Show me your zoo!!!
 

I see lots of avatars with animals ... and I have three ... so let's start a thread with show me your zoo ... with a bit of info!

Echo - My African Grey is 13 years old. I got her when she was 4.5 months old from a breeder. She's a nut, but I love her and her quirks. She has about 50 words in her vocabulary, sings a couple of songs, and helps me cheer on my hockey team. I have taught her to scream out GO SENS GO whenever the sens score a goal (I of course have to cue her - which is usually by me jumping out of my chair screaming YES, YES, YES!) I have also taught her to say HABS SUCK (for all those Montreal fans LOL) whenever ANY team scores a goal (her cue is when I say BOO BOO BOO).

Raylan - my Siamese / Himalyan mix that I adopted about 2 months ago. He's special ... an absolute cuddle bum of a cat, not demanding or obnoxious with people at all ... loves EVERYONE ... except the dog! Poor Kyleigh! He's afraid of my grey (with good reason LOL ... as Echo has full flight and is NOT afraid of cat or dog!) We are making huge strides in getting him to accept Kyleigh - he used to look at her and hiss and then try and swat her ... The first time he did that Ky barked and lunged at him (can't say I blame her LOL) ... thankfully, my dog is trained and listens. The second time I caught him sneaking up on Kyleigh while she was sleeping ... a couple of squirts with the water bottle cured him of that idea! Now they can walk side by side and Raylan doesn't hiss at her anymore ... so progress is slow, but being made!

Kyleigh - my long-haired German Shepherd Dog. Kyleigh is the dog I have dreamed of having since I was 16 years old (I'm now 43). I did huge amounts of research on the breed, even became a certified dog trainer, and trained for about 5 years before I got Kyleigh. I wanted to make sure I understood dogs, dog behaviour, etc. before I brought a working line, high drive, high focus dog into my life.

I had her brought over from Germany when she was 9 weeks. I did MAJOR research on breeders, and what type of working line dog I wanted, and I got it!!!! There were definitely times I was in over my head! Oh My what a lot of dog!!!! But she's now 3.5 years old and an absolutely wonderful dog to have in my life - her enthusiasm for life keeps me young, active and in shape! There's no saying no to Kyleigh when it's time to go out and play and have long walks in the woods, and working on all of her commands!!!!

The ONLY issue with Kyleigh is she sees Echo as lunch in a box ... so, no close interactions with the bird and the dog ... which upsets Echo, because she adored my last dog, Abby, and they had such a fabulous relationship! Because of Echo's lack of fear, I can never let her that close to Kyleigh because he'd be food! :eek:

Here's some pics of my zoo

What amazing and beautiful animals. Love the last picture, that should be enlarged and framed in your home.

I love animals, so really enjoy animal stories! Thanks for sharing. My husband won't let me have any inside animals, but I have a lot of outside ones. Many of them are not afraid of me. There are at least 3 squirrels that stop by daily, and at least a dozen bluejays, as well as a cardinal pair and chickadees. I have a bunny (outside!). Her name is Meaty and she comes up to the porch for her snack when I call her. My avatar shows my granddogs, Toby and Snickers. They're Jack Russells and they live in Colorado. They love their grandma! They "took" to me immediately. I think animals can sense a kindred spirit.

My husband did say if he ever had a dog it would be a german shepherd. They're really cool dogs. My niece has 7 of them!

It is!!!! It's 11x17 and one of my absolute favourite pics! I'm so not a fan of getting my picture taken, and when my friend emailed this to me I was stunned!!!!

They are awesome! But beware - they are FREAKING SMART!!!!! Kyleigh never ceases to amaze me with her intelligence!

Here are are pics of my canine and feline crew.

Here are 3 of my 4 cats. Two ragdoll cats and a moggie. The little one front and center is full grown, not a kitten. She was a foundling and most likely had a very rough start in life so she never got very big.
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Here are my canines. They are Shiloh Shepherds which was founded on the GSD. They are not yet an AKC recognized breed but considered a rare breed. Keuka, my 3 YO female is on the left, Inigo the puppy is on the right. He just turned 1 in September and is still very much a puppy as the breed is not considered fully mature until 3.
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Thanks Marion for starting this thread. Your GSD is gorgeous as is the rest of your crew.

What a fun thread. I love looking at picture of folks pets.

My pets,

Wolfgang my six year old chocolate tan dapple dachshund. He's a big boy who likes to play.

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My Taffy, my 9 yo girl bengal, litter mate to Merlin below. She's snuggled on a quilt in this picture. So cute.

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Merlin, my 9 yo boy bengal. Littermate, brother to Taffy. He is in charge at the house. This is an old picture taken when he was a kitten, but he's still just as handsome.

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I live now in an apt and pets are not allowed. When one is disable and alone in this world, it is hard to maintain the health of a pet. I miss my Westie named Macbeth. He was the best pet I ever had but turn your back and he would find something to entertain himself NOT for the lack of any toys !!

Love all the pics ... have to say my heart pumped twice when I saw the Shiloh's ... they are stunning dogs!!!!!! Are they super smart too??

We have to find other parrot people on here LOL ... I know feather3 had a macaw ... we can't be the only crazy bird people!!!!

Oh that westie LOL ... what a fun time he had ... I'm sorry you can't have any pets where you live ... that would be very hard. I'll be sure to encourage people to post lots of funny pics and stories so you can live vicariously through us!!!

Keuka, like your Kyleigh is scary smart. Luckily for me, she uses her supersmarts for good and not evil. LOL Inigo is smart but does not appear to be as clever as Keuka and he definitely is not as focused - SQUIRREL!. It takes him a little longer to learn things. But once he learns he remembers. He has not yet entered his rebellious stage (known as the terrible twos in Shiloh circles) which usually ramps up between 12 and 18 months and subsides at 24 months. I am hoping he won't go through it like Keuka did.