Adopted Pets

Ozarkgal

Ozarkgal

Senior Member
Location
Deep in the Ozark woods
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In my lifetime I have bought expensive dogs and horses, but would never pay for an animal from a breeder or seller again. There are so many wonderful pets of all species out there wanting and deserving good homes, that it is ludicrous to pay for a pet (other than adoption fees).

Two of my current Gangsta's are pound puppies, and they are the sweetest, most grateful dogs. Sometimes it breaks my heart when I look at them and remember that they were only hours or days away from being put to sleep, and know there are many like them that won't be as fortunate.

Three of my five cats were adopted from the local no kill shelter and two were saved from the hillbilly up the road that lets his female cat have several road kill litters a year. They are all spayed an neutered, get annual rabies shots, regular worming and have a happy country life.

If you have an adopted pets, please tell us they're story.
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I've given homes to so many homeless animals over the years. It's both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I think I posted somewhere on here about Hello Kitty who is sitting here with me looking out the window at the day. When I lived on the vineyard, the owners had a few dogs and cats that I know they loved but didn't really appreciate their unique personalities and just treated them like dumb animals. One cat was really, really mean and everyone was afraid of him. Well (cough, cough . . . ahem), I respected him as he deserved and got to know his moods. He was the greatest cat. Lots of fun and very sweet . . . at times. I did get scratched once or twice until we got to know each other better and then he would only bite me gently in fun. Still, I learned when to leave him alone. He was also great friends with one of the dogs. They were a treat to watch playing.
 
I guess what I really enjoy about animals is their unique and individual personalities. For example, in my schnauzer crew, Rooney is the Alpha dog and my heart dog. He is not happy unless I am in his sight, and he lets Squiggy and Ohno know what's acceptable, and too much attention from me is not.

Ohno is my softie, that likes all the best beds and blankets, walks around like he only answers to some unseen higher authority, usually ignoring everyone until he want attention on his terms. He is not a rescue and has never known a day of neglect in his life. He was given to me as a puppy by a client who bred him. He is considerably less grateful than Squiggy and Rooney.

Squiggy is the snuggler, caretaker and lacks self-confidence, probably due to mistreatment before we got him. What made me adopt him was when I went to see him at the pound, I picked him up and he threw both paws around my neck and held on tight. One of the best hugs ever!

Last year Ohno was very sick and the vet really didn't think he was going to pull through. One afternoon Ohno was laying in his bed beside the couch and when I came into the room he had a big teddy bear sitting next to him that had been on the bed upstairs. Squiggy had gone upstairs and gotten the teddy bear, drug it downstairs and put it beside Ohno. This brought tears to my eyes to think this sweet pup had been mistreated before we adopted him. Ohno recovered, probably due to Squiggy's good nursing.
 

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Great stories!

One of the most intelligent and friendly cats I ever had the luck to share my life with was Pyewacket. She was a tortoiseshell that my wife and I found at a local SPCA, or rather Pye found US.

We were walking down the aisle between the cages, looking at all these sad looking cats and wanting nothing more than to bring them ALL home with us. My wife caught sight of a marmalade kitten that was bouncing around his cage and immediately claimed it as The One.

Meanwhile a worker had opened an upper-level cage to clean it out. I was standing in front of this cage when someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Pye. She didn't even wait for an invitation - she just jumped up and draped herself over my shoulder, looked up and smiled at me.

"I guess we're taking two" was all my wife said, and I had to agree.
 
I've adopted a Husky from a shelter and a cat from the pound many years ago, and I am for adoption and would consider it for any future pets. We've had Standard Schnauzers for around 25 years now, all bought from breeders, also our Manx cat (now 1 1/2 yrs old) who was purchased from a breeder, and a little sweetie.

I think pet adoption is great, for the animals and the people who bring them into their homes. That's a sweet story of your Squiggy, bringing the teddy bear to Ohno. :love_heart: My first dog Gunter was 14+ years old in this pic, when he was suffering from strokes, etc. He looks very much like your Ohno. :sentimental:

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Another abandoned animal I welcomed was Ziggy. Many years ago, when my son was about eight or nine, lived in an infamous surf ghetto that's since become yuppie land. (@#%^&*!!!)

Anyway, the single mom next door had a son the same age as mine and her house was the local hangout for the boyz. She was a really nice woman, but had a habit of adopting boyfriends and animals. Somebody had to end up on the bottom of the pecking order and it fell on poor ol' Ziggy.

Ziggy was a Siamese and growing up with Siamese cats, I had a special affection for him. Well, he was traumatized and terrorized with all the wild activity of dogs and boys and neighbors coming in and out of the house. He was so shy and cowered around most of the time. Now, being the gentle soul I pretend to be, I could get him to slowly approach and allow me to scratch his ears. Usually, took just sitting on the ground and waiting . . .

One fine day, Linda told me Ziggy was banished from the house because he pooped indoors. Hell, he probably had the crap scared out of him on a daily basis. Well, he started hanging around my house and crying at the door. Of course, I let him in and told him not to poop in the house and he promised it was all a mistake.

Ziggy was the greatest. Such a sweet guy. He was still afraid of everybody but me and I felt honored that he gave me such trust. He lived to about 17 and is buried at the edge of the woods next to an oak tree.
 
I never had a Siamese, but my cousin in CT did. That cat would always hang out in the highest spot he could find, and I remember his meow sounded like a baby crying.

Pretty cat, but WEIRD. I'm sure once you get to know them, though, they're still just cats at heart.
 
I have had the pleasure of being owned by three Siamese cats, before I became a dog person (only one at a time). They are great cats, and very smart. They do have a very distinctive sound, different from a usual meow.
 
SeaBreeze said:
I've adopted a Husky from a shelter and a cat from the pound many years ago, and I am for adoption and would consider it for any future pets. We've had Standard Schnauzers for around 25 years now, all bought from breeders, also our Manx cat (now 1 1/2 yrs old) who was purchased from a breeder, and a little sweetie.

I think pet adoption is great, for the animals and the people who bring them into their homes. That's a sweet story of your Squiggy, bringing the teddy bear to Ohno. :love_heart: My first dog Gunter was 14+ years old in this pic, when he was suffering from strokes, etc. He looks very much like your Ohno. :sentimental:

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Oh my gosh SeaBreeze, when I was scrolling up on this thread I thought it was Sqiggy, and I thought what happened to the picture?LOL In looking closer, his face looks a lot my first Schnauzer, Fritz. He was my heart dog. He was our first Schnauzer and a consolation gift from my hubby when one of my horse's died..that's another story.

Gunter had one of those great Schnauzer faces. I love the standards, and my Rooney is between a mini and a standard. Closer to standard at 26 pounds.
 
I had a Burmese cat years ago, she was very sweet and had a LOUD voice, a talker for sure! ;) All those "eses" have distinctive voices. :cat:
 
SeaBreeze said:
I had a Burmese cat years ago, she was very sweet and had a LOUD voice, a talker for sure! ;) All those "eses" have distinctive voices. :cat:
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That's interesting - I wonder why that is? What hereditary factors come into play there?

SnagglePuss has started meowing lately, pretty loud and at all hours, but I think it's just adolescence and that it'll soon be time to bring him to the good Doctor Snippet ...

At least he isn't spraying. Yet. :eek:
 
The Siamese cats were actually larger animals way back when and were used to guard the palaces of royalty in ancient Siam (Thailand). So the story goes. They are fantastic animals and extremely smart with great personalities. We had one that would jump on the top of an open door and sit there until an unwary victim strolled by and he would pounce! Cat humor!!
 
Now, time to tell you about Choppers. He was a husky/wolf mix and belonged to one of my good surfing buddies. Well, one day, Pete told me he was moving and couldn't keep Choppers. Damn! Once again, after swearing off pets . . . I gave him a home. He was only six months old and had been an outside dog. I invited him into our home and the first thing he did was walk into the downstairs guest bathroom, lift his leg and pee on the toilet. Smart guy. At least he knew where to go and when I hurried him outside, he never peed in the house again. He loved my son and they were a joy to watch at play. He was handsome, smart, funny and scared off bad guys. Rest in Peace, Choppers. I miss you.
 
SifuPhil said:
SnagglePuss has started meowing lately, pretty loud and at all hours, but I think it's just adolescence and that it'll soon be time to bring him to the good Doctor Snippet ...
At least he isn't spraying. Yet. :eek:
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Don't wait too long to see Dr. Snippet, when they mature the scent of their urine will become much stronger, and chances will be very good that they'll spray. We had our boy done when he was a little over 5 months old, and it worked out fine.

That Guy said:
I invited him into our home and the first thing he did was walk into the downstairs guest bathroom, lift his leg and pee on the toilet. Smart guy. At least he knew where to go and when I hurried him outside, he never peed in the house again. He loved my son and they were a joy to watch at play. He was handsome, smart, funny and scared off bad guys. Rest in Peace, Choppers. I miss you.
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Sweet and funny story about Choppers, great that he never went in the house after that! :coolthumb: I bet it was sad to see him go, for both you and your son. :love_heart:
 
Ozarkgal said:
Oh my gosh SeaBreeze, when I was scrolling up on this thread I thought it was Sqiggy, and I thought what happened to the picture?LOL In looking closer, his face looks a lot my first Schnauzer, Fritz. He was my heart dog. He was our first Schnauzer and a consolation gift from my hubby when one of my horse's died..that's another story.

Gunter had one of those great Schnauzer faces. I love the standards, and my Rooney is between a mini and a standard. Closer to standard at 26 pounds.
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Your hubby was very sweet for trying to heal your heart with Fritz. :sentimental: Thanks about Gunter, he was my first Schnauzer, and he was amazing. We couldn't get over that little eggplant with the 5 o'clock shadow walking around our back yard like he owned the place. :love_heart:

I was thinking of getting a mini some day, it would be nice to have one that big. That's the only drawback of a dog so small, when we go camping, we'll hike through some rough woods, and a tiny dog with short legs would keep up very well.
 
SeaBreeze:
I was thinking of getting a mini some day, it would be nice to have one that big. That's the only drawback of a dog so small, when we go camping, we'll hike through some rough woods, and a tiny dog with short legs would keep up very well
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Don't underestimate the mini's. They are tough, high energy critters. I used to take Fritz trail riding with me, and he had no problem keeping up with the horse, even with all his little side detours through the bushes. Once in a while I would stop and put him up with me on the way home. The ones I have now love to hike in the woods. They only get to do that in the winter, when the snakes are hibernating though.

Having a mini schnauzer is like have a big dog in a small dog body.
 
Years ago I went to the animal shelter to adopt a cat. Sitting in the room among the rest of the cats was a hugely preggo female Siamese. I took pity on her and knew the odds of someone adopting a ready to burst cat, were not in her favor.

I bailed her and her belly out, and took her to the vet for a checkup. He told me she was a very old queen, and may have trouble birthing the kittens. About 2 weeks later she had no trouble whatsoever popping out six grey tiger stripe kittens, all of whom where healthy and lived. I found homes for all of them and had her spayed. Her time with me was short, as she was plagued with various abcesses that we could not clear. I was glad she lived to nurse her last babies.
 
Ozarkgal, you're truely an angel for giving that kitty some love and support in her last days, and also caring for the kittens. :heart:
 
Once I adopted a beautiful American Spitz from the shelter. He was really a sweet boy, and we named him George (go figure). George was great in everyway, except he had no desire to stay confined to the back yard behind a stockade fence. If you left him alone he would always manage to escape, usually going no further than under the tree in the front yard.

We had George for about a year and one day he disappeared into thin air. About a year after George left, a friend that I had not talked to for about 3 years called me. As we were catching up, I was telling her about George and how I really missed him. I was standing in the living room, looking out the window as we talked.

This is a believe it or not story, but I swear it's the whole truth as it happened. As I was telling her about George, lo and behold there he was in my front yard. He was wearing a red harness. I screamed and threw the phone down and ran to the door. As I stepped out on the porch, George ran to me and practically jumped into my arms. I almost forgot about my friend on the phone, and when I got back to her and explained the story, we were both in tears.

George stayed around about another week and disappeared for good. About another year later, I saw him one last time in a back yard that bordered a park close to where I lived. He was wearing another red harness...this time I turned and walked away. It looked like he had a good home, with a chain link fence where he could see out and I guess that's what he wanted.

That was quite a day though of rekindling lost relationships.
 
Even though I have gone and hand picked an Irish Setter and two of my three Spoiled Rottenweilers, when they were pups or toddlers, I have mostly rescued dogs.

So many heart-wrenching stories.

My current Dobe/Rott was nekkid from sarcoptic mange, wandering this isolated road one snowy night in February, 2004. She was so ribby and so close to death, she had spiders building nests on her. The vet said I could put her to sleep. She is sleeping, but she's sleeping beside my computer chair at the moment:cool:

Mason is a Catahoula Leopard Cur/Fox Terrier mix. The miserable beatch dumped him at the corner of the state and county highways, three miles from me. Another lady saw it happen but only thought she was stopping to let the dog do his business ----- until she came home from work that night and he was standing on the corner waiting for that miserable female to get him. He was house broke, knew what a bath was, understood and obeyed basic obedience BUT you could tell she had abused him mentally and hit him on the head, every time she said "come here". I have never seen such a gentle and passive dog - the cat beats up on him. No dog deserves the treatment he got at her hands, but I will never understand why she picked on this very willing and eager to please fella.

Then there's the six cats -- none of whom I wanted because I'm not a cat person but they needed homes - one just showed up and refused to leave, another was barely old enough to be weaned when somebody clearly shoved her thru our driveway gate. That little Drama Queen is in the house because she's horribly allergic to flea bites. The other house cat has a titanium pin in his hip from getting underneath a horse at the wrong moment<---I have too much $$$ in him to just let him roam around outside.

I've rescued 3 or 4 horses in my life. The last one, an Arab, came to live with me 20 years ago. He celebrated his 27th B-day on April lst. Besides being a starving horse poster child, he also had an injured vertebra. I never thought he'd make it to his teens. On his last physical, the vet declared the little Curmudgeon "will outlive us all", even if he does suffer occasional gastric ulcer flare-ups and has four molars missing. He's an onery-gentle-natured-full-of-tricks little guy. If I were to leave the driveway gate open, he wouldn't be gone - he'd be long gone. My three Walkers won't step onto the road if they get loose but the Arab always wants to know what's on the other side of the mountain.

In late winter/early spring, our road is a dumping ground for those cute little Christmas Critters that have grown a lot in three months and aren't so cute and cuddly anymore. I hold my breath every year because I end up having to call Animal Control; if I took them all in, I would be one of those Animal Hoarders because I can't afford to feed anymore than I currently have --- well mehbee one more dog but it would have to be a Rottweiler - the breed that owns my soul:D
 
Always wanted to get a puppy and kitten to grow up together. There's just something so beautiful about dogs and cats being friends. Peace on Earth and all that . . .

Gonna name the Siamese male "MAO" (akin to plaintive siamese meow...) and German Shepard female "GRRRL".
 

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