The Pet Thread

[jlove]

I HAD a ferret. Her name was Soup. Around August, she wasn't eating and I brought her to the vet. They had to operate, and she didn't make it through the operation. She was kind of old (She was 6, the avg expectancy for ferrets is 5-7). I was crushed.......


Now I just have a fat grumpy turtle. His name is Crush, yes I got the name from Finding Nemo, lame, I know.

(Sorry about the poor quality, my cam sucks :-/)

[stuart]

Awwww, what a great idea for a thread......

Here's my little snaggletoothed doggies Nina(R) and Dixie(L)



I like cats too, but cant keep them at home----these are some of the cats at the Sanctuary---just before they got to big to have human contact---now they are over 400lbs and are just too big. They could hurt you just playing with you. Plus I was going out there three times a week then and they got to know and trust me pretty well, just like your dog learns to love and trust you, but not strangers. What you see here is only allowed when they are small enough to handle. IT IS NOT allowed after they reach a certain age/size because their natural instincts take over and they are just FLAT dangerous ----like I said--they can hurt you just playing with you----- they are so incredibly strong


When they get larger, they have the strength and power to do you irreparable harm (remember Sigfried and Roy---and Roy had raised Monticore from birth)

One of the reasons the center has so many cats is there are Idiots out there with more money than brains and they think these beautiful and majestic creatures are so cute and cuddly, they want one for themselves as a house pet. Well, they are cute and cuddly when they are first born. But within the first 6 weeks they gain 40-50 lbs. By then they have eaten or chewed on the $3000.00 leather sofa.

They are usually about 150lbs in 6 months, and by their first birthday they are over 300 and sometimes approaching 400lbs.

And Costs? Most of these owners don't even have the licenses required for keeping a "dangerous exotic", let alone take into account the fees and hassle of getting good vet care for them. AND to feed them you don't just run down to the corner store for a bag of Meow Mix. Depending on their size, they need between 50 to 100lbs of raw meat a feeding, and they are fed twice a week. So factor in all those costs, and all of a sudden these cute little creatures have turned into a nightmare. So that's where most of the cats at the Sanctuary come from. I don't OWN any of them, they are in the Care of the Center for Animal Research and Education, (a non profit organization)--in other words they survive on donations and volunteers. I am just ONE of a small army of people who help out and care for these cats. And don't let the word RESEARCH scare you. The only research allowed is non-invasive observation of the cats and their behavior. There is no poking, prodding, testing, or harm to the cats EVER.

OK----now that I have explained a little about it, here are some more pictures.


and yes that is a Tiger between my legs

[frodolover36]

OMG!!! awww pics with u and tigers... i wanna do that so bad! u dont even know how. its like my dream to have my own sanctuary with my own tigers... aw jealous....

[nicolenice]

yeah i want to go chill with the tigers freakin awesome and ur dogs are so cute

[Becky]

Stuart those pictures with the tigers are awesome. I would love to do that....it must have been amazing.

And cute dogs, too. ;D


And J!Love I like the name crush for a turtle.

[stuart]

Nikki, I applaud your enthusiasm, but I amended my post a little bit to explain a little bit more about the sanctuary.

It took a lot of work and training before I was allowed to interact with the cats like you see in these photographs. And they are WAYYYYY too big to interact with like that anymore.

I will also let you in on something else........if you pass some exhibit on the side of the road or at the county fair where they are offering to let you sit with the little tigers and get your picture taken with the cats----- beware. These places are not your friend or a friend to the cats.

When the cats are small, they can manage them and you can sit relatively safely with the babies. You pay your twenty dollars for a picture and buy a keychain and a calender or t-shirt, but the money normally doesn't go to where they say it does (to help the cats), it goes to line the owners pockets.

Once the cats get too big to handle, they get new little babies and then are struck with what to do with the big ones. They either try to find a sanctuary like CARE or some other place to take them (but thats hard, most are so full they cant house any more cats), or worse, unthinkable even----- but they do it. Last year here in Texas, a tiger was found on the side of the road--- dead. The tiger had grown too big, so the owner shot it in the head and just left the body on the side of the road. It was a young female that was too big to handle in his "get you picture taken with the tigers" show.

I hope this information doesn't turn this thread to somber, and I definitely want to get it back on a happy note. So ---do your part to help, but make sure you aren't helping the enemy

[frodolover36]

awwww. i actually did that once too. it was one of the best moments of my life. i paid 10 bucks to sit with a white and a orange tiger.

see im willing to go through the training and the schooling. i hate school. but if its for something i really love i am so willing to do it. i have the dream of having the sanctuary or just having tigers that trust only me and love me and... ahhh.

that would be so awesome

[nicolenice]

that did make me sad stuart. I will never get my pic taken by those *ssholes now, but did they ever catch the person who killed the tiger, i hope so i am so against animal cruelty

[Lisa]

Awesome pictures Stuart!

[Sheila]

steph: never seen that show, but I still love the name.

Jlove: sorry to hear about soup. I was crushed as well when my little rat died.

Finding Nemo is hardly lame:p

Stuart: your pups are so freakin cute, also the pics of the big cats are amazing. You can tell that you are very passionate about them just by reading the things you write. good stuff

[Shamrock]

Hey, thanks for sharing Stuart, it's really interesting reading about what you have to say about the cats. Not everyone gets such an opportunity to work with or even see them, so it's awesome just hearing about it. They're so beautiful. And that cat you were hugging is already bigger than me at that size!

Soooo I took my pup for a walk today since he was upset he didn't get to go to the groomer with the others. He's got his tongue stickin' out cause we were just running through the field, and y'know, it's a dog thing.


Apparently I'm supposed to prepare him for dreads His tail actually is already dreaded from the last time, but he had it down for the picture due to tiredness.. ::)

[Becky]

^^^ He's cute. I wanna see the dreads when they're done.

[Sheila]

your dog is so cute Shamrock. He just looks so huggable

[Donna]

Stuart your dogs are too cute-I love the snaggle tooth look ;D
The pictures of you with the tigers are amazing....creatures that are so beautiful and strong, yet can be so gentle and loving..what an amazing experience that must have been

[Shamrock]

I agree that snaggle tooth is pretty darn cute.
And I thought I had problems telling my other two dogs apart.

Sheila: He is very huggable!
Becky: Sure thing. It's going to be awhile though.

[nicolenice]

[Shamrock]

Nicole: They're a rather mouthy breed, well at least my other two are but this one's pretty friendly with everyone. They really latch on to one person and play favorites though. It just gives them personality I love picking up my dog and giving him a big hug when other people are around just to see how worried they look that my dog might bite me just because he's grumbling soooo much. ;D

I've only seen a white Puli in person once. Only so many people own dogs in Iceland, and the Puli is the last breed I thought I'd come across, but I was walking down the street and low and behold there was one tied to a post I couldn't believe my eyes, and had to go for a closer look, I thought no way, it's gotta be a different breed, but it really was dreadlocks I was seeing. He had a PINK nose! But he wasn't an albino cause his eyes weren't red. It was pretty cool, I waited for the owner to come outside and talked to him about his dog. I think I was weirding him out with my excitement. I think I was dogsick since it'd been weeks since I'd seen my own dogs. Hehe..

[nicolenice]

Well if they are mouthy little pups then I guesse I'm lucky that my ex's aunts like me. And I will probably now call her and tease her because she was mad because it was my first time at her aunts house and the dog just loved me but wouldn't let her go near her. And that's cool you got to see a white one in person. but are there really albino ones because that would be awesome to see.

[Shamrock]

I think that's more of a rare case in animals in general. But I've never seen a Puli with a pink nose before. I've rarely seen dogs in general with pink noses.

[Missy]

Well, this isn't exactly a photo... It's a video. But it's soooooooo very amusing! This is my dog named Kahlua (age 2) trying to get my dog named Chubs (age 9) to play... The lighting sucks cuz it was indoors, but it's well worth the squinting ;D