I could use a pet story or two......

[WILCO]

Miss having furkids around the place.

[farmbif]

well here's one. I have never yet been able to teach the dog I adapted several years ago any new tricks. he chews up everything and chases anything that moves and if loose that includes neighbors yardbirds. but he is well cared for and has become somewhat friendly to the outdoor cats we keep. letting them grab pieces of food and water out of his bowls. predators are everywhere. and we have lost 8 kittens and 3 full grown cats to these predators since may. something very stealthy grabbed a cat mid morning two days ago. whatever it was is so stealthy Rufus didn't even bark and he was about 75 feet away but there is underbrush in between. by the time I hobbled on my injured foot around to the side of the house where I heard the cat howl whatever grabbed it was long gone. but now I know that whatever it is, coyote or fox probably is traveling along the creek bed out front.
I gave Rufus nice treat yesterday in his food bowl was his regular kibble soaked in bacon grease with steak scraps on top. he was appreciative of a bunch of petting and attention.
last night right after dark he started growling and barking like crazy alerting me and the cats. I went out to investigate the cats were all high up in trees and a slight rustle in the creek bed. I took a couple pot shots down into the creek. and then all was silent all night long.
Rufus is a fantastic guard and alert dog even though he has to live tied up most of the time.

[HWooldridge]

We had a multigenerational family of dachshunds who were exceedingly bright and constantly did things that amazed us. The grandmother of the group, named Rhea, was a 20 lb red sable. She had a variety of barks, all of which meant something different. One day, I heard an odd bark - it was loud but paused tempo, so it was WOOF!, then about 5 seconds and another WOOF!

We didn’t have a fence at that time so I had to find her first - she had cornered a rattlesnake against one of the barns. She had enough instinct to stay out of reach, but when he tried to leave, she would step in and make the snake coil again. I killed him with an axe and praised her extensively.

Rhea and her daughter Cricket could both lead me to things they had found. I would hear them barking and come outside - one or both would run up to me and I would say, “Show me”. They would turn and head off at whatever pace I set - if I walked, they did the same. If I trotted, they would run in front of me. They often did this when something was treed, like a coon or possum. We have a big oak in the yard so lots of things climbed that tree when the dogs took off.

We had several generations from that line of dogs but eventually missed some litters and that was the end of it - but every dog that came from Rhea was very intelligent. I miss her every day - she died of old age about 20 years ago.

[MaryB]

When I went to look at black lab mix puppies Misty wandered out of the pile hiding behind mom, walked over to me, peed on my boot then sat on it. She picked me!

She turned out to be the smartest dog I ever owned, knew well over 200 words, a dozen hand signals(some complex like go forward then right or left...) and a bunch of whistle commands.

Teaching her steady by putting a cube of cheddar on her nose then leaving the room... a friend drove up right after I did it and we went to look at something. Came back a couple hours later and Misty was still sitting with the cheese on her nose and a puddle of drool on the floor! She got more treats that night, some steak and bacon!

She was a bed hog too! When sleeping she would push on me with her feet until I fell off the bed then I would kick her off the bed, she would sneak back on, rinse, repeat LOL

[fixit]

My sister in law had a black and grey tabby, male, who was a character, as some cats are known to be. Romeo was his name, and he lived up to it. Well, Romeo had discovered a high perch on top of one of the knick knack spots, about 8 feet up. One day, as he was lounging, sleeping in this spot, he does one of those stretches that only cats can do, and stretches himself over the edge. My s-i-l just happened to be looking that way, and her story of the event had us laughing for the better part of ten minutes! He was uninjured, but it would probably be correct to say that it was a while before he regained his feline dignity!

[Martin Luber]

Our GWP was on one of her first bird hunts. Wifes rule was dont come home without the dog…. She flushed a pheasant and it treed. She was busy underneath while we watched to see if we could see it or wait for it to flush. Nothing but now the dog is gone. Visibility 50+ yards in any direction, no dog. Call her, whistle ( for which her recall had been 100%), tap the ecollar alert, no dog. Throw a jacket on the ground and search the only low visibility area, no dog. Wait at the tree. Dog comes up with a bird in mouth. She went down the hill across the road and into a thicket to run down, kill, and retrieve it. Stunned here. What a dog! Rip my girl

[Daver7]

Years ago a group of us were pheasant hunting. I was on the end of the line, Ralph, my buddies bird dog, went on point and flushed a bird I shot twice and missed. Ralph looked over its shoulder at me I swear he gave me the stink eye. Rest of the day Ralph didn’t bother working in front of me. Next day I was up early fixing breakfast. Offered Ralph some bacon and eggs he sniffed at it refused to eat it. A little later he was munching on cow pies. My buddies spent the rest of the hunt telling me how smart Ralph was.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Like Mr. Wooldridge, at one point in life (about 20 years ago now) I had dachshunds. Five, to be exact. Long story there. My first, and favorite was a male, imaginatively named Weiner. He was an amazing dog and easily worth two pages of type, but the story that immediately comes to mind was that he was always realistic about his size when around larger dogs. He hurt his back, like they are prone to do, and the vet gave us a back brace for him which was sort of a stiff nylon sleeve around his body, and gave him a steroid shot and some steroid pills. After a couple of days you could see him grow in confidence and size in his imagination. Then one morning he disappeared and was gone all day until late afternoon. Here he finally came, strutting down the lane with a huge male Rottweilers, one on either side, proudly walking between them. You could tell that they had become buddies, and that he considered himself fully their equal. The Rottweilers belonged to the neighbor across the road. They weren't overly friendly, but not aggressive either. You could tell that they were all hungry, and that Weiner had brought them home for dinner. So I gave them all a bowl of dry dog food, and after they finished up the two guests departed and the dachshund seemed quite pleased and satisfied with himself.
The big dogs never came back, and as far as I know Weiner never crossed the road again. Of course, the possibility exists that actually he went over there and made a nuisance of himself, and they marched him back to his own territory. I'll never know for sure, but I think since he'd grown so large in his own estimation that he just made friends and invited them over for dinner.

DG

[starbits]

I had a friend that had a young Rottweiler who loved to play, not a mean bone in his body. The back door was glass down to 6 inches from the floor and had blinds on it that covered the glass. The dog found that if he ran into the door full tilt the blinds would bounce out and he could get under the blinds and see out. One day my friend was in his shed and saw the UPS man deliver a package to his porch. He rang the door bell. The dog came to see who rang the door bell and in his best Rottweiler voice shouted "a new friend, lets play." The UPS man took 2 steps backward on a porch that was only 1 1/2 steps wide, then crab crawled on his back for another 5 feet before rolling over and sprinting to the truck. My friend had trouble getting UPS deliveries after that.

[Hick]

So, we know tomcats have a reputation for 'catting around' at night, but its not all fun and games: Here's one of ours after a night out:

[Handloader109]

We raised dachshunds our first 20 years or so of marriage. Wife loved them. The black and tan mom was pretty bad when young. Would nip anyone she could that she didn't know well. Slip up behind and ankle bite.
My dad and our resident farm hand who helped dad do most everything had come to our trailer soon after we moved into it. I was at work. My dad told JC to watch out for the dog as she would bite. He said yes sir, she just did.
And she jumped up and ripped my SILs designer jeans hip pocket way back. Sil wasn't happy at all
We haven't had a dachshund in about 5 or 6 years, but as our last terror is 16 plus and probably won't make 17, my wife found her another one. He's a real lapdog. Mini dappled....

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[contender1]

We fully understand the feelings about missing furkids.

We've had many over the years,, and while most have been cats,, we've also had our share of dogs.

But it's the cats that steal the show, & especially our hearts.

My wife & I have been together for a bit over 31 years now. I had a couple of cats when we got together. After a few years,, I lost one at the age of 14. She passed on a wednesday. On friday,, our neighbor kids were playing with a kitten. As I watched them,, I noticed how good natured the cat was. That asked me if the cat was mine,,, as they had found it. I allowed it wasn't but surely someone was missing their special kitty & to try & find it's owner. A few hours later,, they came to me, asking if I wanted it. Apparently, they couldn't keep it, and they were about to go to dinner with the family. They said; "We know you lost your Jezza-belle, and thought you might want this cat." I sat down outside with a bowl of food. It ate,, then climbed into my lap, preening & loving.
Well, we don't allow any of our cats to go outside due to cars & coyotes.
I took her inside,, thinking she was maybe 3 months old. A trip to the vet that week and she was given a clean bill of health, and a few shots.
Five weeks to the day after she arrived,, I was out of town, and she began crying, and wouldn't get out of my wife's lap. My wife made a few calls to the vet, and after it was all said & done,, apparently, she was (a) older than 3 months, (apparently part Munchkin cat,) (b) came to us pregnant, (c) was having a single kitten, directly in my wife's lap.
That Tom was her only kitten, and she had a hard time giving birth. My wife was it's second mother. He became my wife VERY special baby. He was truly her cat. His cat momma lived to almost 12 with us.
That Tom lived with us for 17 years. As he aged,, and we knew his time was approaching,, one of our other cats totally had a personality change. She suddenly became very close to my wife and the tom. His last night,, he had gotten off the bed,, and when he tried to return,, I had to help him up. He went to my wife,, and snuggled down into her arm. He passed in her arms. Sebastian was truly a very good cat,, and love my wife.
The other cat took over being my wife's cat. Miss Patches was older,, but she was super sweet. I told my wife that; "Sebastian told her he was going away,, and to take care of Momma." She did.
We lost Miss Patches 2 years ago late July.

A few months later,, my wife announced that we had to talk.

She said she'd mentioned getting another cat that was "hers" a few times, without a single word out of me. She said; "I want another cat, why haven't you said a single word?" I allowed that in the past,, God had chose to send us cats to be cared for, and they have been special gifts. I said that God would send us one when it was time. Well, she said she'd found a kitten on a shelter site,, and wanted him.
On her birthday, late Sept, we brought home her newest fur baby. Apparently he's part Maine Coon,, as he's a good sized cat now. And he stole her heart with just his "look" in the picture on the website. He'd been born just a week prior to the passing of our Miss Patches. He has a super sweet personality, is a ton of fun the way he plays & loves us.

I tell my wife that God prepared him for her,, by his birth being so close to the loss of Miss Patches. God allowed her time to grieve,, and put her to "looking" for him. We named him "Munchkin," to honor our other little cat that gave my wife her best gift.

Now,, we do have other cats here,,, Sasha, Ruger-Girl, and Cleopatra. All are special, and all are well cared for. But what they give back is 100 times more than what we give them. They help make this place a comfortable home.

[wch]

Thanks to all, great stories!

[firefly1957]

Someone is dumping cats in this area they have about devastated my rabbit population I am still seeing grouse in the yard but the cats are after them as well .
Coyotes are low in numbers at this time or the cats would be eaten themselves .

[Big Tom]

We got three of these (Great Pyrenees), ranging from 120 lbs to about 160 lbs - they cannot listen, only do "sit" for a treat, bark all the time at nothing... but they love to cuddle and are very protective of the family, including our cats. As you can see, they also make great chefs! This one is in the process of testing the chicken tenders that I just brought home for lunch... and even so getting caught in the act - ZERO regrets, more like "what do you want?" attitude.

[Half Dog]

Our dog passed a few months ago. I do not miss the messes (fur piles in the house), repairing what he destroyed, or chasing him when he got out of the fence. But I am warming up to wanting another.

[frkelly74]

Here's Rocky,

He's 3 now and still a puppy. All he wants in the world is to be near his people. If we sit on the couch he will get his rubber chicken and come get between us to chew on it. He will attack my feet if I am not wearing shoes and if he bites too hard and I yell he goes to hide behind mamas chair and will come back when he thinks it's safe, to apologize . No one can walk down the sidewalk without us knowing it, even across the street. He loves it when our kids come to visit, although our son in law does not especially like his ears licked. The other day Mama put some medicine in his food and he carefully sorted out the pieces that had medicine on them and arranged them beside his bowl on the floor. He is pretty good entertainment, cheaper than kids.

[MrWolf]

We got three of these (Great Pyrenees), ranging from 120 lbs to about 160 lbs - they cannot listen, only do "sit" for a treat, bark all the time at nothing... but they love to cuddle and are very protective of the family, including our cats. As you can see, they also make great chefs! This one is in the process of testing the chicken tenders that I just brought home for lunch... and even so getting caught in the act - ZERO regrets, more like "what do you want?" attitude.

Very nteresting and greatdogs. My Great Pyreneesin my avatar, is my best friend. Got him within 6 months of moving out here due to divorce. I kept reading how hard they were to train, etc. Mine would fetch his ball MOST of the time (notoriously independent) and will sit and lay down basically on command. We did have some trying times over who was alpha though. I was lucky in the regard that just us two were together for 24/7 and learned from each other. He now has a brother and Mother who he just loves. Ruger loves doing a "Timberrr" on me (have to make the sound of a falling tree) and will just plob on my side and push his face on my pillow. I spend a lot of time on the floor due to my back. He still thinks he is a lap dog at 175 lbs. He is a big baby but I had one time he didn't know it was me on the other side of the fence. I have never seen an animal that big move so fast. He is 6 now and his bother is 5. When I met my gf, one of my requirements was they had to have a dog. Around here it is always Christmas with snowdrifts of Ruger's fur. My truck has drool marks below the back windows. I could go on and on but he is the best and smartest dog I have ever had. I will be crying like a baby when it is his time.
Ron

[Good Cheer]

May Bell is my buddy. May of 2011 she was a starving little fluffy handful rescued in Bell County, Texas hence the name.

Cooler weather is setting in. So as usual for this time of year May Bell comes and finds me at 1030 in the morning, where ever I am and patiently leads me to the bedroom to tuck her in. It matters to her so OK.

[fixit]

I love Maine coons! They are smart, big, and full of personality! Add to that, they have a style all their own.