I have had birds, and my bf has one now. The African Grey can speak and picks up the weirdest things to say. He screams my name, shut up, hello, apple, and now hola. Also he perfectly imitates the ring of the telephone which made me jump up and answer the phone at first. African Greys are smart, verbal, sneaky, fun, messy, dependent, beautiful, loud, and can bite hard. You need to feed and give them water daily. You need to clean the cage often of it will smell and attract flies. Birds need a big enough place to stretch their wings.

If you plan to get a bird, read books and talk to owners about how to take care of them. I have learned so much from reading books. Birds are fun, but they are work.

HAHA, allsmiles_22's post made me remember a story about my boyfriend's dog.

One day, their 9-year old retriever/German Shepard mix couldn't walk or function. My boyfriend went in the bathroom where his mom put her because she couldn't come in the house because Patty (the dog) hated the 15-year-old Pomeranian and tried to eat him every time she saw him. My boyfriend came in the bathroom, found her half paralyzed, and saw blood on the floor. They freaked out thinking it was something like doggie meningitis and rushed her to the vet. $200 worth of blood tests later...

She was in heat.

LOL.. she did start doing it after the vet made me put her on a diet! She used to be 112 pounds and she's down to 89 or 90 pounds now! Dang vet!

Dee

Dogs make the bf hunt harder. The last one had to go b/c he was able to accept my first dog, but not my new puppy (which I got after we had been together over 2 yrs). Came down to the cute new puppy or the bf. I picked the puppy, and have not had to suffer with a cover-hog ever since.

Still, I have to do the "dog test" on any prospects.

A cat will watch you hooking up and will like it.

If you can deal with that, go for it.

I want to adopt greyhounds but I'm never home. I'm hoping if I get 2 they can be friends. But I need a bigger place if I get two.

-Rudey

I was thinking about getting a greyhound before I decided on the pug. They make great apartment dogs. I actually had a chance to adopt two Italian Greyhounds from someone who had to give them up due to relocation, but at the time, I was still working and in school so I wouldn't have had the time. I heard that it is good to have two of this breed of dog and they sleep A LOT so if you are not home during the day, they should be okay. The person who I was considering adopting them from said they slept the majority of time he was away AND at home.

My poor male cat has a bladder infection. I realized this when he peed on my futon. At first I thought this was a behavior problem related to my puppy but I've had the dog for 6 months and nothing like this has ever happened before. When he peed twice in 5 minutes tonight I realized it was beyond a behavior problem. Thankfully the vet stayed open late for me to bring him in tonight. Cost me $77.00 for the visit and over an hour sitting in traffic then trying to find a spot trying to get to the vet though........

Waking you up at all hours of the night. My kitten goes into her psycho modes and starts running on the bed, in and out of the room, jumping on and off the bed, all at lightning speed. She'll also wake me up by licking or sniffing my face and it freaks me out.

Housebreaking a dog is definitely frusterating I'm coming to learn...but my puppy is so so so cute that it's all worth it.

His cuteness makes it really hard to discipline him though b/c as soon as he starts whining and giving me the puppy eyes I give in and I know I shouldn't!!!

sometimes you just want to sit down and eat while watching TV.

And thus your cat will come up, get right in your face, and try it's hardest to get your food.


Funny thing: when I got done eating he came up and sniffed my mouth, then licked my nose until I started giggling. THAT TICKLES!

The perils of breed rescue and pet stores...
 

I adopted dog #2 from the breed rescue organization of dog #1's breed. We learned that she was a pet store puppy, whose first owners gave her up because she tormented their two cats. Rescue is a good thing, right?

*Unlike dog #1, dog #2 freaked out in a crate. She'd paw at the doors frantically until we let her out.

*Bought a nice, open crate. She liked that better, but would pee and poop on the floor and dance in it.

*Got a bigger open crate that would fit both (20+ lb) dogs. This arrangement worked fine (no peeing or pooping), until the day that dog #1 got fed up and dog #2 got a bite on her face. (During a blizzard, which meant Animal Emergency Clinic --$$$$$)

*Moved the dogs to the kitchen with baby gate. They learned to open cabinets and pull "toys" out. Bought and installed child safety latches.

*10 years later, dog #2 is still not fully housebroken. It could be because of her pet store upbringing. Or as the animal behaviorist (more $$$$) suggested, she's just not motivated to go outside. Dog #1 never messes in the house, and looks horrified when dog #2 does. So, I do know how to housebreak a dog, just not dog #2.

Phew! This thread is like group therapy.

Let me start by saying I think the pros definitely out weigh the cons.....But to name a few

Doggie throw-up is nasty
You will never sleep in again past the crack of dawn
Not knowing what is wrong when they are hurt of sick

Wow, is the unconditional love worth that much effort? Its like taking care of an invalid that barks or purrs.

You know, I doubt most of you put that much intesive labor into a significant other. Something to think about.

Haha. Supposedly when animals go crazy like that...they are seeing or sensing spirits/ghosts.

My bird goes batshit crazy like that sometimes and it freaks me out.