The Pets Thread...

[boozeman]

I know you people have them.

Throughout my life, I have been cursed by the pets we had. Or maybe it was me, I dunno.

Either they had psychological issues or whatever, it never worked out.

We had one awesome Airedale Terrier when I was a kid. That dog was like my dire wolf.

Then my mother went crazy and got a Yorkie. I never bonded with the little shitter.

Then she decided to get a retarded Cocker in my high school years. I resented that dog.

Then I avoided pets until I adopted my wife's Lab/Collie mix. Smartest dog in the history of the world and I will fist fight you if you dispute that fact.

And more recently, we had a Pomeranian that we had for a bit. Poor thing was pretty damn high strung and hard to deal with.

After he died, my daughter went all cat on us. And we have two awesome ones. Not those asshole ones.

Today we got a six week old puppy...Jack Russell/Shepard/Lab mix.

This lil' girl is a game changer.

Like I said before, I know you people have pets and probably regard them in higher regard than people.

And you are right, BTW.

 

[Rev]

We had to put down our dog a year ago and that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Since then it's been hard to jump back in and get another just because of that. My wife has recently been hinting at getting another but I'm just not ready yet

 

[Sheik]

When was 12yo I had a blue heeler that was my first dog that was my own. I got her as a pup and she lived 13 years.

Putting her down was pretty rough for me. I haven’t been able to give two fucks about an animal since. Even my racehorse, when she was claimed I thought I’d feel some kind of way. Nah.

We have a dog now and I feel nothing for it.

 

[boozeman]

We had to put down our dog a year ago and that was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Since then it's been hard to jump back in and get another just because of that. My wife has recently been hinting at getting another but I'm just not ready yet

That is damned tough. And time does matter.

It is a difficult step. When the Pom died, I was a little sad yet relieved because that poor bastard was a bundle of anxiety and I knew he was now chasing things in a fluffy cloud field in heaven.

My daughter was crushed since that was her baby. My wife a little too.

I never appreciated the little shit, but when I had to take him to get cremated, that was awful.

I would say take it slow, but then again don't.

Go ahead and do it. You might not be ready, but sometimes that is the best time.

The outlet with pets is something I never appreciated for most of my life but I do now.

I might just have to share how cute our new little one looks sleeping with my grown ass son right now as he is passed on the couch.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

My dog went downhill really fast, like in just a few days. That last day she was really bad off and just lay there all day and looked up at me with these really sad eyes that said, "Please, I've had enough." That was kind of a tough day. And it was a Sunday, so the vet wasn't open.

But the next day, I took her to have her put down and I was surprisingly fine with it. The vet said she wasn't getting any better, and she wasn't enjoying life anymore. It would have been selfish to prolong her misery just because I wasn't ready to see her go.

She was such a great, rare dog that I haven't wanted another one. Plus my next door neighbor has a lab, and I see how he and the other dog act when he comes home at night. If I drive up about that time, they get so pumped, only to be so let down when it isn't him. Makes me think twice about having a dog if I can't be with him or her all (or most) of the time.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I've had really good luck with pets. A kitten snuck in the engine compartment of my car at court one day. Rode home to my house and now it's been my outdoor cat since. She is great at killing all the mice outside. I've got a silver lab who is the most loyal sweet dog. I also have an English Bulldog but that's my wife's. We also have a toy poodle but that's my daughter's.

 

[boozeman]

All I gotta say as that these creatures have filled a space for me that I never felt I needed filled.

I am sure it is the same for some of you people.

 

[NoDak]

Damn it. Pulled a booze and got lost.

 

[Simpleton]

We adopted an English bulldog a few years ago, hates dogs and was seemingly somewhat abused by her original owners, but she's awesome in general and very intelligent.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

We adopted an English bulldog a few years ago, hates dogs and was seemingly somewhat abused by her original owners, but she's awesome in general and very intelligent.

I've never seen a smart English Bulldog. You're lucky. But by themselves they are great dogs. Ours when she is with the other dogs gets a bit jealous of everything.

 

[boozeman]

I think we are overindexing though. Two cats (loathed cats until these two cool ass ones) and now the puppy, a lab/German Shepher/Jack Russell mix.

Oh yeah. And we have three strays cats that hang out in by the enclosed outdoor living area.

 

[Cotton]

I had a Catahoula once. Smartest dog I ever owned. Fucking parvo got her. Last time I ever invested any emotional energy into an animal.

 

[boozeman]

I had a Catahoula once. Smartest dog I ever owned. Fucking parvo got her. Last time I ever invested any emotional energy into an animal.

I had to look up that breed.

 

[Cotton]

I had to look up that breed.

It's essentially a cow/sheep dog.

 

[boozeman]

It's essentially a cow/sheep dog.

Huh. Wiki said it was originally breed to hunt wild boar.

 

[Cotton]

Huh. Wiki said it was originally breed to hunt wild boar.

May have been, but now they are mainly just used to help wrangle animals.

 

[Simpleton]

I've never seen a smart English Bulldog. You're lucky. But by themselves they are great dogs. Ours when she is with the other dogs gets a bit jealous of everything.

I think they can come off as unintelligent because they're stubborn and don't always listen, but overall I think they have a reputation for being relatively smart. Not quite on the level of a poodle or lab but better than average for sure.

 

[boozeman]

I think they can come off as unintelligent because they're stubborn and don't always listen, but overall I think they have a reputation for being relatively smart. Not quite on the level of a poodle or lab but better than average for sure.

Fuck poodles, man.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I think they can come off as unintelligent because they're stubborn and don't always listen, but overall I think they have a reputation for being relatively smart. Not quite on the level of a poodle or lab but better than average for sure.

I'm on my second english bulldog. My wife used to breed them before I met her. When we moved in together I inherited her English Bulldog. When that one passed away I bought her the one we currently have. You probably are right though. It's the stubborn personality. When I want the dog to do something, it just ignores me. But on the flip side when it's just me and the bulldog, it's easy. The dog just wants to waddle around and lay around my feet. Doesn't cause any trouble. Doesn't run off. Won't piss or shit in the house when I'm with it. But if I put the dog in a kennel and leave it will piss all over the kennel as like a protest for not being happy with what I have done.

 

[Irving Cowboy]

My animals have always been parrots (macaws) and cocker spaniels. I got my first macaw, a severe, when I was 14 and had him for 18 years, he died when we arrived in Bremerton, WA in 2001 probably due to the stress from the cross-country move from VA and I was devastated. When we went into a Petco there in Bremerton a few days later to get food for my son's dog, he went and told one of the women who worked there what had happened and she offered to let me adopt a Military macaw that had been confiscated from a meth lab during a raid a few days before. I took her up on her offer and paid $6 for the paperwork and donated $300 to the Humane Society and took her home. I had her for 18 years also until she came down with a blood infection in 2019 and it hit her hard and I had to put her down. I haven't had another parrot since.

I got my first cocker spaniel when I was 13 and 4 years later, just before I left for boot camp she slipped a disk in her back and was paralyzed. We waited for her to get better, and after a week she started to get her legs back under her but instead of doing the right thing and limiting her movement I let her move around and she was quickly back at square one and I had to put her down.

We got my youngest son a cocker spaniel when he was 8 and we had him for 13 years before a tumor in his butt got him in 2011.

I got myself another cocker spaniel in 2014 and he was absolutely the best dog I had, even though it was only a year and a half. We came home one night and found him lying on the floor in the living room, struggling to get up to greet us. I knew from previous experience what was wrong. We took him to the vet at 10pm on a Sunday night (Dallas had lost to Tampa earlier that day ) and an MRI on his back confirmed it, but this was worse. He apparently had a congenital condition called explosive disc extrusion, where 3 discs literally exploded in his back, paralyzing him. They said it was going to keep happening until his diaphragm would be affected and he would subsequently suffocate, so after saying goodbye to my buddy for a few hours, we put him down. My god that was hard to get through.

My wife, in her effort to ease the pain, bought us another cocker spaniel a week later, but Buster never connected with me the same way. 8 months later I saw a little black & white cocker spaniel at the pet store that we had that connection before I even got to hold her. Took her home and she has been my loyal little sidekick since that day. Bella don't play, either. She's absolutely no-nonsense with everyone and when she's with me, if she's in one of her moods, no one can get within 5 feet.

We have since picked up another cocker spaniel about a year later (my son says we have serious empty nest issues) and Roxy is the free spirit of the family. Her energy doesn't mesh with little Bella so I've had to break up more than a handful of skirmishes, and Bella has medical issues (epilepsy being the main one) that for better or worse I see nothing wrong with anything she does... EVAR!