I’m shooting for pictures of animals that were adopted because of what people here have said in the comments or on the front page. I’ve read a number of you say that Lily and Tunch and other people’s pets have inspired you to get a dog or cat for yourself, now I’d like to see the pictures and a link to your respective pet adoption agency. That way I can show a picture of your pet and direct people in your area to a reliable place to adopt pets.
I just know that my quality of life would never, ever, be the same without these two. Between Tunch lying on my chest every morning purring, waking me up for breakfast, and Lily getting so excited any time I come home that she licks my glasses or slips me tongue while pretending to just kiss me (the SLUT!), I just don’t know what I would do without these two. I honestly can’t imagine life without them, and I don’t think people understand how much they are missing by not having pets. So let’s give more people reasons to adopt. Send us your pics, send us your stories, send us your misgivings before adopting, and tell us why it was the best thing you ever did.
And I’m writing this with Lily on my lap and Tunch attacking my hands while perched on the desk. And I would not have it any other way.
*** Update ***
For example, without pets, you will never have an action packed life that involves seat of the pants drama like this:
Let’s be serious, folks. There is a reason the action packed Tunch Cams are a hit!
Just Some Fuckhead
Quick, change the subject..
John Cole
@Just Some Fuckhead: You are beating the Browns. What next, you want Golden Gloves for boxing Stephen Hawking?
Just Some Fuckhead
I adopted my rescue Chow-German Shepherd Dog mix years before I knew you, John, but I credit you for the passionate lovemaking Max and I enjoy now.
Just Some Fuckhead
@John Cole: lolz
Rochelle Lesser
Couldn’t have said it better. I actually feel sorry for folks who have not wanted to share their lives with furry companions.
To thank the many wonderful rescuers out there, I’ve been running a contest, giving away over $600 in prizes to 10 lucky winners. And, I am only taking 30 stories so that the odds are in your favor of winning.
I am up to 24 stories so now would be the perfect time to get me your story. It is for any breed. I’d love to get a story from you John about Lily.
To enter, folks just need to go to http://bit.ly/1uLnbY
Crashman06
I have never had a cat or dog. Always really wanted one but was either not in a pet-friendly place or just could never convince myself to make the jump.
asiangrrlMN
Couldn’t agree more, Cole (except about the tongue part. NOT my fave when it comes to kissing my cats). My life has been so enriched by the adoption of my boys (Shadow is sitting on my legs as I type this). I can’t imagine being without them. I will send you their adoption story (they are brothers) and a link to the agency from which I adopted them.
jeffreyw
I can offer this place as a good bet for adopting a dog or a cat, it’s fairly new so I don’t have any good stories of adoption to relate. Mrs J has been volunteering there the last few weeks. They’re hiring staff, they offered Mrs J a job but she’s not free just yet to make a serious commitment. She has been enjoying her time there. She considers it well run and worthy.
Corner Stone
@Crashman06: I prefer to call that “rational decision making”.
asiangrrlMN
@Crashman06: When you are in an animal-friendly place–do it. It will be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.
Mr. Wonderful
Rochelle Rochelle–
My wife is big in Rhodesian Ridgeback rescue. We have Delilah, who used to literally flee whenever I walked into a room. She had been abused at a puppy mill and is still a delicate case, but at least she sleeps in the bedroom with us.
We also have Chester, who was found tied to fucking light pole in Tehachapee in the SNOW. He’s old and cranky and, yes, granted, he eats people’s underwear. Who among us is perfect? But he hums and vocalizes with every exhale at night, so it’s charming. His legs are starting to give out on the tile of the kitchen floor, so one occasionally has to pick him up to help him on his way. It’s an honor.
And we have Jaxon, NOT a rescue but a “surrender” from a couple who had two (human!) babies in two years and couldn’t do him justice. He’s our movie star and well-trained (thanks to the prev. owners). You can admire his handsomeness here:
http://tinyurl.com/yfbw8av
arguingwithsignposts
I travel too much to have a pet, but I did go to the local adoption agency a couple of months ago, and it was a nice time to visit with teh kittehs. My gf has some kittehs, which fills my quota at the moment. My ex didn’t like pets, which was – I think – one of the things that drove us apart. I always think that it’s a big part of life that my kids have missed not having pets. I had dogs growing up – chows. Great dogs, but too hairy for Texas, IMHO.
Crashman06
h@asiangrrlMN: Someday soon I hope. Always wanted a pet, since I was little.
Shinobi
Two cats, and a dog, two of their pictures have been featured on this site already. They are all three adopted.
My first cat is the most special to me though, she literally climbed in through my window. I was working this horrible job right out of college, my boyfriend was a total jerk, I had no money and I was stuck in a job where my boss thought learning to copy and paste was real career development for me. The horrors, they cannot be described. Anyway, about two weeks in when Iw as filled with misery I heard her sweet mewing outside my apartment window. I scrambled to get the screen open and this little black cat just jumped in and jumped down onto the couch and took a little tour like she was home.
I spent a gutwrenching week trying to find her original owners. And then wrangled with the landlord to let me keep her. Best thing I ever did, she kept me sane through those 9 months of hell.
I got the second cat to keep her company from a crazy foster lady who had like 30 cats and at six months she’d only ever met 1 human in her life. So that was a fun exercise in socialization, but now she literally wont get off my lap. And the dog, because I wanted a dog, he’s got cateracts, and seperation anxiety. But right now he’s sitting on my feet keeping them warm.
I’m just so happy that I could give some animals who needed a loving home the chance to be spoiled completely rotten. :-)
Spork
My wife and I have 6 pets, 2 cats, 4 dogs. She just loves animals, and now it’s a fucking madhouse. I had the choice of not marrying the woman I love, or never having peace and quiet again. I now cannot own nice things, and my house smells of pee.
ellaesther
Why John Cole. I believe you would have left the GOP sooner, had you but had the animals sooner!
Betsy
My partner and I frequently say to each other that adopting our cat was the best decision we ever made as a couple. :) I will send you pics, along with the link to the agency we adopter her from, and also to my stepmom’s collie rescue group – they do GREAT work; they’re incredibly dedicated and thorough.
Corner Stone
@Spork:
He chose…poorly.
J. Michael Neal
@ellaesther: Yeah, right. Tunch is clearly a Republican.
Betsy
p.s. The only trouble will be restraining myself from sending you 87 pictures, all of which are, of course, PERFECT.
J. Michael Neal
John continues to find a way to discriminate against poor Eddie. Now, only adoptions after he started talking about it count.
Danton
We have one big old furry tortoise shell cat who was abandoned near us about 16 years ago. She’s always been an amazing animal and I could never figure out why she was just dumped on the street. Other beast is a goofy black Lab–another abandoned animal. The kids found her starved, sick, and scared when she was a bit over two months old. I think we spent $400 on vet bills the first month we had her. She’s fine now.
There’s a great saying in French: an honorable man would never abandon a dog.
John Cole
@J. Michael Neal: I lost all my pics! Send me a new one, and I swear I will not troll you about abortion for months (and yes I was just hassling you the last time- although I disagree, my trolling was to keep my mind off the stressful game).
CatStaff
My husband and I adopt elderly cats (although our vet has managed to slip a couple of kittens past us in the last few years). They’re hard to find homes for, and we love all the creaky bastards with their arthritis, kidney failure, hyperthyroidism, and everything else. We know going in that we’re not going to have them for years and years, and that’s OK. We give them a safe and loving home to the end of their lives, and if we have to, we help them make that last journey.
For all the folks who don’t/can’t have pets right now, please consider volunteering at a local shelter. The animals there would be so grateful for just a little attention (herein I insert my plug for the Prince William County, Virginia, Animal Shelter).
wonkie
I don’t knowhow to post links but Missouri Pitbull Rescue is great outfit. I send them thrity five dollars a month in memory of Tawny, a little pit girl who died because of the ignorance of humans.
I got my one-eyed one-eared cranky needy elderly corgie/jack russel mix from Furbaby Rescue of Blaine, Washington. They have a great website but be sure to turn the sound off on your computer lest your ears be assaulted by muzak.
When I need to read heartwarming stories to shore up my moral I go to Old Dog Haven of Washington. They pull old sick dogs from shelters and put them in permenent retirement homes.
I just sent one hundred dollars to Bullseye Rescue to help with the expenses of the rescue of twenty five pitbulls from a dog fighting ring.
BTW I have a bumper sticker that reads :Euthanize the Human, Not the Dog.
wonkie
I meant “shore up my morale” .
Gus
I agree, despite the fact that my rescue recently cost me $2k in knee surgery, and after 5 weeks of rehab he appears to have hurt himself again and is hobbling around like he did prior to surgery. I’m afraid I may be in for another $2k.
arguingwithsignposts
@John Cole:
Can I just make a side comment here that one of the things that makes this blog good, and raises it above the level of – for instance – sully and the like is that the proprietors actually engage with the commentariat.
That takes a certain sense of commitment that I find lacking with Sully and the like. Kudos to you, JC.
General Winfield Stuck
@John Cole:
OH I don’t know, seemed like JMN was doing a pretty good trolling game himself. What do you call it when trolls troll each other. Has to be fairly deep.
Zuzu's Petals
Heck.
Had just sent John a favorite pic of one of my kitties sitting in the window.
But I only adopted her from a friend who couldn’t keep her.
Ah well, all for a good cause, I spoze.
J. Michael Neal
@John Cole:
I figured. It’s why I told you to go back to the game.
I was sitting at a bar yesterday trying to get some work done (I don’t get work done at home), and the Vikings fans were going wild with every play. I finally asked the bartender if anyone should be getting that excited about
beating upspending three quarters struggling against the Lions.J. Michael Neal
@General Winfield Stuck: Nah, I wasn’t trolling. I’m just unusually obsessive about not only being right, but [omitted so as to not get this started again]
CaseyL
None of my three kitties came from a shelter, though Ariel “sorta” did, as I adopted her from a PAWS volunteer whose house and land were, essentially, a free-range shelter. It was weird: Barb had so many kitties, she asked me to detail exactly what kind I wanted, like I could customize a cat. And it turned out I could: I said I wanted a gray tabby, female, 6-months old, who was affectionate yet feisty and not intimidated by older, larger cats. And those were (and are) Ariel’s characteristics (well, except the 6-month old part: she’s now an ancient and doddering 19+).
Jeannie and Oscar are my youngsters, and they didn’t come from a shelter either. Jeannie was a longhaired blue-gray stray who turned up in May 2008 in our townhouse complex. Everyone fed her, she got round rather than fat, and then vanished for a few days, turning up again all slim and stuff. She brought out “the kids” a few weeks later – three Siamese fluffs and one black fluff – and we all went awwwwwww. My neighbor adopted out two of the Siamese fluffs to coworkers; the black kitten vanished (we still don’t know what happened to it); and I adopted the last kitten plus mom. They’re both very happy to have a home, and I’m glad I could give them one.
I would love to have a dog – but I have a townhouse, no yard, and three cats who would be very, very upset with me if I brought any more critters in at all, much less a canine.
jl
“Tunch lying on my chest every morning purring,”
I NEVER heard about that side of Tunch before. I was informed by a certain person who advertized himself as honest and reliable, that Tunch was busy trying to rip your throat out at night.
Well, good to hear that Tunch has a big soft cuddly puddy-tat side. Awwww, how swweeeet!
I travel way too much for a pet, but would like to have one again someday. Either a cat, or a dog, or goldfish, or an antfarm. Or, maybe a big ol’ dawg. I think I’ll go for dawg next time.
Other than the TMI about how Lily likes to kiss, a very moving post.
General Winfield Stuck
@J. Michael Neal:
lol. Had that problem meself. But am getting better about it. Some.
jl
Dawgs, as opposed to dogs, always come from shelters, or some family who cannot provide for them. Their breed is always pure mutt.
arguingwithsignposts
@jl:
Amen. That was my feeling at the local animal rescue agency. I loved playing with teh kittehs, but I’d have to put them in a vet’s office, or have someone feed them nearly every weekend. That’s just not helping out at all.
General Winfield Stuck
Oh goody, vid of Tunch licking his balls. My day is complete.
General Winfield Stuck
And now for the breaking news zen of the day, maybe week.
Browns got no offense. They might as well just let the other team keep the ball and pray for an interception or fumble to score./
asiangrrlMN
Just to expand on my ooey-gooey love for my boys: I am allergic to cats, so I didn’t have any for the longest time. However, all my friends have cats, and the cats would always gravitate towards me. I am a fucking Cat Whisperer or something. Anyway, when I finally decided to get cats (because I am allergic to everything so I might as well have little fluffballs to love), all I knew was that I wanted two black short-haired cats who were bonded to each other while being mildly fond of me. Plus, they would be rescues/strays/etc.
Because I am mildly CDO, I searched Petfinder for months. I looked at hundreds of black cats (and no, they don’t all look alike) and noticed that I was more drawn to the male cats, so I started looking at brothers.
I kept coming back to the same pair. Late one Friday, I decided to set up an appointment to see them on Monday. Then, I noticed that they were going to be at a PetCo near me the next day. Fate! I went, and only one was there. The foster mom said one of the boys wouldn’t get into the cage and since nobody ever looked at them, she left him at home. Midnight (now Raven), his brother, was very unhappy because they were very bonded.
I knew I had found my pair. I adopted both of them. Now, Raven is my velcro-kitty, and they both have to be around me all the time (except when I sleep. Because of my allergies, they don’t sleep with me). Raven is usually glued to my chest or lap while Shadow prefers my ankles/legs. They are the most awesome cats ever, and I am so glad they found their way home to me.
shoutingattherain
We adopted Sonny almost 20 years ago:
http://www.pensfans.com/Sonnydogwallpaper.jpg
He changed our lives. His being part of our family made us a family. It was the best thing we ever did.
It broke our hearts when he went off to Doggie Nirvana 5 years ago. That wasn’t mentioned in the owners manual.
asiangrrlMN
TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH! Oh my god. I am seriously in love with that boy. Be still my heart! Thank you, Cole, for brightening up my night!
@General Winfield Stuck: Licking where his balls would have been.
J. Michael Neal
@asiangrrlMN:
It’s not you. Cats have an amazing ability to find the one person in a crowd that’s allergic to them and insisting on hanging out with that person.
asiangrrlMN
@shoutingattherain: What a sweet, lovable pooch Sonny is. He will always be in your hearts.
asiangrrlMN
@J. Michael Neal: Well, yes, that, too. Plus, since they don’t like to be stared at, they will go after the one person not looking at them.
Still, even when I do fawn over them, they lovez me (and, no, it’s not because of the catnip in my pocket!).
General Winfield Stuck
@asiangrrlMN:
neutered huh. it looked liked licking his ass to me, but I didn’t want to go there.
J. Michael Neal
@General Winfield Stuck: I want to know what Tunch does during “Young Lust.”
Mayken
I grew up with dogs and cats, almost always rescues, so I cannot even imagine my life without one or the other. We currently have two cats.
One is a Maine Coon who apparently wandered away from the breeder as a half-grown kitten. He decided he didn’t like being an outdoor cat so he adopted himself up at our good friends’ house – literally walked in the door one day and wouldn’t leave. Unfortunately Kipper doesn’t like dogs and since our friends breed whippets there were… issues. Those poor dogs didn’t stand a chance… so our friend gave him to my husband (this was before we were married.) He’s 17 and diabetic and unfortunately now blind but he is the smartest, most demanding boy I’ve ever been owned by. He’s also by far the most expensive free cat I’ve ever had… he had to have his parathyroid removed to the tune of several thousand dollars. Between that and the diabetes we’ve spent a small fortune on our boy but we don’t regret it for a minute.
Our second I also acquired before our marriage from VIVA in Lompoc, CA. They are a wonderful organization. Most of my family has volunteered time for them. Ebony (I know, very original right?) is a little black domestic short hair with about two brain cells to her name but the sweetest girl ever. We still call her a kitten because she never grew into her adult brain. She sleeps under the covers with me and I cannot imagine a night without the little black fuzzy creature next to me.
Here in Ventura we have Greyfoot Cat Rescue, which is who we’ll probably acquire our next fuzzy friend when that time comes (long, long time from now!)
J. Michael Neal
@asiangrrlMN:
Of course not. It’s because of the can of tuna in your hand, duh.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
We adopted three cats this last spring but it was through a friend of the person who had been rescuing the cats. For whatever reason, the lady who had been doing it committed suicide and it left three dogs and twenty+ cats without a home or care. As I write this our ‘garage kitteh’, Sammy, is curled up on a clean rag on ‘his’ garage chair that is to my right, about two feet away. It’s his favorite spot in the ‘house’. He lives for being in the garage and bitches incessantly when I have him come in. He is a very talkative cat and has a meow that sounds like a pterodactyl. I think he was a smoker in a past life. If I say ‘hi’ to him he always greets me with his meow. If he is not in the garage it is a bit more than one meow.
Bobbi, a former feral, is our ‘IT kitteh’ and she is fast asleep on top of the HP Proliant DL580G2 server in the laundry room. If we need to find her she will almost always be there. I think she likes the warmth and the sound of the fans humming. She has been the most difficult to deal with since she had chronic diarrhea and she had never lived in a house before. She is pretty much ‘my’ kitty and ‘talks’ to me with a strident meow that really stands out but I am getting her to accept the other family members.
We have been ‘intimate’ in the sense that she has sunk her fangs into me three times now, one particularly nasty one being a fang into my right thumb knuckle. In turn I accidentally removed one of her fangs when she bit into my leather welding gloves and left one there during a scuffle in the garage that included said diarrhea spraying all over. She still managed to get through the gloves and sink two holes in two fingers. She has pretty much adapted to home life though she startles easy and eats like she is trying to hide for fear of being attacked while eating. Our last scuffle was early last summer and we have come to an understanding that seems to be working.
She’s a little bitch but I would never consider getting rid of her. She’s a tough little cat and the two males leave her alone since she likes to walk up to them, sniff noses and then reach out and biff them just because she can.
Tommy, an old cat with two teeth left, is upstairs snoring away on top of the stuffed boxer that sits on the back of our couch. Since he is the ‘king’ of the house, he parks his hide on top of the dog just to show us that he can. He rarely meows unless he is scared about something or he thinks fresh meat is on the platter for the night, preferring to do this kind of a soft, low trilling sound which he uses constantly. He purrs almost constantly and I like to call him “Walrus Kitteh” because he weighs sixteen pounds (he was less that six when he arrived) and he is so happy that his whiskers are almost always pointing out in front of him.
They are as different as cats can get and we love them to no end. We like to think that we have given them a chance when it was more than likely that nobody else would have. They are great pals and make home life a bit more interesting, though I can do without the yowling shit fight in the garage. ;)
jl
I have never seen such a stately and dignified cat ass/dick/missing balls (whatever it was) licking. The elegant minimalist swivel to the hind paw licking was Olympic class. Tunch is a singular cat.
Max
I wish I had an adoption story, but I got Max at the mall. He probably came from a puppy mill, save the preaching, I know.
I did make a sizable donation to the local humane society when I bought Max, eased the guilt quite a bit.
@John Cole – WTF is that music playing? Jesus. Seriously?
John Cole
@J. Michael Neal: Actually, cats always go to the people with allergies because they are the ones who do not make eye contact with them. Humans avoid eye contact with things they want to avoid. Cats are attracted to those who avoid contact. If you have allergies, your best bet is to eyeball the feline.
Or so I have learned.
John Cole
@Max: Pink Floyd, the Wall. Sorry.
Pavlov's Dog
Had a fun day today with my almost 2yo male Akita-Shep mix rescue – We decided he needed his nails trimmed, and they told us a few days ago they didn’t have enough vet techs to handle him based on a prior trip. Today they agreed to take him. Ended up tackling him at the clinic’s door and half carrying him in. Then an old retriever decided to growl at him which to him means lets play. Finally did the hand off to the techs, who after much wrestling, all techs on hand at the clinic clipped his nails while he released his full anal gland to fragrance them. Managed to get him in the car…and almost pulled over on the way home to barf. The residue from anal gland release on a big dog is worse than…you get the picture.
arguingwithsignposts
A little ray of sunshine from the previous thread – Blister in the Sun.
mirele
My kitties (currently valet to two) have always been either rescue kitties or children of “OMG this cat isn’t fat, she’s pregnant.” But my boyfriend, he was adopted by a declawed kitty who had been dumped in his apartment complex’s parking lot back in 2001. (Why would someone go to that trouble and then dispose of the cat like that?) He named the cat Hey Guy and kept the name even after he found out Hey Guy was not a Guy. He took Hey Guy on a walk around the complex every night after work (and when he was out of town, I’d do it, the cat had a route and the cat EXPECTED IT). When he had to work in Maryland for four months, he took Hey Guy with him. Hey Guy slept with him every night. And Hey Guy was a people cat. She loved people. Even my dad, not a cat person, liked Hey Guy.
Hey Guy died early this year of cancer. My boyfriend is bereft. I keep telling him to get another friend, but I think he’s hoping another Hey Guy just drops serendipitously into his life…
Pet rescue, it’s not just for crazy cat ladies anymore….
Dave Herman
Probably important to mention whenever you advocate pet adoption, especially to first-time pet owners, just how much responsibility is involved. It’s always painful to see pet owners that just don’t pay much attention to their animals’ needs. And before I met my fiancee, I’d never had the slightest idea just how much money, care, anxiety and heartache goes into keeping your fuzzy ones healthy and happy.
But God, is it ever worth it.
ZIRGAR
LOL. Brilliant use of Pink Floyd as the soundtrack for this. The last time I saw a similar juxtaposition of what, by all rights, should be a completely incompatible audio and visual combination was in Chariots of Fire with the runners moving in slow motion on the beach and the music of Vangelis playing along. It shouldn’t work, yet it does.
arguingwithsignposts
BTW, I love this Gnarls Barkley version of Gone Daddy Gone.
Goodlife
John, just read this and don’t post it. I just want you to know that there have always been people like me out there — taking in strays — especially when most places were kill sites.
It’s not a knock on you, really. But things are a bit better now in a way. We can feed ferals without getting slapped with tickets and the SPCA doesn’t kill within two weeks.
Spider – stray cat from my mom’s house
Daphne — stray cat from a junk yard
Jasper — stray six-toed cat from the wilds of a wealthy neighborhood’s “forest”
Gretchen — stray dog that landed on my porch
Big Red — stray dog that landed in my landlord’s yard
Benito — stray cat chased up a tree (possibly by Big Red)
Renee — abused cat kidnapped from neighbor
Tomas — picked up on a freeway after being hit by or dropped from a vehicle
Carlito — another stray cat from the wilds of rich suburbia
Buddy — abandoned to starve Black Lab
Caroline — adopted at county lock up
Cisco — adopted from county lock up
Dora — adopted from Pet Pals (should have sued for misrepresentation — very damaged dog — but we survive)
Tam — stray starving dog I went out and tracked down
Jingle Bell — stray dog with mange — healed and found a home
Aubrey — starving stray found a home
Butch — starving stray found a home
Junebug — pregnant stray/feral here 5 years
Braveheart — feral here for 5 years
Rowdy — feral here and now gone
Macy — feral and now gone — saved from certain death — wounds and mange
Olga, Polly, Emiliano, Murphy — dumped 5 week old pups — first three adopted out, Murphy still here and happy
Jessie — stray pregnant (with 4) kittens adopted through SPCA — kitten Peaches adopted through SPCA, Vincent, Edith and Sam found homes through friends
Harry — feral kitten here 5 months
SG&WK — feral tom here for 8 months and (little or) no fighting
Good for you that you adopted and good for you to encourage it. It’s just that sometimes adoption is not enough.
Max
@John Cole: De-press-ing.
Personally, if I’m going to go to that place, I put on
The Smiths
Comrade Luke
I’m still in shock that someone can’t recognize The Wall…
arguingwithsignposts
@Comrade Luke:
You and me both. That was so obviously the Floyd that it was painful. And the dispassionate Tunch just put the cherry on the top.
Max
@Comrade Luke: I’m a girl and, IMO, PF is not girl-friendly. Plus, I was 8 when the album came out. Saw the movie – hated it.
I’ll challenge you to a Madonna-off.
:)
asiangrrlMN
@John Cole: Love Floyd. And, I said the whole allergy eye contact thing.
Thanks again for the vid of Tunch!
asiangrrlMN
@Max: Hey, wait. I’m a grrl, too, and I love PF!
Raincitygirl
Can’t find a photo right now, but my cat looks a LOT like the marmalade beastie who attacked Lily recently, and of whom you posted pics. Got him (my marmalade beastie, not Lily’s) from the Vancouver SPCA ( http://www.spca.bc.ca/branches/vancouver/ ) three years ago. They had him profiled on the front page of their site at the time because he was so tough to find a home for, *and* had him in a foster home because he was so stressed out by life at the shelter that his behaviour was even worse when he was there. He had been seized from his previous owner for abuse, and I guess they decided to put a lot of effort into him because of that. He is a total brat and a half, but they never hid that fact from any potential adopters.
At the moment he’s sitting on the couch licking a toy with great dedication (I just sprayed it with catnip oil, and he’s determined to suck all the taste/smell out). I’m sure once he’s finished with that he’ll declare war on my ankles again. In most respects, he’s a great cat. No puking or peeing on my stuff, no scratching anywhere except his scratching post, etc. However, he has a hair-trigger when it comes to threatening gestures by humans, and the paranoid little bastard can interpret just about ANY gesture as threatening when he’s in a suspicious mood. In circumstances like that, he bites or scratches first and asks questions later. Like I said: brat. But the SPCA was totally upfront about his personality flaws, so I can’t exactly blame them. Mind you, sometimes I contemplate blaming them anyway. Like when he’s attempting to escape from my home despite the fact that he gets along with other cats about as well as he gets along with most humans. It took precisely one instance of me having to apologise to the neighbours for him chasing their totally inoffensive cat up a tree (and then trying to knock said cat out of the tree) before I decided that he was staying indoor-only for damn sure.
Warning: Vancouver SPCA will make you fill out a fairly detailed questionnaire when you apply to adopt, and if you rent, they will call your landlord to confirm that you really live in a pet-friendly building. So anybody local who’s hoping to sneak a pet past a hostile landlord should probably find somewhere less detail-oriented to adopt from.
Max
@asiangrrlMN: I stand corrected.
I’ve never been a fan of the Floyd.
arguingwithsignposts
Godammit, why do I watch the KO stream late in the evening. These fucking right wing fucktards piss me off so much. We need more Bernie Sanders!
J. Michael Neal
I’ve got four of the useless little freeloaders. The first three were all strays:
Monster – My then roommate fished her out of a tree on a rainy day in October, 1994. She adopted me, of the three of us in the apartment. At the time, she was small enough to fit into my hand. She had Dave’s 18-pound tom whipped into line (behind her) within a couple of weeks. She still weighs less than 7 pounds. She got her name because, shortly after her arrival, I was watching the Dom DeLuise episode of The Muppet Show, and she had the exact facial expressions of one of the monsters in a sketch.
Ringling – Showed up in our yard during the summer of 1998. At that time, there were two other cats in the house, one since deceased and the other taken by my ex-wife when she left, which is just as well, since I never did like her. (The cat. I did like the woman once upon a time.) She looks just like Momo. I gave her her name not just because of her tail, but because I said that one more cat and our house would be a circus. Little did I know.
Dirk – Found huddled under the wheel of our car one day in February when it was five below. Unlike the others, we never looked for his owner, since he was not only let outside on a day like that, but he also had worms and earmites. Very pretty gray longhair, he got his name because he looks like the cover model for romance novels.
And, of course, Eddie, who I adopted as a birthday present for my wife at PetSmart, despite already having several too many cats, because in addition to being black, his head is kind of messed up from some sort of blunt force trauma suffered shortly before he was picked up. Big scar, one ear crushed, and his jaw doesn’t fit together quite right, so I was afraid no one would take him, and he is such an incredible sweetie I hated that thought. Has since lost a leg to cancer; I think Monster is using him as her picture, like Dorian Gray.
arguingwithsignposts
Continuing on with my thoughts in watching KO. I so wish someone would haul Mitch McConnell and John Boehner up before the courts for criminal negligence. I wish they would spend time in jail, suffering like those who suffered because these jackasses delayed, obstructed and behaved like assholes while their fellow Americans suffered and died. DIED. Fuckers. They are lower than low. Scum of the earth. Them and the Megan McArdles who enable them. The PHARMAs and the AHIPs. Fuck them all. !#$%#$@%@#$%!!!!!
Comrade Luke
@Max:
OK, since you’re a girl you get a pass.
Can I have a pass at Madonna? The last time I paid attention to her she still had fishnet stockings and a bandana thingy in her hair.
asiangrrlMN
@Max: To be fair, I am very much into depressing music, and The Wall fits that mold very well. I’ve never seen the movie, though. I just like the music.
dSquib
On the left, Scully, 10, from the CACC in New York, and on the right, Maisie, 2ish, from the place below in Chicago:
My wife owned Scully when I met her, so Maisie is the first dog I adopted personally. We got her just over a year ago, after having a bad experience trying to adopt a different dog. She was an instant hit. She’s very sweet though still quite unruly. Her history is something of a mystery. She was found as a stray in down-state Illinois and brought to Chicago. She has a BB pellet lodged in her leg, perhaps from some stupid kid shooting her. It doesn’t hurt her now, though we’ve been meaning to get it out whenever she goes to the vet. She also had a luxating patella which got fixed shortly after we adopted her so she was just using her other 3 legs for a while. So her life wasn’t easy but has settled in perfectly, imitating her older sister in almost every conceivable way. She’s quite runtish and has a rather odd physique and breathes loudly, all of which just makes her more charming of course and a good contrast to her older sister who is perfectly shaped and more conventionally pretty. They make a perfect pair even if Scully finds Maisie a little annoying sometimes and prefers to get all the attention to herself as she did before, they follow us everywhere and sleep in bed with us, going under the covers. Couldn’t imagine not having them around and miss them even when I’m out for just a couple of hours.
That’s all. I could go on and get more gushy but this seems too long already.
Morbo
I haven’t had any pets since leaving the nest, but all but one of them were adoptees. A couple of them were completely by accident after visiting friends and returning home with a cat. I have fond memories of them all; one of them was friggin’ crazy… but what’re you going to do?
dSquib
total markup fail
Dogs: http://img685.yfrog.com/i/img0990.jpg/
Adoption agency: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/IL174.html
asiangrrlMN
All right, bitchez. Time for me to write. I may check in later, or I may not. Night!
Kristine
I adopted Mickey, a lab mix, from the lSt Francis shelter in Kenosha WI, which as can be seen from the article has dealt with some controversy lately. But they love animals there. They take in all animals and make sure they have vet care. They have a *lot* of pit bulls and pit bull mixes and other difficult to place dogs (older, medical issues).
Anyway, I adopted Mickey in January 2004 so that King would have a buddy. He was a wonderful guy. Very quiet in the beginning, with a tendency to cringe when he thought he’d done something wrong. I got the impression that he had been abused, but over the 4 1/2 years that I had him, much of the timidity and fear fell away. He always, however, left the room when I swore, even if I did so quietly.
I lost him in July 2008 to cancer. Longer story on my Life with Dogs webpage, but King took the loss hard. I knew I wanted to get him another buddy, but I wanted to take my time and get just the right dog. The next month, someone made that decision for me. I took King to the vet, and we wound up being introduced to Gaby, a terrier mix that someone had left tied to the front door of the clinic the previous day. She’s in the office with me now, snoring away on King’s special orthopedic bed. King is in my bedroom, I think to get away from the snoring.
The ones you find, that find you, are special.
Rochelle Lesser
Mr Wonderful, get your wife to send me a story. I am itching to send the prizes out, especially in time for the holidays. It’s just my way of giving back to the community.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@Rochelle Lesser:
Nice thing you are doing there but I wouldn’t enter as I think we already won when we got our kittehs. :)
Pretty cool for you to do though, kudos!
Batocchio
What’s really trippy is when you synch Tunch to Dark Side of the Moon.
PurpleGirl
OT: some years back there was a cat graphic/animation on the net which moved in response to the movement of your cursor. Does anyone remember it? Anyone remember it’s name… IIRC it was done by someone in Holland. Looking at John’s Tunch video reminded me of the cat. I had the website saved two dead hard drives ago.
Notorious P.A.T.
@Crashman06:
How about a hamster? They are cute and furry but don’t take up nearly as much room as a cat or dog.
Seanly
I have a wonderful story about how our girl Ginnie came into our lives a couple of days before Christmas 2001. We cut short our Christmas visit to pick her up from the gas station she was begging at. Named her Ginnie for finding her in VA.
How to summarize? Young Chow-Shepherd mix with bear-like ears and a black saddle on an orange coat, knew some commands, dirty but beautiful coat, fattening foods to put weight back on her, pregnant, c-section in late January, good mother, raising 7 puppies, wife talked me into keeping one.
Part of negotiation over keeping the pup was I got to pick. Duncan, the escape artists of the pups – we converted a spare bedroom into a whelping room. Called Duncan coz he had stark white paws – as in dunking them in paint. Fully grown, he’s floppy eared, tall and lean to his mother’s short and stocky build. We think she mixed with a lab or golden.
Ginnie hit the doggie lottery but Duncan has never known a day of strife or hunger in his life. He’s the most empathic dog I’ve ever seen. Duncan always wants some loving and while Ginnie can be aloof she will often request attention.
They saved our marriage and continue to teach my wife and I so much about love, patience, acceptance and living in the moment. No matter what a bad day or good day we have, Ginnie and Duncan are always excited to see us.
Both dogs are pretty healthy. Ginnie is a little overweight, has arthritis and managed IMHA. Duncan’s never been sick though he keeps testing positive for lime antibodies. He’s a 95 lb lapdog.
I should send a picture to John.
Kayla Rudbek
@Crashman06: In the same boat myself, but here’s a link to the humane society of the Twin Cities. There is one Siamese/medium-hair mix that I’d love to take home if I could (but I’d rather have somebody else who can afford and has space take him home).
Martin
Can’t claim our doggie is a rescue (show dog breeder) but our desert tortoise is. We’ve somehow wound up with another different kind of tortoise and a frog who just showed up out of the blue – which is a bit odd for OC, but it’s all one big happy family now.
Martin
Oh, and a venus flytrap we’ve kept pretty well fed. To entertain the kids we catch black widows in a jar and set up little gladiatorial matches with the other critters we catch in the garden. Hornet vs spider is pretty entertaining. Oh, and we hatch butterflies now and then, but the corgi is a bit too good at catching and eating them after we release them – not good for the little girl’s morale.
Justin
These are mine, both shelter cats who we got as kittens, who have socialized beautifully, and have gone on to become Cute Overload Regulars.
Real rags to riches story, those two.
pcbedamned
@Spork:
After I came home with our 3rd dog (we now have 4), my husband just gave up. Along with the dogs we also have 12 cats (all rescues and the kittens of said rescues with the next batch due to be fixed after Christmas), a cockatoo that was rescued when it’s owner decided he didn’t fit in with the new baby, and a guinea pig (well, that one was bought for my son a few years ago for Christmas). The most loving cats I have are the ones that were once feral. We have brought quite a few back from the brink, and have unfortunately lost a few along the way (FIP-a horrible disease), but all of our babies are fixed and regularly vet checked, and are completely part of the family.
If there is anyone on here from Ontario looking to support a great cause, there is an older gentleman in Eldorado (Hyway 62 N of Madoc, S of Bancroft) and he runs Thomas the Silver Tabby. He houses and takes care of any abandoned cat, whether sick or not (he has an entire section of his house partitioned off just for the FIV sufferers). He does this all by himself on his own dime and with any donations that come in. I first me him a few years ago when I went up there to get a little calico kitten from him (she was one of the ones we lost due to FIP). While there, he brought out another kitten that had just arrived. She was only 1 1/4 lbs, had a serious case of mange, and ear and eye infections. I felt so sorry for her, I brought her home too. I am happy to say that 3 years later Yoko is a beautiful 13 lb long hair gray tortie who is one of the most loving cats that I have.
To all fellow pet owners, I agree that I couldn’t see my life without my babies. Sometimes (ok, most times), I like them better than the humans I share my house with…
burnspbesq
All six of our current crew are adopted.
Our two Pyrs came from Southern California Pyr Rescue. They seem to have a lot of available dogs right now, so if you are in SoCal and your life has room for 100-150 pounds of fuzzy white love, check them out.
http://www.greatpyrrescue.org/
The little mutt was abandoned by someone in our landscape guy’s neighborhood, and somehow we ended up with him.
Our indoor cat, I don’t remember where she came from. I left one Monday on a business trip, and when I walked in the door late Thursday night she was there.
And as has been well documented here, we are in the process of being adopted by Hurley and Laettner.
I bitch about being excluded from the selection process, but I am happy they have all chosen to live with us.
cokane
am i stoned or does this article not make any sense?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111603752.html
zoe kentucky in pittsburgh
We have 4 fuzzy freeloaders, 3 rescues, 1 not.
Nauseous: lovely fluffy black cat, 14, rescue from Western PA Animal Rescue League. I’ve had him since I was in college, he has a new best friend that makes him extremely happy– they play and cuddle like cats that have a long history, meanwhile they’ve only been together for a month.
Luscious Lulu: 4 month old cutest kitten in the universe, fluffy white with orange extremely long ear hair, is either playing or resting/napping on one of our laps. Adopted from Western PA Animal Rescue League. Cuddliest, sweetest kitten I’ve ever known.
Izzy: sweet and lazy 7 year old Heinz 57 mix, adopted from Washington Animal Rescue League in DC. (Named for Eddie Izzard.)
Sasha: hyperactive australian shepherd, 7 years old, from a non-show breeder on a working horse farm in Virginia.
Although don’t ask me to name all of the other creatures that my partner and I have had in our 10 years together– ferrets, bearded dragon, hamsters, fish.
burnspbesq
@cokane:
For the record, those two conditions are not mutually exclusive.
All I had to see was the byline to know that the article wouldn’t make any sense.
Ana Marie? What a complete waste of two X chromosomes.
Mister Papercut
The adoption story of my once-in-a-lifetime cat came about because of a cat that I wasn’t allowed to adopt from a no-kill shelter.
I had to apply, get a recommendation from a volunteer, and have a sit down interview with the shelter director, but the Friday afternoon message my brother left on a Post-It on the fridge telling me to the shelter had called (apparently to let me know the adoption was approved) fell victim to my mother’s Saturday morning cleaning spree before I got a chance to see it. So when I didn’t call the shelter until the following Tuesday (to see if I could visit the cat on my lunch break), I got strange runaround from the director, saying the cat was ill and was at the vet. Each day I called to see if she was okay, and I got the same answer each day until Friday, when a volunteer confessed the cat was fine and had never been at the vet. The director was, reluctantly, going to let me adopt, but because I hadn’t returned a phone call that I never knew I received, she had deemed me “flaky.”
Saturday I decided to make one last trip there to donate to them all the kitty supplies that I had bought for her and to visit one last time. My boyfriend at the time had been telling me I should adopt from a kill shelter anyway, so I left the shelter and made a bee-line cross-town to the SPCA, thinking I’d just “browse.” I picked up a beautiful but timid little gray kitten, who was fine as long as I held him, but as soon as his cage door was reopened, he scrambled back for safety. While putting him back, I spotted a black kitten in the cage next to him — I’d missed him because he was in the back, in shadow, chasing his tail in the litter pan. I had the volunteer take him out and the black kitten climbed up one arm, down the other, and up again, tucking his head under my chin.
A couple next to me commented “Ooh, he likes you.” On the inside, I’m all “Y’all better not be eyeballin’ my cat.” On the outside: “Yeah, it looks like it.” I ask the volunteer what is needed to adopt? $25, cash or check. Naturally, I’m $15 short and I don’t have my checkbook on me. Will they hold the kitten for me while I go get money? Negatory. So I hold my breath, may or may not have shot eye-daggers at the rival couple, and make a mad dash for my bank’s nearest ATM (which, luckily, was probably not even half a mile away).
I get back to the SPCA probably not 10 minutes later and, happily, the black kitten is still there. And almost 13 years later, the little black kitten is also still here, though now a tubby old pootie named Tucker (get it? :P), and he’s every bit as sweet and comical and devoted to me — and I to him — as when we first met.
Anne
I adopted a cat while I was living in Houston a few years ago. Baffle got me through some wretchedly lonely times. Every day without fail he’d hear my car pulling into the driveway, go to the front door, and put his paws up on the little window waiting for me to come inside. Even if I’d had an awful day at work, he had such a bright little perky face and was so obviously thrilled to see me that it was hard not to smile at least a little bit. He died in his sleep very unexpectedly at only a year old, just weeks before I moved back to California. I was devastated, but I wouldn’t have given up the time I had with him if I’d known when adopting him that I would lose him so soon. He kept me going, and I like to think that I gave him a warm, comfy, safe home with lots of affection.
We now have four little purrballs running around the house, all of them adopted/rescued. The first two, Dizzy and Orbit, were through Furry Friends Rescue in the San Francisco Bay Area (as was Baffle). The second two, Dusty and Madeleine, were through Bay Area Cat Rescue. They cuddle with us, console us (Dizzy licks my face when I cry, and chirps concernedly when I sneeze), keep our laps warm, entertain us, and most of all amaze us with their little personalities and the fascinating workings of their little brains.
Yutsano
@cokane: Are the two states mutually exclusive?
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: FH#2! How’s it going, you sexy thang? I am taking a quick break before diving back into the writing again.
Martin
Ok, TDS bit on the toy hall of fame was fucking hilarious.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Bleah. Got called into work early today cause five of my fellow
weaselsworkers called in sick. I barely had time to choke down coffee before I had to head in. My Friday is gonna look all the sweeter because of this. Well that and the OT I’m gonna have come next paycheck.Oh and I mind-melded with burnspbesq. I think I’m honored. How’s the writing coming along?
slag
I don’t know which I like better: The Tunch Cam or the Pink Floyd flashbacks. If only you had included Tunch chasing his laser light, the show would have been complete.
Yutsano
@slag: Tunch chases? That seems like an unlikely occurrence to me.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Damn. Good news/bad news, huh? Just keep your mind on your money, and your money in your pocket.
Writing: Pretty dang good. I’ve kept up with my daily goal, except, of course, for today. I may not make it, but I will make up for it tomorrow. The problem is, though, I’m coming to the end of this novel and haven’t really thought of the next one yet. I usually have three or four ideas running around in my head, so it’s a bit worrisome.
Anyway, all in all, I am meeting my own expectations, which I set higher than last year or the year before. Gotta put my CDO to good use.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: It happened. I am too lazy to look it up, but there is a video of Tunch ‘chasing’ the laser light.
P.S. He still hasn’t accepted my proposal. Sigh.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: Heh. My brother has seen my bank balance on accident. He already thinks I’m a massively cheap bastahd. I’m not exactly certain why I’m saving up all this money except for some strange paranoia in the back of my brain. Plus I won’t play the Wall Street Casino, so in the bank it sits.
Yutsano
Uhh…I got moderated…I have no fucking clue how!
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: Nudie pics of you and the Dawg?
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: No comment. Plus I wouldn’t share that anyway. It’s possible it’s related to the name of a gaming establishment, but I guess we’ll see if/when John sets me free.
asiangrrlMN
@Yutsano: If you can’t share them with your fake-wifey, with whom can you share? I’m not sure Cole is still up.
Back to writing. I will check in to see if the naughty pics show up.
slag
@Yutsano: Good point. We need a Tunch cam video of him observing his laser light.
pcbedamned
@Goodlife:
And here I thought we were the only people who had a cat named <a href=”“>Spider (he is a silver spotted tabby).
pcbedamned
@pcbedamned:
Try this again – Spider
Yutsano
@slag: Now if his eyes actually FOLLOW…then he might actually get some exercise in. I don’t think there’s enough tuna in existence to make up for that humiliation.
burnspbesq
@Yutsano:
Tis I who am honored, but thanks for the shout-out.
asiangrrlMN
@slag: @Yutsano:
AHEM! Please to apologize to the Tunchmaster.
Told you!
@pcbedamned: Very suave and debonair cat!
asiangrrlMN
God. Damn. Word. Press. Mod.
@slag: @burnspbesq:
AHEM! Please to apologize to the Tunchmaster.
Told you!
asiangrrlMN
@pcbedamned: Very suave and debonair cat!
FYWP!
asiangrrlMN
@asiangrrlMN: And, of course, that was aimed at slag and Yutsano, not slag and burnspbesq.
FUCK YOU WORDPRESS MOD!
pcbedamned
@asiangrrlMN:
Merci beaucoup, madam. Believe it or not, that is one of his favorite spots. He will sit there until we put the water on so he can get a ‘fresh, cold drink’.
Now that I have remembered my photobucket account info (thank God I write this stuff down), I can get some more pics of my babies going. Of course, similar to the whole texting thing (from the other thread), it will probably take me a month or two…
vivelame
Yo cat is so heavy HE’ll bring about the micro-blackhole that’ll destroy Earth, not the LHC.
DougL (frmrly: Conservatively Liberal)
@PurpleGirl:
Are you talking about Neko? I still have that stashed away somewhere in my software library.
valdivia
Late to this thread but just had to say it–I love Tunch!
Also. Too. Adopted pets are the best.
p.a.
Sigh. My job may not require travel for long stretches, and then on 3 day’s notice I could be spending the next few months out of state. And I work swing shifts. I’d love a pet…
BethanyAnne
This is Suli:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21486583@N08/2078172223/in/set-72157603345069254/
But my adoption story is about Cheyenne, who’s in other photos in the set. Fraid it’s not an adoption center story, tho. She, her brother, and her mom were living under a restaurant in Kemah (seaside near Houston). But the restaurant was only open on weekends, so they were starving. A cow-orker of my ex trapped them, and we took Chey. She was a scrawny and fiery little kitten. We left food down for the cats to graze as they would, and Chey ate as often as she could for the next 6 years or so. She’s 12 now, and seems to be domesticated more every day. Sleeps on my arm at night, next to my pillow. And sleeps where I was during the day :-)
Suli is from my sister’s cat’s litter. Been held since the day she was born, and convinced she’s human. They are my babies :-)
harlana pepper
Paw and butt licks are always good staples for high drama
harlana pepper
I have a negative adoption story, so I won’t share it . . .
Michael D.
Tunch pr0n I can take, but what is that god awful sound in the background?
Michael D.
I’m cheating here a bit, but I sometimes volunteer with the Atlanta Humane Society. I go over just to walk dogs and get them out of those cages for a little while.
As a side note, since I started volunteering there, I have become anti-no-kill shelters. I’ve seen too many dogs have mental breakdowns in their cages (but far less than most people who work there, I am certain) to make me think that “no-kill” is humane. It’s not. It’s a horrible thing to say, but after awhile confined in a cage, it’s more humane to euthanize a dog or cat than to make them live out their lives that way.
See also, Shelter Dogs.
Incertus
Three of our now four cats are off-the-street rescues–two we picked up when we moved into this new place this summer, the latest (which is still living in the enclosed porch because she has whipworms and was too weak from malnutrition to handle the medicine) wandered up while we were feeding the ferals that come in our backyard and that no one else in the neighborhood seems to give two shits about. That’s where we got our other indoor cat from as well–the backyard. We just got a feral trap so hopefully we can start some de-nutting in the very near future.
harlana pepper
@Michael D.: Isn’t it sad that, but for sterilization, we would not have to take such measures? If I had enough money in the world, I’d provide free sterilization clinics for all, including mobile units.
harlana pepper
@Incertus: bless you for your kind heart and diligence; I have seen kindness in the form of feeding strays, but then the “feeders” don’t take the initiative to stop the process of breeding, that takes a lot of work, good for you
R-Jud
We adopted two cats through our local branch of Cats Protection.
Zeno, the only Valentine’s Day present I’ve ever asked for, was wonky-eyed and recently off IV meds after being hit by a car. Abdominal surgery saved his life; he won’t let you rub his belly. He purrs so loudly you can sometimes hear him in the next room. He lives on my husband’s lap.
Mr Jud was so pleased with Zeno that he went out of his own volition six months later and came home with Quinn, our teeny tabby. She plays like a kitten even though she’s almost four. You can also carry on conversations with her– she will chirp if you talk to her. She and the baby are asleep in the next room.
T. Scheisskopf
Well, all this talk about kittehs and doggies and not one mention about bird owners. Shame.
For 9 years, and through the absolutely worst period of one’s life anyone could imagine, I had Booboo, my vosMaeri Eclectus female who was given to me. No more loving, devoted or personality-filled creature of any species has ever graced my life. Truly, she taught me how to love and she loved me back. She also kept me alive. Truly. I ain’t lyin’.
I had one of dem’ dere ‘sploded ‘pendixies a year ago. Pseudomonas infection. While I was in there, Booboo left us, although she was being well taken care of. I guess she decided it was time. Birds will do that.
Thank god that morphine, which they were giving me by the bucketful at the time, blunts one’s emotions.
Incertus
@harlana pepper: It’s self-defense more than anything else, harlana. We’re feeding 3 regulars on our back porch, and sometimes as many as 5 who wander in. And last week, there was a female in the yard, in heat, wearing a collar, howling to beat the band. If I knew who it belonged to, I’d punch them in the throat.
Randy P
From a high of 3 cats and a dog, we’re down to one long-haired, extremely people-oriented cat. I keep telling her that (a) she’s supposed to be all independent and indifferent to people, and (b) I Am Not a Cat Person. But she doesn’t hear me. So during the week we hang out a lot together.
We live a two-city lifestyle which isn’t even very fair to a fairly independent cat. There’s no way I could take on a dog anymore. And I am very much a Dog Person. I really miss having a dog in my life. I always notice dogs in parks, and they often notice me and come over to say hello. I’ve been known to hang out in dog parks to visit with them.
Volunteering in a shelter sounds in theory like a way to have dogs in your life if you can’t own one. But I suppose that takes time too. I don’t have any daylight hours.
Charity
Well said. My then-boyfriend and I adopted two kittens from the Friends of Homeless Animals in Princeton, whom we named Fido and Tulum. My then-boyfriend is now-husband, and the kittens are 6 years old, 14 and 9 pounds respectively! They love us, and we love them ridiculously. We’re not such crazy cat people that we consider cats our kids, but there are similarities…
* random puking
* strange noises at 3 a.m.
* if you don’t latch the door when you use the bathroom, you WILL have guests
But they’re so weird and so fun, it’s been a blast having them around.
Pictures are here.
Jennifer
My kittehs have always found me, not the other way around. For the past 25 years, I’ve been taking in homeless adult cats who wander by, check out the place, and decide it’s to their liking. I figure it keeps them out of the shelters, where they are not likely to be adopted because so many people only want the cute little kittens. And they’ve all been grateful and loving pets. The current kitteh somehow lost her people and showed up in the back yard one day, then started hanging out daily but would run whenever anyone came out of the house – she was terrified of people. After a few weeks I noticed she looked thinner, and by that time figured out she obviously wasn’t just “visiting” because she was always around. So I started putting out food. After 6 weeks of her hanging around, one day I went to put out the food, and she just ran up to me and started rubbing up against me and meowing and purring. She moved into the house that day and has been here for almost 6 years now…she’s still skittish around everyone but me, but what a great cat! Never once has she peed or pooped in an inappropriate location, and never once has she rudely awakened me to get up and feed her or let her out. People are all the time trying to give me other cats, but I won’t take in another one while I’ve got Eartha, because I’m afraid that if she wasn’t accepting of it and ran off, she’d be homeless from here on out. Don’t know she’d ever find another person who would work with her fear for as long as I did to give her a home. So as long as she’s with me, she’ll be the solo kitteh.
ET
If by adopt you mean whining – meowing – outside the window of may apartment building on a early, drizzly Sunday morning in December to the point that I had to go and see what was making that pitiful sound, then yes mine is adopted. Of course I think that it was actually the other way around and I was the one adopted – or at least conned (though only in the very best way). I think my cat is a grifter.
But the sentiment is the same. My cat makes my life much better.
BigSwami
Charlie.
Charlie is a plott hound (aka hillbilly dog). We picked up Charlie from a rescue event out in the sticks. My wife wanted a black Lab, but it was love at first sight with Charlie. He was in a crate by himself off to the side, but he was so pretty that I had to meet him. I let him out of the crate and he crawled right into my lap. As far as I was concerned, that settled it.
We have always had rescue dogs, and we have a special place in our heart for full-grown big dogs that would normally scare away most potential takers. We’ve had a black Lab, three Rottweilers, and a German shepherd. As soon as we can, we hope to have another Rottweiler. They are the most wonderful dogs.
Original Lee
We are in the process of adopting 2 dogs from a local rescue. Our first 2 dogs were rescue dogs, and our 3rd dog was a shelter dog. (All 3 died several years ago.) We spent a period of time dogless, but now we’re ready to be dog owners again. The Lily saga was part of the reason we’re reconfiguring the house for pets, although my niece adopting a rescue dog this summer was also a factor. I promise I’ll post updates and send pictures as soon as we have them.
BTW, because we had rescue dogs, many of my relatives have also adopted rescue dogs. I think my family’s count on rescue dog adoptions is around 15 at this point.
phoebes-in-santa fe
JOHN COLE – WHERE DID YOU GET THAT CAT BLANKET?????
I’VE BEEN LOOKING FOR THAT SINCE I SAW ANOTHER ON IN A HOSPITAL ROOM BUT THE WOMAN WHO OWNED IT DIDN’T REMEMBER WHERE SHE BOUGHT IT. THOUGHT SHE BOUGHT IT “ON LINE”.
IMPORTANT TO ANSWER ME ASAP!
I also have three rescue cats. Twin girls 13 years old who must have had different fathers because they don’t look or act anything alike. One’s a huge, gorgeous, dim-witted tabby/white mix who’s a “Republicat”, and the other’s a small, sleek, brilliant, black, must-have-some-Siamese-in-her, who we call our “Democat”.
I also adopted a now-3 year old full tabby female last year from a local shelter we call “Alice Obama”. She’s adorable and incredibly out-going and sweet. She must have been handled a lot as a kitten because she loves to be picked up and held. The older two – eh, not as much. But they are very affectionate as long as they come to you.
JOHN COLE – LET ME KNOW ABOUT THE BLANKET!!!
asiangrrlMN
First of all, all the animals of BJers are uncommonly gooorgeous, and no, I am not biased.
@BethanyAnne: Suli is beautiful, but oh, my! Cheyenne. What a lovely black girl she is. I commented (deliquescentdreams). I couldn’t pass by such loveliness without saying something.
@Charity: You have two black beauties like I do! They are amazing! I commented (see above), just so you don’t think you have a stalker.
Kennedy
Looks like I really missed the bus on this thread, but no one has mentioned it yet so I thought I had better do so.
If you’re in the AZ/UT/CO region, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is a great place to adopt from (http://www.bestfriends.org/). My friend picked up a lab/border collie mix from there that has turned out to be an excellent dog for him. Also, this organization took the vast majority of the dogs from the Michael Vick dog fighting ring. I think their staff is mostly volunteer and they really love and care for the animals during their stay. My friend said that people were crying as he left with his new dog.
Adoption fees are low, and they come with almost everything you would need right off the bat: crate, collar, leash, all vaccinations (and the records on a CD), spay/neuter, etc. Really good organization if you can make the drive.
Demo Woman
Miss Moxie found me one Saturday inside a newly opened Pet’s Mart. My two pups had died two years earlier. Since the store was new, the local dog rescues had not set up shop yet but they did have cat rescues. The cat lady brought in a few pound pups to be adopted also. I saw Miss Moxie at one and just new that she’d be there at 4. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. She’s been with me almost 8 years.
By the way, that is the best Tunch video ever!
BethanyAnne
@asiangrrlMN: ty! :-) She’s laying on one of my hands atm.
raptusregaliter
I very much enjoyed the Tunch workout video. Lick a little, turn a little, rest. Lick a little, turn a little, rest.
Add Richard Simmons in a pair of ball-hugger shorts and you could sell a million copies.
donnah
We have always adopted pets from shelters. In our area, SW Ohio, SICSA (Society for the Improvement of Conditions for Stray Animals) is a great animal rescue. I work at a women’s fitness center and last year at Christmas time we donated items to be given to SICSA and the women could bring in and post photos of their beloved pets. We collected eight large garbage bags of dog and cat toys, food, supplies and treats. The people at the shelter were amazed.
Our adopted family has included a yellow lab mix named Spanky, a Siamese named Mao, a striped tiger named Jingles, a beagle/foxhound mix named Wendy, and a gray ninja cat named Gracie. Another stray cat who found us all by herself is named Chloe.
Now we are down to just one dog and two cats. I suspect that we will always have a rescued animal at our house.
http://sicsa.org/
mextremist
ZOMG, that albino manatee is moving around!
I always thought it had been to a taxidermist…
geg6
As I’ve mentioned here before, my John now has 3 rescues. Henry, an 11 yr. old blonde Lab; Otis, a 4 yr. old Lab/golden retriever mix who had been badly abused; and Cane, a 1 yr. old brindle boxer who had to be rescued from John’s own daughter. We love them madly, even with all their foibles (Henry is a grouchy alpha; Otis has ADHD with bladder control issues; and Cane is just sweet and untrained).
I have a few friends involved in this rescue organization for greyhounds. They do good work:
http://www.steelcitygreyhounds.org/AboutUs.htm#1
Evinfuilt
Nothing adopted since Tunchcam and Lilly, but it makes me smile knowing you enjoy their furry love.
Have my two wonderful kitties, Sasha and Shosti. Now three years old and hard to think of not living with.My 12 year old American Eskimo named appropriately Blizzard, she still acts like a 2 year old dog, amazing.
Last week though I had to put down my other pup Kodiak (Shetlie/Chow Mix.) Even with three animals in the house, it still feels empty without him. It also makes me so happy to have had him, even if it was only for eight years. Even when they leave us it feels so good to have rescued them and made them part of the family. For all the pain we went through together, I wouldn’t pass it up for the world.
namekarB
Hmmmm, as opposed to actually giving birth to a pet?
Betsy
If you’re in New Mexico or west Texas, Southwest Collie Rescue does wonderful, wonderful work.
daranee
We got Danton from the Seattle Animal Shelter. Inexplicably he was there for several months without being adopted. He was 9 months when we got him. In fact, someone adopted his siblings in a group, but not him. I can’t tell you how much joy this cat has given us. What a personality! He doesn’t blend into the background that’s for sure.
Here he is playing in my bicycle bag.
And here he is on his kitty sill.
pcbedamned
@T. Scheisskopf:
This was from my comment @90.
His name is Felix and he is aprox. 19 years old now. When I got him he had been pulling out his feathers and was quite aggressive. Now, he is beautiful and friendly (he even sleeps with me and my cat), although he can be destructive (the dogs used to let him out while we were in bed and he decided to create his masterpiece. It is now a rainbow that goes around the whole wall. I have since discovered a way to lock the bottom of the cage so my boys cannot let him free – now they can only pull out the very bottom tray to scavenge what he doesn’t eat).
I never knew it was possible to love a bird as much as I love my boy. Although he will probably outlive me, my daughter has promised to take him.
sarah in brooklyn
I sent you an email, John, about Milo and the shelter where I volunteer.
sarah in brooklyn
oops! but here are some pictures:
This is when Milo first met my boyfriend at the shelter.
The shelter where I volunteer here in New York is . Milo was there for three months before I couldn’t stand him anymore and brought him home. He is a total joy, and even though none of my three cats love each other, they add so much to my life. I can’t imagine how I’d get through the day without them.
sarah in brooklyn
i’m sorry, everything is going wrong today. if this doesn’t work i’m going to stop trying!!!
oops! but here are some pictures:
The shelter where I volunteer here in New York is . Milo was there for three months before I couldn’t stand him anymore and brought him home. He is a total joy, and even though none of my three cats love each other, they add so much to my life. I can’t imagine how I’d get through the day without them.
sarah in brooklyn
i don’t know what i’m doing wrong – but the shelter where i volunteer in new york is kitty kind – kittykind.org. we have lots of great cats, come see us!
sorry to be such a link klutz.
DFS.
I didn’t actually adopt this guy because of this site, but he has a good story, IMO.
Ripley is about seven years old now, he’s a big tabby kitty with Feline Immonodeficiency Virus. I adopted him two years ago when his former owners, who lived out in Seattle, had to give him up. An FIV-positive kitty can’t be let outside and their lease wouldn’t let them keep a cat indoors.
There’s an outfit out in Seattle called Purrfect Pals, which cares for all kind of cats but has a particular focus on FIV+ kitties. They have a harder time being adopted out than their non-infected fellows, but if you’re looking to have one cat and one cat only, I highly recommend giving a home to a cat with FIV. They have to be kept indoors and they have to be kept away from other cats – to prevent them from spreading the virus or catching a disease they can’t fight off – but otherwise, they’re just like any other cat. It’s not like HIV where they’ll eventually succumb to a wave of opportunistic diseases. Cared for well, an FIV+ cat will live as long as any other. (My local vet had a long-time patient who had FIV most of his life and still lived to be 21.)
Speaking from my own experience, caring for Ripley hasn’t resulted in any special trouble or expense at all. And he’s a big fuzzy lovable goof. Wouldn’t trade him for the world.
Phoenix Woman
By the way, has Tunch the Human ever met Tunch the Cat?
It would make a lovely photo. Maybe you could send Human Tunch pictures of your four-footed friend.
mandarama
This is how I found Murphy, the Best Dog in the World. My kids and husband were ready for a dog long before I was. We already have two young cats, and my last dog was difficult to say the least. He was a shelter pup who turned out to have really dominant aggression issues–bit multiple people (including me) before we finally found the right training and routine for him. He never did become a lovey dog, and he was completely untrustworthy around kids, but we worked it out. However, that experience left me somewhat anxious about dogs–especially after we had kids.
This summer, I read all the details of the saga of JC looking for a dog, finding Missy/Lily, preparing for her to come home, helping her adapt, etc. I thought about how happy he seemed, and listened to all you snarky folks testify on the happiness your dogs bring…so I did some research, and found the local breed rescue for golden retrievers. It took me quite some time to make the move, do the paperwork and be evaluated…etc. When they called in mid-July and said they had a young male dog named Buddy (all homeless goldens are named Buddy, it seems), I was overwhelmed with worry. I thought, I don’t know his past. What if he bites one of the kids? What if the fact that he’s not neutered yet means he’ll be aggressive, even after neutering? Etc. My husband and I went to meet him, and though he was very friendly and nice, I still wasn’t sure. DH was ready to bring him home that day, but all my anxieties were making me fear dog ownership. Then we thought, OK, let’s take the kids and see what he thinks of them. We told the children: don’t run up to him. Let him approach. Don’t grab, extend your hand fist down. Blah blah safetycakes. Of course, we got there, they ran flying up to this dog, grabbed him to pet him, and fell to the ground with him, where he flopped over and put his head in my 5-year-old’s lap and started getting belly rubs. So much for caution.
We named him Murphy, and he is the sweetest, most easygoing creature on the planet. He came home to us skinny, with mats all over, three kinds of parasites, and his ears full of gunk. Despite the fact that he spent most of his early life tied to a tree in someone’s yard, he loves everyone, including the cats (who only sort of love him back). He lets all the neighbor children pile on him, he loves to go places and see new people, he lets us do all grooming and stuff, and all he asks is cuddles and food. I feel like John said about Lily–this is one of the best decisions I ever made as an adult. Goldens are sort of the happy stoners of the dog world, and Murphy is even happier and more lovey than most.
Middle TN Golden Retriever Rescue, http://www.rescueagolden.org. I started volunteering with them right after we got Murph, and it’s amazing to contribute to these wonderful rescue stories.
So none of you knew that your dog testimonials were helping this lurker along the road to dog life…but never fear, even when he ate my favorite red shoes, I didn’t say “FY John Cole and Balloon Juice!” I just told Murphy, “who’s a bad dog? You are! Yes, you are, you sweet thing!” Thanks, JC and BJ.
Charity
@asiangrrlMN: Hubby’s grandmother is awfully superstitious. We’ve tried to convince her that two black cats are lucky. She hasn’t quite bought it.