Compassionate Pets!

[HerThing]

We have a lovely, though daft, yellow lab called Amos. He is absolutely bonkers, bounds about whenever the grandkids come, lets them tow him all over the place, then prowls hungrily for anything tasty they might drop. The thing is while he is daft, he isn't stupid. He knows when something is not right. If Angie is feeling unwell he simply won't leave her alone and wants to cuddle up to her, constantly checking on her to satisfy himself that all is well. I only need to cough and no matter where he is, he finds me just to make sure I am okay. It is rather funny sometimes. He really does show genuine compassion, more so I think than many people. Does anyone else notice this quality in their pets?

[Hidden]

I know what you mean, animals are great at least they dont answer you back..We had a goldern retriever they must have the same temperament as the Labs, very caring dogs especially when you are ill. Unfortunately he is no longer with us but I do have a stuffed one which keeps unwanted visitors away.!!

Hope you are all have a good day.

Regards Barbara

[Hidden]

Hi Andy,

I don't have a pet, because I can't stand it when they die (call me daft) but my sister had a dog called Reg and he was lovely, he loved oranges which apparently is unusual with dogs and when I was staying with her, we would peel an orange and take a pong time to give some to Reg... he would sit patiently waiting and the saliva coming out of his mouth was like a river.. Sooo funny... I loved Reg when my sister's husband had cancer Reg wouldn't leave him alone and funny enough he was the same with me when I visited and I still wonder whether he knew I had cancer. Love x G x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Not a pong time haha although oranges do smell strong I meant LONG (my iPad thought pong maybe it has got a brain ? ) LOL

[Whippit in reply to Hidden]

ha ha - I couldn't fathom what the word should have been Gwyn. Monty is always doing dog 'pongs'. lol. xxx

[LouiseOvacome My Ovacome Team in reply to Hidden]

They certainly do know Gwyn, and there are a few studies in the USA looking at detection dogs diagnosing ovarian cancer. Also those interested can look at the charity "Medical Detection Dogs" who we have met a few times.

upenn.edu/pennnews/current/...

(I could also tell a funny story of my friends cat diagnosing her second pregnancy but that's another story...) All I know is I wouldn't ever be without my darling Toller who just seems to know when I need a 'hug'.

[Hidden in reply to LouiseOvacome]

Hi Louise,

Funny enough my sister in law (Tony's Sister) had a sore on her leg and her cat wouldn't leave it alone, so she went to see about it, it turned out to be cancerous, she's since had it removed and now the cat leaves her leg alone. Love x G x

[Whippit]

What a lovely blog for us all to share our pet stories. I confess to being a dog-lover and there have been very few I haven't taken to. I've had a dog all my life and quite a number of cats. My border collie, Monty, is a throughly excitable character and loves nothing more than engaging a human in one of his noisy doggy yawn conversations.

He's also very sensitive to how his owners feel and generally finds his way to lie at my feet. It's a funny thing with dogs. My family tell me he runs to the front door and sits there 10 minutes or more before I arrive at the house. This means he must sense I'm within a few miles of home. I don't come in at a regular time any day so it's not just that he's in a time routine. It's his sixth sense.

I often wonder what other 'senses' dogs have. I'll be fascinated to read all the posts.

x Annie

[Hidden]

Hi Andy, I don't have a pet since my gorgeous 8 year old Angora rabbit died who was called Roley. So I have an imaginary one now called Queenie, hence the profile picture.

She looks a bit of a tyrant don't you think lol. Gill xxx

[HerThing in reply to Hidden]

Haha! That is so funny Gill, that is certainly one cat with attitude. I don't think cats are quite as good as dogs when it comes to the compassion. Sure your imaginary Queenie and all cats will always come sidling up for a bit of attention, but Amos really does show he cares. Funny things animals aren't they.

[Hidden in reply to HerThing]

You are so right Andy, we have quite a few cats round here and they are always trying to take control of the territory. The dogs hardly ever bark but the pet cockerel across the road, now that's another story lol xx

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Wow I couldn't tell it was a cat, I wasn't sure what it was, I thought it was scary the sort of pic that old give you nightmares, not the cat that got the cream LOL love x G x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi Gwyn, hope you are keeping well. Actually the picture was pretty scary but not so much now it's well and truly cropped. Knowing me, now I have discovered how to put a picture on, next week it could be something different. All these funny comments have me laughing so much that now I'm full of positive endorphins. Gill xx

[Hidden]

Hi Andy,

I think compassionate pets is a very apt description, when I was last at the hospital this lady came in with a dog (it was called a touch dog) so patients could pat her, funny thing is she ignored the carers and went straight to the patient, I was shocked to see this, in the five years I have been going to the hospital I didn't know they had a caring pet to come in, I would have thought they ouldn't be afraid of germs (for the patient it for the dog) Tony looked horrified when she made a beeline for me and completely ignored Tony, he always tries to protect me from coughing people and etc and there was this dog wagging her tail at me haha (nice though) love x G x

[Madz]

Just to put your mind at rest Gwyn the pat dogs get washed in hibiscrub before they come in so are probably cleaner than most people!

I love dogs and cats and although I have a cat now I agree that dogs appear more in tune. When my mother fell their Labrador went to my sister and kept waking her up, it was 4am in the morning. When she followed her downstairs the lab ran into my mums room and held her paw over my mum as if to say look here! Mum was ok but couldn't get up on her own, cx

[Hidden in reply to Madz]

Hi Amanda,

That's a lovely true story, interesting what you say about pat dogs, I didn't know that... but I suppose it is obvious that they would be clean...and a lovely idea ...all that time and I had never seen one before...they bring a lot of joy. Love x G x

[HerThing in reply to Hidden]

Pat dogs ladies? What about the cancer detectors. I forget where I saw it but there are dogs out there that use their super sniff not only to determine cancer but to tell one cancer from another! An Onc pooch! wow! lol

[Hidden]

Do NOT get me started! As many of you know I have a slightly bonkers home that's fairly full of fur, inside and out. A seriously dumb but gorgeous golden lab called Emmy is generally bullied by the fur balls, two of which are v large posh cats and the others are lovely moggies. When I was ill I found myself constantly covered in cat - one was a kitten which my husband bought to cheer me up, but all of them tended to stay close to me. Now they are back to their old wandering ways - except for my cancer kitten who is still very huggy! And at night, of course, when lots of hot furry bed mates aren't that welcome and, therefore, always turn up...

Love

Sue xxx