Where/How did you get your pets?

Corb

Just interested in how everyone here came to own their pets. Was it rescue from a shelter/pound, bought, found, given to etc? I'm currently looking in to getting a dog. It is the first time I'll be able to finally get a dog as I have my own place now. But the 3 at home with my parents were a rescue from the pound and the other two were given to us by family. Interested to know how everyone else has come to have their pets

FabulousGirl

My cat was given to me by a friend of my sister's who owned her mother.
My dog was also given to me by a family friend who had a male cavalier and "inherited" a female cav (who they thought was neutered but wasn't) so along came 4 little puppies, one of which is now mine

spurious

Friday, December 13th, 1991
Two kids from the school I taught in at the time arrived at my door with a shivering little bundle. The father of one of them was going to throw him in the canal if someone didn't take him. He piddled on me with fright as I tried to check was he a 'boy dog or a girl dog' and that, together with seeing his silly little face the next morning made me decide to keep him.

That was a long time ago and I'm now coming close to having to make the difficult decision about letting him go soon. Every day has been an extra and every day he has made me and others happy.

FabulousGirl

spurious wrote: »

Friday, December 13th, 1991
Two kids from the school I taught in at the time arrived at my door with a shivering little bundle. The father of one of them was going to throw him in the canal if someone didn't take him. He piddled on me with fright as I tried to check was he a 'boy dog or a girl dog' and that, together with seeing his silly little face the next morning made me decide to keep him.

That was a long time ago and I'm now coming close to having to make the difficult decision about letting him go soon. Every day has been an extra and every day he has made me and others happy.

Unlucky for some but not for you or your little guy
Lovely story.

jen_23

Okay first of all new cat 'Moggy' was a rescue.
Cindy is my other cat which we got off a neighbour as a kitten she's an ol softie:)

And sad to say 4 guppies which were originally supposed to be food for a turt (which died due to septicaemia :( after several vet visits!) ... 2 angel fish and a sucker fish type thing from a pet shop (to keep the guppies company... )

Corb

spurious wrote: »

Friday, December 13th, 1991
Two kids from the school I taught in at the time arrived at my door with a shivering little bundle. The father of one of them was going to throw him in the canal if someone didn't take him. He piddled on me with fright as I tried to check was he a 'boy dog or a girl dog' and that, together with seeing his silly little face the next morning made me decide to keep him.

That was a long time ago and I'm now coming close to having to make the difficult decision about letting him go soon. Every day has been an extra and every day he has made me and others happy.

That's lovely spurious. Sad to hear his time with you has almost come to an end.

jen_23

spurious wrote: »

Friday, December 13th, 1991
Two kids from the school I taught in at the time arrived at my door with a shivering little bundle. The father of one of them was going to throw him in the canal if someone didn't take him. He piddled on me with fright as I tried to check was he a 'boy dog or a girl dog' and that, together with seeing his silly little face the next morning made me decide to keep him.

That was a long time ago and I'm now coming close to having to make the difficult decision about letting him go soon. Every day has been an extra and every day he has made me and others happy.

Aww that's quite sad but such a wonderful story at the same time. Bless!

StopNotWorking

Goldfishes and a budgy were given to me by my sisters after they either didn't want them or couldn't keep them.

We bought a lab about 11 years ago, we had to put her down last year, she was having heart problems and ended up collapsing out the back garden. Somehow doing a number on her back breaking it. She was paralysed from her centre back. Had to be put to sleep that night, I've never been so devastated and I can feel a lump in my throat even writing this..

Anyway! We got her off a private breeder, she was the shy one who hid in the corner while we were swamped by about 4 of her brothers and sisters. Bah, I miss her now

Milky Joe

on st patricks day 14 years ago we were all heading off to the parade when we spotted a dog lying by the fence. He was in a bad way so took him to the vet turns out he had eaten some rat poison! Anyway we found him in time so he was fine soon after. Took him to his owners and they asked did we want to keep him (they were moving away i think) we glady accepted and still have him to this day!:)

animalcrazy

My Dog:
My dog was found in a plastic bag as a puppy, all the other puppies were dead except her so a neighbour of mine took her home. About three years later though the neighbour got a new dog and kicked her out on the road. There was a skip outside our house because we were re-decorating and she was sleeping under it, we started to play with her, she was just the friendliest dog ever. My mother went up to the house and asked if we could keep her, I remember sitting on the stairs praying they would say yes, and they did. So about 11 years later we still have her She is like a human, she's so smart and loves other animals.

My rabbits:
Two of my rabbits I bought in a petshop, one not so good petshop because at the time I was little and didn't have a clue about good and bad petshops and breeders. The other I got at a good petshop, that are really informative and that I love. The last I got off a friend, who was breeding them and ran out of space so she was living in a cage with a buck who was pulling out her fur.

My Cats:
My two cats are from an accidental litter, we then got their mother spayed but she isn't with us anymore as she was beaten and all her nails pulled out, and had to be PTS because of seizures.

My chickens:
We bought two from a poultry breeder in our town, we got five others from a friend of my Nana(RIP). We also hatched out two clutches. For the next generation of layers.

Duck:
We got from a breeder in Gort in the market, she is a meat duck but we could never eat her.

Crafty-Chel

I went to one of my local vets and took two dogs off him (he was putting them down for no reason, perfectly healty) they grew up n had 4 babies, kept two of them, have 3 cats, one i got off friends, one i took of a woman who was moving away and the latest one i found outside my bros house, smoothered with flu, only a few weeks old, have her two years n she never got much bigger n gets flu all the time....

a few years ago i spent two hours tring to get kitten out of a car engine, was workin in this town really early so had to wait for the owners of the car to wake up ( they thought i was mad) brought him home had him for ages, but he ran off after i found the little one, he didnt seem to like other cats much...

westwicklow

Dog #1: JRT; Previous owner ran over him as a puppy with car :eek: and their neighbour had been complaining to them about him coming into their farm and making a mess :mad:.. All patched up now and is VIP member of our household and farm activities.

Dog#2: JRT; Abandoned and abused as a puppy,:mad::mad: found by the side of the road with two lurcher pups and handed to doggy rescue centre, she was very nervous of indoors, the shed, sweeping brush, men.... but is now well adjusted, bundle of energy and is also VIP member of our household and farm activities.

Dog #3: JRT...... on the lookout!

Clare Bear

Sheepdog: Found him at a cattle mart. I went along with my Dad one Friday. The owners of the restaurant said they gave him left overs every Friday and he was there for months so by the Thursday he was still eating the Friday before's food. Some farmer obviously just left him there. He jumped up on me with the saddest eyes I've ever seen and we took him home. Such a great personality, I hate to pick favourites but he's my buddy

JRT: Rescue, laziest dog in the world. Sometimes I go in to check him just to make sure he's still alive. He likes his sleep!

Other JRT: Rescue, she's the farm dog, mad for business and gets annoyed if my Dad drives the tractor without her on his lap.

Pomeranian: Given to me when I was 14 as a present by an Aunt who used to breed them. He's such a little snob, thinks he's the bees knees but that's his personality and we love him for it.

Labrador: Took her when I was working as a Vet nurse in Maynooth, a man came in saying he didn't want her anymore and to put her to sleep. She was perfect. The Vet was going to do it too but I couldn't let that happen so my Mam and Dad got a present that weekend when I went home. They weren't too impressed but they love her now. She's such a slob, just wants hugs and attention all the time

Nice to see so many rescued dogs and cats in this thread.

petangels

Check out Irish animals website.. puppy I spotted earlier looking for a home and in a shelter in Dublin north. 12 week old collie, really cute and won't be long before they find a home for her., dogs in distress no. 086- 3570580, worth calling anyway for advice etc. Its great your looking at shelters as theres lots of great dogs needing new homes.. good luck

PinkTulips

my cat at my parents house was brought to our door when i was 14 along with her brother. they were about 8/9 weeks old. the lad who walked our neighbours dogs had found them at the side of the road in a box and knew we used to have cats so brought them to us... we couldn't resist their sad little faces... my dad was unimpressed but predictibly enough was won over in no time at all

my first cat when i left home was from the dspca, he was left with them along with his whole litter at 6 weeks old and i adopted him at 8 weeks, sadly he was killed on the road at just over a year old

since then all my cat have been adopted feral cats, my current three are a female and two of her kittens who we kept. she moved herself and her kittens in when they were 5 weeks old, i'd been feeding her and knew she had kittens in the shed on a nearby construction site... i'd even been down there cleaning their eyes and keeping and eye on them until the builders locked the sheds. was very surprised to find one of them on my doorstep one morning and not long after she turned up with another. she was behaving oddly.. almost as if she was looking for the other two so i went down to the shed and found it opened up again, the builders must have been back and frightened her and she decided seeing as i was feeding her i'd be a safer refuge for the kittens. they were 5 weeks old and quite feral though, i still have scares from catching the last two!

Bettyboop

Found kids trying to set fire to a litter off kittens in a steel barrel so I rescued the 3 off them,brought them to a vet and unfortunately one died in my arms a couple off days later the vet was unable to save her as she was too small (runt off the litter)I rehomed one and kept the other his name is DJ and rules the house,he is very affectionate though doesn't like fish:D
I rehomed a shih-tzu from a puppy farm in Limerick 13yrs ago and he still goes on like a puppy he sucks the noses off soft toys for hours I rehomed another shih-tzu that was to be pts as his owner said he was vicious :mad:I retrained him and he never bit anyone he passed away last august aged 16yrs I rescued a lhaso apso from paws 10 yrs ago he was used as a stud dog but breeder threw him out as he wouldn't perform anymore he was found with a broken jaw and a bad kidney infection he is 11yrs old now and I have him 9yrs They are spoiled rotten:D But I wouldnt have them any other way;)

arybvtcw0eolkf

Two years ago I got a phone call from a friend working in Ashtown Pound telling me that a 10 week old Pitbull/Staffie had just come in.

She said the pound manager had it put to one side so he could have it put to sleep, but that if I got up in time we could sneak it out. Like a bat out of hell I drove across the city, literally scooped up the puppy and that was it - a puppy's life saved.

We've got Jericho two years now & he's the softest dog you'll ever meet.

I rescued my cat Sammy from the Vets, 'rescue' might not be the operative word as my Vet (Mr Keating in Raheny) as a 'no put to sleep' policy on his rescues, so I more it less just rehomed Sammy.

My other Staff, 'Ruby' came from a breed who's a breeder, she was the runt of the litter and apart from that has had a pretty unremarkable life compared to the other two.

Killme00

Well my Ellie (collie x shepherd) was dumped in a plastic bag with eight of her siblings nearly two years ago. She survived thanks to Dogs in Distress and i adopted her from them. I split from my girlfriend in August last year and we had two dogs together, Bailey and Ellie. I didn't want the dogs split up so i let her take them with her. I got a phone call two weeks later to say she couldn't handle both of them and was going to get rid of Ellie. I broke every speed limit in the book that day to get my Ellie back. She wont be leaving my side again.

Rambo (collie x retriever) is a typical mutton head seven month old pup who likes carrying a big black bucket around my back garden. He came from an unwanted litter in Armagh that my sister let me know about. All the pups found good homes especially Rambo who follows Ellie around, wrestles, chases and fights with her every day.

nearly

We adopted our two kittens right here from the message board, from Kelly7589 very friendly and helpful. I tried contacting people advertising free kittens, but it as good to see they are getting homes quickly.

We were planning on going to the SPCA, as I spoke to the woman over the phone. They weren't going to be ready for another wee while.
I was trying to find kittens that were ready soon, as I am working from home this week (just on short tea break now!) and we knew we would be able to help them adjust better since I'm home.

I was prepared to adopt an adult cat, but my fella wanted to watch them grow form kittens. Also, we finally decided, after getting alot of advice that two kittens is better than one

Here they are havin a bath!

Demii

from the age of 5 i wasnt like other children, who wanted dogs, i wanted a cat, and every christmas, birthday and just most days, i always asked for a kitty. I never got one, untill 3 years ago, when i found a plastic bag "crying" in the middle of the road, i thought it was a baby, lol i took it in and told my mum i found a baby, but i opened the bag and there was a malnurished, nearly dead, jet black kitten, now, she's sitting on my lap purring, she was named miracle ir mirrie as we always call her.:)

maroongael

I'm in tears reading all those sad stories. How can some people treat animals so badly?

My beautiful Golden retriever dog came from a friend of a friend. His Mammy, Daddy and Granny were on the farm still. I have him a year yesterday and honestly love him so much couldn't imagine raising my voice to him never mind physically hurting him. He has the nicest temperment I've ever seen. If he needs to go outside he comes up to me gives a little nudge with his nose and then goes and sits at the back door and sits staring at it, never barks impatiently. He is so licky.:D

Sigma Force

Guinea-a rescue pig taken from a pet shop with a hidious abcess she needed a buddy when she was well again so we bought Pig for her. Sadly little Guinea didn't make it but we got Pigs sister and then a load more rescues over the years (lost count between 30 and 40 give or take) anyhoo Pig the guinea pig is the last one. All others rehomed and her sister Giggles died a few months ago. But she's a very happy pig, who wouldn't be getting foot massages twice a day, she's old and dothery now bless her.

Rocky the tiel-gotten through someone who knew he needed a new home as owners didn't have enough time for him. He's been with us for about ..gosh can't remember about 5 years ago now. He's a real character.

Leena (collie) picked her up off the street she was wandering around for about a month, noone wanted her and noone owned her, a local man was feeding her and helped us get her into the car. She was about 3 when we picked her up so she's about 10 years old now, going grey but the energy of a puppy. She's not full ok in the head but nowhere near as bad.

When we picked her up she had stepped in lime or something so had to have her paw treated, vaccinated, microchipped, spayed all the usual. She still pees occasionally when you pet her but very rarely. When she came to us first she would pee if you looked at her, and isn't comfortable with having her tail or hips touched although she's grand at the vets. Whoever had her certainly was using a heavy hand poor thing.

Arwen (mix breed pooch) was heading to Puppyrescue we were only meant to transport her and her sister for cottage rescue because we were heading up to adopt a puppy. Took one look at her and just couldn't part, transported a lot of pups but she looked so like a previous family dog I couldn't help but keep her. She's a nut case, was very spoiled so is a big diva. She's starting agility after the winters over. She's 5 already, time flies.
She's won a ton of ribbons in charity dog shows, every single show she's entered she's won a ribbon..good eh. She got 1st prize for best rescue *boast boast*.

Mr Binky (Phalene) was an indulgance, bought as a pet but also therapy dog for the young one, and he's already helped her loads. He's just over the 6months now and will be heading for the snip snip after Halloween.
He's going on a school visit after the hols, he's part of the young ones curriculum lol. He's completly nuts and the two doggy girls don't like him much, he's too bouncy so they put him in his place they just need some time.
Looking like he is going to be as bonkers as the rest of them, none of our animals are completly sane which is the way we like it.

We know the history or all the animals we have now except for Leena, would love to know where she came from and also what she went through before we got her (and kick her previous owners butts).
She's a great dog despite her issues, give her a squeeky toy or tennis ball and she's happy as larry (you have to throw it a zillion times of course).

It's lovely to hear so many rescue stories, deffo. never going the pet shop or buying route again one indulgance is enough think 3 pooches will do for now and for a loooong time.

Paul91

Tyson - Lab/Boxer (4? yrs) - He came from my other halfs sister, who got him out of the CSPCA when she was 8 months pregnant, he was 6 months, it didn't last too long, at the time I had just moved over from the UK and we where both living in her parents, so trying to keep him and the inlaws happy was fun.

Fluffy - Cairn (16 yrs) - my other halfs family pet, after buying our house the sister moved home not too long after, so with the baby in the house we took the Cairn with us.

Roxy - German Shep (4 1/2? yrs) Took her out of the CSPCA in August, ten pounds underweight at 69lbs she's up to 82lbs now - and delivered six pups in Sept (they never let us know she was pregnant and hung up the phone when i called them about it)

Roxy's pups - German Shep/Newfoundland (we think) - 6 weeks tomorrow - Bulldozer, Derrick, Little Boy, Big Mamma, Flash and All Black.

Leo and Lilly - Lion Head Rabbits - (5 yrs) bought from pet shop in Cork.

9 Goldfish - 5 years to 1 - sadly out oldest passed on Monday, greedy, he was huge!

ghost_ie

Eldest - Labrador/Collie cross - got from a rescue centre at the age of 6 weeks. Is now 10 and a half and looks after her two adopted sisters as if they were her children

Second - JRT Cross - saw the same ad for a number of weeks in a national newspaper from a rescue centre looking for a home for a "very loving 3-legged terrier". I felt sorry for her and rang the number. Best thing I ever did. "Loving" doesn't even begin to describe her. She's now 7 and in spite of missing a leg she was the fastest runner in the park until her younger sister came along

Third - JRT Cross - found by my daughter's fiance's cousin as a puppy malnourished, suffering from mange and with no identification. She took her home but her own dogs didn't approve so she came to us. She's 2 now.

Medievalist

When I was out walking my dog (who I got from a rescue centre) I found a budgie sitting on a wall! Picked her up and brought her home in my pocket. Wasn't sure she'd make it...but she's still here squawking happily away 5 years later

9wetfckx43j5rg

Got my darling a little bit after Christmas when I was young.

She turned up on the doorstep, I think a couple days after Christmas day, or before it. After a lot of time convincing dad we took her in for the night and brought her back to the address on her collar. The house was empty. The neighbors said a couple of people had brought her back to them. She wasn't sure if the previous owners had left her or if she had gotton loose while they were moving and ran back home. Said some people had taken her in but complained that she ate the furniture ect (She never did).

So we brought her back home. Dad swore we weren't keeping her. That was over ten years ago :)

After we got bored with our xmas presents we pestered the poor thing for weeks teaching her trick after trick. Teaching her beg was not a good idea. Boy did she love that trick...

I've never met a dog who can barter the food out of your hand like she can.

She has no effect on the family but a visitor to the house can't resist giving her food.

The two greyhounds we have were bought and raced. Both are retired now and are the family pets.

liah

It amazes me how frequently you hear of animals being dumped or drowned in this country. I've never heard anything like it, reading some of these stories completely breaks my heart.

My dog, Ruby, was rescued from a shelter when she was tiny. Think her mother died while giving birth to them, but I don't remember. Our family dog, Molly, was bought from a breeder, and my mom's dog, Sky, was given to us by a friend. Fairly uneventful stories, but I love my dogs to bits and I'm glad they've never had to go through any kind of trauma.

HereticPrincess

Some amazing stories here

Hm kay

Ella : Black kitty, got her right here on boards, a girl nearby had found a litter of tiny kittens in her boyfriend's back garden & had to home them, so I took Ella when she was 6 weeks, & her brother Michael (after Jackson:p) who was given to my uncle as a gift to a fiance (they've split since but his ex is still looking after him). Ella is 1 & a half & she's such a princess & so entertaining!

Brody: is a 4 & a half month kitten I got after I moved to meath, called the vets to ask something & they'd found a 6 week old kitten under a lorry on the main street! He was so tiny & cute, so he's ours:rolleyes: my boyfriend reckons brody thinks I'm his mammy now cos he cuddles into my face every chance he gets.

aaand Ben (back at my mam'shouse) : my black lab, he's 8. When we lived in ballymun high rise years back, some kids found him at 6-7 weeks & played with him for about a day, then we found him in a lift. So so small & scared. My mam was having none of it..until she held him. He adores her, & he still acts like a puppy. If you're on a 1 seater chair.. he will climb into your lap if you allow it!

bionic.laura

Toby the grumpy cockateil was got in a pet shop 18 years ago. He is the elder statesman of the house. An amazing fella.

My parents dog Sam was rescued. He's an english setter and was working as a hunting dog. He was lazy and bullied by the other dogs. He was going to be put down when my uncle found out about him and asked us to take him. He was a thin, miserable extemely nervous dog. With a lot of love and care he's now a very happy doggie. He wasn't actually lazy he just wasn't getting enough food. He's a complete gentleman dog, very gentle and well behaved.

Westley my dog came from the pound just about a year ago. He had been found straying and had been in the pound a while. He was the only dog that didn't bark and when I first met him he came over and gave me the paw through the bars of the cage. I took him home then even though I didn't even have a dog lead in the house. Every day I am so happy I did. He's such a great dog. He's energetic and makes me go out walking and he has such a great personality. He's a complete mutt, everyone has their theory on what type of dog he is. Dogs remind you to have fun and enjoy life.

I love all the stories here of rescued dogs, they are great animals and they deserve such great new lives.

Whispered

7 years ago I visited Jan in cats aid to take one kitten, I specifically wanted a female. There she was all cute and snug, I picked her up, and her brother, the only one left tried to climb my leg to stay with her. :rolleyes: So he came home too. And I'm so glad he did.

Harley came as part of a litter I fostered. Kieran, always said I could foster if I want, but he didn't want to keep a dog. About 2 days after the litter arrived, he came home one day to find the rest of the pups out playing on the floor and Harley hiding under the table. He pulled him out and the poor pup emptied his bowls. Luckily our vet is just across the road. It turned out Harley had parvo from where he was rescued from and had no hope. Following days of treatment he came through it. When we went to pick him up, Kieran came in with me, he always leaves me to deal with the fosters, so I was suprised. The vet told him that Harley was "his little miracle" and that was that.

Heroditas

We'll have our two cats a year on Saturday. We got them from a poster here - Zener.

They are brother and sister and his daughter found them on the side of the road apparently. They were only about 6 weks old at the time. Mrs H wasn't too keen on the idea of getting a cat and certainly wasn't overly keen on taking two in but when she saw these two and how close they were to each other, we took both of them, for a "trial" of 4 weeks.

52 weeks later, I think I can say the trial is over and I'm not sure who is more attached to the two terrors, herself or me!

dlambirl

We have our golden lab a year now...

My Mother in laws dog had pups and this one always came up to us. He was adorable, really white & chubby! Well we were getting our house to move into at the time and wanted to wait a while before getting a pet. One evening i was eating a sandwiche and the little get tried to take it of me, cutting my finger in the process. Now it was totally by accident but I kinda went off him for a week afterwards.

In the meantime the mother in law had advertised the pups and most was all gone (she hid our pup everytime!) and she rang my OH one day to say that someone had wanted "our pup". We talked about it and decided that we'd let him go, then that evening when we went to the house, he had heard our car coming and had come out to meet us... followed us into the house and sat at our feet all evening...... so we had to keep him

It was the best decision we ever made - he is apart of our family. He is great company to have in our new house. He thinks he owns the house, he potters around it getting up on the sofa & the bed!! And if we are away he goes up to the MIL's house (only across the field) and stays there!!

Molberts

Found my first dog Lucky on the side of the road just outside longford and took him home. he was about 5 weeks old and had been just dumped there, it was 4am when I found him :mad:

Molly came from Limerick Animal Welfare. Saw her picture online and fell head over heels - drove down to get her two days later.

Magda (RIP) was a dog I collected with others to transport to a rescue in kilkenny. I got there, unloaded the other dogs and err... drove home with her

Lemar (yeah yeah I know) was in Ashton pound with his mum and three littermates, they all came home with the intention of staying till the puppies were old enough for them all to be rehomed. As it was short term we gave them all random names, the pups were lemar, danielle, zorro and steven I think! Found fab homes for three of the pups and the mum but little lemars fell through twice, by then he'd settled in so well we had to keep him :pac: Unfortunately he knew his name by then so it stuck :rolleyes:

BrigR

Our cat was abandoned when he was about 6 months old, probably interfered with holiday plans... The lady who found him couldn't keep him as her other cats were bullying him mercilessy. So my sister in law took him for a couple of months until they moved house and needed to part with some of the menagerie. At that point we had moved from a small flat to a house with garden and I was beginning to look for a cat. So she offered me our fellow, saying that he'd be the hardest to rehome, being deaf and more needy than other cats. He seemed to know we were talking about his future, because he was clinging on to me. He's been with us now for 3 years, the most affectionate cat I've ever had. Been out sick for a week now and he's never left my side! The 11 cats I had before him all had similar stories.

YOURFACE!

We got Monty from Ash Rescue. They say he's a Lab/ Pointer mix but I reckon he's a Boxer/Staffie/Whippet/ Lab mix. He's about 1.5 years and he arrived at Ash after being locked in a shed and his "owners" moved house and left him there :eek::mad: He is such an amazing, funny little lad. Although he is incredibly wary of new people, garden tools and being outside when we are not around - but he's only put outside when were hoovering. He loves nothing more but a cuddle and he hugs you back!

Kula we got from Clondalkin Animal Aid. She was from a litter of four German Shepherds. She's 9 months old and a total brat but in the best way possible! She is so silly but protective and bossy! Loves nothing more than good play and a walk and a big bowl of food.

Having both of them around is amazing! We have already decided that we want a third dog - a Staffie, but that wont be for a while yet as we need a bigger house!