I'd love to hear about the pets that you've shared your heart with

[Nik]

I love all these stories and I plan on joining the fun shortly. But, I hope that you will humor me in that I could not pick just one pet or story. So I will do a few posts with only one pet per post because well I have to share pics too and well I don't want to make too long or confusing a post.

 

[Nik]

The first story I have to share with you is about Seely a cat that I had not planned on adopting. He chose me. Sadly Seely is no longer with us. It broke my heart when he disappeared and I still miss him everyday.




I met Seely at my work. I was getting something from the printer which is right by the door to the parking lot and a large glass window and I heard a meow. I looked up and saw a tiny half starved ragged looking kitten cowering behind a bush. I popped out the door and couldn't see him since he was inside the bushes. I kneeled to the ground and called to him and made a little clicky noise that I use to call my pets. The tiny kitten head popped out of the bush and he ran to me and jumped into my lap. The little guy was covered in fleas and dirt and was nothing but skin and bone.

I brought him into the office to find my boss and let him know I needed to head home because I wasn't about to leave this kitten alone to starve to death. I asked a coworker to hold the kitten so I could hunt down a box or something for the ride but the kitten turned into a puffed up ball of claws and fangs and hissing whenever anyone else went to touch him. He acted like a feral kitten which I strongly believe he was as the field across from my office has lots of feral cats roaming it. But, the moment I took him back he would hide his head into my chest and snuggle in closer. So the only thing to be done was a co-worker drove me home while I held the kitten.

Once Sean got home I immediately took the kitten to the vet. He wasn't microchipped and the vet also determined he was feral. He wouldn't let anyone but me hold him so we did all of the check-ups with me holding him and his face in my chest.

Eventually Seely grew to trust other people and was an extremely friendly cat. But, it took awhile. For the first few weeks I was his only person and I was there for him constantly.





He also quickly warmed up to Cerberus and they became fast friends.



He was a wonderful kitty but at Sean's insistence was an outdoor/indoor cat once he was over a year. At around three years old he didn't come home one day. I searched the streets calling for him every day for a couple of weeks. I went to every shelter nearby, we drove the streets, I put out flyers, I activated his microchip and no luck. He never did turn up again.

I had a few more pics I wanted to share of him but for some reason the site won't let me... so for now that ends my post on Seely. He will always be missed. <3

 

[Nik]

Here's another one but this one isn't so much a pet... Or if it is a pet it isn't our pet. It is Cerberus' pet.

There is a feral cat that has been hanging out in our back yard for several years now. He comes to the door and howls at us until we feed him and when Cerberus is out there alone he curls up with him and the two sleep together. He adores Cerberus. Since we got Diesel he spends less time in the yard as he is terrified of Diesel. And anytime Sean or I try to approach him he hisses. Well this guy is definitely a boy and we "named" him "Lynx".

After having been around for several years one night I hear a strange sound in the backyard (this was before Diesel entered our lives) and there is Lynx on the table in the yard with a little kitten by his side that looks just like him. The guy went and reproduced and brought his baby home! What a good dad.

He would leave for the day to go roam and pick up the kitten and place it on Cerberus' bed with him. He was using Cerberus as a baby sitter! Darndest thing we ever saw. It took us a good long while to catch that kitten so we could find her a home but we eventually did. I don't think that Lynx has ever forgiven us for taking his baby though.

He still does hang out with Cerberus so I guess he doesn't blame Cerberus at least.

 

[Henrybull]

Thanks everyone for their lovely stories, most of them brought tears to my eyes. My current, first dog, Henry is only 9 months old but I already love him more than I have ever loved anything. I can't imagine not having him in my life, even though it has been a relatively short time. Your stories have reminded me to treasure our time together... I think I will be bringing him into work with me tomorrow and giving him lots of extra cuddles haha

 

[Lorrainelola]

Both dogs that stole my heart are bullmastiffs. First one Buster we got as a puppy in 1998, we never had a dog before he was our first. Well he was such a big old goof, he stole my heart right from the start. He went everywhere with us. My husband who played rugby at the time would take him into the dressing rooms after the match where the guys would romp around with this big old teddy bear in the showers and feed him bananas. I could write a book about buster, he was such an ejit. He ate everything and I mean everything!! There's not enough time or room to write all the stories about him and It was a very said day when he died if cancer aged 8, and I swore I'd never get another one.
Then an opportunity came a couple of months later to get Lola another bullmastiff. Lola was brindle and female (buster was fawn) so we decided yes. We were still heartbroken over Buster and our emotional attachment to Lola happen more slowly, however, she has stolen our hearts as much, if not more than Buster. She is completely different to him. She is laid back, and aloof with strangers. She is like glue to out daughter, they have the most amazing bond, they adore each other. She has always been much more maternal than buster and when I was pregnant she was my shadow. She is so gentle, whereas buster loved to wrestle and jump,
In the morning if my daughter isn't awake by 8am, Lola raps on her bedroom door to wake her, then they both burst into our bedroom where said daughter jumps on our bed and Lola licks our faces to get us up!!!
This photo was taken a couple of years ago when she was asking Lola to help her with her santa list!

 

[Nik]

My first story of today is about Cerberus, our Standard Poodle. He will be 15 years old in November and I've had him since 10 weeks old. Unfortunately when I first got him there were no cell phones in my life yet and definitely no digital cameras. My ex never did give me my photos back so I don't have any puppy pics of him. :-(

But, I of course have lots of digital ones of him starting when I finally got a phone with camera.



Cerberus is the first dog I got on my own as an adult. I picked him out from a litter of puppies that a hobby breeder had. He came from a very good home, was health checked and his parents were beautiful show dogs. He was not a rescue. He was chosen for health and temperament from a good breeder who focused on both.

We picked a standard poodle at the time as a compromise between my ex and myself. I really wanted another Rottweiler (my childhood dog had been a rottweiler) or any bully breed or mastiff type dog. My ex had grown up with toy poodles and really wanted a toy poodle. So our compromise was a standard poodle. We lived in a dangerous neighborhood at the time and he worked nights so Cerberus was meant to be my companion and protection/warning. So I named him Cerberus (guard dog of Hades). As it turns out Cerberus has zero guard dog or alarm dog abilities. He does not bark. He loves everyone and everything. There isn't an aggressive bone in his body. But, I fell in love with him regardless of this.

Unlike Diesel and my Izzy who came before, Cerberus was a breeze to train. We did one puppy class and everything else I trained on my own. He would always prance when I walked him instead of just walking with his head held high. In old age he moves a little slower so he only prances when he is playing now. It still makes me giggle and grin when I see his prance.

Knowing Cerberus is old I realize his time with us is limited. He is still healthy. He is still happy but every time he moves a little slow or gets winded too easily I feel the terror in my heart. I am so not ready to lose him. And every day I pray that we have just another two years at least. "Not yet." My bargain with God. "Just not yet."

There will never be another Cerberus and I treasure every day I have with my old boy. <3 <3 <3








More Cerb pics to follow in next post since I am being limited.

 

[Nik]

As promised more Cerberus pictures...

He loves travel and is the perfect travel companion at all times.


He also loves being part of Halloween and play acting for costume scenarios... This one year he was the "big bad wolf" and played his part well.





Basically he just wants to be part of anything and everything we are doing.



Yes Cerberus is a dog of my heart <3 My sweet gentle pacifist dog. <3

 

[Yamizuma]

I've been very lucky to have shared my heart with many wonderful pets.

The first was Joe, a black lab. My dad was given him as a gift from a reformed escaped convict he helped turn himself in. Very long story. He was gentle and sweet and I was his baby. Cancer claimed him on Christmas Eve when I was 16, and he died in my arms.

Yoda came next. A feral kitten my roommate adopted then left with me when she moved to a big city. She could only like three people at a time, and I wasn't always on her list...but she became a huge cuddle bug in the last three years of her 18 year stretch.

Thumper, part terrier, part terrorist...also joined us. She looked like a tiny German Shepherd, and HATED the mailman, ate our sofa to get to the bone underneath, pooped in the basement....and we loved her! Children of friends of ours found her in a garbage bag on the riverbank, but asked us to take her for a week because one of the kids might be allergic...yep...had this great girl named by a six-year-old for 15 years! Her kidneys shut down, and she also died in my arms.

After Thumper passed, I wanted to fill the hole in my heart with a new dog. One day we were driving by the local Humane Society. On the strict proviso we were just looking, he agreed to pop in. I wasn't even out of the car when he was in the puppy room with Gaffer in his arms, wildly in love. One sniff of her puppy breath, and I was sunk. This lab/ Shepherd cross was sweet and gentle, loving, funny, smart and loved every hooman. We loved her deeply. She died of bone cancer, and it was awful. When it was her time, I held her I'm my arms, and as the vet gave her her relief, I cuddled her and let her know how much she was loved. Nothing compared to how she loved us.

While we had her, we also had two time-share dogs. Tyson, a big goofy, wonderful black lab that a police officer friend of ours owned, and Cookie, the smartest cookie Eskimo dog, owned by friends that played in the symphony. Tyson and Cookie's folks travelled a lot, so they lived with us for more than half of their lives, and Gaffer loved them too.

Tyson was in a terrible accident, slipped on the ice off a deck and broke his back at his mom's house. We were with Tyson at the vet when he passed, making sure he knew how much he was loved.

Cookie passed away of old age with her peeps. Such a sweet, smart girl.

Before Gaffer passed, my mother-in-law got very ill, and couldn't look after her little Cavelier King Charles spaniel, so she came to live with us. She was the most adoring, adorable sweet thing I have ever known. Bella! She was so very special. Kidney stones took her from us at twelve, a short time after we got Tali.

A friend of ours had gotten a Neo, and DHwas just curious as to whether there were other mastiffs around. He found her online, and fell in love. Yay Google!

Little Mr. Sid, the white terrier cross was my online love. Saw him on a rescue page and was missing Bella...and OMG he's a challenge and a delight. So much fun.

Our challenge is to get Tali and Sid together. He's fear aggressive with her, and she's like you don't get to boss me around or I'll kill you, you little sh*t!

It's a challenge.




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[Boxergirl]

These last stories and pictures have been wonderful! Thanks guys.

Nik, I definitely see a strong bond between you and Cerberus. I hope you get to have him a few more years, although it's never long enough.

 

[Boxergirl]

Please excuse the quality of the pictures. They're old, taken with a 110 film camera, and then scanned.

The summer of my sophomore year in college my now DH broke up with me and I was a little lost. I met some free spirited people that did a lot of things I didn't, but were cool that I didn't want to participate. I was a Deadhead that just didn't do all the drugs, lol. Gosh, this sounds like it was a really long time ago, but it was really only about 21 years ago. I met a girl that I just knew as Little Laura. She had a white ferret named Baby. Baby traveled with her to every Dead show and came with her to every party. Needless to say, Baby was a really laid back guy. I figure it was the fumes. Lol. She ended up not being able take him with her when she graduated and I bought him for $50. He was my best friend in my first ever solo apartment. He would bounce after me making the little monkey noises they make when I got out of the shower. He slept curled against me at night. I lived upstairs and when he heard me come home from work he would wait, peeking over the top stair. When classes started again, DH came back and we got back together. We got Baby a friend. A sable ferret named Reggie. I wasn't allowed to have anything except caged animals in my apartment, so they lived at DH's place where they could be free when nobody was home. Neither of them liked a cage and they both reliably used a litter box. At Xmas break, I took both of them back to my place. On New Year's Eve I went to the laundromat and decided to leave them out. I only figured to be gone for about an hour and a half. When I came home, the door to the hallway leading to my apartment was home. There was an empty beer can on the floor and my landlord was coming down the stairs with a gun. I just looked at him and I remember saying, "I'll cage them or take them somewhere else." He said, "They're gone." I thought he meant that he took them somewhere and asked where I could go get them. He told me that he shot them. That they had attacked him so he left, drove all the way back across town to get his gun, and he shot them. And he left.

I can't even tell you what it was like to walk up those stairs. I know what my babies did when someone came home. They waited at the top of the stairs and bounced making their monkey noises. They wouldn't, couldn't have attacked anyone. I know they didn't. I found Reggie in the kitchen behind the fridge. He didn't go there. He was chased there. He was shot twice. Once in the side and once in the head. Baby was in my bedroom behind the dresser. Landlord must have tried to shoot him in the head and only knocked him out. He came out to me with his face bleeding, but alive. And he came straight to me even though he was in pain. Unfortunately in a college town the landlords are all friends. The vet I took Baby too turned out to own the house next to the one I was renting. He laughed and made a joke about Baby's injury. I don't remember much, honestly. I was young and I was in shock. I called the police and made a report. I had an autopsy done on Reggie. I visited the student attorney at the college to pursue legal action. I broke my lease. The only thing I wish I'd not done is cleaned up the blood. I wish I'd left a mess and not put myself through the pain of cleaning that up. He settled out of court and I took what I could get. He paid a fine for discharging a weapon in city limits and he had to pay my vet bill and the replacement cost of Reggie. I took it because I knew it was all I could do and the only way he would have to pay for anything.

Baby went on to live a long life with me. I was probably too protective of him. I was wrong to have left them uncaged when I left that day and I blamed myself for a long time. Still, it didn't excuse how the landlord handled the situation. Baby was still with me when I had my first child. He loved her and took to sleeping next to her when I allowed it. Ferrets are forever and always called "cuckoos" because my daughter called him that when he'd bounce around the house. Baby was the first pet I had as an adult and he was very, very special to me. I miss having ferrets and hope that someday I can have one or two again. When we moved from our college town to Indiana, our apartment was strictly no pets. I learned my lesson and Baby went to stay with my family in Iowa until I could find a place to allow him. Unfortunately, that was the year of the flood and my family home flooded. Someone scared them that all the animals would drown (hello - take them upstairs, the water only came to the top of the basement stairs) and they didn't give me a chance to come get him. I would have gone to get him. They had him put to sleep and told me after it was done. I still try to be understanding about that. It's a hard thing though. I don't want to say that Reggie, poor little Reggie, wasn't special too. He was. He was young and silly and beautiful. But Baby was my boy. My little half baked mellow friend and I still miss him.

Baby

Baby and Reggie

 

[Nik]

Boxergirl - Oh my goodness. Your story has me in tears. I think I would have tried to kill the landlord. As in I would have lost my mind and attacked him physically quite literally. I can't even imagine handling that with the grace, strength and dignity you managed. And it is probably because of your cool thinking that you were able to save Baby. I hope that karma dealt a severe blow to that landlord. What a terrible human being.

 

[Boxergirl]

I remember it like it was yesterday. He kept calling me "lady." Woe betide anyone that calls me lady now. I totally lose it. Lol. If I had been a little older and a little more confident I would have pushed things further. He had been drinking. He left, went home to get the gun and came back. Not to mention that he entered my apartment, without prior notice and without my permission for something that wasn't an emergency. He said he wanted to check the thermostat. But I was young. He told me it was my fault and I believed him. I'm just thankful that he left before Baby woke up and he found out he hadn't killed him. Landlord was divorced not long after my daughter was born, so maybe two years after this happened. The house I was renting - it burned to the ground about fifteen years ago. Maybe that's his karma. I don't know.

 

[Nik]

Okay after Boxergirl's heartbreaking and incredibly touching story I need a happy story to tell. So here is the story of BrrBeary. I know I know another cat story... Many apologies but I'm leaving Diesel's story for last since many of you already know much of it anyways.

BrrBeary! His proper name being Mr. BrrBeary Remington... Yes I felt he deserved a proper sophisticated long name but he is known at home as BrrBeary or BrrBear or simply Brr. His full name only comes into use when he is in trouble.


It was many months (maybe even a full year) after the loss of Seely when my heart told me I was ready for another kitten... not just ready but needed another kitten. I have rarely been without both a cat and dog in my life. So I found a family looking for homes for their kittens.

It was a litter of three, each kitten looking completely different. And BrrBeary was half the size of each of his siblings.

He was the runt and he was terrified and hiding. The other kittens were happy and confident while BrrBeary hid under a table.

BrrBeary is the one I wanted from the start. Seeing this Sean insisted that this clearly wasn't the right litter for us to pick from since the only one I was attracted to just wasn't engaging with us at all. I was kneeling on the ground at this point and he was tugging on my hand to get me to leave. I felt like my heart was breaking. I was so certain that BrrBeary was the right one. And then the most amazing thing happened. BrrBeary ran to me. Straight for me and climbed into my lap, curled into a ball and started purring and kneeding.

"See! He is the right one!" And that was that. BrrBeary came home with us then and there.



We quickly learned that BrrBeary was not only the runt but had a physical deformity and possibly a slight mental one. His chest was caved in and he was a very delicate little guy in the beginning. He also had no coordination (and a few years later still does not). He often misses when he jumps, and falls off of objects he gets on top of. Because of this and our experience losing Seely I adamantly refused to allow BrrBeary to go outside. So I got a leash and I take him out on a leash.

BrrBeary is my dog cat. He is not independent. He loves going out on his leash. He loves being by my side. He adores attention. He plays fetch. His tail fluffs when he is happy instead of when he is angry. He runs to the door and growls at it when strangers get near the house. Just like Diesel he hates the pizza guy. He is silly and goofy and funny and more than anything else a big love.

In short, I completely adore my BrrBear and he in turn completely adores me. <3


Once again I have too many pics for one thread so please forgive me for following with another photo thread to go with this one.

 

[Nik]

BrrBeary follow up with more pics.


Much like my Diesel BrrBear can often be found gazing at me with lovey eyes.

 

[Nik]

I remember it like it was yesterday. He kept calling me "lady." Woe betide anyone that calls me lady now. I totally lose it. Lol. If I had been a little older and a little more confident I would have pushed things further. He had been drinking. He left, went home to get the gun and came back. Not to mention that he entered my apartment, without prior notice and without my permission for something that wasn't an emergency. He said he wanted to check the thermostat. But I was young. He told me it was my fault and I believed him. I'm just thankful that he left before Baby woke up and he found out he hadn't killed him. Landlord was divorced not long after my daughter was born, so maybe two years after this happened. The house I was renting - it burned to the ground about fifteen years ago. Maybe that's his karma. I don't know.

I am a strong believer in karma as I have seen it in action too many times. It does indeed sound like his karma found him. Though I might argue that those occurrences aren't severe enough for his murder of your beloved pet... It may not be done with him yet. I too am glad that you were able to save baby <3


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[tlov]

My first pet as an adult was Homer. My husband and I had both grown up with dogs and decided to get a puppy. We searched the papers and didn't see anything so we looked at the Humane Society and at the dog shelter. There weren't any dogs we were interested in. A couple days later we walked through a pet store. I absolutely fell in love with a Basset Hound. I had to have him. We went home but came back later that night and got him. He was adorable and when he would try to run he would trip over his ears and face plant. He was also the hardest puppy I've had. He was a nightmare to potty train. He howled all night long and after a week we gave in and let him sleep with us. He would eat anything he could find and couldn't be left alone for a second. As he got older he was great. He grew up with our kids. Our oldest was born 6 months after we got him. Homer was great with the kids and he loved everybody.

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[tlov]

A couple years after we got Homer we decided to get another Basset. We were able to find a breeder not too far from us who had one puppy left. We went to see her and of course fell in love. We brought Shelby home and we were so worried Homer might be too rough and hurt her. Turns out we didn't need to worry. Shelby came home and immediately became the boss over Homer. They were great friends and always got along but it was obvious who was in charge. Shelby was a much easier puppy than Homer. She has always been great with our kids and I don't think she's ever so much as growled at anyone. She spent a lot of time over the years hanging out under the kids high chairs (we have 5 kids). She wouldn't even look at the kids she would just stare at the floor and wait for food to fall knowing if she was patient enough something would fall. She turned 14 in March and doesn't get around too well anymore. We got Xena in April and Shelby gets along well with her but just like with Homer it is clear she's the boss.

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[tlov]

And last is my big baby girl Xena. I had been trying to convince my husband to get another dog. One day he says we can get one as long as it's an English or Bull Mastiff which he has always wanted. I agreed immediately and started reading about English and Bull Mastiffs and decided an EM would be the best fit for us. We started searching for breeders near us and found a breeder with one puppy left. Of course we all fell in love with her immediately. Choosing a name was very difficult with 7 people weighing in and eventually we agreed on Xena. She is the sweetest puppy ever. She was so easy to potty train and so well behaved. She is my velcro dog and always wants to be by someone. She loves the kids especially my 7 year old twins and always wants to be near them. We haven't even had her 5 months yet but it feels like we've had her forever. I can't imagine her not being with us.

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[Nik]

tlov - omg tooo adorable. I have always had a soft spot for basset hounds. Never had one though. I just adore them with their long ears though. And of course I always love seeing pics of your Xena. She is just gorgeous and so lovable. <3

 

[Nik]

Boxergirl - Just finished reading your Ed and Leo threads. Beautiful dogs and beautiful stories. I can't believe how miraculous Ed was beating the odds like that. And I do understand that feeling that an animal was simply meant to be your's that you felt with Leo. It is an amazing feeling. Even your happy stories make me tear up. Darn you. My coworkers are going to think something is seriously wrong with me today. ;-) <3 <3 <3 <3