Do you have a pet at home?

We have two dogs, a toy poodle and a cockerpoo plus a house cat; a sphynx.

We've always had dogs and cats. Our house would feel empty without them as would our lives. The 3 we have now provide endless love, companionship and entertainment.

Our latest addition, our cockerpoo doesn't like the cat so there's often a Mexican stand off as they stare one another out. The cat always wins and usually starts it, just to get a reaction I think.

Two Springer spaniels and yes they are enthusiastic on a walk but very well trained ,with good recall and so intelligent.And at home they are actually very relaxed.Less fussy than or Labradors used to be.And certainly more trustworthy with food around.Our Labs were terrible thieves and would help themselves to anything .One once carefully lifted a big Stilton from the centre of the cheese board one Xmas .And left only one piece of diced carrot in the dish of the shepherds pie I had got out of the fridge whilst heating up the oven.We loved the rascal though!In nearly 40 years we've never been without a dog.Mainly rescue dogs.And we had a succession of cats too.Indeed this is the first year without one.But vets expenses and our last old boy being so prone to accidents has meant we haven't hurried to get another.I dread the day I'm too old and infirm to be without a dog tbh.

This is a lovely thread. I've noticed that there's no new thread yet in News and Politics today but also no comments today on older threads either.

I`m envious of all you who have dogs,i would love one but step/d is frightened to death of them.

Dinahmo This tread really give's you the feel good factor for sure doesn't it. Such lovely pictures of our treasured pets.

Reading Washerwoman's comments about food reminded me of the antics of two of my dogs, at different times. One day my OH went into the kitchen to see our Westie staggering about. Then he noticed a frozen chicken on the floor. It must have landed on her head.

One day staying in our friends house we left our blind Cairn in the bedroom whilst we went to see the bank manager. I'd forgotten that the shopping bag that I'd left in the room had a new bar of chocolate in it, unopened. When we got back I saw the wrapping on the floor - she'd taken the bar out of the shopping, out of a plastic bag, found her way through the cardboard and foil wrappings and eat it all. A quick trip to the vet, an overnight stay on a drip and 2 morphine shots later plus £130 out of pocket she was OK.

On the way back to France we stopped overnight at my SIL's house. Next morning we were loading up the car with Flora in her nest. We'd only been gone a few minutes and she'd found a tupperware box, with a lid, which contained a tuna sandwich from our previous journey. All of which she'd eaten.

The worst food story involved the boxer pet of a friend. She'd left the mixture for a very rich boozy Christmas cake on the table overnight, as one does. Next morning she went into the kitchen to find an awful mess and a groaning dog. He'd eaten the lot.

Writing these posts has brought back memories of all my pets. We have several files of photos printed by my OH, one of which is devoted to happy snaps and most of those are of our pets, dogs and cats. When I'm older I have these photos to remind me of them all.

We have a lovely little jack russell. Hes 2 years old. My husband never wanted a dog after our last dog died. That's was 26 years ago. We got to thinking of getting another one when it dawned on us that whoever's passed on first would leave the other one lonely. We also considered whether we were too old to take on a wee pup but we have managed and I'm so glad we got him. Hes an intelligent wee dog, knows certain words and definitely loves the snow

We have a 10 year old Labrador who is the most loving dog ever; here's a picture of her making herself at home at my son's house. She follows me everywhere (DH not happy, as he was the one that did all the dog training, yet I am her favourite!). She insists on sitting on my knee each evening which isn't easy, she's a big dog and I'm only 5' tall and tiny! She goes berserk when anyone she loves arrives at the house and squeals with delight and must fetch a toy/slipper/glove to give them as a present. We love her to bits and I'm dreading the day she will no longer be with us. We had a male Lab many years ago and I was so upset when he died that it took 20 years before I could be persuaded to get another!

We have always had rescue dogs we had two dogs but our Jack Russell died last year. He had attitude but we loved him and we still miss him so much. We would usually get another dog but decided not to now. We have Ella who was rescue she is a sweet dog a staff mix and an attention seeker who is totally spoilt.

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My grandaughter has a lovely Pup called Arthur, and I am in love with him lol.
He's a Cavalier King Charles cross with a Shiba Inu and just beautiful. One of the loveliest breeds of dogs ever because they are so soppy, intelligent, cuddly and protective, with the added bonus of not being very big and just have wonderful personalities!
Arthur can learn a new trick in one sitting if he is given a biscuit to go with it, he can roll over, crawl, crawl backwards, play dead, count to three and will fetch slippers to name but a few, and he is truly the happiest little pup I have ever known!
Hoping one day I can get one of my own just like him!

Love the expression on his face in the photo with the red cushion.

We have had our cocker spaniel puppy, Cooper, for 4 months now. I can't imagine life without him. I was looking forward to getting some more exercise but I have read so many tragic stories about dogs being taken from their owners that it has rather spoiled our walks. I can't bear to let him off his lead in case someone snatches him. We haven't had him long but we would be devastated if he was taken.

We lost our beloved Labrador in June. He was 13-and-a-half and has left a massive hole in our lives. This is the longest we have ever been without a dog, but we're finding it very hard indeed to find another. Breeders want ridiculous prices for pups (obviously the demand has soared during lockdown) and unfortunately we don't meet the criteria for many rescue centres because our three-year-old grandson lives with us at present. We really do miss having a dog around the house.

We have a very loving Border Terrier who will be 15 in a couple of months. Every day I find myself cuddling him and quietly saying goodbye to him as we didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to our other BT who was 14 when he was pts 5 years ago, probably the worse day in my life. This will almost certainly be our last dog?.

These two beasties.

Dinky, the little tabby girl on the left, is definitely the boss. She lets me sleep in ~her~ bed provided I adopt the right position that allows her to curl up in my armpit. She has ways of getting me there. For some reason she has no purr but makes up for it with extra snuggle. Pepper the black-and-white one is a shy boy and is more likely to stand a little way of and miaow as if to say "I really wouldn't mind if you were to scratch my head and ears". He is nevertheless very chatty, sings to himself and purrs enough for both of them. He does get a bit shouty when he's hungry though.

3 Pugs and a Bulldog, the Bullie came with my last Pug from a rescue centre they are a bonded pair and cannot be separated, 4 (sorry 5 including DH) lots of snoring, farting and hogging the bed, heaven

That's very sad Sarnie.I do understand how worrying the reports of dog thefts are.But still in reality it's a tiny fraction of all the dogs out there.And having worked with dogs for years it saddens me when people don't ever let their dogs off to exercise.Especially higher energy breeds.4 months is the absolute best age to really train their recall.It can seem a huge step but really at this stage they are still babies,eager to please.Much easier to do it now then when adolescence kicks in.If you can find a nice open field or space where you can see who is around,lots of tiny treats in your pocket it can be so rewarding for them and you too.Obviously puppy classes won't be running now but maybe join another dog owning friend for a socially distanced walk and let Cooper intereact with their dog off lead?.I can guarantee he will love it,it's great for their socialization and makes them far less reactive on lead.Our two have 'helped' loads of puppies lead recall and doggy ettiquette.
I do understand your anxiety.But don't let it spoil all the years if fun with him.Good luck.

We have two pretty girl kitties. Jayda is the tuxedo and she is currently being a loaf on the bed near me. (She loves her mom. If anyone isn't familiar with a cat loaf, it's the position Jayda is taking in this pic - notice how she resembles a loaf of bread.) Qi (pronounced cue) is the little tabby. She is just over a year old and very sweet. She loves people and is especially fond of Daddy.

Sarnia did you read about the dognappers who tried to steal a Belgian Malinois from its owner. The dog thought they were attacking its owner, lunged at them and chased them off.
Brilliant.

Mya. She's a german shepherd, collie, husky cross. 6 yrs old and we adopted her from a rescue centre 2 years ago.
Seen here relaxing. She's just got over bad poop problem .

We have always had cats and at the moment we have two. Milo (black boy) and Ripley (tabby girl) are 11 year old brother and sister. They are extremely affectionate and Milo is a patting cuddly cat.

Two miniature poodles aged 7 & 5 years. The younger one is very, very cuddly and loving and intelligent as poodles are.

Has two toy poodles previously one lived to 15 1/2 and the other to 17 years.

Morse (Phantom) Flynn (Cream)

Thank you all for replying to my thread about our pets.
I've really loved reading your posts and seeing the photographs.
Just makes me realize how our pets brighten up these dark days, and make us smile.

I’ve always had cats and dogs but now have only one of each. They both have Special Needs. My little dog is hyperactive, very noisy, reactive to other dogs and damned hard work.
My cat is scared of everything and everyone and spends all day in hiding. At night he comes to sleep beside me and the dog, feeling safe and loved.

I have a budgie,he's good company