This thread is all about your important (pointless) pet stories.

My damn cat is almost everything to me, she's almost 16 now. We adopted her when we first got the house, so she's like my house to me, but more important. She was just a kitten when she first came here, but brave like a lion. She kept climbing on the freaking roof, from the timbers over the deck. Like a little monkey, and then she'd cry for relief when she got tired of playing. And I'd haul her down.

She's old and slow now, like me. She sleeps at least 20 hours a day, and I keep a portable heater running by her bed of course. We both understand each other so well, which is both sad and comforting.

So this thread is where you tell your pet stories, I think! My cat may chime in with a pithy contribution if she feels it's appropriate.

i my dog but he's annoying...always wants to go in and out of the house. he also is obsessed with food and will follow ANYONE with any piece of food, begging for any scrap. he'll put his head on your lap with big eyes and sit there, hoping you'll give him a handout.

That's a beautiful dog, Orange, especially in the snow. About annoying, my damn cat wakes me up at least 4 times every night, just for attention. And of course I've improvised a step to make it easier for her to jump up on the bed, to better make that possible.

My dog Sammy



In our new, small little place, poor Sammy just had a 5x5 concrete porch for his own space. Even when he was inside with us, the cat would torture him and he'd have no place to go hide or get under. (He's not allowed in the bedrooms) He was miserable.

Finally, I decided to ship him to my sister's home, where they have another dog, 4 kids to play with him all the time, and most importantly - SPACE! Both outside and in...he can romp around, hide all he wants, even go jump in a lake if he so desires.

I miss him like crazy, but I made the decision that was best for him. I did it quick, too, before Noah got all attached to him.

And no, this wasn't my wife's idea...she was more than willing to have Sammy with us and she never asked me to get rid of him.

Anyway...I miss my dog but I'll see him in a couple months...my sister says he's loving every minute of it and is very happy. That's all I could ever want for him.

Those are gut-wrenching decisions with pets, it's so difficult.

Here's my niece, Maile:



She was just a young'un then, and now she has gone on to have young'uns of her own. Here they are, freshly born this Tuesday:



Here they are in a group audition, hoping for their big break on 2+2:



You can see the colors vary dramatically in Australian Shepherd litters. We got a high percentage of one of my favorite coats in the doggie kingdom, the blue merle. That's the silvery/blue look. Generally these dogs have a brilliant white chest setting off the rest of their coat. The coats in the last few pics look less than dramatic because everyone is either a newborn or wet or damp, or just kinda beat up from giving birth to eight puppies in the middle of the night.

Here's another one of my niece when she's looking more of her robust and gorgeous self:





The other fellow is her friend Buddy. He's not the father of this litter, or related to Maile, but he has grown up to be an unusually large, good-looking dude. Since they were raised together, they may or may not eventually breed. Who can account for the mysteries of love, after all?

These dogs are both ridiculously spirited and happy all the time. Every day and almost every moment seems to be the very best one yet. So they make my parents very happy. And they keep them active, spurring them to go on long daily walks. My mother also has them compete in agility and obedience trials, and they do very well and seem to get a kick out of it. You know how dogs just ache to please. Long story short is, they bring a lot of happiness to the family, and everybody wins.

I've had to lock my cats out of the bedroom for doing that before. You can love them so much you start to forget how much they are screwing up your health and energy doing that.

great lookin dogs blarg. my family was pretty late to getting dogs (it's only been like a year since we got ours) but i've always liked them.

Blarg, if I locked her out, she'd keep me awake all night yowling, c'mon. At least I get a little sleep this way.

Yes, my cat is a terrorist.

That dark-haired dog of Blarg's parents' looks a lot like my beloved 3rd dog, Sausage, who was some sort of shepherd mix.

I guess I want have to tard up the EPL thread anymore with my cats.

The Lounge I introduce you to Cowboy and Carlos who are brothers who just turned 9 months old:

Carlos:


Cowboy:



Both are of these kittens came from a friend of my girlfriend and I who couldn't keep all 3 kittens in the litter. We took all three but gave the girl of the litter to my girlfriends mom.

Bonus pic of all three from back in July - L to R: Zoe, Carlos and Cowboy



I initially just wanted one cat but when I was around Carlos and Cowboy I immediately changed my mind and needed both of them. Cowboy is definitely the more social cat, always wanting to play, chirping at us, waking us up in the morning . Carlos is really hit or miss, either wants to lay on you for hours or hide in a closet. I've always been a cat person but hadn't owned one for 6 years since my childhood cat died and I couldn't imagine not having them.

I grew up with tons of dogs and cats and feel very lucky about that. Glad you got the chance to try out the experience yourself. Dogs are great and well worth the effort and expense, IMO.

But I do feel bad when people get them but don't take much care of them. They're not for everybody, by far. Most people are probably a bit too busy or simply self-centered for dogs, IMO. For them I'd recommend a cat instead. Cats love you, but they don't need you so desperately and continually.

those are incredible looking dogs, Blarg...

And yes, our cat - a gorgeous main ****, sleeps all day then decides to perform in the middle of the night, yowling like crazy.

Carlos is the better looking of the bunch, but even in the kitten photo, Cowboy stands out as fun and bound for glory.

I've kind of adopted Carlos as my cat while my girlfriend adopted cowboy as hers. I hope they never lose their love to wrestle one another or sneak attack the other while sleeping

I'm more of a "large dog" guy and these are medium, but I wound up liking these a lot. Now I'm a converted Australian Shepherd fan. Partly because they really are as smart as they say, I think, and as active. They seem very tuned into the world and curious. And because my folks have a great yard in a semi-rural area, whatever they reach out to experience is pretty happy stuff, and that reflects in their personalities too. It doesn't hurt that they're pretty, either. Maile looks like a movie star IMO.

Australian Shepherds would probably tear up an apartment, though, so I wouldn't recommend them to more than a small percentage of dog owners. They are truly "working" dogs in that they need to be busy and challenged, and if they're not, all sorts of problems may develop. My mother training them in agility is about a perfect fit for their personalities and desire to get out there and do the heck out of something.

yeah, I'd get one of the largest dog in the world if I could...Irish Wolfhounds!



Or maybe a mastiff!



i love big dogs

The only time my cat meows is at 6 am, outside my bedroom door (or inside the bedroom if the door is open). She's like an alarm clock cat. Any suggestions on curing this.

Water pistol.

get up at 5:30

Blarg would water pistol-whip it upside the head, to teach it a lesson.

I could have its vocal cords surgically removed.

After my cat dies, no more for me. I grew up with dogs, and they were so great, but no way could or would I take proper care of a dog now.

The lady across the street leaves her poor dog alone 10-12 hours every day, and it kills me to hear this thing yapping all the time. And the richness is, if her ugly advertisement-laden car is to be believed, she's in some sort of pet grooming business her own self. Just criminal.

my vet trip just cost me 399dollars!! lets talk about that haha damn vets

Yeah they can get pretty crazy, and there seems to be a huge difference in quality.