Furry/feathered Family Members!

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

Share about your pets! Our family is really big on animals.

We we currently have a lovely dog, a lab/border collie mix who is a week older than our daughter, three cats - well, one is a kitten - and seven birds. Six are parrots - my very old cockatiel, a Quaker, a five year old galah (cockatoo) and we have three young green cheek conures, two yellow sided and one cinnamon, and one very lazy canary. Our house is loud and busy and happy.

So, what animals do you share your life with?

talkthewholetime · February 2016

We have the best dog. Penny is 80lbs of straight love and fun, half lab and half flat coated retriever. She's so good with our daughter - they're seriously the best of friends. And yes, she's wet in this picture because we were doing family pictures just a liiiittle too close to a brook that she decided to chase the ducks down for about a half mile, haha.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/bn/aou6of3aw6cd.jpg

talkthewholetime · February 2016

PW: "Walk, Penny?"

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ou/3hoif6noacgf.jpg

hellopartyof5 · February 2016

This is tomcat and he's the nicest cat in the world. He goes to the bathroom outside and runs to meet me when I come home. He's basically a dog with less responsibility.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

@talkthewholetime That is just the sweetest photo!

hippiegirl884 · February 2016

Castiel 2 year old boxer...I questioned myself a lot after we got him, had a 2 year old and a 6 month old and got a puppy, but he is totally family now❤️

beforeyou · February 2016

We have two cats! They are so creepy and weird and I love them. My orange tabby likes to carry socks around while mewping and my calico likes to lick my DH's head.

@KilgraveMadeMeDoIt I love how many animals you have! What a full house!

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

@peachykeen17 Most of them are rescues - all of the cats, the canary, and the cockatoo, are rescues (the 'too was quite badly neglected) and two of the conures - Hedwig and Fawkes - came to us because their former owners were having a tough time in their building due to the noise. We've always been a very animal-friendly home and my husband and I are both very big on rescue.

beforeyou · February 2016

@KilgraveMadeMeDoIt I love that. My girls are rescues too.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

I also have an orange tabby who is rather odd. It's our black cat who carries things around while meowing though, hah. She's almost 18 now. Never boring in a house with pets, that's for sure.

Mksbc · February 2016

We have two pugs - Bellaboo & Charlotte - or Chuck and Boo as we tend to call them.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/hw/hm0vt2guf6ec.jpg

ballerinahootie93 · February 2016

We have an Australian kelpie mix, Sadie, who is eight but has only been with us for five years. She's adorable to us, but kinda looks like she was made out of spare parts. A few years ago I decided her actual breed was an American Couch Hound due to her ability to find the comfiest couch or chair in anyone's house and go to sleep on it.

Next on the roster is our calico cat Stitch. She only has one eye and not the best balance but we love her just the same. She's also eight but has only been with us for four years.

And then there's the puppy we got right after deciding we didn't have time for a puppy. She was found running up the street at six months old with two collars and no tags. Her people were never found so she's been with us ever since. She's a lab mix who just turned two and finally stopped running head first into walls. We love our Bailey monster, and she and Sadie are best friends. I have no idea how to attach pictures, but once I figure it out I'll share them!

sweetlyuntied · February 2016

We're not really pet people. H is very allergic to cats and given our tiny apartment, city neighborhood, and frequent travel, I don't feel like we capable of taking care of a dog properly. But yesterday we bought a fish. His name is "Blub Blub" courtesy of my 16-month-old. Don't worry - he has a huge tank (H is a science teacher so we...um...borrowed it). This was just the bowl we put him in to transition him.

hayleyarp · February 2016

This is one of my favorite threads so far. Archibald- My Turkish Cheese Weasel. Potty trained and no more litter-box paws. Changed. My. Life. He has become super needy since pregnancy and follows me everywhere! Loving everyone's pics.

kristah2 · February 2016

I have two fur babies!! They are shih tzu's and major babies all the time! I love them!

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · February 2016

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/86/wfju9k46uk8u.jpg

Aha, here we go. Here's our troublesome trio of conures. From left to right are Fawkes, Hedwig, and Cinnamon Bun. Fawkes and Hedwig are brother and sister. The canary you can see beneath them (who has been really amused by the parrots hanging out on top - it doesn't bother him) is Keero. He used to have a much, much bigger cage but just didn't care about all the space so we moved him to something smaller and he's been happier since.

And he's my daughter with our ginger cat, Ginger.

XmomX · February 2016

I have 3 dogs (mini dachshund, shetland sheepdog, Puerto Rican Street Mut) and a cat! We have a full house but wouldn't have it any other way.

FallenLeaves1990 · February 2016

This is my baby, Izzy. She's a 5 1/2 month old golden retriever. She's just the sweetest thing. She was my Christmas present this year

whaat · March 2016

(I hope it attached)
this is Toby and Lily. They are indoor/outdoor cats (that use a cat door). They definitely know I'm pregnant! Since a few days before I found out about this pregnancy, Toby has been leaving dead baby woodchucks and nice near my side of the bed. I think it's the only way he knows how to deal with this! He has anxiety so I hope he's ok with the baby and it doesn't upset him too much. When he gets upset, he licks his stomach until there's no fur left

.
Lily is a snuggly love, and I feel like she'll be happy to have someone else in the house.

BabyVB118 · March 2016

After seeing so many adorable videos of puppies and babies I wanted to wait and get a puppy when we had a baby. We walked into an adoption event "just to look" and came home with our hound mix puppy girl, Birdie, in December. She is almost 7 months old now, I love her so much, but she is a lot of work. I had no idea! I am so glad she will be over a year old by the time this baby arrives. And I'm sure she will be adorable with a baby even if she isn't a young puppy. We also have an 11 year old cat, Daisy. She's not a fan of the puppy and spends most of her time in her basement.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · March 2016

BabyVB118 said:

After seeing so many adorable videos of puppies and babies I wanted to wait and get a puppy when we had a baby. We walked into an adoption event "just to look" and came home with our hound mix puppy girl, Birdie, in December. She is almost 7 months old now, I love her so much, but she is a lot of work. I had no idea! I am so glad she will be over a year old by the time this baby arrives. And I'm sure she will be adorable with a baby even if she isn't a young puppy. We also have an 11 year old cat, Daisy. She's not a fan of the puppy and spends most of her time in her basement.

Just a word of caution; remember that no dog, no matter how well-behaved, should be trusted with a young child or infant. Many children have been maimed by 'sweet family dogs' who were just pushed too far out of their comfort zone. Make sure you know the physical signs of stress in a dog. A lot of those 'cute videos' actually show dogs who are really stressed and a bite risk.

I have a vet in my family, a vet student friend, and several friends who do dog rescue so I hear this over and over. My dog is the sweetest thing, she is a fantastic family dog, loyal and playful and kind, but even she has her limits. Totally agree that having a dog is a fantastic thing for kids, but safety first.

BabyVB118 · March 2016

Thanks for the advice @KilgraveMadeMeDoIt ! I assure you I am way too cautious to completely trust my dog around a baby unless strictly supervised by me or my husband. We make sure she socializes with people of all ages and other dogs as much as possible and we are especially careful around children and babies. Luckily she seems to love everyone and we haven't had any problems or seen her exhibit any signs of stress so far. I understand bringing a new baby into our home could change that so we will continue to be careful.

comealongponds · March 2016

We have two furry friends that we've adopted since we got married.

Marty is our rescue cat - almost completely black (just the tiniest patch of white on his chest). He was only about eight weeks old when we adopted him, just a few days after we moved into our house. He's the least graceful cat and has the worst balance I've ever seen, but he has other great skills, like opening drawers to get at things he wants and destroying 5kg bags of sugar all over my basement floor.

Almost two years ago, we brought home our floof-ball of a golden retriever puppy, also at only 8 weeks old! She's a typical golden, super friendly and full of energy. At this point she's still scared of small children, so this summer we will be visiting lots of parks to get her used to tiny humans. She's what we call our mini retriever, since she's a good few inches shorter than a standard golden, despite being a CKC registered pure bred. We wouldn't have her any other way!

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · March 2016

BabyVB118 said:

Thanks for the advice @KilgraveMadeMeDoIt ! I assure you I am way too cautious to completely trust my dog around a baby unless strictly supervised by me or my husband. We make sure she socializes with people of all ages and other dogs as much as possible and we are especially careful around children and babies. Luckily she seems to love everyone and we haven't had any problems or seen her exhibit any signs of stress so far. I understand bringing a new baby into our home could change that so we will continue to be careful.

Fantastic to hear. Sorry to have come on so strong, I just re-read and saw how bloody preachy my post could sound. Sorry about that!

BabyVB118 · March 2016

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt said:

BabyVB118 said:

Thanks for the advice @KilgraveMadeMeDoIt ! I assure you I am way too cautious to completely trust my dog around a baby unless strictly supervised by me or my husband. We make sure she socializes with people of all ages and other dogs as much as possible and we are especially careful around children and babies. Luckily she seems to love everyone and we haven't had any problems or seen her exhibit any signs of stress so far. I understand bringing a new baby into our home could change that so we will continue to be careful.

Fantastic to hear. Sorry to have come on so strong, I just re-read and saw how bloody preachy my post could sound. Sorry about that!

No Problem at all. I try to never interpret anything I read in a negative tone. You were clearly well-intentioned and that's how I took it. Plus, being new to posting on The Bump, you have given me an opportunity to learn how to tag a user, and now quote. (Assuming this worked!) Thanks!

BelcherEars · March 2016

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/xy/1vlaqyz0r024.jpg

This is Jake and Ginger. Jake is a Boykin Spaniel and Ginger is a miniature Dachshund.

Jake is my little buddy! He truly doesn’t know his size and is the proverbial bull in the china shop. But he has a big heart and LOVES to cuddle and have his belly rubbed. He is a retriever with LOTS of energy and loves to fetch his play ducks, but tennis balls are his favorite toy; however, he tends to eat those pretty quickly, so we try to stick with Kong and Nylabone toys.

Ginger is my little girl! She is a true lap dog and will give her heart away to anyone willing to feed her. She has a little issue with separation anxiety (which is apparently common with dachshunds) so she is a licker –hands, legs, face…. She doesn’t discriminate. She also loves to play with mini tennis balls, but has no intention of ever fetching them. And her arch nemesis is the squeaker in any chew toy.

Knottie1439239560 · March 2016

This is Charlie, our pekingese/Japanese chin mix! He's just over a year old, and a total sweetheart. Bit of a piggy too haha.

Since getting pregnant, he follows me around everywhere. I can't even go to the bathroom alone anymore. He's started sleeping in bed with H and I too, but he sleeps pressed up against me all night.

TucknBoom · March 2016

I have a 3 y/o cat named Sharkbait that my husband and I got when we first got together. She's a scardey cat and hides most of the time but loves to wrestle with our small dog. She is unnaturally tiny and full grown and perfectly healthy weighs about 6 lbs. Our second fur baby is Tucker ( DH's favorite) our 1 1/2 y/o German Shepherd he's a huge baby at around 120 lbs and loves babies but doesn't understand his size. Our last one (and my personal favorite but no one tell DH that) is our 10 month old Mini Dachsaund Boomer weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs. He hates babies and children though I believe it is because he is so small and they are rough with him. My mom has a child care so he is starting to adjust and not be so scared and will not come up to babies with his tail wagging and will lick them so progress!

TucknBoom · March 2016

Ours dogs are such opposites. We have a giant and a mouse.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ja/mkutoshjbtck.jpeg

ShallowSeas · March 2016

I don't know how I missed this thread! I want to snuggle everyone's pets

Here are mine. I think they're pretty cute.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/go/4fv05cyprsr9.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/editor/ka/jca7g2lujzou.jpg

banfrog · March 2016

@KilgraveMadeMeDoIt I love birds! I had 2 cockatiels, a love bird and a budgie growing up. I wanted to be an avian veterinarian. DH and I have agreed on no pets right now with the kids so young. My oldest son and I are super allergic to furry animals, which helps with that decision....for now. I would love to have birds again eventually. I'm hoping that, and this might be a long time in the future, I can talk DH into a modest bird rescue sort of situation.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · March 2016

banfrog said:

@KilgraveMadeMeDoIt I love birds! I had 2 cockatiels, a love bird and a budgie growing up. I wanted to be an avian veterinarian. DH and I have agreed on no pets right now with the kids so young. My oldest son and I are super allergic to furry animals, which helps with that decision....for now. I would love to have birds again eventually. I'm hoping that, and this might be a long time in the future, I can talk DH into a modest bird rescue sort of situation.

My cockatiel is 19 years old. I got him for my tenth birthday! He's my love bug, always has been. Since then I've done quite a bit of rescue, though a lot of the birds came to us very sick, old, or otherwise with very limited lifespans and we've just seen them through to the end. The birds have been a really amazing learning experience for the kids. Our oldest has autism and he got so focused on getting my Quaker to like him that he spent six months working with her just to be able to pick her up (she doesn't like kids much) and it was really amazing to see.

Honestly, I think birds are the best pets but I think my husband is more partial to mammals, hah.

Jolenef07 · March 2016

We're an animal house too! 3 crazy rescues. Maggie is our loyal, beautiful 13 year old lab w the worlds worst breath, Melo is a nutty 2 year old mutt, and mittens the kittens is our newest edition.

LadyPaige · March 2016

I love seeing everyone's animal pictures!

We have a 3 year old mini dachshund (Molly), a 3 year old basset hound (Murphy), and an 11 year old rag doll cat (Keifer).

banfrog · March 2016

@KilgraveMadeMeDoIt My oldest 2 are on the spectrum as well. I would like my kids to have the opportunity to have pets eventually, preferably birds. Our current living situation doesn't allow for pets of any kind. I think I was 11 when I got my cockatiels. My mom's friend was going away for college so she gave them to me. They were a pair of female cockatiels from the same brood, only a month old. I had them for 15 years. One was such a cuddler and the other was so sassy, but in a good fun way. It always made me sad when other family members (cousins and such) would get birds not realizing the commitment they were making and completely lose interest in their birds.

KilgraveMadeMeDoIt · March 2016

@banfrog Yeah, I get very frustrated when people get birds without realizing how big of a deal they are. Gallifrey, our cockatoo, is only 5 and we've had him almost six months and he's just barely starting to trust me and stop ripping his feathers out. He will quite possibly outlive us. Our son wants to inherit him. We actually need to update our wills with the information about what to do with the birds; it's something we forgot to add originally.

Cockatiels can be so sweet. My boy has been my constant companion for two thirds of my life and I am going to be devastated when he dies, but he has had a very long, happy life.