Seems I've had a pet forever, mostly cats but I've never wanted a pet enuff to seek one. As a kid we had 2 Siamese cats but those were my mom's cats.
3 years ago I got stuck with a full grown dog. An Xgf (Katie) called me from the vet where she took her cat for a check up and she seen a dog that needed a home. The dog was a tiny dachshund who somehow nearly starved to death. He looked far worse than anything we've seen on the TV commercials. He was a sack of bones, I bet he was only 4-5 pounds. His hair had fallen out and there were still sores on his neck and ears from massive flea bites. He looked very, Very bad.
Although he was avail for adoption he looked horrible, growled at everyone, if you tried to handle him he would snap and bite so noone wanted him and he was scheduled to be put down.
      When Katie called me from the vet I told her 'I don't want no damn dog, I work 12 hr shifts'. Then she told me he was gonna be put down in a few days. I figured a chance with me is better than a date with the needle. So for $86 I got what (now) looks like a full blooded mini-Dachshund!
The vet gaver her a cardboard box type dog carrier and a cloth muzzel to get him home! By the time he got to my house that little dog was pissed! He was so little and weak all I did was gently hold him to my chest so he couldn't move and bite, I'd pet him a little and eventualy he fell asleep. When he awoke he was a different dog. When I seen how bad'a shape he was in, how much he had suffered and how he was determined to survive and live I promised him & myself that he would never again feel pain...and he hasn't.
After a few days he realized the pain was over and from that point on there would plenty of holistic dog food, fresh cool water, a warm sleeping area, care and love.
Most dogs love a belly rub as does mine but it took over a year before he trusted me enuff to roll over and expose his belly.
About 2 years later in the middle of the night I had to suddenly and unexpectedly go away (got arrrested at 3am).  Before I was taken away the officers kindly filled the dog's bowls with food and water. I was away for 3 days & nights. That dog peed on the tile floor and not the carpet, did not poop at all and did not touch his food.
I've learned alot from Bucky. I learned how good Dachshunds are and how they respond to your feelings. I learned that dogs, especially small breeds get tooth decay and dogs feel tooth pain the same way ppl do.
Because I have never, not once spanked, hit or caused any pain to Bucky he now trusts me 150%. I brush his teeth once a day and he lets me do it with no problem.
Bucky is a happy and healthy living being with clean white teeth and no bad breath.

How about your pet?

Thanks For Your Time
  VonBarkyBuckBuck  (Bucky)

BTW, Keep in mind that dogs, cats, animals feel pain just like you do. If your pet had bad breath then they probably have a cavity and it hurts, alot.  Don't let your pet live in pain, Take'em to the vet.

I found my german wirehair at the local animal shelter.



Shelter animals can come with some serious baggage but they sure know how to make you feel loved.

I got him from the local shelter when he was eight weeks old.

All of my cats were strays I rescued as kittens... the local neighborhood has a few stray cats that are too feral to ever rescue but I make sure they're all fed as well...

It's gotten where I prefer the company of animals to most people anymore...

Rescue.

Got mine from a family who had two unaltered miniature schnauzers. Go figure, the mated and had a litter. Now excuse me, apparently there is someone outside that warrants barking at...

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Bull Terrier from a breeder in Brazil.

He came with the wife when we met. She got him from the SPCA. We got a cat last year too from the SPCA but she was a dumbass and was killed.

Bought her from a breeder

craigslist . Had always wanted a dog never had any real pets as a kid just went on cl and found a cute puppy went and got her. I did look at a couple shelters first but the rules and cost steered me away. One shelter wanted to come to your home unannounced a couple times a year and other crazy rules.

"A Jack Russell Terrier walks into a bar..."

Seriously, we met our dog at a bar. Lady didn't want him anymore so we took him home!!

6 months of research. 3 months to find the right breeder.
Waited for the litter. Sadly that dog got cancer at 7 years old
and we had to put her down.

Back to the same breeder. Same lineage. Got this pup
a few years ago.



German Shorthaired pointer.  This is the damn best bird dog I have ever seen

Good friend passed away, family couldn't take care of the dog so I took it.

Won him in a raffle.
 

We got our dog from the SPCA.

From this organization

I got my dog from a big dog rescue organization when she was about 1 year old. I've had her almost 3 years now. One of the best decisions I've ever made

When I heard there was a litter in the ghetto I went in and yanked the biggest pup I could find.

All four of my border collies were rescued from various rescues entities.



I can't recommend strongly enough to anyone looking for a dog to check your local rescue entities and adopt a dog.  If you're looking for a particular breed, try googling "<YourState> <FavoriteBreed> rescue" .



Here are my current 4 buddies:

Showed up at my college apartment.

One had been hit hard enough to split the skin on her back (vet said bat or shovel) and apparently had hot oil thrown on her.  The other was a puppy I could fit in my hand.  The older dog (momma) was going through my garbage and feeding the pup.

I had just put my dog down, had leftover dog food, and began feeding them.

After 6 weeks, they'd finally come close enough to be touched (Momma only, pup stayed behind).  One morning I got up and they were both asleep on my front porch.

2 baths, 2 flea dips, 2 spays (one abortion), and ~40 removed ticks later, they were mine.

Had them over 10 years now.  Momma has poor eyesight and has trouble getting up and down, but they're both fat, happy, and spoiled rotten.

Picked him up at the breeder.  Typical Golden Retriever slob.

Rescued My Shiba Inu From a family that lost their house. She was 3 years old and only 16# and skinny! I put her on good food and she had a yard that she could exercise in and now she is a lean 23#

All our dogs have come from shelters -

That's my puss.  She's secondhand.  Her initial owners got her as a kitten.  After a year or so they got bored and got a couple little rat dogs of one sort or another.  Fluffball didn't much get along with the rat dogs, she's kind of a wuss.  She couldn't even walk on the ground without being chased by rat dogs.  She couldn't use her shitbox.  Sooooooooooo.... She pissed all over everything.

My wife took her when the owners had enough, and later on she took me in too.

She's the best cat either of us has ever had.  She's very affectionate and playful, but ridiculously gentle.  She's got a great life now.

My first cat, Schmoo, was given to me by a guy at work.  She was my closest companion and gave me so much love for 15 years.  I never thought I could replace her in my heart, and I really never have.

The second was Nikolas, he was adopted from a shelter, actually he picked me. :)  My thrid was Anastasia, she was given by a friend that had a litter of pretty tuxedo cats.  Nikki needed a friend so I brought him a kitten.  He loved her and still does but they fight a bit.  The last was a stray my boyfriend took pitty upon last winter and I fell in love with the little black ball of fluff.  I ened up taking him home.  Alexi is now a plump well adjusted kitty.

The last three all live in a nice warm home and get plenty to eat.  They fight amoungst themselves at times, but when it is cold outside they all pile up on the bed with me.

Pound

My mini dachshund rescue Madison.  Someone ran an ad for mini dachshund puppies.  When I arrived, I found the house in squalor.  I picked her up and fleas ran everywhere.  She been eaten bare and bleeding by fleas when I got her, to the point she had a huge sore on her shoulder.  We brought her home, put her in the sink and bathed her in tea tree shampoo and picked fleas off her for at least an hour.  She did nothing but cry and squirm.  I know good and well the people who had her had to have had flea bites on them––especially the kids.  There's just no way around that.  With over 100 on a 3 pound dog, fleas had to have infested the house.

This is what she looked like the day after we brought her home:


I had to debride that wound of hers several times before her fur came back.





at 8 months:


This is by far the most loving and sweet dachshund I've ever seen.

I demand pics of your weiner!!!  

My wife and I've had four dogs.  All Labs.



- puppy through the paper

- adult through the paper

- breeder

- Lab Rescue

I adopted my best friend from a woman that did not take the best care of him.

As a kid my dogs wandered up from who knows where.  We lived in the middle of nowhere and they'd hang around long enough we'd finally start feeding them.  As an adult, the two dogs I've owned came from the shelter.  A Golden Retriever that lived to be 16 be he needed to be put and an English Fox Hound that couldn't be contained no matter how high the fence.  The fox hound eventually disappeared.  I figure she was either ran over or someone took her in since she was such a happy, friendly dog.  My next dog will likely come from the shelter as well.

I answered a newspaper classified for free Lab puppies. Best dag I ever had. Turned out the pups were 1/2 Dwarf German Lab and 1/2 Chow......but he a ridin' fool. He goes by Dooner.

Only one dog at the moment, a lab that is intent on being one with the couch.  

We don't pick dogs, they pick us.  All of ours have been dumped at the front gate by assholes.

My gf rescued our terrier mix from a shelter. (MaryAnne - right)

Gf got the lab/pit mix from people giving away puppies in WalMart parking lot. (Lola - left)

She already had MaryAnne when we met. I was a little mad when she got Lola, but I consider that one to be mine now. We laugh about if we ever break up, that I'm taking Lola with me. And yes she does like my dad said she would (being lab/pit) Search & Destroy, bring back to me what she destroyed. She gets on top of my car too as a lookout post.

God I love that dog. I love both though. MaryAnne sleeps beside me and Lola sleeps between my legs.

I adopted her from a weimaraner rescue organization.

ETA:  she was collateral damage in a divorce.

When I was young:
I got a pair of labs from a family that was moving and couldn't take the dogs.
1 stray
1 half wire haired tarrier/red heeler (god that dog is ugly)


Now:
This one spawned in my living room directly from hell

Awesome... Border Collies are the best.


I got my Border Collie from the humane society. Malmute/ German Shepperd mix was tossed from a car & I took it home w/ me.

Dog: Stray. (Passed away last year. )



Cat #1: Stray.



Cat #2: Stray.



Cat #3: Rescue.



Cat #4: Rescue.

The cat showed up on the front porch, one dog is from the shelter, the other we found on the side of the road.

My hound is a mix, but looks a lot like yours. What kind or mix is he?

After we lost both of our GSD'S to old age last year (male was almost 13 yo, female 15-1/2 yo) we really had a hole in our lives. Really strange not having a dog after they've been presences in your life for so long. So, we started looking at the shelters in the area. Found this guy we named Amos:






He'd been in the shelter for 90 days when we got him. No history, he'd been found as a stray. They said 5 yo half Rott/ half GSD, but we think 3 yo half Rott/ half Golden. Or, maybe he's a Hovawart, we just don't know. He's really turned out to be a great dog, although we are still working with him on being over-reactive with other dogs. And, that is some work, he's just under a 100 lbs. But he is a great dog with people, very affectionate, and if dogs can be grateful, he sure is. Great watch dog; he alerts fast but will still settle down when you ask him to.

RIP Eben and Joss:

I picked up this fuzzball from my accountant last year. He had taken in a stray pregnant cat, we happened to be there getting our taxes done a few days after the kittens were born. He mentioned the kittens and that he was going to try to find homes for them, which interested my son greatly - he had wanted a pet for a very long time. Long story short, we agreed to take one of the kittens once they were old enough to come home with us. A few weeks later we went back and picked him up. My son named him Fudge.

Fudge and I bonded rather quickly. He's supposed to be my son's cat - he was the one who begged for a pet - but as these things often go I am the one that took care of him; fed him, played with him, cleaned out the litter box. When my son's mother and I separated in October of last year and I moved out, there was no doubt he was coming with me. He's MY cat.

Beagle/Vizsla mix

adopted my german shepherd/black lab mutt at the humane society for $150 for my wife's bday.

my wife bought a $800 pure bred golden retriever without my knowledge about a year and a half ago

all's well that ends well i suppose

our first standard poodle is a rescue of sorts.
lady my wife works with loves animals. simply cannot keep up with them and kids plus her husband is a real POS
got her at 4-6 months she was 17 pounds the vet said she was the most underweight dog he had seen in a long time.
she had to steal food off counters to eat. so that took a good while to work on and the husband beat on her pretty good. got that fixed as well
she now weighs 50 but is a good bit smaller due to not eating enough when she was young.

just rescued another 7 year old standard poodle. not a thing wrong with the dogs behavior . the family that had her has really fallen on hard times and just decided after 7 years to stick her outside.
unfortunately she has had a hard 7 years. she has the mind of a 2 year old and the body of a 12 year old dog.
we have her on medicine to help with her joints and doing all we can do for her at this point.
I guess its best for her to die in a peaceful happy environment than stuck outside looking like the dogs you see on ASPCA commercials.

people are always amazed with our two "free" standard poodles. considering how much a standard poodle puppy cost these days

Beautiful dog.

Mine definitely has some Beagle and maybe some Walker Coon, not sure what else.

I received my defective dog from young girl who "rescued" the litter and posted on craigslist.





She's an Aussie/ACD mix.


She pesters me all day, but won't play with other dogs at the dog park...after classes and training everyday, she'll only listen when I have a treat or when she fucking feels like it.


I have to lock her in the kitchen to sleep as she paces around the house all night otherwise.


Sometimes, objects that she has lived with for months become enemies and she will destroy them for no appearant reason.


She chews on stink bugs and hides from any sort of loud popping noise oustide.


She pees herself when she meets people and seems to have a serious love for alcohol, so I have to keep an eye on her if any neighbors have a beer or glass of booze outside.


She likes to sit on top of the couch and lick my ear as soon as I've forgotten she's there.


I have to keep her on a leash almost all the time as she will jump on people and lick them to death any chance she gets.


She eats the ass part of every toy i give her...I'm not quite sure how she can distinguish the asshole so well, but she seems to know.


She eats rabbit poop and digs little holes just big enough to twist your ankle in.


She eats and poops small, round rocks.


She eats my shrubs and clods of dirt much like pandas and bamboo.


She makes out with socks by laying on her back, holding them with her paws, and licking them for hours on end if you let her.


She often steps on my balls when greeting me while I'm sitting on the couch.


The neighbor dogs hate her and bark and growl and snap, but she just looks at them, tilts her head and tries to lick their mouths in some sort of preternatural friendship ritual that only she understands.


She licks her vagina as if it were a tootise pop, then tries to lick your face immediately afterwords.


She tries to drink my coffee; everyday.


If she spots a child under the  age of 3, anywhere at anytime, she will use every bit of energy and muscle at her disposal to break free, run to the poor child and lick it until some parent or myself and separate the terrified kid from the insatiable, slobbery tongue of Sadie.


She likes to roll around on carpet or couches after I febreeze them much like some wild African animals bathe themselves in dirt.


Oh and she will absolutely not get up and go to the kitchen at night if she is already laying down. She likes to stage a sit in, every night, which requires me to lift the 40+ dog up and cradle it like a baby until she is resting on her bed and I put the gate up.
The only thing she excels at is hiking; she will stay within eyesight, not chase animals, and listen like the most well behaved dog in the world when it's just me and her on the trails






Speed

 

Both of my dogs were adopted from SAAP. They followed up several times to see how they were doing, and the fees were reasonable, less than $100 with full vet checkups.

The dog belonged to an elderly person my SO knew.  The individual could no longer care for him and was going to have to take him to a shelter.  I wasn't in the market for a dog, but he was a good dog, and deserved someone to love him.  For some reason, I was chosen.

The cat wandered out of the woods - cold, wet, and hungry - last year as little more then a kitten, set up housekeeping under the porch, and got to work crying all the fucking time.  It was take her in or shoot her.  I flipped a coin and lost.