iDB Community Forum

I've been fascinated with animals since I was a whee little tyke running after every little thing that moved and I think you learn a lot about people through what animals they have as pets...
So, what animals do you have as pets?
What animals have you had as pets?
What animals would you like to keep in the future maybe?
Stories?
Pictures anyone ?


Right now, I am in charge of a goldfish, Pepper (Salt died), that likes to play dead.. yes dead.. he lies on his side and floats around the top of the tank when he gets bored. He's my first normal animal.. I never had a goldfish before... I'm not good with finding normal creatures so naturally.. I got the messed up goldfish.

I also have three lizards right now- Tequila (green anole), Poncho (bahama anole) and Capitan (five lined skink). I can't do much more than the fish and lizards since I'm not even supposed to have those in my dorm lol. I used to raise green anoles after capturing them from the wild in Texas- I've had lots of different lizards but these are above and beyond my favourite because of their intelligent look and interesting personalities. They also actually like to be handled and are pretty friendly. Bahama anoles are... more on the unfriendly side, but their big eyes are cute. As for skinks- well, they get really fat, can be pretty vicious and are amusing to watch when they come out once every few weeks lol.

I've had rats, two of them, Sandy and Zoey. To me, rats are one of the best pets for anyone to have at least once since they are extremely intelligent and have such different personalities. Sandy liked humans so much that she would follow me around wherever I went and loved to cuddle whereas Zoey liked to explore, fall off bathroom counters and eat. (Zoey was extremely fat and Sandy was very skinny despite having access to the same food lol)

I've also had hermit crabs- I failed miserably since they're really common and popular as things to sell on the beach and they don't tell you that if you don't have a proper setup they die. Now that I've learned about that, I'm hoping to try again

And, I've had the more normal stuff- tropical fish by the dozens... When I was little I kept all sorts of bugs- yes I ran towards the spider than away from it and I've had three dogs, an Irish Setter, a dalmation and a poodle. Currently I only have the black poodle (at home) and she's still a puppy.

I've had quite a few other things like frogs and toads but they were more transient pets I didn't keep long... As for what I want.. I'll save that for later lol

LONG POST

I don't know how the photos will come out when it comes to size. If any are badly messed up, I will have to redo them so don't worry if a photo is missing for a little bit
Also, Sorry if this post it way too long.

I am one of the biggest animal lovers there is. I have had 4 dogs, and 5 cats before, as well as a rabbit. I still have all of them except for 2 of the dogs, and 1 of the cats. I am going to share some photos that I have of my animals, as well as their stories that go with them.


MY DOGS!!!

I don't really know where to start, so I am going to start with my 2 wonderful Golden Retrievers, Bella and Leo. We got them both a few years back, because their owners were going over seas. They are siblings (Brother and Sister) though they do not look that much like each other at all. Leo is a huge dog, while Bella is a lot smaller. Both are very loving creatures though, and very special to me. Leo's favourite thing to do is to follow his people around the house, looking for attention and cuddles. Bella's favourite thing is to do "Border Patrol" which consists of running up and down the fence line, barking and getting all excited. Bella and Leo are both probably around 5 years old now. I have a few photos of them inclosed in the spoiler tags.

We used to have a 3rd Retriever, who died around 18 months ago. Her name was Blossom. We got her as an older dog, because she had no home and was really skinny. She was all alone on the beach when we found her. She was a very special dog, and is basically what encouraged us to get more retrievers. She was very cute, and had a lot of personality. Her life revolved around food. She was happiest when eating. In the spoiler tag, I have another photo.

We also used to have a Labrador X Whippet dog. His name was Kobe. He was a strange dog. Very loyal though. Unfortunatly, I have no photos of him on the computer. I might scan some sometime though, and upload them.


NOW FOR THE CATS!!

We have had 5 cats, Sam who died when I was quite young, and we have 4 cats at the moment. I have a photo of all of them except for 1, and each of them has a little story to go with them, so here we go.

The first cat I am going to talk about is Tabby. Tabby was a stray who lived under the library at my primary school. We got her around 10 years ago. She was much loved by all the kids, but a few people in higher places weren't happy with her being there, so we decided to give her a home. In the spoiler tags is Tabby's photo.

The second one, is Licorice. We got him a few months before we got Bella and Leo. He is a lovely black cat, though I think that he is a were cat (as in, werelupe, or werewolf). Whenever it is dark, he turns evil, and is very unpredictable. At any other time though, he is just an inncocent black cat who lies on the nearest fleece blanket etc. He was another one that we got as a stray, and was 6 months when we got him.

The third one is Possum. We got her just under a year ago. I am not too sure how old she was when we got her, but she was pretty young. Our Grandmother had too many cats, and decided to give  Possum to us. She is a long haired tabby cat. Who only has respect for my sister, and for anybody else it is just bad attitude!

And finally, my little evil black kitten/ cat thing called Toby. Yet another rescued cat. This one has a huge story to him, but I will only tell that if people are actually interested. He is so evil!

MY RABBIT!!

I have a black and white rabbit called Domino. He is real cute. He was yet another homeless animal. (We seem to get ahold of a fair few of those. I am gonna try and get a photo of him soon!


A FEW OTHER SPECIAL ANIMALS

I used to go to a riding school a lot, and there they had some very special animals. There are 2 there that I am going to mention here, because they were like my own animals to me. Also, one other deserves a mention, for being a pretty unusual type of animal to keep as a pet.

I used to ride an Anglo Arab horse called Justin. He was a grey, and stood about 15 hands tall. He had a huge personality, that was very loving and understanding. If I was ever upset, I would go and see Justin. He would cheer me up very quickly. I used to love riding him, he just did exactly what I wanted him to. He was very strong though, a few times he did get away and took off in a fast canter and it took me awhile to stop him. He never used to go into a gallop though. His favourite thing ever was when I was grooming him. I would use his favourite massage brush on his side, and he would start gently massaging my back with his teeth. It was so nice!
He died just over a year ago. I was just so so upset when that happened. Writing this here about him has brought tears to my eyes. That was one amazing horse.

Also, I had a pet rooster there! His name was Dippy. He was named that, because he was friends with an old pony called pipi. (The 2 names rhyme). I was able to pick this rooster up, and carry him around. He really liked people. Not many roosters are like that!

And finally, I just had to mention the Canadian Goose - Oink!! He was a pet at the riding school, who only had one eye. We found him on the trail once when riding, and so afterwards came back and picked him up. He liked it at the riding school. Don't even ask who named him, all I can say is it wasn't me. lol




I am also very in to things like bugs and insects. When I was younger, I had Praying Mantis's (I actually have one at the moment), Woodlice, Lady Bugs, Butterflys, Moths, and several others. The Mantis have always been my favourite though.

Wow, Heidi - such pretty pets! I especially like the picture of your kitten, even if he is evil I'd like to hear the story behind him, if it wouldn't take too long for you to tell.

Silver, your fish scares me o_0 Maybe it needs a toy or something to keep it from getting bored.

Both of you have had an insane number of pets, and that sounds like a good thing. I've only had three dogs (one of which I still have), various goldfish (two of which committed suicide), and at the moment, my sister has a lizard. And crickets, but those don't count, as they're just there to feed to the lizard. They certainly make a lot of noise, though.

Okay, here is Toby the evil kittens story.

Toby was dumped near a local zoo, probably with all his siblings, because they were unwanted. Toby ended up in the zoo. Somebody managed to catch him, and took him to one of the older volunteers there, who decided to put him in an ice-cream containter (he was tiny apparently!) and just put something over the top of it and left him until he got back from doing something. He came back, and the kitten was gone. Nobody knew where it went.
2 weeks later, a Keeper of the zoo found the little kitten trying to get into the lion enclosure, and caught him. Because kittens aren't really supposed to be there, the keeper gave the kitten to one of the volunteers there who really loved cats. She named him Toby. He was almost dead when she got him, because of the rough life he had been living. Constant danger, and lack of food. He had to be feed from a syringe, because he was so weak. She used to take him home each night, and then the admin staff would look after him during the day. (She used to be there EVERY day to volunteer). However, she was staying in somebody else house at the time. When they got back from holiday, they were not at all impressed about the kitten. They didn't mind her other 4 cats though. My mother, who is also a volunteer there offered to have the kitten, because she couldn't really keep it.
Now he is our little black kitten. He has grown so much since when we first got him. And nobody would ever be able to guess that he was the weak little kitten that almost died from starvation.

He is so naughty though. He sleeps in my room (because he isn't welcome anywhere else at night other than outside, and I felt sorry for him). He wakes up at 5AM, and attacks me until I wake up as well. lol

Another weird thing about him is that he doesn't meow properly. He makes this Eeeping sound. His nickname is "Eeeper" because of it. It is possible that this is because he was hardly with his mother when he was younger.

Both our black cats are so evil.

I was busy so I wasn't able to reply but lovely pets Heidi! I can't wait to see the photo of your rabbit Rabbits are so awesome. We were going to get some but never got around to it. And three cheers for having a rooster. I'm actually going to be clearing my yard out this summer so I can get chickens for our garden

Very interesting story about your cats. I love hearing how you picked up so many of your animals off the street. It's always amazing to hear when kind people reach out a hand to helpless animals.

So sad to hear about Blossom and Justin. I know how hard it is to lose pets. I lost my dog, Rosey, over last summer. I had basically had her my entire life. I have many fond memories of her though. She was quite a character. All irish setters tend to have a quirky attitude. She also was very sly and good at fooling you. She had us thinking she was deaf for a while since she would completely ignore us but it became quite clear that she still had hearing when she suddenly perked up at some other sounds. She also thought she was a human not a dog.. so that was interesting. She went her whole life with only befriending one other animal, but she loved people. Ah, I miss her

This is my little fluff-ball Dakota.. She's our little poodle... she's a standard though so won't be little for long

heidirose12345 Wrote:He is so naughty though. He sleeps in my room (because he isn't welcome anywhere else at night other than outside, and I felt sorry for him). He wakes up at 5AM, and attacks me until I wake up as well. lol

So that's the kitten that nibbles your fingers and computer cables?

I have a dog, called Shepp, I'm not sure of his race, but it similar to a labador retirver. Even castrated, he has a lot of energy. He likes to be cuddled, making a lot of noise for making me open the door, and eating everything, but not dog food

He has the tendence of sleeping in my bed while I'm not in my room, so, everytime I sleep late, I can see how the dog gets out of my room, and I can still feel the warmth of his body.
Sometimes, the dog is so asleep, that he doesn't move when I am in the room, so I drag him down of my bed, so I can sleep.

Photos coming soon (if I don't forget)

Yeah, Toby is that naughty kitten that nibbles at absolutly everything.

Justin was definitly a way harder loss to cope with than Blossom. The vet came and put Blossom to sleep, because she had a stroke because she was very old. I knew that it was going to hapeen.
Justin, on the other hand was 25 years old, but could have still lived another 10 years. He died of a colic attack. I was very close to Justin, he is probably the best animal friend I have ever had. I was completly devastated when he died. When I found out, I cried heaps. He was so so special, and no horse will ever replace Justin. That was over a year ago now. It was also tough, because he had several colic attacks in the few years that I knew him. He survived it quite a few times. The last one, I had been told that he was getting better. I sort of realised myself that he was sicker that time, because of the way the last time I saw him, I gave him a piece of bread (a food he loved) and he just held it in his teeth and carried it around the paddock, really wanting to eat it, but not feeling well enough to eat it. He had a very sad look in his eyes that day. Whenever he was sick, I would just go sit out in the paddock singing to him (he liked that even though I am a real bad singer) and grooming him with his favourite brush.
I don't know if his actual owner knew how serious it was that time. I sort of just understood that horse over a hundred times more than I understood any other.

As for the cats, yes, all 4 of them were in need of a home. With so many cats homeless, it makes me feel good to think that we have done our part by taking on 4 homeless cats.

I love your poodle Silver! She looks so lovely.

Aww yes, my Rosey had a stroke too. Only, I thought she was getting better because after a few days she was able to stand again, but my parents decided she was in way too much pain, so made a pretty fast decision to put her down. When my dad left with her to go to the vet, he wasn't even sure if they were going to put her down, so I didn't know until he came back without her.

Hopefully you'll be able to find another horse as wonderful as Justin =)

Wow, Heidi, you have some lovely pets... so sorry to hear about Justin, he sounded awesome and was clearly a great horse. Do you still ride? And silver, your poodle is adorable.

Since I was little I think I've had 7 cats, 3 horses, 2 dogs, 2 guinea pigs, 2 anoles (one of which was eaten by one of the cats ), 1 rabbit and some fish, fortunately not all at the same time. Now I've got one needy dog, a very nice lazy grey tabby cat, a very fat black and white cat and a bipolar fluffy grey/brown tabby. The weird thing is that the black and white shorthair and the longhair tabby are sisters, even though both look more like the third cat than each other.

They're not quite normal pets, but I've had Misty, my quarter horse, and Maggie, my Chincoteague demonpony for quite a few years now... Mist apparently wishes she were a racehorse but otherwise is a fun horse to ride, and Maggie is very green and... not always so good, like the other day when she decided that she was afraid of an entire long side of the ring. They're both cute at least, if a bit weird..

Yay for Sarah putting up pictures of her horsies :* And hehe, I can't count the number of times you've told me stories about your pets lol

So, what animals do you have as pets?

Right now we have two dogs, a guppie fish and three cats.
I shall start with the dogs.
Princess and Jakey. They are thought to be Pomeranian Poodles; but they might be more Maltese-Pomeranian-Poodles.
They are ankly biter dogs, which are fun and all; but I personally perfer the large breed of dogs. They just got shaved about two weeks ago; so they look pretty dang hilarious! Princess is usually pretty sweet, but she tends to urinate or 'piddle' as I call it when she gets excited. Jakey is a year younger than Princess; and is compeltely rotten. He has started to become a bad influence on Princess.
Cats; there is Rocky, Kallie, and Scooter. Scooter is all black with gorgeous green eyes. Kallie is a calico and is pregnant (she is due in about two weeks.) Rocky is well, Rocky. He is the fighter of the three; and he tends to be more of the security guard when it comes to the raccoons, possums and stray cats which wander on porch.
Fish; yes the guppie (I think) named Blue. Who pretty much doesn't do anything.

What animals have you had as pets?

We've had quite the number of pets; I will try to remember them all. As kids we had a number of hamsters, gerbil, rats, mice, and fish. We also had a cat named Tiger which my mom wanted to call Dirt-Clod. Around the time of Tiger; we also had Ginger and Lassie-type dog; (I was a small kid then so I can't remember the actual breeds.)
I personally had my own cat named Freckles, she was a Calico; she had to be put down last year for contracting feline AIDS from a neighborhood cat. She was about 10, mayber 12 years old. We have also had Alexis the cat; she was all black. She as well had to be put down for contracting feling AIDS from the same neighborhood cat. Alexis was a product of Jasmine, and all white cat which we used to have. All of her kittens went to other homes. She got run over by a car. When I got Freckles, my younger sister got Sandy who as well got run over by a car. (We live sort of in the country. We are right on the city line.)
Bingo; we got him from an animal shelter; he had three legs. He was run over by a pick-up truck when he was younger. We got him when he was seven; and he was put down in January; he was 11-12 years old. He was an Australian Shephard-mixed with something.

What animals would you like to keep in the future maybe?

Oh this question is a bad question. Eventually I would like to live where there is a bunch of land; so I could have some of the larger breed dogs. Newfoundland's are my absolute favorites; as well as Russian Wolfhounds and Great Danes, Mastiffs.. hehe I love the large breed dogs!!

I have more pictures; but they aren't digital. I might be able to find some pictures