do you have a pampered pet?

[miclason]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Fiona (aka the Blonde) is not what I consider a pampered pet...she gets 1 bath a week, food and water everyday, a cushion to sleep on (after she destroyed her bed....and after she got tired of sleeping on the couch!)...gets plenty of hugs from Sunday through Tuesday...although these diminish a bit by Wednesday, when she's no longer as clean...she has 1 ball (tennis ball retrieved from the garden)...of course, she gets to "play" with all of Ale's toys, too! LOL!...she's not really expensive to keep...I buy a 4lb bag of food once a week (~$3)....and for special occasions we buy her a bag of treats (birthday and Xmas! lol! the kids always want Fi to have something special for these days!)...also if she's been a super good doggie (not often!)...She has a sweater, which we bought for her when she broke her rib and the cold at night was increasing the pain...Her luxuries really are belly rubs and her flea collar!...the largest Fiona-related expenses have been her shots...a total of $30/year...
In exchange, we get: acrobatics shows (she jumps like a gazelle!), company if we are sick (she won't move from your bedside if you're sick, unless it's to go to the garden to go potty!)...a playmate for Ale....a protector for our home ...someone that ALWAYS seems happy to see you...entertainment (she's crazy, but very intelligent, and the stuff she does makes for good conversation)

[Fern]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

For most of my life i didn't want children.

I have a tabby named Sitka who is spoiled, not in terms of diet, but in how much love and attention she gets. It was a big problem when my SO came up for the weekend, altho he was antagonistic toward her as well. Things seem a bit better as of late.

She also has a number of habits i know most people couldn't tolerate, but i couldn't give her up now. I have to keep my two upstairs bathroom sinks filled with water at all times or she'll pee and poop there. She is also fascinated with the tub and likes to play or poop there. My theory is that as a kitten she was kept confined in someone's bathroom. (I got her at a shelter.)

Aside from that, she is a very intelligent cat, very vocal (often a problem) and extremely affectionate.

[Ima saver]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

I have an outside dog named Lucy that I found freezing in a barn, 14 years ago. She has never been sick, never been to the vet (except to get spayed). she cost me nothing but the price of her dog food. She is good protection for the house and certainly earns her keep. I feel very sorry for anyone who does not have a pet, but I have come to realize that some people just do not have the same feelings for dogs that I do.

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Pampered pet! He has his own chair in the living room. At dinner time he gets what we eat. He is showered with attention. He has half the yard fenced for a run. He gets better health care than I do, He gets groomed every 4 months.

My DW and DD love him though. Truth be told I do too. He is like a two year old. You just can't stay angry when he does something stupid.

[tgavin71]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Neo and JosieJo are our pet budgies (Parakeets). They cost us $15 each. $50 for a huge cage. Probably have spent about $10-$15 on toys and food since we got them in January. They come out of the cage and fly or walk around the house. The cage is in the dining room so they can be where the action is. We get woken up by bird chatter every morning and it is wonderful.
Once a week we take the cage outside to hose it out. They love getting wet and drying offf in the sun.
They are the best pets.

[boefixepa]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Hum....does my advator give me away!!! My 'budget' for my fur kids is close to $200.00 a month and has to be cheeper than all the mental health visits I would need without them. Being single they are my family, my 'fur kids.' Three Alaskan Malamutes - two grays - females - fixed - and one Male - red- fixed. They total about 250 lbs and I don't know what I would do without them. They are all very well trained and I could brag about them for hours, but I don't think you want to hear it. They provide me with so much it's more than worth the money. They all pull and there's nothing like ridding behind them on the rollerblades or skiis. One day I want to breed, but I want to do it right and just am not in the position to do that now. I need more land....someday.

I also have a blue point siamese cat who lives 'upstairs' away from the dogs. She's my bedfellow and all around cat pal. She came before the dogs and I was a little disapointed that they dogs/cats (only have one now) counldn't find a happy medium. But the cat just goes upstairs anytime the dogs come in...oh well.

Their Names
The one you can see up by my name is Jeito

Cheio de Jeito - Call name - Jeito - Meaning = Full of talent

She is the Alpha of the pack and the smallest at about 65 lbs. So full of Malamute attitude she could lead a team without a problem. She loves to lead, loves to pull...she is an alaskan malamute to the core! Has competed in obediance trails and does very well!

Caixa de Amor - Call name - Caixa - Meaning = Box of love

She is similar in apperance to Jeito, just bigger all aroung at about 90lbs. Stands just shorter than table height at the back. Most loveable dog there is and happy to be a couch potato. She's great with kids just rolls over and let's them do whatever. Very nice because many kids (and adults) are put off by their size. But on her back she's not as intimidating.

Fogo de Meu Corazao - Call name - Fogo - Meaning = Fire of my heart

He is my rescue and I found him in the back of a pick up truck on the way to the pound. He is also my problem child. Since I did not raise him, (he was avout 18 months when I rescued him) I also had to adopt some of his 'issues' and was never able to rehome him. I just couldn't do it, thus his name...the ding bat worked his way into my heart! He's considerable more hyper than the girls. Taller standing table height at the shoulder and about 90 lbs. He can put his hands (paws) on my shoulders and look me in the eye and I'm 5'8". He is a beauty. He's fire red and everyone does a double take. He's a great puller too!! His first weight pull no training he pulled 1200 lbs!! (2k is really good record is about 3.6K) Caution, he jumps!


Allergy suffers will want to aviod my house. It does NOT smell...that's my rule. All my animals are house trained. If you can walk into my house and smell animals something is wrong!

The dogs are outside most of the time. In the evenings when I am home they are in the house. Sometimes (when it's cooler in the house than outside) they sleep indoors in kennels in my room, but generally they sleep outside because I can't stand the panting when I still have down comforter on my bed! I tend to bring the dogs in more in the summer, because they arn't made for high temps and I worry. But in the winter they don't want to come in!!!! And they look at me like..."jeese mom, leave the door open." Sorry I draw the line at 50 degrees! It's never been too cold for them here (Utah) and I doubt it ever will be!

[stngymama]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Well -surprise- we have a Basset Hound. We also have a Beagle and 3 cats. At our peak we had 3 dogs, 5 cats, 4 rabbits, and 2 chickens. The Basset has had more problems than all our other pets combined. He's eaten poisonous mushrooms, books, socks, and a rock which had to be surgically removed. He's suffered from Megaesophagus which is an awful disease, and has smelly nasty skin much of the time..
He's also adorable and smart as a whip.
Wouldn't get them again, but the dogs belong to our kids (gifts from my parents), so we're stuck. They're not particularly pampered--we give them their baths, manicures, buy food online- few treats, and am planning in the future on giving immunizations ourselves. The cats pretty much take care of themselves.

[baselle]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

I have a 19 yr old fixed tomcat, Augie, that I adore. Black and white; tuxedo markings. He's slowing way down and sleeping beside me as I type. He let him do whatever he wants at this stage

He has a more interesting personality than either myself or DH. I got him as a teenaged kitten from a friend who "rescued" him from a tree on frat row at the University of Washington. "Rescued" because he was always an aerial cat and really knew how to handle himself in a tree - we figured he was fishing for new owners.

He was an indoor/outdoor cat, now he only very rarely goes outside. He was quite a hunter - we had to restrict his diet for most of his life - and so he hunted and ate baby birds and baby rabbits and rodents of all kinds. I was a bit surprised at this; toms are known as lovers not hunters. He's had a lot of adventures that, of course, he didn't tell us about. A vet felt a lump his side, X-rayed it and found a BB. We had no idea

So I guess I don't have a pampered pet.

[frugalfarmwife]

Re: do you have a pampered pet?

Our animals are our life and a part of our income also, the dogs are all pets/rodent control, protection for the farm, 4 rat terriers and a bloodhound in the house, a pitt/lab cross in the barn. One house cat that keeps the mouse population down (it's a FARM and an old FARM HOUSE, mice happen).

We usually have between 5-10 head of cattle, right now two brood cows and 6 beef steers, ours are raised with no hormones or antibiotics so we KNOW what we're eating.

The turkeys are free range and help keep the bugs down on the farm, oh and they're a constant source of amusement, Timothy always gobbles on command. They will also be dinner.

The horses are my job and lifelong passion, I raise miniature horses and strive for top quality show animals but loving personalities are just as important, they come first and foremost and basically ARE my kids.

I've never been one for kids, animals don't talk back and don't ask why, they stay where I put them and they don't throw you in jail for fencing them in!

Animals are the best judge of character, give unconditional love, are worth a lifetime of therapy and don't judge you.

kj