Pets you've had

My grandfather had a collie named Rex. He taught Rex to bring in wood for the fireplace (one piece at a time, obviously), and to do all sorts of things. He had Rex for years (this was before I was born). After Rex got hit by a car, he never wanted any other pets, and my grandmother had a stern talk with him when we moved back to Mississippi when I was little in order for us to have a dog. I think he was really just trying to save us the pain he went through. For some reason, I guess because we lived way out in the country, people would dump their unwanted dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens out there and they would often find their way to our house. Of course we always wanted to keep them all!

[flo]

Originally Posted by Neezar

I asked him why he didn't give her to one of his buddies who lives out in the country. He said he loves her too much.

That's what I just cannot understand. How can he claim to "love" her yet keep her in a cage (not to mention the danger to his kids).

A wolf has a big territory, they can roam 50 miles in one day in search of food.

[flo]

Originally Posted by Neezar

I would LOVE to have a shepard. (I know what i just said about never, lol). But I can't leave my dog outside. And I can't stand dog hair in the house. Nitro is a min pin mixed with rat terrior and doesn't shed much. He is fairly easy to clean after. I guess I could get a shepard and keep him shaved.

I'd love to have one too (I'd sure feel more secure!). Our dogs don't shed much but they would just wag their tails at intruders.

Originally Posted by flo

That's what I just cannot understand. How can he claim to "love" her yet keep her in a cage (not to mention the danger to his kids).

A wolf has a big territory, they can roam 50 miles in one day in search of food.

In my own, personal opinion, you should not be allowed to keep normally wild animals without some sort of permit and enclosures that are inspected and approved to be sufficient for that kind of animals, like one that closely mirrors their normal natural environment. For example, in MS, you can't have deer in enclosures less than 300 acres.

[flo]

Originally Posted by surveyorshawn

My grandfather had a collie named Rex. He taught Rex to bring in wood for the fireplace (one piece at a time, obviously), and to do all sorts of things. He had Rex for years (this was before I was born). After Rex got hit by a car, he never wanted any other pets, and my grandmother had a stern talk with him when we moved back to Mississippi when I was little in order for us to have a dog. I think he was really just trying to save us the pain he went through. For some reason, I guess because we lived way out in the country, people would dump their unwanted dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens out there and they would often find their way to our house. Of course we always wanted to keep them all!

Bringing in firewood, that's amazing!

We got one of our two cats because someone dumped her off by our property, she's very sweet. That seems to happen a lot in the country; I figure people are either too stupid to realize a domesticated animal (esp. dogs) are going to have a very tough time trying to survive on their own or they just-don't-care.

Originally Posted by surveyorshawn

In my own, personal opinion, you should not be allowed to keep normally wild animals without some sort of permit and enclosures that are inspected and approved to be sufficient for that kind of animals, like one that closely mirrors their normal natural environment. For example, in MS, you can't have deer in enclosures less than 300 acres.

Word.

[Neezar]

Originally Posted by flo

I'd love to have one too (I'd sure feel more secure!). Our dogs don't shed much but they would just wag their tails at intruders.

When I worked at the Sheriff's dept we had a K-9 shepard from Germany. He only followed German commands. I could go on for days about how smart and how cool this dog was! His name was Nutz. He loved me dearly. I would see him about twice a week and hang out. I told his handler once that I didn't think he could 'sic' him on me. WRONG! He was totally loyal to his handler. I thought he would at least pause like he didn't WANT to do it. Nope. They had different commands to hold prisoner or to actually make physical contact. He backed me up to a truck quickly snarling and gnashing his teeth. Scared me to death! However, when Rob told him to back off he went over to him and whimpered letting him know that he didn't like doing it. That made me feel a little better.

[flo]

Originally Posted by Neezar

When I worked at the Sheriff's dept we had a K-9 shepard from Germany. He only followed German commands. I could go on for days about how smart and how cool this dog was! His name was Nutz. He loved me dearly. I would see him about twice a week and hang out. I told his handler once that I didn't think he could 'sic' him on me. WRONG! He was totally loyal to his handler. I thought he would at least pause like he didn't WANT to do it. Nope. They had different commands to hold prisoner or to actually make physical contact. He backed me up to a truck quickly snarling and gnashing his teeth. Scared me to death! However, when Rob told him to back off he went over to him and whimpered letting him know that he didn't like doing it. That made me feel a little better.

That *is* surprising, since he knew you!! brrrr, I would have been really scared too.

http://petrix.com/dogint/intelligence.html GSDs are #3. Wow, poodles are #2, I didn't expect that.

My dogs are #44. Oh well, they excel in all other catagories.

[Tyburn]

Originally Posted by Oddtodd76

different kinds of birds:
love birds...parakeets
cockatiel
zebra finch
strawberry finch
some type of blue finch...
some type of yellow finch...

I love Birds also!

Oh yeah, I forgot that when I was about 6 or 7 we had a calf named Red, because, well, she was red, lol. She wore a John Deere cap a lot. I used to have pics of her with it on, but don't know what happened to them. We had a ferret for a while too.
My ex wife and I kept up her dad's farm for him while we were going to junior college. He mostly had limousin cattle, but he had one old jersey cow. One year she had a bull calf that was born blind in one eye, and my ex kind of adopted him as a pet. He always walked in a circle in one direction because he was blind in the one eye, lol. One morning we were moving them from one field, across the driveway, through the holding pen, and into another field before going to her grandparents for a nice lunch, so we were in our nice clothes, as we thought it was going to be a simple task. Usually, though the jersey bull would only walk in circles, he would eventually find his way because his mother would keep bellowing at him until he finally made it through the gate to wherever she was. The problem that day was that there was a small pond in the holding pen. He made it across the driveway, through one field, and into the holding pen, but wound up in the pond and kept swimming in circles. He was in there for what seemed like 30 minutes swimming round and round, getting lower and lower in the water. My wife was about to have a fit, as was the old jersey cow, and I was kicking off my shoes and unbuttoning my shirt when he finally hit a shallow spot and made it out, lol. Needless to say we were a little late for lunch!

[TexasRN]

I've had too many pets in my lifetime to name. I will list some of my all time faves though:

1)Sunshine. She was a Sheltie which looks like a miniature Collie. She was great. Loved her. She died of old age when I was 17.

2)Toby. He was a coon dog that belonged originally to my uncle Jack. When he couldn't hunt anymore Toby came to live with us. He was very protective and would have killed anyone trying to bother us kids. He was hit by a car and died when I was a teen.

3)El Gato. He was an old tom cat whose sole purpose in life was to catch mice on our farm in Missouri. He was huge and awesome. He loved to ride in the truck with us.

4)Joe. He is a chow mix who was abandoned and I took him in. He is the dumbest dog I've ever known. He kept falling off the deck when I first got him because he would forget it ended. Very sweet dog but I had to leave him in TX with the ex since I couldn't make him into an apartment dog.

5)Pickle. He was a cat I had after my son was born. He had opposable thumbs. They call them Hemingways. He was a beautiful cat and loved to play with my son when he was a baby. Pickle was bit by a snake and died but survived a dog attack and being run over.

6)Henry. He is my current dog. I rescued him from a neglectful owner ane he is verrrrry, verrrrrry grateful.


~Amy