her mommy work. She even takes naps on my shoulder so long as she's cuddled against my neck and covered by my hair. Guess it reminds her of the times I'd hold her when she almost died from her infection. BF gets jealous because Gumball doesn't do that on his shoulder :lush:]

Toffee: <if you accidentally wake her up from a nap> Huh? Wha? What are you doing here! I'm gonna bite you Mom and Dad! Then again, I'm always biting you both over everything!!! [she's been a biter since we brought her home -- she's mellowed out over time, but while she's definitely curious to interact with you, she'll bite if you get too close]

Skittles: Ah-ha! Mom (or Dad), I'm gonna pin you down and show you how much I love you! <latches onto your hand and starts to groom it> *nibble* Love you! *nibble* Love you! [she's the silliest and the friendliest of the bunch -- she'll groom everyone because she sees them as part of her pack]

Truffle: Uh, Daddy, I should get a treat. Because I'm so cute. See? Look! I got even more cute a few seconds ago!

[Truffle's a complete daddy's girl, and definitely the cutest -- she's a Dumbo rat, so she has the big ears and the cutest expressions. Doesn't help she's so chunky from all the treats she gets from us, or steals from her sisters]

Cher-Bear: Oh! A noise! Mommy, so scary! <hides in the hammock> Oh! Another noise! Daddy, so scary!! <hides somewhere else>

[Cher-Bear was our first shelter adoption. Apparently someone originally bought her as snake food, but the snake never touched her for weeks on end. So she was pretty traumatized when we adopted her. She's gotten better -- she's identified us as "safe" and she's bonded with our biter Toffee. But she still doesn't like to be picked up]

Shallot: Hmm....what's this? What's this crazy lady?

[she's our newest 'rattie baby' as of Jan 21st. Shelter said someone found her wandering in the streets. They're guess is either she was abandoned, or she somehow escaped from her home. We didn't know the shelter had a rat for adoption -- she's been there since October. So we were really surprised how quickly they processed our application. So far, she's very sweet and extremely curious. BF is excited to train her to do tricks once she grows comfy with us -- and get her introduced to her sisters since she's right now residing in a separate cage]

Along with these girls, we are fostering for a rescue group four female baby ratties. We called them the Christmas Quartet since they're named Holly, Tinsel, Mistletoe (Missy) and Noel. They're very active, and are becoming very sweet babies with all the handling and downtime we're giving...

Sorry for the rambling -- wow, these girls really do own me....

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  • 2 weeks later...

Definitely C. My four cats, Twiggy, Cali, Emma and Nell are like my forever children. Sometimes they can be a real pain, and other times they just make me smile and laugh. I think they can tell when you are sad. I know they understand when I yell at them if they are rolling around hissing and growling at each other, but if I am sad or upset about something Twiggy and Emma especially will come and sit with me and I just get the feeling they know something is wrong. Twiggy is like a little person. She follows me all over when she's awake and has several different meows to get my attention. We have a routine at night. Around 10 they know it's bedtime and start getting ready. Twiggy and Emma sleep in my room and Cali sleeps in the bathroom sink. I close the doors or they'd be up and down all night. They each get a treat and that's it. They all go to sleep and wake up sometimes too early but lately about 5:45. Nell always sleeps downstairs with my son Michael. They are definitely family members and sometimes I'm not sure who's boss around here. When my daughter and son in law visit with their dogs they go a little crazy but go right back to the routine when they leave.

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  • 1 month later...
My pets are always part of the family. :giggle:

For X-mas my dad gave me a sign that says....

My dog isn't spoiled, I'm just well trained.

That says it about as good as anything.

Ha ha! I NEED a sign like that. Ours (2 dogs, 3 cats) are like children to us. And yes, they are more trouble than our kids have ever been (we are blessed with really easy kids :p ).

In fact, I have spoiled Lola so much that we have just started obedience classes so that I can learn how to be consistent and firmer with her. She just thinks it's a playgroup with treats. After the first class, she slept like a log on the floor instead of in the bed, and I worried all night that she was depressed from me telling her what to do. Of course, she was just worn out from all of the excitement!

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  • 1 month later...

They are members of the household, with their own needs, wants, and personalities. Generally he cats and rabbits get their way, while the mice just do their own thing inside their cage.

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  • 6 months later...

I never saw this before.....We have 2 Greyhounds and 4 cats.They all get along

(mostly) and are very spoiled.But they are all rescues and I feel that their work is done so now they are well taken care of!! :bear:

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Absolutely a C. Matilda Mae is a Basset Hound we obtained from a shelter up North, and Rusty is a Golden Retriever we rescued from a daughter. Matilda always makes us laugh with her antics. Rusty is a sweet soul that will put up with anything, including Matilda! They are good blood pressure meds. Janet

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C for me! My 2 pryenees X are soooo spoiled they cost me tons in food and goodies monthly but I wouldn't trade them for anything! My cat passed away this summer while I was in Washington he was equally spoiled and lived to be almost 19 years if he had made it one more month. We also have fish and there very important to us too watching them is so relaxing! :giggle:

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  • 1 month later...

I view our pet as a part of the family, but with some restrictions I guess. I've always loved dogs and have always grown up having them. However, I do think that they're still animals. I don't believe in giving my pet full run of my house. Our dog gets to walk around certain areas of our downstairs but he goes into his cage to sleep at night. I don't care for animals crawling into bed and sleeping with me at night. That's a little too unsanitary for my tastes. I've known many friends who do let their animals sleep with them and I've never understood that, but different strokes as they say.

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To me, living creatures you invite to live with you, are either family or possessions. So my pets, they're family, with full priveleges. Sure, I let my cats sleep with me. The dog doesn't, because he's 110 pounds and would hog the bed.

In my book, people are probably the most unsanitary critters you can ever find. Walk into a Walmart and touch ANYTHING in the store, even that box of kleenex high up on a top shelf, and you might as well kiss smack on the mouth, everyone in the city, and sometimes a farther distance than that. Never mind those germy cart handles..where has the last person to touch that box of cereal been? Did he wash his hands? Probably not.

Washing hands after shopping won't do a thing for you if you so much as touch a letter out of your mailbox, or pick up a neighbor's child.

You can scrub yourself into sterility, and make yourself crazy worrying about an animal's uncleanliness, but the sad fact is, in spite of all the handwashing, vaccuuming, scrubbing and disinfecting, it all pales compared to the emotional value of cuddling a dog, or having a kitty wrap itself around your arm, purring as it falls asleep for the night.

Just breathing the same air as a half dozen other human beings, puts a person more at risk than a furry bed buddy with a tail and whiskers. Hug your own child, and you've just come in contact with all the children that child's come in contact with, as well as their teachers, the school janitor, other children's parents, their parent's friends and so on and so on.

Dwell too long on that, and you'll make yourself crazy, because we're a lot more exposed to nasty germs carried by people, including family members, than we'd ever care to know. There's no amount of handwashing that can protect you, either..you'd have to wash your hands 24/7 after every thing you pick up or touch, and even then you aren't safe.

That's why a disease found halfway around the world, can reach us almost fast as the speed of light. Nowdays, the UPS carrier you just accepted that dollhouse kit from, may have just visited a household where someone's come back from Tiwan or Afghanistan. Or he may have shook the hand of the old man down the street...the old man who doesn't wash his hands, EVER.

At least I know where my animals have been.

The affection I get from cuddling a pet (and that includes sleeping with them) far outweighs the danger I stand from contact with other humans. So yup, my animals sleep with me.

Different strokes. Yup.

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Yep, my cat is a heck of alot cleaner than a lot of humans. He is my family and he sleeps with me every night. I would be lost without his unconditional friendship and love. He has feelings and he is not property. I work a little harder to keep my house neat and clean but its worth it in my opinion. Pets add so much to our lives and in many cases I prefer my cat to some people. He is a wonderful companion and never judges me.

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If we weren't exposed to a certain amount of germs we wouldn't have any immune systems at all. On the other hand, I never really cared to find a furry bed buddy; the one I've had for the last 47+ years is unsanitary enough!lol

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Ohhhhh My, Holly, That was so funny......LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!

Our dogs have always been part of our family. I grew up with a boxer called MacDuff who was really large and a couple of time protected me and my sister from a couple of bad situations. (Long story and no interest to anyone but us) He was a character who would raid my mom's strawberry patch and strip it bare. He had a huge head and was sort of dumb but we loved him. We have had boxers most of the time but I did have min poodles while I was in service because easier to transport and apt living. They were sweet dogs and both slept with me until I got married. DH always said he did not care for "foo foo" dogs but even he wound up with them in his lap or sneaking them a head/tummy scratch beside his chair. Aren't we all softies pretty much? When they went to the bridge the kids wanted another dog "that they could play with" and we promised them one once we made our final move to California a year later when DH retired from service. For DH I though we would get a "manly" one, this time, a German Shepard, or a Boxer like the ones I had growing up. We found a Boxer, Tasha, he grew to adore and they became best buds. Even my FIL who was living with us at the time and as a NYC guy never had dogs became pals with her and spoiled her more then we did. She loved to supervise his cooking and they hung out together in the kitchen a lot. It was really something to watch the two of them sitting in FIL's room and Tasha at the window her head resting on the sill and waiting watching for the kids to come home from school. Such wonderful memories. And now seven boxers later DH still remains a big fan. When we moved to NY a few years later I became involved with a boxer rescue group and we have been adopting through them for our last four. We usually have two at a time and having lost our older male two months ago we are looking to add an eighth one to our pack. There is one on our site that looks and sounds real good and so far everyone has nothing but good things to say about him. Now that we are older and DH has some balance problems, we cannot deal with an exuberent puppy so a calm one is very important. I believe pets add so much to our lives and as long as I can care for them and give them a good quality of life they will always be a part of mine.

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I can't imagine not having a furball at the foot of the bed. There's been one there since I was a child. I keep the guest bedroom door shut, and my craft room. Otherwise, our 2 shih-tsus and Abby go where they please. They get baths regularly and the dogs' groomer costs more than my hair stylist. A lot more. I know they shed, but so do humans...ever look through a microscope at what comes off your bedsheets?

Besides...dogs may have dirty feet, but their hearts are purer than any person's. They don't look down at anyone, don't do the 'I'm better than you are' bit, but offer unconditional love. Can't say that about some of the people I know!

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I can't imagine not having a furball at the foot of the bed. There's been one there since I was a child. I keep the guest bedroom door shut, and my craft room. Otherwise, our 2 shih-tsus and Abby go where they please. They get baths regularly and the dogs' groomer costs more than my hair stylist. A lot more. I know they shed, but so do humans...ever look through a microscope at what comes off your bedsheets?

Besides...dogs may have dirty feet, but their hearts are purer than any person's. They don't look down at anyone, don't do the 'I'm better than you are' bit, but offer unconditional love. Can't say that about some of the people I know!

Sherry,this is so true,so true :clap:

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Whoa...lighten up folks, we're just sharing personal opinions right? LOL

I would never attempt to tell anyone else how they should view/treat their own pets....that's none of my business. The point of my post was that though I love animals, I think they have their place. Yes, they're great companions and I'll probably never be without a pet, but I don't consider them to be on par with humans. I love our dachshund Rusty, but I don't care to have him lick me in my face or mouth...there is a line that I, personally, draw between what is admissable from the humans in my life vs. the animals. I respect everyone's right to live and see the world how they see it and behave accordingly. Some of you like your animals in the same bed and that's fine. I have a rule that any living thing that can't wipe their own heinie can't sleep with me as I don't want to wake up to the sight of dirty heinie in my face... :clap: , and there's nothing wrong with that either.

Just a difference of opinions folks...it's all subjective, so let's be able to amiably agree to disagree sometimes.

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