Animal companions- share your pictures!

[Nikki J]

I sent you a message Jlynn.

Love the stories and photos. Al can you share a photo of Lonesome?

My late Butterscotch was abandoned with his siblings outside my office at 6 weeks old. All were adopted by the end of the day. Butterscotch lived to 20 1/3. Here he is in his old age.

 

[KimT]

There are some mighty kind and loving people on this forum. Al, your post made me cry....in a good way.

I think you can see the true nature of people by hearing about their pets.

One evening, in 1993, a very close friend called me crying. She was sobbing so hard, I could hardly understand what she was saying. That was back in the days of pet stores selling dogs (don't get me started.) She and her husband had wandered around and gone into a pet store. She saw a small four-month old Schnauzer that had been in the store for over two months. She wanted him but her husband wouldn't give in.

Fred and I were living together at the time. We had just bought a house and his sister had just died at only 33 of breast cancer. She left behind a 10-year old daughter. We planned on getting a dog later on but I was set on getting an Airedale and he wanted something smaller. We decided to go to the petstore and figure out why this dog was still there and maybe talk Mike into getting Erin a pet.

It was love at first sight. I knew the risks of puppy mill dogs but what really got me was when we took him out of the cage, a bird got out of its cage at the same time and landed on the ground. The Schnauzer ran to the bird and just sniffed it, wagging his tail. Then he sheepishly walked back to us and sat at our feet, looking up. The cashier said nobody wanted to buy him and she couldn't understand why. She said, "If you take him now, I'll give him to you at half price and throw in the crate and some toys." SOLD. I would have paid double. Within two nights, Fritz was sleeping in our bed and slept with Fred until the day we had to put him down at age 15.

He was the easiest dog I've ever trained. He would heel without a lead and when I stopped, he would sit until I started walking again. He never broke heel, even when other dogs were running around him. He was a real help to Jolene, Fred's niece, after her mom's death. She helped me train him.

Here's the last picture I took of Fritz. I believe it was early 2013. Sometimes I mistakenly call Ace Fritz. He was a beautiful spirit of an animal.

PS: Erin's husband died and she remarried. She now owns five cats and a dog.

 

[Jlynn]

I hope this works. If it does these are my babies. My dogs name is Mazie Mae (the absolute love of my life) and my big kitty's name in Bentley (as he was rescued with a broken tail).

 

[Jlynn]

I'm so proud of myself. I did it! Not sure I could do it again. Thanks Nikki!

 

[Jlynn]

Ok ok.... I can't help myself. I had to post these pics just because I love them. Mazie was a bit naughty and dug a hole near where the sump pumps drains. She really had a great time. It's a dogs life!

 

[Bestfriends14]

I love this thread! @karennwendy- The second pic, in your first post, looks like my girl. The cat is Skye and the pup is our elderly, one eyed, Azores Cattle Dog, named Callie. They bring such joy into our lives even when the days are filled with tears. They are our hearts.

 

[KarenNWendyn]

Since we’re getting into past pets, I’m going to share with you the story of Cashel, my first dog and in many ways, my soulmate.

My former sister-in-law was traveling through Ireland, in the town of Cashel, when she came across a young stray dog at the Rock of Cashel (the name Cashel means castle). The pup was surviving by hanging out at the pub begging for handouts. He was skinny but friendly. He appeared to have some Jack Russell or Fox Terrier in him.

Being an ardent animal lover, Nancy found out from the innkeeper that the dog was indeed a stray. Nancy was determined to bring him back to the US and give him to me as a present.

It turns out she needed to get him a rabies shot, a traveling crate, and get him through customs.

She was able to make it all work, and I got my first dog “Cashel” in summer of 1991.

He was my buddy, and I took him running, hiking, snowshoeing, and canoeing. He was a game little guy. He even helped Wendyn and me train for a marathon in 2000.

Cashel was with me until 2002. He helped Wendyn and I raise our next dog Milo. Milo helped raise Sonnet, and Sonnet helped us raise our current dog, Jaime.

After Sonnet passed in 2017, we had Jaime but held off getting a second dog when I was diagnosed with ALS.

I’ve dearly loved all my dogs, but Cashel remains my “forever dog”.

Here’s a picture of Mr. Cashel.

 

[KateEmerson]

I have so enjoyed this thread, thank you Fiona. This is a picture of our two rescue dogs we had during our ALS journey , Opie the Springer and Henry the Weimaraner. I cannot say enough about how much joy they provided Job . Opie was his adoring constant companion as you can see him looking at Job in the picture and Henry was named " head nurse" by Job as he would fly to Job whenever the ventilator alarm went off, bark at me if I didn't immediately respond, then supervise my every movement while attending to Job.

 

[ShiftKicker]

I thought I'd post an update, now that Spring has arrived and Bowie has been released from jail for the season. His first act upon release, however, was to commit (small rodent) murder within the first 15 minutes of freedom. An auspicious start to patio season. Please find attached a photo of the completely unrepentant killer a few minutes after the fact. Hopefully word will get out in the mousie underground that our patio isn't a great place to hang out if you're small and can't run fast.

My elder dog Daisy celebrated the start of Spring by getting her second knee surgery yesterday. Here she is, singing her song of sadness and woe (the drugs were pretty good). She is already 100x better today and wanting to get going despite having her shaved nekkid hindquarters exposed for all to see. Unfortunately I can't seem to post a direct clip on the forum, so it's zip file only. Sorry!

 

[KarenNWendyn]

Hope springs eternal in the canine breast. Here’s the beast, lying in wait under the table with the sad puppy eyes, patiently waiting for a tiny morsel of food to drop to the ground.

 

[ShiftKicker]

There is no greater optimist than a dog in the vicinity of food. Your dog believes in you. They believe you are a kind and generous person and you will always do the right thing (read: share).

 

[ReginaS]

Here is a picture of my dog... shortly after a haircut. Right now his hair is curly and much longer.
He lives with another family right now as he is a bit crazy and has tons of energy and needs much exercise that I cannot give him these days. I miss him! But he thoroughly enjoys the company of their dog. Sunday we took him for a walk. It was sunny and the spring flowers are out!

 

[ShiftKicker]

Oh, he's a beauty! And you are such a great dog mum to let him receive care from others- I can only imagine how much you miss him.

 

[Jlynn]

Shiftkicker...your Bowie looks a little upset that his fun with the small rodent is over!

 

[ShiftKicker]

I make him out to be a bit of a jerk, but he's a really decent and good natured cat. He's forgiven me each time I've forcibly extracted his prey from his mouth (4 or 5 now over the years) and just goes back to contemplating the garden within minutes. I think he was more upset (in the picture above) that the crows were yelling at him. They've got his number and taunt him whenever they're in the neighbourhood. Keeps him humble.