Are pets/animals an important part of your life?

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Yes they are. We have owned many dogs and cats over the years. Currently have two small dogs. They give much love and laughter to us.
 
Important I don't know but ovner the yearswe have had animals. Now we have a new pup 2, cats and 2 horses. The Mare is preggo and hopefully she and the foal will survive the birth.
 
You bet! My dog lives a life of luxury. He's an excellent dog though. My fish get plenty to eat and their water changed regularly. Heck, even my 4 ghost shrimp have a tank to themselves with plenty of hiding spots and lots of food to eat. Living large for a shrimp. I killed way too many birds in my backyard needlessly as a kid and I have turned full circle. I dont like to see any animal suffer or be treated badly. Dont get me wrong, I wasnt the guy who went around kicking dogs or shooting cats, but I have much more respect for them now than I ever did as a young'n.
 
My daughter would be absolutely devastated if something happened to her cocker spaniel. He's territorial as h$ll....no one, I mean NO ONE gets into the house without letting us know. I'm talking grandma, neighbors, friends.... That's something I appreciate when she's home alone after school. He might not be the biggest, meanest, badda$$ dog around, but tell him that!!!!
 
Yes. We've had many dogs and a few cats and miscellaneous small living things when the kids were little. We have 2 dogs right now, an elderly mixed breed and a 7 yr old Oz cattle dog who happens to be the best dog I've ever shared life with. Smart, trains well and at 7 the puppy is out of him but he's full of life and energy. He runs 5-7 miles with me on my mtn bike on my days off. Can't imagine life without a dog.

Cooper.
 
Life has always seemed incomplete without them as part of the fabric of your life. I've had a couple over the years that were absolutely extraordinary, not that the others weren't great. As most fathers with daughters already know, when your daughter has picked a young man and she tells you he might be the one...all you have to do is watch how he treats his dog. And tell her that is exactly how he will treat you. Grandmotherly words of wisdom passed down many, many years ago. It's what I told my daughter to watch.
 
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Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Yes. We've had many dogs ... 7 yr old Oz cattle dog who happens to be the best dog I've ever shared life with. Smart, trains well and at 7 the puppy is out of him but he's full of life and energy. He runs 5-7 miles with me on my mtn bike on my days off. Can't imagine life without a dog.

Cooper.

That is one good looking dog - Looks like a Mad Max stunt dog
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Cool!
 
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I love animals owned by responsible pet owners who discipline their pets and clean up after them.

Unfortunately most pet owners I've met don't fall into this category. So then THEIR pet becomes YOUR problem at some point.

But you can't ever point it out because we have gotten to the point of calling them "fur babies" and telling someone that their pet needs to stop barking or jumping up on people is like you murdered their first child.
 
Yes, whether I like it or not. We have numerous horses, 3 dogs (will be down to 1 inside dog once we have puppies and get rid of them) and 5 barn cats.
 
I love dogs, but just can't imagine taking care of one right now or for the foreseeable future.
We have two cats and they fit into our lives well...it's nice that we can leave them alone for up to about three days and they will be fine when we get back and the house will also be intact. On a longer vacation, we find somebody to feed them and clean the boxes every other day. They are both completely indoor cats and don't bring us dead things as presents...except for the one time we had a mouse infestation I solved.
Our female is "my" cat and she doesn't really care for my wife and daughter...she has the classic cat personality and has no use for even me when she's not in the mood. Very smart cat who learned how to get above our ducts and explore when she was still a tiny kitten, but my wife tries to train her and the cat has zero interest in that. She eats enough to stay alive and that's about it, never has any extra weight on her.
The male cat is friendly with about everybody but not close with anybody...you pet him for 2-3 minutes and he's had enough. The female will fight for attention for half an hour or more straight when she's in the mood. The boy is not really smart and will put on weight if we don't watch him, but he is somewhat doglike in that he likes to do tricks for my wife and used to play fetch with me all the time...he still likes it when I toss things for him, but he's forgotten about the bringing them back part.
Not sure if we will get more cats as we didn't get these two trained quite right at the start and they damaged some of our best furniture...my wife doesn't want to replace the big pieces until they are gone, since they will still very occasionally damage things. So, we have lived with a ratty looking (but still very comfortable) sectional and some scratched up easy chairs for a long time...I'd guess we'll end up pet free in a few years. I suggested declawing (which is more like partial defingering) to the wife and she thinks it's too cruel...
 
This young man was given to me by my youngest daughter on Fathers Day two years ago as a pup, really didn't want a dog but he has grown on me and can't see not having him around, very loving and protective, he is my SHADOW
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Originally Posted By: Malo83
This young man was given to me by my youngest daughter on Fathers Day two years ago as a pup, really didn't want a dog but he has grown on me and can't see not having him around, very loving and protective, he is my SHADOW
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BEAUTIFUL
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Our last pair of cats was a mixed bag. They were neutered and allowed out, they weren't interested in the wild life. As they aged, the male became neurotic, then incontinent, then blind over 15 yrs.It took awhile to realize Max was blind. Cleo the female, was a former Egyptian princess who wondered what she had done to deserve such second rate humans as us. She was 4 1/2 pounds of hauteur, irascibility, armed with lightning fast razors for claws. All you needed to do was watch her tail. If she started switching her tail, back off. She lived for 21 yrs, developing cancer of the nose toward the end. She slept with me,at first, she resisted the claustrophobia of being underneath covers. She preferred perching on my chest for better control of her heat source. Frailty,forced her to accept the confinement. It was hard to put her down. She coped with her cancer well. I couldn't bear to look at her. When the vet did the deed , she was scratched for the shot. It took a lethal dose for a 20 lb cat to stop her heart. The cold snap, brought a little grey cat into the yard. I haven't seen it myself, just tracks. I asked my son to pick up a few cans of cat food. The cat is pretty darn tough to endure our latest cold snap. The house could use a mouser. We'll see what happens. Hope-a- hope
 
I love animals, dogs.. love Czech raised German Shepherds and those OZ Cattle dogs, ie Australian Shepherds.. and I recently got rid of my two cats as I just had a kid and no time or energy left for the cats, found them a good home. Love pets but I am now done with them while I raise and focus on humans.. I guess I cant be bothered to have the responsibility and challenges with pets ruining my furniture or making a mess.
 
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