[Contest] Pawprints on your heart

Not entering, but just want to share a funny story of my dumb fur baby. Harvery is a yellow lab corgi mix. His favorite thing in the world is to go visit the neighbors farm across the road. They love him and take him on golf cart rides, dropping him back off at our door. Harvey's favorite thing to do at the neighbors is to eat horse shit, roll in it, come home smelling to high heaven, then vomit up the horse shit on the front porch. This happens 1-3 times a week.

"Until one loves an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

When my boyfriend and I first moved back to British Columbia we were going to be staying in the upper level of a rented house with my best friend and her girlfriend. Below us lived my friends business partner. I owned one cat, my friends owned 3 and the man downstairs owned one aswell. My friends cats did not like Alphonse, we assume because he was still unneutered at the time. Anyway, for weeks the other cats would ignore Al and not play with him.. finally he was outside exploring (he'd never gotten a chance as we lived in an apartment prior) and the Man who lives down stairs cat comes flying out at my cat in the backyard and starts pouncing him! My firends and I watch with a bit of anxiety - Is Al going to be a dick and start a fight with this Male? Nope.. they start rolling around on the ground and and chasing each other. Eventually they both start running lengthwise along the backyard towards a little wire fence that blocked off the neighbors yard.. My dear Alphonse somehow fails to SEE the fence at all and runs RIGHT into it, and gets his HEAD STUCK IN THE WIRING, while the other cat majestic as gazelle leaps over it without a second thought and keeps booking it out of the backyard, ditching my poor fail cat in the fence.

"I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian" "Until one has loved an animal, My cat made it very clear that he did not like my Vet from the moment he met him. The vet asked us to take him out of his carrier so he could start to check him out, and we let him out and he jumps down - the vet says that's fine and to let him wander around the small room a few moments.. We say Okay. The cat promptly walks over to the Vet and pees on his foot. Like he was a dog or something. He tried to even act like he was covering it in sand after.

I had a dog who died of cancer, and when the vet came to my house to euthanize her, I was struck by how hard the vet's job must be - her experience (in that part of her practice, at least) is 100% sorrow, no silver lining. She sees the dogs at their worst, and If I'm any gauge, their owners in a state unfit for company. I'm glad you do what you do - and even if a client is a jerk once in a while, I hope that the majority recognize how hard you work and how much you care for their animals.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. Are you familiar with a bird called a skimmer? Their lower bill is longer than their upper bill, so they can fly low over water and dip out fish. I have a Catahoula, and she's like a skimmer, except with cow flops. She can be running at breakneck speed through the sage brush, dip her head, open her jaw, shovel that green goo into her gullet and just keep on runnin'. She knows if she slows down to savor it, I'll chastise her. She has adapted to this by becoming a fan of 'fast food'.

And, I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian. That dog was born with only one ear canal. Her other ear just has a shallow dish; it doesn't go through into her head. I joke that she's a Democratic dog, because she can't hear out of her right ear. Every vet I take her to, in the first visit, all the vets and techs crowd into the exam room to see. It's always a big hit. It's fun to surprise a clinic full of vets, who've seen it all. But this has happened now with three different vets. :)

My cat is an only child in our house. He also defies the "calm Persian" stereotype by being messy, bossy, active, and very loud. Lately he has gotten into the habit of snuggling with us in bed by sitting on our heads. It used to jay be curling up next to my head, or between our pillows. But the last two nights I have been woken up by a fluffy tail in my face and a cat butt on my cheek. Gross. Luckily, he is just happy to get the attention if I wake up and move him.

Hopefully I can put a smile on your face by telling you about my sweet, lovable, weenie of a cat, Kenny. He's a darling boy really, he's good company and a great snuggler, but he can whine like a such a little bitch sometimes.

What makes Kenny really cool though is that I can do just about anything to him and he'll go along with it, he trusts me that much. He lets me dress him in costumes and sweaters, can be clicker trained (when he gets really vocal in the spring), plays fetch, comes when I call him and usually gives me a little "what's up?" chirp when he runs in.

He also lets me put him on a leash and take him for adventures! When I get out his leash and ultra-comfy padded harness he comes running doing that chirp thing and meowing, rubs his face on the harness and all that. He's right under my feet meowing if I don't put it on him immediately.

But remember how I called him a weenie earlier? After he gets suited up to go outside he spends all of his time outdoors moaning like I'm trying to kill him. I'll carry him out to the grass and he rides comfortably in my arms, never tense or struggling, but he won't stop bitching the entire time and it's the most annoying howl ever.

I really don't understand him. He get so very excited to get his harness on and be outside, but then makes it sound like I'm holding a knife to his throat. I still don't understand why he's like this and he's about six years old now. I'm glad it makes him happy to be outside, but I have trouble with the intense meowing. He's so pitiful and confused, my sweet little momma's boy.. He wants to be outside, but he's so unsure, but he trusts me, but he's still unsure, he loves it, but hates it. He's a pain in the butt, but he's my sidekick - "Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

"I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian"

Kenny was the adopted little bro of an old tomcat we inherited from an elderly neighbor - that cat's name was Blackie. I affectionately rechristened him Buckie (or black bastard if he was being a jerk).

Well Buckie gave me an unfortunate surprise on my birthday one year as I woke up to see blood flowing from his eye. Talk about panic inducing. I was home alone in a new city with a cat crying tears of blood.

I called around and finally found a vet that would examine him ASAP. I rushed him in and was met by the most sincerely kind-hearted staff I could have hoped for. They seemed to genuinely care for Blackie and also for me and my state of shock and worry. The vet assumed his condition to have been caused by an abscess in his mouth pushing up on his eye socket and so she removed some of his rotten teeth that day (he was 15 years old). He came home just fine, but a couple of weeks later poor Buckie began to have seizures. The veterinarian then determined that he had a tumor in his face that was putting pressure on his brain. She and her staff were such great emotional supports for us during that time when we realized that he wouldn't be with us much longer.

We took him in to their office every few weeks for steroid injections and other things to help keep him comfortable. A few more weeks go by and that fateful day came around when I realized that poor Buckie was ready to go on to live his next nine lives. I had never put an animal down before, but I made the phone call, scheduled an appointment for that afternoon, and cuddled with him until the minute we walked out the door.

When we got to the office there were several staff members who got us straight into a room, one even stayed and cried with us. They all had been with us the past few months and knew how much we cared for this little old man. They wanted to help us through our pain while making sure he felt as little pain or panic of his own. After the vet gave Blackie the injection she turned and gave me a hug,.. a genuine hug. I appreciated her so much for that. She was willing to experience the pain with me and help me get through it.

I'll never forget how caring those people were and I am so thankful for all that they did for us during those sad few months.

I don't want to end this post with downer feelings, so here are some pictures of the boys! Enjoy!

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. We have baby gates that we use when we want the ferret or the dog not to have acces to a room but still let the air conditioner get in. The ferret will hode behind an unused gates for long periods of time. As soon as the dog get near the gate, the ferret will push with all his force until the gate fall on the dog. Once or twice it's a coincidence. 4 times a day... he's terrorizing our dog. The dog is now so scare of the gate that we have to walk with him in the hallway or he will refuse to pass the gates. This is so frustrating... Both of them!

I rescued 4 rats from the municipal shelter. I asked their vet to souble check and make sure they were all girls because 4 girls is enough without babies. The vet double checked and gave me the go "no babies with those girls" At home I rechecked all girls and yup all sweeties. One of my little ratty girl got a baby today. Apparently the fact that I have 4 girls sexed by the vet didn't mean that before that they wasn't a mix. Since I want to share the newcomer with everyone here goes! I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian

Oh I'm so sorry to hear about your week... last week I lost my sweet old 16-year-old girl to liver cancer and it was SO hard. <3 You're very strong for helping other families through that!

My favourite (and by favourite, I mean drives me absolutely berserk) thing Geronimo, one of my cats, does is behaves as if he has never been fed and violently gobbles anything he can reach. This got him in trouble in a very amusing way recently when someone (obviously I have no idea who) broke into the dog food bin and ate the dog's food.

In unrelated news, my cats had just knocked over their entire tower of cat food - that is supposed to get automatically dispensed 3x daily - and gorged themselves upon its kibbly entrails, so they were on a diet. Again, that is obviously COMPLETELY UNRELATED to the dog food theft. Yep.

Anyway, here's Geronimo sometime after the dog food theft ^((Please don't repost my picture! I want to upload it to the imgur gallery myself later but haven't gotten around to it yet, hence the giant watermark for now, lol)^). Nothing to see here, folks. Just a cat. OBVIOUSLY not a food thief. Nope... just a giant, greedy, furry land whale I call Geronimo.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. And frankly I think it might be the largest part.

And for a positive vet story, well, I had a FANTASTIC vet that my family's been going to for 3 generations (& has been owned/run by the same family for equally as long) who has sadly gone downhill but they were great, once upon a time... so great that after learning that our dog had passed (this was years back), they called us the next day just to ask how we were. And a day or two after that, we received a hand-signed sympathy card in the mail with a personalised note. It was so touching to know that they were that invested in their careers, in their patients, and in the special bond of love between those patients and their masters. It was truly heartwarming. We knew that our dog had been in good hands, even though she passed at the hospital after visiting hours when we weren't there to hold her... but we knew they were. That means so much.

I can't bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian!

This is my baby girl http://imgur.com/y9cH2m4 She can't eat alone, her food dish is in the kitchen and she takes one piece at a time and goes where ever i am and stares at me and eats, then back to the kitchen for another piece and repeats it all over. Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

This is why I love my Vet. One day my daughter went to talk her friend home, she took Daisy with her on the leash, well a car veered off the road and hit Daisy (she was 6 months old). Took her to the vet, (they helped calm my daughter down too.) Daisys back leg the bones where crushed not just broken. We had two choices amputation, or try metal pins and save it. He was doubtful the metal would work but wanted to try it. She was in a bright pink cast for a while. And He did it, He saved her leg of course you can tell some days it bothers her and she doesn't like to go for walks but thats ok. She is now 9. I send everyone to my vet because how great and caring he was.
I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian

We have a boxer, who is kind of an old man and he sheds little white hairs everywhere, no matter how much we brush him. The thing that drives me crazy is that if we leave anything anywhere in the house that is soft or that might kind of smell like us, he will lay on it all day long and leave it COVERED in white dog fur. He's not even white! But if I fold laundry and forget even a pile of washcloths, he will get on the couch and lay on that pile all day while we are gone, leaving me no choice but to rehash it when I get home. And man, if I get sleepy and forget to put up my laundry before bed, I awaken to a piles of clothes covered completely in dog fur. There's no lint rolling them off. They have to be rewashed. It's so annoying, but I know he does it because he just loves anything that is ours... And anything that is soft LOL.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Piddy my cat is very lovey to the point that she follows me and on days off, I like to sit downstairs and watch tv for a bit. She'll come down and stare at me through the screen on the door of the stairs (placed ot keep her and my other cat upstairs) and meow and meow and meow. When i'm coming upstairs she flops in front of me on the steps and looks adorable but thats really bad when i'm carrying something! lol she wants attention a little to much, she's a needy old fart ha.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

I used to love taking my old cat to the vets. See, when we first got her, I had named her paradise, but pretty soon it became evident that was not her name, because everytime my dad yelled at her, it was Dammit cat...Dammit cat leave the plants alone. Dammit cat leave the dog alone. Dammit cat get off the table. After a week of this my high schooler wisdom kicked in and I was like you know she hears Dammit cat more than paradise lets just call her Dammit. Ever after that, taking her to the vet this is Dammit, she's here for shots. Watching a vet trying to sooth a cat scared to death by saying dammit calm down, was the best thing ever. Also I had to recount teh naming of that cat every time i took her to the vets...Every time!

I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

I've had dogs my whole life, and the last 20 years or so I've had giant breed dogs. It all started with a dog I found in a shelter in New Jersey. She was a pure white Dane, with bright blue eyes, and the absolute sweetest disposition. She was also 35lbs, absolutely emaciated, and had pneumonia (it was February, and they had her outside in a run with 3 feet of snow). I got there 15 minutes before the shelter closed, and learned that she was on the euthanasia list for the following morning because she had been deemed "unadoptable". I found out why about 30 seconds after I went back into her run, when a black and white blur came at me and bit a chunk out of my leg - she had a littermate who did a fantastic Cujo impression, but who she couldn't be separated from, since she was deaf.

enter sucker

Both of the friends that were with me assured me over and over that adopting two full grown, ill great danes, one of whom had a severe attitude problem, was not a good idea. For whatever reason, I don't remember now, I was sure that they were mine.

I get home, stopping four or five times along the way to belay dog lunges and snarls from Tatiana (the harlequin), and immediately went to my vet, Dr. McDonald (yes, he has a farm). Dr. Mac told me that they were both in heat, both had pneumonia, and the preliminary xrays showed that they were 3 years old, and both had multiple broken bones in their pasts. Since they were dropped off at the shelter when a couple got divorced, he assumed that they were the marital punching bags. He cut me a break on the bill, gave me a ton of samples for medication, and showed me how to do some of the procedures needed (I'm an EMT) so that I wouldn't have to bring them back as often. He promised to check in every couple days, and he did. To this day, he takes care of all my dogs.

$5k later, I had two dogs, one sweet as pie, one angry as hell, that needed to gain about a hundred pounds. It took about 2 years before they stopped flinching at sudden movements, and about another year after that before Tatiana would let men anywhere near her, but they were the BEST dogs. They loved to go out in the woods with me, loved to sit with me on the couch and watch movies, and they never left a single crumb on the floor whenever I dropped food while cooking. Pearl died at 13, and Tatiana followed 2 months later. Great Danes have been my favorite dog ever since, and I've never regretted a single moment or a single cent spent. My current Dane, Dora, was a similar rescue, and is currently 12 and sunning herself on the porch. :)

TL;DR: Shelter dogs are the best, and the right vet makes all the difference. :)

"I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian"

edit: comma

I work in the same field in the ER/ICU - it has been a tough run the last couple weeks there, too. I sympathize.

I adopted a Cerebellar dog from work about a year ago - she was relinquished by the owners after they were convinced to not euthanize. She has a lot of trouble walking, eating, drinking, and eliminating on her own - so she is a lot of work.

Over the Summer last year, the condition progressed and she forgot the learned behavior of going outside to potty. Now, she spends time inside the house usually wearing a diaper - but she's mastered pooping through the tail hole of it lol.

If she's not wearing her diaper, and she poops.... well, she can't stop herself from moving (has difficulty balancing), so her back end bounces up and down. I have had to clean poop off my walls on several occasions. Her poop-antics are out of control, but who else has to clean crap off their walls? Haha

We had a wonderful resident veterinarian whom I adopted her from. She was so happy to have placed my dog and actually was a big help in trying to find a cart for her. She would take time out of her busy schedule to pick my dog up and drive her the two hours to the only company in the area that makes carts for dogs so she could be fitted for one. ( we don't have one yet, though) She moved to another facility owned by the school last year, unfortunately. But, she still e-mails me from time to time checking in on my dog and I send her progress videos of her. I love seeing vets so dedicated and compassionate. It can be easy to become jaded. "I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian"

My dog is a handful but she's a real trip. :)

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Well, it is spring and Sid is all too happy to be outside. He's been going in and out ten times a day. Every time you let him in, he must go look at his food bowl, and you must come look with him. No matter how much is in there, you must add a little because he wants fresh food. The food you added an hour ago is not fresh. Failure to do these things will result in torture by meows. He's a little asshole, but he is my little asshole.

No raffle phrase. I'm only sharing the story.

After I shower I usually air dry in my room wearing my bath robe. My cat Leon will meow until I let him in abs then proceed to relentlessly cuddle the hell out of me and get his fur all over me and my robe. It's an experience I deal with daily and I never know whether or not to be strict or cuddly back. I always end up cuddling him back and leave the situation a little furry. x.x He's so cute though I can't resist.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Norma sits on our chest. A lot. I'm serious. No, really.

In bed, on the couch, period. Did I just hear your alarm go off? SNOOZE BUTTON IS NOT ALLOWED :parks on top of my pillow which is normally over top of my head. I hate this and yet, and yet, there's something soothing about her weight curled up on me - or on my back sometimes - and her purring when she's in a 'must sit on them' mood.

THE AUTHORITIES ARE SITTING IN THE CHAIR AND I MUST ENSURE THEY NEVER MOVE AGAIN FOR THEY HAVE BEEN GONE FOR A WEEK AND ABANDONED US!

Also, I leave this with you.

My Rhodesian Ridgeback (of all breeds!) is the world's biggest baby. We live in an old house and the sound of the pipes can make her shake. She freezes up, at the vet. Her bed has to be just so and you'd think she was a cat, the way she constantly wants to be let in or out. (She's an old lady, when she's not being a big baby.) And I could swear she has a sense of mischief! (Ridgebacks really are very, very smart.) But she is just too loving to not love back - truly man's best friend.

Snooty old lady dog.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Our new puppy Diesel, has a couple naughty habits he is picking up. Since he can stand on his hind legs, and reach the counter tops, nothing is safe from his wrath. The other day he got a hold of a bag of potatoes, last night was the bananas.

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."

Unfortunately i've had both good and bad experiences with vets. When I took Diesel back to the vet to get his ear sutures removed, a knot was inside his ear, in the thread, and she just pulled it through. It was hard for me not to physically hurt her. My best experience was when I saw someone on Facebook posting about how their puppy have parvo, and they needed a ride to the vet. I offered a ride, but they didn't have money for treatment. I told the vet the story, and how I didn't even know this person, and she donated her time, and let me just pay for the supplies. "I can’t bear it, Mr. Herriot. He was like a Christian was that pig, just like a Christian"