Animal companions

[Jessica B]

    For me, for the majority of my life my only real companions who have known me prior to me reaching out to the TG community.  How do each of you feel about your companions or partners?   I've had extreme bonds with each of my dogs.  I've had...

-A goldie (Golden Retriever) who went down on Sept 22nd 2010, approx. 1500, 15 years old.
- A German Shepard Dog (GSD) who I currently adore and who has bonded very strongly to me, he is amazingly loyal and well trained
- A Husky but she is my partners, who I had to get as my partner was rather upset over my GSD's bonding with me *laughs*

    The goldie fell ill with spleen cancer and I used every trick in my aid bag to keep her alive as long as I could (and I mean every trick) and she fought every step of the way.  That was a very heart breaking month.  Which ended in my vet restocking my supply and me putting her down.  i'm still working on getting passed that.  I may post a photo or two up here or her.  She was very healthy most of her life though and had a good life.

     My GSD and I bounded very very strongly.  He hates it when I have to leave like, such as I am now.  He is still young but very well trained and very strong (at near 100lbs!!).  I put a large amount of effort into investigating his family background to avoid yet another heartbreaking situation.  He hikes with me, backpacks for days at a time, and runs (and I can still out run and out sprint him  ).  I may post a photo of him here as well if I find a safe way to do so.  Most of the people in my local town know him as we come blasting though town in the afternoons or mornings or late at night on runs.  Most shop and club owners let him come with me when I eat, drink or browse. 

      My Goldie was and still is a very important part of my life she was someone I could connect with when I was still trying to live in my families home while repressing myself compleatly.  My GSD is essential at this point.  I hate being away from him!  I know that when I'm afraid, sad, in emotional and mental anguish or despair, need a hug, need to be protected, need a friend or just want to be watched over he is always their for me.  I can count on him in places I couldn't count on any other being...including my soldiers, he will never judge me and knows me as me.  I don't have to act for him to be safe.

       So given that, please tell me about your companions?  Who are they?  What do they mean to you?

[Shang]

My current dog is a dachshund/JRT mix (as far as I can tell) who goes by the name of Harley Quinn (though I also call her 'Harley' for short at times).  She's named for the Joker's girlfriend and seems to be just like the character in personality.  She is 2 and a half years old (she'll be 3 in May).  I got her about 2 months into a job I had and it was on a whim.  My parents had been half-heartedly talking about getting another dog, so I went to the pound to look at them and I came away with my little puppy who was 7 weeks at the time.  My parents hadn't expected me to come back with a dog, but they let me keep her on the condition 'Harley' was in her name. 

I have a very strong attachment to her because I'm the one who raised her and paid for all of her vet bills and who she slept with at night.  She was the first big investment of my life and she is well worth every cent.  We have a really good bond and she listens to me (which is pretty funny because she won't listen to my parents--though they can make her howl XD) and she goes pretty much everywhere that I can take her.  I might rely on her more than she relies on me, at least emotionally.  Since I live alone, she's the closest thing to family that I have in Mississippi, and she helps me with my social anxiety and my depression  I'm hoping she lives quite awhile longer, and the breeds I think she is have a tendency to live at least 15 years so I'm looking forward to it.  I don't know what I'd do if she died anytime soon--she's pretty much my life right now.

I also am taking care of my dad's rabbit, who's named Gumdrop.  Gumdrop is just the sweetest rabbit alive and I love him to death.  Every time I groom him, he grooms me and it puts the goofiest smile on my face.

I also have 11 hermit crabs, but I only am able to identify 4 on sight right now so I'll just list the names of the hermit crabs I've had the last few months:  Viktor, Cedric, Harry, Fred, George, Ron, Fleur, Lupin, Tonks, Norbert, Anubis, and Horus.  There's one other name, but I can't remember it.  I love my hermit crabs and they're so much fun to watch because they can be so klutzy.

[V M]

I've loved all of my creature friends... There is nothing like the unconditional love of an animal 

If you decide to post pic.s, here's a good place 
https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,57825.0.html

You may also consider asking a MOD or Admin. to move this thread into the "pets and creatures" forum

[rite_of_inversion]

I have slightly too many animal companions...I'm good at rescuing, not so good at rehoming.  Need to work on that.  Cat head count up to 8. Latest dog's a purebred dog and housebroken-almost certainly dumped, we put up signs.
Housebroken, not network-cable broken.  I guess our LAN line was nummy.
He's a good guy, we'll find an adopter. Not so sure about the latest kitten.  But she was in the concrete median at the top of a big freeway bridge-I wasn't going to leave her there. She's nice too, but cats can reproduce like xerox machines that say "meow".

And I know I'm stuck with one cat my wife rescued from an apartment roof-left to die after he got himself stuck. He's lovey, beautiful, already neutered-and still sprays urine, marks things.
He stays outside, because he's all like   "Hi!  I LOVE you!!!!   Let me pee on your stuff!" if he even gets in for a minute.

Oop! time to crate up four dogs for the night and go to bed!

Anybody need a cat?

[V M]

I have an Iguana... I like it, but it's not really much on the companionship thing... Not the most cuddly of creatures

I've been thinking to get either a dog or cat... It would have to be small, house apt. trained, short hair and low maintenance

[LordKAT]

I have an Iguana... I like it, but it's not really much on the companionship thing... Not the most cuddly of creatures

I've been thinking to get either a dog or cat... It would have to be small, house apt. trained, short hair and low maintenance

meow?

[Ryno]

I grew up with cats. There was Mickey, a black, long-haired domestic cat with one white paw (my parents named him after Michael Jackson lol), and then my brother and I each got a kitten, Callie and Smokie. Callie's mine, she's a fat old Calico, she's 12 and really not doing so well. She's living with my dad for now since my current roommates party a lot and she's too old to handle that kind of thing.

Recently, while visiting a pet store -just to see- I came home with a Siamese kitten.

His name is Leo.

He's absolutely awesome. He sleeps on my chest. He plays tug-of-war, he leaps across the whole apartment in two or three bounds, and he licks my face.

My parents tried a dog when I was 6 but my dad couldn't stand him. He was a black lab, we got him from a farm, he was rambunctious and annoying (according to my dad) but I loved him. Some day I do want a dog, preferably a German shepherd dog or a yellow lab. But I don't have the space or the money to properly care for any kind of dog.

Animals are a necessity in my life. Even if I'm living with other people, a house can be lonely without a cat or dog.