30 Days of Gratitude Challenge - Day 19

[Granny_Weatherwax]

🐶🐱🐦🏇🐹

Can you guess what we are grateful for today?

Our pets. Our animal companions. Those wonderful critters we have taken into our homes and our hearts.

Life is so much more meaningful and vibrant with our furred/feathered/finned friends.

Share a memory about one of your pets or animals that has touched your life. Post a pic if you have one.

Action step: Spend a bit of extra time with a pet today. Get out a grooming brush and brush and love on your pet. Clean the pet's bedding, food dishes, or leashes. Donate to an animal shelter. But a special treat for a friend's animal. Share a story about a childhood pet with your child(ren).

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Oh how I love animal companions. I have two at the moment and my life pretty much revolves around them. My oldest is a 14 2/3 yo Belgian Terv and the youngest is an 11 month Belgian Groenendael. Between senior care and puppy training, I have lots to do. I have never owned two dogs at the same time before so I don't know if the amount of work is due to the number or the ages. I think it's the ages.

One recent memory of my Terv - our friend's silver muzzle dog passed away while being snuggled and loved in their living room. Two days after his passing over the rainbow bridge, my guy, who had never been in their house, walked up their porch, pushed his way through the front door and went to the exact spot where the dog had passed. He put his head down and stood there for a few moments, turned around, and walked back outside and nuzzled the wife. He knew. He shared his condolences. We've been over there a few times since (it is on one of our walking routes) and he has never gone in the house again.

I have spent the last three years doing whatever I can for my aging baby and will continue to do so as long as he has the will to live.

Today, I will show him some extra love and take him to his favorite outdoor spot to run and enjoy himself. Maybe an extra treat or two.


 

[SKL]

I sensed this was coming.   😛

I am really not that big of a pet person; I got pets for my kids to have the experience.  First fish, then parakeets, then a guinea pig, and finally a puppy, not all at the same time.

Just yesterday my girls and I were reminiscing about our first parakeet.  He was so cute.  He loved people and was curious about everything.  He would also obey when asked to return to his cage, so we used to let him out a lot.  That probably wasn't a good idea, as he died suddenly, probably from eating something he shouldn't have.  😞  I'm attaching a photo of him with one of my kids.  After he died, we got two more parakeets, thinking they could be friends with each other.  But they didn't like each other at all.  We had to put them in separate cages.  My kid used to call them Donald and Hillary.  Don't let the second attached photo fool you.

I played ball with my pup in the yard today.  I hope to take him for a walk later, but we'll see - it's a busy day for work.  He got a new ball today also.  He's already way too spoiled!  He's sweet and cute when he isn't barking at things outside.  He was 7 months old in the third attached photo.

Edited November 19, 2021 by SKL

[Melissa Louise]

I loved my childhood dog. He was a bit highly strung, but when things were tough at home, and I was sad, he'd come and find me and put his head in my lap, and keep me company for a while. 

 

[mom31257]

I loved my childhood dog, too! Daddy brought him home from the train depot when I was 4 years old. He was the runt of a big litter, and I remember sitting on the back steps. He put the puppy in Mother's hands and he fit right in both of them. He had a small brown spot on his back that looked like a dash, so that's what she named him. We had him for 16 years. He was such a good companion to us all. My parents didn't allow pets inside, but I loved going out and playing with him and sitting with him. I loved that I could tell him everything and he would sit and listen. 

I test allergic to cats and dogs now, so we haven't had any pets inside, either. I don't have any reactions if I take an allergy pill, and even without it's just sinus headaches if long exposure. As long as I wash my hands, I seem fine. We had outside cats the last several years. Two of them passed away, and we found a new home for Callie before we moved. It's colder here and snows, and she was always cold natured. 

My sister has had house dogs that I have really enjoyed. Her current dog is a Mexican chihuahua named Minnie. She really likes it when I come visit. 

Our dd has a beautiful black cat, Echo, that has been wonderful company for her. 

I'm grateful that pets mean so much to us and make our lives more complete. I hope we will be able to have another one someday. 

 

[mom31257]

This is my childhood dog. As you can see, the dash grew all the way down both sides. 

[mom31257]

This is my sister’s dog, Minnie, in my lap. 

[historically accurate]

Mayhem (white stripe down nose) and Eclipse(all black): We've always had cats, and these two are pretty great. Mayhem lives up to her name in every aspect. Eclipse is a super sweet scaredy-cat.

Mister (striped tabby): I still miss my Mister. He was mine, although he was my mom's first. He and his brother (Tipper) and his sister (Shy Girl) were born in a hollow tree in my parent's yard. When DH and my cat died, we took Tipper & Mister. Couldn't catch Shy Girl. Mister liked to sleep on my pillow wrapped around my head - we used to joke he liked to perforate my head to let the heat out (he would "comb" my hair with his paws/claws). 

 

Edited November 20, 2021 by historically accurate

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Love all of these pics.