[beanbag]

my family hasn't had a wide variety of pets. we had some stray cats that adopted us (unfortunately, I am allergic but I do like cats); we have had canaries and finches both of which we inherited; and we currently have three chickens, and a fancy mouse that my brothers rescued from certain death at a birthday party.

I think my favorite pet of the ones I have had experience with would have to be canaries. they are intelligent and have a really good sense of humor, and they sing beautifully. my canaries used to fly around the house (it started out as an accident, actually) and play games with us. they were definitely among the most amusing of our pets.

I loved our chickens when they were chicks, but now they're ever so slightly boring. they do still pretend to love me when I have food to give them. my brothers' mouse is just about the most boring little guy ever. all he does is eat and sleep, and let's just say that his aroma is not too pleasing. our finches were cute but incredibly dumb, so they were rather a let down after the sharp canaries. I think I could've liked the cats a whole lot if they'd stayed longer than they did. our first stray was hit by a car; our second unfortunately had worms so she was starving to death even though we fed her, so my mom took her out to a family in the country who had a mouse problem in hopes that she could get enough to eat out there killing mice; our third was crazy and eventually disappeared.

all told, I really like animals. I think they are hilarious to watch, and I really think that different types of animals have different personality characteristics. some people may say I am humanizing them too much, but I really think that animals can be intelligent and have a sense of humor. it's pretty plain to see just by observing them for a little bit.

[El Tim's Mom]

Originally Posted by beanbag

my family hasn't had a wide variety of pets. we had some stray cats that adopted us (unfortunately, I am allergic but I do like cats);

I have always had cats too, but my husband is also allergic to cat and Tim is too when he was young. so I gave up cats some day we will have another cat but It will be a outside cat. Tim had a out door cat when he was little and that was ok he has out grown being allergic to cats

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by El Tim's Mom

I have always had cats too, but my husband is also allergic to cat and Tim is too when he was young. so I gave up cats some day we will have another cat but It will be a outside cat. Tim had a out door cat when he was little and that was ok he has out grown being allergic to cats

outdoor cats can be fun. all of ours were outdoor (since they were strays, of course. we had one that would come into the entry way, but she wouldn't go farther than that. she was gentle and had been trained, and was dumped for some reason.) and I think I personally prefer animals outdoors. I know people with indoor cats and their fur gets everywhere. I love animals, but I really dislike having fur all over me.

I am getting to a point where I am starting to think about what I'm going to do after school, and my mom told me that she wants me to get a dog when I move into my own place. I will probably get a short-haired dog, which will be ideal because they don't really shed and I won't be allergic to them. (I'm allergic to long-haired animals of all sorts, it seems.) if I do get a dog, it will live inside but since my mom suggested I get a retired greyhound it would already be trained and all.

[luvinjesus]

I love dogs and cats. I have two dogs and 4 cats. All of the animals dwell outdoors, since I live on a farm, when I'm not at college.

I love dogs, because they are so lovable and just love to play and have fun.
I love cats, because they are affectionate and my cat, Tila is insane, which makes me laugh at her. (Plus she had kittens and they are adorable).

[El Tim's Mom]

Originally Posted by luvinjesus

I love dogs and cats. I have two dogs and 4 cats. All of the animals dwell outdoors, since I live on a farm, when I'm not at college.

it must be hard not to get close to loving some pets we had raised a cow for meat once and it was hard to eat beef for a long time I loved that cow and it was hard so sometime having a pet can be hard

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by El Tim's Mom

it must be hard not to get close to loving some pets we had raised a cow for meat once and it was hard to eat beef for a long time I loved that cow and it was hard so sometime having a pet can be hard

my parents and brothers keep threatening to slaughter and eat the chickens. they don't understand my emotional attachment to them. (I named them all, and they have personalities to me.)

[luvinjesus]

Originally Posted by El Tim's Mom

it must be hard not to get close to loving some pets we had raised a cow for meat once and it was hard to eat beef for a long time I loved that cow and it was hard so sometime having a pet can be hard

That happened with a pig I raised once. I couldn't eat pork for a long time.

[El Tim's Mom]

some people that are allergic to long hair dog have yorkie because they have hair not fur We have a yorkie he will be 6 years old on Oct 31 he was the runt so he only weights 4 lbs. we also have a jack russel mix that is 16 the yorkie is my dog his name is Eric Cartmam Clapton he is name after a south Park and guitar player
when it come to picking a dog, do a lot of research about the breed some dog do not make good house dogs.

[beanbag]

Originally Posted by El Tim's Mom

when it come to picking a dog, do a lot of research about the breed some dog do not make good house dogs.

I was actually surprised at how much research my mom has already done. yorkies are very cute, but I know my mom wants me to have a large dog. (she wants me to have one for protection.)

apparently a lot of greyhounds are abandoned/dumped/killed after they are too old to race, which is usually around 3-4 years of age. after she told me about that, I did some research on my own and I was shocked at how brutally these dogs can be treated after they have gotten too old for the races. there are shelters across the world that specialize in finding adoptive families for the dogs. apparently they are very sweet-natured and make extremely good house dogs. I'm nowhere near picking a dog at this point (hopefully next year!) but I am definitely starting to think about different possibilities.

[MtlMom]

Greyhounds are wonderful dogs - very clean an very gentle. We have one who comes to the hospital to visit patients. She has a wonderful temperament.

[SecretAgentRat]

Did you know that Greyhounds cannot sit?!
Fascinating, isn't it?

I did a lot of research before picking my dogs. I knew I wanted something largish and intelligent, and thought I was getting exactly that in a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix. Then I discovered that my sweet little puppies were actually Border Collie/Husky mixes and would be not only intelligent, but HUGE.

Research is a wonderful thing and so are dogs. Though I am not fond of Yorkies (the only one I know hates me.), their larger counterpart, the Silky is nice.

[El Tim's Mom]

It is funny but I had a Rott that weight 150 lbs before I got my yorkie that weight 4 lb my Rott got sick and we had to but him down he was 5 and the best dog ! when this happen I said I would never have another dog! well I had a friend that raised yorkie and I just happen to see my little guy when he was 2 hours old (Oct 31, 2001)So after I lost my rott ( ten day later) my friend said that the little guy was a runt and she would not be able to sell him (her dog all had AKA papers) she gave him to me as a
Christmas gift. and I do love him so much. he has helped me on bad days get out of bed and go on when all when all I wanted to do is pull the blankets up and some days he stays under the blankes too!

[El Tim's Mom]

Originally Posted by MtlMom

Greyhounds are wonderful dogs - very clean an very gentle. We have one who comes to the hospital to visit patients. She has a wonderful temperament.

I think that is so wonderful that people share their pets in that way I know that before my grandma pass the home she lived in had cats that the people all loved. I guess sometime life get so busy that we just forget how loving our pets are.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by El Tim's Mom

It is funny but I had a Rott that weight 150 lbs before I got my yorkie that weight 4 lb my Rott got sick and we had to but him down he was 5 and the best dog ! when this happen I said I would never have another dog! well I had a friend that raised yorkie and I just happen to see my little guy when he was 2 hours old (Oct 31, 2001)So after I lost my rott ( ten day later) my friend said that the little guy was a runt and she would not be able to sell him (her dog all had AKA papers) she gave him to me as a
Christmas gift. and I do love him so much. he has helped me on bad days get out of bed and go on when all when all I wanted to do is pull the blankets up and some days he stays under the blankes too!

I love dogs. I picked up the Mose monster pre-weaning actually. The family that had him wanted rid of him fast. I had an AKC Border collie almost all my life. She died, last year I think. My dog has been at my parents place since I left for college, but he still remembers who fed him as a pup and who remembers he is deaf as a post. My parents are convinced he is incorrigible and uncontrollable. I have told them a dozen times he is deaf. (Literally he makes no response to a pistol being fired at 5 feet.) However, he still responds to my sign language. I trained him to sit, stay, and investigate. Its funny to send him out after a noise (which of course he doesn't hear), because he is a big wuss. He gets scared easy. However, he does bite, and he is extremely formidable, so he absolutely has to stay fenced. He also has pulled stunts that are not CGR appropriate to describe.

I want a big dog. I think I want a boxer. My wife likes them, and the ones I have met have been nice. However, that has to wait till post-seminary.

[El Tim's Mom]

I have heard that dog that know sign language some times look away because they do want to do what is being asked of them. dog are great