Do pets play a significant role in your life?

[Orange_Coconut]

Are there or were there ever any pets that have affected you strongly? I understand that we cannot easily perform dialogue with the animals that we care for, but to what degree do these animals affect your life?

Feel free to share experiences you have had with any of your pets if it helps others understand how your intimacy stems from such bonds.

[McLaughlin]

My dog is easily the best friend I have and I'd do anything for him. I take him everywhere he's allowed to go with me.

There was one time when he was a puppy and I let him out to do his thing, some jackasses playing hockey on the pond behind my house started throwing rocks and snowballs over the fence at him. I grabbed one of the rocks out of the air and whipped it back and beaned one of them off the head and knocked him out cold. The other one ran up and tried to hit me with his hockey stick but I ripped it from his hands and beat him with it until the stick snapped.

Do not mess with my dog.

[Tetsaru]

Personally, I've always been a cat person. We currently have 4 cats living in our house, all of them rescues off the streets. My mom also occasionally goes by the old school building in town and feeds a group of feral cats that live around there. I always wonder when or if she'll bring another one home, but having 4 right now is quite a handful! ^^;

[Reksanden]

My pets have come and gone..... Too many cats and dogs gone from various causes. I still have an old Black Lab, Hunter, and a beautiful calico/tortie/marbled cat, Patches. I don't have any pics of them on my PC, but if I can remeber to put some on my PC, I will post them.

[AlexCraig]

All of our cats have played major parts in my family.

[Keely]

Enoch, my bearded dragon, is significant in my life because she (yeah I thought she was a male for four years until she laid some eggs) has been with me for 11 years and is my longest lasting lizard. When I was moving around the country like to Mississippi and Alaska, she was there with me. I nick named her “psycho lizard” for several years because she would often try to bite me but over time she mellowed out and now appears to trust me. When I take her outside for some sun, she seems more relaxed chilling on my shoulder instead of on a chair.

[Monochrome]

I've got a rabbit. She owns me, and when I don't meet her expectations, she unties my shoes. Or bites me.

[bns1991]

I have a dog. His name is loko (my mom named him after Four Loko smh). He is a Dorkie (yorkie/dachshund hybrid). The name fits his personality perfectly. He can brighten up a dull mood, but my mom spoils him too much.

[Fayorei]

My dog is actually my roommate's/ladyfriend's, but I simply cannot imagine living without her now. Her name's Alley, she's a Blue Heeler/Sheltie mix and freaking awesome. Just friendly, companionable. Always chills with me while I'm on the computer. Also very active and playful, which is good.

[Shakuri]

I sort of have a Jindo, he isn't mine exactly, he's my cousins. For some reason though he seems far more loyal to me than to her, which makes her angry. So the adverse effect to her own pet liking me more is...the dog bugging me instead of her when he wants something.

So basically, the significant role that the Jindo plays is being annoying. I think he likes me more than her because shes always overly excited to see him and pets him too much, I give him the occasional pat on the head and he loses it.

[darkante]

Yeah, when i lived at home. My family had a bundle of animals running around...
Dog´s, cat´s, bunnies, guinnea pig´s and a pig (the super pig!).

A bit much perhaps, but i really bonded with them...specially piggy.
It were kinda new to me, but it didn´t feel much different from a dog.
But believe me, i couldn´t leave anything in the open.
The pig had a way of knocking things so they fall down on the floor for it to munch on.

Sometimes, it had that crazed idea of exercising as it runs back and forth until it´s too tired.

Now, they kinda gave away most animals since it feelt too much when moving away.
Not far though, but still...

Right now, i have 2 cats demanding attention. :D

[sCI]

I'm one of those types of people that should never own a pet.
I think abuse of any living thing is wrong as long as that living thing didn't do anything to deserve it(unlike murder, rape, etc.) Animals are living. So I know it's wrong, and thus don't do it.


But animals are stupid, and don't understand things in the ways humans do, and that irritates me. At the end of the day, your pets could give a rats ass about you; they don't know any better.

Ex.--If you died right in front of them, they would sniff your worthless remains, and run away to finish off their life. No care in the world.

My thoughts are that that relates to the fact that no matter how much you "train" them to stay in your yard for example, they will always want to run out of it.


(Why this negative post you ask? A few weeks ago, both of my parents dogs who I have been around more than my parents, showed them more love/care, and knew them to the point where they'd come to me when I called them--so in other words I KNOW that they knew what I meant when I yelled "Here Chance!" Well, both ran out of the yard the SECOND that they had the opportunity.
Every time I called them, they never even looked back and continued running, showing me zero affection and no response, as if I never existed and their "names" meant nothing. Took me 30 minutes to catch them(and both of them almost got taken out by multiple cars multiple times)

They did it to me once, shame on me. They did it to me twice, so I let it shame me again. They did it a third time? It's time to let 'em go.

I fucking hate animals.

[darkante]

Some pets don´t know better, but i think that some pets care more then other pets.

I heard stories (from my father) were some dogs had so much heartache, it died out of sadness when their master died. And i don´t think that he made that up.
Just like humans, they all seem to have a different kind of personality.

[sCI]

I have also heard that people with spouses/pets live longer and healthier than those without.

What I think? People with a happier and more positive attitude in life live longer.
And that's usually what is inspired by the love of another(human, animal; no difference).

In other words, it's not pets or people that keep each other alive, it's their positive outlooks and state of minds as a result of that other being/objects existence. Whether it be a rock, a car, or a dog is irrelevant.

In other words, I agree. heh. I just don't think it has to be a loyal pet, it can be anything.

[Mike]

I'm one of those types of people that should never own a pet.
I think abuse of any living thing is wrong as long as that living thing didn't do anything to deserve it(unlike murder, rape, etc.) Animals are living. So I know it's wrong, and thus don't do it.

If you can't take care of an animal, you shouldn't have it as a pet. Plain and simple. My brother and sister have, over the years, bought fish on several seperate occasions and while they took care of the fish for a while, they gave after a while. This annoyed me and still annoys me. A living creature is going to die because you can't be bothered to tap some stupid flakes out of a plastic container in to the water. You're going to kill that fish.

But I don't think there's anything wrong with having a pet if can take care of it.

[Outrider]

I heard stories (from my father) were some dogs had so much heartache, it died out of sadness when their master died. And i don´t think that he made that up.
Just like humans, they all seem to have a different kind of personality.

I had a teacher in college who told us the story of how she had a dog and a cat for a number of years. They didn't fight or anything - both got along with each other very well.

One day, the cat died. I think it had been sick, or maybe something happened to it - it doesn't matter.

My teacher explained that for the entire next week, the dog just sat in its bed. It didn't want to eat. It wasn't sick and there wasn't anything physically wrong with it. A week later, it also died. She swore it was out of heartbreak.

Can't vouch for if this is actually true or not - just passing along the story as it was told to me.

[darkante]

Yeah, that doesn´t sound farfetched. :/

[Kylie]

My cat died months ago, and I was pretty devastated. He had been a companion to me during many dark times in all of my adult life, but I haven't gotten a new pet since. I don't feel like replacing him. I'm too busy for a pet anyway...

[FOkyasuta]

Used to. Before we had to give them chickens away do to space issues... There goes higher %'s of missing the bus.

[AOI_Tifa_Lockhart]

I do love our cats, but with anything in life the initial thrill wears off and it all becomes routine but our house would seem very empty without a pet, although i prefer dogs. They're more needy which I think's preferabble in a pet because it's more engaging. Cats are amazing but very independent which is a plus too. Not sure about the figures for people living longer, but apparently pets help people with stress etc etc so can't be a bad thing, except the universal dog musk they leave everywhere lol.

Tifa

[Wayu]

Yes. I'm a cat lover. Being an only child, having a pet accompany at home is nice.

-Wayu

[darkante]

I do love our cats, but with anything in life the initial thrill wears off and it all becomes routine but our house would seem very empty without a pet, although i prefer dogs. They're more needy which I think's preferabble in a pet because it's more engaging. Cats are amazing but very independent which is a plus too. Not sure about the figures for people living longer, but apparently pets help people with stress etc etc so can't be a bad thing, except the universal dog musk they leave everywhere lol.

Tifa
That's why i love cats, easy care. And i be more free to do other stuff.