My current dog was returned twice because she didn’t bark or lick. You’d think those would be great attributes! Anyways, I adored him from the moment I saw him. Would he bark at an intruder? Probably not but then you never have to worry about doggy breath or slobber (except for when I brush his teeth).
I foster wild/abandoned animals (mostly cats) and I had many interesting moments with people and those animals but the ones that cannot leave my mind was a young female cat under 1 year old, not neutered, malnourished to a point you could see the hip bones and count the discs of her spine, weak, abused, with 3 small 3week old baby cats with her, no milk to give to them because of the lack of nutrients and very aggressive toward people, the man said if the shelter couldn't take her he would throw her outside with the babies and we live in Canada, it was december and winter was comming I knew they weren't gonna survive so I said I would take them, the look he gave me and just said "oh yeah! That's so cool man thanks I didn't want them anymore" was just like a slap to the face, my heart hurt just looking at those poor cats, I had to remove the babies from her and feed them every 4 hour by hand for almost 2 months and raise them as if I was mom and teach them how to use the bathroom, discovering new food after the milk and after getting them all neutered, find them homes (wich I was blessed with amazing families taking them, and I kept one of them and the mom) she is now very healthy, living a great life and not aggresive at all like before. The second one was a man who would chase is cat around the house and yell at her for destroying is paper towel, he would leave all day and come back at night and the cat felt very lonely and wanted to go around him, he would lose is mind, is son came to me and begged me to take in the cat because he said is dad had taking the gun out and wanted to shoot her in the garage cause she was a "nuisance" to the household items and no shelter wanted her because of her behavior, I took her in and she is now happily leaving with me with no trouble, it as been 5 years and I couldn't imagine where she would be now if it wasn't for that young boy comming to see me and begging me to save is cat that he loved so much, sometimes it just boggles my mind how some people think about those lifes of those animals.
This is wonderful and wholesome. A refreshing change.
I adopted two sister cats. Cats do not like change, and my house was larger than where they were before, so they were intimidated and scared. It was four weeks before I could pet the alpha, and four weeks and one day before I could pet the beta. They were wonderful and had their quirks. The beta outlived the alpha, and she became more vocal after her sister wasn't around to speak for her, lol.
My ex brother in law went to jail, my now ex wife gave her friend his cat. She was afraid of the cat and claimed the cat got aggressive and she made the cat stay in her basement. My ex Wife took him after hearing that and calls BS on her story, he is a very calm and docile cat without a mean bone in his body. He's a sweetheart
Two feral cats wandered into my back yard two years ago; a mother and daughter. I trapped, spayed, vaccinated, and released, and I've been slowly taming them. Not to mention building them a condo outside, non-freezing water bowls and food bowls…toys in trees… Nowadays they'll come indoors for a few minutes in the morning to be petted and say hello and get food, and spend time with me outside, but refuse to become indoor cats no matter what I try. So I invested in a cat door for them so they can come and go as they please. Mostly, they stay outside, but they do come in when it's really cold or really hot.
They're completely unadoptable, except I adopted them…
I think if my Amazon's were at a shelter they would have been considered unadoptable. I got them from a private animal sanctuary who were rehoming them because Darwin was so aggressive they could not provide him time outside the cage because he would wind up biting someone every time they tried. He lunged at anyone and everyone and flew to attack people he particularly didn't like. His companion had been tame but the sanctuary staff weren't able to handle her after she bonded to Darwin because he would attack anyone who tried. I've had the two of them for 3 years now. I fixed their diet, improved their enrichment, and did a ton of training with them. Darwin will never be handtame but he's so chilled out and loves to talk, dance and sing with people. He lets me handle his girlfriend and has not bitten anyone in years. He's such a good bird and it pains me to think most people would give up on him. Friendly reminder that animal behavior consultants exist; if your pet has behavioral issues hire a professional. Proper training really makes a world of difference.
We wanted to get another cat because our current cat was waking us up at 3/4/5 AM to play. My wife and I went to the shelter and found "Spot"; a black and white 6-month-old kitten who had been returned to the shelter 4 times already. Folks, it was because he was a piddler. We renamed him Geoffrey and he repaid our kindness by peeing on our stuff, my wife's stuff in particular. This included pillows, boots, air mattresses, etc. He did this for 5 years until we moved from Chicago to NYC via a Uhaul. Maybe that 15-hour drive finally convinced him he was with us for life. Now, he likes to be held like a baby and will "talk" via call and response.
Shadow was a skittish ball of fluff no one could approach. She used to live on a farm where the other dog attacked the farmer's son, so both dogs were sent to the pound. Her name was because between how she was camouflaged and ran after we got her, you'd never see her. She ended up getting parvo, and the vet was afraid to give her back because of how she wasn't a happy puppy. Put us into debt too.
She saved my wife's life from home invaders. She later beat a pack of coyotes away from the neighborhood, saving a half dozen cats thru the next few yearsMade forgiving the flock of chickens and the lamb she killed easier, but before moving to the hobby farm, the neighborhood loved her.
I have a cat who just sorta moved in. Her old owners gave up trying to take her back home. She's very skittish around people but is super friendly at the same time. Her old owner's kids weren't nice to her so she's a sensitive little thing. Despite that she has chosen me as her person and will follow me everywhere, climbing on my back, meowing constantly and sleeping on my pillow. She went missing for a week once and came home completely beaten up (hit by a car, chipped tooth, swollen face, limping) at like 5am, she used the last of her strength to climb onto my bed and fall asleep. Luckily she's fine now and currently sat on my lap and occasionally reaching up to touch my arm with her paw
They were going to put her down. She was a cranky 11 year old black cat with a stub tail. At first it was a nightmare, she didn’t like anyone and my mom would actually cry. Then my brother was born and she became completely attached to him and a lot nicer. It also turns out the reason she got so angry when petted is because some idiot left a tube inside her when they did surgery (no idea what it was for) She lived to be 17 and was a sweet old lady in the end.
The other was a young fluffy cat, beautiful but spicy until the very end. She warmed up a little over the years and was very affection in her last days (I believe she could tell she was dying) taken way too soon, cancer sucks
Years ago we adopted another cranky 11 year old cat with a skin disease. I’m glad we got her I think anyone else would’ve given up. She ended up having a lot of medical issues and needed to be kept in a crate and wouldn’t use a litter box just puppy pads. She was sweet thought when she felt like it. Lived to be 20
i have an "unhomeable" cat loafing in my lap right now, he was destined for Death Row, 11 years ago. a very marvelous creature, that gives warmth and love as only a small life can to an elderly couple. he is much loved. go to a shelter, adopt and save a life. you won't regret it.
I love taking care of fish, so this is my story. Some people that I know decided to put together a sorority Betta tank. While these kinds of tanks can be successful, female Betta fish can be just as aggressive as the males. Anyways, the inevitable happens and this red fish (formerly named Satan, now Scarlet) attacked a tank mate- another Betta. She was transferred to a different tank and her owners wanted to put her down. I took her home with me as soon as my tank was cycled, and I absolutely love my red Betta Scarlet. She has so much personality and loves having people visit her tank and talk to her. She is the most intelligent fish I've ever had, and I love her to bits. I'm excited to say that soon I'm adopting the last fish from that sorority- (as soon as my second tank is cycled) and I can't wait to see what kind of personality she has.
Adopted a cat who was at the shelter for around eight years I believe. Very shy and skittish but sweet but was overlooked. I saw his picture and said to myself, that’s my next cat. I like to believe my late Bella urged me to pick him, I lost her in November of 2021 and I adopted Juno two months later. He’s my little love bug and follows me around and pouts when I leave. To think he hid for a month straight after I adopted him.
My sisters' first dog was a German shepherd/yellow Lab mix who had been slated for euthanasia at the local shelter. He'd been found running loose with a rope around his neck, and from the way he reacted to any loud, sharp sound someone had tried to shoot him before he'd been caught. Had a scar from an animal snare around his back foot and was terrified of men. Turned out to be the sweetest thing on four feet, also one of the dumbest but still. The only time he ever growled at anyone was when a group of older boys started following my youngest sister when she was out walking him. Unfortunately Chester got the short end of the health stick, went blind, and developed crippling hip displasia. He lived to be 11 before he had to be put down because he could no longer stand up
My heart pet was what many would probably say is not one that you should adopt. I found her at an adoption event in a huge electronics store, when my mom and I went there for something. She was a calico named Precious. When I saw her, she was hunched in the back corner of her little crate, doing her damndest to not be near anyone. My mom at first refused, because we already had 2 cats at the time. But I literally cried over her, and mom gave in. Brought her home, and the moment she was let out of the carrier, she went and hid. Refusing to come out of hiding for anything if someone was in the room. I was in high school at the time, but in the mornings before I left for school I took to just going in the room, and kneeling on the floor for like 10-20 minutes. Not saying anything or moving. Just trying to get her used to my presence. It took a few days, but she finally crept out of hiding, and approached me, and it went from there.
She turned into my little soulmate. She had her odd quirks, though. Every time I would leave the house, even just to get the mail. She'd sit at the door and meow until I came back into view. Fortunately she got used to my school schedule, so wasn't that bad on those days. She had a stuffed toy dolphin that she would carry around with her. She turned into a real sweety long as I was around.
Been 20 years since she passed, but I still get teary eyed when I think about her.
My family has always loved animals, to the point where I can't remember a time where we didn't have at least one pet in the house. We even fostered a few animals before they got adopted. Whenever we got our pets, we always adopted them from a shelter. Our latest cat was adopted when my mom went to the cat shelter to look for a new friend. She saw all the beautiful, healthy, and photogenic cats before looking at the shelter working and saying "Show me the ones that nobody wants". She was led to a litter of sickly black cats; a mama and her kittens. Out of the entire wriggling mass of snotty little void creatures, she chose the runt of the litter. That cat is now fully grown- but still the size of an adolescent kitty- and she's a snotty, sneezing little sweetheart who loves cuddles and meowing at us :).
My former boss has a central Asian Shepard/great Dane/cane Corso mix. He adopted from the streets. He was on vacation somewhere or other,saw a scrawny, pitiful pile of fur,saw it was a puppy, maybe a few weeks old, and adopted him,mom, and the rest of the litter. All got other homes , except one, because thar one is mental
When I started college I came across scores of young women who feared and hated men! Many of these animal stories remind me of that.
Banana Boat is a legendary tier name for a cat
My dog before I adopted him was returned twice for being too hyper. I imagine any dog would be hyper after getting out of doggy jail
My heart…
My current dog was returned twice because she didn’t bark or lick. You’d think those would be great attributes! Anyways, I adored him from the moment I saw him. Would he bark at an intruder? Probably not but then you never have to worry about doggy breath or slobber (except for when I brush his teeth).
I foster wild/abandoned animals (mostly cats) and I had many interesting moments with people and those animals but the ones that cannot leave my mind was a young female cat under 1 year old, not neutered, malnourished to a point you could see the hip bones and count the discs of her spine, weak, abused, with 3 small 3week old baby cats with her, no milk to give to them because of the lack of nutrients and very aggressive toward people, the man said if the shelter couldn't take her he would throw her outside with the babies and we live in Canada, it was december and winter was comming I knew they weren't gonna survive so I said I would take them, the look he gave me and just said "oh yeah! That's so cool man thanks I didn't want them anymore" was just like a slap to the face, my heart hurt just looking at those poor cats, I had to remove the babies from her and feed them every 4 hour by hand for almost 2 months and raise them as if I was mom and teach them how to use the bathroom, discovering new food after the milk and after getting them all neutered, find them homes (wich I was blessed with amazing families taking them, and I kept one of them and the mom) she is now very healthy, living a great life and not aggresive at all like before. The second one was a man who would chase is cat around the house and yell at her for destroying is paper towel, he would leave all day and come back at night and the cat felt very lonely and wanted to go around him, he would lose is mind, is son came to me and begged me to take in the cat because he said is dad had taking the gun out and wanted to shoot her in the garage cause she was a "nuisance" to the household items and no shelter wanted her because of her behavior, I took her in and she is now happily leaving with me with no trouble, it as been 5 years and I couldn't imagine where she would be now if it wasn't for that young boy comming to see me and begging me to save is cat that he loved so much, sometimes it just boggles my mind how some people think about those lifes of those animals.
This is wonderful and wholesome. A refreshing change.
I adopted two sister cats. Cats do not like change, and my house was larger than where they were before, so they were intimidated and scared. It was four weeks before I could pet the alpha, and four weeks and one day before I could pet the beta. They were wonderful and had their quirks. The beta outlived the alpha, and she became more vocal after her sister wasn't around to speak for her, lol.
Someone is cutting onions over here as i listen to this video damnit
My ex brother in law went to jail, my now ex wife gave her friend his cat. She was afraid of the cat and claimed the cat got aggressive and she made the cat stay in her basement. My ex Wife took him after hearing that and calls BS on her story, he is a very calm and docile cat without a mean bone in his body. He's a sweetheart
Two feral cats wandered into my back yard two years ago; a mother and daughter. I trapped, spayed, vaccinated, and released, and I've been slowly taming them. Not to mention building them a condo outside, non-freezing water bowls and food bowls…toys in trees… Nowadays they'll come indoors for a few minutes in the morning to be petted and say hello and get food, and spend time with me outside, but refuse to become indoor cats no matter what I try. So I invested in a cat door for them so they can come and go as they please. Mostly, they stay outside, but they do come in when it's really cold or really hot.
They're completely unadoptable, except I adopted them…
I think if my Amazon's were at a shelter they would have been considered unadoptable. I got them from a private animal sanctuary who were rehoming them because Darwin was so aggressive they could not provide him time outside the cage because he would wind up biting someone every time they tried. He lunged at anyone and everyone and flew to attack people he particularly didn't like. His companion had been tame but the sanctuary staff weren't able to handle her after she bonded to Darwin because he would attack anyone who tried. I've had the two of them for 3 years now. I fixed their diet, improved their enrichment, and did a ton of training with them. Darwin will never be handtame but he's so chilled out and loves to talk, dance and sing with people. He lets me handle his girlfriend and has not bitten anyone in years. He's such a good bird and it pains me to think most people would give up on him. Friendly reminder that animal behavior consultants exist; if your pet has behavioral issues hire a professional. Proper training really makes a world of difference.
We wanted to get another cat because our current cat was waking us up at 3/4/5 AM to play. My wife and I went to the shelter and found "Spot"; a black and white 6-month-old kitten who had been returned to the shelter 4 times already. Folks, it was because he was a piddler. We renamed him Geoffrey and he repaid our kindness by peeing on our stuff, my wife's stuff in particular. This included pillows, boots, air mattresses, etc. He did this for 5 years until we moved from Chicago to NYC via a Uhaul. Maybe that 15-hour drive finally convinced him he was with us for life. Now, he likes to be held like a baby and will "talk" via call and response.
Shadow was a skittish ball of fluff no one could approach. She used to live on a farm where the other dog attacked the farmer's son, so both dogs were sent to the pound. Her name was because between how she was camouflaged and ran after we got her, you'd never see her. She ended up getting parvo, and the vet was afraid to give her back because of how she wasn't a happy puppy. Put us into debt too.
She saved my wife's life from home invaders. She later beat a pack of coyotes away from the neighborhood, saving a half dozen cats thru the next few yearsMade forgiving the flock of chickens and the lamb she killed easier, but before moving to the hobby farm, the neighborhood loved her.
I have a cat who just sorta moved in. Her old owners gave up trying to take her back home. She's very skittish around people but is super friendly at the same time. Her old owner's kids weren't nice to her so she's a sensitive little thing. Despite that she has chosen me as her person and will follow me everywhere, climbing on my back, meowing constantly and sleeping on my pillow. She went missing for a week once and came home completely beaten up (hit by a car, chipped tooth, swollen face, limping) at like 5am, she used the last of her strength to climb onto my bed and fall asleep. Luckily she's fine now and currently sat on my lap and occasionally reaching up to touch my arm with her paw
They were going to put her down. She was a cranky 11 year old black cat with a stub tail.
At first it was a nightmare, she didn’t like anyone and my mom would actually cry. Then my brother was born and she became completely attached to him and a lot nicer.
It also turns out the reason she got so angry when petted is because some idiot left a tube inside her when they did surgery (no idea what it was for)
She lived to be 17 and was a sweet old lady in the end.
The other was a young fluffy cat, beautiful but spicy until the very end. She warmed up a little over the years and was very affection in her last days (I believe she could tell she was dying) taken way too soon, cancer sucks
Years ago we adopted another cranky 11 year old cat with a skin disease. I’m glad we got her I think anyone else would’ve given up. She ended up having a lot of medical issues and needed to be kept in a crate and wouldn’t use a litter box just puppy pads. She was sweet thought when she felt like it. Lived to be 20
i have an "unhomeable" cat loafing in my lap right now, he was destined for Death Row, 11 years ago. a very marvelous creature, that gives warmth and love as only a small life can to an elderly couple. he is much loved. go to a shelter, adopt and save a life. you won't regret it.
I love taking care of fish, so this is my story. Some people that I know decided to put together a sorority Betta tank. While these kinds of tanks can be successful, female Betta fish can be just as aggressive as the males. Anyways, the inevitable happens and this red fish (formerly named Satan, now Scarlet) attacked a tank mate- another Betta. She was transferred to a different tank and her owners wanted to put her down. I took her home with me as soon as my tank was cycled, and I absolutely love my red Betta Scarlet. She has so much personality and loves having people visit her tank and talk to her. She is the most intelligent fish I've ever had, and I love her to bits. I'm excited to say that soon I'm adopting the last fish from that sorority- (as soon as my second tank is cycled) and I can't wait to see what kind of personality she has.
Adopted a cat who was at the shelter for around eight years I believe. Very shy and skittish but sweet but was overlooked. I saw his picture and said to myself, that’s my next cat. I like to believe my late Bella urged me to pick him, I lost her in November of 2021 and I adopted Juno two months later. He’s my little love bug and follows me around and pouts when I leave. To think he hid for a month straight after I adopted him.
My sisters' first dog was a German shepherd/yellow Lab mix who had been slated for euthanasia at the local shelter. He'd been found running loose with a rope around his neck, and from the way he reacted to any loud, sharp sound someone had tried to shoot him before he'd been caught. Had a scar from an animal snare around his back foot and was terrified of men. Turned out to be the sweetest thing on four feet, also one of the dumbest but still. The only time he ever growled at anyone was when a group of older boys started following my youngest sister when she was out walking him. Unfortunately Chester got the short end of the health stick, went blind, and developed crippling hip displasia. He lived to be 11 before he had to be put down because he could no longer stand up
Not extreme as some of these, but:
My heart pet was what many would probably say is not one that you should adopt. I found her at an adoption event in a huge electronics store, when my mom and I went there for something. She was a calico named Precious. When I saw her, she was hunched in the back corner of her little crate, doing her damndest to not be near anyone. My mom at first refused, because we already had 2 cats at the time. But I literally cried over her, and mom gave in. Brought her home, and the moment she was let out of the carrier, she went and hid. Refusing to come out of hiding for anything if someone was in the room. I was in high school at the time, but in the mornings before I left for school I took to just going in the room, and kneeling on the floor for like 10-20 minutes. Not saying anything or moving. Just trying to get her used to my presence. It took a few days, but she finally crept out of hiding, and approached me, and it went from there.
She turned into my little soulmate. She had her odd quirks, though. Every time I would leave the house, even just to get the mail. She'd sit at the door and meow until I came back into view. Fortunately she got used to my school schedule, so wasn't that bad on those days. She had a stuffed toy dolphin that she would carry around with her. She turned into a real sweety long as I was around.
Been 20 years since she passed, but I still get teary eyed when I think about her.
My family has always loved animals, to the point where I can't remember a time where we didn't have at least one pet in the house. We even fostered a few animals before they got adopted. Whenever we got our pets, we always adopted them from a shelter. Our latest cat was adopted when my mom went to the cat shelter to look for a new friend. She saw all the beautiful, healthy, and photogenic cats before looking at the shelter working and saying "Show me the ones that nobody wants". She was led to a litter of sickly black cats; a mama and her kittens. Out of the entire wriggling mass of snotty little void creatures, she chose the runt of the litter. That cat is now fully grown- but still the size of an adolescent kitty- and she's a snotty, sneezing little sweetheart who loves cuddles and meowing at us :).
My former boss has a central Asian Shepard/great Dane/cane Corso mix.
He adopted from the streets.
He was on vacation somewhere or other,saw a scrawny, pitiful pile of fur,saw it was a puppy, maybe a few weeks old, and adopted him,mom, and the rest of the litter.
All got other homes , except one, because thar one is mental