1. I live on a farm that doubles as an elderly/disabled animal shelter, so I have QUITE a few animals, and as we're not an animal farm (no joking, please) they're all pets. Currently we have 20 cats, 8 of which are disabled and 3 of which are over the age of 14, and they will have homes here for as long as they need one. We also have 15 dogs, six of which are disabled (including a 100% deaf puppy named Elsa who is MY BABY) and two of which are over the age of 15. We also have a 10 year old potbellied pig who thinks she is the mother of every dog on the farm for some reason, and they love her for it, a sweet, rescued mare who used to be solid black and all skin and bone, but is now almost solid white and a fat and happy lady, and an elderly (20+ year old) pony who thinks he's a giant dog. Everyone seems to be just one great big family, oddly enough, and we get donations of food to help with the dogs and cats since we're a shelter. I love all of them so much.
2. Most unusual I have ever had? That's a tossup between the groundhog I had when I was very little and the raccoon I had when I got a little older. Grounie -- the groundhog -- was the of us finding a mother groundhog beside the road that had been run over, but left her one baby unharmed. We brought him home and I raised him. When he got grown, he went outside and 'left' to build a burrow across the fence in the woods. Found himself a mate and raised a bunch of babies before I guess he died of old age. Ricky, on the other hand, was given to me by a breeder. Dad took me to see the babies once, and this little guy climbed out of the nest box and onto my shoulder unprovoked, then tried to bite anyone who reached to get him and take him away from me. Wouldn't stay in the nest box long enough to put the lid back on it when I put him back, either. HE'd hop right back onto me and start the whole 'bite anybody' thing again. Sooo...he was given to me as a 'lost cause', the breeder supplied me with baby formula and a bottle, and I bottle fed this raccoon until he was old enough for release. He was better than any guard dog when he got big, too. He weighed over 40 pounds and was SCARY to people he didn't know. He was always sweet to me, though. He died of old age a few years back. We never kept him in a cage, never kept him bound up in any way. He was wild and free to come and go as he pleased...he just 'pleased' to stay with ME.
3. I think it's a good thing in moderation. Because, after all, if every pet was ALWAYS spayed and neutered, over time there would be such a limited gene pool to breed from that things would get bad really fast. Worse than they are now with purebreds. It's a selection thing and something to be carefully considered, in my opinion.
4. Adopt. I've gotten a few pets from breeders (including my one remaining Himalayan cat, Mopsydoodles), but by and far our animals have come through adoption or emergency rescue. I wouldn't have it any other way.
1. I live on a farm that doubles as an elderly/disabled animal shelter, so I have QUITE a few animals, and as we're not an animal farm (no joking, please) they're all pets. Currently we have 20 cats, 8 of which are disabled and 3 of which are over the age of 14, and they will have homes here for as long as they need one. We also have 15 dogs, six of which are disabled (including a 100% deaf puppy named Elsa who is MY BABY) and two of which are over the age of 15. We also have a 10 year old potbellied pig who thinks she is the mother of every dog on the farm for some reason, and they love her for it, a sweet, rescued mare who used to be solid black and all skin and bone, but is now almost solid white and a fat and happy lady, and an elderly (20+ year old) pony who thinks he's a giant dog. Everyone seems to be just one great big family, oddly enough, and we get donations of food to help with the dogs and cats since we're a shelter. I love all of them so much.
2. Most unusual I have ever had? That's a tossup between the groundhog I had when I was very little and the raccoon I had when I got a little older. Grounie -- the groundhog -- was the of us finding a mother groundhog beside the road that had been run over, but left her one baby unharmed. We brought him home and I raised him. When he got grown, he went outside and 'left' to build a burrow across the fence in the woods. Found himself a mate and raised a bunch of babies before I guess he died of old age. Ricky, on the other hand, was given to me by a breeder. Dad took me to see the babies once, and this little guy climbed out of the nest box and onto my shoulder unprovoked, then tried to bite anyone who reached to get him and take him away from me. Wouldn't stay in the nest box long enough to put the lid back on it when I put him back, either. HE'd hop right back onto me and start the whole 'bite anybody' thing again. Sooo...he was given to me as a 'lost cause', the breeder supplied me with baby formula and a bottle, and I bottle fed this raccoon until he was old enough for release. He was better than any guard dog when he got big, too. He weighed over 40 pounds and was SCARY to people he didn't know. He was always sweet to me, though. He died of old age a few years back. We never kept him in a cage, never kept him bound up in any way. He was wild and free to come and go as he pleased...he just 'pleased' to stay with ME.
3. I think it's a good thing in moderation. Because, after all, if every pet was ALWAYS spayed and neutered, over time there would be such a limited gene pool to breed from that things would get bad really fast. Worse than they are now with purebreds. It's a selection thing and something to be carefully considered, in my opinion.
4. Adopt. I've gotten a few pets from breeders (including my one remaining Himalayan cat, Mopsydoodles), but by and far our animals have come through adoption or emergency rescue. I wouldn't have it any other way.
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