When they want a bath they really want a bath LOL. Yes they are a big bird in a little package :)

You can see Miss Bess, she is my wonder dog, avatar and constant (almost always) companion. Bess is going to be 12 years old. She is getting white around her face and tail. She needs "Out" at 2:00 AM and then I can't get back to sleep. A few months ago I got two seven week old parakeets - one is yellow and black - BiBi - (Big Bird) male and Bitz is a grey/blue female - they are very sweet. When Christmas is over and I have a little more time I am going to work with them and get them hand trained. I can You Tube parakeet sounds and they love that. I am also thinking of getting two finches - All critters are B names - our first dog was Bridget, now Bess, BiBi and Bitz and I have already named the finches (I think I will get them after the tree comes down and they will go in my sewing area). They will be Biddy for the female and Bubba for the male. I am getting excited about this. Have learned that parakeets spit seeds. Read that they liked hard boiled eggs crushed with the shell (protein) - they don't like it. The pet store said they love thawed frozen vegetables - they don't like it. They also said apples, oranges, grapes. They don't like it. So it is their seed, they peel the bark off the manzanita branches, they like that - scraping on the cuttlebone - they like that. Lettuce? - They don't like that - crying out loud, I have gourmet parakeets!!!!!! But they are happy! For sure!!!!

Edie

I am so happy to see this thread. Love all the pictures and story behind each pet. They are all beautiful.
My Alexis (Silky Yorkie) does not like to have her picture taken, but I try. Like all the other fur friends she is very smart. Please keep this thread going, I know there are more to see.[ATTACH=CONFIG]502212[ATTACH=CONFIG]502213[/ATTACH][/ATTACH] The second picture she is watching the bears at the Wildlife Center of Virginia. She loved her bears.

Love reading this thread! I was always a cat person, but none of my cats liked my husband and one in particular would deposit atrocious, smelly presents by his boots daily. Patient man that he is, he put up with this for quite a while before declaring the house as a "No Cat Zone," but that I could have dogs. While I envisioned a big dog lounging lovingly at my feet, Hubby was convinced that puppy love should come in small packages. He got me a Shih Tzu that I named Dante. He is our clown and is very expressive and exuberant. After we had Dante a couple of years, Hubby wanted to add a girl to our family, and we got Daphne, also a Shih Tzu. She is very reserved, and plays straight man to all of Dante's antics.

Then one of our son's friends came to live with us and when he moved out, gifted us with a Great Dane named Lacy. She was very fearful and distrustful when she came to us, and I spent months gaining her trust. She protects me from birds, cats, the Shih Tzus, and barking dogs on the TV! Despite her size, she is not the Alpha - Daphne puts her in her place regularly! Love my furry friends!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]502214[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]502215[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]502216[/ATTACH]

I am so sorry for everyone loss. I know the pain and loss. I had two cats (Shayla, 17 yrs old, Nutmeg 16 yrs old and had to have put to sleep last year, 6 months apart. I still have not gotten over it. You love them unconditionally.

I just LOVE seeing all these pictures of the gorgeous animals! (Animals are my first passion in life - quilting and reading are a very very close tie - I can't quilt in bed, so quilting would be the third!)

I'll post on this regularly so that it stays near the top!

It's so hard to lose a pet, they become so engrained in your daily schedule, that the house is just empty without them. (One of the reasons I have a different animals - and my Grey should easily live another 30-40 years - it'll just be her and I as they trot me off to the old folks home!)

I'm on a german shepherd forum, and a bunch of us do Christmas card swaps - the card has to be a pic of your dog with something around it as a Christmas theme ... I took a bunch of pics, and sent them to my friend to photoshop the christmas theme around ... here's two of them! The antlers and collar are real .. but obviously not the background ... Can you guess which one I used?

Mermaid, I am so sorry for your loss. You MUST not blame yourself for this. Your vet should not have recommended any anesthesia for a senior like that. This is entirely on your vet who should have known better. 3 of my 4 are all seniors now. All millennium babes (born in 2000). One had seizure the last time we had to put him under for removal of a benign tumor 3 years ago but luckily he pulled through ok. The vet cautioned about any anesthesia from then on out. He now has another one and I am dreading that we may have to remove it surgically. At this age you often wonder which is the lesser of two evils.

I love your pictures. I had my own zoo up until a few years ago when my aging dogs and cats began their trip to the Bridge. Now I just have my Merlyn who is my avatar.

We raised German Shepard's for many years and they remain one of my favorite breeds. We lost Mikayla our GSD 8 years ago. P.S. Don't tell my Borzoi Merlyn that GSD are a favorite since I love Borzoi as well. :-)

Oh my some beautiful pets and nice stories thanks for sharing them. My Zoo is currently reduced to Gambit an 8. 5 year old wire hair fox terrier mix and Emma a 9 year old dachshund chihuahua mix. They actually belong to my girls they couldn't take them when they went away to school and they should not be purposefully separated Gambit would be lost without Emma. We adopted them 8 years ago after we lost our Australian Shepherd. He was an amazing pet perfect for our family and I still miss him. . Me I was ok not having more dogs. Mr. Bill felt like the kids still needed them. Over the years we have had pet rats, chinchillas, ducks, red eared sliders, koi, frogs, toads, lizards and cats my oldest can't have cats or dogs where she lives so she has 3 snakes and a hedgehog. . My youngest still away at school lives off campus 2years ago took her horse and cat with her, also has a hedgehog. . Things are going to get interesting when she comes home.

No pictures, don't know how to down load those but we do have 4 dogs. A long haired Chihuahua, two mal-shis one looks just like a Shi-Tzu the other exactly like a Maltese, and a very energetic, brilliant Yorkie. What fun we have. Had to replace the adult children, one way or another. They keep us going in our old age. They are willed to children just in case.
A very Merry Christmas to pet lovers everywhere.