How did you get your pet(s)? 🐈‍⬛🐇🦮🦜

I have always wanted a dog and I have loved corgis forever. I finally convinced my mom to get a dog. My Aunts friend had a litter of corgi/mini Australian shepherds. So I finally got my puppy almost four years ago. Aurora will be four in June.

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i've always been around pets since i was young. most of the time we got our pets from specialty breeders since my parents preferred that way.

as an adult i've only had two pet rats but it turned out to be a really sad experience. i adopted them from a chain pet store and at the time i was unaware that a lot of rats from these types of stores are not bred with genetics in mind so a lot of them have short lifespans or underlying health issues. they both lived a pretty short life and since then i've been hesitant of getting more pets because i don't want to go through that again.

i'm lucky at the moment that my partner has a wonderful cat which they've had for years. he's the sweetest and most gentle lil cat ever and all he really does is sleep lol. i'm quite happy with them both (cat + partner :p) and maybe some day in the future we will adopt another pet. :)
 
We have lots of cats.
  • Tuna (brown tabby). A stray kitten my sister picked up on our City Hall. Still with us.
  • Carrot (orange tabby). A stray kitten that just appeared on our garage one day. Still with us.
  • Soda (tuxedo). An orphaned kitten of a stray cat. Lost by my relative. I'm still angry about it. Still praying that he's alive.
  • Deedee (mackerel tabby). Soda's aunt. A stray cat. Not formally adopted. She just comes and goes.
  • Tutong† (translates to 'burnt rice'; tuxedo). A stray kitten wandering outside our house. Died suddenly after 5 months.
  • Potato (white). A deaf stray cat my sister picked up outside a local bank. Still with us.
  • Soupy (white). Our neighbor's kitten that strayed onto our garage. They didn't want her back. Still with us. Recently gave birth to 4 cute kittens. Names pending.
  • Premium (black). A stray kitten my sister picked up and asked to adopt from one of our other neighbors. Still with us.
We also feed other strays that hang around. We dubbed some of them Mona Lisa, Model Face, Tana, Spray, Cocat, Divina, Catriona, Caroot, etc.
 
I have cats, and all were adopted from rescues. I spent a few years volunteering for a local shelter and kept falling in love, and ended up taking home the kitties who had been there a while or who had health/behavioral complications that made it more difficult for them to be adopted out. That shelter unfortunately shut down a couple of years back, but I found another one-woman show rescue and have since adopted two "difficult" cases from her.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend someone who isn't equipped to rehab an animal to jump in headfirst as there are always hurdles involved, but I can say that earning the love of a kitty who was abused, feral, or simply distrusting of humans is one of the most rewarding feelings I've had, and it's something I always plan to do with the resources I have. 🥲
 
My oldest dog (a chihuahua) was rescued from a terrible home. He was covered in fleas and ticks, was walking in the road, and he didn't have a collar. My dad brought him home, we nursed him to health, and now he terrorizes us (in the usual chihuahua fashion lol). My youngest dog was also rescued.My dad's friend's dog had given birth a week or two before we got him as a puppy. The owner lets his dogs roam free, hence why the mama dog got pregnant. My dad asked if we could have a puppy since our previous dog had recently died, and he said yes.

As for all of the pets we've had, they've all been rescues.
 
I have three cats.

Nightman: we found him in a shelter in 2017 as a kitten.

Maynard: same as nightman except he was a year old

Mochi: I was on a bike ride and I found her in a bush on the side of the street, we brought her home, fed her, took her to the vet. She had bad ticks and ear mites :( she's happy now tho (found her in 2020)
 
We've had a few dogs over the years! Most of them were re-homed with us, always mixed breeds.

We had a corgi x pomeranian cross who was re-homed with us. Tansi was 2 years old, apparently no one wanted her as a pup. She continued to live with us until she was 16 years old!

We had another corgi x pomeranian cross who was also rehomed with us due to the owners no longer being able to have him. Chappy was 4 years old, unfortunately only lived until he was 8 years old due to severe seizures. He took a while to settle in, but he loved having our older corgi cross with him as a friend. Hated any other dogs though, especially males 🤣

Our late Roxie was from my grandparents dogs litter. We chose her based on her colouring and personality. Definitely the best decision we ever made having her. She had more personality than her parents combined 🐶

Hollie was brought from a casual breeders home. Said house was apparently quite dirty and seemed like the breeders only wanted the money. She came home when she was only 5 weeks old! She's still with us today and she's 15 years old this year 💜
 
My cat, Gracie, has allowed me to keep her in my home for five years now. She was my cousins cat, and I threatened to steal her when I moved out of my cousins house after transitioning to a new state. My cousin refused of course, but after a few years, she was overwhelmed with more children and too many dogs, so in the end I was able to take in the cat I already loved!

Living alone, Gracie has been the only constant in my life. She just turned 14, and she is still as snuggly and klutzy as ever.

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I love this thread and everyone’s pets 😻.

We adopted Spanky and Jewels from someone that was fostering cats; i think she worked with a shelter (not sure what one.) 🙂

At the time we adopted them, Mel was very sick and she was (she’s my first cat) was grieving for O (short for Cheerios) , who had just passed away. We adopted Mel and her litter mate (who became my sister’s cat Cocoa) from someone who my dad worked with at the post office. Mel (at the time her name was Harley) was the kitten they wanted to keep but since they gave away one of the kittens we were going to get, we got Mel. We got O and Bean from someone my sister went to high school with. they weren’t ready to be separated from their mom cat though ; they were given away since the girl’s mom wanted them gone before her graduation party (to this day, I’m still angry about that even though I am thankful we got them).

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Old collage I put together for cat twitter that shows when we got them and when they passed away.

The characters on the bottom are the characters I was thinking of naming Spanky after. Not a fan of Toradora but I thought the name would’ve suited Jewels since her personality seemed a bit like her but my mom wanted to name her.
 
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Well, my cocker spaniel, Ellie I got from a breeder, because my dad had had 2 cockers at dif times while I was growing up. He passed away in may of 2020 and I got Ellie in April 2021. Eevee was found on the side of the road with her brother and sister when they were right about 6 weeks old. All 3 got new homes the same day. Ellie is a cuddly rag doll while eevee is a force of nature big moosey, lol! Here they are when Ellie was around 2 years and Eevee was 2 months.
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My darling Gracie we adopted from a lovely couple! We found her via Kijiji (I think it's like the Canadian version of Craigslist?). The couple who initially found her already had a kitty that Gracie didn't get along with so they had to put Gracie up for adoption.

Our other kitty, affectionately named Baby Kitty, was my neighbour's cat. They didn't keep her in the house though and didn't care for her properly so we ended up taking her in. We did initially try and give her back but they didn't want her. Wild behavior if you ask me!! She's gorgeous and very loving as long as youre not my dad.
 
My baaaby Misty. As sad as this is my mom’s old cat had passed away from heatstroke. My dad was really inconsiderate and we bought Misty a couple weeks later. At first my mom couldn’t even look at her and now they’re best buds.

I still remember picking her out from the shelter, me and my dad went, and later came back to pick her up with my sister. I couldn’t pick a name, my sister suggested Misty after the gym leader. Actually my girl was returned by her previous owners because they thought she was too energetic, along with her brother who I wish we had adopted but alas. I was too grabby with her when she was growing up but now she’s a tired old gal. Individualistic but still sweet. She’s my best friend that I have down here, she’ll be an adult in human years this year.

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All of my pets have been rescues, with the exception of fish. My current dog I obtained from my cousin. A neighbor in her old neighborhood was just letting puppies roam the street. Each time she would try to alert him that they were out, and bring them back, he would brush her off and state that he didn't care. After making sure he truly didn't care, she found homes for all of the pups and their mom. I got one of those pups and 14 years later he's still the bestest boy. We know for sure his mom was a Rottweiler but he looks more Lab so I assume he's a lab/rot mix. He's my favorite old man :)

My cat literally walked into my house one day. My mom was leaving for work, when the cat walked in, and mom told me I had a friend visiting. The cat's fur was pristine, and she had a spay tattoo with no clipped ear. She had no microchip and was trained to go outside to use the bathroom and return when she finished. I looked for her owner for almost 2 years locally and online before deciding to make her mine. I work at a vet, so I took her in to get examined and chipped with my info, and it turned out she has FIV (which is like HIV but for cats). Knowing this, I assume she was dumped. Cats with FIV can live long lives, just with compromised immune systems. My girl is perfectly healthy, and I love her dearly. Plus, if she ever does get sick, I can promptly take her to work :)

I got my cobra guppy from a fish store after my betta died. I wasn't ready to get another betta as my last lived a long time and I wasn't ready emotionally. I definitely wanted a new fishy friend though, so I chose cobra guppies. I got 2 males named Para and Dox. Dox killed himself a few months later by getting stuck behind the heater overnight. So now I just have Para. He's happy, recognizes me, and makes my day :) It's almost his one-year anniversary of being my friend.
 
There have been many threads dedicated to the beloved pets of TBT over the years, but you can never have too many of them imo! I love seeing and hearing about everyone’s beautiful fur (or feathery, scaly etc) babies! 🫶🏻

For those of you with pets, how did you get them? Did you adopt them from a shelter? Get them from a breeder? Get them from a relative or friend? Were they a stray that you took in? Something else?

I have two black cats, both female. They were both 'rescues', both were originally found on the streets and taken in.

My oldest cat, Lulu (Lucy), is the 'old lady goblin'. She is a short hair black cat, and she used to be owned by the old couple who once lived right next to us. But, after they moved away, all of their cats scattered into the town and the only one we saved was her. Though it was by force, as our town has a huge cat infestation and some people tend to 'exterminate' the strays in very disheartening ways. She's been with us for around ten years now, she acts like she's always starving and isn't super cuddly. But she has been more affectionate with me lately, even though my brother is her owner. She had one of her ears trimmed off by her old owners, I guess it was to signify she was neutered if anyone saw her on the streets.

The youngest one, Gypsy, is the 'little goblin floof'. She is the equivalent of a cotton ball, all fluff and cuddles. She adores attention, and will constantly meow until she gets what she wants. But she is also all attitude, I have been hissed/swiped at when I pass by her if she's laying down or trying to walk by and I just so happen to be right next to her for more than 5 seconds. She was actually owned by a friend of my bro's partner, but they had an abusive ex and let my bro's partner 'steal' the cat away. She wasn't on the streets very long either, she was a kitten when she was first found. We've had her for the past 4 years now, as my bro's partner cannot have cats at their current home.

The both of them do still fight, so they stick to their designated areas 90% of the time.
 
I got my dog Fred from a breeder that specializes in havanese. We had to drive several hours to rural Idaho to get him, but it was worth it. When I first met him I thought he seemed a little too normal. All of the pets I've had over the years are very eccentric and I expected he'd be no different. It turns out likes to rip paper and tries to lick people's ears. He ended up being the cutest dog I've ever seen. I couldn't believe I'd ever get such a cute dog and people always shower him with compliments every time we take him out in public. He's grown the most attached to one of my moms since she babies him, but he gets excited when he finds out he'll get to see me.

My cat Mayu was from an animal shelter in my old small town. Her previous owners gave her up when she was around 3 and sent her to the shelter since they couldn't afford the surgery she needed for her urinary condition. She made it on the local news' animal adoption advertisement segment twice since they really wanted her to find a family, but no one would adopt her because she needed pricey specialty cat food and the fact black cats aren't adopted as much due to old superstitions. My previous cat died two years earlier and I was ready to raise another one. I asked one of the people working there if they had any extroverted cats and she recommended Mayu to me. I walked into the room they kept her separate from the other cats and she walked out to see me. She leaned her head to the side and I gave her cheek scratches. She liked me immediately and I adopted her shortly after. I gave her the name Mayu after going through a list of Japanese girl names and thought it suited her the best. On the ride home she meowed a ton and ended up vomiting in the kennel. Once she was home she hid behind my bed for the first few weeks since she was afraid of the new environment. She liked my attention and was friendly, but I had to initiate. Eventually she started sleeping me every night and now she'll often lay on my lap when I sit in a chair. She's older now and has gained some weight, but she's super healthy despite her condition. I think she still has some years left.
 
We have three cats!

Got the first one as a six week old (supposedly) kitten from a lady who posted $5 kittens on Craigslist four years ago. We got there and she just let us take him since she said she had eighteen cats to get rid of. I do wonder if anything traumatic happened to him since we've had him over four years and he's still v skittish. He's also a small cat and was v tiny when we got him.

Ended up with the second cat a little over a year later when a stray cat wandered into the place I used to work at. We were feeding her and noticed her getting big. She had six kittens and I took one home. My coworker picked the friendliest one for me and I put a dot on one of his white toes with a sharpie so I wouldn't forget which one he was.

Six months ago, we went to the pet store to pick up cat litter for the boys. There was a cat cage as soon as you walked in and there were some kittens being offered for adoption. We walked over just to pet them and...ended up taking a kitten home. Completely forgot the cat litter lol.
 
I got my cats, chispa and coco, from one of my uncle’s coworkers who had a litter of strays living in his garage. Took a few months to get them but we’ve had them since march last year. My third cat, sylvie, my brother brought home in october after getting her from his friend’s neighbor.
 
I got my bird because I wanted a friend during lockdown. Then one year later I got a second bird so she could have a friend. Then, I fostered another bird that bonded to bird #2 so I adopted him. Now I have 3
 
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