Show me your zoo!!!
12-13-2014, 05:03 AM
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Campton,Kentucky
Posts: 1,397
Originally Posted by MarionsQuilts
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!
Here's some pics of my zoo
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!
Here's some pics of my zoo
12-13-2014, 08:35 AM
#42
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 5,284
Big animal lover here. Since we have been married we have had a chipmunk (rescued from a cat and later released when fully recovered), 1 cat, 7 Goldens and a lab/shepherd. Missed our last Golden pair so much that we finally took the plunge in July and got a pair of Golden puppies again. Forgot how much work they were LOL, but they sure are fun and keep us on our toes: puppy classes, personal trainer and constant reinforcement will hopefully yield two therapy dogs in a few years. Here are the first pair, with our son's dog on left, and our daughter's dog on the right. Three have gone over the rainbow bridge. The one on the right, is now almost 16 and still doing well, thank goodness.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]502336[/ATTACH]
The second picture is of our latest pair: Finley and Declan, now almost 7 months old. Finley is smart as a whip and learns quickly, but doesn't always obey. Declan is slower to learn but consistent once he has it. Somedays they are star scholars, and other days, they seem to have lost their minds. Still puppies with attention spans of a millisecond, but we are working on distractions, ha, ha. Luckily they are extremely food motivated.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]502337[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]502336[/ATTACH]
The second picture is of our latest pair: Finley and Declan, now almost 7 months old. Finley is smart as a whip and learns quickly, but doesn't always obey. Declan is slower to learn but consistent once he has it. Somedays they are star scholars, and other days, they seem to have lost their minds. Still puppies with attention spans of a millisecond, but we are working on distractions, ha, ha. Luckily they are extremely food motivated.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]502337[/ATTACH]
12-13-2014, 11:26 AM
#43
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Ohio, just east of Toledo
Posts: 1,369
I have 5 basenjis but can only find pics of 4:
These photos are of 3 of the girls being teased by 2 squirrels. A few yeears ago I actually saw the squirrel fall on the ground and the dogs were right there, but he made it to another tree. Love those squirrels, keep the dogs busy, out of mischief, for hours!
The photo of the dog with his head on the chair is Captain. He is actuallly sleeping which is why I took the photo. It's hard to catch them sleeping really sound, they always seem to have one ear listening to their surroundings.
One of the girls, Ibis, had a dental or something and since she was 13 at the time I took advantage of my vet's 'old dog pre-anesthesia workup.' It included an ultrasound and that revealed a tiny mass between her lungs. Over the course of the next month she had a biopsy, we were told it was cancer, not really operable because of where it was, and a type that does not respond to chemo. BUT, no one told her, or at least she wasn't listening. She looks like any 14 yr old dog now (that was back in July, 2013), but acts perfectly ok. She is the dog, that when I called to see how she was doing after the biopsy, the first thing said by the vet: "She sure has a lot of energy!" They did not even have her in a cage, she was in one of the runs they had in the kennel.
She still has that energy. Years ago I had my Rosa, and then a year later got her, Ibis. They were fine for 2 years and then they hated each other. Around here if 2 dogs hate each other after normal reconditining things, I keep them separate. I feel that they didn't ask to have another move in, and unlike kids (who are told you don't have to like each other but you have to ACT like you do) I just keep the peace by keeping them separate.
Rosa got a Canadian champinship, Ibis had to get one too. Rosa got an Award of Merit at our national show, Ibis had to get one the next year. (a big deal each time)
I think Ibis is determined to outlive any Rosa female DNA in the house, something she seems to hate as much as she hated the original Rosa. (Rosa has died)
Captain is a Rosa son and he's fine with any girl as long as they smell him and tell him he's handsome.
I have to add one last photo of a sign that is in Australia. When I showed Ibis up in Canada, the judge told me she saw these signs all over "Please Don't Feed the Ibis" That would be Ibis' hell! (Ibis sire was in Austrailia)
I know I'm going on about one dog, but Ibis would have it no other way. 80% of the words about her, the rest about others.
Her motto from the time she came to live here:
"I'm the Ibis, gotta love me!"
The title of another post made me think of this:
The girl I couldn't find a pic of is named Frieda
Ibis's last litter, she was shipped down to Virginia and bred by a boy name Charlie Brown. The pups were born on Christmas! So natually the girl we kept was named "The Girl With the Naturally Curly Tail" call name Frieda! (from the Charle Brown Christmas show)
These photos are of 3 of the girls being teased by 2 squirrels. A few yeears ago I actually saw the squirrel fall on the ground and the dogs were right there, but he made it to another tree. Love those squirrels, keep the dogs busy, out of mischief, for hours!
The photo of the dog with his head on the chair is Captain. He is actuallly sleeping which is why I took the photo. It's hard to catch them sleeping really sound, they always seem to have one ear listening to their surroundings.
One of the girls, Ibis, had a dental or something and since she was 13 at the time I took advantage of my vet's 'old dog pre-anesthesia workup.' It included an ultrasound and that revealed a tiny mass between her lungs. Over the course of the next month she had a biopsy, we were told it was cancer, not really operable because of where it was, and a type that does not respond to chemo. BUT, no one told her, or at least she wasn't listening. She looks like any 14 yr old dog now (that was back in July, 2013), but acts perfectly ok. She is the dog, that when I called to see how she was doing after the biopsy, the first thing said by the vet: "She sure has a lot of energy!" They did not even have her in a cage, she was in one of the runs they had in the kennel.
She still has that energy. Years ago I had my Rosa, and then a year later got her, Ibis. They were fine for 2 years and then they hated each other. Around here if 2 dogs hate each other after normal reconditining things, I keep them separate. I feel that they didn't ask to have another move in, and unlike kids (who are told you don't have to like each other but you have to ACT like you do) I just keep the peace by keeping them separate.
Rosa got a Canadian champinship, Ibis had to get one too. Rosa got an Award of Merit at our national show, Ibis had to get one the next year. (a big deal each time)
I think Ibis is determined to outlive any Rosa female DNA in the house, something she seems to hate as much as she hated the original Rosa. (Rosa has died)
Captain is a Rosa son and he's fine with any girl as long as they smell him and tell him he's handsome.
I have to add one last photo of a sign that is in Australia. When I showed Ibis up in Canada, the judge told me she saw these signs all over "Please Don't Feed the Ibis" That would be Ibis' hell! (Ibis sire was in Austrailia)
I know I'm going on about one dog, but Ibis would have it no other way. 80% of the words about her, the rest about others.
Her motto from the time she came to live here:
"I'm the Ibis, gotta love me!"
The title of another post made me think of this:
The girl I couldn't find a pic of is named Frieda
Ibis's last litter, she was shipped down to Virginia and bred by a boy name Charlie Brown. The pups were born on Christmas! So natually the girl we kept was named "The Girl With the Naturally Curly Tail" call name Frieda! (from the Charle Brown Christmas show)
Last edited by RugosaB; 12-13-2014 at 11:31 AM.
12-13-2014, 11:56 AM
#44
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: North East Lower peninsula of Michigan
Posts: 6,230
No Pics yet but we have acquired my sons puppy Twix in the vein of his Mom Snickers and our new Kitty Lilly as all my black and white kittens have been a type of Flower we had Daisy that had to be finally down to repeated Bladder problems and Iris that just recently went over the rainbow Bridge. now we have Lilly that is a hoot PaLying with Twix!
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12-13-2014, 01:45 PM
#45
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 1,415
Here's my brood:
The first is Lizzy, our bearded dragon. Then there's our four dogs; Lilly (Cocker Spaniel), Butterball (King Cavalier Spaniel), Bitsy (a Jack Russell Terrier/Cocker Spaniel mix), and Gizmo (Boxer). Last, but not least are our four kitties; Becky (the black cat), Sushi (our camera shy tabby, playing with my yarn), Snowflake and Atticus (the white cat is Snowflake and the tabby is Atticus, pictured together).
The first is Lizzy, our bearded dragon. Then there's our four dogs; Lilly (Cocker Spaniel), Butterball (King Cavalier Spaniel), Bitsy (a Jack Russell Terrier/Cocker Spaniel mix), and Gizmo (Boxer). Last, but not least are our four kitties; Becky (the black cat), Sushi (our camera shy tabby, playing with my yarn), Snowflake and Atticus (the white cat is Snowflake and the tabby is Atticus, pictured together).
12-13-2014, 01:47 PM
#46
Super Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Ontario Canada
Posts: 1,869
WOW ... what awesome pics and great stories ... I'm so happy I started this thread ... it's wonderful to see how much joy and pleasure these amazing creatures give us (and of course the huge sorrow when they leave way too soon!)
I just came back from a 3-hour hike in the woods ... had to break a trail through a foot of snow ... Ky's still not tired and I'm ready to drop ...
I just came back from a 3-hour hike in the woods ... had to break a trail through a foot of snow ... Ky's still not tired and I'm ready to drop ...
12-13-2014, 02:48 PM
#47
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 117
Originally Posted by MarionsQuilts
WOW ... what awesome pics and great stories ... I'm so happy I started this thread ... it's wonderful to see how much joy and pleasure these amazing creatures give us (and of course the huge sorrow when they leave way too soon!)
I just came back from a 3-hour hike in the woods ... had to break a trail through a foot of snow ... Ky's still not tired and I'm ready to drop ...
I just came back from a 3-hour hike in the woods ... had to break a trail through a foot of snow ... Ky's still not tired and I'm ready to drop ...
This is Thor who came to us from a dogs' home having been mistreated and left.[ATTACH=CONFIG]502378[/ATTACH]
Not sure how old he was the vet guessed at around 4 years. He then stayed in the home for 6 months because nobody wanted him. It was love at first sight. He was afraid of men but my DH is very patient and soon got on well with him. He didn't bark for almost a year then suddenly one day when somebody came to the door and knock he barked and then looked at me very frightened. I started teaching him to bark when somebody was at the door and stop on command. We had the most wonderful 8 1/2 years together. We will not have another dog - we are too old now; it would too selfish but I will never, ever forget all the wonderful hours I have spent walking, drying, feeding and sewing with him. He slept underneath my sewing table and even help me sew once, when I had gotten up to iron and suddenly the machine whirred behind me and he had gotten up and sat himself down on the foot pedal! That taught me to switch the machine off when ironing
Thanks for letting me share my pet too
MagaQuilt
12-13-2014, 06:28 PM
#49
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Central Texas
Posts: 210
We have always had dogs in our 50 year marriage. I know now that our pets were for us, not for our two boys, although they did love them. Three dogs back, we had Honi. She was a Japanese Akita...such a beautiful lady. She was super smart and was at my feet almost constantly. She left us at the age of 12 and i said I could not go through another loss like that one.
Two years later, a friend convinced my husband to adopt a Lhaso Apso she knew about and Melvin took over our lives.
He had been abused and took a while, but then learned to respond to anything we said. He just seem to understand everything and loved the car...went everywhere with us. His one problem was that he was allergic to EVERTHING.
We had him at the vet what seemed like almost daily. Melvin lived a wonderful life til o12. We still miss him and it has been six years. Melvin is my avatar.
Our house was so lonely. Six months later, we started our quest for another pet, knowing we would never find another Melvin. We had heard that the military were having to give up their pets to shelters when they left for the Far East so we went to Killeen TX (Fort Hood) to find our next family member. I told hubby I would consider any breed including a mixed one, but NO full blooded Poodle (bad experience many years ago). Can you guess what Lucee is? She is a black large toy poodle. She is smart, loves everyone and is attached to hubby at the hip. They have a mutual admiration
society going on! I love her dearly...can teach her anything as long as you reward her with treats. I would love to rescue another little dog, but hubby is a one dog at a time person.
Sorry this is so long...guess I was in a remembering mood.
Two years later, a friend convinced my husband to adopt a Lhaso Apso she knew about and Melvin took over our lives.
He had been abused and took a while, but then learned to respond to anything we said. He just seem to understand everything and loved the car...went everywhere with us. His one problem was that he was allergic to EVERTHING.
We had him at the vet what seemed like almost daily. Melvin lived a wonderful life til o12. We still miss him and it has been six years. Melvin is my avatar.
Our house was so lonely. Six months later, we started our quest for another pet, knowing we would never find another Melvin. We had heard that the military were having to give up their pets to shelters when they left for the Far East so we went to Killeen TX (Fort Hood) to find our next family member. I told hubby I would consider any breed including a mixed one, but NO full blooded Poodle (bad experience many years ago). Can you guess what Lucee is? She is a black large toy poodle. She is smart, loves everyone and is attached to hubby at the hip. They have a mutual admiration
society going on! I love her dearly...can teach her anything as long as you reward her with treats. I would love to rescue another little dog, but hubby is a one dog at a time person.
Sorry this is so long...guess I was in a remembering mood.
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