[Sideways]

Hello,

I have to say that yes, pets know and suffer.  We have lost a dog and a cat during the crisis.  We lost our black lab on New years eve 09.  And I had to put down one of our old house cats, Buddy, in Aug 2010.  Tigger is survivng old cat, and he and Buddy walked around the house looking for H when he left in May 09.  Tigger, would walk around the house and cry out looking for H at night.  It was very sad.  I told H that the cats were upset and distressed at him not being here.  He asid I could put them in a room or something at night!  Bone-head.

And I still have my Samoyed Husky.  She is in a kennel outside, but comes in too.  H walks right by kennel and doesn't say a word to her.  Before crisis he would have went in to get a bone and came back out and given it to her.  Now he ignores her.  She also had a distressing time when he left.  She would listen to vehicles coming down the road and I could tell she was listening for his truck.  She knew his truck was coming about a 1\2 mile before he would get here.  She would start to bark and get excited.  She waited and waited for him to come home.  I was really angry about that.


I now have 2 kittens in the house. H did ask me where they came from.  And I did see him pet one of them.  But that is it.

I have not had the chance so far, to experience H reconnecting with pets nor with me.  AS a matter of fact he filed papers in Aug.  So kind of interesting, my H moved out after Lab died, and served papers right before I put cat down.

The kittens really don't know him.  He is just the  strange guy who comes once a week to go on the computer. Lol.

[AlienstolemyH]

Like some our pups are our only kids. We have 3. The mom, dad and baby. They were always and are our center piece. Everywhere we go they know our dogs. They are famous!!! Especially at drive throughs.
2 Boys one girl. The daddy dog is a daddy's boy. H can't make a move with him. H would barely go eat dinner out or spend much time away from home because he preferred their company to that of people's for the most part and he always missed them and didn't want them to be alone. They were his NUMBER #1 priority. He always went to so much trouble. Just the best dad. Now he barely comes home. They lay in wait by the front door for an undeterminable arrival time. I noticed in recent weeks they started to give up and are willing to come sit with me more...
Now they don't wait much at all and seem more surprised when he is here. The other night I came home from work and he hadn't even fed them. Because of H's work he leaves early evening and doesn't HAVE to stay away from home that much, and even still didn't find time to take care of them. One of my boys started acting out by peeing places he knows better and would NEVER have done before. It breaks my heart. I told him just because your priorities and schedule has changed theirs hasn't. They have the same needs and expectations as they always did.
The daddy's boy now is turning neurotic. I love them like they were my kids and I will be there for them and protect them the same. Good luck with B

[Still]

I love to hear about people's pets. They make for a much better conversation than the antics of our MLC'ers...though they do seem like animals much of the time.

Anyway, after closing my cat up in the recliner earlier this evening and watching him sneeze the pain away, it reminded me how glad I am to have him.

He is not a friendly cat, more like a crotchety old man. You would think he would be friendly since we coaxed him out of the forest with some expensive coldcuts (thanks kids!) three summers ago.

Since then, he never misses his Meow Mix.

He is not much of a looker. He has no tail....possibly from some sort of industrial accident...don't know he has never spoken of it. He has part of his ear missing. He has scars all over his face. He has only one incisor. He has horrible breath. He growls every time you get near him, even if he jumps on you first. He hisses and scratches, but it doesn't stop us from loving him.

He even has a title. His name is Mr. E. The E actually needs no period because it doesn't stand for anything. My D10 (D7 at the time) decided we would name him Mr. E. because it was a "mystery" where he came from. It does prove to be a bit embarrassing from time to time.....like when he goes to the vet and they announce his name. Everyone looks around appearing irritated because their animals are just first name, no fancy title.

Anyway, I just walked by him curled up in a ball....drooling all over the bathroom rug. I don't think anyone would line up to adopt him, but he fits right in.

[In this for ME]

We got two new kittens since we moved out of the house. I forgot what that's like WOW!!
Some night we get no sleep..well now that we finally are sleeping.
You can't eat, open a cupboard, sweep the floor, put anything on the kitchen table, or go to the bathroom without one of them trying get involved.
I shut one of them in a cupboard the other day and forgot about them until about 1/2 hour later. The apt is small and when I couldn't find him I really didn't remeber shutting him in the cupboard.
Took me a while longer then found him.
You can't open the fridge or the oven without then trying to get in.
Both of them have crinkled edges on thier whiskers because they are too stupid not to get too close to a large candle I burn in a safe place.
Never again..I'll only get cats from now on!

[ForeverHopefulOne]

Wow, Still - such a vivid description; I can picture Mr. E right now with such clarity.  I'm glad you have him in your life.

I have 2 cats that I rescued from shelters - a russian blue named Wendel (about 8 yrs old) - he will snuggle you to death!  He loves to be held, he nibbles on your nose and snuggles your ear - total sweetheart!  He always knows when I am sad and will jump up on my chest while I am sitting on the couch to cheer me up.  When I am sick, Wendel will sit at the foot of my bed and not leave until I am up and about.

And, a flame-tip siamese named Sammy - he is friendly, but not as much as Wendel.  Sammy is about 4-5 yrs old.  Always gets in trouble!  Always picks on poor Wendel.

Thanks for starting this thread, Still.

[Still]

Both of them have crinkled edges on thier whiskers because they are too stupid not to get too close to a large candle I burn in a safe place.

Oh my goodness, this made me laugh!

When I am sick, Wendel will sit at the foot of my bed and not leave until I am up and about.

If we could just teach our spouses to be as well behaved!

Wendel, what a great name! For some reason, I immediately thought of Harry Potter. It sounds like a name from one of those movies.

[Purple stain]

We adopted a pit bull who is the most wonderful dog . She was running the streets for two years and had probably 2 litters. Then she was at a shelter for a year and really, really sad because she thrives on love, snuggling, and attention (and food!!! LOL). She was even stolen from the pound but the kids brought her back. Then, she was in a foster home with a wonderful foster mom for a year before she stole our hearts a little over two years ago . We also had a foster pit but he was sick. So we nursed him back to health and then he hot adopted.

My h and I used to volunteer at a pit bull shelter. Unfortunately, I do t have time for it these days. It was the time for my h and I to spend time together, do something good, relax, and have fun (same when we did dog training).

My doggie has been a wonderful companion through all of this. She keeps me warm thesedays and is my snuggle companion. One time I locked her into the pantry where all her food is LOL. Luckily, I've noticed it before it was too late as she loves to eat

[Still]

Okay, now two of you have shut your pets in cupboards and I folded my cat into the recliner. Are these pets safe? Oh, and that whisker thing....tsk, tsk, tsk. 

I used to have this crazy Irish Setter/Black Lab mix. He was a shelter rescue. What a funny dog!

He used to love to catch and eat flies. One day he was having a particularly difficult time catching a fly. It flew through the house and "Sunny" went running behind it. It landed on the bathroom window. Seeing a perfect opportunity, Sunny jump up to get it. He got caught in the horizontal blinds, spun round and round, and crashed out through the window. He wasn't hurt, but he was clearly ashamed of his actions.

I just stood there shaking my head in complete disbelief at what had just happened.

[Purple stain]

Still I don't know if I should laugh or cry!

[Buggy31]

Don't have a pet but really wanting to get one for the kids.....the labradoodles seem like a kid-friendly breed.  I was hoping for christmas...we'll see.