My animals thread

[randomroads]

I thought I'd make a thread to dedicate an area where I can post pictures of animals I've had, currently have, or foster/fostered along with little stories relevant to the pictures.

[randomroads]

This is Radar, a male Belgian Malinois. He's my first bought dog from a breeder. He was born February 16 2011. I raised him from 7 weeks and sold him back to the breeder October 2012 because he was too much dog. He's currently in training to be a personal protection dog. He loves to swim!

[randomroads]

This is Mercy, a female American Pit Bull Terrier. She was born December 31 2007. She passed away in October 2012. I found her for free on Craigslist and went to visit and see if I wanted her. What I found was an emaciated dog full of fleas and with horrific chemical burns covering her back. Her collar was not tight, but it was rusted shut and I had to cut it off of her neck.
There's no doubt in my mind that Mercy was my soul mate dog. We were the perfect compliment for each other, and she taught me so much in our 4 years together. We could read each others minds.

One odd thing she would do is she would pout and mope. I really believe she suffered from depression, because she would sit still and hang her head down until her chin nearly touched the floor. She would do it for hours and just stare at the floor and heave great big sighs.

When I visited family and left her in their house while I walked across the street to a museum, they allowed her to stay loose in the house with them. She parked herself in front of the window and watched me walk away while she cried and moaned. She did that the entire time I was gone. They tried to take her outside and distract her away from the window, but she'd fight them and try to drag them to the window so she could wait for me. When she saw me come out of the museum she started crying even more and ran to the front door and stared at it until I walked in! She was perfectly fine with being left alone, but that one time I think she honestly thought I was leaving her with them for forever.

[randomroads]

This is River, a female Belgian Malinois. She was born June 8 2012 and I adopted her. She loves to play fetch, tug, and is training for the German dog sport Schutzhund. She's excelling at the obedience portion of the sport, and she's starting to learn how to track.

River is in love with everyone she meets. If they throw a ball for her, even better! I've often thought about joining a local therapy dog group so that she can visit hospitals, schools, libraries, and nursing homes, but that means River and I would have to stop going to Schutzhund training. Maybe when she's retired from that sport and needs something more low key for her old bones.

[randomroads]

This is Shelby, a female shepherd mix. She was born April 1 2008. She's my husband's dog, but I figured she's cute enough to include here!

Shelby had a really rough start in life. She was one of 20 animals confiscated during a raid on rural property in Georgia. Once the guy who had her bought her from wherever he got her, he kept her in an outdoor kennel until she was taken by Animal Control at 8 months old. They had to cut her out of the kennel because the door was rusted shut. He readily admitted she'd never been outside of the kennel.
Shelby was basically a feral when Animal Control called me about her. I'd worked with some of their dogs before, and they wanted to know if I could help her. It took 6 months of intensive training but she was finally able to live indoors, was finally kennel trained, learned how to walk on a leash, and finally learned that she had nothing to panic about. She was terrified of everything, even fire hydrants, so her training has lasted years and it's still not over. She's more confident than she's ever been today, but new things still startle her and she's cautious about them until she knows they aren't going to eat her.

We've had Shelby ever since I took her from Animal Control, and she's a well adjusted dog now. She's still flighty, and her nick name is Chicken Dog, but she's a good house pet that is very affectionate to most adults. Small children frighten her still, and we've never been able to get her past that.

[randomroads]

This is Patrick, a male grey tabby cat. He's around 4 months old, but we aren't completely certain. We got him as a pet for us, and a companion for our older cat, Murphy. They enjoy each others company, although sometimes Patrick's kitten antics get on Murphy's nerves.

Patrick is a very picky eater, and I've been trying to break him of that. He's addicted to wet food, and will only eat dry kibble if he's just that damn hungry. I have refused to feed him canned food until he's reliably eating kibble. He'll eat a mouth full of kibble in the morning, then cry about how hungry he is and finishes the rest for lunch, then devours dinner like it's his last meal. I figure as long as he's got something in his stomach, he'll be okay. If he feels hungry then that just spurs him to eat!

[randomroads]

This is Murphy, a male orange tabby cat. He was born around January 2007 and I adopted him from El Paso Humane Society in Texas. He's probably the coolest cat you'll ever meet. He's so affectionate that he's obnoxious, and he knows several tricks. He watched me train dogs, and then figured if he copies their behavior, I'll give him a treat. He knows how to sit, lay down, give high five, and come when you call him. We've been working on cat agility for fun and exercise, since he has weight issues and needs to move around more often.

I really don't know what I'd do without Murphy. His nick name is Main Man Murphy, because no matter who's been in my life, Murphy's always been my specially little cuddle buddy.

[SaveMeJeebus]

Doggies 

Mercy's story nearly teared me up. As for Shelby, the guy that had her deserves a punch.

[randomroads]

Shelby was one of two dogs on his property, and out of the 20 animals they confiscated, 15 of them had to be put down because they were so bad off. Last I heard he was facing criminal charges and would probably get a few years in prison.