What are their names? When and how did they come into your life? What do you love to do most with them? What do they do that's really funny? Where do they sleep? and anything else you would like to share... Thanks, Randy

Well, I have two dogs...or rather two dogs heve me They are wonderful and as all dogs in our family they appeared by chance. The older, Ira, is beautifull mixture of Alsatian and something else. She is a princess and she knows it. Now she's almost 10 years old. I can't belive that it's passed so many years since we found her. She was left by her owners next to the shop!! She was 3 month, can you imagine. Younger, Swing, is 3 and a half and what can I say - he is the sweetest creature. He also wasn't wanted by previous owners and they left him even earlier - he was 4 weeks!!!! Now we are all crazy about him

Well I found Jeze about 7 years ago, abandoned and near death in one of the many squats I visit in my street ministry. I had already decided that another pet was not a viable option, my level of disability is increasing and when my 18yr old chihuahua died Easter Monday of the same year I found Jeze, I'd dismissed getting another animal. God had other plans however, because just before Christmas I noticed a shadow moving quietly to its hidey under a pile of rubble. I didn't even know what kind of animal it was. I began leaving food out for it...soon I was to be treated to a glimpse of jet black snout before it was withdrawn further into the hidey. I discovered it was a very emaciated young dog about two weeks after I started leaving food, she was christened 'Jezebel' by one of the street folk who ignored my advice to leave her be and tried to extract her forcibly from the hidey. I hadn't even heard of the breed schipperke and thought she was a pomeranian until I managed to coax her onto my mobility scooter and to the vet.
Well, despite the vet telling me that she was too emaciated to survive, it turns out we have rescued each other. Jeze (she's far too friendly to be a Jezebel) has trained herself to be my service dog and we're never apart. She is a member at our Church, where she participates in welcoming all comers. She has a vital role in my street ministry, offering comfort only an animal can to those who need it. She loves riding around on the scooter, looking at me in disdain if I suggest we might walk.
As I mentioned above, we have truly rescued each other.

In the mid 90's, my wife was on her way home from an out of state trip to visit her father when she pulled off the highway into a restaurant to grab a bite to eat. She was on her way back to her car when she heard a very faint meow and looked over to see a tiny black kitten hidden behind a parked car's tire. The kitten was obviously abandoned, so she picked him up and brought him home with her. She called me to tell me that she had picked up a "hitchhiker" to which I replied, "are you crazy?"... and then she laughed and explained.

We named him Smokey. Our family of two became a family of three. One of my fondest memories of Smokey as a kitten, was how early in the morning (3am or so) he would pounce on my face waking me from a dead sleep! I assume that the sound my breathing made as I slept must have made him attack, lol!

Now, Smokey likes to sleep in front of the fridge. One funny thing he does is, sometimes during and after dinner, he will lay on the counter acting indifferent, but the very second that we walk out of the room, he runs over and grabs food and runs off with it! We consider Smokey to be a member of our family. Our children dearly love him and so do we.

I am a former zoologist and the person that animal control (an everyone else) comes to when a home is needed for an abandoned, abused or stray animal. I do my best to place them into forever homes but sometimes, they just stay with me.

I am down to five indoor cats now...and they are my kids and my heart.

1. Thomas- Russian blue, polydactyl on all four feet, found locked in an abandoned trailer after an anonymous caller tipped off animal control. The neighbors said the owner talked about doing it intentionally.
2. Rocky - HUGE black and white, wide head, wide neck, former feral, shot-up, beaten up, you name it- worked with him for four years before he finally trusted me enough to come indoors. He is a VERY large love bug now with no desire to return outdoors.
3. Gary - black long-haired, Humane Society drop off at Halloween. Scrawny, strange looking kitten-turned into the fluffy lion of the house.
4. Ewok and Mowgli- black- short and long haired, brothers- their mother was thrown from a moving car in front of my house. I was able to place their mother and three other siblings. However, these two boys captured my heart.

Nelia

My dog is with me 4 years and he is 5 years old . My friend gave him to me because his owners did not wont to keep him because he is no good for competitions - he is to big ..... But i think that he is very sweet and good dog and i love him very much .

I have two cats, KIPINÄ and SÄPINÄ. Kipinä is older, she is two and a half years old. Säinä is one year younger.
Kipinä has a long fur, she is 1/4 Norwegian wildcat/woodcat > i don´t know the race in English. She mews a lot and wants to be near and get lots of pettings.
Säinä is different. She dont ask for pettings and she has kind of aphacy, her mews are short and very funny to hear. Her fur is short, black and white. I think, she is quite wise, she does many things which cats are not supposed to do. She goes at her own ways, but when I am petting her, she begins to purr, too.
two seet cats, mine - or at the other way round, I am theirs. Good at both ways.

Wow...everyone has such wonderful companions!

We are truly fortunate.

N

Pat (my husband) and I had always been dog lovers we had two we lost 3 years ago one had spleen cancer she had just turned 10 and the other truely griever himself to death.
We never had children (I can't have any) so they truely were our kids.
Well years pased we said we weren't ready to have pets again and two years later we had moved and had started feeding some stray cats in our neighborhood. One in particular started hanging around us but we couldn't get close to him. Pat is in the AF Reserves and was overseas for 4 months during that time I was finally able to pet a beautiful black/white female cat. She decided she wanted to come in one night it was really cold so she came in stayed about 5 minutes and left. Well the next night I had placed a blanket outside cause it was really cold and about midnight I woke up to a cat crying so I opened the door and she came in and stayed with me. Her name is Shyly it definately fits her personality it took months for her to warm up to Pat when he got home so that was cat number one. She truely was my saving grace when Pat was away.
Muffin is a orange/brown/white male we cat setted while his owner was gone for Christmas and when they got back they told Pat they were gonna just let Muffin go that he didn't get along with their other cats. Pat called me and told me and I said bring him home. We had already gotten so attached with him it broke our hearts to give him up.
The two of them are a handful for sure but we wouldn't trade them for anyting. They know when there is something going on with both of us and r there to cheer us up.
Muffin really taught Shyly how to play and that it's ok. He is scared of people and will hide when someones in our house. We think he was mistreated be4 he came to us. He's fine with us it's funny Shyly is definately my cat and Muffin is Pat's. The only time Muffin wants me is when he first wakes up I have to pick him up and hold him and let him know it's ok lol
que. the ones of u all like us that have multiple animals do u find with them that the female one is attracted to other females and the males to other malers?

In my family it's opposite. Ira (she)is rather my husband's dog; she loves him and adores him entirely, while Swing (he) is mine. And Nelia you're absolutely right, we are fortunate having such great companions!

I was blessed to be a mum for 13 cats.  I think it's in the genes, my father, bless his soul, was a true animal lover and gave me the love and respect for animal life.

One time i had 13 cats, my feline got pregnant and friends of mine wanted all a cat, when she gave birth and they were about 8 weeks, only one of my friends kept her promise.  I could not put them into a shelter so.....i kept them all.  Not one second i regretted it.  6th october 2008 my oldest baby was euthanised, he was 16 years old.

Aputi, Sid, Cochees, King, Atlas, Mozes, Dimmy, Gizmo, Duchess, Sheba, Scaramouche, Satania (she was the mum, black and "cat" in every word ),), Tinker, Tyson.  My children!!.

At this moment i have 4 cats, all rescued.  Pazuzu, black with a small patch of white under his chin, he was hit by a car and bones and skin, Mieke, her "owners" moved away and left her behind, Tinkerbell, i saw him in a petshop, his eyes and nose were covered with puss, Poppy, some %#&!*% left her behind in a cardbord box, she was only 4 weeks old. 

My cats are my life, the love i have from my babies...........there are no words for it.

Dear friends, I love animals and am owned by 13 dogs, the mom was from the street and was pregnant, so she bring us gifts in our lifes. We live in the country, Brasil, on the mountains. I love my children, they make my life a joy. Every day I thank God to be owned by so lovely wonderful children, my best friends.

I am happy to be here. Thank you so much.

I own 1 parrot and 2 dogs.
My parrot name is Hojita (spanish for leaf), I put her that name because I had no idea what to call her and like she was all green... lol. She should actually be in the nature, but with so many years in many houses (she was given to me by an uncle who happens to have the same story and so on) I can't let her go and I'm scare and I don't know I wouldn't be able to live without her, she is my clock, at morning she comes to my bed and starts to bite (softly ) my fingers or starts petting me XD.
Lobita, which is female wolf in spanish, is somewhat jelous when she doesn't get all the attention and she's really crazy and creative, one day I put them collars and prepared the dogs for a walk but left them in the backyard so she took my other dog's leash and started giving him a walk through the backyard XD she likes to be inside the house all the time, but I have to put her outside or she will stay sleeping somewhere all day, but I do let her inside the house most of the time. By the way she is an Husky.
Ramo, I didn't really understood his name which is actually Rambo lol, but it made no sence to me, I was bornd in 1994 so I had no idea who Rambo was and like spanish is my first language it sounded like rombo, which means rhombus, but then I got confused again and put him Ramo, which currently means bouquet XD Now that was when I was like 10 or less, now he is getting old, but he is the cutest big-"puppy" you'll ever meet, even though outside he might look big and scary if you look well his inside is just like him on the outside just two big eyes full of life and pleadin for some love.

All of my pets where given to my family from a neighbor or a friend, we have never bought a doggie and will never now that I know what is a puppy mill. But Lobita was found around like any stray and like she had no owner we stayed with her.

Anne Marie, how wonderful!!! I could do with more dogs, but living in the city is rather difficult But still I'm happy with my two sweetheart

I have 2 dogs their names are Smeagol and Pixie. We got Smeagol from an animal shelter at the time he had a bad leg and would limp all the time, now he is happy and no more limping. They are my babies we dont have kids and the two dogs are spoiled rotten they have get christmas presents from the whole family. They have so many toys they have their own toy chest. we also have 4 lizards, 2 bearded dragons and 2 desert geckos. Some day i would love to have more lizards and horses and dogs and cats but right now we just dont have the room.

well...not quite.
We currently have two sons and 7 cats, 2 dogs, 3 fish & a bird. All the cats except 1 have their claws and are so sweet to my sons.

Willma 10- Brown-Grey & White tabby DSH rescued from a doughnut shop dumpster 1998

Yuki 8- Himalayan (seems pure bred) rescued from a doughnut shop dumpster 1999

Ninja 7- Black DSH cat with a white patch on her neck was a pound kitty
addopted from Alachua County Animal Control Fl in 2002 ($80 spay & shots)

Scoobie Dew 6- Black DSH found with her "sister" Echo in a box on the highway 2003

Echo 6- Silver-Grey & White tabby DSH found with her "sister" Scoobie in a box on the highway 2003

Mr. Thomas O'Malley the alley cat(unknown age: est. 7)- Pastel Grey Solid Tabby abbandoned declawed sweet boy that found our house, stayed, & moved in 2006

Honey-belle 1 year old- Orange Tabby/ Marble found with her 5 siblings in our trash can. born Feb 14 2008

Jake 5- Golden Retriever (red- seems pure bred) pound puppy addopted from Camden County Animal Control GA 2003 $75 (neuter & shots)

Zorro 4- Austrailian Shepard (red merle- pure bred w/ papers) We "claimed" him for $100 when he didn't fit in the frizbee circle (he had leg injuries) 2004

Our vet has confirmed that Flash is a Wildcat! In other words, he is a member of an endangered species. Now, I don't mention this to sound important but because I feel so privileged that he wants to be with us rather than choosing his freedom. I love telling his story because he is so very special:


Three years ago we came home to find this tiny kitten, still with blue eyes, outside our house. As I'm a freelance translator with work coming out of my ears, I needed a little kitten like I need a hole in my head, so we decided to take him tho the local animal shelter the following day. However, when he wanted to play and I was so torn between my work commitments and this little sweetheart, I cried and apologised to him for not being able to play, he curled up in the shoebox (!) he had chosen for a bed and went to sleep! Of course this clinched it for him, so we called him Flash as he was incredibly fast and accepted him into our household.


When we had to move house, we weren't sure whether we should take him because the old place was in a rural area with lots of space and no cars to speak of and our neighbour was prepared to take him, while the new place was in the middle of a town, although still with gardens and trees. But like a child, he knew something was up, so he became very affectionate, lying on my feet, not going out any more, etc. Although I had read "Animal Talk" by Penelope Smith, I was still not able to communicate with Flash properly, so I asked him to give us a sign to let us know if he wanted to move house with us.


I told him to do the following: one day after we moved, he was supposed to disappear for a day, so, when I phoned our former neighbour, she would tell me that Flash was gone. This would then show me that, a. he had understood and b. he wanted to come with us, so we would come to get him as soon as possible.


To cut a long story short, he did exacly as I had suggested, and when we went back to our old place, he was already there, jumped in our car, and the message I received from him was so strong it nearly knocked me out: "Come on, let's go then!" he shouted inside my head. So this is exactly what we did and neither of us never regretted it.


Well, this is the story of Flash. Many people think we're crazy until they meet him.


Now you can probably understand why I'm so grateful that we met Flash.

Alternate alias: IZA H. Monster. The H stands for horrible.

• She started out an Isabel, but it quickly became apparent that she was more thug than delicate flower. She was a former member of WuTang Clan, and was kicked out because she couldn't stop biting and humping the other members.

• I adopted her about three years ago at a shelter in Pueblo, Colorado. She was two years old then and drying up from kittens. I prefer full grown cats - already litter trained, less hyper (usually!) and not as smelly.

• She's a spayed indoors cat, and at 5 years old, has still not realized that she is *not* a kitten. I feed her vitamins and tasty canned cat food, throw toys for her day and night, had the vet checked her out, and her bloodwork came back normal. Looks like she's naturally insane.

• IZA is the worst cat in the world. She has giant, protruding fangs, which possess her to bite and chew. Her life is one big bitey adventure; she experiences her world with the sixth sense of biting. Paper, cardboard, plastic, wood, metal, books, household appliances, you name it. She enjoys the occasional Otter Pop, and loves mint-flavored anything. Toothpaste, Icy Hot, Rosemary Mint conditioner...she will go to great lengths to eat it.

• When you open up a kitchen cupboard or closet door, she rushes in, and won't come out.  She says that Disneyland is inside.

• She likes to hump legs (men mostly), and she loves to monster around the house and knock things over. Not a very graceful cat - the only way to describe her movement is monstering. That's right, IZa turned a noun into a verb. She doesn't have the same sense of dignity as a normal cat either, so she doesn't care if she slips and falls off the counter into her water dish. She picks herself up and keeps on monstering.

• She is in love with my boyfriend and likes to climb up on his chest and lick his neck while he plays video games. Because I footed the bill at the shelter and vet, he thinks she's my cat. He is wrong. She chose him, and he has no choice.

• If IZA was child, she would be the kind you see running half-naked in the grocery store with a kool-aid mustache, telling everyone to pull their panties down and laughing like a crazed goblin.

• Even though she is the worst cat in the world, I love her and there's never a dull moment with IZA around. <3

My five cats are:
Metro

Sir Kaye, Knight of the Round Table

Rambam

Beebe

Rayas

It's hard in my house to tell when someone is talking to a human or one of the cats.

We have a lot of cats that live with us...at the moment we are DOWN to 10 (and no other animals...yes there were some others: various birds, a brushtail possum, a bunny...)
By age and kitty heirarchy!

Blue-( giant ginger Tom who kicked in our door one night and said"I'm living here!") He is a beast of a cat and has never really lost his Alpha tom cat ways, but he adores us and lords over the other cats!

Tigris and Euphrates (brothers- found at a week old in a box behind a building) They are brownish grey and ginger respectively. They look like oci-cats! Spotted tabbies are quite common here in the street cat population; it is really cool as they all look really wild!

Knute (born in our house)- Turkish angora mix

Semiramis (born in our house and Tigris daughter, Knute's half sister...at 6 months and a week before he was getting neutered he knocked up our then nursing cat...) another angora mix

Babylon- (found by a dumpster at just over a week old)...little ginger and white thing and completely crazy. This cats energy is off the scale, he even drives the other kitties crazy as he always wants to play with gusto and abandon!

Hector, Borsippa, Marmalade & Digitalis (week old foster kittens that were put in my care) These little guys started as 5 and had a horrible case of giardia. We fought for weeks with their health (and lost one little guy Paris- he was Hectors twin in markings). No one thought they were going to make it and they might have health problems later, however they are beautiful today! They are very healthy and amazingly loving.

The great thing is is that they are basically a pride; there is little angst between any of them. They all play together and groom each other...and all of the little beasts sleep with us each night!

My husband has gotten them all to come to him when he whistles! You just get swarmed by purring, happy, furry things when you call them. They are all real talkers, as well. Knute sort of sings and trills to himself when he thinks he is alone.

Feeding time can be a bit dramatic! But we wouldn't be without a one of them!

My life is more or less arranged for the convenience of the aforementioned creature, a bown tabby and white (mask and cape-like pattern)domestic medium hair female who knows she's beautiful and doesn't let anyone forget it. L.C. stands for little cat, so named as at the time she was a scared little thing with no personality-- lack for which she has subsequently made up for. The short of the long is that she ingratiated herself by showing up and producing kittens soon thereafter.

It worked much like the oft circulated "Stray cats shall not be fed. . .". Eventually after having found homes for the kittens and having her spayed as we don't know anyone else who needed a kitten, among other reasons, we decided she might as well beome ours. She immediately moved in and took over. The vet's best guess is that she was born in December of 1993 (she showed up around here in the winter of 94 and made the transition to house cat in early spring 1995). This puts her at about 15 years old at her last birthday. They say cats slow down with age, not so here. I believe she's actually sped up. She stillenjoys racing up the stairs, playing chase the kitty, and generally acting like a furry cyclone.

She takes her duties as guard/watch kitty, nurse kitty, and owner of humans very seriously. I'm sure the fact that she hasn't weaned us of our compulsion to get wet is a serious disappointment. Of course her favorite person is my father-- the primary reason why I didn't have a cat as a child being that he's of the school of animals are great but live outside and most definitely do not sleep on the beds. L.C. actually likes males of all species better and is generally a little flirt if you ask me.

As I said, she knows she's beautiful. She's also a little bit too smart at times. I really do suspect that she may be an alien being in a very accurate cat costume as she does stuff that even stumps the vet-- lines up several of her toys by her food bowl for instance or actually watches football (not just looks at the screen which she does her fair share of, but actually watches the game).

She has been known to eat tortilla chips, various potatoe products, bread if the mood suits her, and recently discovered refried beans. She will only eat fish or chicken flavored cat food-- usually just fish actually-- and then only certain brands. If offered the "filet" variety she will drink all the juice off and leave the rest to dry out. Of course water out of mud puddle is much preferred if she can get it, as opposed to fresh, cold tap water. For some reason though tap water is best if served fresh from the tap into the bathroom sink. Whether she will jump up or insist on being lifted depends on her mood-- trust me it isn't arthritis, she's always been like that.

Of course I love her to pieces and wouldn't know what to do without her.

We share our home with Buster, a black polydactyl male; and Gabe, a grey Manx/Tabby male. You can view photos & videos of the dynamic duo on my page at ZooToo: http://www.zootoo.com/profile/Rozz Warning: this site is addictive....ha ha!!

We share our home with two dogs - Rusty a cairn terrier who I picked out from a litter over 12 years ago.He was diagnosed with tumor in the head this past Sept.He loves to go for walks,play ball,hang out outside watching birds etc.If I wink at him he winks back.Dodger is a bichon X and he has been a part of the family since Sept.11/02.Not sure of his age.We spotted him one day dodging traffic on a busy highway.We looked for him to make sure he was okay but could not find him.Exactly one week later he showed up in our backyard smelling the flowers.We put posters etc,checked papers etc. but no one claimed him.He was very thin,all his teeth were brown (we had half his teeth taken out because they were decayed),didn't know how to play,eat from a dish,when put outside to do his business he didn't know what to do.He would jump the gate and go pee in the carport then come back into the yard.After we had him a couple of weeks a lady told me she used to see him at nights while she was working running the intersections of the two busy highways.He must have thought he belonged here with us.Now he hoards all the toys,treats etc.He is always where I am either sitting on me or following right beside me.He is my shadow.Both dogs sleep on the bed snuggled right up to my side.In the day they will sleep on their own beds they have their own room if they choose to sleep or nap in it.The birds - I purchased two Spectacled parrotlets.They are two years old, both male named Seiji and Nori.About 6 months after I got them I rescued two lovebirds Mango and Kiwi.They were going to be released to fend for themselves.I couldn't let that happen.This past November I rescued two peach front conures that I have named Baxter and Bailey.The cats are ferrals but I call them mine.I go look after my elderly mother everyday and one day in June I noticed a black cat with stubby little ears watching me.I started putting food out for it a few days later.It soon started waiting for me to put the food but to this day will not come right up to me.It stays back a couple of feet.Shortly after Blackie showed up a big tabby came along.I call him Tabby.He will come as soon as he hears me and will have a nap on my lap.Tabby was followed shortly by little tabby.He comes pretty close to me.That is not the end of the cats.Little Tab was followed with in a few days by two grey cats I call Max and Maxine.I was wondering exactly how many cats I was feeding because I put three huge dog dishes of food out each day when I got there and they would all be empty by night.When I refill food and water.I thought either I'm feeding pigs or Blackie and Big Tab are really stashing food somewhere.Got them beds and blankets and set them up in my moms garage for the winter.They can come and go as they please.My mom has a dog that does not like cats so I don't take them in to visit.They are ferrals but I call them mine because I have always had animals of all kinds around me.They count on me for food,water,treats and my usual daily sit down and visit and talk with them.

All the meows came to us as strays. The woof woof I bought for ten bucks.

I wanted a dog. I had my mind on a Weiner Dog - short hair, light brown (had to blend in to the carpet and furniture - LOL!). I didn't want to buy from a breeder or a pet shop. However, I couldn't go to the pound because it would make me incredibly sad and I'd need to take all of them home. My husband was going to go for me but with his work schedule he could never get there when they were open. One day he was reading the paper and asked if I might like a Beagle. I hadn't thought about it but yeah, a Beagle would be great. There was a farm just outside of town, they had one puppy left. He was a mix; his mom was purebred Beagle and his dad was half Beagle half pig....no - LOL - but he was a chubby round ham. The only puppy left was there because he didn't have Beagle markings and he was a runt, nobody wanted him. Well that didn't matter to me, he could have been missing a leg and I still would have taken him - I can't just go visit and not take him home! He was exactly what I wanted, a male, short haired, light brown, small dog. He may not have the markings of a Beagle but he's very much Beagle. His name is Hank Williams and he's ten years old. And he is my baby, my little prince, he always gets his way. Oh, I could go on and on telling about him but I must move on.....

Cornelius J is an orange cat - he looks like Garfield or Morris. When Corny was a wee one I heard him crying outside the condos one day. I kept looking around trying to see where he was hiding, then a school boy found him in some bushes. Not trusting children with living things, I kept my eye on him. The boy took the kitty to his home and I watched him go inside. A few moments later I saw his father send him back outside with the kitten. He was placed back in the bushes. I put my slippers on, walked over and brought the little meow into my house. Corny is approximately eleven years old now. He's my big boy and has just gotten cuddly with us over the past few years - before that he didn't care if we noticed him or not as long as he was fed. Now he likes to snuggle up on my chest when I'm sitting on the sofa!

I'm not sure how old Mama Cat is, I'd guess around five. She's a beautiful black with a tiny spot of white on her chest. I used to just call her Black Cat till she had kittens. She was one of many of the neighbors barn cats who decided they liked our yard better. She had three kittens, we gave one back to the neighbors, and the other two were in our life for about a year or so. The male kitten/cat took off one day and the female stayed, she died a couple weeks after having her own kittens. Mama Cat is fixed and pretty much stays around the property.

We don't know where Gray Cat came from but he wanders between our house and the neighbors and throughout the surrounding fields. We guess he's my cat because I feed him. We built a double cat house outside for Mama Cat and Gray Cat. I have no idea how old Gray is, but he has lovely dense gray fur and piercing yellow eyes.

Then there's Baby Blue. She is a solid black, short haired kitty. She's almost two years old. She is the daughter of Gray Cat and Sneaky (Sneaky was Mama's daughter that passed away). Blue became an indoor cat because she lost her mama when she was just a couple weeks old and Blue is slightly disabled - but really she gets around great! Her back legs, the vet said, appear to be double or triple jointed. She couldn't walk for about the first three months but she finally figured out how to work those long rabbit-like legs. She's a pistol that's for sure. I could just be standing in the kitchen and she'll lunge at me and climb up as if I were a tree! Mostly she uses her arms for climbing the legs don't know what to do. She is funny to watch. She's a beauty.

Those are the current five - one dog and two cats inside, and two cats outside.

Hi there...I just joined the care2connect "family" and I was thrilled to see this as a group offering membership.
We are a family of animal lovers, and at this moment we share our humble abode with 7 indoor cats, and a variety of fish. All of our feline family members have come to us as either homeless, or soon to be. With the exception of our oldest family member, our gorgeous old friend phineas, our 20+ year old Siamese patriarch. Phineas actually did come from a shelter called "Buddy Dog" quite a many years ago now. He started out with my in-laws, and then when my brother in law moved out of home, Phin went with him, and stayed with him for many years. A couple years ago my brother in law was involved in a bad relationship, and things were pretty bad, at that point, Phin came to live with us, and here he will remain, until he decides that it is time for him to move on.He's in great health, and quite vocal and loving, and we are just so happy to be able to share time, and space with him.Along with Phinny we have two Maine Coon brother, Big Boy, and Bam Bam...there Mama was pregnant with them, and our jet black girl Grizzy Bear when we met her. Mama cat has unfortunately gone to heaven, but her kitties remain here with us, and here they will stay. They are all 3 years old now. We also share our space with two sisters that were left abandoned where my husband Dana works. Dana works maintanence for a property, and while getting ready to clean out a recently vacated apartment, in the heat of a very hot hot summer day, he heard pitiful cries coming from upstairs. He went up to find two beautiful girls, one each, in the bathtub, inside cat carriers. The owners and previous renters long gone, with no forwarding address, and no way to know where they went. The girls had no food, nor water in these cages, but greeted Dana warmly, and that is how they came to live with us.and our youngest friend just recently came to be with us, for now her name is baby Cat, given to her by our 7 year old. We found her skinny cold and scared out under the back deck one day a couple months ago, very young, and already with kittens inside of her. She's gone to the vet, and has passed her bill of health. We've decided to let her have her babies, and after that we will get her fixed so that she can carry on in health and peace. We don't know how many more friends this will bring. We do have friends that may be able to bring love into their homes once these little ones make their arrival.
Shhheeesh, I didn't mean to go on so long. I could yak for days about our darling loves, and then their are the wonderful humans in my life...but I guess that can keep for another day, lol.
Thank you for having this place to come to and read, and share. I feel at home, already.
Wishes of peace and love to each...Meooowww,Genna

I forgot to say...the two girls that Dana found that day are called, "Tiny", she's a gray tabby girl, and her sister is a pure grey girl, and we named her Blue Bear...sorry girls, mama didn't forget you, lol...okay, bye again

saralee.my girl cat..i took her in when kitty had her kitter..all was homed but lar..she was set to be sent to the humane society..bumpy my male cat...was a garage sell cat...sara has broken one leg and shattered her other hip..im very protective of her..with out her hind legs her life would not be what it should be..shes doing awesome altho the hip i think bothers her..bumpy is the easiest going cat i have ever owned..he has been friends with all the pets in our home...izmit my 11 year old parakeet is bumpys very best friend...but izzy my keet says what r u doing and i love you..his favorite song is if ur happy and you kno it ..and ppl he claps his wings..haHa..as of recently i have rescued 4 cockateils...pet store life is aweful for these birds..wizzle picked me in the store...poppy and blondie came to me angry and had such little trust in ppl..im glad to share these birds it appears loves me and altho the damage they have can and will be healed...they r a joy to watch talk to and really i am honored to have them apart of my family..and last theres roxie..i found her in a2nd hand store in the back dark cold area jus going around and around and around...my heart broke..not a happy bird at all..happ to say she no longer goes around and around she seems happy and content..isnt that jus what animals need??i love that i read here our animals r family members not owned...if anything they own me

Hi-I did have a wolf hybrid but now I have a two year old

Springer Spaniel named Golly. He is a huge Springer, liver and white and I call him my drama queen because when a new critter comes in the house he moons around like Sarah Bernhardt. He sleeps next to me always. Then someone gave me PIP-she is a chihauhau cross-his ears fold down so she looks like a mini jack russell. She weighs about seven pounds and crashed National Security when some air force planes came to town. It was so funny. Yesterday she followed me into the market. She loves everyone and sleeps under the covers. This morning she kept sticking her paws in my face.

Then there is my puppy St Bernard short coat who is now almost the size of a

great dane at 7months. These dogs wear me out and are spoiled but I wouldn't want to keep living if I lost all my dogs.

Hi my name is Rebecca...
My 2 babies are a dog Harley Davison(Harley)he is a border collie and lab mix we recued him almost 3 years ago he was being missed treated and negected...he is one of the best dogs we have ever had,the most gentle lovable dog.And our seond member of our family is Kyia our calico cat she is the Queen for sure,she just turned a year old in march...we got because my daughter(7)wanted a kitten..so we got her..she also is a very lovable cuddle cat...but she can be a snot when she wants to be for sure but we love her just the same....she is pure black with flex of orange in her very beautiful cat...

Hello my name is Pam

18 months ago we lost the last of our three labs--Max. Max had surgery for a huge fatty lump on his back. The surgery was successful but two days after the surgery he had a pulmonary embolism and past away. Shortly after loosing Max I started visiting the local shelters to walk the dogs and perhaps see if a new family member would appear. I had pretty much decided I wanted another lab or lab mix. However, I kept getting knocked down by the dogs. I had started to fill out the application on a lab mix and took him out for a walk--the dog knocked me down twice. I said let me think about this for a minute. I went into the kennel next to the one I had been in and there was this little fur ball of a dog trembling in fear. I asked if I could take him out. I had pretty much steered clear of small dogs in the past--but there was something about this little guy that drew me to him. He won my heart when he lifted his leg and peed on the shelter worker for not letting him out soon enough. Ten minutes later I was signing the forms to take Dooley home with us. Dooley is a Schnoodle. My two grand-daughters fell in love with him on sight. Dooley quickly endeared himself to our family. My husband was a bit shocked when I came in the door with this little fur ball. But they quickly became best friends.

I work with children who learn a bit differently as a tutor in my home--Dooley quickly made friends with the clients and gets upset if they leave before he can say good-bye to them.

Dooley became the star of our Holiday greeting cards when the girls insisted he had to be in the photo with them. He is the hit of the play ground when I walk up to get the girls from school or walk them to school. And of course he loves all the attention.

We can not imagine life without Dooley. He healed our hearts when we needed it most. I am a firm believer in our pets choosing us. I give thanks every day for the lab that knocked me down.

I recently lost two of my companions, both in their upper teens, Wiley, a Border Collie passed in November, and then Teddi, my Schnauzer mix left me in Febuary after a long fight with cancer. I just wanted to say how wonderful it is that you volunteered at your local shelter and then adopted Dooley. I am torn between adopting from a shelter and adopting a Greyhound. The Greyhound petition is what brought me to this website today.

I know what you mean about pets choosing us. I have never had the luxury of choosing, and I suppose I would not have it any other way considering the beautiful souls I have been blessed with through the years, Wiley and Teddi to name just a few.

My heart goes out to you all that have lost your furry loved ones. They are our family. I also have lost many over my life time and know I shall see them once again in Heaven. That keeps me going. I have one now; had to leave 2 behind with my ex in our divorce. I miss them so much at times, I barely can stand it & he won't allow me to see them. Just know, you will be with them again one day! hang in there and never stop giving a loving home to a new one. We learn from the hard times we have. But, our furry family gives us the "true, unconditional" love that we all so desire and deserve. And they deserve the same. Thank you and hugs, Frandy

My tabby male (Bobby) isn't well. He's so patient when I give him his treatment. I've been up during the night looking after him and I'm rather tired now.

Hi everyone, sometimes I stop to talk about pets.  When I came here 1 year 1/2 ago to live with dk, 'puttytat' was part of the family.  She took about 4 months before coming to me that I can touch her.  She is a rescued one age 10.  She is so smart, she is a great comedian, faking etc.  We can't live without our baby.

I've been reading more of the posts tonight... with smiles and sometimes a tear. We are so privileged to have our pets!

When we moved from the west coast to the east coast we took our cat Balchazarr aka "pooey" with us. He died 2 years later. My husband wanted another cat but I was not ready until he took me to the shelter in the little town we had moved to... what a sneaky guy! He knew my heart was broken and wanted to try to put it back together ... as he told me later. We walked along the row, and every cat we saw, cage by cage just made me want to take them all home. It wasn't until we stopped at the second to last cage, and for some reason this little fur ball struggled to it's feet and with glazed eyes stood there looking at us. After opening the cage door this not quiet a kitten stood on its' hind feet, put paws gently on my husbands shoulders offering a 'big hug' and we cried! Later as we were thinking of a new name for our new neutered male cat I said: it was 'Destiny' ... and we named him
Kismet which means just that! These days we call him Kizzy, and our persian tabby fur angel after 9 years pretty much calls the shots ... until the Dog Whisperer comes on and then Cesar Millan retrains us again ... i guess you could say we are " Pack Leaders in training " !

Let's see. The Silver Shaded Persian Shadow was first. His old owner didn't want him alothough she loved him and saved his life. I think the bf was hurting him, but she said the baby was the reason. She meant well, but the poor guy lived in a basement and had no toys. He's made up for that with baskets of toys.

Miss Kitty was abandoned in front of our house in a cold winter snow. She wasn't fixed, so she had gotten pregnant. By the time I got her inside she had a litter. I got her litter spayed and neutered and she was due to go in but was pregnant again.

So I let the poor thing have the second litter then had her fixed. I seriously object to killing anything, human or animal before birth. The only ones with the right to vote on that, never got to be here. She adores her kittens and three live with me. Charlie is blind and the so-called rescue group I worked with wanted to put him to sleep. So I looked the vet right in the eye and said "Oh no they're not! He's my cat now!" I must've looked angrier than a lioness, because they didn't dare object.

His older brother L'il and sister Maxine also live with us. We have to be careful as a hateful cat killer lives near us. The creep keeps putting out antifreeze but the cops do squat. I do put out food for drop offs and keep some stuff for local visitors too. If I see new cats I do alert local groups so we can TNR and control the population. Unfortunately, this seems to be the hub of abandoning cats. Often groups have no extra cages or time to help.

I've also wild-scaped the yard so all sorts of animals find a haven. Snakes, song birds, hawks, crows, rabbits, opposums, raccoons, bats, newts, groundhogs, ducks, and all sort of other critters. Since it is natural I put out zero food. There are a couple of rats I think, but it is their haven too.

My love and prayers to all of you and your furry ones. I'm sure our lost ones have crossed the Rainbow Bridge and eagerly await us on the other side.

I have 2 cats, Merlin and Sunkin. Merlin was what my friend calls a "gypsy" cat. He was found under a porch as a kitten. He is a big attention hog and loves sitting on the piano keys. He's kind of a mini bear. He's really furry. Sunkin will eat anything. She snuck on the table and ate cheerios. (Anyone know if that is bad?) She sleeps all day and only moves to change positions, eat, and use the litter box. She is from a shelter in Rolla. I love my two cats a lot and they keep me on my toes. ( In other words, I think they are plotting to take over the world.)