In honour of my new book Dogged Optimism…
Welcome to my new page where you’re invited to tell me stories about your own special pets. Every time I meet someone and they mention their pet, I always seem to say, “Oh, what kind?” followed quickly by, “Do you have a photo?” (That’s one of the joys of the smartphone age… people often DO have a photo with them!)
People might be feeling shy or busy or tired, depending on the setting and timing, but their eyes light up when they start talking about a favourite animal. Have you noticed that?
I’ve loved animals since I was small. My parents thought it was a good life skill for us to learn to care for pets, so we always had at least a dog and a cat. I also had guinea pigs, turtles and silkworms at various stages — quite a menagerie.
I thought I knew all I needed to know about dogs, but I discovered my complete ignorance once I got my own dog as an adult. It’s a whole new world, isn’t it?? 😉 Discipline, nutrition, socialisation, health — so many decisions and responsibilities!
I’ll add some more here in coming weeks, but I’d also like to hear from you! Do you have a favourite pet, past or present? Is there a memory you’d like to tell? Have they made your life better in some way? Maybe done something ridiculous?
Please share your pets. (If the comment doesn’t get posted right away, don’t worry, it’s just the spam filter being cautious. I’ll approve it as soon as possible.)
I have 2 miniature schnauzers and they are my children. I had cancer at a fairly young age and am unable to have children. I have been told that my fur babies have a better life than some children. That is probably true. They have sweaters, t-shirts and coats to wear in cold weather. They also have 4 dog beds, as well as pillows and blankets to sleep with at night. They share my house and bed with me. They do not have a dog house, nor do they sleep outside. They see the vet on a regular basis and see him when they are sick. They even get special treats and go to a groomer for haircuts. They also love to go for car rides and shopping at the local pet stores. My male schnauzer, Bruizer, tends to go stink hunting. He likes to roll around in cat sick. Yes, I know what it is like to have to drop what you are doing and give a dog a bath so that the smell does not take over the house. My female schnauzer, Whisper, is not the quiet little thing that her name would imply. She greets me at the door and barks loud non-stop until I let her out in the fenced backyard.
They are gorgeous, Deborah, and I’m so glad you have them to bring joy to your life (and exercise those maternal instincts!) What is it with dogs and rolling in disgusting things??? Killarney loved to do that, and Rufus, my new dog is a fan. When we are out walking, I have to be alert for the sudden shoulder drop that signals a roll is about to happen. Sometimes I manage to stop it, and sometimes not… 😉
Yeah, usually by the time the shoulder has dropped, it’s too late. I try to watch for the intense sniff and head turns to the side as it lowers to the ground. I have been told that the smelling disgusting stuff is like Channel # 5 to them. My parents Doberman’s found a skunk the night before we were to go on a canoe trip. Oh yes, that was fun. Us kids had been sent to bed after our baths, it was late and my parents were trying to finish packing. They let the dogs back in the house, not realizing the dogs had gotten sprayed. What a mess. That was a long night.
Oh my! Being Australian, I have no idea what a skunk smells like, but I can imagine the chaos. 🙂
Hi Belinda, just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed reading Dogged Optimism. It was therapeutic for me because we have just had our first foster dog adopted by a family. We only had Sasha for a week but it was heartbreaking saying goodbye. And yet, here I am, lining up for another foster dog. Maybe I’ll get better at it. Here’s Sasha with my daughter, Amy who was her main carer.
Thank you so much, Patrice. 🙂 And well done for fostering. Sasha is gorgeous. She might even have a drop of heeler blood in her, going by the speckles.
I am sure I would be a #fosterfail if I had the facilities for fostering. I would end up keeping 100 dogs. Hmmm, now there’s an idea. Better go buy that farm…
Here is our family of dogs. My grand dog Chewy lives in San Diego with my daughter, Carisa. Wilson belongs to my daughter Caran who lives in the same city as we do and he spends a lot of time with us as she is a teacher with long days at her school. Tula is my patriotic dog. During holidays they all come and stay with us and with my two teenage grandsons it is a full house🎅🎄 (I put this together with a free program called Photo Scrap)
Haha, they are gorgeous, Gloria. You must have a very full house indeed when everyone comes home. 🙂
We adopted Tula when she was five while we still had our 16 year old dog, Ollie who actually lived two more years. She is a very strong minded dog who was bred to be a show dog, but didn’t like the life. So we adopted her from the breeder. She never learned how to play and have fun being on the dog show circuit. So we’ve had to be patient with her and give her a lot of love. We’ve always been a dog loving family and she’s been a special addition to our family.
She is just gorgeous, Gloria, and I’m sure she is very thankful every day that you adopted her. Thank you so much for sharing her with us. (And how amazing that Ollie made it to 18!) I really love the filter you’ve put over the photo, too. It makes it a very special shot. 🙂
The filter is a program I downloaded free on my iPad Called Snapshot! It is a user friendly program with a lot of templates to view and download your pictures with ease.
Thanks Gloria, I’ll check it out. 🙂
Oh, the book looks lovely, I’m looking forward to reading it again 🙂 I’m going to try and load pics of our two dogs – Daisy ( in the wig!) and more recently Mossy 🙂 xx
oops, that is Daisy at Xmas without the wig (!) and now Mossy, the latest dog to arrive in our family, getting up close with Cora, the latest human arrival in the family 😉
Oh my, Mossy is so big now! That does happen though, doesn’t it, if you wait long enough. 😀 And what a darling bright-eyed little baby. You must be so very proud. xx
Ha ha ha – yes, we waited and it happened ;o) Mossy is totally fascinated by baby Cora, licking her whenever she can but ever so gently! And, yes, Cora is a sweety. I am very proud indeed 🙂
I love your photos of you with Killarney and Rufus … what lovely, very different dogs, each so very full of character 🙂 But I especially love the pic with you and Killarney in the pram … ha ha ha, you look so cheeky and Killarney looks so patient ;o)
Thank you Marianne. 🙂 It’s actually Min, my childhood dog in the pram, but doesn’t she look like Killarney! I might edit that caption…
Daisy is a fashion plate, isn’t she? Oh, the things our dogs put up with. 😉
Ha ha ha – yes, Daisy was so so patient. There is a great photo of her (which I cant find now – grrr!) covered in tiny toys, placed there by my young nephew and niece, who used her as kind of mountain landscape 😉
I love this idea, Belinda! Your two dogs look like great company. When I was a kid we always had lots of pets, mostly cats but the occasional rescue dog made its way into our home temporarily as did fish, mice, hamsters, a turtle, an iguana (briefly) and a large tarantula named Harriet (my brother’s–eek!). As an adult, I’ve stuck to cats (more practical when living in a small flat). This is a picture of Kileem, the first cat I had as an adult. She was a rescue and probably the most affectionate and gentle cat I’ve ever known (and a great writing companion 🙂 ). Sadly, she got cancer and died a few years after we got her. But we’ll never forget the happy times we had together.
Kileem is beautiful, Kendra, and especially on the red velvet backdrop. (Note to self: look for a red velvet backdrop for next pet photo attempt…) I’m sorry to hear that you lost her too soon. But then, it’s always too soon, isn’t it? I get a lot of spiders in my house, but I wouldn’t call them pets, as they are there uninvited (the joys of the sub-tropics). 😉
Hi Belinda, Thanks for your kind words about Kileem, she was very much loved. And she helped keep the spiders away too, which is always a bonus with us arachnophobes. Eek! I’m so sorry to hear about your spiders. 🙁
We now have two rescue cats, Othello and Cleo. We found him begging at a local pub and fish and chip shop, and Cleo was living with him in a tiny flea-ridden flat (their owner was very kind but wasn’t really able to take care of them). When we took them to the vet for the first time she had a heart murmur from all the flea bites and they were both underweight. Now their situation is much changed, as you can probably tell from the attached photo of Othello!
And here’s a picture of Cleo for good measure. 🙂
Othello definitely looks in good condition now. 😉 And they both look very relaxed. Obviously, they are loved.
I’m afraid my dogs don’t do much to keep the spider population down. On the other hand, I have a bunch of geckos living in my house, and they do their part to keep the arachnids under control!
Hi Belinda, They are almost too relaxed sometimes, even for cats! I’m not sure what I’d make of living with geckos. I take it they aren’t pets you’ve chosen? When I lived in California we had lizards but they mostly hid.
Definitely not pets. And we didn’t have them till about ten years ago. They crawl all over the outside of the flyscreens at night, catching bugs. But they are also in the house, constantly darting behind picture frames or the air-conditioner when I walk into a room. I’m not a fan of what they leave behind (*cough*), but I made my peace with them once I realised they eat cockroaches and spiders. 😉
Hi Kendra, Kileem is lovely. Like Belinda, I am sorry you lost her so soon but glad that you have such nice memories. To be honest, although we had pets when I was younger (dog, cat, guinea pigs, hamster, love birds …) they belonged to my sisters and I was never interested in them. However, all that changed when I had my own family and we got Daisy – a rescue dog. She lived for 15 years and was a very gentle dog. We now have Mossy, my daughter’s dog. Mossy is almost two now and while looking rather like Daisy, she is way louder and far more cheeky, but we love her just as much, of course ;o)
Daisy sounds so sweet, Marianne. I wish I could have met her. Perhaps I’ll meet Mossy if I get over there next year!!
Oh, I would love to introduce you to Mossy – I do hope you can make it 🙂 🙂
Hi Marianne, Thanks for your kind words. I’m sorry too that you lost Daisy, but glad that she provided you and your family with such happiness and companionship during your time together. Mossy sounds like a fun dog too. I love your pics of Daisy at Christmas and the lovely Mossy with the even more lovely Cora. 🙂
I’ll get the ball rolling with a pic of my two dogs, Killarney and Rufus. I thought it might be nice to have a pic of me with the two of them, sitting nicely and looking at the camera. What a joke! This was the best of a dozen pics and by the end I was covered in dog hair and scratches. 😉
Rufus (L) looks a bit like he is about to eat Killarney, but in fact he’s just hoping she’ll have a game (please, please, huh huh huh??), and she’s just hoping he’ll let her nap (she was 16 when this was taken). She’s wearing a singlet (baby vest) because she lost her hair in old age.
Such different dogs — not just in breed but in personality. But both owning big pieces of my heart. <3