This is why I don't like people!

[lobo94]

I found my wee one six years ago. She wasn't a kitten, but not much older than that. The only issue she has-I think she was taken from her mom too early. She still tries to nurse. Fingers, noses, man-nipples. Sorry, Daddy's not a mama kitty...Daddy can't be a mama anything.

She's a sweetheart. She showed up right after my mother passed. Part of me thinks Mom sent her.

[ThirdGenRetail]

A few of our animals have been some form of adoption from previous lives. Not counting the 'free' puppies and kitten("There is no such thing as a free puppy." Tucker proves this every month..):

Shadow - First one I can recall. HAD to have been the previous house renter's cat or something. He just showed up on our front porch, and adopted us, and we kept him until we moved. Last I heard, he was living the pampered life, living up to the nickname "Shadow Master".

Buddy - Adopted him from the Pet-Smart adoption thing... I couldn't tell you what kind of dog he was, just that I think he had a little Corgi in him(Nose), and some form of Spaniel(Hair).. Pretty baby. His card said he had been owned by a man before, who had died... Couldn't tell, he was man-shy. It makes me wonder now... We found him a new home when we moved, and he was living well, I think.

Freeway - She was a toy poodle, elderly little girl... We named her for the fact someone found her running down I-5, and Mother brought her home... The way she played, you couldn't tell she was an old dog. I like to think we made her last year or so of life wonderful. She stayed with us until old age claimed her.

Snowball - Sister named him... Fat black thing... He showed up in our garage one day, and he just moved on in. Loving fat thing, but I think he was abandoned... Had a flea allergy, poor baby, belly was bald. But he was so loving... He vanished a year later(Since we tend to live in low-traffic areas, we allow our cats to be inside/outside... They come in at night.), incidentally just in time for us to move... *Edit* Meaning, I think he just instinctively knew that we were moving, and we COULD NOT take him with us, so he went to find a new family on his own.

Peanut - Beagle... Didn't have her long, someone actually STOLE her from us... Someone was about to abandon her on the side of the road, but Mother saved her. Purebred baby, too, but she'd steal your food right out of under your nose XD

Bruce and Sugar - Their mother was actually a feral momma cat up in Washington. My sister's neighbor there caught them and their sister, Feisty, and my sister adopted them, brought them here when she and her then-boyfriend(Now husband) moved here. They moved into a trailer next town over, and then to one across the street from us... Feisty got out at the other trailer, they never bothered to look for her... AND she was unfixed. I can only hope she was picked up and adopted... Other two... Bruce came here fixed and declawed, Sugar was later fixed after a few litters. You couldn't tell they were once feral babies beyond Sugar's outside skittish nature, but she's learning to come in at night like the other cats. Favorite spot is next to my laptop, where she is now.

Sherbert and Puddin - Refer to them as the Wonder Twins... XD Their mother was actually like Bruce and Sugar - A feral-born kitten that was caught and redomesticated. Her father was actually the cat of one of our neighbors down at the beach that had died... Sherbert looks just like their grandpa, too, but he's far more cuddly(Lap thief, anyone?)... And a loud mouth...

Also had, for a while, a BEAUTIFUL cream and white tabby I named Milo. He had to have just grown to adult when he showed up and adopted his way into the family, but we figure he was abandoned. Had a scratch on his nose that wasn't a cat fight scratch. Sweetest baby, though, and he got along pretty well with the other cats. Up and poofed one day, so I think he got picked up by someone who was a far better family fit for his pretty fuzzy behind.

All other animals have been 'free' puppies and... 1 kitten. Tucker's proven he's NOT a free puppy - Epileptic dog. But we still love him ~ Tex is the only cat so far we haven't technically rescued from something - He was genuinely a kitten we were given... Huge thing now, needs a diet like whoa... XD

As for that lady... I wonder if she knows what that's like, stuffed in a small crate with some babies hanging onto her, and left on the road. Or any number of the other people who abandoned dogs.

Speaking of, though, out in Pima County, Arizona, at the San Xavier mission, you will find a literal pack worth of dogs roaming the mission grounds. They're dogs people have left there, that the mission takes care of. Last time I was there, my friend and I had some sort of working breed mix chilling out with us... He was the sweetest baby ever, and I wish I could have brought him home. Same friend also has a couple chihuahuas that were abandoned and she and her family rescued. So cute, Rose thinks she's twice the size of their cocker spaniel... XD Thinks she's a cat, too, which may explain her ego...

[bankworking]

Our cat was a drop off. Poor thing was about 5-6 months old and dumped in a neighborhood with a lot of ferals. Obvious she wasn't a feral kit, since she'd come and jump in our laps every time he went outside, purring up a storm. I didn't really want the responsibility of a pet, but I agreed to take her in so we could get her cleaned up enough for a pet shop to take her (she had ear mites, but somehow managed not to have flees or worms), but she suckered me in.

Glad she did. She is possibly one of the laziest cats in the world, but she's also incredibly friendly (no bolting from the room for her. If someone new comes to visit, she's all over them if they let her) and more tolerant of my toddler than any cat I could imagine.

[protege]

Nearly all of my kitties have come from shelters. And yes, they do have some issues. Both Sally and Baxter tend to freak out if I'm gone longer than a day. In fact, the first time I went on vacation, my neighbor said that they weren't happy at all. One of the pair had decided to um, use the floor as a litterbox They've gotten better, but they're still jumpy if I'm going on a trip. Maybe they have separation issues?

Snow, on the other hand, didn't seem to have that at all. She was though, very scared, and didn't come upstairs for about a week. That first week, was spent hiding among the boxes stacked in the basement. The only reason she was in the shelter? She was deaf, and nobody wanted to adopt a kitty that wasn't "perfect." Their loss--she was very sweet and playful. Unfortunately, she died of a heart attack in my kitchen about 6 months after I got her

Still, it does piss me off what some people do to animals. I'm talking about the piece of shit who decided to drop off a mother cat...and her 5 kittens at my grandmother's farm. Had I not seen their box when I pulled into the parking area...they would have frozen to death that night. Instead, I picked them up, and let them sleep in the garage. We couldn't keep them--Kitty would have not enjoyed sharing "his" farm with another cat or two--so they all went to the shelter the next weekend.

[greek_jester]

Snow, on the other hand, didn't seem to have that at all. She was though, very scared, and didn't come upstairs for about a week. That first week, was spent hiding among the boxes stacked in the basement. The only reason she was in the shelter? She was deaf, and nobody wanted to adopt a kitty that wasn't "perfect." Their loss--she was very sweet and playful.

What's a little deafness between friends? It's not as if cats are expected to be trained to play fetch or whatever - hearing shouldn't matter.

All of my family's pets have been freebies or rescues.

Our first dog was a golden retriever runt called Goldie. We acquired him when I was about 4 years old. His owner, my mum's friend-who-is-practically-a-sister, was going through financial troubles so we took him in for about 6 months while they got back on their feet. At the end of the 6 months, she came to collect him, & he ever so politely plonked his butt down behind the settee & refused to move. At all. I swear he somehow glued his bum to the floor. Aunt Anne laughed & said he'd obviously chosen his family, so we kept him until he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, & was in enough pain that we had to put him down. He was 21 when he died, so we obviously did something right! He was buried on the vegetable patch that we had to built Fort Knox on to keep him from eating all the veg.

Our next dog was Bonnie, a female black Labrador (again a runt). We got her from a volunteer where mum worked - her owner also owned a Rottweiler who'd had an op, & Bonnie was bullying the Rottie (normally it was the other way around, we found out later). We had her for a good many years too. She became diabetic nearly 3 years before she died, but by that point we'd moved to beside the sea so she had a lovely retirement. She was blind from the diabetes (our old vet was useless), & the insulin left her unable to go without weeing for more than 4 hours at a time so we had to cover the floor in sheets so that we knew where to wash the carpet in the morning, but she was happily trotted down to the beach to sit panting & listening to the waves every day until a few days before we had to have her put down because her liver finally packed up & was slowly (& rather painfully) killing her.

Our third dog we acquired about 18 months after we got Bonnie, & was her mate & best friend until he died. He was a giant-sized German Shepherd called Shadow (he could rest his chin on our dinner table without lifting it - I lost a few chops that way!) & he was a true rescue dog. His previous owner was involved in an operation to rescue him from his first owner, who had chained him up in the garden when he was a pup & never let him out. Ever. They had to operate to remove the chain from his neck where the skin had grown over it. His first owner used him as a living punch-bag to release stress from work - he was a cop. His rescuer would have happily kept him, but his neighbours complained about his barking (what did they expect when they kept leaning over his fence & taunting him?) & the environmental health officer who came to record the barking decided it was a good idea to climb a tree & inch out on a branch overhanging the garden - what did they expect Shadow to do? Seriously? He was just doing his job! Anyway, we had him until he had a heart attack & died in my stepdad's arms as he was being stroked (he was feeling rather ill that day) about a year before we moved. Bonnie actually had a nervous breakdown over that - ever seen a dog have a nervous breakdown? It isn't a pretty sight.

Our current dog, Troy, is also a rescue dog - the first one we've gone out & picked. He was found wandering the streets & was taken to the local pound, where one of the local rescue centres picked him up. He was cleaned up & given the snip. The day after he was put into the main cages, we went in to look for a successor to Bonnie. It was love at first sight. The vets are pretty sure he's a cross between a golden retriever (which is blindingly obvious to anyone who looks) & a Pyrenean mountain dog.

http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en...w=1416&bih=648

He was incredibly stand-offish at first (understandable as he was a starving stray, who's first real contact with humans for a while was someone who chucked him in a van, then someone else who chopped his bits off) but now he's the cuddliest, playfullest bundle of 13 stone fluff that you can imagine.

Unfortunately I moved into my own place recently, & it's not got enough space to justify getting even a Jack Russell

[Pagan]

The vets are pretty sure he's a cross between a golden retriever (which is blindingly obvious to anyone who looks) & a Pyrenean mountain dog.

One of my friends has several Great Pyrenees and they are just gorgeous dogs. What's Troy's coloring like? I'm trying to picture it.

[greek_jester]

One of my friends has several Great Pyrenees and they are just gorgeous dogs. What's Troy's coloring like? I'm trying to picture it.

He's fantastic. He keeps herding us - he counts us in the door each time we come in, & won't settle until we're all in for the night. He hated it when we moved out!

He's bulkier than a pure retriever, with a retriever muzzle & ears. His tail is flagged like a retriever's but curls up into a full circle when it's fully up. His coat is closer in texture to a retriever's than a Pyrenean's, although the colour is a creamier version of this chap's:

http://www.puppyluvsme.com/Pyrenian-...in-Dog-334.asp

There's a section in my profile's album with some pics of him. The lady in the last one is my younger (& taller!) sister. Incidentally, he used to love hiding in the chair in our old suite, as with his colouring you wouldn't notice him unless you were specifically looking. I won't say it was a deciding factor when it came time to pick the colour of the new suite, but I won't deny that it didn't contribute!

[protege]

What's a little deafness between friends? It's not as if cats are expected to be trained to play fetch or whatever - hearing shouldn't matter.

Snow would go batshit crazy if you startled her. That's why she was in the shelter--she'd be trying to sleep, and the previous owners' other pets would want to play. They'd nuzzle or paw her, and she'd flip out

[ADoyle90815]

My dogs were adopted from the shelter, and both of my cats were either strays or given when the previous owner was moving someplace that had a "No pets" rule. Naturally, all of the animals I've ever had have been spayed or neutered.

A previous dog we had was one that was roaming the street and jumped on my lap when I was a kid leaving a friend's house. That dog was abandoned, but she ended up living a full life only to die from congestive heart failure at the age of 16.

When my grandparents' house was built, it was right at the edge of the development, and it meant that "people" would dump their cats in her front yard, which really upset her, but they sped away before she could get any license plates. That only stopped as more homes were built in that neighborhood. The last cat she took in that way died of old age when I was very young, and she hasn't had any more pets since then.

[Pagan]

He's fantastic. He keeps herding us - he counts us in the door each time we come in, & won't settle until we're all in for the night. He hated it when we moved out!

Pretty puppy!

[greek_jester]

Pretty puppy!

Whenever any of us walk him, we keep getting stopped & asked what he is.

Anyone fancy starting a campaign to start a new breed? Labradoodles made it into the Kennel Club, & he's just as pretty as they are.

[jedikuonji]

People dump cats at my grandpa's farm all the time. One day there will just be another cat wandering around. Sometimes they are friendly, sometimes wild.

My grandpa has had cats on the farm forever, 50 some years now. The resident population varies depending on the number of females having kittens and the number of dumped cats.

He gets up every morning to fill up their food bowl down at the barn with dry food and powdered mild so they all get at least one good meal a day. When the cat population is up, he buys more food.

When too many get sick, he pays extra to have the vet come out and look at them and pays for whatever medicine is necessary.

When winters started getting too harsh, he built them straw-lined boxes to sleep in and cut a hole in the side of his workshop so they could curl up by the wood burning stove.

When winters got even worse he built new boxes with heat lamps and bought a heated water dish.

When he stopped having livestock, he still stocked part of the barn with straw for them to climb in/on/around.

To this day he will proclaim to anyone who will listen about how much he hates cats.

[jedimaster91]

She told me she thought he'd wind up very adoptable.
I hope she wasn't just giving me reassurance.

A dog like that probably became the instant favorite of the staff/volunteers. Not too long ago, we had a coonhound at our humane society named Hamlet. Everybody loved him. He was a gregarious thing. When you walked him, you went where he wanted to go. The staff estimated him to be over 5 years old, but with as much energy as he had and how playful he was, I'm betting he was 2, tops. Such a sweet boy. I'm glad our Hamlet found a home. I'm sure your Good Boy did too.

One of my friends has several Great Pyrenees and they are just gorgeous dogs. What's Troy's coloring like? I'm trying to picture it.

My sister thought about adopting a Pyrenees mix last summer. Those things are big, white, and fluffy. Very, very fluffy. Now she's getting a lab/chow mix puppy. That thing's gonna be crazy.

[greek_jester]

My sister thought about adopting a Pyrenees mix last summer. Those things are big, white, and fluffy. Very, very fluffy. Now she's getting a lab/chow mix puppy. That thing's gonna be crazy.

You have no idea when it comes to the fluff. In moulting season we have to empty the hoover every day - and you can't not hoover, or you can't see the carpet.

Just looked up Chows. They are so cute! Hope she's experienced with dogs, though, as with that personality profile

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/chowchow.html

and a Lab's exuberance she'll have a heck of a time keeping up with it. 'Crazy' won't be the half of it.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

As I've mentioned before, my parents' dog is only alive because the person who had briefly been taking care of her decided to take her to the animal shelter--as she had her shotgun aimed and ready to shoot the dog.