Phooey on people who think animals are self centered....
@BearArtistLady (6037)
United States
August 23, 2019 1:18pm CST
I get so tired of people who think animals are only concerned with themselves. It isn't true. How many of us can relate about our companion animals that know we aren't well or are in physical danger that seek help for us or spend time comforting us?
Petey spent two hours on my lap last night comforting me. He knew my neck was hurting horribly and he wanted in the worst way to make me feel better. He layed on my lap "kissing" my hand and purring as hard as he could to make my neck feel better. He would raise his head and gaze deeply into my eyes and open his mouth and utter a very soft meow and purr some more and then gently lower his head and kiss my hand some more. He was trying with all his might to make me feel better with what he had to work with.
He knows that since the last series of seizures I have had worse neck pain and haven't felt like doing much. When I go outside he is right at my side heeling like a dog making sure that I am okay to walk where ever I am going, chattering at me the whole trip. When I finish my trip he walks me back to the house, chattering the whole way back, standing at the door making sure that I make it into the house okay and that I close the door and am safely in the house before he goes back about his business. He would qualify for a "service cat" in a heart beat.
After the couple of hours of loving yesterday I got up this morning with a nasty neck ache. It dawned on me that he knew that I was going to have a nasty pain in my neck today and he was trying in his kitty way to warn me of it. Fortunately it's just an awful pain in the neck that can be controlled by my pain medication and I took a couple of pain pills and it is easing off. Thank goodness as I work the shop today (I think that's part of the pain...I'm working with the new owner and I'm not comfortable with him like I was with the old owner). I'm on my feet four hours so it's a good thing I have the pain pills. Too bad I can't take Petey with me. But I do have to be grateful for having him here at the house.
Is your companion animal like a service animal and knows when you need extra loving and caring? Do they know when you need some extra laughs and fun because you've had something made you sad? Are they as special as a family member?
9 people like this
8 responses
@sallypup (61009)
• Centralia, Washington
23 Aug 19
Your fur kid is a sweetie. I love the photo. Big Leah pup keeps an eye on me when I am in the garden. She comes right to me when I call her if I have a balance issue. She'll stay by my left side and allow me to lean on her as we walk or even back if needed.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
24 Aug 19
Big Leah sounds like a candidate for a service dog. The trainers for service dogs go to the various shelters and will test the dogs for what they need in the way of assistance for humans. It has given millions of dogs (and cats) homes for assisting humans. Like I said in the previous post I met two service dogs at the shop yesterday and my son-in-law has one for his diabetes. I may end up with one for my seizures. They are very very special animals who are very tuned into their humans and will do what it takes to help them. I am so glad that Big Leah is so willing to help you without having had training. It's the love in her heart that brings her to you and helps you to where you need to go. It's bringing tears to my eyes when I think of it. Give her some extra treats and love from me for being so special.
1 person likes this
@sallypup (61009)
• Centralia, Washington
24 Aug 19
@BearArtistLady Thank you for your sweetness. Leah is special for sure. She is a nervous gal so being too near other dogs upsets her and she goes into naughty: growling and such. But at home she is my buddy. She does know to heel nicely at my left side. Due to my wonky knees I have trouble navigating street curbs. I tell Leah to wait and she does, standing, not yanking on me as I make my leg go off the curb and to the street. Leah and I have worked many hours together. Her willingness to team up with me has been a wonder. She is not a saint by any means and yet she is also a help when I need her the most.
@crossbones27 (49432)
• Mojave, California
26 Aug 19
Actually every dog I have had tries to comfort me when get angry and cuss. I have to turn around and comfort them back so they know its OK just frustrated for a moment. Animals can be self centered but overall they try to help because they know it comes back to them.
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
31 Aug 19
You are so right. Through the centuries they discovered that humans are a great source of food and shelter. And if you stop and think about it not only can animals be self centered but so can humans. We can be busy with a task and not really want to be bothered when our critters come up to us for a little loving and we shoo them away. One cat that tickled me no end was one who would worry about me when I took a bath. He would jump up on the end of the tub and start walking along the edge. It would never fail, he would step on a wet spot and splat he would fall into the tub. I'd jump out, toss on my robe, grab a towel and follow the wet streak to the cat. Thankfully it never ended up at the end of my bed but usually in the same chair. I would sit there and patiently dry him off and explain to him that it wasn't quite bright to walk along the edge of the tub while I was sitting in the tub as it usually means that there was water in it and if he fell in he would get wet. It never worked. Every time I decided to take a bath he would open the door (he knew how to work door knobs), come through the door and fall in the tub. I finally started blocking the door closed with the Sears catalog.
@TiarasOceanView (70022)
• United States
31 Aug 19
My sister loves animals all of them better than people.
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
31 Aug 19
If I were to let Petey in right now he would be in my lap, my head feels like it's going to explode and my neck feels like it has been twisted into knots. I lifted a box that weighed around 50 pounds yesterday and put it in the back of my husband's Mustang. BAD mistake. I knew it when I picked up the box off the counter at the Post office. Oh well, no more heavy lifting for me. Anyhow Petey would feel that he would have to nurse me back to heath. But there is nothing like a warm fuzzy orange kitty in your lap purring and giving you kitty kisses to make you feel tons better.
I couldn't have Bill, my husband, heft the box because his knees are so bad he has to walk with a cane so I do the heavy lifting....there were two boxes- the second one had bear making stuff in it, I had to empty it out to load the box, it was huge! Anyhow I thank heaven for pain pills, they're kicking in and I'm starting to feel a bit better.
Your sister would love it here! She would spend the whole day hand feeding the deer and the whole night feeding the raccoons and possums and other night beggars that come by for a hand out. Our place is animal central because I even feed the squirrels that come by. Bill has decided that we should move into a zoo so I could be happy living with all the critters. I even had a raccoon that would come to the door and knock for his hand outs. He would take them from our hands and sit at the glass door and watch TV while he ate them. We named him Harry, and if he didn't show up by 10:30 p.m. we would go to the door and call him so he could have his dinner before we went to bed at 11:30. (He didn't like watching the late night news
) He discovered girls and brought his girlfriend by. She didn't like us much but liked the food. But when they had their family they all came by once and then never came back. We kind of missed Harry but understood.
) He discovered girls and brought his girlfriend by. She didn't like us much but liked the food. But when they had their family they all came by once and then never came back. We kind of missed Harry but understood.1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
3 Sep 19
the critters here're my family. the pups'n resident cat'll not leave my side if'n i'm havin' 'n "off" day 'r the hubs's bein' particularly ugly. mr. cisco 'twas my anchor'n the herd, i miss that fella so... the critters're why i fought to survive, i knew they'd suffer greatly 't the hubs hand. sadly some did anyhow coz i 'twas unable to get outdoors 'n see what 'twas actually bein' tended. his lies 'f "they're doin' great!" were jest that.
mr. petey sure's a sweetheart!
@crazyhorseladycx (39509)
• United States
3 Sep 19
@BearArtistLady 
ya didn't fail 'em, hon. ya did all ya could, the fire fighters, too. 'twas jest too much, spread too quickly. punishin' yerself'll not bring 'em back. perhaps find a way to honor 'em. turn the loss 'nto somethin' good, to benefit other critters.
ya didn't fail 'em, hon. ya did all ya could, the fire fighters, too. 'twas jest too much, spread too quickly. punishin' yerself'll not bring 'em back. perhaps find a way to honor 'em. turn the loss 'nto somethin' good, to benefit other critters.@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
3 Sep 19
@crazyhorseladycx I know you're right, but a lot of the feelings come from what my brother did when I was a kid. He would deliberately kill animals in the most horrible way and there was no way that I could stop him...I was six and seven years old and he would force me to help him kill the animals. I couldn't tell my parents because they wouldn't believe me and even if they did and they punished him he would turn on me and beat the daylights out of me because he would be my baby sitter while both my parents worked all day. He would beat me with a leather belt for no reason, or hit me with a wooden spoon for no reason. He beat the family dog constantly with the dog's leash. He was totally evil. I lived in terror until I was 13 or 14 when my parents threw him out of the house. They never knew the horrors that went on. I promised myself that I would never abuse or "fail" an animal again. I've stood by that promise until the fire. I think I would have been able to handle the loss a bit better if I hadn't gone back down to the remains of the fire the next day and seen the bodies of three of the cats and the dog laying among the ashes. Fortunately Kris was with me and led me off before I became a total basket case.
You're totally right about the memorial. Our shelters are always in need and I need to get my tail in gear and do some designing of critters exclusively for the shelters for them to sell for purchasing supplies. I can't have a houseful of cats and dogs right now, but when I can I'll have a total houseful you can be sure.
When I get the critters designed and the samples done I'll post the pictures of the samples on the lot. Thinking of them is already making me feel a bit better. Thank you for the suggestion and the "feel better pill"
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
3 Sep 19
Petey has kept me sane after losing the other cats and the dog in the fire. I go outside in the morning and he comes racing up yelling good morning at me ready to come in and have his breakfast and his bowl of cream. I still feel so awful that I wasn't here to save my critters when the fire broke out. I think of it and sit and cry uncontrollably. They trusted me to take care of them and I failed them horribly. Excuse me, I can't go on right now, I need to collect myself after some sobbing...I keep seeing those bodies the next morning and I can't help but cry
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
24 Aug 19
When I got home from town late last night and opened the truck door Petey was right up in my lap purring like a maniac. This afternoon while I am working on teddy bears I'm sure he will be inside snoozing beside me making sure that I am okay. Or maybe he'll choose to snooze on the expensive bedding, the mink fur that I am going to take apart to line and then make into teddy bears. Of course I have his kitty treats with me to slip some to him from time to time. Wally World's Special Kitty Treats are great. He really likes them and the price are affordable. The national brand treats are a $1.64 a bag and the Special Kitty ones are $1.12 a bag. I love being able to spoil him at that kind of price. Plus he spoils me with all the added attention and loving and purring while he is either on my lap or on the couch beside me. I adore that cat, so does the entire neighborhood. He visits the neighbors when we're not home...especially one particular neighbor that offers him special treats too. That neighbor has cats too and spoils his cats so he has cat treats and I give him cans of tuna and such for spoiling his cats. Bill and I got a huge kick out of it when that neighbor came down and asked if we had an orange tabby, that he kept coming up to his place for attention and treats. He added that Petey would walk right in the house like he owned it and settle down right in one of the soft cooshie chairs while he waited for someone to come pay attention to him. The main thing is that the neighborhood is very careful about watching out for Petey and his crossing the street or walking down the middle of the street. They're careful NOT to drive too fast and make sure that they don't hit him.
Give Dude and your other cat extra loving and treats for me...they deserve it.
1 person likes this
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
25 Aug 19
@CarolDM Petey splits his time between inside and out. He likes getting to ride on Bill's Kubota (4 wheel drive cart vehicle). He hears it start up and he races like a maniac for it and is in Bill's lap ready to ride. We didn't have to teach him to ride in the thing either, it came natural. Somewhere I have a photo of him on Bill's lap behind the steering wheel. When I find it I'll post it.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203422)
• Nashville, Tennessee
24 Aug 19
@BearArtistLady I will do that, thank you. My cats stay indoors. And they get lots of attention.. Here are my two chilling in the screen room.
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
8 Sep 19
My Coco often made me feel better. We were best buds. I still miss her badly.
Don't say get another. cause that's not fair to the pet if I did. No longer able physically or financially to care for one. you know.
cause that's not fair to the pet if I did. No longer able physically or financially to care for one. you know.
@BearArtistLady (6037)
• United States
24 Aug 19
Thank you, I'll tell Petey that you complimented him. When you spend time with your animals and show them affection and care they show it in return. I met two service animals at the shop yesterday and of course before I just rushed in and petted them I asked permission and the service animals sucked up the attention like crazy and gave me love and kisses in return.
I read on Bill's cell phone about a dog that was adopted by a stewardess. She found the dog in front of a hotel that they stayed at during their lay overs and the dog was hungry and lonely. She got him some food and paid him some attention before she left the next morning. She came back a couple weeks later and he remembered her and he went nuts greeting her. Of course she got him some food and paid him some attention. But she felt awful that he was homeless and she was the only one giving him food and he had to survive on what he could find so she called their local aspca. They took him in and fed him and tried to find him a home but he managed to break out and was waiting for her when she came back. She got her route changed because she just couldn't handle leaving him behind. It took a couple of months before she came back but when she got to the hotel he was there waiting for her and recognized her. She caved and decided to adopt him. She went through all the paperwork and other red tape and finally took the dog home with her. She has a wonderful happy companion dog that she and her husband adore. The dog is absolutely thrilled with his new home and is the best companion that the couple could ever want.
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