Pictures of Your Pets!

[Kossu]

I am quite excited to announce, that after a lot of consideration and, if all goes well, we will be getting a puppy in a few weeks.

My partner will be working from home for quite a few more months and we have both plenty of time to spend on its upbringing for the next months, so we agreed it was a good opportunity.

We went to look at a nest and the parents yesterday and they were all lovely. After about an hour of observing and interacting with the puppies we picked this sweet girl:IMG-20200522-WA0003.jpg

If all goes well, she can come home with us in 2-3 weeks. The current owners will have a vet checkup on all the puppies in a few days and they have to stay with their mother for a while longer. So we are waiting patiently, but aaargh, we're both very happy and excited!

[KanuTGL]

Ahhh, that's so exciting! So happy for you! I've thought myself that if it was realistic for me to get a dog (which it isn't, sadly), now would be the time I'd do it xD

Your puppy is absolutely adorable! What breed is she?

[cleargreenwater]

Wow Kossu, what a little sweetie! Enjoy those soft little puppy-paws when you get her!

[Kossu]

Thank you Kanu and CGW!

She's an Old German shepherd dog(like a long haired gs)! We've been looking for a while, though before we moved to our new place we knew it wasn't possible, because there was no space. After the move, with the quarantine and the ruined travel plans we decided there wouldn't be a better opportunity anytime soon...Since we want to commit to bringing it up properly and we both have a lot of time right now. And space.

We were looking for a regular german shepherd at first, since we both really love those dogs. It was very trying to find a good breeder though. We came across many animals that from pups already didn't look healthy, with no papers or parents to show and insane prices. Sadly it seems that GS lines are still very diluted from overbreeding...So we started looking at breed variations as well(some of those lines aren't as harmed from overbreeding). I had a bad experience 6 years ago with a norwegian forest cat kitten I had adopted that didn't turn out very well(had an underlying illness and died 3 months after I adopted her...I had to take her to the vet every other week, it was horrible. She was suffering and there was nothing I could do...) So we were very cautious this time.

In the end we found a breeder with registered, checked, healthy dogs. And they grow up in a proper environment with a family, older dogs and other animals etc. That was all very important to us.

On Monday we'll go visit her once more and we'll learn when we can take her home. Today she got her first shots and they did a vet checkup, which was fine from what we heard.

For now focusing on puppy-proofing the house and preparing. But we're very giddy and excited about it.

[Kossu]

So, we have a date!

On the 12th of June she can come home with us. We visited her again last Monday, she's so lovely!

Made some more photos too, she's growing so fast! photo_2020-06-01_15-14-18.jpgphoto_2020-06-01_15-14-19.jpg

Also, we decided to call her Kiara, since we're TLK dorks. My partner proposed the name and at first I wasn't very convinced...then I remembered Kiara is supposed to mean small dark thing so....yeah I was convinced.

[KanuTGL]

Oh goodness, she is extremely cute <3

And yaay for German Shepherds! I've always wanted one too, so I'm extra happy and excited for you guys now

Great name as well

[Kossu]

Thanks so much Kanu! And yeah, GS are wonderful dogs. It's hard to believe at times, this has been a dream of mine since I was 5.

6 more days to go! Can't wait!

[Sharifu]

Kossu, how has life been so far with your new puppy? That is such a happy news to get a new pet!

Unfortunately, I have sad news about our pet... Our cat Miss Kitty passed away around the end of May. She just ended up getting worse during the last couple weeks of her life, and we had her vet do tests on her to see if anything could be done for her. But all the results showed was that she anemic, and we were told we should start thinking of euthanasia. We knew three years ago she had a small tumor in her liver, so she did have cancer. We did feel lucky that we had her for an additional three years since we discovered that, but that last week of her life was really hard. Taking her to the vet to euthanize her was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But it's something every pet owner will have to go through eventually. But Petteri couldn't go into the vet office with me when it was done because of covid-19, they were only allowing one person in for euthanasia, and I had to wear a mask. (I didn't mind wearing a mask, but I wish Petteri would have been allowed to come with me). Petteri was in the car outside, but still it was so hard. For a while after it was done, it was the first thing in my mind when I would go to bed, and when I would wake up in the morning. It was so sad. I guess it was a traumatic experience for me, even though euthanasia is a peaceful and painless way to go for an animal. Time passing had eventually made it easier for me, time does heal wounds, but I still miss her. I miss her cuddling with me. She loved to cuddle and lay on my arm, near my face. She was so soft and such a sweet kitty. I know that she had a long life and we took good care of her. But it's still always hard. But that is life. Her vet recently sent us a sympathy card, with some ink prints of her paw prints on some cards. That was so sweet. We also have an envelope with a little bit of her soft fur in it. At the time she was starting to be euthanized, I was asked if I should like a little bit of her fur, so I said yes. It's not on display yet, but I want to put it in a clear envelope. We put the paw prints near a framed picture of her in our living room, along with her collar and tag. She was a great kitty, and my family had her for 14 years.

[nathalie]

That's so sweet of the vet to make that paw print.
I'm glad I got to meet Miss Kitty when I visited ^^

[KanuTGL]

I'm so sorry for your loss But she lived a long, comfortable life with you and she was loved to the end. That's really the best we can do for them

[Kossu]

I'm so very sorry for your loss Sharifu...

It's really, REALLY hard to say goodbye to a pet. At least you did give her a long, happy and comfortable life. And you were there for her to the very end. I'm so sorry the Covid-19 situation made it more complicated for you and Petteri.

My parents had to euthanize my dog 8 years ago and I was abroad at the time. He was 11 years old and he had already been seriously sick(leishmaniasis, fairly common in Southern Europe) and on daily medication for 4 years. He was already immunocompromised, because of his illness and age and then he got another infection and it escalated very fast. I didn't get to say goodbye and it was really devastating. It haunted me for years and years. Time did help heal the wound to an extent and knowing that we did what we could to help alleviate his suffering. But it's very hard regardless.

On a more positive note, it's been going quite well with Kiara.

She's over 3 months old now and 16kg already. She's sweet and playful and a very intelligent dog. There are times that she can get tiring, because she's still teething and she is really into biting EVERYTHING in sight. And since she's kind of a big dog already it can get quite annoying. But it's a natural behaviour for puppies and day by day it is decreasing. We have taught her a few commands already and she responds very well, so that helps too.
At times, she can get quite vocal, but that is also typical behaviour of the breed (for example: We ask her to sit and she doesn't really want to, but she does it anyway, whining. Or she walks in front of the couch, knows she's not allowed to jump there, but is standing in front of it whining anyway. ). She is social and careful with other dogs and small kids(we had some friends over last weekend and were really surprised to how gentle she was with their 6 year old kid). In general, she's a bright note to our lives right now and helps us forget the grimness of the situation...so we're quite happy we went through with the decision and adopted her.

Here are some recent photos of her:photo_2020-07-20_17-21-40.jpgphoto_2020-07-22_21-00-16.jpg

[nathalie]

She's not my pet, but she's the next best thing, once in a while. Hopefully a few good times, hehe.

I registered to be a cat-sitter back in January, but then all this mess happened, and surely, no one would want a stranger in their house off course during a time like that.
But then in June I got a request.
I went to the persons house, got to know each other a little, get all the info about the cat, and then she gave me the housekey.

A lot of trust goes into that.

First day "on the job" I did wipe everything before I touched it, and on my last visit of the week, I did it again, so it was safe for her.

Feed her, empty litter box, water plants, watch TV for 2 hours a day... twice a day. Nice. You get a very nice amount for doing it.
I'd say "play with cat" but she couldn't care less, lol. She's more of a hugger, lol.

On my last day, I got a new request from her to go back mid-August (I knew this, she did mention they were going away a few more times maybe this year).

It is something, and for me, what better way to spend my day, then to hang out with a cat.

Adam's supervisor got word of it, and he might need a cat-sitter next month too.
And then Adam needs to go take care of a friends cats, so cats all around in August!

[King Simba]

I have some bad news regarding our dog, Charlie. He had problems with his right back leg for a while. He had an MRI scan done on Friday. The results came back and the vet called on Monday, unfortunately with very bad news.

He had a tumor on his sciatic nerve and the only option for treatment was amputation, and with his age, there was no way we were going to put him through that. So I’m afraid we have all taken the difficult decision as a family to say our goodbyes today. He was part of the family since he was 5 months old and has been a very important member in our family. We loved him to bits, we will always love him to bits. We are all heartbroken, but it’s for the best. We just couldn’t see him suffer any longer.

Rest in peace my boy <3 We will hopefully meet again someday...

[nathalie]

Oooh, I'm so sorry KS

[KanuTGL]

Oh no, losing a pet is always awful I'm so sorry, KS. I remember when you got Charlie, time goes by so fast...! But at least you can know that you did right by him, by not letting him be in any more pain <3

[Kossu]

I'm so sorry for your loss KS. Saying goodbye to an animal companion is really hard...

[cleargreenwater]

Oh, that's what happened Poor Charlie, just having a regular pinched nerve in your back is bad enough, I cant imagine how much pain he must've been in.

I bet he had a huge personality, from what I hear from a good friend of mine terriers are absolutely irrepressible and stubborn as all get-out if they want to be! <3