New Hampshire.
My household has two crazy New England women (Labrador and human).
I agree, and was most impressed by the person who said their breeder drops in to check on the pup! By the way, just in case some readers don’t know this, another good place to get purebred pets is from breed-specific rescues. There are a lot of people who buy from a breeder and then dump the pet later (for a variety of reasons). Purebred rescue organizations have popped up to get these animals out of high-kill shelters and placed into homes. For people who do their breed research and want a specific breed for a fraction of the price, this is a very good way to go.
Here are mine:
Sweetie Pie the white and tabby cat - rescue
Capri, retired racing greyhound
Ajax, retired racing greyhound
Hubby and I both grew up around dogs and cats but mostly had cats all our lives. When we decided we wanted a dog, we were old and wizened enough to have very specific criteria: no yapping, no drooling, low energy, little grooming requirements. Although we both feel very strongly about adopting rescues instead of buying animals, we weren’t sure that we’d be able to find a dog that met all of those rather strict criteria in a rescue situation. Until hubby mentioned having met a greyhound years ago and it was pretty close, so we did a little research. We signed to adopt a greyhound from a local group that selected a dog for us, and a few weeks later were presented with Capri, only a few weeks off the track. She BLEW. our. minds. A year later we added Ajax to our family, again sight unseen, and he too is perfection in a fur coat.
Dolly - from a backyard breeder. I had grown up with a golden retriever and knew I needed one when I was ready for my own dog, so I found her in the newspaper and brought her home that day.
Morgan & Grady - From a local rescue. I went to the local Humane Society and they didn’t have any dogs I wanted but they had a list of local rescues. I saw Morgan on one group’s website and I had her within a week. Two months later I got an email newsletter from the rescue group and saw Grady. I got him around Christmas 2015.
The Rescued Crew
Scout the Border Collie: abandoned as a puppy at an Ohio garbage dump, now 10 years-old and living it up in Jersey.
Caleb the Bouvier des Flandres mix: rescued at intersection of 96th and FDR (Manhattan). Now four-yo and a citizen of New Jersey.
Jack the Regular Collie: rescued in Queens by FDNY friends, delivered to us same day. Side note: Jack was micro-chipped and we found his “bio” family, but they asked us to keep him because we have a large yard. He just turned 14 and has dual NY-NJ citizenship.
The only dog I’ve ever bought
Chase Daisy: purchased from responsible yellow lab breeder in Ohio. 8 months-old and bouncing around like a beastie in NJ!
Buddy I met at a last-chance adoption drive. I wasn’t in the market for a dog but our eyes locked and that was it. Loki ran in to my house one day chasing Buddy and never left. A few months later one of the neighbor kids said it was his family’s dog but they didn’t want it anymore. Real classy folks too. They dumped their other dogs a few weeks later when they left but we got a rescue group to take them.
Missy and Mari are my roommate’s dogs, but after three years I feel like they’re mine too. They were both rescued. Missy was found almost dead, dumped on a sandbar on The Mississippi River. Jane the cat is his too, but she spends more time upstairs with us so I claim her too.
Miso was born in my house with her brother Wonton about eight years ago. Wonton passed away a few years back. He was never very healthy and blind almost from birth. Mouseling I saved after another classy neighbor turned her hose on her. She was about nine weeks old according to the vet. Miep (or Meepmeep) Buddy heard one night howling in our backyard. She was caught in some vines. She had to have been a feral. She was only about 12 weeks old but she was strong and terrified of all of us. She tore me up trying to get away and hid under the furniture for weeks. It’s been six years and she still doesn’t trust anyone but me. PTSD for sure. Finally, Raven was a street cat I took to, but she was not interested in coming in to my house. I kept a box and food for her outside on the porch, hoping one day to catch her and get her fixed. We were in the process of moving when I realized she had become pregnant. I had no idea HOW pregnant until she went in to labor on the front porch. At least I was able to contain her. After that she was ours. We found homes for her two kittens when they were weaned and had her fixed. She still prefers to be an outdoors cat, but she sticks to our backyard, just coming in to visit for a few minutes here and there.
So in order of appearance: Miso, Buddy, Loki, Mouse, Miep, Raven, Missy, Mari and Jane.
Past cats:
Johnny Cat and Katie Cat were rescues from a shelter.
Tiger, Suzie, Patches and Whiskers were from a litter of kittens from a friend.
Meat, was found at a gas station. He ran off after a few months, but was never a very healthy cat, I think he ran off when he knew his time had come.
Char was a free kitten found in the walls of an abandoned house being fumigated. (My sister’s cat, and why I ended up with Wheel Cat)
Current cats
My brother’s cat, Gucci, was from a friend who couldn’t keep her.
My cat, Wheel Cat, was found in the parking lot of the grocery store by my sister. Her cat didn’t like him, so I inherited him.
Maggie Wonderbeagle(deceased)- County SPCA
Nelly K. Beagle(deceased) - County animal shelter
Lucretia D. Hellcatt(deceased) - roommate left cat with me after getting cat from coworker
Thrakazog(deceased?)- product of 2 neighbors’ cats. Given to me to replace Hellcatt
Gordie - County animal shelter
Bella the cat(deceased) - given to me after owner abondoned her at her father’s house.
Correction: we’ve acquired 13 chickens from him, not 14. I miscounted.
Current occupancy is 3, not 5. Daylight fox attack just took another two. Brazen damn animal.
I wanted to add that while all of my dogs have been mutts, and all of them count as “rescues” in a certain sense, I think only two of them were technically rescued from death (as in, the others were puppies, and if I hadn’t taken them, someone else would have).
Lucky-adopted by me and my boyfriend. We went to the shelter and asked to see any dogs whose time was nearly up. He was a black some-kind-of-terrier/some-kind-of-spaniel. How could someone have given up this furball? He had a great personality.
Silver-actually saved by me, as my friends were going to take this fat, unspayed, 8-year-old beagle/dachshund mix to the pound “for adoption” when they broke up and moved as far away from each other as they could get. She and I already had a relationship and I figured she would get euthanized the day after they took her in. Great dog, I had her five more years. She was spayed immediately, and exercised regularly so that within six months her tummy no longer dragged on the ground. But let’s face it, you are not going to get a svelte beagle/dachshund mix.
I am also pretty sure I saved my second horse from the glue factory. Talk about a mutt–she was a year old and her dam was an Appaloosa/Arabian. Her sire was a quarter horse. Allegedly.
Wife and I started with 3 cats, total; afterwards-----
Cat–12-- pet store cat because my wife sister had her first baby
Cat—10—rescue from feral cat colony
Cat–8—rescue from same colony of feral cats
Cat–6----adoption when wife first cat ever died
Cat—4----adoption
Cat----7 mos----adoption from litter fostered at birth at our house, a previous foster-adoption died at 14 mos of FIP so we adopted her to help w the pain
All 3 original cats deceased; plus the put down of the 14 month old, and we also officially count a 3 month old foster kitten who died of as virus under our watch as one of our “adoptees” so it can always be said she had a “forever home”
Our first cat together was from a cat shelter. We named her Viralata, which is Brazilian slang for a street person (I was in Portuguese language training at the time). She lived to be 20 and traveled the world with us.
Our present cat came from the next door neighbor, who treated pets like disposable diapers. The were moving to Florida and decided that they no longer wanted their sweet three-year old tuxedo cat (named Kitty), so we took her in and renamed her Q’itih, a more elegant spelling of her name. She’s presently asleep on the heat register next to my chair.
We have 4 cats, all gotten from rescues that bring cats to the local PetSmart store.
Miss Oreo (Missy) is a 4 year old tuxedo
Jake Noodle is a 1 year old cream tabby
Elvis Presley is a 1 year old seal point Siamese
Precious is a 1year old seal point Siamese
the Siamese are supposed to be siblings, but given the size difference and the white markings on Precious, I’m not convinced.
Pictures here:
http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc334/pipperroo/My%20pets/IMG_2037_zpsh717ad1e.jpg
The dog we had when I was a kid came from the city SPCA shelter. She was a great dog; we had her about 11 years before she died.
When my kids were little, we got a dog from a shelter, but we had to return him. He was totally incompatible with one of my kids, and in fact, bit her on the finger.
The dog we have now, since 2005, came from a breeder. Not only is she a great dog, but we’ve stayed in touch with the breeder, and she’s become a good friend.
Kiwi the Nanday Conure came from Petsmart back in 2001.
My three dogs all came from shelters, found on Petfinder.com. Ripley is a beagle/basset, Daisy is a beagle/dachshund and Gracie is a beagle/basset/other mutt.
I didn’t mention my previous pets.
Baby the cat came from a farm/rural setting.
Tobermory was about 2-1/2 years old, a stray, but obviously previously owned cat, as he was friendly and was litter box trained.
The Road Warrior was a young kitten who accidentally caught a wild ride into town on the undercarriage of the car of a coworker.
Vladimir was an eleven year old cat of a friend who was going on trial and might be sent to prison for a long time. He wanted to be sure the cat would have a home, because if he went away his wife and family would not have been able to keep the house. Said friend knew from me that I’d keep the cat even if he did get probationIhe did). So that was an open adoption. When, at the age of sixteen I had to have Vlad put to sleep his first owner came with me to the vet, and then helped to bury him in my back yard.
Quickster the mostly dachshund was my first dog. I had her for only sixty five days and it broke my heart when she was run over, but I found Nathan at the shelter.
I have a black and white Chihuahua that I got from a breeder in Texas. My Boston Terrier came from a breeder near the Mississippi/Georgia line. We drove to meet each other about half way from our homes.
I always look for a breeder that focuses solely on a specific breed. Preferably one that has show dogs. The dogs they sell for home pets can’t be shown but are still very well bred.
Current felines:
Baxter (grey and black mackerel tabby) was found wandering the grocery store parking lot as a kitten. He came right up to me and I couldn’t just leave him, could I?
Pandora (dilute torbie) and Sebastian (a harlequin longhair) were adopted at a Westfield, MA, no-kill cat shelter event. I had no idea that Westfield would be a two-hour drive, but it was worth it to get the kittens (who are now 4 years old).
Past felines:
Zoe (tortoise shell) was a stray in my neighborhood. (She died 4 years ago)
Shaney (Bombay) was left as a tiny kitten at a no-kill shelter. (Died 5 years ago)
Mojo (black domestic shorthair) was hit by a car, then fixed up by my vet. I was looking for a pal for Shaney. Mojo was a giant sweetie, and did well. (Died 10 years ago).
Never mind all the other cats my family has had. Too many to list. Most were from the shelter, though in college I saw at a pet store and fell in love with a kitten who was all white, with peach ears, paws, and tail, and big blue eyes. He was named Danny, and slept in my hair. My parents *said *they didn’t want a kitten, but then dad picked him up. Heh.
Tulip: offspring of a sawmill cat, given to us by my aunt (a cat lover). My mother was not a cat lover. Nonetheless, Tulip was much loved by me and my three siblings.
Fast forward to adulthood.
Albert: a pound kitty whom we had to give to friends when we were posted overseas.
Snow Ball: a Samoyed who came to us when her owners were posted overseas and, when we were posted overseas again, moved in with our farmer friends (really) and spent the rest of her life (12 years) herding cattle and putting the bum’s rush on the local coyote population.
Mike the mutt: found in a culvert as a puppy and adopted by our 10-year old son. Survived parvovirus (at great expense to us) and was son’s faithful companion until son went off to university. He died on Christmas Day, two days after our son came home on break.
Tatty the tabby: so named because she was plucked from a farm manure pile, hopping with fleas, colour unknown until bathed. The tattiest-looking cat ever. Daughter’s faithful companion until she went off to university. Died two days after daughter came home for summer break.
The Spook: tuxedo cat with a sense of humour. Rescued from a barn. Husband’s faithful companion until he died at age 16.
Zoe: golden retriever rescued at age 7. Was with us until her death age 13. Accomplished counter surfer and escape artist. Cost us a minor fortune in bail money.
Miz Murphy: born on the wrong side of the blanket (mama was a purebred show Persian with escape talents. Papa was a travelling tom). Still with us at age 20.
Bernardo (Bernie): black long-haired kitten fished out of a snowdrift on our back deck. Now as large as a Maine Coon but mute. He can only squeak or chirp. 15 years and still going strong.
Maggie: current dog. A Flatcoat Retriever/Labrador mix, found on the streets of Gatineau. A teenage mother, we adopted her from the local college’s vet-tech program. Smart as a whip, the bane of squirrels, birds, and rabbits. Worships and adores my husband and is at his side almost constantly.
as a kid,
Jojo, an adoptee from someone’s litter of sheltie/dachshund mix
Cinnamon, a cockapoo
Shelmore, average tabby
Gertrude, chicken and her best friend General, banty hen
As an adult,
Kiki(deceased), very vain American Short Hair adoptee from friend’s litter and Mouthy(deceased), brother of Kiki male tabby who never shut up
Rugumus Rattus(deceased), ginormous orange tabby male adopted from litter of barn cats and sweetest most devoted family pet I’ve ever had (HE taught ME to play fetch)
Bitty Brat(deceased), ginormous orange tabby, son of Rugumus and pure evil until the day Rugumus died, from then on one of the most loving and devoted family pets ever.
Loving Mouse The Vicious (presumed deceased), average sized all grey cat, terrified of people (except veterinarians, for some reason who he terrified) , absolutely fearless defender of hearth and home otherwise, dedicated and very loving pet. He disappeared after moving into an apartment complex and our first words with the neighbors was a threat from him to feed our cats to his dogs (pittable bastard POS MF A…erm the jerk)
Miss Blueberry Muffin Fancy Pants, the polydactyl manx/Siamese (deceased) rescue/adoption from my brother’s next door neighbor-pet horder
Current
Lord Nuzzles Furball (Furbious Maximus Rex) (new)Adoptee from the local Humane Society
Current crop:
Mollie - long-haired cat that belonged to a co-worker’s mother who had to give her up when she was hospitalized.
Leonidas - feral kitten rescued from a Target parking lot where he was dodging cars, now completely healed and domesticated.
Nigel the Destroyer - semi-feral, currently gone on walk-about as he does. Long-term stray who has flirted from time to time with domestication. Beyond neuter, vax, and feeding can’t even really say he is mine.
Prior cats in no particular order:
Rocket J Squirrel - became ours when neighbors abandoned her
Ajax - showed up one day and joined the other cats at the feeding station. Decided to stay
Milo - abandoned at my place of work, followed me to my car and jumped in
Mrs. Peel - injured stray kitten found outside our apartment
Rupert - abandoned by former owners at another apartment complex
Beezle - kitten dumped at the park across the street from where we lived
Bob - ancient cat (seriously thought he was long-dead road kill) pick up out of gutter - no teeth, no tail, one ear, weighed nothing. Surprising lived another two years with us.
Einar - retired barn cat who wanted to be indoors for his last year
Terrill - another retired barn cat spending his last couple months indoors
Pearl - the only shelter cat, gorgeous tortie and my best friend, died earlier this year