Our Pets

[JPSmit]

Need to start a thread What does it cost to properly care for a Dog or Cat?

what would possess you to even consider either of those threads?! :grin: next thing you will want us to calculate the cost of children - sheesh.

I have never tallied the receipts for Ms Triss - or the pets and I am very happy with both those decisions.

Like Doc, we are on the cusp of no more long term pet commitments. we were dog people but our lifestyle wasn't fair to a dog (long days away from home etc) so now hav e two cats - one is 10 the other 15 - would hate to lose either (especially the older one which is just a wonderful pet) but doubt we will replace either. Partly the commitment and partly, even with cats want the freedom to easily travel as we move into retirement.

OTOH Mrs JP and I have a very very firm commitment that next time we get married we aren't having children! :grin:

 

[DavidApp]

It is a thing people need to think about when one of the kids says "I want a puppy" It should not be considered a short term thing or cheap but it will bring years of unquestioning love and companionship.

We are in the same boat on new dogs. My projected life span verses theirs. Getting to the point they may outlive me. I am not sure we would have got another even if I was 20 years younger as no dog could match up to the one we just lost.

David

 

[DavidApp]

I remember a comedian doing a skit about getting a dog or having kids.

She said well my Mother said you have to think "Do you want to ruin the carpets or ruin your life"

It seemed funny the way she said it.

David

 

[GregW]

One thing to consider is adopting an older animal from a shelter. When I was looking about three years ago, there was a place that had rooms full of cats that could roam around. A 15 year old came up and sat against my thigh. I felt 15 was too old for me. Wound up with this beautiful 2 year old at the time.

 

[John Turney]

I saw a quote yesterday: "There is no stronger love in the world that that between a dad and a dog he didn't want."

We will probably have a couple more in our lifetime, but probably not another standard poodle. SWMBO has had a couple of falls from the big boys pulling her over.

 

[donbmw]

We have got 4 parrots that will probably be here after the wife and I are gone. Our Doberman will by the last large dog and my be the last.

 

[DavidApp]

That is Me.

I wanted a big dog but our daughter found this Toy poodle. Said it will be good for Mama as you are out of town a lot and I am off to college soon.
When we went to pick up Sammie the breeder handed her to me. Probable to win me over.
Over the years she was my constant companion and I held her in my arms as she fell asleep for the last time.

David

I saw a quote yesterday: "There is no stronger love in the world that that between a dad and a dog he didn't want."

We will probably have a couple more in our lifetime, but probably not another standard poodle. SWMBO has had a couple of falls from the big boys pulling her over.

 

[DrEntropy]

OTOH Mrs JP and I have a very very firm commitment that next time we get married we aren't having children! :grin:

Made it clear from the beginning of any relationship: No kids, period. Some said "You're selfish!" Others, "Who's gonna care for you when you're OLD?" HA!!

To both, my answer has been "I don't view the world thru tinted lenses."

For us, cats serve as surrogates. Their only expectations are regular vittles and occasional affection. An equitable trade, IMO.

But the loss of a furry companion is felt as deeply as the loss of any family member. My sympathy sent out to David, heartfelt.

 

[JPSmit]

We have got 4 parrots that will probably be here after the wife and I are gone. Our Doberman will by the last large dog and my be the last.

Ooooo hijack ahead.

Thief breaks into a house. He is going about his thieving business when he hears a voice that says:

'be careful, Jesus is watching you.'

He looks around and seeing nothing goes back to work until he hears again

'be careful, Jesus is watching you.'

This time as he swings his flashlight he notices a parrot.

The parrot says 'be careful, Jesus is watching you.'

The thief says 'who are you?' to the parrot.

The parrot replies, 'I'm Moses.'

'Moses!' says the thief, 'what kind of idiot would call his parrot Moses?'

'Same kind of idiot that would call his doberman Jesus replied the parrot.'

 

[DavidApp]

Good one.

David

 

[DavidApp]

Thank you.

I know your own pet is always the smartest and the best but Sammie did have some remarkable traits.
When riding in the car or truck I would make her sit in the passenger seat and for the most part she would stay there but as we turned on to our road she would climb across the center console and want me to open the window so she could hang her head out. Do not know how she knew where we were but it always happened. Also her sense of time was remarkable because if we were outside me in the garage working and her laying on her piece of carpet at about the time my wife was due home she was sitting in the middle of the drive way waiting. Same thing at supper time, 5.00 sitting by the counter looking for her pill before her supper. Had been laying in her bed all afternoon but seem to be keeping an eye on the clock.

David

Made it clear from the beginning of any relationship: No kids, period. Some said "You're selfish!" Others, "Who's gonna care for you when you're OLD?" HA!!

To both, my answer has been "I don't view the world thru tinted lenses."

For us, cats serve as surrogates. Their only expectations are regular vittles and occasional affection. An equitable trade, IMO.

But the loss of a furry companion is felt as deeply as the loss of any family member. My sympathy sent out to David, heartfelt.

 

[DavidApp]

Hope Muffin's tests go OK today and she can get the corrective surgery to correct her vision.

David

 

[PAUL161]

To all concerned, Muffins test went very well and will get cataract surgery next Monday, (sorry for the typo) on her left eye! A problem with her right eye has to be solved before surgery on it, which is possible and could take a while to solve. Her medications are many and a little complicated to give her, but the vet says she will be able to see in her left eye after surgery!

David, you have a PM.

 

[DavidApp]

Hello Paul

Hope you have Muffin on your health insurance.
Pill pockets are what we used to give Sammie her pills. Up till we discovered them it was a fight every day to get her to take her meds. With pill pockets she was waiting at supper time by the cabinet where her pills and pill pockets were kept.

David

 

[PAUL161]

Muffin loves liverwurst, so we put a pill in a little ball of it and she takes them without hesitation. I don't know what is in pill pockets, diabetics are very limited on food choices. :thumbsup:
Pet health insurance? Ha! Muffin is turning into our million dollar dog! 5 bottles of different formulas eye drops, 2 different bottles of pills plus exam, $465.00 and it aint over!

Hello Paul

Hope you have Muffin on your health insurance.
Pill pockets are what we used to give Sammie her pills. Up till we discovered them it was a fight every day to get her to take her meds. With pill pockets she was waiting at supper time by the cabinet where her pills and pill pockets were kept.

David

 

[John Turney]

Never thought of liverwurst. Have to give that a try. Nutmeg can smell pills inside a pill pocket.

 

[DavidApp]

Sammie had 3 pills she had to take one being Tramadol which is very bitter. Some times she would balk at the pill pocket but a bit of chicken added to the Pill pocket did the trick. Sammie was on a Gastrointestinal diet and the vet approved the pill pockets for her in fact she said she wished she had thought to invent them.

David

 

[waltesefalcon]

My German Sheppard, Zeus, takes benadryl for for his allergies and I get him to take it using peanut butter.

 

[John Turney]

.... Some times she would balk at the pill pocket but a bit of chicken added to the Pill pocket did the trick. ...

When they are as spoiled as ours are, chicken only works if it's fresh off the rotisserie.

 

[PC]

... Now we care for three "occasional" cats. They were abandoned ... they'd been fed since kittenhood, human dependent, been "fixed" but were kept outdoors. They've now been with us for a few years, .... they're not house cats. They do NOT like being kept indoors. .....

Yeah, you just can't predict.

Two of our crew were feral. They'd been TNR'd as kittens but living in parking lots and roaming an industrial complex by a freeway for years.

The first one we snagged because coyotes were devastating the colony and she was the only one that would let anybody close enough to grab her. Tossed her in the carrier and it was like in a Tasmanian Devil cartoon. The whole carrier was bouncing around the back of the car. Thought she was going to tear it apart. By the time we got her to the vet she was calm. Get her home and she went from scaredicat to snugglebug in a few days. Now she's a total house princess and never wants to leave the upstairs bedrooms, let alone go outside.

A couple of years later one of the parking lot boys gets into a scrap with a raccoon. He was easy to pick up, being nearly half dead. After his days at the vet we weren't about to put him back out with the coyotes. He settled in within a few hours. Shows zero interest in going outside.

..... I'm an idiot, BTW, when it comes to cats or dogs.

We lucked out with the last dog we found dodging cars on a busy street. No tags, not chipped, showed no signs of recognizing any houses when we got her leashed (we keep leashes in the cars for such occasions) and walked her around the neighborhood where we found her.

Great little girl, but our current cat heard isn't dog conditioned so we weren't in a position to keep her. Got her checked out, vaccinated and chipped at our vet and got super lucky. One of the techs fell in love with her. Now she's got a great home.