Pets are good therapy

kmccraw423

Chuckling too!  Your poor dog is probably thinking, What?  She wouldn't like it if I put my paw in her water, why is she putting her foot in mine?

karen333

My two girls have found cool spots for the day, Emma, on the linoleum in the bathroom, Sophie on the tiles in the kitchen.  The air conditioner to be instaled tomorrow, YAY.

kmccraw423

Both my one sister and my brother have birthdays in May so my youngest sister had a cookout on Saturday to celebrate.  The birthday girl brought her two Cotons who were running all over the place trying to greet everyone.  They finally settled down and I did notice that Diva was limping.  My sister said she had Diva's teeth cleaned and while she was under anethestia for that, they x-rayed her front legs from neck to paw and found nothing!  I think its a ploy for sympathy because it doesn't seem to stop her from running all over the place!

Husker123

Can I join in?  I'm 54 with Rudy, our Black Labrador, Taz a rescue cat, several barn cats, and 2 horses.

 I don't know what I'd do without my furry friends! Rudy & Taz have been glued to me since I got my diagnosis back in Jan. They seem to know when I need them most!

My mind is blank on funny stories that they've done but trust me, they've pulled some good ones!

 I enjoy reading about everyone else's furry families!

Mary

karen333

Welcome to the thread of wonderful stories.  Had a chocolate lab, named Sawyer, who always looked like he was smiling.  Got him at age 7 at a shelter, his owner had to go to hospice.  He was so excited to go for a ride and go to a home, he was the best boy.  Could sweep off a coffee table with one wag of that strong tail, then look all upset, we stopped putting things on the coffee table, problem solved.  I now live in an apt. and have two rescue Cats, a sealpoint Siamese and a full of beans, Snowshoe Siamese.  They were there for every rads. nap, one behind my knees, the other above my head.  You are so right they know when they are needed.

Wren44

I'm so happy there's a cat back in my house. I picked him up from the shelter today, will take him for surgery in the morning, and foster him at my house until he's well enough to be adopted. He's a big black cat named Squeakers. He's our first foster since we lost our last cat in February.

karen333

Oh Wren, what a true animal lover you are!!!!

kmccraw423

Mary ... welcome!  I'm sure the stories of your furry kids will come spilling out very soon.  I, for one, look forward to them!

Kate60

This is such a lovely forum to talk about our favourite 'people'. I'd like to tell you about a cat I once had....

His name was Garfield. Yep he was ginger. He also thought he was a dog. He was our very first cat and he was given to us a very small kitten. Garfield was the kind of cat that just wanted to be with us. If we went on holidays, or to visit friends. He'd jump in the car and his pride of place was laying on the dashboard. I kid you not, on windy corners he wouldn't bat an eyelid as he would gently slide from side to side. Whenever we got to a destination, we would just open the car door and out he'd get.

Garfield used up every one of his nine lives. Amongst his close calls were: eating a baby brown snake (which are deadly- many $$$ spent on vet bills for that one), jumping from the window sill to a balcony on the third floor of our apartment block - and missing! being shot at with a slug gun and getting hit with dozens of pellets (lots more $$); splitting his tongue in two right down the middle so that each side would hang outside of his mouth (we don't know how that happened) and the most nearly fatal one was when I backed right over him in our driveway (he was pretty arrogant after all and I'm sure he thought he could just get out of the way at his own pace. Shame I was in a hurry that day). H also had daily encounters with wild rabbits to which he would bring one home for us every day, including a still very-much-alive one through our bedroom window in the middle of the night.

His last and final encounter got the better of him. We took him to the coast on our holidays and he took on a possum and lost and sustained terrible scratches. The subsequent infections were too much for his old battered body and he died. He was nearly 14.

We've had three other cats since, but they were real typical cats. Garfield was truly an exceptional feline. 

3jaysmom

i would've loved Garfeild, also,Aussie Kate.. we had a near feral cat, when we lived in an undeveloped part of fla.. he would always bring rabbits, snakes, lizards, home, and when the smell was bad, we had to go hunting, ourselves for them...it is so wonderful that even a cat can love you so much he thinks to share his "food" with us!!!

 my little man would lick my head after chemo.. we chased him away: i din't want him to get ANY in HIS system.. but, the next tx; he'd be all over my bald head, again..

  on "swamp People" one of the teams has a dog that licks the heads of the gators they drag in the boat.. thank God they're dead!!3jays

Maya2

Fromage was a wild kitty when we met. He had hung around for a couple months. I was leaving food out for him, but he still was afraid to be touched. I think someone had kicked him because a front tooth is broken off. One day, I was crouched down on the terrace and up he comes wanting to be petted. He was like a different cat!

Poor guy was so sick. Terrible sinus infection. I picked him up and took him to my vet. After he was treated I let him out in the yard. A while later I heard him howling at the back of the house. I ran out thinking something awful had happened. There he was with a dead mouse which he deposited at my feet; thanks for helping him feel better. He knew I cared about his welfare and he gave me the greatest gift he had--his own food. I was touched beyond words. We've been inseparable since. He's traveled almost everywhere I've gone.

I hated to bury that mouse, but of course, I couldn't eat it. But I praised him and petted him and thanked him profusely. What a guy!

3jaysmom

oh, Maya, i'd not heard the story.. i knew he was a special guy, and you a special person... i din't know how much!!!you two have certainly bonded, and he has seen the world!!!!3jays

Wren44

I'm enjoying my foster cat so much. He has to wear a cone for 10 days following eye surgery. The first day he bumped into everything. The second day he began running up and down the stairs. He's 6 years old but very playful, although it's frustrating since the cone prevents pouncing. He's named Squeakers for his little squeak of a meow. He can make other sounds when he wants something--sounds a lot like the Basenji dog we fostered. The only downside is wanting to go outside. He's at every door when it is opened. We can't let foster cats outside and he's FIV+ and should never go outside again. We do have lots of windows where he can watch birds in the yard.

kmccraw423

Back in the day when I was Mom to eight cats I constantly worried about them getting out ... all my cats become indoor cats no matter what they were before I got them!  Its amazing what kind of a routine you get into ... once, when I only had two cats I had left them with my grandmother while I got settled in a new home.  During that time I could not break the habit of checking the closet floor before I closed the door!

Anonymous

Here is a pic of Harley taken on my Dad's birthday....He did not go with me to my Dad's for the birthday party, but I took him when I went back there the next week to celebrate my Dad's real birthday since my sister and her boyfriend came to town for it.  I would not have dared had the dogs at the party....they would have been begging and bugging the crap out of everyone for food....not to mention the fact the doors were opening and closing a lot and if there is an opening, Harley will take it and I did not want to be chasing him up and down the street.  I think he lives to escape.  When we go to the dog park, instead of playing with other dogs, he spends the entire time there walking around the fence looking for a hole to get through....pays no attention to other dogs or people there, just keeps on walking the perimeter of the park......strange little dog, but I love him.  He is right here by my feet now....he always wants to be with me and he is spoiled because he's the one I let sleep with me at night....but the others have been known to get up and go pee in the living room in the middle of the night or worse yet the bedroom so I just don't trust them.  Anyway, here's Harley....his favorite thing to do while at my Dad's is sitting in the backyard looking up this tree where a squirrel hangs out....oh, he would just love to get that squirrel. 

macatacmv

Marybe, what a cutie! And so alert! Sounds like he keeps you very good company. 

even at this late hour (7:30pm) I am watching a Baltimore Oriole peck at the orange slices I put out for him 

karen333

Marybe, he looks like a little rapscallion, you paint a wonderful picture of him walking the perimeter looking for a means to escape and an eagle eye when it comes to squirrels.  My cat, Sophie waits near the door when people are over just waiting her chance to truly fly out the door.  She is like a white blur going by you and ever so hard to corral once she is outside.  Quite the hunter too, often times I find a present after she has been outside.  The baby robins are just learning to fly, so she has been a house cat for three weeks now. None to happy about it either.

chabba

Marybe, best picture you've posted of Harley yet.  He is a charmer for sure.

macatacmv

How to terrorized my 65 lb dog, get out the 3.5 lb  swiffer sweeper vac and turn it on. LOL 

Maya2

Where is Marybe's picture? I don't see any photo.

macatacmv

Maya, sometimes I can't see pics either. Depends on which I'm viewing on, phone or laptop.

The new format works so much better on mobile device.

But there are still some glitches.

Nancy

3jaysmom

hi gals, marybe will be here, this weekend.. no harley, but i'm sure the little man will keep us busy, barking the whooe timelol

  i can't wait..

  Mac, my son tells me they're going to be in Edgartown for a week this summer. he invited us months ago, but i can't make the trip.. i hope he'll see donna and coach.. they haven't seen him in over 25 yrs now!!!

  maybe next year, i'll be able to make "the pilgrimage" i really get homesick, every summer... missed you all.. been on youtube all night tonight.3jays

macatacmv

Hey 3jays, I actually got some sleep last night. The doc has put me on another asthma med which I take before bed. Feeling over medicated, and my eyes are bloodshot this morning. My son said it looked like I was up all  night, go figure.  

One day you will get back here. Come any time, I would not come during the high summer months b/c it is way too crowded. The weather is best in Sept. I can put you up, joyfully. Just a thought. 

My sweet dog (read hyper big clumsy puppy) got skunked the other night. peewuuuuu!!!! There is still a slight lingering odor. She hates it too. I hope she learned the lesson of skunk does not equal squirrel or raccoon. The joy of living in a rural area.

Nancy 

Anonymous

Isn't there supposed to be something to neutralize that odor?....vinegar water maybe.  Ask the person who had pet skunks on here, she would know.  I did not comment on some of the pet stories, but have been loving them.  3 jays, I will bring a bark collar with me.....just kidding.  Can't wait to meet both the dogs.  

Wren44

I've heard tomato juice will do it. We went camping with our shepherd/border collie mix. The campsite had skunks and she started to chase one. We all yelled at her and for once, she stopped and obeyed. I had visions of trying to bathe her with those tiny one-serving cans of tomato juice. Probably would have taken 2 dozen. I don't know if tomato juice really works or why.

Gingerbrew

Years ago we had just gotten several cans of tomatoe juice on our golden retriever, in the bathtub, it was cold outside.  Dog has sudden urge to SHAKE, you can guess the results.

Now, I would get some enzyme solution just like you use on your carpets. Not a shampoo, and the manufacturers make ones specially formulated for skunkings.  

Best advice, do not touch your dog if you can help it because everyone will stare at you when you go into the store to purchase whatever solution. They will stare at you because you will stink. It is am,azing how powerful the skunk scent is! Hm, how do I know this?

Husker123

Our Lab got into a skunk not too long ago.  1 qt. hyd. peroxide, 1/4 C. baking soda, & a dab of dish soap worked on him.  I mixed it in a bowl & scrubbed him down with it outside, then rinsed him with the garden hose. It got rid of the smell.  He was none to pleased with me for his bath!

macatacmv

Thanks for all the tips. Tried V-8 juice with not great results but definitely better. Will try the hyd peroxide and baking soda when I get back from chiropractic appt. (Hope not to many hostile stares.) This morning I have washed couch slip cover and dog bed cover, but because it is damp (raining outside) the smell is lingering. Now she just threw up on the floor. Good news it was on the linoleum. Have I mentioned how much I love this dog today? 

Gingerbrew

Maybe this will make you feel better. Our year old Golden Retriever at a sweat sock, threw up the sock, quickly ate the sock again, and so had to go to the vet to get dosed up so she would barf again.  Gotta love em.

karen333

It must have been a throwing up day, I stepped out of bed into a small pile of you guessed it, love that squish through your toes feeling.  My daughter's cat eats like you are going to take it away from her and this is often the result, just clean-up as you would for an infant and start again, that's why we call them furbabies!