Now to post Roland's pic with the rest of the pack. He is a sweet and gentle natured Chihuahua long coat. One year old in August and all of 4 lbs ! In the garden, of course! The snow was deep when he arrived in Dec. Roland quickly got to enjoying picnicking with kale last spring. And a Hi 5!
live a little longer and perhaps you will every sentient being has a place insects, to humans and all in between D
The love, humour, and companionship you get back from pets, goes far beyond the price tag. It is priceless. : )
GB it is not a waste at all .. once you own a pet it is a whole new world and love .. a tottally different love from humans .. waking up in the morning to your puppy staring at you with sleepy eyes and a yawn and a big ol tail wag .. puts a big smile on your face ... :) for the rest of the day.. walking in the door and there is your dog greeting you .. jumping up all excited to see you .. having your dog look at you with that sideways look like he understands you is just priceless and makes you laugh .. lol.. having him curl up on your lap to take a nap cause your lap is the most comfortable spot around .. and he wants to cudle with you is just great .. and always knowing when it comes down to it he will do anything to save your life .. dogs are wonderfull and are just like children .. ive had dogs for over 20 yrs now .. couldnt imagine life with out one .. It is the same with cats .. they are so funny and cuddly and great to have around .. I have 4 dogs and 2 cats and a 75g fish tank .. even my one fish has a personality..her name is Rosa .. a 10 inch Red Devil .... the Dogs are .. Mack: 12 yrs Monty: 3 yrs Brogan: 8 months CJ: 8 months 2 Cats Ragz aka Miss fuzzy Butts.. Lil Girl.. Miss Meow Meow .. 6 yrs old Oakland: 2 yrs .. big solid black cat.. was abandoned at about 5 weeks old .. Gotta love animals .. :) Marion
I daresay, Greenboy, that you may spend your time and money in ways that some other folks might find incomprehensible. Each of us has her/his own unique point of view, set of interests, way of thinking. To some of us, pets are friends, companions, partners. They ask nothing of us but attention: they return this with unrequited loyalty and affection. They provide a constancy that humans do not. Whatever the situation, however low one's mood, despite the chaos in the surrounding world---the love expressed in a furry face will remain unchanged. Reassuring, uplifting, and constant. I have not a moment's hesitation in understanding why these qualities are so appealing. Marn, I enjoyed your description of your gang! Wow---would love to see a photo of Rosa! In fact, any and/or all of your crew. And Dana, Roland is just a sweetheart.
G.B you know the medical branch " Pet therapy"? bid,dog, cat,fish,ecc.ecc. are good friends for the man, boy ,children ...story is teacher! Noe save every animal ;and sorry but my english is limited for continue ...
Back when my kids were young, we used to breed and show cavies (guinea pigs). Once in a while we'd take a few to a local nursing home for a visit. The joy on the elderly faces as they held and stroked the little guys was beautiful. Some of these folks had not responded to anything for weeks before this.
Many dogs are used as service animals too. Thinking blind. hearing incapacitated, wheel chair bound. Don't get me wrong I love my crew but there are times I wish them else where but they are there for me to talk too react with and as others have said you get back much more than you give. I must admit I don't trust people to be good with children in particilar and humans in general, who are not good with animals. It was one of my yard sticks... Liz
Togata .. Ill try and get some pics of her .. i do alot of photography but takeing pics of fish is one thing that just doesnt turn out for me ...lol... Rosa has just layed eggs and boy she is in a bad mood .. we have no male for her so we dont get babys .. she is just such a cool fish .. we have had her for about 3 yrs now .. I will try and get a pic of the whole gang . Marion
Ha ha ha, And we do the duties forgetting all afterward! Roland is a love magnet. When we go out there is always someone who is taken by his appearance and they ask to pet and tell me their story of their beloved huahua who is no longer with them, whether snatched by a Great Dane or whatever.........yikes ! So many tell me thatftro watch for eagles, yes, especially as he likes to run circles on the flat sandy beach when the tide is out. Having a dog at your side invites others to speak to one somehow, more easily, does it not? When I had my last dog and we'd go somewhere for a walk I'd notice people see the dog, smile when they did and then look up at me with a smile already on their face - nice! Dogs will die for us, alas Jack London's story I think it was, of using the dogs to stay alive. Huahuas were kept originally as a food animal and could always return to that status if conditions got too tough, no? Not saying we want to eat our pets but if it came to a crunch all these little woofers, well they do it in other parts of the world, yes they do! Just think of all the living edibles on the hoof so to speak, in our cities! I'm only sort of half joking as I think many pets could suddenly go missing in harsh circumstances. With Rollie, I figure that he is so small we could live homeless on the street and it would be easy to find enough to feed him and hey, maybe he'd get me some hadouts, he being so cute! He is a sweet and gentle personality too without a mean bone in his body. He serves me well as my watch dog, all he has to do is announce with no more than 5 barks. No yappy snappy thks! Roland also sniffs out the leather jacket grubs in the lawn and digs them up! Maybe snacks on them too. I close my eyes when I hear the music in horror movies too! When the car was invented many breathed a sigh of relief apparently, and said that now the horses were gone that it would clean up the city and make walking possible once more. I can imagine the dust that would come off a horsey roadway with no real rain for 6 months! And especially as all our roads here are mainly asphalt with no way for the horse droppings to disappear until washed into the sewers and hence to the ocean. No, I don't think I will experiment with keeping a horse in the city any time soon. Fish photo quite well! I visited a local farm that sells corn in fall that has a large fish tank with Koi in the room where the corn is kept. One fish, a hugie about the size of maybe 2 footballs, (if I look maybe a pic), who if the water was disturbed would come to the surface. I think it was for a little nibble of lettuce but I would take advantage and give the fish a stroke before she went under again. If we had no pets to relate to in cities a large number of us would likely lose touch with all but the human construct that city living is. How many children in cities now have never met a cow, let alone a horse but dog, cat , guinea-pig make some contact with an animal possible, hopefully leading to some empathy with the wilder animals so much threatened by us these days. I wasn't going to have another pet after my last dog died abut 2 yrs ago at age 16 1/2yrs but Roland was a runty pup who needed a home and his parents needed a dog sitter occasionally so it was win-win except for my carpets! Even a small dog is a make-work project for anyone! Always look a gift dog in the mouth! He has given me a lot of comfort at a difficult time too as animals often do, just by being themselves. D
Hey, Marn---read a story just now on the internet news and thought of your Rosa! In a pet shop in Queens, NY there lives a black pacu (related to the piranha) who is 41 years old!!! Born in 1967! His name is Butkus (after Dick Butkus, the football player) but owner usually spells it 'Buttkiss'. This fish weighs 20 lbs. and eats 20 goldfish nearly every day!
Togata... wow ..i didnt know they lived that long .. i know what kind of fish you are talking about .. i used to have lots of different fish .. had about 13 tanks at once all running .. but when we moved we had to give all them up except the one .. just didnt have the room here .. i had alot of really cool fish .. I have the Red Devil she is about 10 inches and a 15 inch Plecostomus and 2 clown loaches .. and a few other loaches in the 75g tank .. the loaches are the best to have with Rosa cause when she is laying her eggs she is in such a bad mood that she goes after anything .. very protective .. but such a cool fish .. i will get pics soon but need to redo windows on my computer .. Marion
Clown loaches are the best! Used to have one in our tank years ago, along with the black mollies and neons. Just looking at him made me smile. Ours was a little loach, but these guys can get HUGE too---saw some at an aquarium store that were 6" long!!!
Our loaches are getting big .. clowns grow slow.. we have had them for about 3 yrs now .. one is about 5 inches long and the other is about 4 .. we have 4 yoyo loaches .. a skunk loach and one i think is called a queen arebesque ..(sp) and i do beleive there is one more in there .. but the clown loaches are my fav.. we have had them since they were tiny ..used to have 4 of them but one decided to do some carpet surfing from a 65g hexagon tank and that is pretty tall and the other had what is called skinny disease .. but im glad we stillhave the 2 of them .. and we also have a clown pleco that stays small and hides .. we have have to remember that we have him and dont forget about him .. ya just never see him .. almost forgot about him through a few tank switches...lol.. and some weather loaches also ... will try and get pics of them all this weekend .. after i get my computer redone .. may just do a video also .. i have a Cannon HD digital video camera . need to unload many videos off of it .. Marion
Just took these cute shots of Henry and couldn't help but post them. He's having fun on his blue blanket with his rubber rainbow ball... : )
Probably just as well, they being the same colour. One day I couldn't find Roland and when I was looking upstairs in our TV room with a bed in it I picked up all the covers and tossed them onto the floor, no dog. I went back downstairs and then looked back to see that, yup, there he was looking down at me wondering if I had lost my mind or what! He had been snuggling under the covers which have the same colours as his coat. He survived! D
H.L., you REALLY should write a children's book about Henry, copiously illustrated with all your GREAT photos of him! Now that would be one book I would buy. What a good model he is! His expression in that first photo is priceless. Again, let me compliment you on your outstanding care of Henry---talk about environmental enrichment!!! My daughter once tried out an item called a 'Happy Hut' on her parakeets, a plushy tube that hung up in the cage. We thought: Well, these guys explore and get into everything else, so why not? (Coincidentally enough, it was the same color as Henry's blanket.) Yeah, right. All of 'em eyed the thing with the deepest suspicion and avoided it completely. This, despite lectures from me on how nice and warm it would be in the nice furry tube, and my daughter's commands to 'HUT IT UP!' Eventually we admitted defeat and removed it. They much prefer arguing with ane another over possession of the spinny mirror! Know what you mean, Dana. I used to frequently trip over my black cat, who blended in with the dark-brown carpet, especially at night.