# Conversation and Fun > Just Conversation >  Any Pet Lovers ?

## 66Lenses

I have a black lab., female, 3 yrs in age.

She wasn't welcomed much, when my sis brought here initially but she slowly and steadily mixed up to become part of our family. Now, everyone loves here.
When I go for job or return from the same, she is always there to receive me. She rolls herself on my feet and plays to gain attention at times. lol

We used to carry a stick with us, whenever she was taken out for daily habits and now she has learned to carry on herself in her mouth. It looks funny but also attractive.

Anyone have pets here ? Share your experiences and views on them.

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## RGC_man

I have two elderly male cats (Max and Maverick) from the RSPCA. Max is all white and a complete tart, flirting with anyone passing the house. Maverick is a huge tabby and white who is always naughty. They are probably brothers and like nothing better than eating, sleeping, and fighting.

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## 66Lenses

Sweet :) I always wanted to have cats, but now with mossy (my black lab.) this is impossible.

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## Pete Hanlin

We have had Duke (our German Shepherd Dog) for almost 4 years now.  We received him from a group called St. Francis- which rescues homeless animals (Duke's original owner was an elderly gentleman in St. Pete who passed away).

Although one of my favorite hobbies is complaining about him, Duke is perhaps the perfect complement to our family (two adults approaching 40, an 11 year old boy and a 10 year old girl).  He walks the kids to the bus stop and back, and never runs away (he'll actually lay in the driveway watching me wash the car with no need for a leash).  

He _never_ barks (even when strangers come to the door- which makes him pretty much useless as a watch dog).  When we sold our home in Tampa last year, he quite cheerfully showed 17 different couples/realtors through the house (which makes him pretty much useless as a guard dog)!

With the exception of protecting our back yard from squirrels and rabbits, the most active thing Duke does is shed hair (which he seems to do on a more-or-less constant basis).  I like to say there's a little bit of Duke in almost every state, since I travel a lot and my luggage always manages to pick up and deposit a few stray Duke hairs.

So, next time you see a black, tan, or white piece of hair floating by through the air, say "hello" to Mr. Duke!

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## C-10

In the spring we lost our Jack Russell one morning he just never woke up he was 15 years. I claim that was it for owning a pet. My wife phoned the breeder to inform her that tigger had past away. After some discussion the breeder informed us that she had a Jack Russell return to her as the family who had her for a year a half could not handle her. My wife thanked her and told her that we were not thinking of having another dog. So making a long storey short two weeks later we had this White Jack Russell in our home. This poor dog did not know how to play if you would thought a ball she run after it them look at it and walk away. When she came into our home she would fly over the furniture down the hall into tables and chairs for the three weeks she was at the breeders she did not bark. After the 1st day I was wondering what did we do. Now 10 weeks later she barks & wines and is just a joy to have around one thing she does that drive my wife nuts when the sun comes in, in the morning she chase around after the refection. We call her Sable.

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## spexlady

I have 2 cats, 2 guinnea pigs, 2 beta fish, and 2 rats.  The rats are cute entertaining - Frankie loves to pester Annie the cat.  My daughter is upset with Frankie today - she ate the cord to her palystation console!  It was okay when she ate the charger to my cell phone, but a total disaster now that Frankie has eatten the playstation equipment!!!  One of these days, I do hope to get a dog - when I have a much larger space!!!

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## sharon m./ aboc

I have 2 dogs a very alpha cardigan welsh corgi mix named Panda (female) and a cute tiny black terrier mix w/ long black skinny legs named Spider (male) and today is his birthday. He's one yr old. Off the subject ...... Does anyone know of anyone passing the may abo test in colorado or anywhere for that matter? I know of about 20 people that didn't pass. All got a 60 something... I think it is very curious.

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## optigrrl

Our cat thinks my son is HER pet. She has him trained - completely! When she's hungry, she "herds" him to her bowl like a cutting dog. When he doesn't move fast enough, she nips him on the ankles. If she wants attention, she forces him to pet her by getting under his hands. When she's not pleased with how he pets her, she just bites him. (not hard) But the cutest thing is to watch her follow him wherever he goes. When he spends the night at a friend's house, she looks all over for him and then whines until he comes home.

As for me, she greets me at the door when I come home from work. I swear that if she could wag her tail...!

She showed up on our door step 7 years ago, just a bit over a kitten's age and moved right in. 

He calls her "Princess".

Go figure. I suppose he'll make a great husband one day.

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## Roy R. Ferguson

Hi All:
Let me take a moment to introduce Cherokee our four year old German Shepherd. We raised him for Leader Dogs for the Blind and got to keep him after the school found a minor issue with his left elbow. He works with volunteers three days a week as a therapy dog in local nursing homes and hospitals in the HABIT (Human-Animal Bonding in Tennessee) program. He also functions as the University of Tennessee Bite Prevention Spokes Dog. As part of the HABIT program he works a couple of hours each week in something called RUFF reading in the second grade. Hes out for the summer and now is taken to the library for the childrens story hour. 

On Thursday and Saturday, we work with him in Search and Rescue. He is certified by the National Association of Search and Rescue as an Area Search and Human Remains Detection dog. Currently, we are working towards his certification in water recovery and disaster work.

During the week he is in our office each day. There he is the official K-9 in residence and baby sitter for the current Leader Dog puppy that also goes to work with us each day. We have folks who drop by just to spend time with Cherokee and drink coffee. If any of you are ever in Sevierville, Tennessee, stop by and meet this great guy.

Roy

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## mlm

I adopted my first cat, Autumn, 3 1/2 years ago from the SPCA.  She was my first pet ever, and it couldn't have been a gentler introduction.  She put up with me trying to figure out how to brush her and trim her claws.  She let me get away with not letting her on my bed for about a year.  I learned very quickly that she hates collars with little bells on them.

About 6 months later, I decided that she was lonely and needed a playmate.  So Spot joined the household.  I happen to think Spot is a stupid name for a cat, so he became Sir Spotacus.  (I didn't want to completely abandon his past.)  He is the most skittish cat I have ever seen.  At the slightest sound, he'll jump straight up in the air, just like in cartoons!  But he is the sweetest kitty.  He knows when I'm feeling down, and he'll crawl right up on my lap and lay his paws and head on my chest.

The two of them together are downright naughty.  If they aren't grooming each other or playing tag, they're planning sneak attacks on me for 4 AM.  They take turns sitting on my lap when I'm checking out OptiBoard and doing e-mail.  They sit right inside the door waiting for me to come home from work, then they whine and cry when they invariably get hit by the door on my way in.  I think it's their way of guilt tripping me for staying away all day.  But I wouldn't have it any other way :)

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## Jacqui

I have 14 cats, most were abused or abandoned and came here as there are no shelters close by. All of them help, one way or another, in the lab.

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## Lynne

I have four cats, Fluffy (how original!) aged 20 yrs, Mamma, aged 18 or 19 years, and then Bonny and Baby, aged 3 years, and one I-want-to-be-included-in -your -family, that we have nicknamed Skippy. She actually belongs two doors down, but is always sitting on our doorstep, looking through the screen, and asking to come in. Her owners don't seem to take care of her, so we may end up adopting her too. She's only a few weeks old, and cute as a button...

My 16 year old dog, a huskie/shepherd mix, died two years ago, and we havent' as yet seen another dog to take in to replace her... she had beautiful blue eyes, and white fur, which is why she was named China (the Brits will get that one!)

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## Cindy K

Zine is our perpetual teenager, a 120 lb Alaskan Malamute. He came to us 3 years ago at 14 months old, ill treated and neglected, kept in a 10 X10 kennel with his mother and 2 remaining littermates. He'd never seen the inside of a house, never been bathed, fed only the cheapest dry kibbles and had never been in a car other than for his 2 hour ride home to us. Within a couple weeks we had him fully housetrained, taken to the doggie spa, taught what's good to eat ( and catching it at 20 paces, an unending source of entertainment for the neighborhood), and happily going for a car ride. He's so endeared himself to the neighbors that one lady actually COOKS for him and feeds him by hand (as does my father in law). He drinks water from a bottle, ice cream from a spoon, and is so horiffically spoiled he will not eat his dry food during the day till my husband comes home and dumps his leftover lunch in the bowl. 
Last fall, someone let him loose from the yard while we were out. He was hit by a car and lost his left eye. He's adapted amazingly well, but we've just noticed this past week he's got a cataract starting in his good eye, I'm suspecting caused by the accident he had. Looks like he'll be a pseudo-aphak in not too long.

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## rbaker

Two llamas, Ivory & Zorah and a pit papillion, Phoebe. Two alpaca will be arriving in mid August.

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## jcasowder

I have two cats and two dogs. It started out with one cat, Kaley, and my husband said no more than that. We adopted another cat from the shelter, Gina, about a year later. Kaley is our timid one, and Gina is our "New York" attitude cat. She takes crap from no one. Our daughter then wanted a puppy, and after begging her dad for a couple years, he agreed as long as he could pick out the dog. He found a full-grown neglected black lab at the shelter named Molly. She was 3 1/2 and had already had 4 litters of pups by the time she was 3. The shelter won her in a court of law from the owner. She is without a doubt the best dog we ever owned. This all happened in Illinois while we were stationed there from 2001 to 2006. We moved to NC in Jan 06, and while my husband was gone in Aug 06 he found out that a friend of his here in NC found a dog, and HE told me to go get it (remember, he only wanted one pet!). I had to buy a crate to train him, since he had NEVER been in a house, and apparently had been severely abused. He cringed and peed himself whenever I got within 3 feet of him. It took a lot of work, a ruined carpet, a pair of Tommy Hilfiger heels being eaten:angry: , and love, but he finally came around. He is the sweetest dog, but he's dumb as a box of rocks. He will stare at my husband in his recliner and "talk", he's very playful and goofy. Some people just don't know what wonderful pets they have. They don't get it. I wish I could find the owners of both my dogs and beat them to a pulp, and I'm not a violent person!

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## DragonLensmanWV

We have 7 cats currently.
 Oreo, a long-hair black&white from the local animal control shelter, is the oldest at 15 years. I have no photos of her at work I can attach.
 Next is Bing, a Siamese of indeterminate age. We got him from our neighbor when she moved and he decided he liked us better. There's a shot of him posted. He had been abused by his owner before our neighbor got him and he has one broken fang.
 Bastet is another calico ( we love calicos) we got from the shelter also. I got a shot of her sleeping attached. She's the scaredy-cat.
Nefret is also another calico,a van calico(mostly white but for the tail), albeit more long-haired bunny-fur soft. She is the sourpuss of the lot. She was found by a co-worker's daughter sealed up in a Tupperware box on someone's porch. *******s!Here she is sleeping in a box.
Maia (yet another calico) was a dumpee in our neighborhood and we were feeding her and trying to fond her a home when she got a huge laceration at the base of her tail, either by another cat or by maybe going under a fence. Well, $250 later, she's ours.No picture posted.
  Carrie and Packer are siblings. They were born to another dumpee in our neighborhood(happens a lot! There's yet another one hanging out now), and they are the most joyous kitties. They're now a year old and they really love each other and romp like crazy. I have a shot of Carrie doing her Chessie Cat impersonation and one of them together. Packer is my buddy.

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## DragonLensmanWV

> Two llamas, Ivory & Zorah and a pit papillion, Phoebe. Two alpaca will be arriving in mid August.


My next-door neighbor's parents raise and sell llamas across the river. He says that they will spit on you if they don't like you. Not much you can do to change their mind either, he says.

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## DragonLensmanWV

Oh, and I also have an aquarium with two red-bellied Chinese newts that we've had for over 21 years. Never knew they lived that long!

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## Snitgirl

When I was living in the bay area for a short period of time (16 years ago) I came home from dinner and there was a kitten at my door.  As I opened the door, he came running in and wouldnt leave even though I left 2 doors to the outside open.  I then placed him outside (after hoping it would leave on its own) and he was meowing like crazy for many hours.  Since I am a sucker for cats I let him in and played with him for a bit and continued to leave the doors open.  I posted signs in the apartment complex where I lived about this cat and no one responded.  After a month of waiting for someone to claim him, I decided to keep him for good.  A few months after my decision and living with me, he (Simon) started to drive me crazy with wanting so much lovin at the strangest hours of the day/early morning, which to him wasnt strange but boy I was loosing so much sleep.  My fault, Im a sucker for cats.  So after seeing the bags under my eyes one day in the mirror, I decided to find him a friend.  I adopted a cat from the SCPA and brought it home.  As we entered the house (adopted cat in the box) I placed the box on the ground and all of a sudden there was growling and hissing coming from the box. This cat that I adopted was horrible and I only had it for a few days, it was so mean to Simon.  Because Simon was so affeconatie and loving I decided that this adopted cat wasnt for us.  I took it back hoping to exchange it for something else. To this day I laugh at the fact that I exchanged an animal like it was a piece of clothing.  I was even willing to take it back and without a refund, lol.

While at the SCPA I couldnt find a different cat that I was comfortable with but as I was leaving, (being vertically challenged) I was able to see what was in the cages that were stacked 10 high and this cute little gray cat popped his head out just in time before I walked out the door.  The lady that was working (was a little annoyed she had to climb a ladder) got down the cage and I was able to hold the kitten.  Ohhhhh, it was perfect.  I brought it home in the same box and once I placed the box on the floor, it stuck its paw out and started playing with Simon.  I took the kitten out of the box and instantly Simon started to bathe the new friend.  They played for hours and Simon took care of his new buddy (hence the name buddy) whenever it was needed.  

Simon, Buddy and I have been a family for 16 years and they are still active and strong indoor cats. Theyre amazing communicators and extremely loving amongst themselves and with others.  They take care of one another and are inseparable.  

I dont know about everyone else, but its amazing how an animal can become a huge part of your life.  These two boys are like my children and I know I will have to part with them one day (as they get older) but until then, they are my pride and joys:)



Brown/stripe= Simon
Grey = Buddy

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## cocoisland58

Having lost my two American Bulldogs within a month of each other four years ago I really did not want anymore pets.  I like the freedom of being able to go when I want and not have to arrange for dog care.  Do not in any way miss the dog hair that attached itself to me everyday on my way out the door.  Lately I have been thinking about putting my name on the list at Leader Dogs.  When a dog does not pass muster they put him up for adoption. Mind you these young dogs are already trained but they just lack something.  It may only be that they love children too much or they are too social.  I really do not want another puppy to train though if someone dropped an American Bulldog puppy in my lap, it would be all over.

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## Nettie

http://www.optiboard.com/forums/atta...1&d=1179496626

I have 6 kitties.
Beavis is 13.
Beulah is 9.
Kira is 6.
Shirley is 3.
Tardy is 2.
Wompy (in picture) is about 9 months.
My babies!

I just love you all for loving your pets so much!

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## KStraker

I know I spelled this wrong, but let's get on with it.
A friend of mine has some full blooded Weimeraners that have had their tails docked and dew claws removed. They have papers. They are around 12 or 13 weeks old. He reduced the price to 200, but now is almost willing to give them away to good homes. He says he can't afford to feed them all. There are three left and they are very good looking dogs. I'm in the upstate area of SC. The breeder would prefer local pickup to shipping. If anyone likes this breed and wants a super deal, please drop me a PM.

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## Robert Wagner

This is my 8 year old Standard Schnauzer named Bailey, He loves the water and jet skiing but only to about 40 MPH, I have another pure Black one that I went to Paris France to get, I must love these dog's huh.

Robert

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