Animals are blessings

For those of us who have pets, we really don't realise at times how much of a blessing and a joy they are. One of our piggies, Gizmo, has discovered a liking for a cup of tea! So now theres no peace where thats concerned!

[Hidden]

Quality, one of our cats has developed a like for hob nobs !

We knew that she liked pizza but hob nobs.....

[Keana in reply to Hidden]

My cat goes quite mad for hobnobs, she will jump up to get hold of them and try to eat them out of my mouth. What is in them that attracts cats?

[Hidden]

My cat Skittles refuses to drink out of his bowl every time you go to the loo he is meowing outside the door to get in and you have to turn the tap on in the sink for him to get a drink lol xx

[Hidden]

Oh yes, animals are a blessing, Lottie is my therapist, and I am sure that without her I would be ""disabled,"" she makes life so special. Max my previous Daxie used to drink tea out of a mug, so if you wanted to finish a cuppa, keeping it out of Max's reach was essential.

All animals mean something to their owners, but I knew Max was special the day he behaved in a way that I didn't know was in him.

Walking across the cathedral green in Hereford we were approached by a young mum with two very active toddlers on foot and an older child in a buggy. Max being a very agreeable chap joined in with the antics of the toddlers for several minutes, and then seeing how Max behaved with children the young mum asked if her older child who was in the buggy might play with him. I said of course, the young lad got out of his buggy and just sat down on the ground, Max just left the toddlers and went straight up to this lad and snuggled up to him without any input from any of us. It was then explained to me by the young mum that her older son was deaf and mute. After then I began to notice that Max always picked up on those less fortunate for one reason or another. I don't know where he got this wonder trait from, after being neglected for 9 years and being in poor health himself I would have expected different from him. But he was wonderful dog, who though has been gone from my side for 4 years now, we all still miss very much in this household.

[Hidden]

There is something very special about them. My Patch is a saviour, when I am bad, he will wheek at us to make sure we get me on the right medicines. His old cage-mate was the same and would sit on the side of my chest that an infection had set in, he found one of my pneumonias and refused to let anyone pick him up. I felt so bad when he was PTS as he was very special and we do miss him greatly.

When I was a kid and I grew up in an abusive household, we had a dog called Judy and she protected us from my dad who was a very angry man and had a lot of issues. She was always there when I was sick and I still say the day we lost her was the day my childhood ended.

[Hidden]

I have got so fed up of hearing doctors tell me to get rid of my cat as they believe I am allergic to her. They will not get it that my cat is not one of mine or my son's triggers she is in fact our theripist. We did get rid her years ago and both mine and my son's asthma went right down hill and once we got her back within a month the difference was amazinly better. And my cat is also my children's guard at night as she sleeps outside there bedroom door and when 1 of the children is having health issues in the night she comes and wakes me and takes me to the child that needs me.

All animals are a blessing and the NHS really need to start paying more attention to what patients are saying about the way they have found having animal theraphy is helping them.

[Hidden]

Scrat my hamster drinks milk, water & cranberry.

He happily sits in my pocket or on my lap at night when i watch telly.

He waits patiently for a bit of apple, or a bit of banana (his fave)

He just cheers me up.

Even though he is guilty of chewing a hole in one of my shirts, he also destroyed a sky remote by nibbling the buttons. He didnt eat them, just chewed them up

[Annista]

You are all so lucky to have your pets. I still miss my sheepdog after many years. Both my children learnt to walk by grabbing a bit of dog and holding on while she carefully kept them up on their feet. She herded them away from traffic, protected them from bullies and was always there when anyone was unhappy or unwell. After she died aged 17 I couldn't afford to take on another dog (2 children + ex husband who didn't think he needed to contribute to their upkeep) and now that they've left home I don't think it's fair to have a dog that gets left alone all day while I'm out at work. I can't wait until I retire (at 66 now, but who knows what the boy Cameron will come up with next) and get a dog.

[Hidden]

I completely agree and I wouldn't be without my 3 cats, I'm not afraid to admit that I am a bit of a crazy cat lady and they're my little furbabies (it's a good Job my fiance likes cats lol). When my lungs are particularly grumpy, Helix seems to pick up on it and becomes my second shadow and refuses to let me out of his sight. Merlin loves his cuddles which always helps cheer me up when I'm feelineg sorry for myself, and Harvey is so playful and kittenish (despite being fully grown) he always manages to bring a smile to my face. Also there are few things more amusing than opening a tin of tuna in our house, cats from all directions skidding round corners on the laminate floor, lol.

I'm very fortunate in that my GP told me she wouldn't ask me to get rid of my cats, saying that she's allergic to her dogs but would never get rid of them. We don't think the cats are the problem anyway (still wating on the allergy test results though) but it's good to know that she understands how much pets enrich our lives, I just hope that the consultant I see in March shares the opinion too. When I lived in student accomodation and was not allowed pets, it really felt like something was missing!

[Hidden]

A video of Gizmo drinking my tea! This made me laugh so much!

youtube.com/watch?v=Cuo5bOJ...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

soooooooooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^

[Hidden]

That's so cute. Our biggest cat, Claude, likes a cup of tea.

[Hidden]

I love my jack russell

I have a two year old jack russell, who is fantastic. she is so clever. I was fed up of shutting the door every time the cat came in....so I taught my dog to shut the door. Im now in the process of teaching her to find my puffer. I thought this would be handy if I missplace it in the house or leave it by my bed. I am looking for suggestions for what else i could teach her

[Hidden]

Gizmo - Aged 17. Pure white domestic short hair cat. Sheds fur like there's no tomorrow but never looks any thinner. Just as sprightly as ever. Still does a straight up leap to high shelves despite arthritis in her knees. Daily tablets for kidney function and for arthritis. Has heart murmur.

Today, three month check up. Blood tests came back good. Kidney function excellent for her age. Wish I'd half her energy.

[Hidden]

Scrat

Hello,

My poor hamster Scrat died on wednesday 2nd of march.

He wasnt in any pain, he was just old.

He was 2yrs 8mnths.

I was holding him, i knew we were losing him, but my wife & i took it in turns nursing him.

We made sure he was comfy & regularly put a drop of water on his mouth with our finger. He kept licking, so we made sure he wasnt thirsty.

His little heart stopped whilst i nursed him.

We are still sad he has gone.

We both shed a tear when he went.

Howie

[Annista]

Howie. I'm so sorry to hear about Scrat and I know you'll miss him so much. It's amazing how these little furballs burrow into your heart and leave you bereft when they go.

xx

[Hidden]

when my sons were little their hamster died and we put it in a box and buried it,

and said a prayer for him and put a cross on the grave

The next day day we dug it up and put it in the bin as didnt want cats dig it up etc.

The boys didnt know till they both were grown and heard us tell a friend .oops!!!

[Hidden]

My dog is the best thing about living at home. Every night she sleeps on my floor, and if I'm not well in the middle of the night starts barking and wakes mum up and gets onto my bed beside me and sits there and barks until mum comes. When she had her puppies, we used to set them on a blanket beside the fire. Dolly used to drag the blanket up onto the sofa and then carry the puppies up even though she knew she wasn't allowed on the sofa. She really is a life saver, and Pets are better than any anti-depressant you can take in my opinion.

img220.imageshack.us/i/p103...

*Edited for link mistake*

[Annista]

What a little sweetie Dolly is. I no longer have any pets because of the hours I work, so can you give her a bit of fuss on my behalf, please, because I really miss having a dog around.

xx