I have a rescue Great Dane. He’s a harlequin with blue eyes and is deaf. We lost our other beautiful harlequin Great Dane (also a rescue and also deaf) to cancer in May. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over it as he was only 4 years old. The one I have still with me was starved when he was a puppy. Needless to say, he always lets me know when it’s mealtime, but surprisingly has no food guarding issues. I have the woman who has the rescue to thank for that. She takes in special needs (starved, deaf, blind etc) giant breeds and rehabilitates them physically and emotionally. She is an angel.

Animal abuse is at the top of my hate list. Our other Dane arrived at the rescue with broken bones in his feet and cigarette burns on his body. He was only 3 months old. What is wrong with some people!!!! The animal abuse penalties in this country are far too lenient.

I’d better stop before this rant really gets going.

Janet, I really feel for you, I’m always a wreck when it’s time for mine to go. My current dog is a rescue greyhound called Jodie. She wasn’t in great health a short while back (Pyometra), but seems to have pulled through. I also agree with you regarding animal cruelty. These b…..ds should be given long custodial sentences, but I’m afraid it will probably never happen.

I think it’s great when a dog comes from a rescue or animal shelter…or rescued from the side of the road because some human thought of his pet as a piece of garbage. (Boleyn…that really makes me mad! Thank you to your brother for not only rescuing him, but giving him a loving home.) I do understand why someone would want a puppy. What I don’t understand is why they get a puppy, don’t look after it properly and then dump it at an animal shelter or abandon it somewhere. It’s truly shocking what some of these dogs have been through.

I can always remember getting our first dog. I was about 6 and Mum brought a little black labador cross Collie home, Mum said it was the runt of the litter, she always had the runt of any litter as she said they deserve just as much love and care as their siblings even if they are smaller.
She put her down and she shot off behind the sofa and was whimpering and would only come out for some Minced Morsels. I was watching Scooby Doo on the tele when Mum came home so of course the dog was called Scooby. She lived for a good 17 years and passed away quite peacefully in my Mums arms.
Shortly afterwards Mum got a Labador it was as soft as butter and very protective. My son used to pull her about something terrible, but she was devoted to him and followed him everywhere. One day we couldn’t find either of them and thought that they had gone outside had a mad fit trying to find them and eventually found them together. He was curled up in the dogbox fast asleep and she had wrapped herself around him to keep him warm. That was the only time I’d known her to growl at anyone as Mum went to put a blanket over him and she wouldn’t let her. Although she was ok with me doing it..
My brother in law calls me a witch because I have an affinity with animals I always have had. He’s got a cat that he rescued and it will only ever go to him it won’t let anyone else feed it or stroke it or anything. Within 10 minutes of us being in his home, the cat was sitting on my lap and basically eating out of my hand and followed me everywhere.
Slightly off topic here but guarenteed to give you all a giggle.. Whilst we were there Dinosaur’s nephew came with his children, Dinosaur was busy doing something with his brother’s computer and the little boy came up to me sat on my lap and said “Who is that man with grandad’s puter” I said “Oh that’s your uncle Dinosaur” the kid is only 3 so looked a bit puzzled, however he jumped down off my lap strolled over to Dinosaur and said “What you doing Uncle Dinosaur?” we all fell about laughing as it was done in such a matter of fact way. Of course it stuck so the kids now call him Uncle Dinosaur.

Boleyn said

Shortly afterwards Mum got a Labador it was as soft as butter and very protective. My son used to pull her about something terrible, but she was devoted to him and followed him everywhere. One day we couldn’t find either of them and thought that they had gone outside had a mad fit trying to find them and eventually found them together. He was curled up in the dogbox fast asleep and she had wrapped herself around him to keep him warm. That was the only time I’d known her to growl at anyone as Mum went to put a blanket over him and she wouldn’t let her. Although she was ok with me doing it..

What a lovely story

Love and kisses to your furry friends. My poor pussy cat mowe had to be put down a little over a year ago, she was only 2 and a half and i still feel awful that she didnt have a happier and longer life. Im afraid i may have emotionally neglected her a bit after my partner died, and i will always regret that. My sister has always got her doggies from the pound, but i have to say I am not in complete agreement with the concept. Not because the dogs dont deserve love, but because in our country, any dog that is found not on somebodies propterty, whether they are registered, micro chipped, have a loving family, they are taken to the pound. If your pet is taken to the pound, you need to front up with 350 aussie dollars to have it back, you are given less than a week to find the money, if you cant, the pet is either given to another person, who has to pay that amount too mind you, or if no one wants it, the pet is put down! We all rave about animal rescue, and people not taking good enough care of their pets, but how can a family have a pet, have it escape out the gate, or run off, which they do whether they are loved or not, and then be expected to fork out a weeks rent in order to have back your own family pet! People say that if you cant afford that, you shouldnt have a pet, but i think that’s BS, there is no way i would be able to find that amount of money off the top of my head if our dog escaped. It makes me so mad, and very sad. My sisters dog bobby belonged to a young family, and she only got him after the family werent able to come up with the money, i feel sorry for that family and their kids….and just because you cant afford to get your pet back, doesnt mean the pet is neglected or unloved 🙁

Tash, I will add my WOW to Janet’s.
I love my animals, and when I lose one it is such a huge loss. So I feel all of your losses.
I have three cats, Rocky, Murphy, and Molly. Molly is Rocky’s Mom. She can’t stand him. MEOW! In fact she doesn’t like any of our animals. She had four babies altogether and brought them over to our house for help when they were about 5 weeks old and she never left. This happened in August of 2011. I can’t tell you what a comfort they were when 9-11 happened. I know that may sound strange, but they were. We were not cat people at that time. In fact, my dog, Cheyenne, who was aging, was baffled by it all. The babies ran circles around him. We didn’t take them in right away, but then two of them were killed by cars, one right after the other. We brought them in. We lost one more to an infection. Murphy came to us 2 years ago. My Cheyenne died in 2005. He was 13. Talk about missing a pet. He was really special and thinking about him still brings tears to my eyes. Our current dog, Shelley, is a St. Bernard/Collie mix. She is 8. She was my first rescue dog and she is a beauty. An 85 pound, very loving, sit-in-your-lap sweetheart. Yep, in your lap!
Now there is a new cat hanging in the yard who, by the way, we have already named. Yes, Sam has planted himself on our back porch all summer. So I’m sure, come winter there will be an additional cat in our house. We are going to be one of those houses that people point at and say, ‘That’s the house where when those old people died they found about 90 cats!”

Boleyn…I’m so sorry for your loss. It’s always hard to lose a beloved pet, no matter how it happens. I’m glad that Smudge went peacefully and I hope that Treacle recovers.