Where did your beloved pets come from?
By Gemmygirl1
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
Australia
June 9, 2007 12:23am CST
I'm just curious to see where everyone got their beloved pets. There are so many unwanted dogs & cats out there that many people choose to get their new additions from shelters, others insist on buying from pet shops or going to a breeder & spending big $$$ on pure bred dogs/cats!I'd like to hear your stories about how you got your pets & what made you get them from wherever you got them!I have 4 small dogs - there are 3 pictured below - the one on the left is Boo - she's a maltese x Shih-Tzu & we picked her up from a sanctuary, in the middle is Titch - she's a pure Shih-Tzu that we got from a breeder BUT she was never bred with after having a blood disorder & was only used as a show dog so we got her as an older give away (even breeders can only keep so many dogs), the one on the right is Pug, he's a Maltese x Shih-Tzu, we got him from the same sanctuary as Boo (thankfully that sanctuary was one that NEVER destroyed a dog - if it didn't go to a new home, it remained there to live out it's life).
The 4th dog, Molly, who is a Maltese x Wirey Terrier - who we also got from the santuary Boo & Pug came from!I'd love to hear about your pets & what made you choose them or save them!
14 people like this
33 responses
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
9 Jun 07
When my husband and I finally decided to get a pet we decided on a cat. We only wanted 1 originally. I did an online search for local shelters and what they had for cats. I happen to fing a shelter in my home town but it was a dog shelter and they had 2 kittens that were 9weeks old. I was confused as to wy a dog shelter had kittens but we went to look any way. When we got there they stated that they wanted the kittens to go together since they were the only ones left.
Well we ended up bringing both of them home. Since we have 1 female and 1 male we took them to get fixed as soon as they were old enough and now our kids are happier than ever to have wonderfull pets as our 2 cats. Precious and Alexis.
4 people like this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
I think you did the right thing by taking them both - it's good for them to stay together :)
It was GREAT of you to be happy to take them both, i'm so pleased - you're right, pets do fill a little void in your family to help make it complete!
1 person likes this
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
9 Jun 07
i love the idea of adopting a pet. my mom and i are thinking of adopting a dog. we will be going to the government owned dog pound soon and see if we can adopt one. but i am positive we can and i really wish we can!... anne
2 people like this
@Signal20 (2281)
• United States
9 Jun 07
Two of my dogs are pound puppies, the third a friend gave to us because she wasn't caring for it...One of my cats is from the pound, and the other one I think was a barn cat. There was this farm in the middle of a park/forest preserve. The cat followed my brother to his car, then jumped in lol. So he took him home, and my parents kept him for about a week. He drove them nuts by waking them up every morning at 5 am by meowing loudly and rubbing his face against theirs-very hard too :) So I inherited him.
3 people like this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
It is great to hear so many people get their pets from the pound, nothing beats saving a life, right?
I think the dog in the photo (Boo, on the left) was a stray because she was stinky & matted when we got her from the sanctuary & of all the great toys we had in the house to play with, she insisted on playing with a tin can - weird how that was what she wanted to play with!
1 person likes this
@suscan (1955)
• United States
9 Jun 07
Our pets are always strays or from the shelter.. the cat we have now was a stray around my Aunt's house. She kept telling how cute the cat was. I kept resisting and then finally I agreed to take her. She is a great cat,very affectionate, and we love her.
3 people like this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
With our cats, they're usually from a pet store unfortunately - there aren't any cat shelters near here & i am yet to see a stray out here.
We did get our original 2 cats from my Auntie who's cat had kittens so that helped to keep them from going ferral - lovely cats they were too - we don't have them any more though, 1 got attacked by a neighbour's dog & the other one just left, i think she might have been sick so she went away to die.
We currently have 1 male, 1 female & 1 female kitten!
1 person likes this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
it's all good - we got the 1 pure from a shelter - he was my first ever dog - he's the one on the right!
1 person likes this
@castleghost (1304)
• United States
9 Jun 07
The first dog I got was from a friend that was a breeder. No, I didn't pay for the dog. He happened to be born with a defect so my friend said that either he put the dog down or he could give him to me as long as I agreed never to breed him. I have had that dog now for thirteen or so years. He is a Brittany spaniel. In the last two years we have adopted a one year old female German Shepard mix and a now six year old male German Shepard mix from the humane society. I don't believe in paying big money to get the family a new member. Our humane society is a no kill as well.
3 people like this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
I don't believe in paying big bucks either - our pure (on the right - PUG) was only $50 from the shelter we went to so i was chuffed!
Thanks for your input :)
1 person likes this
@alexdiazgranados (678)
• United States
9 Jun 07
My late (and much loved) Labrador retriever, Mary Joe Cacao, was given to me as a gift by my cousin Ignacio. He owned her sire, Nato Cacao, and when the first batch of puppies was born in 1994, I was offered one of them. Sounds straightforward and simple, but it wasn't, because I live in the U.S. and my cousin and the dogs were in Colombia, South America. My cousin spent over $300 for paperwork, vet bills, and air fare...but it was worth it, because MJ became the heart and soul of my home.
3 people like this
@smints8985 (1594)
• United States
9 Jun 07
I used to want to have a dog when I was little, but then knowing that pure breed dogs are quite expensive, my mom refused to buy us one. I think she has mentioned this to a friend of hers, that is why when their dog gave birth, she decided to give one to us. I called her kimkim, she's half shih tzu and half pomeranian.
The person who gave her to us own a salon where we dropped by one school night and picked her up. They dyed a part of her fur green (just a portion between her eyes). I still remember how small she was then, we even had to put her in a plastic bag because they said she gets dizzy and throws up when put in a moving vehicle.
Her dad was barking hysterically when we were about to bring her home.
3 people like this
@cabergren (1181)
• United States
9 Jun 07
I have three young female cats. I did have 2 older female cats and they passed away. So I slowly started getting these new cats. They were all adopted from shelters. I don't believe in buyin from pet stores. There are so many unwanted pets just sitting at shelters. We have found three of greatest cats. I can't imagine my life without them.
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
I have bought cats from pet stores in the past but only because i know some stores don't treat their animals very well & they deserve a better life!
We have only gotten dogs from shelters but that's because the shelter we got all our dogs from was a dog only shelter - there isn't one near by with cats.
1 person likes this
@ajmccrary1986 (454)
• United States
11 Jun 07
We got our dog Jake from a couple who was renting our old house once. We got our cat Wilbur from a couple who used to live on my dad's mail route. My Granny got my gerbil Little Bit from a pet store. We got our some of our 9 hermit crabs from a pet store and Romancing the Stone.
@gizmo528 (731)
• United States
9 Jun 07
Currently, we have a total 5 dogs in house/family right now. The oldest Sheba was found in an irrigation field so we took her in. I bought Sasha from a breeder about a year after we got Sheba. Then came Gizmo who was born to a family friend's dog. Last but not least are the two puppies who we kept from Sasha's first litter of puppies. Most of the dogs that we got were strays or had no one that wanted them except for my puppies and Sasha. I love all animals and everytime I see one on the side of the road I just wanna stop and pick up everyone of them.
1 person likes this
@Gemmygirl1 (2867)
• Australia
12 Jun 07
I have no idea what this has to do with where you got your pets from?
1 person likes this
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
10 Jun 07
We don't have a dog anymore, because our yard is too small.
We have two cats, one named Big Man and the other one is EB.
We found Big Man in front of a convenience store, as an abandoned kitten. Noone would feed him, so we took him in.
Our youngest cat, EB came from the neighbors, whose cat had a litter. When we got her, she was very sick. Turns out she was allergic to the soy milk they had been feeding her.
Once we took her off the soy milk and got her treated for fleas, she got well and turned into a real princess.
I love both my cats. I've always said that they were like my children, before my daughter came along. They still are in lots of ways.
1 person likes this
@moxalot (100)
• United States
30 Nov 07
I have never owned a dog yet. But I've had cats. We've always rescued our cats.
The cats I have now (Josie and Spec) came from the veterinarian I used to work for. Someone had left them behind the clinic in a carrier. They were about 4 weeks old when they were left. And Spec was really sick, Josie had wrapped herself around him to keep him warm. They weren't sure if he would make it, but he's a beautiful cat now... Anyway, I brought them home for a weekend and they ended up staying. That was 7 years ago.
When we get a house we're hoping to get a dog. We will rescue...
1 person likes this
@pilbara (1436)
• Australia
9 Jun 07
We have 2 cats - Leo and KC and a dog, barkley. All of them came from the lost dogs home.
We got KC when he we just a tiny kitten and someone had already abused him (he's now about 10). Leo and Barkley were both adults when we got them but both of them have extremely loving natures so we can only think that they weren't mistreated but were given up for some reason.
I really can't understand why people have pets and then discard them - oh well their loss is our gain. I can understand abusing a pet even less.
1 person likes this
@LilyoftheThorns (12918)
• United States
10 Jun 07
All of our cats and dogs are rescues from the street or pound. Except our golden retriever, we got her as a gift from my moms friend. I bought my Baracoda from PetSmart. We got one of our birds from PetSmart and the other from an elderly lady my sister knows that could not take care of the bird anymore.
MY cat was one I rescued from our side yard. My dogs were barking out the side door so I went to check, and I saw this little white cat running by our wall. I went outside and grabbed her, she didn't put up a struggle at all! She was very sweet. But she was SO skinny and her hair was terrible. It was choopy and shaved in some areas. She weighed less than one pound! And she was not a new born or anything, she was 2! I talked my parents into letting me keep her and now she is healhty with a beautiful coat!
@amyann16 (414)
• United States
10 Jun 07
Our 10 year old dog, Haley Bopp-- we call her Bopster came from a litter that one of our friend's dog's had. I believe there were 6 puppies in that litter. He was able to find homes for 4 of the puppies and the other two went to the humane shelter. We love our little bopster!
@betlynfrnds (4069)
• United States
9 Jun 07
My beloved cats chose me. I've been feeding and caring for the neighborhood ferrels and strays for about a year. 3 of them are strictly indoor cats who have been spayed. Their names are Precious Princess, Bootsy McBain, and Tiger Lilly. My outdoor babies are Ping, Pong, Beauty Queen, Giggles, Mr. Boy, Mama Kitty, Frenchy, Dee Dee and I think that's it for now. I'm sure there are more lurking around. I always keep food on my porch. I makes me feel good to feed my sweeties. They add so much to my life. It looks like your babies add lot to your life also. By the way, I love those sanctuaries that don't destroy pets. They live a full and happy life. Kudos.
1 person likes this
