How you came to own your pet?

Zapperzy

Just thought it'd be an interesting thread. Anyone have any interesting stories behind how they came to own their dog/cat? I'l start off.

I got my dog (charlie) in May 2008 when he was somewhere between 18 months and 2 years old. I first met him on paddy's day 2007 where I walked him for the local rescue in the parade but I was told he had already found a home. Then somewhere late 2007-early 2008 a female jrt called nikita came into the shelter, she was surrendered as a the polish family's daughter was allergic to her, before we could finalise taking her (waiting on gates to be put up) the family had been back to poland and gotten a new medication which meant the daughter could be around the dog so they took her back, bit heartbroken as we had even bought a little yellow raincoat for her but got over it.
Roll on paddy's day 2008 and lo and behold who was I walking in the parade again but charlie, he'd been returned as he kept breaking out and chasing the neighbour's horses (I can see why, he still hates horses ). Still waiting on gates to be put up so had to wait until may 2008 to take him. Not long after we got him was walking across the beach when a man was eyeballing him and stopped to ask was his name charlie, said he had enquired about him but he was already booked and noted that he was still as bouncy as ever (always said he was crossed with a basketball among other things ). Always thought he was destined for us!

The cats (Bunty) not quite as interesting a story. She was dumped as a 5-6 month old in an old tea chest with a tin of cat food on top along with an older but similar cat in November 2005 outside the same rescue. When we went up to enquire about a kitten she hid underneath our car (perhaps a sign she'd turn into such a scardey cat). The rest is history!

barbiegirl

My dad died very suddenly in the early hours of 22nd of June 2009 and having had no sleep and obviously being upset, my aunt asked would I like to see a photo of her new pubs. She showed me four little dotes, 3 black one blonde. I immediately said we're taking the blonde one. My hubbie didn't argue and that was that Sindy joined the family.
With Fargo I seen him on the dogs in distress website from October 2010 and it took me til Feb 2011 to persuade hubbie that he should be ours
Now have a house filled with two mad doggies and it couldn't be better.

Mothman

Local family were emigrating to city centre apartment and were looking to rehome their dog. He was born into family. I think they put him on donedeal. They were utterly distraught but he loves it here and loves to come running with me.

We got a youngish (less then 3) trained dog past the chewing stage. Was really a win win for us

Themadhouse

First 3 cats: went looking for 2 kittens and ended up with 2 kittens but also momma cat as we thought she might struggle to get homed at a yr and a half.
Dog was researched and we hunted for a rescue that I could bring to work with me, a dog that was over a yr and was good with people. found her online with a rescue.

Little back story: we fostered for a rescue for a few yrs and had a long termer with us who we fell for, unfortunately he hated our dog, all dogs due to his background, and we couldnt offer him a permenant home. About a yr after we foiund a home for him we were delivering food up to a rescue in leitrim amd we were walking by the cat pens and this face looked out at me. He was curled up in his litter tray, supposed to be black and white but his white bits were yellow due to urine staining. We thought it was our foster boy that we wanted to keep. Oncloser examination it wasnt. we asked for his background. He was handed in as hehad killed his house mate, therescue had a different idea tho which turned out to be true. They thought he and the other cat had been bitten by something else and that the othercat had died as a result. We offered to take him and bring him back to health and if hefitted in with with our gangwe would keep him if not we would find the perfect home for him.
After a vet visit we discovered he had been bitten by a minx or somethign similar. He had abcess on his head which the rescue was treating and we continued it. He was no more a cat killer than I am and turned into the sweetest boy. We are so glad we spotted him that day.

spurious

Got him from the Dog's Trust. I had had to put an 18 year old JRT cross to sleep about a year beforehand and I was ready to look for another dog. Up there I found this 12 year old overweight JRT cross with a heart condition.

I figured he was probably not going to be top of very many people's lists, so I took him. He's had a new lease of life since he came to us.

wandatowell

A mate of my dads had a 3 year old gun shy Springer called Lady and so she was only costing him money. Myself and the old chap called up to him and he brought us out to the dog (shotgun in his hands) and said she's free to take away now or else "he'll see to her".


That was 14 years ago. The poor girl died a few weeks before Christmas. Wonderful dog that I can never replace

LucyBliss

Bit of a long story this but we never do anything by halves in our family: In 2005, we had to put our lab/collie cross down as she had cancer. We still had my grandmother's border collie though and even though she wasn't the peata that the other dog had been, she was still lovely and great company. Christmas 2007, we had to put my grandmother's dog down to heart trouble - we'd been treating her for it for six months but when the poor thing lost her walk two weeks before Christmas, we knew we had no choice but to let her go.

My grandmother was heartbroken but I was going for major surgery in January 2008 so there was no point in getting a dog that I wouldn't be able to take care of. My grandmother cried for months over her dog. Once I started to be able to walk upright again and got my energy back, my mother and I tried five times to get to the GSPCA rescue in Killimor but life always intervened. Finally in April 2008, we just got in the car and went and found Rosie, a small terrier cross who'd only been there four days, they said. We thought a small dog might be better because I was still recovering from abdominal surgery. There was something about her eyes that I fell for right away. We took her home, my grandmother fell so in love with her that when my cousin's 6 year old daughter visited and tried to pet the dog as she sat on my grandmother's lap, my grandmother slapped the kid's hand away. :rolleyes:

Two weeks later, I took Rosie to the vet for a second set of shots. My grandmother had been saying that Rosie looked pregnant to her but we were in denial and were all "Crazy old woman, why would you say such a thing?!"
The vet said "Hey, I think your dog is pregnant. Let's do a scan!" My mother nearly had the vapours and then went around telling people she was going to be a grandmother. People would look at me as if to say "Why are you getting pregnant so soon after major surgery?! Do you want your still healing scar to burst open again?!"

Rosie ended up having six pups. We found homes for four and kept two. I kept Jack because he gave me the impression that he needed extra care. I had a sense that in the wrong hands, he would be unmanageable. He is a very hardcore dog. Training is ongoing and he tends to go bonkers but he was my grandmother's nap buddy and he's a very smart dog. No regrets there. I fell in love with Meg when she was three weeks old. There was something about her head. I was torn whether to give her up or not because I didn't want to keep her and not be able to manage the three of them. In the end, I decided I couldn't give her up so I kept her too. She has become that dog for me, you know, the dog who you know what she's thinking and she knows what you're thinking. She's quite bonkers in her own way but if I had given her up, I would have been deprived of so much fun, affection and my best friend.

Looking back, it's like what Zapperzy said. I think Rosie was destined for us because it took us so long to get to the rescue. Her having pups was hard work but we'd had some bad years with me being sick and unable to do anything and the two dogs being put down and my grandmother was miserable, and suddenly we had these fun gorgeous creatures and it was such a joy to see them develop and grown. It's not always easy: three dogs and only two hands! But it's one of those things that I believe was meant to be.

Vince32

We had a Jack Russell as a childhood pet, who we loved dearly, and I learned how to train him up and keep him happy, it was fairly easy and I was happy to do it. Max died at age 11 from liver failure, the house seemed empty without the dog around.

A few years later ( I had moved into my own place my this point ) my sister wanted a dog again, and she adopted a mongrel, I have no idea what sort of cross it was, maybe 2-3 breeds, anyway once while walking off leash, the dog escaped from my sister and ran under a wheel of a moving car.... devastating, and my sister cried for days blaming herself for the dogs death and wouldn't hear argument's. She was in a dreadful state.

A few weeks later we decided to get another puppy for her, a small Maltese Terrier, this dog died at week 15 from parvovirus, we still don't know how she contracted the virus but she went very suddenly.

Now I'm on the +side of 30, and a little spare tire creeping across my tummy, I decided I needed to get into shape and keep myself healthy, I couldn't motivate myself to go to the gym despite my best attempts, so I had a look at some active breeds of dogs, a daily reminder to go walking, and when I read that Huskies were really independent and required a LOT of exercise, and I would need a bike or scooter to keep up with them, and all the fun involved in dry-land mushing, bijorking and other activities I just had to have one.

The beginning was a little hairy, because I had a ton of questions about raising it, and some other teething problems, but we got through it and now we couldn't be happier.
The dog looks great, is well behaved and trained, I look ... better lol and my friends have noticed the difference in me and the loss in weight.

It's amazing how much a dog can change your life for the better, it was the best decision I ever made.

littlebug

Saw her on rescue site and thought she looked scruffy and funny enough looking that she would fit right in

Within the first hour she'd escaped twice, racing at full speed up and down the main road and out in front of trucks :eek: She jumped on everyone with excitement, knocked my daughter over and my son didn't come down the stairs for 24 hours he was so afraid of her Over the next 3 weeks things went from bad to worse and she went nuts at anything and everything going past the house, windows covered in paw marks and slobber right to the top just to prove how nuts she would go trying to get out! Walking was impossible, I hurt everywhere from being pulled to pieces. She lunged and barked like mad at every passing car and lunged aggressively at every dog we met. she managed to slip every lead and collar I tried and even ran out in front of cars on icy roads :eek: "Not keen on cats" from her blurb on the website turned into the understatement of the century as she would turn into an absolute demon if she saw one (and there are lots around here). Within 3 weeks I was a basket case and in tears a lot (not like me at all!:o).

Got a trainer in who had already met her in rescue and at the start of the session we told her we just wanted her to give us tips to get us through how ever long it would take us (or the rescue) to get her rehomed . Then she told us that when first found sunlight was hurting our little dogs eyes indicating that she'd been kept in the dark a lot and we both kinda melted and from then on it all turned around bit by bit. Nothing overnight but the session with the trainer gave us the confidence to work with her and give her a chance. 14 months on, she's as calm as anything in house, runs miles and miles with me and is a happy dog with a family that are nuts about her . Some issues remain, and we continue to work on them, but hey who's perfect. We can't imagine not having her now:)

LucyBliss

littlebug wrote: »

Then she told us that when first found sunlight was hurting our little dogs eyes indicating that she'd been kept in the dark a lot and we both kinda melted and from then on it all turned around bit by bit.

Aw, poor baby. So glad she's with you now in a proper home.

Long Road 8378

We had just relocated to another part of the country. Myself and my better half were sitting in a pub one night having a few quiet drinks when we happened to overhear the conversation between two elderly men seated behind us. One of them announced to the other that he was going home as he had a pup to drown as he was unwanted and the last of the litter.

We were horrified to hear this. My partner turned around and asked the man in question if we could have him. We collected him the next morning, he was 7 weeks old and had the saddest little eyes I've ever seen. A black labrador mix who's coat was so covered in fleas and other nasties that he had turned white. Bath, the vet and we have never looked back since. Now, he was a NIGHTMARE as a pup (our own fault really) but has calmed so much and we wouldn't swap him for love nor money!

irish_goat

There was a crazy cat man living across the road from us who had about 8 or 9 cats afaik. He must have been about 60 something and was going a bit mad so his family put him in a home and just realised all his cats from the house. A little black one started hanging round our house so I left food out for it a few times and then started leaving food in the utility room with the backdoor open when it came back. After a few times I would leave a trail going into the kitchen and it would come in, albeit, quite scared and cautiously eat the food before legging it. After a day or two of this I got the trail a decent length into the kitchen, waited for the cat and then ran round the back and closed the utility room door before going back round. The cat ran and hid under the table so since our kitchen is attached to the living room I just sat on the couch with some bits of ham near me on the floor and waited for the cat to come out from underneath. Think I managed to pet it then and won it over. Barely leaves the house now.

Zapperzy

Love reading all the stories, even if some of them are shocking. :eek: Least their all in good homes now.

Please Kill Me

I've never had a pet, but 18 months ago, a friend who rescues animals asked if I'd take this particular dog she had. I was a bit dubious at first, but took her anyway. She was tied up, starved and beaten when she was rescued. So my partner and I took the dog (only a couple of months old) home. Needless to say, she was nervous at first, but now she's an amazing pet. When I go cycling, she'll run along side me. She's so gentle with our newborn and a great guard-dog to boot. And LOVES to play fetch, she'd run for hours!

This is a picture of our mad (but funny) dog:

callmekenneth

going to the cinema one night there was a big dog going up the stairs before us. i thought it was weird someone would take their dog to the cinema. once upstairs the usher put him out.

driving home that night i saw him again running up through the town. realising he had escaped from somewhere i got out and took him home. the next day i contacted the pound, a woman then rang me, the back gate had been left open and he had escaped. that was november '09. in feb'10 i spotted him again in the "dogs in the pound" section of dundalk dog rescue website. i rang his owners to let them know, they were aware, he had escaped again and they had gotten him home but she mentioned that she was thinking of getting rid of him as she is arthritic and couldnt really walk him (he's a handful on the lead) and would i be interested. since i had just left a relationship where owning a dog was forbidden i said "**** yes!". i took him for keeps the next month and have never looked back.

i tried to find out some history on him, she got him from carrick pound where he had been for 3 months, the rest is a mystery but i think he's lived a full life.

SillyMangoX

My first cat Frodo was given to me by my Granny after his Mammy was killed by a car. All his litter mates died as they were too little to lap up the milk/water she put down for them but my eejit survived by falling in the bowl, climbing out again and licking it off himself! Kept him going until I got him and raised him properly. First time I saw him he was covered in milk but my parents said Milky wouldnt be a suitable name for a black cat! I was devastated when he was pts, but at least I know he had a much longer and better quality of life here than he would have had as the poor milk soaked orphan!

My current 2 cats were given to me as a bribe. I didn't get the course I wanted in the leaving cert, but I didn't care, I wanted to go to college like all my friends. So my Mam promised me a kitten if I repeated! So I got accepted into the repeat year and the Saturday before school started she rang a number for a lady on a farm who had 9 pregnant cats!! :rolleyes: So we were presented with the 2 cutest balls of fluff ever! I suspected they were slightly too young to be away from mammy (she just caught the first 2 kittens she could - there must have been loads!) so my parents said they could stay inside the house for the first month but then absolutely had to go out... Almost 3 years later they still sleep inside and only go out for a short while during the day

I'm getting homesick for my kitties as I write this, the one thing I dont like about college is being separated from my babies!

toadfly

We have three dogs, Tilly we got in June 2008 aged 8 weeks bought out of the boot of a car in the back end of Limerick. Puppy farmer without a doubt but I knew no better. No excuse but at least I can say it’s the only dog I will ever buy.



Ozzie we got from Ashton pound in February 2010. We seen him on Dogs in Distress website so went to see him and walk the other dogs on a Saturday. Filled in the forms and got the call on the Tuesday that he was ours and had to collect him the next day or he would be given to someone else. OH took the day off work and collected him. I have never had a dog that smelled that bad, trip to groomer and vet next day sorted him out.



Lexi was in Ashon as well, my OH was doing the transport run to Galway for rescue we help out at. We kept her for a few days until we could get her transported to Mayo to foster. We knew we wanted her the first night but let her go to foster just so we were sure when she wasn’t around and we were! That was May last year.



This all three now, can barely see Lex in the crate

sambuka41

I was living in Rathmines and unfortunately there are lots of stray cats there, the guy living in the flat upstairs from me started feeding a family, mammy and her kittens.(sadly mammy look liked someone's un-neutered pet, she had a collar on) He made a little toy of a rock with string tied around it for them to play with, they loved it.

So I started feeding them and playing with them outside and Jack just stole my heart He was/is very curious and loved the stone!! I fed them all outside for a couple of months before I took the plunge, (my landlord was adamant about no pets so that made me weary for a while.) Jack happily came into the house, and on the first day inside he jumped up on the chair with a big cuddle for me. :D So I've kept him ever since, it took a while for him to be fully comfortable with the back door closed but he got there eventually!! (now he's indoors cat!!)

Jack the little love of my life!!!!

Cows Go µ

Where we used to lived there was a small river in front of the house and one night we could hear lads doing something in it. The next morning when we woke up, we went out and found a bag with drowned puppies in it. My mum and our neighbour were really upset, if we had gone out to them last night, we would have taken them (not that we had ever had dogs before). So mum decided to make up for it, we would go to the pound and get a dog who was going to be put down.

And so we met Diesel, she had been surrendered to the pound as her owner was in the army and had been called up and she had no one to give the dog to, so the pound had no obligation to keep her alive. She was due to be put down that day to make room but mum begged to keep her until 5:30 when she finished work. I finished school and met up with mum to find a dog in the back of the car. We had nothing for her yet and she was still in extreme chewing mode as she was only a year old so we put her in the shed while we ran down to the local pet shop to get a kennel and food and things for her. In that 10 or 15 minutes she chewed through the door of the shed and ran down the street. Our neighbour sad her and thankfully she is super friendly so Diesel just walked right up to her. From then on she was kept indoors when we weren't there. She's about 7 now and acts as mummy to the shelties, cleaning their ears and making sure they don't get into too much trouble. Wouldn't trade her for the world.

Logan came along about a year later when we decided that Diesel needed a friend. Mum had been looking in the local pounds and found out there was a collie in one of them so took me to see him to see if we would get him. I fell in love with him at first sight, they opened his cage and he just came out and put his front paws either side of my waist and laid his head down on my stomach. Mum really didn't want him as he was much bigger than Diesel and he was so dirty that his coat was closer to brown than black and they said he had been bounced around from pound to pound, I think he had been running away from the homes he had been given to or being returned and mum didn't want a dog with issues. But I begged and begged and she relented and I think she regretted it for a while but Logan has a way of worming his way into people's hearts. I walked him around Hillsborough Park for 3 hours while I waited for mum to finish work and the bonding process was complete, he was my dog through and through.

He had been beaten badly been a previous owner so he was very aggressive with men and his back was especially sensitive. If you touched it while he was sleeping he completely freaked out and at first he had a tendency to walk oddly, go up against the wall so his side was protected. We brought him to our obedience classes and they said his body language was very aggressive, probably from being in the pounds so much. But it meant he got into a lot of dog fights before we sorted that out. He got very good with people, he loves my granddad who used to be his arch nemesis and he got very good with dogs too. Diesel is his best friend and he even started playing with other dogs though he doesn't really understand playing other than chase, toys still confuse him. Though now the walk he goes on has very few dogs and there aren't any classes nearby that suit him, especially when he adores agility, but they are all too big or not organised enough. He's about 9 now so while I could do lots of training with other dogs, he's happy the way he is. He's great with the shelties, they pull on his ears and clean his face and he just takes it, though we make them stop, I don't want to push his tolerance. He's like a grumpy old grandda now and still the most loyal dog.

The rest are all show dogs so they were just bought and aren't as good stories. Diesel and Logan will always be the originals and the reason we now have so many dogs. When you have dogs as wonderful as them, you couldn't help but want more

lucycat

Lovely stories

I got my two kitten babies from a guy in work - had been thinking about getting a kitten for ages, but one day this guy came in practically crying telling me about his neighbour whose cat had four kittens she was going to drown :mad:

Naturally, the two of us went on a rescue mission right after work and he took two and I took the other two. Thought hubs would go mad as he is allergic to cats, but he fell head over heels in love with them and now they pretty much rule the house and love sleeping on our heads and putting toy mice in our shoes :rolleyes:

We used to live close to a woman who bred Havanese and Shih Tzu's and I was always walking past the house staring in at them longingly, but I didnt really want to get a dog ever since my Rottie Ellie had died from cancer (she was THE dog for me, only lived to be 2yo, absolutely broke my heart). Anyway, one of the days this little white ball of fluff comes up to the gate, puts her head on one side and grins at me. Well, that was me gone! We bought her and a few months later we got a friend for her from the same woman and they are the two maddest brats I have ever seen! There is a poor English Bull terrier who lives with his family in the house at the bottom of the garden and who plays with them, but they have his heart broken! They gang up on him and divebomb him and he just sits there and lets them get on with it :rolleyes:

We also have a rabbit that we got from a rescue here, she is very agressive but she just loves Izzy (one of the dogs) and sometimes the two of them just chill out and snooze together in the dogs bed And when we get home, she jumps out like lightening as if to say 'I wasnt doing anything!'

callmekenneth

what sort of dog is deisel?

seamus

Mine's not all that interesting. My dog (who lived with my parents) was PTS for humane reasons at the end of 2006 (I think), and I always wanted to get a dog again when I was "grown up". Living without a garden I never considered it, but we found that loads of our neighbours had cats and they'd wander in and out of people's houses, including ours, and we'd have all sorts of craic with them.

So we considered a cat, but my wife's own cat was still alive (16 years old) in her parent's house, so she felt like she'd be "cheating" on her own cat if we got one.

My sister-in-law started working in a local rescue and not long after she mentioned about a staffie that she saw who was being surrendered that would be perfect for us. My wife always loved staffies, went up to see the dog and instantly fell in love with her. I saw the dog, and I'll be honest that I was a little hesitant. The dog was filthy, really, realy stank like hell, very oily greasy dirt all over her. And she was also missing her paw on one leg. Not the whole leg, just the paw, and the amputation was poorly done, so the wound constantly bled and wept.
Plus the dog was in heat. So she was a mess, and I'm not afraid to say that the first time I met her I was a little weirded out. Like when you meet a strange dog who has clearly been swimming in a river and rolling in ****e.

I went up to see her again though and we gave her a bath and both the colours of her coat and the brilliance of her personality came through and won me over.

The rescue cleaned her up, neuter and full amputation and she ended up arriving in our house about a week early because they decided that she would actually be better off convalescing in our house rather than the rescue.

That was just over 2 years ago, we were told that she was 1.5 when we rescued her. Turns out that she's 5 next week.

Aside, my wife's cat died last year @ nearly 19 years old.

callmekenneth

well done seamus, i'd love to see a pic of the 3 legged wonder

seamus

Oh there are a few...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76038924#post76038924

borderlinemeath

We got Coco from a breeder as there hadn't been any Irish setters handed into rescue for the 6 months we were looking. Then there were about 3 setters given up in the following 6 months:rolleyes:. We had wanted a dog for years but the timing was right for us, I had just changed jobs and cut out a tortuous daily commute to Dublin and was now working 10 mins from home.

We knew we wanted a setter and Coco was just perfect for us, she was a confident little pup and very easy to train. The first evening when we got home with her, she was running to heel beside us on the grass, wagging her tail. Melted our hearts a little bit!

Benson was a different story! We had no intention of getting another dog but a friend showed me a picture on FB of a little setter that was abandoned in a car park in Galway. EGAR were trying to rescue it but the poor dog was so scared it kept running away. They eventually got it and brought it in and named him Benson and the pictures close up were truly shocking. He was emaciated and malnourished, covered in mange and open sores and had eye and ear infections. He looked like he had given up but had been saved in the nick of time.

I kept an eye on his recouperation and progress and meanwhile we looked after our friends setter for a month as they were moving house and we realised that two were far better than one!!

When Benson came up for fostering/rehoming I jumped at the chance to help him. He was still very scared and unsure of himself so it was going to be a bit of a challege to grow his confidence.

He was so scared the first night he arrived he barely rested his head on his bed. Here was another new environment and he just didn't know how it was going to work out for him and he wouldn't relax at all. For the first few days if he was in the garden he used to hide under the hedge but after about a week he used to retreat to the hedge less and less.

Coco was brilliant with him, she really helped with his confidence as he mimics everything she does. I remember offering him a finished tub of ice cream to lick and he jumped and ran away as if the tub was a weapon. Coco came over and started licking away so he decided it can't be bad if Coco is licking it so he joins in!:D His motto seems to be if Coco can do it I can too. The only thing he's still afraid of is mops/brushes/shovels - anything with a long handle:(.




Benson is in the foreground and Coco in the background! She's very fond of using him as a pillow:D

And this is a video I made of Bensons first four months home! (it's the same one thats on the post your pet pic thread!)

http://youtu.be/ORpbuVvn0v8

anniehoo

I got Beanie through a fellow Boardsie actually and through this forum. His previous owner posted that he was looking to rehome him and that he was already neutered and vaccinated etc. He sounded perfect, so after his health check i kept him.I think the guy was genuinely gutted that he found a home so soon,it sounded like he didnt want to give him up at all but had to.

It actually was a spur of the moment thing the day i responded to his post...but was a great decision.He's such a great little dude and fantastic company i wouldnt be without him now

Bixy

Several years ago we were looking for a female collie cross pup as my other collie cross dog was getting on in years. We saw “Shelley” on the Mayo SPCA web site, having like so many sheepdogs, been found abandoned in a ditch. A quick trip was made from Dublin to Mayo to get her. Like most of her breed she has huge energy levels, both mental and physical, much more so than our previous collies crosses. I think a lot depends on what they are crossed with! The older one is half Labrador and that tends to calm her down. Anyway roll the clock forward three years and she has turned into a great dog, even in for suburban area. Has strayed off a few times and we have had calls from the local DART station to come and collect her. As for the older dog, she is still going strong at nearly 16 – the vet says the competition is good for her!

planetX

once upon a time I only had 2 cats:D
The ginger one went walkabout for a while - I was driving down the road and a ginger cat ran across, so I pulled over and called my cats name. Ginger cat came up to me crying and I thought it was mine, but realised it was much smaller, starving and sick. Put it in the car and off to a vet, who pointed out that it was a lactating female (hadn't looked!), so after a worm pill, shot of antibiotics and a load of food I had to put her back where I found her. I visited the spot every day and left food, and asked people to look out for where her kittens might be. A month passed, original cat came home, I'd adopted a crazy hound, and a neighbour turned up with momma cat and her kittens. Homed 2, ended up with 5 cats and a serious bill for neutering:eek:
How could I resist these though?

Heroditas

We got our first two cats from a fellow Boards.ie poster.
I think his daughter had found them at the side of the road but because they already had two cats, they couldn't take in two tiny kittens. My wife wasn't too keen on getting cats but she instantly fell in love with the two rogues when we went to visit them.
We had initially planned to just get one but we couldn't separate those two so took both of them.
Then in September 2010, a black and white waif arrived at the back door and after a lot of hard work and coaxing, she "moved in" and has been a very happy indoor cat ever since.
She absolutely adores the male sibling and follows him around all day long. It's incredibly cute!

Cows Go µ

callmekenneth wrote: »

what sort of dog is deisel?

Diesel is a border collie/german shepard cross. The local pet shop owner actually knew her from her first home so was able to tell us about her. Apparently she comes from a line of prize winning german shepards but a collie got at the mother when she was in heat. This laptop doesn't want to post photos but when I get to my computer I'll post a photo.

Its lovely hearing all the stories, animals all make life so much more colourful

PurplePrincess

@ PlanetX, they are absolutely gorgeous.

I had started fostering for the local animal shelter and got a call asking me to foster a kitten that needed cage rest for a month after an operation. Initially I said no but then agreed as nobody else could take her. She was installed in her cage in the bathroom and used to cry everytime someone passed and trash the cage to show her dissatisfaction at being confined.
Fast forward 10 weeks (ringworm outbreak:eek:), and Missy was up for rehoming when i realised I just couldn't let her go, there was just something about her.
That was 3 years ago and while she's as odd as be damned and very skittish around anyone else, I see the best side of her and just wouldn't be without her.

A few weeks ago I fostered a litter of 5, one of which was a little dark tortie. I had no intention of getting a second but her little face just stole my heart and she's now my little shadow!!! Missy just completely ignores her but hopefully they'll be best pals over time

fleabag

I've got 4 cats and 3 dogs - everyone a stray.
Cat no. 3 Scrow came from Tipperary, found by the side of the road in a box with 3 dead siblings. She's very pushy and neurotic and I reckon that's what kept her alive. Peshka, my favourite boy was found in the middle of the road by my friend and narrowly avoided being run over. He was such a character from the start, I was convinced he was a girl and used to tie ribbons round his neck. Took 'her' to be neutered and when the vet said she was a he I was dumbstruck. He's such a cool cat though - will stand up to anything but so gentle too.

The dogs - Stan was found in a bad way on the lane I lived along in Kerry. Was driving home and passed him and saw the state he was in - thin and full of sores. Turned round and it took me 10 minutes to coax him to let me have a look at him. Knew immediately I was going to keep him. He was too afraid to come into the house so I fed him outside and then put my arms round him and he just put his head on my chest and stayed there for ages. He's a brilliant dog, sort of like a hound/collie cross. No better dog for finding pheasants! He was a little unsure how to deal with other dogs at first but now he's really cool. Nothing phases him and he loves his comfort.

Bobby came via LAW - he was found in a house in Southill next to his dead owner. He's a really sweet old boy, proper decrepit, stubborn, but real fun when he has the energy.

And Suzie came to me one night - found in Dromcollogher, the usual story, starving, smelly and homeless. She's a JRT and a pure pet and bosses the other two dogs now.

All of them get on well, when another pet arrives it's like 'ok here's another one' and they rearrange themselves and just get on with it. I don't think I'll have to buy a dog or cat EVER!

Bullseye1

Dog: Well my male Ridgeback Remy passed away on 24th Dec 2008 at the age of 11. He had a heart condition and was on medication for the last two years of his life. When he passed away I contacted a breeder to be put on the list for the next litter. I got a quick response to say that they had a single female pup left after the person who was originally to take her wanted to keep her outside and the breeder wouldn't allow it. She is now with us almost 3 years.

Cat: I was out on a job talking with a client when a small kitten came running across the road to me. There was no houses around so I put him in my pocket and bought him home. He is now about 3.5 years old.

Bebo stunnah

Back when I was still living with the parents, theis tiny little dog wandered into the garden, I worked nights (still do) so it was about 3 or 4 in the evening when I got up, took me a few minutes to notice that there was nobody in the house. My 2 sisters had seen her coming in the gate and were playing with her all day. She was a Jack Russel, no more than 2 weeks old. My mum sent in a lost dog notice to the radio station but nobody replied... Even though I heard stories that there was travellers goin roun the estate lookin for a dog of her description! Every day dad would say that 'she's going to the pound!' that was 3 years ago now!
I picked up my own little lad a month ago from the pound, he's chillin with her until I can get my new place ready!

Zapperzy

PurplePrincess wrote: »

Your black and white girl is the image of mine! Il post a pic of mine in my suitcase later on when I get back to the laptop.

Tranceypoo

Such lovely stories!!

I got Archie from the gspca, my other dog had died very suddenly and I was absolutely heartbroken, it took me a couple of months before I could even be around dogs again, eventually I decided to do some volunteer dog walking at the gspca and in the back of my mind I was vaguely thinking 'well if I see a dog I like maybe I'll rehome it'. Archie (then called Comet) was the very first dog I walked on the very first day I was there. I remember him so well coming up to the door of his kennel and he sort of reminded me of my dog who had died, he was a bit skinny but so handsome. They told me he was really clean in his kennel and indeed there was no poop or pee and as soon as I got him outside he did the longest pee I'd ever seen!! He had a limp, apparently from a broken leg that hadn't been set properly and I remember walking him thinking 'hmm, really? The first dog I've seen?' but all that week I just couldn't get him out of my head and on the Sunday I took him home and that was that. He had separation issues, seems he'd been homed from the gspca before but been brought back and it was all a bit vague as to why (something about chasing cattle) so we were his third home. And his final home. He is the most laid back dog I've ever had, he will lie down and sleep anywhere, I've even been in the queue in the bank and post office and he just lays flat out on the floor! Yet when he goes out for a run in the garden he's like a complete nut case! He's going grey now, we've had him for about 4.5 years and he's about 6/6.5, has a heart murmur and his dodgy leg is getting stiffer, but he is just the leader of the pack round here, everyone that meets him or visits us just adores him and can't get over how chilled he is. He is Archie the legend.

Lily we got almost a year ago, initially as a foster but both myself and the lady who runs the rescue knew I was kind of looking for a second permanent dog. Lily was in the rescue for a few months I think, cos she's a collie cross and they seem to be ten a penny, noone showed any interest in her and to be honest, I wouldn't have picked her myself purely because I would think 'collie - too much energy - I don't have enough experience to handle a collie' but thankfully the lady who runs the shelter knew me, my lifestyle and knew Archie and she knew Lil would be a good fit, she was very stressed in kennels but after a settling in period, she's fairly chilled as long as she gets her walks in the day. We are also Lilys third home, I guess three's a charm for us! She was abandoned by her original owners and a nice lady found her and took her in but she couldn't keep her because one of her dogs didn't like Lil, I actually met her at a dog 'thing' last year and she was nearly in tears when I showed her pics of Lil lazing around on the sofa and told her how happy she was in her new home. She really was a dog destined for our home, via various homes and rescues, we wouldn't be without her now, her and Arch get on great, although they do have the odd disagreement, but she loves to clean his ears and his face and he loves letting her do it.

They both spend every evening lying on their places on the sofa with us, both flat out for the night, snoring, making comedy noises, jerking around in their sleep, much amusement. Can't imagine life without them!

Zapperzy

Zapperzy wrote: »

Your black and white girl is the image of mine! Il post a pic of mine in my suitcase later on when I get back to the laptop.

Here she is, have one of her in a proper suitcase but realised my knickers are on show in it!

santasbird

Many year ago, having just moved into my 1st house, my neighbour called to the door with a springer spaniel pup. Someone was going to drown it at the local beach, so she took it home. She already had a dog so couldnt keep it so I said I would take it. It was about 4 weeks old and had to be fed throughout the night. We named her Tara and she lived for 13 years.

About 8 years ago a friend asked would I foster a dog over xmas as it was going to be PTS. I agreed to take it until middle of January as I was having major work starting in the house ie main walls coming down. I cried when I had to give it back.

A few months later I was asked to take a 3 month old pup for a couple of weeks. The mother of this pup had been spayed and the pup was getting at the stitches. I fell in love with the dog and asked if I could keep it and the owner agreed. One year later and poor Lucy was knocked down and killed.

Roll on one year and I bumped into the girl who had given me the pup. She asked me how I was getting on with the dog and I told her what had happened. She then told me she was getting rid of the mother and I said Id take her. So here I am today with Lucky. She is now 14years and one the best dog ever.

louise's pictures 020.JPG

Cows Go µ

On a fully working computer now so thought I'd put up the pictures.

This is the week we got Diesel and its still my favourite picture of her







They both looks so much younger! Logan's nose is slowly getting a bit white and Diesel's has gone really grey after she got really sick last summer. Well, it was either the sickness of one of the shelties having pups, there were too many for her to keep out of trouble!

ABajaninCork

In the last 20+ years, I've had three cats and three dogs. I can't say that I had a hand in acquiring any of them...

The cats? First was landed on me by the then boyfriend. He decided we needed a cat, I didn't want one as I'd never had one before and had just bought a new 3 piece. Ended up going to see the kittens and coming home with the cat. He was run over twice, vet suggested he not be let out again, so decided to get -

Kitty No.2. She was one of two in the litter. Vet took them in as owners threatened to drown them. I got a call saying that a tom cat was available. So I shot off to the vet, only to find I had a pretty little tortie queen.

Kitty No. 1 was then run over and sadly didn't survive this time. So Kitty No. 2 and I were going nicely for six years until I got:

Kitty No. 3. Friend of a friend's cat had kittens and was trying to find homes for them. So my mate tells her mate that she knew of someone who would take one (ME!!). Didn't want the cat, and told her so. Got bounced into going to the girl's house supposedly to collect something. Of course, I clapped eyes on the kittens and took one of them home.

The three of us lived together happily in London until Kitty No 2 went to kitty heaven in 2006 at the grand old age of 18. Kitty No. 3 and I stayed together until we moved to Ireland in 2008.

Sadly, shortly after our arrival, Kitty No. 3 was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He lived on for another two years until he too passed in 2010. I was and still am heartbroken. He was my boy, and I miss him every day. For some reason, although I loved the first two, he had my heart and he KNEW it.

Sorry for the long post, and I hope you enjoyed the stories. I'll do another telling how the dogs came to be...

angelfire9

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=68599155&postcount=2796
I have just 1 kitty i'd love to have lots more but i'd be divorced

His father (we think) was a British Bombay (one of the neighbours breeds them and and her Tom went wandering low & behold one of the strays in the estate (coincidentally another black moggy) had a litter and the timing was perfect

Anyway, long story short the woman in whose garden the kittens were born brought them to the pound whereupon I collected Sooty within 20 minutes of his arrival and have had him since

Totally psycho cat :D
Great with the baby
Have him 3 years now and wouldn't be with out him

ABajaninCork

My dogs....

Well, I had three dogs as a child, but none stayed for very long. My mother wasn't into pets (still isn't and doesn't understand why I treat my pets the way I do, but still). So the dogs were given away:mad:

My boyfriend at the time decided to get a Doberman, and only told me about the dog when he picked me up from work! Bit dubious at first, but once I saw the pup it was love at first sight! He was a lovely dog, very smart, but a more loyal and loving dog I'd never met.

One day, we were at home. Neighbour knocks and says the dog's in their garden. No, he wasn't and we showed them our dog. Turned out this poor Dobie had been dumped and had made her way into our road. We took the dog in as nobody claimed her and we couldn't bear the thought of Battersea Dogs Home having her. When the boyfriend & I split, he took the dogs and I kept the cats.

Fast forward to 2009. My husband's niece was having her 21st. The family wanted to get her a Shih Tzu puppy for her birthday. So we decided to have a look on Done Deal (I know, but being new to the country didn't know the rep at the time...). Found a breeder who had pups locally, so decided to pitch up with my MiL to have a look. There were two pups of the litter left. The breeder placed a puppy in my arms and he decided he didn't want to leave! Kept crying when I tried to hand him over to my husband and MiL, and didn't want to be put down with his brothers. So between my MiL and my husband, they decided to buy him. Not for our niece, but for us, as the pup had taken a real shine to me!! I had nothing to do with it.

So now we have our fella. He's an absolute joy, who's added so much to our lives. He's fast asleep in his basket now, sighing with contentment. We wouldn't be without him! And yes - we did buy a pup for the niece, but from another litter. The pair of them are like brothers and are inseparable.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Currently have 2 cats and a Jack Russell.

1st cat. Humphrey, a beautiful tabby who's very affectionate. I found him in a ditch on the side of the road 10 years ago. He was quite young at the time, the vet reckoned about 5 weeks. He had obviously gotten lost from somewhere and was in a very distressed state when I rescued him. Nobody ever claimed him so I held on to him.

2nd cat. Seamus, a lovely ginger kitten who was born in late July. My neighbour's cat got pregnant so I decided I'd take one of the litter. He's quite feisty and Humphrey is very jealous of him, he tends to attack him if I leave the two of them unattended in the same room.:D

Jack Russell. Tommy, A black and white russell born in the summer of 2008. I bought him from a farmer shortly after he was born after seeing his ad in the paper. Lovely little thing who's very playful. Both the cats love him and he tends to be very protective over them.

PurplePrincess

Zapperzy wrote: »

Here she is, have one of her in a proper suitcase but realised my knickers are on show in it!

Ah she's gorgeous, they're very alike and obviously share a love of suitcases

gazzer

TillyGirl wrote: »

We have three dogs, Tilly we got in June 2008 aged 8 weeks bought out of the boot of a car in the back end of Limerick. Puppy farmer without a doubt but I knew no better. No excuse but at least I can say it’s the only dog I will ever buy.

That is one of the cutest things I have ever seen

johndoe99

my brother-in-law was driving to Wexford from Waterford, when he was walking to his car he heard a kitten bawling, he looked under the car but saw no cat. Whilst he was in wexford he again heard a cat bawling, again he looked under the car but again nothing, when he got back to Waterford he went to top up the water, and there was a kitten laying in the recesses of the engine, he gave the Kitten to me and that was 18 years ago, still have her. We called her Lucky, as in lucky she was not killed.

toadfly

gazzer wrote: »

That is one of the cutest things I have ever seen

Thanks I think so too

Cutie18Ireland

We had been talking about getting a dog for ages and one day just happened to look up dogs locally and found pom pups available just down the road. So that was the first.. Milo.

Next up was George. He was a westie, 14. His owner died and had no family so he was left into the vets by the neighbour to be put to sleep. We knew he had health problems but had a chat about it and decided he would come to live with us. He had been an only dog all his life and settled in great with the pup. He died in his sleep a few months later. He was like my shadow and I'm still heartbroken he didnt get longer with us.

Then there was Daisy, female pom, 18 months. Owner had split up with her fella and daisy was left outside, she had no time for her. Fiancé fell in love with her right away, took me a bit longer but she is our little diva

Next up was Penny, a spaniel cross. I fostered her and her sister. They had been dumped at the side of the road, and spent some time in the pound. When a family came to see the dogs,, Penny hid behind us she didnt want to leave, so she stayed

Next was Toby - pom/corgi cross, we were doing a transport of puppies to a puppy rescue and when we got there, she was carrying Toby. Couple had split up and left him there. He was fully vaccinated and ready to go, fiancé was mad about him. So he joined the madhouse.

Then fiancé's mam bought a dog, knowing her dog hates other dogs. Which leads us to Belle, yorkie, 6 weeks old. She was taken from her mam way too young. She gets cuter and cuter everyday.

6th was going to be another dog we were fostering. Molly - collie/terrier/lab. She had been here for a month when she got sick and tragically had to be put to sleep 28th December, 2 days after she got sick.

greeneyedspirit

Our cat picked us...
Neither my OH nor me are cat people, really, but we saw this stray cat hanging around last winter, poor thing had no tail :eek: but an open wound instead with bits of raw meat hanging off
poor mite turned out to be a really friendly cat, so we kept feeding her for some time and when it became apparent that nobody owned her, we decided to help her out and get her tail fixed up.
So we did, got her tail fixed, and got her spayed. Great help from this forum, too, we found a boardsie that fostered Socks for a week after the surgery, big thanks, you know who you are!
Now we've had Miss Socks for almost a year, and she's definitely part of the family (i.e. she's the queen of the house )

Socks:

Bebo stunnah

Bebo stunnah wrote: »

Back when I was still living with the parents, theis tiny little dog wandered into the garden, I worked nights (still do) so it was about 3 or 4 in the evening when I got up, took me a few minutes to notice that there was nobody in the house. My 2 sisters had seen her coming in the gate and were playing with her all day. She was a Jack Russel, no more than 2 weeks old. My mum sent in a lost dog notice to the radio station but nobody replied... Even though I heard stories that there was travellers goin roun the estate lookin for a dog of her description! Every day dad would say that 'she's going to the pound!' that was 3 years ago now!
I picked up my own little lad a month ago from the pound, he's chillin with her until I can get my new place ready!

Forgot to mention a cat, not mine, but the mother in-law too it. I seen a dead cat down the road from where she lives. So I mentioned it to her, she got her son to go and bury it, but while he was there he heard a crying coming from behind the wall at the side of the road, he came in and we went down to where he heard it. I had to take apart tho whole wall(stone, down to the ditch, he was in a tiny crevice and hissed everytime we went near him! must have been only a week or 2 old!

heres the dogs


and the kitty

Graces7

We first met collie when viewing a house to rent. She was caged in the garage; silent and subdued.

The agent said the landlord was taking her away, that theyhad caged her so she would not deter tenants.

We took the house. Soon found where they had taken collie to. The old abandoned farmhouse up the lane, chained 24/7 to a 56 lb weight, Kennel within reach ..

We spoke with a friend at a Pet Rescue who said they would back us; thanked us for feeding her.

So we took her in. The story was that after daddy died no one wanted her and they did not know what else to do. Saw nothing wrong in leaving her chained up like that. Even said how much they missed her. When we moved we would have taken her regardless.

We already had wee dog, from an unwanted litter.

We rescued our two cats from the cat shelter from hell the year before that. We took the litter of three but one did not survive the enteritis they were already infected with.