Comments (93)

1. When my sisters and I were allowed to get a second cat, my sister Melinda got to pick it out. Of the three kittens, she chose the boring, black FAT one, because and I quote “Its fat, and I was fat when I was a baby, and it will grow up like me!” My sister Melinda is still quite slim.

   Panther, the kitten she selected, died a few years ago at around 8 years old weighing in at nearly 40 pounds.

   posted by Kelly J on 4-7-2008 at 10:09 am

2. When I was growing up, out of 6 rabbits, 1 horse, 1 possum, 1 deer, at least 20 cats (one persian), at least 12 dogs (1 lab and 1 dobie), assorted injured birds, reptiles, amphibians, and rodents, I remember actually selecting 3 of the dogs, 2 of the cats, 1 of the rabbits and the horse–the others, including the purebreds, just showed up after being dumped off by previous owners, or were born to one we already had (these were the days before all pets were spayed or neutered).

   posted by Anne on 4-7-2008 at 10:10 am

3. I spent a lot of time researching what type of dog I wanted to get. I bought books, looked at breeders, and got input from friends and family. I decided on a black lab because they seemed like a great first dog that wouldn’t break the bank.

   Sadly, most breeders (and even the humane society) wouldn’t give a puppy to a single guy living in an apartment. After a month of frustration a friend told me how she found a small black lab puppy in an abandoned house.

   I’ve had her for 2 months now and don’t regret at all not buying a purebred.

   So I guess in my case I had everything all planned out and researched but at the last minute chose something completely random that fell in my lap.

   posted by chris on 4-7-2008 at 10:10 am

4. It’s a different story for every pet that I’ve had. My current beloved feline actually mostly chose us. She chose my mom first, while she was visiting a friend’s vacation home. A very small, very sick barely-more-than-a-kitten began hanging around, clearly asking for help. And mom couldn’t say no. She took her home, took her to the vet to find she’d already had kittens of her own and now had a uterine infection. Mom said the whole time that she was looking for a good home, but got rather attached. So she’s part of our house now.

   posted by s michael c on 4-7-2008 at 10:16 am

5. My dog was rescued from a war zone in Lebanon. The shelter, Best Friends Animal Society, actually matched me up with her! I told them that I was looking for a female, adult, special-needs dog, and I got Claudine! I planned to change her name, but it sort of grew on me, and she already responded to it. She’s the greatedst dog!

   posted by Lisa on 4-7-2008 at 10:17 am

6. I got two cats when my husband and I decided we wanted a pet. Both of us were working a lot and lived in a tiny one room apartment, so we went with cats. Besides, you can’t go wrong with a self-cleaning pet. We also wanted polydactile (lots of fingers) cats so we went to the pet store that sold them. One has since died but the other one, Louie, turns 4 in a couple of days. He’s the coolest, most loving cat I’ve had and he’s a great conversation piece when people come over. My cat Binx that I got after I moved to England was the only option from a friends litter, but he worked out great too. I think since there’s so much chance when picking out a pet that luck and good ownership skills have a lot to do with how they turn out.

   posted by Tricia on 4-7-2008 at 10:26 am

7. We found a shelter nearby. It had three kittens. We picked the two with the shortest hair, because we weren’t sure if my mother was going to be allergic to them.

   It worked out wonderfully. Our cats are loving, friendly, and playful.

   posted by Kathe on 4-7-2008 at 10:28 am

8. Of the Dozen or so kitties that have come into my life in the past 15 years, I would have to say that all of them picked me. (strays)

   posted by zantimisfit on 4-7-2008 at 10:29 am

9. We were looking for a smallish dog because we lived in an apartment at the time. We knew we wanted a rescue dog, so we looked around locally until we found a couple that had rescued a dog but couldn’t keep it. It just all fell into place. We ended up LOVING the dachshund breed, which is how we decided that dog #2 would be a dachsie. We found the wonderful Web site I linked to in my name and that’s where the other two dogs came from.

   posted by Stacy on 4-7-2008 at 10:32 am

10. Last year I fell in love with a Bassett Hound at the Humane Society only to find out our landlord wasn’t going to let us have pets. I’d been wanting a dog for a while, so as soon as I moved out, I planned to go back to the Humane Society to see what they had for me now. Before I could go, a friend informed me his mother was getting rid of her Bassett puppy, which should have maybe made me wary. We met when he plopped her onto my front lawn, handed me the leash, and sped off. I always thought Bassetts were supposed to be lazy bums, but this creature is wild! Still, I can’t help but love her, especially when she takes a moment to stop jumping and barking to cuddle up beside me. I wouldn’t trade her out, even on the days she annoys me the most. Though, I do suspect fattening her up a bit may slow her down…

    posted by mary on 4-7-2008 at 10:32 am

11. We were sympathy adopters. The kitten we picked from the local shelter had been mauled by an older cat and left in a box at the shelter. They didn’t know if he would make it, but he got patched up and we took him home. When we fist got him he still couldn’t make any noise, but now he is quite vocal, although he still can’t make noise purring, you just feel him rumble. :)

    posted by Cheri on 4-7-2008 at 10:34 am

12. Growing up, it seemed that our pets usually picked us. We lived out in a rural area, and my first dog had been dumped, and then hit by a car. We nursed her back to health and kept her until she died 18 years later. She looked like a Shetland Sheepdog, but we’re not really sure what she was. We had several dogs that found us in similar ways over the years.

    My current dog was picked pretty much randomly from a litter at a farm. She’s a yellow lab/golden retriever mix. She ran up to me before the others, so she was the one. We got her for $30, then proceeded to spend $300 at the emergency vet clinic to keep her from dying from the worm infestation she had. I left an awfully nasty message on the farmer’s answering machine. Chloe is almost 10 years old now, and still wants to be a lap dog, even though she weighs about 65 pounds.

    posted by bre on 4-7-2008 at 10:37 am

13. As kids, we often got cats from friends who had a litter of kittens. I tended towards the more calm, snuggly cats, my sister liked the “energetic” (aka crazy) ones.

    When I got my first cat on my own, I went to the shelter and looked for a short haired cat who liked to be snuggled and pet. I ended up with Squeaker, who loves snuggling, but is also terrified of new people and heavy footsteps. So most people only know Squeaks as the lump under the covers on my bed, his hiding place.

    My other cat Ashland was a 3 time hand-me-down. She’s very dominant, heavy, and long haired. Doesn’t get along with babies, dogs or cats that won’t play/fight back. She bounced around every household in my family before landing at my house. And she’s perfect. Though you can’t breathe that well when she’s on your belly. She weighs a ton.

    posted by Jenny on 4-7-2008 at 10:47 am

14. Typically, our pets seem to choose us. All our cats and dogs have been strays that wandered up and despite saying we’d take them to the humane society as soon as they were better, they always ended up staying.
    We have had our fair share of pets that we chose however. Gerbils, because my mum always had them as a child. A rabbit because the sister thought they were cute. Rats because my brother watched the movie “Willard”. Goats because I fell in love with them at the age of four and always wanted one (or in my case, got two). We’ve also had hampsters, mice, and fish.

    posted by Korin on 4-7-2008 at 10:47 am

15. All of my cats have been shelter cats…no breeders for me. My best kitty was 8 weeks old when I saw her at the shelter. I asked to hold her and the volunteer said that she may bite or hiss as she came in dehydrated and pretty scared. A little bit of her ear was missing from a fight and her one eye weeps contantly because her tear duct is fused shut. I was still game. She didn’t bite or hiss or do much of anything at all, but I knew I wanted her. Brought her home after she was spayed where she sat behind the toilet for two days. Took her 48 hours to eat something and use the box.

    Eight years later, she is the most lovable cuddly cat. The only time she bites or hisses is if one of the other two cats initiates a fight with her. Looking at my desk at work, I have three pictures of her, but none of the other two.

    posted by Jamie on 4-7-2008 at 10:57 am

16. My roommate and I got our cat from the local SPCA- he also had a predetermined name that we had every intention of changing but never did. We managed to skirt the $100 cat fee for our apartment by sneaking him in after hours.

    Not two month later, my roommate called me up and said “guess what I have in the car”

    I couldn’t

    “A cat…I found him on the street..I guess I’ll take him the SPCA, but they’ll probably kill him cause he’s so little and dirty. Unless you know, you want two cats. If we can keep him I’ll take him to the vet and pay for it and everything.” (My roommate is apparently five and simply masquerading as a 23 year old)

    So now we have two cats. We didn’t pick them, they picked us

    posted by Caitlin on 4-7-2008 at 11:04 am

17. on the topic, but actually off topic…

    when my husband tried to find a dog at the Humane Society, they had him fill out a questionnaire and he answered one of the items, “yes the dog would sleep outside, and yes the dog would sleep inside” - so they REFUSED his application because he said the dog would sleep outside (mind you this is a pretty rural area). we still don’t understand what the problem is. he was not insistent about the dog sleeping outdoors, he agreed if it is against their policy, he will not let the dog sleep outside, only play outside. they would not reconsider. what’s the deal?

    posted by kerensa on 4-7-2008 at 11:04 am

18. I’m another poster whose pets picked her. We have a greyhound that we’d planned to get, because we wanted to save a retired racer, and because we’d heard that they were great in apartments (it’s true!). When we got to the kennel, the process was a little overwhelming because they had so many dogs. We got out a few and looked at them, but didn’t really connect with them. Finally, the kennel worker pulled out Commander and he walked right up to my husband, put his head on my husband’s hip, and looked up at him with the biggest sad eyes ever. We were on our way home with him about 30 minutes later.

    We went to the Humane Society for our other dog — a little border collie mix. We wanted a really active dog that was sweet at the same time. We took him out to play and he ran around the play area once really really fast, and then ran up to me, jumped in my lap and licked my face. That’s how I knew he was the one!

    posted by Amber on 4-7-2008 at 11:06 am

19. I picked my dog off of Craigslist. He was free and neutered (the girl was moving to New York City and decided that was a dog unfriendly city). I really liked him, renamed him Cisco and we were buddies until my wife (who I think never really liked Cisco) and I had our first baby.

    Cisco did not like the baby and I had to get rid of him. I pointed out to my wife that the dog was house trained, the baby needed diapers, and dogs are MUCH cheaper to feed (compare dog food to baby formula!), but she insisted on keeping the kid. Sigh, well the dog went on Craigslist again. I hope his is happy now.

    posted by Witty Nickname on 4-7-2008 at 11:15 am

20. me and my girlfriend were shoping around for dogs ac couple of years ago and we were looking to adopt a dog. What better karmic situation could we put ourselves in then rescuing a little guy whose been abandoned. Well turns out that connecticut is a pain in the ass to adopt a dog. first off every cute dog is involved in a pending court case so you can’t adopt them. Then the ones that are there are all psychopaths we had gone to 4 pounds and couldn’t find one dog that fit our needs. with one last try we found out about the Meriden pound and we stopped in a pet shop to get directions, thiswas a horrible idea. Next thing i hear out the corner of my ear was “Oh Ny God, They have PUGGLES.” We saw this little bruiser bouncing around the pen playing with all the other puppies and it was game set match. I don’t regret any of it though, I love love love love love love my dog. He’s got so much personality and spunk you can’t help but talk to him give him high-fives (Yes, i taught him how to high-five)

    posted by chuck on 4-7-2008 at 11:22 am

21. When I was 6 my parents let me get a kitten. We went to a farm down the street that had a “Free Kittens” sign out front. The kittens had been abandoned by the mother in the barn on, and almost all of the kittens were black and orange tigers, except for one tiny tiny gray kitten. He was the runt and I fell head over heels in love with him. He, too, came pre-named - Paddington. It cost around $500 to treat his conjunctivitis (sp) but, now 17 years old, he is definitely worth the money!

    posted by Kristin on 4-7-2008 at 11:29 am

22. My older cat, Sassy, was a strange situation. I was wondering around a Petsmart, looking at the kitties in their kennels. This woman kept following me in the store, to the point that it freaked me out a little. As I was leaving, she stopped me and asked if I was looking for a pet cat. Turns out that they had a stray adopt them and then their son developed an allergy. They lived on a farm with frequent coyote sigtings, so they didn’t want to make her an outdoor cat. So, I adopted Sassy. The family gave her to me for free, just two days after having her fixed. The woman said I looked like “a kind person.” Sassy was nervous at first, but now she has very much adopted me as her mother and my boyfriend as her father.

    Simon, the younger cat, was chosen by my boyfriend, who has a tendancy to pick big personality animals. Simon’s definitely a big personality and when I adopted him, he was only 8 weeks old. He came home with me a few weeks later, after being fixed through the adoption agency. Sassy was not happy about it, but has warmed up tremendously. I’m not sure why my boyfriend chose him, but he did a great job!

    I wouldn’t trade either cat for anything.

    posted by Bethany on 4-7-2008 at 11:40 am

23. I picked mine out from photos on a web site.

    I knew what breed I wanted when i started looking for a dog (Pomeranian, as my family had had a couple of them when I was growing up) and I knew what color I wanted (black and tan) and I knew that the idea of shipping a puppy is horrible, so I kept searching breeder websites in my area until the right puppy showed up. And sure enough, a litter was born so the getting of the puppy coincided with the moving to an apartment that allowed dogs. He’s is a little devil, but I really couldn’t be happier with him.

    posted by frumpiefox on 4-7-2008 at 11:42 am

24. Most of our pets picked us. We have 4 cats. Three of them were strays that we’d been feeding. Tiger had been coming for three years to our patio to eat(three meals a day). He was a bedraggled cat..one bad eye, a question mark tail, scruffy, always covered in oil from where he slept. One day he came by and had a large glob of grease or oil on him. I made a decision..Scooped him up, took him in the house, gave him a bath and he never left. Quess he made a decision that day too. And now he is my devoted friend.

    Moochie was another we fed and one day he just walked in and decided to stay.

    Moona had been being mistreated where she lived. Kim rescued her and she only lets him touch her. She was and still is a catankerous biddy but she calls out place home.

    Linus was the only one we choose. A family member had a cat that had kittens and sent out an appeal for friends and family to take one. We did. And Linus was a good choice. He never ceases to entertain us. He’s smart and can arrange aluminum foil balls by color on a shelf. That’s a truism and he then takes them and puts them way for another day. Also True.

    posted by Jo-Ann Burton on 4-7-2008 at 11:51 am

25. My first rabbit, a black baby mini rex girl we named Bobbi, was a gift from my now fiance on our first anniversary. She started acting out a lot after a few months, even though we played with her frequently, so we went to the local shelter and found her a black and white spotted mini lop for a “boyfriend” (they are both neutered.) She is so much happier with him, although we knew from the start he was a “special” bunny.

    Our first dog, Penny, was found by my fiance late at night running around in January with a rope tied around her neck and the other end tied to a broken tree branch. We tried to find the owner but luckily for us we were unable to. Not that we would want her back there - who ties up a 9 lb Chihuahua/Mini Dachshund to a tree in January?! It was freezing out!

    We found our latest dog because Penny needed a boyfriend, so I just happened to stop by a pet store to get food and immediately fell in love with a blue dapple mini dachshund puppy. He was the only one of his kind there and was playing tug of war with a pug. When I went up to the glass he immediately ran over to me. I didn’t hold him though in case I fell in love but couldn’t get him. I brought my fiance back the next day and had HIM hold the puppy, and he fell in love instantly. Penny and Pinto get along fantastically, and he has calmed her down so much and they snuggle all the time. So cute!

    posted by Leah on 4-7-2008 at 11:52 am

26. My cat was from one of two litters that my best friend’s cats had. Her litter was born on my birthday and she was the only one that wasn’t all black. I was cuddling her and heard myself say “can I have you? If I find an apartment that allows cats, can I have you?” Didn’t ask my friend, asked the cat.

    posted by Danyel on 4-7-2008 at 11:54 am

27. Our first dog (from a neighbor) was killed by another dog some years ago now. So my brother went with that neighbor to look at new dogs with the hope we’d find one we’d like and get him/her later. On the way back from the shelter, my brother called my mother and informed her that he had our new dog on his lap.

    Apparently Hobbes had two brothers who sniffed my brother and then ran off. Hobbes stayed and cried at his feet to be picked up. Since then Hobbes has been with us. He chose us. Lol.

    posted by Nell on 4-7-2008 at 12:03 pm

28. After reading these comments (as well as my own experiences) I would have to say that you got the question wrong. The headline should probably be “How do pets pick their keepers?” It really was nice to read all of the other keepers comments (as well as your article Ransom).

    posted by Phrank Loyed on 4-7-2008 at 12:05 pm

29. My husband and I went to the shelter to pick out our dog. We looked around and didn’t find one that we absolutely fell in love with, so we were going to leave. But my husband decided to look around in the back of the shelter where they sometimes have overflow. He found a dog he liked but I thought he looked kind of funny-looking. Well, we took him out for a walk around the shelter and at one point, I sat down in a lawn chair. He came over, put his head through between the chair and the armrest and rested his head on my lap. That was it! We had to take him after that! And now he’s still just as sweet as ever =)!

    posted by Ck on 4-7-2008 at 12:13 pm

30. Phrank Loyed I agree. Both my dogs picked me. They were both rescues (both from pet supply store adoption days). One was local and the other I adopted when I was on vacation in Hilton Head. By the way HHI has a very good Humane Society shelter on the island (just before you cross back to the mainland). They told me there is one road on the island that seems to be very popular as a ‘Puppy Dump’ location. They frequently just drive down the road and pick up dogs that have been dumped. I don’t know how long my dog lived on the street. I don’t even know how old he is or what breed but he is a great dog and I am very glad both my dogs chose me!

    posted by JaneM on 4-7-2008 at 12:20 pm

31. Caesar and Brutus fell into my hands really. There was no selection but I knew I couldn’t take one without the other. However, it became apparent after a while that Caesar was my favorite and that he was more my dog than Brutus was (Brutus was more my mother’s dog). His attitude matched mine very well (we are both prissy snobs)and he is a dog who enjoys the finer things in life (I basically gave up on punishing him every time he slept on my cashmere). Plus, I love the fact that he can’t seem to accept the fact that he is only a 10 pound rat terrier and maybe he shouldn’t spend his time in the park chasing after bullmastiffs. Tell me that isn’t an image you wouldn’t giggle at.

    posted by S on 4-7-2008 at 12:22 pm

32. I think that getting a pet is a lot like making a friend or having a baby. You don’t walk in to a room and deliberately choose who you will become friends with. It just happens. Nor do you sit and consider what your child is going to be like. Likewise, pets just grow on you. You can have the most tyranical, pain-in-the-ass pet ever, but still love it unconditionally.
    My cat, Jude, was a rescue cat. She was abandoned by her mother, a stray, at 5 weeks old. My mom found her mewing in a cardboard box and asked if I wanted to adopt her. I fell in love with her right away. I had to bottle feed her and give her eye drops, all while keeping her presence a secret in my on-campus apartment. Now that I’ve graduated, she has an entire apartment to roam around in, but she still stays right by side when I’m home.

    posted by Heather on 4-7-2008 at 12:28 pm

33. The very same day my boyfriend and I signed the lease on our first new apartment, we decided it was time to head to the pet store. We didn’t know what we were going for, we were just so caught up in moving in together that we didn’t really think it through. So we walked in the store and there in the first cage was this cute little white pitbull pup with lopsided ears and a brown spot over one eye. My boyfriend was hooked, but I wasn’t too crazy about the idea of having a pitbull in an apartment complex, considering the negative stigma associated with the breed. But when he asked if he could hold her and she came straight to me instead, it was all over.
    I won’t lie though - the next year was a hard adjustment because pitbulls (we named ours Hunter) are very energetic. Just when I thought we had gotten her all calmed down and well-adjusted, I went and had the bright idea of getting another one. This time it was even more spontaneous: I had just finished getting groceries at Wal-Mart when I noticed someone selling puppies in the parking lot. An hour later, we had another pitbull, and a whole new set of worries. That was a year-and-a-half ago, and Daisy (the second one) is still as hyper as can be. Our apartment is trashed to say the least.
    If I had to be honest with myself, I wish we would have waited to at least get used to living in our apartment before getting a pet. Then I wish we would have researched the matter and gotten a more appropriate breed. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by these very powerful (but loving) dogs, and I constantly wish I could provide a better living environment for them. If we could find a house with a fenced-in yard, everything would be great, but while I’m already saying “No more pets in the house!” my boyfriend’s asking for a bulldog puppy. It looks like we’ll always be suckers when cute puppies are involved.

    posted by bas on 4-7-2008 at 12:41 pm

34. Let me preface this by saying that I am a veterinary technologist and having lots of pets seems to be easier going than having two teenagers-a lot less squabbling, you don’t have to buy them new clothes and they never hog the tv remote!!Going from our oldest pet to our youngest-

    Julie (14 yr old Whippet). Her elderly auntie Jezebel had died suddenly from a heart condition,leaving her bereft half-brother Sol pining away. We contacted their breeder, who knew of a litter of pups that had just been born down in Washington state-the father was Sol’s brother. Got the ‘runt’ of the litter, who proved to be the toughest little bitch around.

    Murphy-(14 year old DSH cat). We’d lost our one male cat, Khym, to a car accident and the two females we had were missing him a lot. I went down to the SPCA and Murphy (all of 8 weeks old) began yelling at me from a cage. Named him for the tv character “Murphy Brown” because of his big mouth. I was pregnant with my daughter Ali at the time and shortly after her birth, he became her best friend and cuddler.

    Elsa + Junior (12 year old DSH kitty siblings) Got back from summer vacation only to find a stray cat had her litter of kittens in our garden shed. Was so busy getting the kids settled and being back to work that it took a couple of days to realise the dogs were acting oddly-turns out that mama cat had dropped a kitten when she was getting the family out and that kitten was trapped and starving under a crawlspace beneath the shed and the dogs were trying to get our attention over it. Rescued that kitten (Elsa), only to have my husband show up a few days later with the rest of the litter, which the sickly momma had abandoned in the neighbour’s derelict shed. The city was being hit by a severe case of feline distemper and we lost three of the five kittens; ended up keeping the survivors. Junior got his name because we never gave him a name for the first while, thinking we would find him a home elsewhere but I began calling him “Junior” since a lot of the native locals use it for their sons…

    Willow (sevenish year old DLH cat) Willow followed my kids home one day, meowing frantically. Of course the dogs wanted to chase her off but when I got a closer look and realised she was literally skin and bones under all that fur, I put the dogs out in the yard and brought her in. She ate cat food for 15 minutes!! Checking her over, she’d obviously been hit by a car in the recent past because her tail was broken half way down and her limping indicated a probable broken pelvis. We’d moved to a community with no SPCA at that point and when I phoned the local animal control person, she said that she would hold the cat for 3 days then most likely have it destroyed because it was injured…she was so very sweet and so obviously in need of someone to look after her-we noticed she pooped bird seed for about three days after she arrived, we figured she had been sitting underneath a feeder before she spotted the kids, too weak to hunt but thinking that maybe what was feeding the birds would keep her alive. My kids are too tenderhearted to have chased her off and she demanded to come into the house once they’d let her follow them home!Currently sleeping off her breakfast on a sunny corner of the couch.

    Masquerade (six year old female Greyhound) About the time Julie’s uncle Solomon was getting to the end of his days, a good friend from the city we used to live in wrote me an email and was telling me about the Greyhound pup that had started coming into her practice. My husband and I talked it over and thought it would be a good idea to find out more about the Greyhound breeder since we wanted to go from Whippets to Greys. Contacted the show-Grey breeder and a couple of months later we drove out to the coast to pick up Masq. Lovely dog with a very sweet temperment, I showed her to her Canadian championship and now she’s sleeping in the sun on the dog couch with her brother-

    Frankie (6 year old male Greyhound)-Frankie came here late, only about a year and a half ago. Was badly injured at his previous owner’s home (plate glass window incident) and the breeder had taken him back and nursed him back to health. Our old GreyX, Cheetah, had bone cancer and had to be put to sleep and Masquerade was wandering around, looking for her everywhere. We phoned the breeder to ask if she knew of any litters coming up (show Greys are pretty rare up here in Canada)and she told me, “This must be fate. I have a brother looking for a family home and you have a sister who needs a friend.” He’s a wonderful dog, if a little on the vain side (his sister never “strikes a pose” the way that he does!) but he adores his new family and having his sister to play with!

    Kandy (four year old DLH calico BRAT!!)
    A guy in a van abandoned her when she was about six months old at the pool that my husband was managing at the time. We got the call because it was after hours for animal control and the staff knew I could take care of her. It was two days before we were leaving on holidays and my mom (who was pet-sitting for us) was under strict orders to keep the cat confined to our bedroom/ensuite since the cat was terrified of dogs. We posted “Found Cat” posters with a picture all over town and got no responses but by the time we were back from holidays and settled back in, we ended up liking the cat too much to drive her the 100km to the closest SPCA to be adopted out. The “BRAT!” comes from the fact that while she is a total suckup to us, she would like to pick on any cat or dog that will tolerate it. I keep having to tell her that it’s a damn good thing she’s the prettiest cat I’ve ever owned because otherwise…

    LOL!

    posted by Saffron on 4-7-2008 at 1:00 pm

35. I’m on board with Stacy - I’m in love with dachshunds. My family found our first full-bred dachshund at the local pound. At the time I thought she was knobby and strange looking, but ended up falling in love. A few years later, we took in a second dachshund that had been abandoned in a nearby field. What a coincidence!

    We’ve also always had cats choose us, however, the few times that I was allowed to pick out a kitten, I always chose the tiniest runt. They didn’t always make it, but I could never resist picking the most pathetic one. Unfortunately, I’m extremely allergic to cats…I think my parents like having the pets more than me!

    posted by Katherine on 4-7-2008 at 1:07 pm

36. I don’t really pick pets. One cat was a kitten abandoned at my workplace. The other cat walked in the house and never left. The first bird was the last one at the pet store at the time. The second bird my daughter picked to complement the color of the first bird. My other daughter picks hermit crabs by how lively they are. I let the bait store select my goldfish for me.

    posted by Miss Cellania on 4-7-2008 at 1:11 pm

37. Well, my first child was a gift from an ex-boyfriend. He is a little grey cockatiel that we named Meno. He can be loud and anooying at times, yet adorably cute and loving at other times. He only lets me and my nephew pet him, but he loves to sit on people’s shoulder and flirts up a storm with them. He is also quit geeky (like myself) and tries his hardest to whistle out the Imperial March and loves to watch Star Wars (no kidding, if he gets nightmares I often need to put the movies on so he’ll calm down). He sleeps each night on a little Chewbacca doll in his cage. And gets excited when Doctor Who comes on TV.
    My second child is a fat little dutch rabbit (although she wasn’t so fat when I got her) that I took in because the person who rescued her found that she was allergic. She was very frightened of certain noises and people when I got her but she has come a very long way. Although she still hates to be held (I don’t think she will ever like it), she loves to run around my apartment and loves to be petted and played with.
    I hope someday to get a dog, however I currently don’t feel that I’d be home enough for it.

    posted by Jacob on 4-7-2008 at 1:12 pm

38. I, too, was fortunate enough to have parents that loved to take in homeless, abandoned, or injured dogs. However, one of the dogs that we presently have picked us.

    The story is, we lived sort of in a back-woods dirt road community and this dog shows up. The entire yard is fenced with our three dogs in it. The dog (Sophia) takes to sleeping under one of the cars outside of the fence during the night. This went on for about a year over which time she raised a litter of pups alone in the field behind out house. We’d feed her and put out blankets on especially cold nights (it’s Florida, so, really…)and generally keep her out of harms way. Eventually we decided that it was time to move and took her along with us. She is now a very interesting, albeit, odd companion.

    posted by Helen on 4-7-2008 at 1:25 pm

39. My number one rule when selecting a new pet is: look into their eyes. Are they crazy eyes? Move on…
    Fergie, our Westie, was purchased from a breeder–after a long and daunting search. I wanted a terrier, my husband had only liked big dogs; a Westie, with their perfect, friendly personalities, was a compromise. Breed-specific rescue groups are wonderful and noble, but they are often full of special needs dogs and we were not prepared to care for an elderly dog. It was so much fun raising a puppy and I wish I could do it every day. (Fergie did not have crazy eyes.)
    Belle, our soft-coated wheaten terrier, was selected by Fergie. We were looking for a companion for Fergie, and had visited several rescue dogs. He always had a squabble with them. Not so with Belle. She has googly eyes, not crazy eyes, so it was a go for us. She’s awesome and she and Fergie are the best of friends.

    posted by Carolyn on 4-7-2008 at 1:26 pm

40. Growing up, our family only ever had cats, and all of those were strays that we’d adopted. But for reasons I don’t remember, I was in love with greyhounds since I was about seven years old. When I got older I read an article in Reader’s Digest about greyhound rescue (adopting retired racers) and decided that I would someday make one of those my own. Flash forward several years, I’m newly married and have my own house, so I contact Michigan Greyhound Rescue. However, I emphasized that I simply could not look at a bunch of dogs and choose one. It would break my heart to leave the others behind. I asked them to just choose one for me. After several interviews, the agency decided that Sandy and I would be perfect parents (or suckers, since he was considered “unadoptable”) for this skittish, scrawny, worm-infested grey with torn and bleeding ears and protruding ribs that was destined for the so-called “kill truck.”

    We brought him home, and looking back, it was an intersting transformation. For a very long time, Trai was afraid of just about everything. He didn’t even know what petting was - when we stroked him he stood stock still, head bowed towards the ground. But as time went on, he became our “baby.” He first attached himself to me, most likely because I was the one who spoke cooing baby talk to him and gently rubbed his ear tattoos. He started following me everywhere, including the bathroom, and wouldn’t eat his dinner until I got home from work. I won’t lie, it wasn’t months but years before he lost most of his nervousness and started acting like a “regular dog” and not a scared rabbit. He eventually craved petting, and would sidle up beside me while I was working at the computer and slide that bullet-shaped head of his underneath my left hand. He learned that the “ping” of the oven timer meant that he might get a steak or pork bone, and that when mommy put her sweat pants on, he was going for a walk (his favorite thing next to steak or pork bones). We had him for 11 1/2 years, and even though I miss him dearly, I take comfort in knowing that we gave him a better lifestyle than he knew at the racetrack.

    posted by Kara on 4-7-2008 at 1:30 pm

41. I’m also a a cockatiel mommy - my little birdie is the perfect pet for me. And I didn’t buy her or personally pick her out - 6-1/2 years ago she was a birthday gift from my sister and her children.

    As children, my sister and I were not allowed to have pets, aside from the odd little five and dime turtle. We both grew up loving animals and coveting pets. After moving away from home, I adopted a little halfmoon conure (another miniature parrot) that a boyfriend no longer wanted. This miniature parrot (of undeterminate sex) was a great pet till she died years later. I was so unhappy at her loss that I didn’t think I could find a replacement.

    After a few years of indecision on my part, my family took matters into their own hands, and surprised me with what they thought would be the perfect pet for me, and they were 100% right. She’s the most affectionate, curious and funny bird, and an excellent companion. She loves scrunches, having her head scratched, and to cuddle. Yes, she is noisy and messy (and the noise does aggravate my finace from time to time), and I do feel that we’re not home enough also. We’re also not home enough for a dog (and dogs aren’t permitted by my apartment anyway, and I’m allergic to cats. But the little cockatiel was the best pet I could ever have picked out, and I’m so glad I have her.

    posted by MJM on 4-7-2008 at 1:44 pm

42. I lived in an area where there were drug dealers training fighting dogs. I saw the wrinkliest pup ever mixed in with these dogs. I took a chance and hopped the fence and took her home with me. I fell in love instantly, and had Stinker for 19 wonderful years until she passed last year. When she was 2, a customer at my job had a Newfie pup with a heart defect that he couldn’t sell. He asked me to take him, and Norton lived with us for 10 years until his passing. I’ve never actually needed to pick a pet, they just came along, or needed rescuing at the right time.

    posted by Judi on 4-7-2008 at 1:45 pm

43. After I bought my house and moved out of my own (I had previously lived with a bf), I decided to buy myself a puppy for Christmas. I’m allergic to most shedding dogs, so I decided to get a Yorkie since they were little, cute and didn’t shed. I checked the paper each week for a yorkie litter and one night came across an ad for an 11 week old boy yorkie for less money then normal. I called up and the person on the other end said someone was coming to look at the puppy the next morning. I asked if I could come that night and made plans to do so. I had my dad and a vet friend come with me and we met the puppy…his ears were floppy and he was already 7 pounds, but I loved him at first sight.

    We bonded ASAP and he ended up growing and growing and growing. It turns out that Potter’s not a yorkie after all, he’s a 20 pound silkey terrior! My fiance and I love him like our little furry son and have snuggle time every day!

    posted by Julie on 4-7-2008 at 1:47 pm

44. My dog picked me. We found four puppies under our porch steps one morning. My landlord didn’t want me to have a dog, so I very unwillingly brought them to the pound. He later changed his mind, so I went and adopted one - the only one that was left. She is a very sweet dog who loves nothing more than to curl up in somebody’s lap and take a nap.

    I named her Jovi after much deliberation about her name. I got it from the girl’s name in the movie Elf; I just thought it was cute. People think I’m saying her name is Jodi, and I say, “No. Jovi, like Bon Jovi, only that’s not why I named her that.”

    I have the best dog out of everybody on here. :)

    posted by Sarah on 4-7-2008 at 2:05 pm

45. My cousin found my kitty Marzipan in a box in the rain in front of a deli. How horrible!! So the calls went out looking for someone to take her before she went to the pound and I volunteered. She’s now a very healthy 3 year old kitteh. :)

    posted by Jess on 4-7-2008 at 2:51 pm

46. I didn’t pick my cat at all. While I was in grad school, the cat I had had for 10 years suddenly (and very unexpectedly) died one morning. I was devastated. My mom showed up at my apartment that afternoon with a tiny white kitten. I didn’t want her, so my mom took her home. After about a month I was ready for another cat, so Daisy Lou came to live with me.
    I picked my dog by default. I knew I wanted a Brittany, and I wanted a female. Annabelle was the only girl in the litter, so I took her. Probably not the best way to chose a dog, but it’s worked out wonderfully so far!

    posted by Martha on 4-7-2008 at 3:29 pm

47. my ferret, weasel, was bought for me by my first boyfriend, bob, when i was 16 for our one year anniversary. at the time i had my heart set on a hedgehog and bob wanted to surprise me with one. he searched high and low. as the last few hours of the day dwindled with no hedgehog to surprise me with, he asked me to drive out to the only place he knew would have one, a pet store in a mall, an hour away. he confessed what he had been planning for me on the way there. we arrived as the store was closing and sure enough, no hedgehogs. but they did have a few baby ferrets in the window. i was immediately fascinated by one that was a creamy white color. i had never seen a ferret that wasnt of the standard sable variety before him. in a final attempt to salvage the day, he said, “want a ferret?”. we named him “slinky” on the way home, and as bob approached the highway, weasel latched onto his hand and wouldnt let go, forcing bob to scream along the 90-degree turn. for the rest of the ride, weasel slept in the sleeve of my sweatshirt..which i was still wearing. the name “slinky” didnt seem to suit him and he never responded to it, but he sure did like the name “weasel”.

    im 24 now. weasel has been with me through 1 house, 5 apartments, 4 boyfriends, 2 cars, and 1 dead uncle. he was diagnosed with insulinoma about 3 years ago. i wept uncontrollably about every 15 minutes for 2 weeks striaght. including on the train when people would be traveling with their pets. but he did remarkably well after a change in diet and vets. he was recently diagnosed with adrenal disease and has now lost most of his fur. but he still seems happy and continues to inspire me with his strength and will to live. whenever things got bad, whenever it was time to pack up and move on, it was always me and weasel squeezed into my tiny green hyundai tiburon driving off into the sunset.

    my old cat sava, which my parents inherited after i moved out of their house, came to me when i was 10. i had seen her around as a stray all over town. she was incredibly friendly and loved strangers. especially kids. after our third encounter at a girl scout meeting, i deemed it was fate that brought us together and that i was meant to find her a home. my friend and i pacified her in our troop leader’s jeep with cream cheese. i stashed sava at my neighbor’s house when they were gone during the week until i could find her a home. but she began following me. my parents were aghast at the idea of having another cat, considering we had a full house of all kinds of strays i brought home. but they fell in love with her too. i have known a lot of cats in my day, out of 11 cats, only one was picked out by me on purpose. but sava was the only one that felt distinctly human and even otherworldly at times. the vets could never pin an age to her and she was unable to meow. she never seemed to age, even after 14 years. she loves strangers and has been stolen by children before. but we always managed to find her. however, this year on thanksgiving day, my father let her outside and she never came back. we think someone may have picked her up while visiting relatives believing she was a stray. wherever she is, i still think she will come home after shes done taking care of whomever needed her.

    posted by imelda on 4-7-2008 at 3:40 pm

48. I’ve wanted a Pomeranian for so long because every time I saw one I would get the giggles. I read up on the breed, and decided that I did want a pom- bark and all. My husband usually rolled his eyes whenever I mentioned getting one, and every time I saw a puppy on the pom rescue site he would say no (plus we were usually strapped).

    The day came when his coworker found a pom breeder, and we decided to go see the puppies. The breeder didn’t advertise or had multiple litters like the “bad” breeders I read about- she just did it for the breed.

    We get there and there was only one of the three puppies available to adopt, and he was the smaller, quiet one. But I liked him better than his rambunctious brother and sister. I knew the moment I held him in my arms he was ours. The breeder said she charged higher for this litter because the mommma had to have an emergency c-section, but we thought the price was reasonable.

    We brought little Marley home a few weeks later when he was ready and he’s been a joy ever since (minus the carsickness). He’s not much of a barker, either. Even my husband gets the giggles and tells people he thought he would have never liked a small dog. Our cat is currently bigger than him (and she’s normal weight), and Marley and Roxie (the cat) chase each other…it’s really cute.

    Roxie was a shelter kitten and chose us, too. We got her about four years ago. We went to the shelter to get a cat, and we saw her big blue eyes (she’s a Ragdoll- looks like a long-haired Siamese), and fell in love. We asked one of the shelter assistants if we could have them unlock the cage to hold her, and it turns out she was in 72-hour quarantine because she was picked up as a stray. They have to give the “owner” 72 hours to claim their pet. We were half hoping they wouldn’t, since they found her on a busy street!

    72 hours went by and we called the Humane Society, and they said to get there and fill out an application, as there were already three people wanting her (they look at the apps and decide who is the best fit). So we raced down there, filled out our app, and waited. They ended up choosing us because we said she would be an indoor cat only. We love our little furry “children.”

    posted by Holly on 4-7-2008 at 3:45 pm

49. When I was 10 my dad let me pick out a golden retriever puppy. I picked the one that came over and fell asleep on my lap. Turned out her was a great choice. He was gentle to children and cats. He loved everyone. The perfect choice.

    posted by Essie on 4-7-2008 at 3:55 pm

50. Let’s see… my very first cat just sort of wondered into my parents’ yard and set up residence. Fast forward several years, and my wife and I decided we were ready to add a kid to the apartment, so we found a cute orange tabby on PetFinder. About a year later, we decided to get another cat, and I happened to have a coworker who had a litter of kittens in need of a home. As for our dogs, our beagle(ish) came from a humane society, and our second pup came from a rescue group. We’re not fans of paying big bucks for a purebred when there are so many great dogs and cats (and other pets) in shelters in need of a loving home.

    posted by Roger on 4-7-2008 at 3:58 pm

51. We got Elmo, our Australian shepherd when our older Lab’s health was declining. We went to the vet’s, saw a sign advertising Freen to a good home Aussie mixes, and went to see. There were about seven dogs, and Elmo was the only one hiding behind the couch. He was chubby and shy. Thing was, his coloring was so bizzare. He’s red merle, but has shorter hair than most Aussies (and we’re not sure whether he’s a mix or purebred) - it basically means he’s tan with big brown/red spots. He has one blue eye with a dark brown spot and one green/light brown eye. He just looked so cool we had to pick him. (I wanted the blue merle. It was friendlier, but it was my little brother’s choice)

    After three days he was a sociable little puppy. He got into better shape (because he wasn’t sitting behind a couch sleeping all day) and I’ve never seen a dog run as fast as he can. He’s the sweetest thing ever, unless you’re a random person walking down the street.

    And he did make our Lab seem about three years younger. They got a long extremely well. She was like a mamabear to him.

    And Charlie the cat…well…he just showed up. Elmo cornered him. I held him. He stayed around, and we haven’t gotten rid of him since.

    posted by Eileen on 4-7-2008 at 5:07 pm

52. my parents gave me Seymour, my cat. meow.

    my roommate in college gave me Sam, the red-eared slider turtle. (along with a sibling, whom I named Ella-get it? Sam and Ella. anyway) i gave Ella to someone else, leaving me with Sam, who is doing quite well and won’t stop growing.

    i got one cockatiel, Henry The Bird, from a breeder in Illinois. the second cockatiel, Tristan A Cockatiel, was adopted from my then-roommate’s family. the African Grey, Zuri, chose me, while i was in a small parrot breeder’s shop in Iowa. kind of a high-maintainance bunch, but i wouldn’t give them up for anything.

    i love that so many of you chose to adopt or rescue your pets!!

    posted by the creature on 4-7-2008 at 5:37 pm

53. My family has always had Airedale Terriers…heck, my aunt used to breed them. We got our first Airedale, the runt of the litter, in 1979 and have never looked back! I’ve done Airedale Rescue twice but when our sweet old girl Amanda died in 2005, we crazily decided to get a puppy. My aunt had coincidently decided to breed a litter and I approached her…sadly the female she bred got a severe viral infection towards the end of the prrgnancy and we were told that there would be no puppies…but Doyle had other plans! The only living puppy was born right on schedule to the amazement of all…the vet most especially! Needless to say…he’s ridiculously spoiled!

    posted by castlegorman on 4-7-2008 at 5:37 pm

54. Almost all of my pets have found me–mostly cats and a few rabbits who wandered into my sympathetic radius. The only ones I actually picked out were the fish and the hamsters.

    posted by Susanna on 4-7-2008 at 11:32 pm

55. i picked my cats for different reasons:
    the first one was a barn kitten, and originally supposed to be a gift for a friend, but she couldn’t keep it. he’s now my best buddy, and MUST be in the same room I am, whether I want him there or not.

    my second cat was a skinny orange stray we saw picking food out of a dumpster- we took him in, and he just kind of never left. He’s now fatter than fat and we love him to death.

    my third cat was abused by previous owners and badly in need of someone to understand her skittishness and fear of men. she’s still a tweak, but she’s so loving and sweet it’s hard to hold it against her.

    posted by Em on 4-8-2008 at 4:10 am

56. 1) Idgie - My first kitty - while most of the litter played, she was the kitty that came over to me an climbed in my lap and fell asleep.

    2) Spike - a neighborhood accident between chihuahua and Shih Tzu turned out an astonishingly adorable first litter, so when they had a second litter, I requested one. I picked the one with the most white on his neck (he was a day old; that’s how I could tell him apart.) After the second litter, the parents were fixed.

    3) Drusilla - a highly neurotic Prussian Blue cat that a friend who rescues was desperate to find a home for. I fell for her beautiful color and somehow overlooked that she DROOLS when petted. But it’s saliva of love, so I feel adored. Mostly. :-)

    4) Huckleberry and Annabelle - another rescue litter from feral conditions; I took the marmalade and the tortie, my mom took the calico. They needed homes, and were SO cute.

    5) Lucy - My girlfriend adopted her from the shelter. Lucy picked her, rather than the other way around.

    posted by Steph Mineart on 4-8-2008 at 7:40 am

57. What a post! We hardly ever get any pets posts and there had to be one today. My dog, Trax died today, rather tragically. He got stuck in our gate and no one was home. He must have panicked, struggled, injured himself and bled to death. I never knew I’d be this sad because of a dog. Reading this post brings back memories of when it all started. I had wanted a dog for ages, and the parents finally agreed. We went to SPCA to get one. Trax really jumped at me cuz he was the only one who poked his nose through the fence, like he was really curious to get to know us. Just that alone made me pick him. This was 9 years ago.

    Trax, thanks for all the years in between. You are dearly missed.

    posted by Pik Quinn on 4-8-2008 at 8:46 am

58. I worked as a vet tech in a cat clinic for two years so when I saw an ad in the paper for two FIV+ kittens (feline HIV) I knew I had to have them. People always assume that FIV equates immediately to death…but it’s not the case! I called the women up hoping she still had them (they were in the paper for 2 weeks already) and she laughed and told me I was the only person to call.
    I went over to her house that day and instantly fell in love with them. They were two brothers, she called Ash and Cinder, and there was just that instant bond between us.
    That was almost two years ago and their still healthy and going strong! Unfortunatly, Ash developed walking problems about a year ago (when he was a year old) and we found out that he has coxofemoral luxations (his hips are out of socket), patellar luxations (his kneecaps are not attached) and a permamently dislocated right shouldar. The doctor said surgery wasn’t an option so we just took him home and spoiled him rotten. Now, he’s back to running and jumping and I’ll never regret taking a chance on two kittens I found in the newspaper!

    posted by Erica on 4-8-2008 at 8:49 am

59. How Do You Pick A Pet? | Deliggit.com

    \r\nSure, there are those who spend months researching breeders and visiting litters,

    posted by Deliggit.com | The social sites' most interesting urls on 4-8-2008 at 9:25 am

60. We have 3 cats:

    When we went to the animal shelter, Wembley bit my husband, so we decided to take him. (He’s now the sweetest cat I’ve ever seen; you can do practically anything to him and he won’t fight.)

    Zippy was sneezing a lot; turned out that he had a chronic sinus problem, and I figured that no one else would adopt a cat that was sneezing like that, so we took him. We’ve had him for about 7 years and he still sneezes.

    We were not actually looking for a third cat when Widget came into our lives; two was quite enough for us. My husband and I were in a pet store buying some supplies, and a local shelter was there doing adoptions. While I was paying, Ray went over to look at the cats — partly to make sure there were no calicos among them before I went to look, since he knew I had a weakness for them. Finding none, he beckoned me over, and right when I got there, who should appear from under a pile of other kittens but the cutest calico I’d ever seen? The volunteer opened the cage door and the little calico (who was about 3 months old at the time) was the only one who reacted — she walked right up to the door…and so now we have three cats.

    posted by Tina on 4-8-2008 at 10:07 am

61. My husband and I were at PetCo picking up food for his pet rat and we fell for a rabbit for sale there. When we were trying to decide if we wanted to buy him, I spotted a black furry thing in the adoption area (our store is new and hadn’t had any adoptable animals previously). We walked over to see what it was, and it turned out to be a rather odd-looking shaggy black rabbit (a lionhead-mini lop mix) that had been dropped off there by a family who couldn’t take care of him. I carried him around the store a bit, and we decided we had to take him home when his leg hung over the side of my arm (that comfortable despite the noise and bright lights of a busy store!). Sumi (Japanese for “black ink”) has been with us ever since (and is much more hyper than he first let on!). My husband and I love him so much and can’t imagine life without our furry baby.

    posted by Rua on 4-8-2008 at 4:09 pm

62. Like most people, we didn’t pick our dog, Poppy, she picked us. My wife and I volunteered to foster animals for our local SPCA. Mostly it was about fostering difficult or sick animals for a short period of time. I was rather reluctant about the whole thing. Our first foster animal was a dog, a small yokie/poodle mix who was abandoned and then surrendered because she was only partially house broken. We brought her home and she hid under the couch for most of the week and I had to pull her out from under the bed every morning. She was sort of a pain.

    After our foster week, we took her back to the SPCA, filled out our observation forms about her and wished her luck on getting adopted. About a week later I sort of missed the dog so we drove by to see how she was doing. We learned that we was returned by someone yet again for having another accident. We got into the kennels to see her and she leap about 5 feet into my arms with the expression of “get me out of here!” Ok, I guess we were stuck with her. We have had her for about 4 years now and I suppose she is sort of my dog since she appears to prefer spending time with me.

    posted by Rich on 4-8-2008 at 5:24 pm

63. I had seen more and more interesting Pleo videos for the past year, and after carefully going over the footage, the tech specs and online reviews, I bought it for my wife who from time to time had said she wanted a cat.

    While our apartment is far too small to actually house a cat or a dog and I know it’s just a robot putting together its input to form a “personality”, I have to admit we undeniably are a family of 3 these days.

    Can’t wait for LifeOS v1.1!!!!

    posted by klauskinski on 4-8-2008 at 5:40 pm

64. I think that the problem with this article is from the first paragraph where they automatically assume people go to breeders. The US has a serious problem with breeding and there are way too many dogs and cats that are homeless at the SPCA or pound. These pets usually are killed and many are healthy and normal. I got my dog at the SPCA and am so happy I supported a good cause. I suggest others do the same.

    posted by Sean on 4-8-2008 at 5:48 pm

65. I work at the Montgomery County Humane Society in Maryland. You would not believe how many people come in, look at one animal and decide they want it without looking at other animals and without determining if their home is the correct environment for the one they picked. Please do research into dog and cat breeds and personalities before you set your decision because a bad match can really be damaging to an animal’s physical and mental health. The more info you can grab about adopting the better and don’t get agitated if there is a process to go through before you take the animal home. This is done to assure the animal is in an appropriate environment and to make certain it won’t be returned because nothing is sadder than having to disappoint an animal by adopting it and then putting it back into the shelter.

    posted by David on 4-8-2008 at 5:49 pm

66. In my humble opinion, you don’t pick the best pets, they pick you. I’m a cat person and, so far, the two best cats I’ve ever had were ones that chose me to be their owner. The first one, Ellie, was at an SPCA near my home. She was in the front room wandering around with about 20 other cats. She walked right up to me, while the others ignored me, and followed me around the room the entire time. How could I not take her home?? The second one, Dex, who I brought home after Ellie died, made it even more obvious that he wanted to come home with me. I went to the home of a woman that cleaned up and adopted out strays. Dex, then called Snuggle Boy, was one of ten kittens in the room. He was fourteen weeks old. All the kittens stopped by to check me out and wandered away but Dex crawled onto my lap, started playing with the tie strings from my hoodie and never left. Like I said at the beginning, the best ones pick you. :-)

    posted by Stephanie on 4-8-2008 at 5:50 pm

67. well, all three of my dogs are mutts… the first one followed my father home from work(papion/something)…we rescued the secodn one from a neglecting family(chihuaua/something)…and the third one we rescued off of a construction site(australian shephard/chow)…Each got along very well with each other. The definitely have a lot of personality compared to the pure bred wymeriener we used to own(died :’( ).

    posted by Richard on 4-8-2008 at 5:55 pm

68. We selected a breed (Basenji) for the looks and ignored the flaws. Then we went to dog show, talked to the breeders. Basenji breeders are special kind, you probably will never see Basenji in shelters, they take care of unwanted Basenji dogs themselves. They wanted us to visit the mom, the litter and other tests to match our family to their dogs. then we waited in line for couple of months (Basenji usually are bred once a year around October). We didn’t get a dog. We missed one appointment with the breeder :( So we went on internet, found a breeder in another state, she picked whatever dog she wanted to sell, we told what name we want, the breeder asked if the dog for competition or just a family dog, and few weeks later the dog was shipped top us in special compartment (for pets) by plane. and here she was, a little scared puppy. got used to us in 2 hours, kicked us from our house in a week. And now she is a queen of the house and is all what a real Basenji suppose to be: cute, smart, silent, loving, not obedient 9 out of 10 times. We absolutely and unconditionally lover her!

    posted by SBS on 4-8-2008 at 5:59 pm

69. Ginger I adopted in very similar way. We went to a breeder after mom did a lot of research, and let 6 year old me choose which dog I wanted to take home. I just knew ginger was meant for me. I dunno why, she was a year old, and I passed up a litter of puppies for her, but I loved her anyway.

    Widget, my latest puppy (Ginger unfortunatly passed away this fall) was more unique. My brother called, and once again asked my mother about getting a dog. He was told no, but about 5 minutes later he turns up with a 5 week old, 2lb, black and white speckled puppy. he bought her at a garage sale while out with his buddies. My mother was angry, but Widget has stayed, and become a member of the family.

    posted by Shannon on 4-8-2008 at 6:07 pm

70. Typically I close my eyes toss a dart into a group of animals… when I open them, the lucky little guy with a dart sticking in his torso/neck (assuming it wasn’t mortal) is the lucky winner.

    posted by jhardesty on 4-8-2008 at 6:21 pm

71. Imagine a friends litter of ~7 kittens. I chose the one that would lay alone while the others fought over milk, and when ready, would barge in, drink milk, then lay down by itself again. The others spent the entire time fighting, whining, and switching teats but not this one… Kinder was smarter than that.

    posted by philip on 4-8-2008 at 6:27 pm

72. “Don’t pick the shy one, some say: they won’t socialize with you, and when they grow up could become aggressive”

    I did exactly the opposite. I picked the shy one who ran away and managed to fit under a side of a pool (I still have no idea how)

    posted by R Hak on 4-8-2008 at 6:51 pm

73. Keep in mind that, for the vast majority of people, their long-term love relationship with their children was initiated with even more casualness than the selection of a pet! Most people don’t “decide” to have kids - so you could say that people making a rational decision to get a dog, and then just picking one at random from the pound, is more planned than most parenthood.

    My first wife and I very carefully selected Miniature Schnauzers as a breed, after interviewing a few different candidate breeds. We bred a litter as well.

    Today, my wife and have had about a dozen different cats and dogs as pets, most of them rescues.

    posted by Bill aka NO DooDahs! on 4-8-2008 at 7:17 pm

74. I have had four cats:

    Nor, long haired calico tabby barn cat. She was a pretty kitten at a local farm and I did the “I want that one” thing and they scooped her up and stuffed her in a sack for me to take home. Nor is a good kitty, has lived at my house since December of 96.

    Freak, black short-haired male cat. Cousin got the cat, but her husband was allergic so he (the cat) came to live with me for a couple of years and then when cousin divorced husband (reasons other than the cat allergy), she took the cat home again. He’s still at her house.

    Tine, long-haired grey tabby barn cat. He was supposed to be my mom’s second cat but she didn’t like how he clawed things so I took him (My furniture isn’t worth anything) and he lived out his days at my house.

    Youbee, short haired grey marble tabby barn cat. She’s not yet two. Another “I want that one” selection from a local farm. I got her mostly to keep Nor company after Tine died. (Nor does better with another kitty in the house. She gets lonely if it’s just her.) Youbee was not tame when I brought her home but she’s pretty social now. She plays fetch with crumpled paper balls.

    Also, just a side note: all of my cats are spayed or neutered before they can reproduce.

    posted by which_chick on 4-8-2008 at 7:21 pm

75. Keep in mind that, for the vast majority of people, their long-term love relationship with their children was initiated with even more casualness than the selection of a pet! Most people don’t “decide” to have kids - so you could say that people making a rational decision to get a dog, and then just picking one at random from the pound, is more planned than most parenthood.

    My first wife and I very carefully selected Miniature Schnauzers as a breed, after interviewing a few different candidate breeds. We bred a litter as well.

    Today, my wife and have had about a dozen different cats and dogs as pets, most of them rescues, and currently have seven - five cats, four rescues and the son of a rescue, and two dogs, both free to good home, one from the K-Mart parking lot and one from a neighbor who didn’t think the mutt would grow so big.

    posted by Bill aka NO DooDahs! on 4-8-2008 at 7:27 pm

76. My family has had my dog for almost 9 years now. I wasn’t there to pick her out but my mom told me that she picked the one that licked and jumped on her most. She couldn’t have made a better choice.

    posted by Ian on 4-8-2008 at 7:29 pm

77. My cat Shadow was the runt of a litter of four, and I walked up to him, he was shy and apprehensive at first, but slowly rubbed up against my hand. He was four weeks old at the time.. He’s now turning 14, and it’s been an inseparable bond ever since the first touch. He hates other humans and will just only be with me. :)

    posted by Andrew on 4-8-2008 at 8:14 pm

78. I never had a pet when I was a homeless rodeo clown but now that i’m a world class magician i have dozens of them !

    posted by FPM on 4-8-2008 at 8:35 pm

79. we’ve had our cat, ellie, for almost a month now and i couldn’t have chosen a better cat, but the truth is, is that she chose us… my fiance and i are avid cat lovers and we were debating on when to get a cat, and what breed… he was persistent about getting a maine coon, since that was the breed of his previous cat, william. we began looking around and found nothing… a few weeks before we had ellie, we saw her, not knowing it was her at the time, hanging around the apartment complex, just walking around… we left what little cat appropriate food we had out for her, along with some water… and she ate most of it, then we didn’t see her for a while.. so we assumed she was taken in… a few days went by, and one morning i was getting ready for work and going out to start the car and i heard a meow at the door, so i looked out the window and her big green eyes were looking back at me… i was quite baffled for a moment, so we decided to leave some food out, and we opened the door and she ran.. but as we were leaving we saw her going up to the food to eat it.. and then we didn’t see her for a few days… then one afternoon my fiance and i were watching television and he heard her meowing outside, so we got some more food and we opened the door, and she didn’t run away… we tried to give her the food, but instead she just walked right into the house and she hasn’t left yet.. she has no interest at all in being an outside cat anymore, and i’m so happy… i couldn’t have asked for a better cat… and she is a maine coon-mix, we think she’s mixed with a manx breed because she has a stub-tail, she is also a polydactyl…

    posted by cassie on 4-8-2008 at 10:02 pm

80. After my chocolate lab died 3 years ago around christmas, I went to the human society in march. I decided I wanted to save a dog that I knew NO ONE else would want.
    I ended up with a 3-legged mix (possibly boxer or rhodesian ridegback and lab). He is one of the best dogs I could ask for. He gets around amazingly - when he runs, you cant even tell that he only has 3 legs! I definitely do not regret my decision, as this was my first dog from the HS. I plan on always adopting/rescueing a dog.

    posted by Cat on 4-8-2008 at 11:12 pm

81. All my life I’ve wanted a Collie, I guess I read too many Lassie books as a kid. When I was finally ready for a dog of my own, I was still living in an apartment in VA which is not a very dog-friendly state (now I live in Austin, TX where EVERY place allows you to have dogs). Anyway, a friend of mine had a sheltie that I babysate for 2 weeks and I LOVED LOVED LOVED her. I looked through the shelter and rescue groups, but they wouldn’t adopt a young dog to a person without a fenced in yard, so I contacted a breeder that had an 11-month old female. 4 years ago, I have no doubt she was the best $650 I ever spent!

    posted by Sky on 4-9-2008 at 12:02 am

82. We went to the house of a lady that rescues feral and abandoned cats. There was a litter of cute tiny kittens, but one had an eye infection that a vet had diagnosed as chronic. I decided to adopt that one because I thought he had the least chance of being adopted by anyone else. He looked so awful. His eye cleared right up, though. He’s cute. He likes to “fetch” when we throw his little terrycloth ball.

    posted by Kathy on 4-9-2008 at 3:11 am

83. My dad was 100% against getting a pet dog.
    He used to say “dog in, me out” meaning that he’d leave if we got one. But it was 4 against 1 so we got one but he got to pick. We had the dog for 16 years and it was the sweetest dog ever to have lived.

    posted by Joska on 4-9-2008 at 3:50 am

84. As a child, my father was bit by a very large dog and he has terrible allergies to pet dander. That being said, a pet was out of the question. Around my 11th birthday, my brother and I decided to downgrade and start begging for a hamster or a gerbil instead of a dog or a cat, and my pet-phobic father, shockingly seemed to agree. So we load up the car; me, my mother and father, my brother, and his friend-after all this was a momentous occasion- to go get our first pet, presumably a hamster. Once at the pet store, my brother and I are searching for the cutest and cuddliest hamster we can find while my mother and father are looking at the puppies. Then my father calls us over and asks us if we want to play with one of the puppies in this little room next to the puppy window. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity, and one by one my father would chose a dog and I would get to play with it. Finally, they bring this cute, white, four-month-old West Highland Terrier into the room and like the author of the article said, I clicked with it and so did my mother. Deep down inside, I knew I wanted that puppy and at that point reality smacked me so hard up the head I’m still reeling from it 10 years later. We weren’t at the pet store for a pet hamster; we were there to get a dog! It was the holy grail of my brother and mine’s childhood, A DOG! When my father finally, asked my brother if it’s ok we got a dog instead of a hamster and he burst into tears, “BUT I WANTED A HAMSTER!!” As it turned out, my mother had convinced him to give a dog a try, and they had been doing research on hypo-allergenic dogs.

    As my brother and I grew older, and my dad grew fonder of Rambo-named because he was a rambunctious puppy-we jokingly started to ask for a second dog. My uncle’s dog was fighting a long battle with old age and decided to ease the obvious fact she was going fast by getting another puppy, which just made Sadie look older. Well-in order to one-up his brother- once again my father did his research, this time without the help (i.e. nagging) of my mother and loaded up the car “to go someplace interesting.” We arrive at a very sketchy apartment complex and follow my father to the door we were looking, my mother, brother, and I wondering why on earth we could be in this area. When the door opened, Yorkie puppies were everywhere! Toy Yorkies, Teacup Yorkies, 8-week-old ones, and even younger ones! I think the three of us were in such shock, we couldn’t comprehend where we were and what we were doing! We played with three puppies; the first was just a lump, didn’t really do anything. The second puppy was intently interested in his toys, but the third puppy and runt of the litter was amazing. He was the one! Next was the task of naming the new puppy and we decided on Rocky. So when we left that sketchy apartment, we were the proud owners of Rambo and Rocky-no relation to the Stallone movies, but it certainly was implied!

    Rambo is now 10 years old and supposedly starting to show his age, but he doesn’t know that and with Rocky there to keep him young, he’ll keep going. Now, living with my fiancée, we have 16 fish which are a whole different beast!

    posted by Michelle on 4-9-2008 at 5:23 am

85. When I was in grade 8 going to school one day, there was this kitten in the court by my bus stop being dive-bombed by crows. He was obviously terrified and couldn’t figure out where to go. When he saw me he ran over, probably for protection. He had a funny call. He sounded like he was actually saying the word “Meow” very deliberately in a low voice.

    Then my bus came and I went to school.

    Later than night, I could here someone yelling, “meow! me-ow!” outside our front door. Kitty had somehow found my home! After a brief growling match with my mom’s other cat (a beautiful white persian who is dumb as a bag of rocks) Buster moved in.

    When he got bigger and strong he killed every crow in our neighbourhood.

    He’s old now and mellowed out a bit, but still the greatest cat ever.

    posted by Dani on 4-9-2008 at 5:56 am

86. When my husband and I got our cat she was adopted on a whim. We had discussed adopting a cat over a couple of weeks and one day decided to go to our local Petsmart to ‘take a look’ in their adoption center. Zach and I didn’t want to adopt from a breeder. We feel it only contributes to the overpopulation problem.

    When choosing a pet one has to ‘catch my eye’ so to speak. I don’t particularly care about age, breed, or gender. There just has to be a ’spark’.

    We were looking at the cats and none of them really stood out. I just didn’t feel it. Then the women who handled the adoptions said that there were a few who were just brought over from the shelter and were still in their crates. I walk over to the crates and all I can see from the outside of one of them is tuffs of black, orange, and white fur. I ask the woman to take the cat out of the crate and this big cuddly medium hair calico is rolling around at my feet begging for attention right in the middle of the store! I took one look in to her big green eyes and my heart melted. That was all it took. She went straight from the crate to her forever home.

    Instantly it was like we had known her for years. Zoey fell into our lives perfectly. She’s the most social cat I have ever known and the best companion I could ever ask for. Zoey never leaves my side and has filled a void in me I never knew existed.

    The one thing that breaks my heart is that so many people only want to adopt kittens. As a result it is harder for adult cats to find homes.

    I may have missed out on 4 years of her life, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

    posted by Nicole on 4-9-2008 at 6:25 am

87. For mater a fact this is an interesting topic, even because I recently write something similar, at my blog, about my first breed dog.

    Well, my first adult pet was a cat that I brought from my mother home.

    When I decide to have a dog, in that time, buying one was out of the question, so I went to a known society of abandon dogs and I brought the first puppy they show me (those king of first love things).

    Not a very wise decision I know, but she is still with me and she has seeing a lot of my life. So a true life journey companion !

    In temper she wasn’t that easy, since she was quite a dominant dog. To bend her I went through a lot and in the end was more instinct that anything else that teach me how to deal with her.
    About 5 years latter, when I had my first breed dog, a Golden Retriever, and decide to attend a dog school, I learned that most of my attitudes were the right ones.

    posted by caladohelena on 4-9-2008 at 11:44 am

88. Growing up I had freshwater fish and cats; the cats were rescued from the local shelter. As an adult I still keep a freshwater tank, although I am terrible at naming my fish - I refer to them collectively as my “little barbels” since they are catfishes and loaches.

    I recently rescued two cats - I really wanted only one, but these two were brother and sister and I would feel bad separating them. Coming from a high-stress home, it was hard for them to adjust, but now they’re happy and healthy. They have dumb names (Boo and Bunny) but they respond when I call them so I think the names will stay.

    posted by Rudy on 4-9-2008 at 11:59 am

89. my fiance and i were both lifelong cat people who’d never made the commitment to a cat. but my sister’s cat had kittens, so we decided to pick one.

    we both wanted a curious, intelligent cat. i watched the litter explore for a few minutes. meanwhile, my fiance actually tested them by putting them in a box and seeing which kitten escaped first. though i had my eye on a kitten too busy exploring to be subject to the ridiculous box test, i gave in and let my fiance have his box-escaping champion. our little snowball has turned out to be fantastically curious, intelligent, and sociable, so we made a good call.

    posted by jami on 4-9-2008 at 12:25 pm

90. I used to live alone, and I wanted a dog for companionship after what had happened at my university last April. I was afraid of adopting a dog from a shelter, because I had done such when I was very little, and both had died, so I looked into adoption programs within my state. Though I had originally planned to have a smaller dog, like a papillion, I ended up adopting a teaching beagle from the Vet School that is part of my university. I was glad to have a dog with a sound medical record, and it was very clear that the Vet School wanted nothing but a loving home for their little dogs that had given so much. That was certainly clear as her adoption fee was a symbolic $5, with a free bag of Science Diet and Science Diet treats, a fresh bath, clipped nails, clean teeth, and an unfilled script for heartworm meds and flea/tick repellant. Though she wasn’t potty trained when I got her, and she had never been anywhere but a kennel run, she adjusted very well. It took her a week or so to understand toys, but she was instantly hooked on people food. Though she was acquired as a teching dog, she’s very much a normal beagle (who lives by her nose!). Furthermore, I strongly believe that since she grew up with other dogs, she is a very well-rounded dog of a happy disposition. I have never seen her bare teeth at or bite anything. I am, and always will be, because of her, an advocate for adopting teaching dogs into loving homes.

    Plus, I can say that my dog is more “badass” than I am because she has a tattoo (of her registration letters) in her ear, and I’m too wimpy to even think of one!

    posted by Jessy on 4-9-2008 at 10:59 pm

91. Interestingly enough, my first word, “Dogie!” was directed at our first family pet, a cocker spaniel named Bonnie.

    My first pet as an adult, a white longhaired cat I named Isis, rather than Snowball as the then-oners named her. She was a stray that came to the door of their apartment, in a building they were super’ing. They fed her, and she went away, and brought back not one, not two, but five young kittens. Being the supers in a no-pet building they had to give kittens and mommy up. My first wife (we were then only living together) and I answered an ad. We went to see her, and she took one look at me, and flooped on her back, and waited for me to pet her. The couple told me that’s when they knew, since she had fled in fear from all the other prospects. Isis and I stayed together for 16 years, until she died of old age, 13 longer than my first wife and I did.

    My current pet was essentially Providence. After Isis died in 2001, I mourned for two months, and started looking in the shelters. While my heart bled for all the critters I met, nothing was to be found.

    One April day, it was raining heavily, and I happened to hear this meow coming from outside. I went to the door, snd this rainsoaked tabby ran inside. I sat down on my living room couch and he jumped up beside me, all affectionate. He hasn’t left my side since. In fact, when I suffered a stroke in 2002, he complained so loudly after the third day of no food that he attracted the attention of my business partner who until that point had assumed I had gone out of town, but was at my apartment door to see if I had a problem. Hearing this, he broke in, found my comatose form, and called an ambulance. I like to say that Torrie (Torrential Rain, to be precise, given the weather when we met) saved my life.

    posted by Randy MacDonald on 4-13-2008 at 12:58 pm

92. Oops, post got away from me… bottom line: my pets picked me.

    posted by Randy MacDonald on 4-13-2008 at 12:59 pm

93. I made a rule that if it cost me more than $2,000 on an incident with one of my pets I would let it pass

    posted by Pet Quiz on 5-5-2008 at 4:19 pm

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