Animal people - Help me understand

[OscarMadison]

I love watching dog agility, but have a soft spot for small town events where you'r just as likely to see a bully mix and a tea cup poodle as the traditional breeds.

I love dogs, but I'm not home enough four days a week to take care of one properly. Cats are walking mewling allergens for me.

I'd rather have a horse, or maybe two horses and a mule, but money though. :oops:

Gosh, they're expensive to have where I live now. Growing up where there was pervasive horse culture, I miss it sometimes, but I'm content with my one head of cat!

Think I had about convinced myself to ask her out when I see her this weekend. Then comes word via the Book of Faces that two kittens she has been fostering are now permanent members of the household instead. And the Tony Romo voice in my head going “Ehh, I don’t know about this one Jim!” grows a little bit louder.

She sounds nice. I'll say this to you and exmediahack, please don't do what I see a lot of women do: "I'll fix whatever it is I find lacking. " Liking or not liking pets is not a moral value. It is what it is.

 

[dixiehack]

As REM once sang to the conductor “We’re still a ways away.”

Me posting was more to celebrate overcoming crippling shyness (and frankly being in a decent enough financial position I wouldn’t be ashamed to have company over).

 

[micropolitan guy]

Best dog we've ever had, she loves everyone. But I would never think of forcing her on someone; if people come over to visit we put her in another room if the person is uncomfortable around dogs.

And the only places she goes with us inside are Petco and Home Depot, where dogs are welcome. Otherwise, she stays in the car.

We love dogs. Not everybody does. So it's easy to accommodate others to keep them comfortable by keeping our dog away from them.

 

[BTExpress]

Our Corgi mix is the sweetest thing with us and with people she knows, but with strangers she can be an ankle biter (as that breed is wont to be). So into the sunroom or bedroom she goes if some service person comes over. Took her about three hours to calm down when the ceramic tile installers were here last month.

 

[wicked]

Congrats on overcoming the shyness.

My brother-in-law is a great guy. His wife is ok. They take their damn dog (some sort of corgi/chihuahua mix) everywhere. To our wedding (kept it in a running car during the ceremony/reception with FaceTime on so they can watch it). To family dinners out, also doing the running car/FaceTime thing. To our house for holidays. To the grocery store. On their rare vacations. BIL is a wicked smart guy and he knows better than to bring his dog to the grocery store, but he says his wife needs a support animal, etc., and he does it anyway. (They're also never apart, aside from when he's at work, so there's a ton of codependency happening.)

I've shared the stage in the past with roommates' pets. It's always been a mostly fine co-existence. I never had pets growing up although I've been tempted lately to look into adopting a cat. I work from home most days and it gets kinda lonely during the day.

 

[BTExpress]

If you get a cat, consider getting two (who get along well). We adopted a brother and sister last December.

 

[UNCGrad]

Swore we wouldn't get another dog after our best beagle boy Barkley. And we waited almost six months.

But then we met a rescue puppy Finn, also Finley, and he's just the most wonderful and friendly little guy. He also falls asleep on the couch next to me every night.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

I had a cat for forever that turned up on my doorstep as a kitten barely weaned and made it to 20. But cats are low maintenance and I don't know if I have the bandwidth to deal with a dog in the city. In the countryside, just let 'em roam wherever and pick the ticks.

 

[MileHigh]

No cats for me.

Had a beagle for nearly 15. And now a rescue terrier who I got a month before the plane crash of my sister and her family who is nearly 10. Lots of energy still and is still mistaken as a puppy.

 

[BTExpress]

I either have a supersize beagle or a miniature Treeing Walker Coonhound. At 40 pounds, he's right smack dab in the middle of the weights for those two dogs. Ten pounds too heavy for typical beagle. Ten pounds too light for treeing walker coon.

Anybody ever done one of those DNA thingys?

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

I have, BT. Got it from Amazon for like $100 or something. Swabbed the inside of the dog's cheek, put it in a sealed container and shipped it off. Got it back via email a couple of weeks later, and seemed pretty on point. Had the percentages of each breed that was detected, along with the sizes and character traits for each one.

 

[sgreenwell]

We also did it for our dog - Confirmed that he was about half Australian cattle dog, half a bunch of other stuff, haha.

 

[outofplace]

Animals enrich your life

So can a cute divorcee.

 

[wicked]

A co-worker did the dog DNA thing and found out the doggie parents were chihuahua and pit bull. How does that even happen?

 

[Slacker]

A co-worker did the dog DNA thing and found out the doggie parents
were chihuahua and pit bull. How does that even happen?

Those ****in' chihuahuas are notorious size queens.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

The pit had to be the mama because full size pups would kill a Chihuahua.

 

[waterytart]

So Dad used a ladder?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

So Dad used a ladder?

Turkey baster.

 

[dixiehack]

Turkey baster.

the funniest thing I ever saw on TV as a teen was one of the knockoff Divorce Court shows that had an episode titled “No, no, not the turkey baster.”

 

[dixiehack]

First time at her house tonight, which came on short notice. The cats were put away in another room but Bruce and Charlie hung out with us in the kitchen while we played board games. Bruce is a golden retriever-spaniel mix and Charlie I don’t know but looks nearly identical to Bruce.

And so for two hours I got sniffed and licked and occasionally served as a chew toy for Bruce. And at one point Charlie ripped ass so much that it smelled like Cousin Eddie’s storm sewer.

All of this should be a dealbreaker. None of it was.

I’m starting to get into deep water and I haven’t been swimming in a really long time.