So how did you come about getting your pet/pets??

I know alot of you have been coming to Pettalk for years and you know alot about each other and about the pets behind the owners, but i thought it might be nice to tell the stories behind the pets in this thread. So, how did you come about getting your pet/pets? Thought there might be some neat stories to tell...

So anyway...this is how i came about getting my Dandy:

We finally decided that we wanted a kitty, so we decided to visit shelters...and had been to a few...we were actually looking for an all black adult cat (we think they are beautiful)...but as i walked by Dandy's cage...her paws were hanging out and she was just so relaxed and affectionate that i just had to ask if i could see her...so they took her out and it was love at first sight...we signed the forms to be on the list when she was available to be adopted and before you know it, we got the call, and we went to pick her up and the rest is history!! We feel she was really meant to be, b/c we were the first people to sign an application on her, if we hadnt been, i am sure someone else would have snatched her up, b/c she is just sooo lovable...so anyway, thats our story...we went out looking for a black cat, but Dandy stole our hearts...and she could have been purple and we still would have taken her home...its whats on the inside that counts, right?? ;) Besides she is a beauty on the outside too...she was destined to be our cat, and we are the lucky owners of little miss Dandy!! ;)

So how about your story? If you have several animals and just want to tell about 1 or 2...whatever floats your boat!! :)

Robyn:D

Our cats-
Misty- Our friend had a litter and my sister decid to take one home.
Tundra- There was a career fare at school and peple were giving her and her sister away
Hoss- We got a kitty, my little brother fell in love and then my parents gave it away. They felt bad so they went out and got hoss for him
Buddy- What can we say? We got Hoss we had to get the other adorable one!
Smokey- My sister's boyfriend had her and abused her, threw her against walls and stuff so my sister waited to brake up with him, got Smokey over here and then broke up with him and kept her :D
Wiley- Peole were throwing rocks at him at the school so my sister, being my sister :D saved him :D

Dogs-
Teddy- My mom wanted a really pretty dog, but one who was small and well behaved
Chewy- We were looking for a dog at the spca and just could not find one, finally a litter of Aussie (mix) pups came in and well, we picked out our little devil :D
Honey- My sister is going to be moving out soon and wanted a Pom so we saw an add in the paper, went, met the person, and took our little Honey bunny home

Rats-
Melony and Hope- I heard rats were good pets so we deced to adopt 2 females after my hamster Aspen died
Tundra and Brook- I just love rats, what cna I say, and when I found out we were getting a new cage I knew I need 2 more to go along with my older girls :D

Chemleon-
Peaches- My sister's boyfriend insisted that she get one, so we got one and ended up with our sweet peaches

Fish-
Guy- People at college were going to kill it so, again, my sister saved him (can we see a patern starting????)
Kitty, Godzilla, Spike- We got a bigger tank for guy and wanted more fish
Bella- We wanted a pretty beta to go on our kitchen table and ended up getting a not so pretty one, but a loved one no the less.

Bunny-
Jillian- I have been wanting a bunny for 4 months, after my parents seprated I convinced my dad to get me a bunny.

Ashley

Corkscrew- this girl that a new (kind of a friend of a friend) decided that she didn't want a cat anymore, and after everyone else she tried to dump him on didn't want him either she was going to take him to the humane society. So luckily I heard about this before she took him so she dropped of Corkscrew at my house and he's been with me ever since.

Tibby- My cat Zasper died and Corkscrew was getting lonely so I decided he needed a friend. So I put up an ad on Petfinder.com saying I wanted a siamese mix kitten. A lady from a local shelter emailed me saying she had a beautiful siamese mix at her shelter that I should look at. The shelter was run in a house and Tibby was so shy that at first I barely even saw her. But after three trips to the shelter I decided that Tibby was the perfect cat for me.

My dog, Star: We had been looking for a dog for awhile, and I came across Star at Narf Rescue. She was the perfect size, and when I walked up to her pen she looked right up at me and I was in love.

My cat, Cupcake: Again, we had been looking for a cat for awhile. My mother surprised me with her when I arrived home from school one day when I was in 4th grade.

My snake, Chubby: I was jealous b/c my boyfriend had recently gotten a snake. We spent a weekend putting a divider in the large terrarium he had for his snake, and I fell in love with the Western Hognose while I was researching what kind of snake to get. The pet store that I now work at happened to have a hatchling Hog there, so I took her home.

My beardie, Alielle: I won a small dragon online. After he had been home for eight days, my cat got into my room and killed him. I re-screened and cat proofed the tank, and installed a lock on my door. I then set about looking at beardie breeders online, and I found Alielle at Beardie Village. (http://beardies4sale.homestead.com/main.html) She was a tiny baby, and she is still very small for her age, but she is beautiful and has a huge personality!

My other beardie, Magoo: Magoo was someone's pet for several years before they got bored with him and dumped him off at my workplace. His vision isn't fantastic, and he is not in his prime, so the other dragons were getting all of the food. As a result, he lost a dramatic amount of weight and became very sick. When I saw how skeletal he had become I took him home. I am still trying to nurse him back to health.

Neko was a gift from my boyfriend (now fiance!!) for our first anniversary. We went to the nearby shelter to pick out a kitty. He was the only grey tabby in a litter of all grey kitties and he was the only one that didn't use their claws when he stuck his foot out of the cage door.
Cookie was a feral kitty that brian caught at his work. There was an increasing number of kitties there and the owners of the building were not too pleased about it. So they got the females spayed and told anyone who wanted a kitty to go ahead and take one home. So brian lured her over with some food and plopped her into a box and she was on her way to her new home!
Pumpkin we got from the shelter cause I wanted an orange kitty. When we saw her, she was too young to go home so we had to wait a couple of weeks for her. then she got sick and they were not sure if she was even going to live, but she did and we're so lucky to have her!
Tama was given to me by a women that comes to the vet that i work for. She knew I loved Abyssinians. She found out that her son was deathly allergic to him so she gave him to me!!

well, i have always wanted a dog and always begged my dad for one. to kind of get me out of the dog thing, he bought me an aquarium full of fish. i was about 10 and fish were "so cool" but i eventually got back into the dog thing and kept bugging my dad about it. two years ago, they opened a pet store near my house that sold rats and fish and little animals like that. i used to go in every day after school to play with the mice. (weird, huh?) and started to want one. my dad agreed to check them out so we went to this huge pet store. when we were there, there was a little sheltie in one of the cages jumping around. we all loved the dog but my dad bought me birds instead. that's how i got my two lil' parakeets. after a loooot of begging, he gave in. during the summer, i researched on shelties and found a breeder, but all the pups were spoken for. we visited shelters and evetually bought a dog at a "breeder" (it looked more like a puppy mill) and kept him for a day. he was too big for us and we brought him to the shelter. i feel better knowing we rescued him from that lady. anyways, i went back to the website of that breeder and my mom and her kept in touch all summer until we reserved mickey. ta-dah! :D that's my story. lol :D

Tatty/cat was given to me in the street by a woman who was trying to give kittens away, he was only 6 weeks old and has been with me for 10 years now.

Max/cat was rescued and came to me via The cats protection league and has been here for nearly 8 years.

Bunny/rabbit was bought for menearly 2 yeasr ago from a pet shop.

Cadbury and Twinkle/rabbits came from Bunny along with 4 others as a special present.

Graemer and Miley are bro and sis and I purchased them from a breeder in NY state near the PA state line. They are now a little over 2 years old. Gabe, the Ragdoll kitty is around four years old and came from NJ via Robin and Pam aka Pam and Christiansmommie..... I love all three of them. They are all a delight to be around and also have their moments of driving me crazy! Right now they are all three asleep! Works for ME!:)

Ralph and I were planning out wedding and we knwo soon after we got married we wanted a dog. One of our groomsmen was working with a guy whose brother had taken in a dalmation whose owner was going to put her down because he didn't like they way she was acting. well, she was acting pregnant!! After we returned from our honeymoon, we eamiled back and forth with the guy and finally decided to go see the pups. all but 4 were spoken for and we knew we wanted wither the only girl left or the runt (a male) I held the male first and Ralph held the girl. They were both adorable!! we then tradeda nd that little baby, buried herself in my coat, under my hair, She was wrapped around me and wasnt ;etting go. Well, we had to let her go, cause she was too young to come home, but 2 weeks later, we went back and brought home our Sadie girl!!!

Almost a year later, we were kicking around the idea of getting Sadie and playmate. We were chaking websites, looking around, but not quite sure. One Saturday morning my mom called and sais there were lab mix puppies in the paper in Findlay, so I called and we made arrangements to go down the next day. Watching the puppies play together, there was something about Cincy that i knew she had to be ours. She was not afraid of things, yet, didn't lead the charge either. She seemed like a good mix with sadie. (we took Sadie with us, but she wasn't to bring home the kitten) Cincy's belly didn't look quite right and she had a tick in her ear, but some good food, good loving and a trip to the vet took care of all our worries.

We have had Sadie 27 months and Cincy 14 months now and we couldn't ask for two better dogs for us or each other!

CATS
Amber) local humane society (kill shelter)
Ashley) local no-kill shelter
Biddy) stray at a friend's house
Calvin) local no-kill shelter
Fern) local no-kill shelter
Jasper) my vet stopped this kitten from going to the shelter, and called me
Jim and Kim) brother/sister, local no-kill shelter
Lucas) stray at my work place
Monte) local no-kill shelter
Rutherford) local no-kill shelter
Sterling) Local humane society
Willow) local no-kill shelter


MICE
Dickens) humane society
Penny, Martha Stewart, Betty White, Vanna White, Raven) pet stores
Kristin, Marilyn, Megan, Kaye, Jaye, Sarah, Heather, Goldie, Bill, Michael) A mouse breeder/rescuer

SYDNEY : my sweet RB-cat came here because a friend of us had a litter of 3 cats ; she was looking for good homes for them . So sorry that our Sydney died 2 weeks before his 2nd birthday ...

MAYA : after Sydney's death , we went to a shelter . There , Maya meowed constantly to get our attention ! We believe that RB-Sydney had given her that instruction ..! Well , it worked !!!

INKA : she was found in a cornfield , all dried out , hungry and sick . Now she is the sweetest , softest kitten I ever saw!!!

BILLIE : she is my daughter's bunny ! She came here as an Easter-gift !! My daughter was sure Billie was the Easter bun !!!

JASPER : I saw him in a pet-store . He was the cutest of the whole bunch and stole my heart instantly ..!

Lots of FISH : in our pond , the fish-population grew slowly . Now there must be about 60 of them !!!

if you want to know more , you can read about my pets on my web-site !!!

Keegancame to me after
Shaianne crossed to the rainbow bridge. (I got her from the local humane society) A friend from work had her male GR sire a litter with a friend's GR. They were getting a free puppy and when she found out that Shaianne had died, she offered me the puppy. After some soul searching I decided to take her and brought Keegan home when she was 6 weeks old! She was so small I could carry her like a baby.
Kylie came to me when she was a year old. A friend that I worked with had Kylie and her tiger brother Max. Her then boyfriend - now husband didn't like Kylie b/c she had long hair. :rolleyes: And was mean to her. I wanted to get a kitty as a playmate for Shaianne and was going to get a kitten. But my friend offered me Kylie, so I took her on a temporary basis or so I thought. Well after about 2 weeks, I was so attached to her I knew she wasn't going back to that house with 'him' there. Then her brother Max mysteriously disappeared one day, I knew she wasn't going back. Kylie helped me so much when my beloved Shaiannedied, she is my precious little kitter!

Smokey? I was 2 years old. I obviously don't remember. My parents got him from a breeder...for me, actually. It's rather funny....I didn't have many friends, so they ended up getting me a dog and getting me interested in drawing.....lol....and here I am now, obsessed with animals and art. :rolleyes:

I guess there were 2 pups left in the litter...2 boys...one was perfect, and then there was Smokey...lol. He has crooked teeth, crooked back, longer legs, etc. My mom said he reminded her of herself (lol) so she picked the pup that wasn't wanted, because she was worried nobody else would take him and he'd end up at shelter. Needless to say, we've had the funny looking little $50 black poodle for almost 17 years now, and he's still a Momma's boy. :D

Reggie was another last of the litter pups (you may find a theme going on here...) My dad's friend from work had a schnauzer with pups, and there was one pup they just couldn't get rid of! He was very large for a mini schnauzer, had thick ears that stuck up, and a hernia. My parents talked with us (kids) about getting another dog, but they never really said we could. And one day my dad took just me for a ride, and we ended up going to get my Reggie boy! I don't know how old he was, but he was quite large, and he'd been there for a while....he was free. I remember he'd just had a bath and he rode home with his paws on my shoulder.

And on to Nebo...well, practically since I was born I had been *begging* to get another dog. I've always been obsessed with wolves, and this somehow turned into an obsession with siberian huskies and german shepards. Huskies became the main focus.....I bought books, drew them, etc. etc. and just about drove my parents insane. Well, it started out this year with my sister getting a westie pup, McKinney. I ended up taking care (EXTRA GOOD CARE) of him for 3 weeks....and I believe it somehow convinced my parents that I actually could take on the full responsibility of my own dog. And from McKinney, my friend, Melissa, ended up convincing her parents to let her get a dog (actually, it was either she get a dog or she was moving out...lol). So then there was Lady....and many talks with my parents about dogs.... It was amazing to me though, as the talks turned from a strict "NO" to a sort of "maybe." After the "maybe" I was always hinting on puppies. And then I ended up in the hospital...I think that's when they finally gave in.

Ok well, I'll admit I was a *little* ;) excited about finally getting my husky!!! I looked for ads in the paper, and ended up visiting several litters of husky puppies. I, of course, fell in love with them all. I had convinced myself earlier that I would come home with an AKC black and white female. And after looking at all of those puppies, there were these 2 red males that I just couldn't get out of my head! I don't know what it was about them.......it really was stupid of me to get one of them...they were not AKC, they were little snots...OH WELL, what's done is done. They were also the last of the litter. I ended up choosing Nebo over his almost identical brother because he was slightly smaller, darker, and has that cute little stripe down his belly. We had some "issues" at first (he really was a snot!) but now he's my baby....the over-sized lap dog...and I love him to death. :D

It's rather funny as the first deal of me getting a dog would be.....an outside dog, they'd have nothing to do with it, etc. etc. etc. Now the spoiled brat lives inside, and my dad's always bragging about his "grandson." ;)

Mocha Bean - I was working at a drive-thru( Can ya tell I live close to Seattle? :rolleyes: Espresso stand and this guy came through whose ex-girlfriend had Siamese cats who had kittens. She broke up with him and took the adults, left him all the kittens and he had one left and was taking her to the shelter. I lived in an apt with a no pet policy but thought I could hide a cat. She was such a cute little blonde ball of fluff with those blue eyes...and SO small. Mocha is about 7yrs now and she IS "Daddy's little Princess".

Garbonzo Bean - Well when Mocha was about 1.5yr. she ran away (This is how I met my Husband:D) When she came back I thought maybe she'd like a buddy so I went to the Shelter looking for a kitten and someone had just brought Boo in. He was this really cute small sealpoint Birman with Thumbs!! It was rocky at first but they are best buddies now, and Boo is a definetly a Mama's Boy.


LOUD Louie- aka Louis Qwilleran Winthorpe-
My husband and I decided not to have children and after about a year of research I decided that a Corgi would fit in wonderfully. I contacted a wonderful breeder who lived all the way on the Otherside of the state and she gave me pick of the litter. My husband and I drove half way and she met us the other half. She brought the WHOLE family including Louie's parents, Reba &Willie. We met in this huge gravel parking lot outside a restaurant and got to play with everyone. When I walked back to the car to get the kennel, Louie was the pup that followed me all the way to the car........He's been a Mama's Boy ever since.:D

Let's see, Dakota came home with her Daddy one Sunday afternoon when I had no clue where he had ran off to. We got lucky because he had wanted a Dane but were about to give up looking for one because we couldn't find one in our price range. Well, he found her in front of Wal-Mart where some lady was selling her (I know, it wasn't a shelter or anything like that, but maybe she would have ended up in one if we hadn't saved her!) We couldn't ask for a better dog for us, we love her so much.

As for Destiny, Brian and I were thinking about getting another dog for us and to keep Dakota company while we're gone. We were trying to find a lab or something like that but were having trouble finding the breeds we wanted. One night, our neighbor was over and asked if we knew anybody who wanted a free dalmation. Well, that was one of the breeds we had been considering so we got more info from him, went to see Destiny a couple of hours later, brought her home, and she seems like she knows she belongs there.

I can't believe how well they've gotten along together or how attached to each other they are now. Destiny whines everytime Brian takes Dakota anywhere until her Dakota is back by her side. They act like they've been together forever, not just the 2 to 3 months that we've had them together. We got lucky, but I it often works out that way when you know stuff about a breed before you make a decision to get one and go into the decision of getting a pet fully aware of the responsiblities and are devoted to stick with it until the end!

Has come to me by various forms of rescue...

the abused, neglected and usually scaled or feathered find my home a sanctuary.... it would not be uncommon for me to be sitting at the computer wit an iguana on one shoulder.. a bird on the other.. a lizard in my lap and two turtles at my feet trying to get my attention because they want part of the food that I am eating...

Myrtle , our box turtle, was found hit on the road 13+ yrs ago.. his leg broken.. bruised and battered all over..we were luck enough to know of a vet who repaired his leg..but by the time he healed .. almost two yrs.. he was too tame to return to the wild.

Alice, our female box turtle, came to me after over 150 animals were confiscated from a pet mill in Alabama. She had to have wires dug from her shell because the mill owners had wired her to the bottom of the cage so she couldn't run from the males.

Audrey.. our little finch was mauled by a cat.. luckily she had no broken bones.. she was abandoned in a cage by a stack of garbage when I found her.

Griz our iguana. came from a rescue half way across the US... She is Blind... and needs alot of attention as she interacts mostly by touch and talking to her...

Nando.. who is sadly missed is one of the saddest cases.. he, a savannah monitor.. was found half frozen in the snow... he lost a few of his toes to frost bite.. and was very sickly because he had been starved.. after 2 yrs.. he lost his battle with the infections and passed away in his sleep.

And the Fish... my hubby couldn't bear to see them fed to the turtles andbegged me to spare them.. we now feed our turtles fish from the grocery store..:)


Soon we may also have another iguana.. she has no name yet.. but she is too sick to travel.. perhaps by spring.... she has MBD.. basically the reptillian equivalent of Osteoporosis.. if you touch her her bones will break.. luckily she is making a slow recovery.