Let's talk about our pets!

[Zege]

I don't know about the rest of QQ, but I love animals. I've had pets since the day I was born, and will most likely continue that trend for the rest of my life.

So, I bring you this thread, in which we show off and discuss our pets, whether they be dogs, cats, fish, lizards, or unholy abominations from beyond reality.

Personally, I have a Dachshund named Buddy. He's about nine or so years old, and not very bright. But, he's a lovable little dummy, and I don't know what I'd do without him. I just had to have the vet pull most of his teeth, because his previous owners were unable to care for him properly, and he got a bad infection in his gums that rotted most of them.

On the upside, he's healthy and happy, and he looks hilarious when his tongue falls out, but he's pretty much on a dedicated soft food diet now, and he's already getting picky with flavors.

Spoiler: Buddy the Dachshund

What about you, QQ?

 

[Master of Squirrel-fu]

I used to have a dog, smart ridiculously loyal to our family. He saved my brother's life a few times since he ran with a gang when he was a kid. He actually got stolen once and made his way back in a week. Sadly he died when one of the gang members he bit drove by and shot him while my family was away.

Another was a cat, Kii, she lived with use when my family was squatting. She was smart and killed the rats around the house. She even stayed with us when we moved into a real house. Sadly she disappeared when my moms got arrested and we had to move out for a few months. I couldn't find her to take her with me when I had to move in with my grandma.

 

[Heaven Canceler]

I sadly never had a pet, though I love animals of all types. Live in an appartment with the Family, so there isn't really any space for a dog and I have an allergy against cats... makes Petting them pretty troublesome if I don't clean my Hands afterwards.

Cousin has Dogs and cats though and I love them. There are two mixed ones, Nicky and Sweety and they had a poodle called Sammy which sadly died some years ago. Their cat Luna positively despises me on the other Hand. Cannot even stand being in the house while I am here. If she sees me, she will run away and start meowing loudly until someone opens a door and window to let her out of the house.

 

[Least Devotee]

My cat Tulip passed away last August. Grandma has a pair of dachshunds Shorty and Liz who were never actually house trained.

 

[Nervaqus987]

I've had dogs in my life almost literally as far back as I can remember.

My first dog was a chocolate lab named Te-a(pronounced "T - Ah"). My family got her for Christmas years and years ago when she was just a puppy that would fit in the palm of your hand. She was really energetic and had a deep and unabiding hatred of squirrels. On no less than three occasions, she ran straight through a screen door into the backyard after spotting a squirrel without slowing down in the slightest(one of which happened literally within minutes after the door was fixed from the last time).

She died a few years ago. A seizure or a stroke, I was never really sure. I was over by a friend's house that weekend and didn't find out until I got home since my mom didn't want to tell me over the phone.

Right now, we've got two other dogs.

One of them is this little terrier mutt named Angel. The Christmas after my dad passed away, we'd seen her running around the streets by our home and my sister and I had tried to catch her for like, a week. My mom had taken to putting out a plate of dog food for her. On Christmas day, my mom opened the front door and saw her eating out of the food dish. Angel started to run, but mom told her to stop and she did. Then Mom picked her up, brought her inside, and she's been with us ever since. Because of the timing of it all, Mom decided that Angel was a last gift from Dad, hence the name.

We really should have known better than to name her Angel.

Like most small dogs, she's got a big Napoleon complex. She also likes to sit in front of the window and bark at anything that she sees.

She's also got a habit of picking fights with the neighborhood cats. She has yet to win.

My last dog is a Siberian Husky named Luna. Like Angel, we also found her wandering around the streets. Unlike Angel, Luna didn't seem to be out on the streets for long since she was still pretty well groomed. She had on a collar, but no tags when we found her. Mom had been having her cup of coffee in the morning when she saw Luna trying to cross the street and almost got hit by a car. Mom went out to get her and call up whoever her owners were and tell them "Hey asshole, your dog almost got hit by a car. Come and pick them up."

Only, no tags. She's got a chip in her shoulder, but its registered to a male dog named Max in Idaho, so someone evidently punched in the wrong numbers. So we called the police, the vets, the pounds, etc. No one reported any dogs like her missing, so she stayed.

Luna, I like to joke is a cat living in a dog's body. She likes to bask in the sun, likes to paw at things, has that cat like sense of entitlement, and gives absolutely withering glares whenever she feels offended by something(which is often).

Also, she likes to go walkabouts. If a gate is unlatched or a door open, she's go right out the door and start exploring the neighborhood and then I've got to track her down.

And she howls.

Anyone who's had Huskies or seen youtube videos of them know what they sound like. Luna loves to howl and she does so frequently and loudly. Her and my Mom tend to have long drawn out arguments. When she was still living with us, my Sister also had arguments with her, mostly about Luna stealing her spot on the couch at any opportunity.

 

[Mr_John]

Waaaaay back when I was a kiddie, my parents had a pair of dogs named Samuel and Delilah. Don't know why, since we were never a very religious family, but there you go. They died, we picked up a black lab and named her Scampy. (Unimaginative, I know. I was eight.) She was great, even after she ended up pulling a tendon or something ten years into her life with us. The limp never went away, but she loved scratches and petting all the same.

We also ended up with a dog named Minime. As in, the Austin Powers character. It was a chihuahua. Used to belong to someone else, but we picked her up when she was lost, fed and cared for her while we located her original owners. She left for a month or two, then came back when the owners found out they were having a baby. My mom used to call her a complete 'bed-slut' because she'd hop into bed or onto a couch or anything so long as person was on it that she could cuddle with.

Then there was Puff. We rescued her mom when she was pregnant on the streets, the mom gave birth, and disappeared with the kittens. A year or so later, the momma cat (she never got a name beyond momma cat) came back, pregnant again, with Puff in tow. Momma cat and her new kittens were deported to a friend's farm, but Puff stuck around. She got used to family life, but she was outside half the time. Didn't fuss when we picked her up and held her in our arms on her back like a baby, so she was a lot better than your average feral-raised cat.

 

[GiftofLove]

Dogs taking a nap on my mom. Snapped this on my tablet over break. Guys are attached to her hip. Follow her around like they think she's the Queen of England.

Brown one is my favorite. :3

 

[Bre Karn]

Weeell, hoping to get a cat in the next couple of months. I've had my eye on a Maine Coon male kitten in a nearby cattery. Will probably name him Lynx (it's a naming convention in France that all pets born in a given year have names starting with the same letter - this years it's L).

Hoping to come back to this thread with news of the little critter in May

The family has had cats & dogs for a long time, but we've been through many of them sadly
Some died of accidents or neighbourly malfeasance (never found out who actually did the ugly deeds), others had to be euthenized due to cancer or other terminal afflictions...

My parents' Labrador retriever is currently pretty old, and she might pass away of old age in the year

 

[Stroth]

I'm beginning to think that my cat is immortal. He was a stray that we found crying in the backyard one day took in out of pity. Some other cats had beaten the shit out of him, he'd had most of his fur torn out and he only had about half his teeth left, so we took him to the vet only to find out that he was at least ten years old and had feline aids. The vet only gave him a few months to live, so we decided to make him comfortable for his last days.

That was nine damn years ago. I've had cats I got as kittens that didn't live that long, but this snaggle-toothed old tom is still going strong.

 

[Xicree]

I once had a pet Tortoise, named it Raphael... Turns out baby Tortoises are actually pretty fast little bastards. ^_^
And man did he have a bite. Those beaks are SHARP.


Had him for years and years though many an incident. (Raphael was quite the scrapper... once found him ripping though the remains of a centipeed that thought it could actually contest him...those beaks are Sharp And strong.)

Until one we started putting him out into the garden and learned an unfortunate truth. Tortoises are very very good diggers... little Raphael ran away from home. But most likely he didnt have any difficulties, after, he was pretty well grown, tough and we had a banana grove a ways behind the house where other tortoises lived in the wild. So pretty much everything he needed to survive.

Still think of him fondly.

 

[Bre Karn]

Soo, as it turns out, my parents' Labrador retriever has a brain tumor, and it's worsened pretty suddenly - she's blind, almost deaf, nearly paralyzed. She'll be euthenized this morning.

Damn, I would have like to see the little critter once more

 

[Zege]

Soo, as it turns out, my parents' Labrador retriever has a brain tumor, and it's worsened pretty suddenly - she's blind, almost deaf, nearly paralyzed. She'll be euthenized this morning.

Damn, I would have like to see the little critter once more

Click to shrink...

I'm sorry to hear that, having to put down a pet is one of the hardest things in the world. They're like family, to me at least.

 

[Bre Karn]

It´s been especially hard on my mom, but at least she did not suffer at the end...

RIP Salem...

 

[Least Devotee]

Soo, as it turns out, my parents' Labrador retriever has a brain tumor, and it's worsened pretty suddenly - she's blind, almost deaf, nearly paralyzed. She'll be euthenized this morning.

Damn, I would have like to see the little critter once more

Click to shrink...

My sympathies. My Grandma's oldest dog has something similar to my understanding, given he's skin 'n bones we doubt he'll last very long.

 

[Red Sectoid]

My best bud, Teddy, is like me if I was a dog.

He sleeps, he watches TV, he eats.

He is a good dog, just likes to curl up next to me pretty much all the time.

Some sort of Dachshund mix I think, been eight years so I don't remember the details.

Actually a little sad to think about cause hes getting old. Dude's got a bad eye and the fact that he's probably only got a few years left gives me the heebie jeebies.

Sleeping comfy in a blanket. War Eagle!

Cars are great fun!

And here's a full shot of my best bud in the world.

 

[DCF]

Despite my catgirl avatar the only pets I've ever owned have been fish.

 

[GiftofLove]

Despite my catgirl avatar the only pets I've ever owned have been fish.

Click to shrink...

Gotta feed them something.

 

[Cambrian]

I'm a huge cat person. I really want a new kitten

 

[GiftofLove]

I'm a huge cat person. I really want a new kitten

Click to shrink...

Puppies are better! They actually love you!

They will worship you.

With an Altar and everything.

 

[Cambrian]

Puppies are better! They actually love you!

They will worship you.

With an Altar and everything.

Click to shrink...

Yeeeeah, while I like dogs, I'm not really a 24/7 dog person. Puppies require more attention than I have to give. Kitties on the other hand, are a lot more aloof. I can play with the kitty for a while, and then we'll mutually go off and do other things. I'll go write or play video games, the kitty will go nap or explore.

A dog on the other hand, I play with for a while, then I go to do other things, and the dog is still with me... still trying to play... getting really sad when I no longer want to play.

Put simply, it's not the dog's fault, it's mine. I'd feel awful like 24/7 if I had a dog because I wouldn't be giving it the love and attention it truly deserves/wants.

 

[Zege]

Cats are fun. I've had dozens of cats in my life, and they've ranged from aloof little bastards to straight up cat shaped dogs. I had one cat, Clarence, who was so laid back you could pick him up while he was lounging and drape him over your shoulders like a scarf. Wouldn't even care, he'd just lay there and purr. He was a cross-eyed fool, but a absolutely the chillest feline to ever exist.

 

[Nervaqus987]

Okay, so.

I've talked about my dogs. Now I want to complain about my dogs.

In particular, I want to complain about my Husky, Luna.

The last couple days, she''s been sick. Given how old she is, I was understandably terrified that this was it, the end of the line for her. Luckily though, as it turns out, she isn't sick that we'd have to put her down. What's happening is that her allergies are hitting hard and making her really congested.

So, with a big sigh of relief, I've started to give her Benadryl.

Now, here comes the part that I want to complain about.

She doesn't want to take the pills. At all.

Now, I know what you're all thinking. Nervaqus, just put it in some food and let her eat it.

She's wise to that trick. She knows what I'm trying to do when I offer her bread or peanut butter or anything else I've tried.

She fucking knows and then she turns up her damn nose and refuses.

This means that I have to wrestle this fucking husky to the ground, pry open her mouth, put the pill in, and then shut her mouth and rub her throat so she'll swallow. And I have to do this several times because somehow this fucking dog figured out how to avoid swallowing the benadryl.

This fucking dog. I love her, but this fucking dog.

 

[Skitzyfrenic]

I currently have a boxer. She's ~12. So she's a really old lady as far as Boxer dogs are concerned. She finally started getting grey in her face whereas her late brother got grey in his face at the tender age of seven. She is and he was brindle colouring with socks. Hers are more akin to toe socks, but he had full on socks.

She's a little poop factory but I love her. Her name is the Dalai Lama. She was named as such because her brother (my two dogs shared the same parents but were separated by a few litters.) was name the Buddhakahn. Dolly and Buddha for short.

Buddha was my dog when I was a boy. He was my best friend, my confidant, my brother, I loved him more than I have ever loved any other living thing. He started a rather sharp decline in his health when I deployed to Iraq. He had a brain tumor. My dad and Buddha put up a great fight, but one day Buddha just couldn't hold on and died. I had been shot at, and almost blown up a few times when I was overseas by that point, and it hadn't phased me. When Buddha died, I cried myself to sleep for a week.

Dolly is starting to have problems. D':

I love my dog. And I wish I knew how to make the pictures work for you guys so you could see what a beautiful energetic lady she is.

Man, I made myself sad.

 

[Carrnage]

Okay, so.

I've talked about my dogs. Now I want to complain about my dogs.

In particular, I want to complain about my Husky, Luna.

The last couple days, she''s been sick. Given how old she is, I was understandably terrified that this was it, the end of the line for her. Luckily though, as it turns out, she isn't sick that we'd have to put her down. What's happening is that her allergies are hitting hard and making her really congested.

So, with a big sigh of relief, I've started to give her Benadryl.

Now, here comes the part that I want to complain about.

She doesn't want to take the pills. At all.

Now, I know what you're all thinking. Nervaqus, just put it in some food and let her eat it.

She's wise to that trick. She knows what I'm trying to do when I offer her bread or peanut butter or anything else I've tried.

She fucking knows and then she turns up her damn nose and refuses.

This means that I have to wrestle this fucking husky to the ground, pry open her mouth, put the pill in, and then shut her mouth and rub her throat so she'll swallow. And I have to do this several times because somehow this fucking dog figured out how to avoid swallowing the benadryl.

This fucking dog. I love her, but this fucking dog.

Click to shrink...

Huh, our dogs know we wrap the pills in meat and dont care as long as they dont have to taste it theyll eat them without chewing.

 

[Nervaqus987]

Huh, our dogs know we wrap the pills in meat and dont care as long as they dont have to taste it theyll eat them without chewing.

Click to shrink...

Sure as hell not mine.

It turned out when we took her to the vet, that it wasn't her allergies but Luna somehow got the dog flu that's been going around Chicago. Considering she's a yard dog, I'm not really sure how but she managed it. So for about two weeks, we had to try and give her this antibiotic.

It was hell.

Not the least because the same trick never worked twice unless that trick was forcing the pill down her throat.

For example, one of the things we tried was taking some of the beef that we were going to be cooking for dinner that night, cutting a small pocket inside of them, and stuffing the pill inside and giving it to her.

The first time we tried? Worked like a charm and she didn't complain.

The second time? She turned her nose up at it and walked away.

What the fuck kind of dog turns her nose up at raw beef? My dog.

One time after we'd been forced to force the pills down her throat, Mom had gotten them in her mouth and clamped down on Luna's muzzle and started rubbing her throat. This went on for like, five minutes, and when she eased up on Luna, the fucking dog spit out the medicine.

Thank god we're done with the treatment because This. Fucking. Dog.

 

[ultima333]

My dog is really easy. Just get a metal spoon of peanut butter, stick the medicine in it, and watch as she licks the spoon and the pill with it.

Works every time without any trouble.

 

[Zege]

I've been giving pills to my cousins dog, who is also a dachshund, albeit a smaller one than my own. He's pretty simple to medicate, because he's so small. Just pick him up, pin him to my side with my elbow, open his mouth with one hand and drop the pill down his throat with the other. Hold his muzzle shut and rub his throat.

Takes all of ten seconds, he's so wee he can't put up any sort of fight.

 

[Nervaqus987]

I just got back from the vet. We had to put her down.

She just wasn't getting better. She wasn't eating, she was barely drinking, barely moving, and she was bleeding from the nose today.

We knew it was coming, but this is easily the worst part of being a pet owner.

 

[Zege]

I just got back from the vet. We had to put her down.

She just wasn't getting better. She wasn't eating, she was barely drinking, barely moving, and she was bleeding from the nose today.

We knew it was coming, but this is easily the worst part of being a pet owner.

Click to shrink...

My condolences. At least she's not in pain anymore.

 

[Bre Karn]

I just got back from the vet. We had to put her down.

She just wasn't getting better. She wasn't eating, she was barely drinking, barely moving, and she was bleeding from the nose today.

We knew it was coming, but this is easily the worst part of being a pet owner.

Click to shrink...

Had to go through that recently (well, my parents, but I still miss her). My condolences.