All About Animals discussion

Please tell us how many animals you have, what are they, how you came about getting them, and anything else.

Also, add your own pets to the photo section. I will be using them for our display photos on the homepage.

The most accurate word to describe my gorgeous cat Phoebe is "sumptuous." She's so deliciously large and generous in every way, physically and emotionally. Her fur is sumptuously thick and soft to the touch. We rescued her from death row at the local vet when she was four years old and have had the great honour of her love and company for nine years since then. Her complete name is Queen Phoebe of Bagnall's Hill and we are her devoted and adoring subjects. She sleeps each night spooned into Jeff with her head beside his on his pillow.
Here is a photo of her:
http://www.tuiscope.co.nz/images/fami...

Sorry this is going to be so long but this is the short introduction to my current pets.
The oldest of my pets is a 10 year old goldfish called Pumpkin. I won Pumpkin at a Halloween carnival when I was in sixth grade, after hitting her in the head with a ping pong ball. Upon winning her we had to go to the petstore for a fish tank because the one we had was currently being occupied by tropical fish. My mom said Pumpkin probably wouldn't even live for more than a day so a small, cheap tank would be fine. Now, at the age of ten she is living in the tank that the tropical fish lived in before they died. Two years ago instead of getting more tropical fish I convinced my Grandma to let Pumpkin have the tank.
The next oldest pet in the house is my 8 year old Chihuahua, Taco. When Taco was a puppy a lady found him in her yard. He was very little and at first looked as if he could be a dead squirrell, but instead he turned out to be a living puppy. For the next year she spent much time with Taco, cuddling him, dressing him up, traveling with him, and really just obsessing over him, then one day Taco's life changed. The lady had a baby. My Grandma became this baby's sitter. During this time the lady's attention was less spent on Taco and more on the baby. Taco, having been used to constant attention became jealous. He began showing it by using the bathroom indoors right where it was sure to be noticed. Instead of getting him more attention it got him less which caused him to act out further. One day while his owner was sleeping he went on her. Now he was getting even less attention. Before babysitting the baby my Grandma almost didn't accept the job because the lady owned a Chihuahua and she had always viewed this breed as mean and yappy which Taco is neither. Luckily she took the job or this story may not have had a good ending. Anyway, as Taco's behavior got worse, instead of trying to learn what caused it the lady got impatient with him. (I should also mention that Taco's behavior problems didn't appear to begin until the kid was 2). While Taco was making his feelings known the lady petsat a puppy, renamed it,threw out Taco's stuff and decided to become a pet free home all in the same couple weeks. You can learn about the puppy, a Mastiff Mix, here: http://www.cuteness.com/pets/17020/Hooch but be warned his story is incomplete and may not have a happy ending. Upon making her decision she offered Taco to my Grandma who didn't say yes or no, instead she brough the subject up at home. Everyone in my house agreed to take in Taco, except my Toy Poodle, CeJaye but he would learn to accept Taco. Taco then became a part of my life and inspired me to write many stories since then. Although our relationship is far from perfect living with Taco is a lot of fun.
My youngest pets are my Mini Rex rabbits, Chibi & Kojikaki. Chibi is named after 2 characters. The first is a dragon from the Dragon Drive book series, the second is a white wolf from the Okami Den video game. Both characters are hero's and their name means small in Japanese. His sister, Kojikaki, got her name based on the naming system used in the Warriors book series. Her name is made up of 2 parts; Kojika, which means fawn, and Ki, which can mean either heart or spirit so her name in English is either Fawnheart or Fawnspirit. Her name is also Japenese. I found my bunnies on Petfinder.com which is what I used to locate the breed I wanted in a shelter. At the time both were babies and had just gone up for adoption. They were in a Pennsylvania shelter and I don't live in PA so my mom at first said no I could wait and get one from our local shelter, but when I insisted on getting these two she called the shelter with the idea that they would say no and the subject would be closed. Instead becasue rabbits rarely get adopted from this shelter and I wanted 2, the woman at the shelter was able to get me permission to adopt out of state. She said they would be spayed and neutered that night and I could have them the next day. So my mom had to take me to PA to adopt my new bunnies. I have had them now for either 3 or 4 years now and although I consider them to be worth the drive I promised my mom that next time I want to adopt a rabbit I will get one from our local shelter. Just like Taco they have inspired me to write some stories about them.
Currently all my pets are enjoying their lives. Although all except Pumpkin really want the warm weather back. Chibi & Kojikaki want to play in their outdoor pen and eat grass. (They have an indoor pen which they are using now but it is grassless.) Taco enjoys laying around in the sun and hates cold and wet temperatures which we currently have. Taco is also currently getting over a small injury with his paw that should be going away in another week according to the vet. For now he is not allowed to jump or run which is really hard for him.
You can always meet the current and former pets that have inspired stories here: http://www.mortalrealmwitch.com/meett... and if you click on one of the links to cuteness located on most of the animals descriptions you can learn a little more about some of them and meet other pets and anipals of mine that haven't inspired any stories.
Once again I apologize for the length of this comment.

Hahaha!! I have 27 pets in total so could go for awhile! If I have some extra time I will. :)

Mary-anne wrote: "Hahaha!! I have 27 pets in total so could go for awhile! If I have some extra time I will. :)"

Okay, will enjoy reading about them.

I have two dogs, both rescue dogs from shelters. My Rat-terrier/Jack-russell mix, Tucker, is around 10 yrs old now. We got him when he was a little over a year old. He was in the pound looking really sad and won my heart over. The previous owners took him back to the pound. I'm not sure why. Maybe cause he was peeing on the floor and wasn't potty trained yet. So, I got him and he's been here ever since. I don't give back animals once I get them. Their here for life.

The other dog I got from the shelter was our puggle. His name was "Sire", but it didn't fit him, so we changed it to Rufus. He's a pug/beagle mix. Really cute and always into something. When he tilts his head you could never stay mad at him for chewing on your socks, your towels, your blankets, your...well, you get the picture. Anything he can get his paws on.

He was three months old when we got him and he came from a puppy mill. I didn't get him from a puppy mill, I got him from the shelter. They said no one wanted him cause he was the runt of the litter. Rufus is about 2-1/2 yrs old now.

When we brought him home my grandson and I taught him in only 3 hours to sit. He's a fast learner. Since then I have taught him to "hug". When I tell him hug, he'll lean his head on my chest and then I'll give him a rub. Win, Win! lol. He loves chewing on his bones. When someone comes to the house he always runs to get a bone or a toy in his mouth. He's done this ever since we got him. He has to have something to show off when greeting you I guess.

My other dog, Tucker, doesn't care about bones unless Rufus has one. Then he just wants to take it from him like a bully.

I also taught Rufus to ring the bell when he needs to go outside to potty. Sometimes he slaps that bell around so much it's like...give me a chance already! But, he does it. He also can open up some doors to our cabinet and I had to child proof the one. LOL.

Tucker shakes his head to clang his tags on his collar to go outside.

They each have their own personalities as all animals do.

Proud and happy mama here to three rescue cats and one rescue puppy. Two boy cats are SPCA specials and Lucy is an adoptee after a Trap Neuter Return operation (she's the heroine the novel Taming Me). Willie the Shih Tzu came home with us at only six weeks of age, when the owner of his puppy mill was busted selling these tiny creatures out of the back of a pickup truck. I love that others of you are rescuers - there are literally millions of animals that need homes and they make our homes happier and more loving.

All these wonderful stories--and, still, NO pictures on our gallery! Come on, Tui, Cathy, Barbara, Mary-Anne (with 27 pets, there have to be photos other than your horses), and Jennifer, what about those interesting rabbits?

I, for one, would like to see them all.

Inge wrote: "All these wonderful stories--and, still, NO pictures on our gallery! Come on, Tui, Cathy, Barbara, Mary-Anne (with 27 pets, there have to be photos other than your horses), and Jennifer, what about..."

I have photos in the gallery. I could post more.

Barbara wrote: "Inge wrote: "All these wonderful stories--and, still, NO pictures on our gallery! Come on, Tui, Cathy, Barbara, Mary-Anne (with 27 pets, there have to be photos other than your horses), and Jennife..."

YES, MORE, Barbara!

Okay okay! I just posted Phoeb on the images page. Didn't know it existed until you told me. Thanks for that. I'll put a picture of a dolphin to if I can find one.

Tui wrote: "Okay okay! I just posted Phoeb on the images page. Didn't know it existed until you told me. Thanks for that. I'll put a picture of a dolphin to if I can find one."

Oh cool! I'm going to look.

I posted a few more photos too.

Just put up one sad dolphin pic, one happier dolphin, a whale pic, and a pretty-pony pic.

Okey dokey!! I posted some photos for you guys! :)

I love it how when Inge cracks the whip, we all hop to it! :)

Inge wrote: "All these wonderful stories--and, still, NO pictures on our gallery! Come on, Tui, Cathy, Barbara, Mary-Anne (with 27 pets, there have to be photos other than your horses), and Jennifer, what about..."

Just put mine in. I put all the ones I had photos for including my pets that have died, and Levi who is an honorary pet because it's not possible for me to own him but he has almost become one of my pets anyway and he is also in all of my books as he is with me in my author pic.

Tui wrote: "I love it how when Inge cracks the whip, we all hop to it! :)"

Now, that's cat-power! Love all the pictures.

Tui wrote: "I love it how when Inge cracks the whip, we all hop to it! :)"

yeah, I know. LOL

Since Barbara and Mary-Anne already allowed me to post pictures of their animals on my blog, I trust that I may add some of the new ones to those articles ... Rufus and his bones are precious; and Hansel and Gretel should not get lost in the woods.

After that, I'll be coming a-calling on you others.

Inge wrote: "Since Barbara and Mary-Anne already allowed me to post pictures of their animals on my blog, I trust that I may add some of the new ones to those articles ... Rufus and his bones are precious; and ..."

yes, that's fine with me.

It's still Valentine's day in some parts of the world so I thought you might like this cat's dating video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCkSP4...

Barbara,

Love the new picture of Rudolph...can I add him to Rufus, please?

I don't know if anyone is interested, but here are the links to some videos with my pets in them, one with me and the horse Levi, and one with me and another horse, Felix.

Me and Levi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui5iq...

Me and Felix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwZwM...

A video of just my bunny Chibi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgwoL...

A video of both my bunnies, Chibi & Kojikaki playing outside: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=324iV...

Another Chibi & Kojikaki video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyyZ7...

A Third Chibi & Kojikaki video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D9qI...

A Chibi & Kojikaki video that also features my Chihuahua Taco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di9_f...

Part 1 of Taco's Christmas video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQKtE...

Part 2 of Taco's Christmas Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2fKg...

Part 3 of Taco's Christmas Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuG_m...

Part 4 of Taco's Christmas Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gii9d...

The Christmas Videos are a little dark because I didn't find my camera's low light setting until the next day and the videos were actually taken Christmas Eve.

Inge wrote: "Barbara,

Love the new picture of Rudolph...can I add him to Rufus, please?"

Yes, you can. He was a dog at the animal shelter. Not my pet. Just letting you know.

2 cats, Buddy and Lucy. I adopted Buddy from a rescue group. I adopted Lucy from my own town shelter that I worked for. Lucy's momma was a feral that was about to be euthanized while she was pregnant. I talked them into holding her at our shelter (very difficult to to do with a feral cat) until she gave birth. I got to witness my little Lucy being born. All the kittens were adopted out, and feral momma was sent to a feral rescue. It was a win - win for all :-)

I have a dog named Clancy and a cat named Nate. They are both rescues, and both 5 years old. Clancy is a black cocker/poodle mix and Nate is a grey tabby. I will add some photos to the gallery after I go check out all your cuties! :)

I have all of my favorite domesticated animals.
First, I have two cats, Ginger and Rossie. Both are very large (NOT fat). Ginger is 14 pounds and Rossie is somewhere between 18 - 20lbs. Rossie has Norweigan Forest cat and maine coone personalities and looks and SIZE. Ginger was adopted as a kitten from people giving away kittens at their house and is a very affectionate and loving cat. and Rossie is a cat rescued from the wilderness along trails in Alberta. He had strange fur between his claws that the vet took to get investigated. It was the underbelly fur of a coyote! Rossie is quite a survivor.
I also have three dogs. Button and Daisy are collie/lab mixes (mostly collie) sisters from a giant litter of 15 pups. You wouldn't think it though. Daisy has long gold and white fur. Button has medium lengths black fur and white feet and chest. My other dog, Mack, is an old black dog, he's 16 and is almost all lab, but part german shorthair pointer. The house I live at now Mack was at when I moved in. His people just left him behind! But he has a very loving person taking care of him now (myself).
I also have three paint horses. Bess is 18 years old and is the mother of both of the other horses. She has a son called Dakota who is 13 and a daughter called Lizzie who is going to be 2 in April. Lizzie's sire is a Belgian so Lizzie is currently around 16 hands or more (her mom and half-brother are around 15!) so she is going to be a gaint. She is very affectionate and playful and she bites at Dakota's face when she wants him to play so he will nip back. (I call those nipping contests. And they never work with Bess. Bess just ignores Lizzie.) The funny thing is, is that Dakota and Bess were sold to us by a man with a bunch of Belgain horses. And it was only after we had bought the horses and brought them home that he told us that Bess had been mated to his Belgian stallion and was very certain Bess would be pregnant. He had wanted a blegian sized horse with a brown and white paint coat, so he had mated Bess with the stallion two times before but each time got a paint sized horse the color of a Belgian. But as soon as he sold Bess to us, we got the foal he wanted! A belgian sized (sort of because although she is huge I doubt she will be quite as big as a pure belgian) horse with a beautiful brown and white paint coat. Amazingly, Lizzie has patches almost the same as Bess's! She is almost a copy in her coloring and patch pattern! And we are NOT selling or giving her away either.
All of these animals are very, very, VERY loved equally and get lots of attention and care.

I have a 4 year old male chihuahua terrier mix named Ringo. he was a rescue dog when we got him but he has adapted wonderfully to our family. i cannot imagine life without him. i have chronic pain and he seems to know when i hurt and comes over and sits by me and licks where i hurt. fabulous therapy dog.

Here in new Zealand we have some very endangered dolphins called Hector's and Maui's. The Maui's have less than 55 left alive. They live on the coast to the west of my home. Tomorrow we have a special Maui's dolphin day out at Raglan on the West Coast where they live, to raise money and awareness to help them to survive. There is a raft race where you have to build a raft using re-cycled materials. I am entered and have sewn coke bottles into an old bedspread to create my raft.

The Maui's are the world's smallest and most rare dolphins. Hectors and Mauis are very similar and the main difference is where they live. Maui's live on our west coast. Hectors on the east of the south island. Maui's are more endangered but Hectors are not far behind. They are the only dolphins in the world to have a roundish fin - not the usual curved triangle.
It is the fishing industry which causes their biggest threat to survival.
If you want to know more about these precious but critically endangered dolphins, there is an informative website here:
http://www.hectorsdolphins.com/index....

My animals at present are just fish. But I've had cats, dogs, rabbits, sheep, leeches, eagles, hen, snakes, spiders, etc, etc, etc. =)
They were all awesome. And this is my Glue: http://d.gr-assets.com/photos/1336235...

Love the cat.

Thank you! :D

Currently, I have the pleasure to have a lovely mix Maine Coon. We were rescued by our lovely Athena 3 years ago. She is a wonderful companion, talkative, playful and loving. I'm so glad to have her in my life.

Tui wrote: "Here in new Zealand we have some very endangered dolphins called Hector's and Maui's. The Maui's have less than 55 left alive. They live on the coast to the west of my home. Tomorrow we have a spe..."

Thank you for sharing this :)

I have one Cat named Bella. She came from the Humane Society. She was so lovely nice and it was so sad to just leave without her. So I adopted Bella.

Jacob, that's the best way to get an animal. It's how I always get mine. That way you know its been well medicated, you're not being ripped off for any expenses they ask for and you're probably saving it form having to be put down, if no-one takes it in their time limit.

Tui wrote: "Jacob, that's the best way to get an animal. It's how I always get mine. That way you know its been well medicated, you're not being ripped off for any expenses they ask for and you're probably sav..."

Yep. I hate when Cats have to be put down sometimes people just put down animals for no reason :(

And even animal shelters have to do it sometimes or they would be over-run by the numbers and unable to feed them all. That's why if you need an animal, you're saving a life by getting one from there.

Tui wrote: "And even animal shelters have to do it sometimes or they would be over-run by the numbers and unable to feed them all. That's why if you need an animal, you're saving a life by getting one from there."

Yep :) You should always Adopt!

Our vet (and also the SPCA ) has a certain number of days they can hold the animal to give it a chance of adoption. Then it has to go, but they make sure it is done humanely - better than starving or other worse things.
If they have a lot of animals, the number of days is probably fewer but if their numbers are low they might hold it longer. Our cat was at the end of her allotted time when we came and took her home to live with us at the last moment. We have loved every minute of the nine years we've had her since.

What is Bella like Jacob? I'm off for a bike ride son so will check your reply when I return. On this thread we never tire of hearing about one another's animals.
My Phoebe is a sumptuous huge soft-furred tabby with extra long white whiskers, extra soft thick fur, (although she is not a long-haired cat) extra, greeny-gold eyes, and a super-loving personality.
Her picture is on our threads photo album.

Here's my Phoebe for you Jacob:

http://d.gr-assets.com/photos/1360715...

Cute Phoebe. It is winter where I am but almost SPRING :)
Bella is adorable,playful, very CraZY at times, Goes to sleep with me, Doesn't love food like a lot of cats. Bella also is a short hair British Tabby. She is on my photos. also my profile pic.

Also she is 1 year old.

Jacob wrote: "Bella is adorable,playful, very CraZY at times"
Jacob, you have an interesting background. Half Finnish! I only ever met one other Finnish person. There are very few in this country (New Zealand) All my life I associate the Tove Jansson books with Finland. (Finn Family Moomintroll and his gang.)
The Finnish lady I knew married someone we knew and came to live here in NZ. Sadly she died while still quite young, but we really loved her and so did everyone.
Fantastic that you do volunteer work in the animal shelters. That really impresses me. We recently read a book about that. It was a non-fiction book called "Pasha - from Animal Shelter to a Sheltered Life." It was by Inge, an author who is in this group.

Inside the house we have two African grey parrots, two doves, and two parakeets, plus four cats who are kept out of the bird room and don't pay much attention to them, anyway. Outdoors we have 12 ducks, five geese, and just one hen.

Sounds like you like birds Bob. I have two doves that hang around our house year after year. We feed them but we can't really touch them. I love seeing them around though.

I have eight chihuahuas, a Japanese chin, and a small mutt named Penny Lane. That may seem like a lot of dogs, but weight wise it's really just one big dog. They are small and sweet. Their favorite thing to do is sit in our laps. I consider all of my dogs much loved pets but four of them are champion show dogs. I started handling dogs in 2008, I wrote about my often hilarious adventures in my book, DOG SHOW CONFIDENTIAL (Sneaking in the Back Door of Westminster).

Connie wrote: "I have eight chihuahuas, a Japanese chin, and a small mutt named Penny Lane. That may seem like a lot of dogs, but weight wise it's really just one big dog. They are small and sweet. Their favorite..."

I love the dog shows on TV. I went to a local show once but nothing like they show on TV.

I have a dog which I got 8 months ago when he was only a week old. Me and my family were looking to buy a horse and we ended up getting our dog for free. He has quite the personality