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Brynmala
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Re: Pets

Post by Brynmala »

so sorry to hear about your bird, it is always horrible when an animal that has been a member of your family dies. I'm glad it was quick for him though :(

I'm almost certainly going to have to have one of my cats pts next month. I've only had her since December, a 14 year old Siamese called Mia, with asthma. Her asthma is far worse than we were led to believe by the rescue (probably more like COPD) and just isn't responding to any sort of treatment. SHe's on 4 lots of medication a day and it isn't getting any better, she's struggling for breath all the time nearly. The vet thinks I should already have had her pts. If there's no change by the time the current lots of meds run out, well that will have to be it :(
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Re: Pets

Post by siriusblack »

so sorry for your loss...
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Re: Pets

Post by NonConformedDem »

A few years ago, one of my mom's co-workers couldn't look after her poodle anymore, so we took him in.\
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Re: Pets

Post by Moebym »

I have a 6 1/2-year-old DSH tortoiseshell cat who I've had for about 3 1/2 years. She's one of the friendliest, most mellow cats around (she doesn't even hiss), but is easily spooked.

It's incredible the range of personalities to be found in cats. I have friends whose cats are doglike in temperament and friends whose (indoor) cats may as well be semi-feral.
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Re: Pets

Post by Silenxia »

I think I found my answer, but I must ask for clarification.

If a gray Syrian hamster carries cream then would that result in the hamster looking nearly solid cream saved for dark, grayish patches on the fur? I was wondering what color Ben is since he doesn't fit the criteria for being an actual cream.

But this also explains this one gorgeous hamster I saw several years back (I wasn't able to get the best photos of her, but she does look similar to Ben, just shorter coat). I remember looking at her and thinking of how she looked like a cookie...I kind of wish I got her, but I already had a hamster at that time.
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Re: Pets

Post by Brynmala »

I don't know the first thing about syrian hamsters, but colour genetics fascinate me, so I went and had a look. Turns out syrian genetics are very complicated and I really haven't got time to go into it, but there's a seemingly comprehensive list of colours and their genetic make up at http://www.chahamsters.org/Genotypes.html. However, since cream (e) is a simple recessive, if your hamster is only carrying one e it isn't going to show up on the coat, so I think you need to be looking elsewhere for his odd colouring. Do you know what version of grey he is? Silver grey is an incomplete dominant which means a hamster carrying on copy will show a lesser version than a hamster with two copies (in exactly the same way that palomino is related to cremello in horses). But without knowing more about your hamster's colour and his parents' colours it is impossible to say
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Re: Pets

Post by Revaencore »

I used to work as a Bather/Groomer for dogs for almost a year and I loved every single one of those pups as if they were my own! (Specially a boxer named Psifi [Sci-fi for pronunciation] he was the sweetest thing I have ever met and I completely adored him and his dad knew since I would greet them soon as they came in and would come up and give Psifi his pets ^-^) I thoroughly enjoyed working there and I do miss it sometimes, but hopefully within the next year or two I can start college to be a Vet Tech so that I can truly help the pups and kittens that just need some love and nuturing <3 :t-hugs:
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eppy
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Re: Pets

Post by eppy »

My discussion may be a little different. Because I am not talking about a cat, or a dog, or a fish or tweety bird. I'm talking about ducks. Five ducks, to be exact. Originally we got them for eggs, but then I fell in love. And how couldn't I? Ducks are beautiful, softly feathered, with those silly quacks and awkward waddle. And I know someone will bring up the 'they taste good too' response. They do, I've had duck before. But I wouldn't eat my ducks, much like the average person wouldn't eat their cat or their dog. Because they have become pets to me.

Ducks are fairly cheap. No one in the state is interested in looking at avian veterinary for non-tweety birds so unfortunately if something goes wrong we don't have a vet for them. But hatching eggs themselves are pretty cheap, or if you get them from someone, they're not hundreds of dollars (excluding rare, exotic breeds of course!). They eat grain and vegetables. No more throwing away wilted lettuce and spinach! Only at only 1 quarts of food per day of grain (less in summer!), the 40 pound bag lasts for quite a long time. They get along good with our other pets - for the most part. The male duck hates our dog. This is where the problems started, you see... with dogs.

We had 6 ducks, but one day, a dog from another person jumped the fence and did what dogs do to prey animals like ducks. Ever since then the male duck has gone after our dog (innocent little Maggie) with sheer vengeance and hatred. The male is quite the character. He knows his name, ignoring every call I make to him unless I say it in which he'll look at me and quack. Ducks are quite funny, personable, and just plain cute.

But they are messy, I'll give you that. And neighbors may or may not like having female ducks quacking up a storm when they get nervous. But in the end, having a pet duck is a great family addition - if you like ducks!

Unfortunately the "why don't you eat them?" and "ducks aren't pets, they're food!" and "aren't they messy?" questions get a little old, but hey. Every pet has its hate group!

As for ethics in regards to egg eating, let me just say. If one of our females decided she wants to hatch some eggs, she's going to waddle off and find a nice, secluded, human free area to do so. Somewhere we can't read. And I'd let her, so long as it's a safe place. You see, I'd love more ducklings. But since they don't go to make a nest or get broody we take their eggs. Our ducks waddle along, stop, plop out an egg on the spot, and keep going, never looking back. They just don't mind. And that'd be a LOT of ducklings if we got 4 eggs and day and tried to hatch them all!

So I'll leave with a parting sentence: ducks are a cute, silly pet that needs space and their own home (or diapers!) that can also lay you breakfast!
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Re: Pets

Post by FlamboyantFox »

It's strange, because I always thought that I would buy my pets when I became wealthy, and though I haven't made it to the wealthy portion of my life just yet, I never did get to buy my pets (one day I shall though!).

I current have six "fur-bearing" animals; two dogs, four cats (and then two fish).

The fish don't really have any special backstory other than my in-laws bought four Guppies for my son, they had several young (that I sold) but because I was new to the whole fish experience and still learning, they didn't make it the year. Instead, they died one by one. However, it all came with some practice put into it and I found myself ready for my own fish. So far, the two that I have currently have made it for the past ... six to four years? I've a Black Khuli Loach that has been around since the Guppies six years ago (he's "died" so many times that I no longer worry about him when he hasn't shown up in the tank) and an Albino Corydora Catfish for roughly four years now.

Now, the dogs and cats have a special story of their own each (technically one doesn't but /shrugs). Starting from oldest to youngest, there are: Kisa (c), Autumn (c), Piper (c), Gunner (d), Delta (d), and Harley (c).

Kisa was a stray born kitten. A woman next door to my Dad's ex-girlfriend had a stray cat that she was taking care of and she ended up pregnant. He surprised us with her, but I think he was mostly lonely because we only saw him on the weekends. She spent a week without a name because we couldn't think of one and mostly called her kitty. Eventually, we named her Kisa, which is Russian for kitten. Currently, she is eight and will be nine in March. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/EtPQtbz.jpg

Autumn was the first special story. We were all sitting outside and heard a kitten meowing across the street in someone's yard. I went over there to go get her and heard the owners inside talking about leaving her there and she will eventually leave. She was kicked out of her home at four months old, it was cruel. We later heard a rumor that they had taken a mom and her litter and dumped them a few streets away and had forgotten her, but we never found the truth of this. It took a bit of persuading, but my sister and I got him to ask them about her and they happily gave her to us. Her skin was black with flea dirt and when we bathed her, they swarmed her entire face. She even had worms, which isn't uncommon when it comes down to such an infestation. She is also eight and will be nine in August. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/qSifqjv.jpg

Piper was also an abusive case, but ten times worse. She was adopted by her old family because they wanted a dog but couldn't adopt the dog without adopting the cat with him. The family cared about her but the kids didn't know how to properly play with her and the mother worked too often. The only exception to them was the father - who would hit her and let the dog chase her. I met her per them going to Cedar Point and paying me to feed her and the dog, as well as bathroom and such. When I went over, I pulled out her food and such, but no cat came so I went looking for her. She was glued to a ledge upstairs in the stairwell and refused to move, so I had to carry her downstairs. Beforehand, I had searched for her in the basement, and instead of finding her, I found a litter box that probably hadn't been changed in a month. There was trail pile of dirty litter outside of it even. I had pet her for a bit, spent time with her, made sure she had everything and then went home.

When they came home, I mentioned how cute she was and instantly, he asked me if I wanted her. I was taken-aback and explained that I couldn't because I was living at my mom's house and it was her rule that we have no more animals (I'd already had Autumn and Kisa due to some issues that my Dad ran into with his own life, and then Gunner). He continued for about four months after that to ask me to take her, even though I kept telling him the same thing. Eventually, my husband and I were fighting about moving to his parents home due to them going away for a while. I was against it 100000%, but told him that I would go if I could take the cat. Took a bit, but thankfully he said yes. When I got her, I asked for her vet papers and such, but they couldn't locate it. I asked for her age; she said about four, he said about seven. After looking at her teeth (which I found she had several front teeth missing), we put her somewhere in between. She was probably ... two, maybe three pounds and could only eat soft foods for the first few weeks. When bringing her home, she hid in the basement in between several boxes and pretended not to exist. I'd have to spend five minutes coaxing her out for food and she had no idea how to properly use her litter box. Even play was unknown to her, and I had to have Kisa with me and play with her just to show Piper how it was done. We moved the next month again, back into the same house we'd been in, and her past owners neighbor informed us that the kids would beat her with toys and grab her inappropriately whenever she was around. He also confirmed that the father would beat her and allow the dog to chase her. She used to be named "Whiskers", to which we changed to Piper obviously.

One day, he asked about her and wanted the kids to see her. I was reluctant but said "Sure, you can see Piper.", to whom he'd ask who and then correct me as if she were still his cat and say "No, her name is Whiskers." The moment I brought her near enough to see them, she flipped out and clawed out of my arms and hid somewhere in our house. It wasn't so much the kids that she was afraid of, but I don't think I have to explain who exactly it was she had been running from. One of the kids didn't care so much, but the youngest was obviously hurt so we invited her inside and let her pet Piper, to which Piper didn't mind. Anyways, since then, she's been super happy, loving and playful and has quite the personality. She is roughly between seven to nine years old and has a "birthday" in October. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/Zr2B5Fr.jpg

Gunner we got as a puppy from a friend of a friend whose dog had "gotten out and had puppies" (quotes because they had an intact male who my dog shows many similarities to). My sister was getting the dog, not me but I had accompanied them when it came time to pick out the puppy. As she was thinking of names, I jokingly said Gunner, a name that I'd liked recently because of the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie having a zombie with a similar name. I was surprised that she chose the name, as we didn't have much to agree on back then. She did great with him, but eventually her social life took priority and well ... he was left home for days with us while she spent several nights in a row at her friends house (the term everyone would use for her was house-hopping). Finally, my Mom and I became fed up with having to care for a dog that wasn't ours and we suggested that she either give the dog to someone or that I was given the dog. She was offended and there was a fight, but after a few hours her boyfriend at the time talked her into it because she hadn't really spent time with the dog the last few months and she found out that she was pregnant. He was probably ten months old then, but now he is five years old and will be six in May. He is also a black Lab/Shepherd/Husky mix. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/M1emby3.jpg

Delta was found just after we moved back into my mom's house, so about a month after we got Piper. The idea was to find her family and then, if that didn't happen, rehome her. Basically, we found her and another dog roaming our street. Luckily, I was able to close her off into an abandoned houses backyard, but the other dog was attacked by someone else's dog and both ran off down the street with others behind them. I spent roughly two hours trying to catch her, she's a survivalist and never uses the same trick more than once. Whenever I would try to catch her a specific way, she would dodge it and make sure that she wasn't found in that position again. Eventually though, we got her. We separated her from mine and my mother's dog because we weren't sure how she was with other dogs and looked for her owners for a month. She would growl at men, had food aggression but was great on a leash. I thought perhaps she was someone's dog and I still would like to think that, but after a month of no answers, we decided to find a No Kill shelter and take her there. The thing is, my husband had grown attached to her without me knowing really until the day that we decided to take her in. She is a sweet-heart really, and gave us funny faces and would stick herself between our seats just to be close to us. He pet her the whole way there and then told me to stay in the car, with the dog, and that he was going to go and see if they had room. I knew they did cause I had talked to them previously, but he still insisted that I stay in the car. He then came out fifteen minutes later and said they didn't. So I suggested other shelters, but he would tell me no, cause they were "all closed". My husband isn't much of an animal kind of guy and doesn't know shelter times, honestly. But whatever helps him to sleep at night. xD We asked my mom if we could keep her and we've had her since. She just turned five and will be six in September, and is a Shepherd/Collie mix. (the day we were going to take her to the shelter) --> Picture: https://i.imgur.com/iLpTpuC.jpg

And finally, Harley. She is the youngest and the last animal that came into our home. We were going to the gas station for some snacks and something to drink in late September, and there was a cat sitting on the stations window. When we went in, I asked them about her and the cashier said she had been sitting there for two days, just popped up out of nowhere. At first, my husband said no because ... well ^^^^^. But she was eager to go with someone and jumped into our car. He told me to put her back so reluctantly, I did. I did not leave without a fight though and convinced him that it would only be until we either find her owners or a new home for her. That was the plan. There was no other routes, but it didn't end up that way. We had just bought a house but hadn't moved in yet, so we were going to let her sleep there for a few days. When we went back to get her, we didn't see her, so my husband went into the station to get cigarettes because he'd forgotten them previously. I probably looked crazy because I started calling for her. There was a meow, a loud banging noise, and she came running from the dumpster to me. She smelled horrible obviously, so we cleaned up what we though was a white and gray cat and found a pure white cat instead. xD Again, just like with Delta, we looked for her owners for a month (my personal limit of stray hold) and found none and named her Harley for the moment because of how loudly she would purr (like a Harley Davidson, though Harley Quinn was an initial though). What really sealed the deal though - my husband was trying to fix the dryer. He looked away for a moment and then shut it. Nothing in it, it just wasn't drying. Then he turned it on and after a few seconds, it started to make a banging noise. So he stopped it, opened it, and was horrified to see her inside but thankfully okay. My husband felt so guilty and horrible that she became his cat and I ended up with the constant anxiety of checking the dryer whenever I have start it before going bed @.@ (at least someone won). But she is a lovely little trip who loves to sleep everywhere and anywhere (we found her sleeping on some boxes in the trash can just the other day, she's so weird). She is three and will be four in October, so next month. Picture: https://i.imgur.com/HTcVr3N.jpg

This took soooo long to write. xD However, I love sharing their stories so I guess it makes up for it. Thankfully, we haven't had the notion to bring in another animal since getting Harley and I've decided on not getting anymore entirely until all of their times have come.

BUT in the future, I want a Husky and a Savannah F1. xD
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Silenxia
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Re: Pets

Post by Silenxia »

I will now tell you all the story of Domino.

Okay so my family had four animals before we got our new pup, two dogs and two hamsters. My grandma wanted a pet of her own but our options were somewhat limited. My mom is allergic to cats and our parakeet gift ended up doing something to his wing and died (RIP bird who never really gotten a proper name).

So we decided to get her a dog.

September was practically dedicated to that because we were dealing with shelters who were being dishonest. The place we got Domino was the worst! I will list a small number of reasons.

1) We had two pups on hold at two separate times. Both times the rescue decided to adopt them out to somebody else (and did not even tell us, we found out both times from another person).
2) On their website was a list of available animals. Some of those animals were already adopted and gone but their picture was still there.
3) In general the facility was in low standards and the management was laughable. As the foster mother of Domino had said; they had too many dogs that they did not know who they had or what to do with them.

But in the end we got finally got a break and Domino is doing well. He is part Dachshund and part Chihuahua but somehow he has that perfect puppy look. When he sits down...it's like all those films and commercials that you see of a pup.

Before our last runaround with this flaky shelter, we did get a dog from another rescue. Her name was Bella (renamed Molly) and she was quite pleasant. But in the end I think she was simply too assertive for Harvey and Samson was not fond of her (he is starting to tolerate Domino in slow spurts). We gave her to a friend (who is also one of my co-workers) and from what she has said, Molly is living the best life of all.

She is the queen of her castle and gets along with everyone. She sounds kind of spoiled at times, but I am glad we were able to fix the problem.

In the end it is good to adopt a pet from a shelter, but at times it seems like you have to jump through a lot of hoops.
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