What Makes You A Dog/Cat Lover? How Did You Come To Love And Respect Animals?
Was it an experience as a child or did you always feel that animals deserved to be treated with love and respect....Have you loved cats/dogs as long as you can remember or is it something that you discovered later in life?
How old where you,when you received your first pet? What was the pet you received?
I have always had a love for dogs and cats really animals in general, i was born into a house full of animals ,my mom and her family weren't to hip on animals. but my dad and his family loved animals from day one, i was born into a house with 2 iguana's, an African bull frog,250 pound mastiff,a cat,and 2 turtles. doesn't sound like much but for my mom and dad thats a ZOO! Since i could walk i have always been around animals so how could i not fall in love? Right now i have 3 chihuahua's 3 cats and a African grey parrot. I have never lived in a house with out pets, so i guess you can see why i have love and respect for them.
What About You???
Thank You. Love to hear all your story's!
2008-07-19T19:41:05Z
Please be mature thumbs down fairies,we all have are own opinions and thoughts.
Thanks.
(Star Please) =D)
2008-07-19T19:56:59Z
EDIT: Hey Love....
Thanks!!! It was a lot of work, But so worth it! I sent you an email about a week or two ago about my TC badge. wondering if you got it??? I thought you were kinda busy to answer my TC questions. But i don't think you got???
but and don't worry about the email. I went to Fetch! and she helped me on everything i needed to know.
I have always loved animals, even if I didn't get my first pet until I was five. When I was really young, I would go to this nature centre every week. They had some ferrets, different fish including some native ones, a Great Horned Owl, a rabbit, and I think some Guinea Pigs.
The first stuffed toy I was given was this Snoopy plush, and I like to think that my lifelong love of dogs stemmed from Charlie Brown's beagle.
My first pet was Skeeter, a HUGE grey "Mini" Lop, on Easter when I was five years old. Skeeter was always so laid back, so much so that he would let you hold him on his back, and smart, too! He was litter trained in only a few days. He was a great bunny, and I wish he lived longer than he did (he suddenly died when he was only two years old).
I had a Basset Hound puppy named Darby, who was my first dog, when I was seven years old. I loved her to the ends of the earth, but my parents returned her to the breeder because of housebreaking issues. I begged and begged for them not to do it :(
I got my first rat, Lizzie, when I was eight years old and she fostered my lifelong devotion of these special little pets. I had her for four years until she had to be put to sleep due to cancer. I will never have another kind of rodent, ever.
I got my next dog, Hamish, a Scottish Terrier, when I was fourteen years old, and had him for ten great years. He was an ambassador of his breed, always friendly, loved everyone he met and very friendly. Two years later, we were looking for a second dog to add to our family and fell with Suki, the Shiba Inu. They were inseperable. Unfortunately, due to a number of illnesses, I lost Hamish on October 22nd, 2007. There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think about him.
On June 4th, I adopted Matilda, a Rat Terrier mix who was slated to be gassed in a Louisiana animal shelter if Boudreaux's Animal Rescue Krewe didn't step in and save her. She was pregnant (later gave birth to seven puppies), with mange and heartworm and intestinal parasites on top of that. However, she was a survivor and pulled through. When she fully recovered, she was brought up to the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA (where I volunteer at on a weekly basis) where we fell in love with her and adopted her. She is a terrific dog, very sweet natured and she adores Suki.
Ontop of the dogs, I'm also owned by two rats, Timmy and Nigel, and Comet Goldfish and Shubunkins in two outdoor ponds. They all make my life complete and I cannot imagine life without my animals.
In addition to volunteering and owning, I'm a member of the Toronto Zoo who is making great strides in conservation efforts and modernizing out of date enclosures.
NATURE! Either you do or you don't love a dog or a cat. Most compassionate people tend to love animals. All animals deserve to be treated with love and respect just as you do. However I am not a cat lover, never have been one, and won't ever be one though I don't want to harm them or see them hurt either. I picked up a kitten out of the road that was sick, infested with fleas, etc. and found it a home, but that is the extent of my relationship with cats. This is however a DOG board too, and that is why I am here, I am 100% a DOG person.
I have always loved animals too, as a child we always had a dog and a cat they were family pets, my own first pet was a hamster then a rabbit then I was allowed to have a cat of my own he was beautiful siamese mix, it was not until I was 16 years old that my parents allowed me to have my very own first dog who I got from rescue, she was an excellent dog and her influence on me was huge, I became 100 per cent dog mad, I went on to work with animals for a while, I love dogs and like having them around, I like learning about them too, by the age of 17 I had my second dog another rescue, my parents had never had more than one dog in the house at a time however they were fine with my two dogs living there and my boy bonded quite strongly with my dad, he was still my dog but dad and him were good mates too, after these dogs came a staffie who sadly died before she reached 2 years, and my three current dogs, I guess I was born loving animals because I do not remember ever not loving them, I became vegetarian at the age of 6 because I found out meat was animals and just could not eat it. I have brought home animals thrown out by others which my parents managed to find homes for, my grandmother and aunt were also dog lovers and it has been said that I must have some of their genes, my parents also loved animals but not as intensely
Edit with regards to the TC badge yahoo will take it away if you do not regularly come onto answers do you think they are trying to get people addicted?
I have had either a dog or a cat or both since I was born and that was 52 years ago! I like having an animal in the house, they are great company, don't demand anything from you and will listen to you talk for hours if you feel the need to. All they want from you is a warm, dry place to sleep, good food, fresh water and your love and attention. We currently have 2 dogs and 2 cats. At one time we had 6 cats, but old age and illness took most of them.
Well, both my parents grew up with dogs in the household. After they got married, they rescued a Golden Retriever and a Schnoodle, and then I came about. Those two dogs were probably the highlight of my childhood, especially the Retriever. He would let me grab onto his fur while I learned how to walk and get my balance. They were both very sweet dogs. Right now, my mother has 3 dogs and my father has 1, planning on getting another. My aunt has a dog and my other two aunts both have cats. So my family is pretty much centered around pets.
I could never ever stand to hear or see an animal get injured or hurt. It just wouldn't be right. What do you need to abuse animals for? They're all just like children: they can't really speak for themselves and they depend on people for care and comfort.