quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
I vote for dogs! Especially Boxers.

Yes indeed, I've had 5 Boxers in my life and three Boston Terriers. The Boxer is my favorite breed - I grew up with one so that is probably my main reason, but I love the breed.

We have downsized now and our last two dogs are Boston Terriers. Great little dogs - my wife is an Obedience Instructor and AKC Evaluator, our last Boston competed in Teacup Agility and was a superstar in the sport.

We now have a little guy who is just 9 1/2 months old - Bullitt. He's a great guy, I was dreading getting a puppy its been 21 years since our last true puppy but he has been great, no problems at all. (I have to thank my wife for that, she has worked with him non stop.)

We own our own Grooming Shop and see LOTS of breeds come through, but I will always be a Boxer guy first and foremost.

No pets. Too much responsibility. Too much hair. Had fish for years. Too much work.
When my wife retires, I said she can get a dog. She wants a big dog. Small home, small yard. Not happening. It’s cruel to do that to an animal.
So yeah, no pets.

Man's best friend.
Anything else may as well be a gerbil in comparison.

and
AND!
there is none of that "last ride" business
with the wild birds option.

94% of the time they go somewhere else to die.

heck ,
As far as I know , I've been watching the same birds for the last 16 years

Hopefully when skynet and/or the aliens take over I'll be deemed an adorable lil talking monkey.

Wonder what treats will be like for being a good boy?

My favorite pets.

Burmese cats (I’ve had four of them). They have a dog-like affection for their owner. Smart, and trainable – I trained mine to use a human toilet. No litter box! They would walk on a leash with me.

When I was a kid I had a wonderfully personable green & yellow parakeet. Free to fly about the room he’d land on my shoulder, but not on other family members. He’d dive into my shirt pocket and walk back and forth with only his tail feathers showing.

While I was doing my homework he’d land on my desk, pick up a wooden pencil in his beak, hold it high, and strut around. And he’d grab a sheet of my homework and go chicketety-chick along an edge. The sheet looked as though it’d been ripped out of a spiral bound notebook.

I marveled at the amount of personality God packed into his tiny brain.

I enjoy both cats and dogs. Have had only cats since we were married , 39 years ago. Two reasons. Cats are lower maintenance. You can be gone for a weekend and I'm not sure they even notice !!

Would like to have a larger dog ( lab size) but it breaks my heart to know they don't live as long as I would want. I could see myself counting down the years ( too few) until the day I would have to put them to sleep.

JMO...mike

PS: Presently , we are "owned" by a Maine Coon and a Tonkinese !!

I voted dog. I own two English mastiffs that I love as members of my family


That said.....

I grew up with dogs. Neither my sister nor I ever had any of the “apartment pets” (guinea pig, hamster, gerbil, bird, etc)

My wife convinced me to get my 8 year old daughter a teddy bear hamster when the shut down started.

I must say...that little rodent is the sweetest damn thing. Cute. Affectionate. It’s kind of like a miniature dog. It can’t wait to spend time with us. Crawls right on my hand when I put it in there. Loves to be petted. Snuggles right up with you

I admit I was wrong about them and completely understand their appeal. I am very glad we got her and am very fond of her

I've mostly been a dog person all my life, though after my Golden and Irish Setter passed several years back I swore off pets, I just get way too attached and unlike the people that have come and gone in my life, my animals occupied a larger portion of my heart.

That is until my wife tossed a spunky kitten into my lap that was headed for a shelter. Being pretty much homebound these days due to age/health related issues she thought I could use the companionship. These days I cannot see a day without him. How quickly I got attached once again.

God has blessed us with the dog. That is my belief.

No other animal has a bond like man and dog.

I like almost all the response's so that say's something. I am not sure about the best. I think owners are what make great pets. Animals are all special. It is the owners that can bring out the special personalities in all of them. They are all unique.
One of our cats will come running when I call her name. Funny. Her name is Char.