Animals we share our lives with

[Accidental Retiree]

What a sweetie. I love little dogs.

Hooray for Kiki. I just love her little face. She knows she's got it made now.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Well Miss Molly or anybody else who lives in an area where maybe there aren't that many little dogs, try Southern California shelters. I just went to the Riverside Animal Shelter website and they have a lot of good looking little dogs. The last time I looked there were 90 dogs now there are 130. That's just in the last day or two. They had a huge push to adopt as many dogs as possible within the last 3 months. There was a contest with the ASPCA nation wide. They really went to the mat! I wasn't aware of this before I casually walked in there looking for a few hens.

For those in SoCal, I just read that the Bakersfield Animal Shelter is going to close and has LOTS of animals to move out. We fostered a rescue beagle from there last year.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Here's a shot of our new baby girl. She is a Vizsla, an all around hunting dog. They both point and retrieve. She is 11 weeks old, and it has been really cool watching her point the chickadees in our yard when I take her out in the morning. We've had her only 3 days, but she sticks to me like Velcro. I don't hunt (yet...I'm retired, so I may try my hand at it eventually).

R

That is a beautiful pup. I've never seen a Vizsla before. Is this a breed that you've had before?

 

[Rambler]

This is our first Vizsla. They are pretty rare around where we live. We drove nearly 500 miles each way to meet and adopt her. Our vet says he's only seen 5 of them.

Why we got the Vizsla: 1) I wanted a dog large than DW's Boston Terrier to accompany me on hikes and runs and just piddling in our two acre yard. 2) DW didn't want a big, smelly, shedding dog such as a lab or golden retriever. 3) Female Vizslas average 40-45 pounds...much smaller than the bigger retrievers. 4) vizslas are relatively clean dogs...not odorless, but free of the nastier odors. They are catlike in that they tend to clean themselves. 5) they are loving and loyal, stick to you like Velcro...too much for some people. 6) their hair is very short and while not shed free, they shed much less than other retriever dogs.

The negatives: 1) they are high energy...will my energy level be able to cope with keeping her properly exercised so that she does not become bored or destructive? 2) there are times when you need a dog to take a time out so you can, for example, mow the lawn on a riding mower. When not running, hiking, walking, or hunting with you, their favorite place is on top of you. So far, our Hannah howls in protest when put in her crate or the kennel outside. But, she's only 11 weeks old and was just taken from her parents and siblings...so we'll see if she calms a little over the next few weeks.

I saw my first Vizsla two years ago on a camping trip. She was a beautiful dog, so I stopped to chat with her human mom. Some of the above was explained to me, and the rest I researched. The more I researched, the more I wanted to add one to our family. So far, so good.

R

 

[tmm99]

Rambler,

She is just ADORABLE.

 

[Dawg52]

Pictures from todays hike with my best bud.

 

[Gumby]

This past weekend, 5 months after we got her from the shelter, our grey and white cat finally decided that it would be okay after all if she was a lap cat. The young wife was thrilled.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Awww, great photos of the dawg, dawg!
And congrats on the lap cat promotion at your house.
My adoptees sometimes have taken a while to warm up to us, too.

 

[robbridg]

Here are 2 pics of our beloved Tibetan Terrier rescue, Dalai, pre and post haircut. Dalai is about 5. And one pic of my departed Airedale, Rush, who I give credit for many years of sanity in my life. She lived to 12 years. Thank God for dogs!

 

[Bestwifeever]

I love this photo of DH on patrol with our and DS's dogs helping him

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I love animals and have discussed our before, the two Chihuahua's and the African Gray parrot. Yesterday, my wife showed me a picture of the horse that was named "the most beautiful horse in the world". It's from Turkey and is indeed the most beautiful horse I've ever seen. Wish I knew how to link you to the site, but I just went to Google and typed in "The most beautiful Horse in the world" and there it was. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

 

[MRG]

I love animals and have discussed our before, the two Chihuahua's and the African Gray parrot. Yesterday, my wife showed me a picture of the horse that was named "the most beautiful horse in the world". It's from Turkey and is indeed the most beautiful horse I've ever seen. Wish I knew how to link you to the site, but I just went to Google and typed in "The most beautiful Horse in the world" and there it was. Do yourself a favor and check this out.

I did, beautiful horse. But there was a floating add below it, for Chic-fil-a. I know how internet ads work, ironic.

MRG

 

[Sue J]

Here's a link to the picture -
This horse from Turkey was announced the most beautiful horse in the world - Imgur

 

[FIREd]

My calico basking in the afternoon sun:

 

[Sarah in SC]

Here's a link to the picture -
This horse from Turkey was announced the most beautiful horse in the world - Imgur

Most Beautiful Horse in the World Image From HoaxSlayer

The horse is an Akhal Teke, native to Turkmenistan (not Turkey) but spread across Central Asia. Some have the golden hued coat pattern shown in the photo, and some are more ordinary colors. A very pretty horse, for sure.

 

[veremchuka]

Cynically I clicked on the link because I don't like horses and can't imagine what would qualify any horse to be the most beautiful. To me they all look alike. So is that a photoshopped horse? The sheen of the coat and the color doesn't even look remotely "normal".

I have to admit it really is beautiful assuming it is for real.

 

[MRG]

Cynically I clicked on the link because I don't like horses and can't imagine what would qualify any horse to be the most beautiful. To me they all look alike. So is that a photoshopped horse? The sheen of the coat and the color doesn't even look remotely "normal".

I have to admit it really is beautiful assuming it is for real.

The color is real, think it's called a palomino. Could it be enhanced, probably, but I'm not qualified to say.

We had neighbors that raised Draft Horses that color. They were huge with soft fuzzy noses.

MRG

 

[Nemo2]

We had neighbors that raised Draft Horses that color. They were huge with soft fuzzy noses.

I know those people!

What were the horses like?

 

[MRG]

I know those people!

What were the horses like?

That color, but huge, muscular, much different build than the prettiest horse.
They had a great beauty to them. Watched a mare raising her colt, truly beautiful. I'm not a horse person, but that was amazing to watch.

Forty years ago, I worked in the lumber industry. We had a couple of loggers we would pay to cut and skid logs from areas that couldn't be done with modern equipment. They had a team that skidded logs out. Watching those horses 'work' was a great experience. Truly unbelievable what two horsepower could do.

MRG

FYI The mare and colt were on highway 58.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I know those people!

What were the horses like?

The Akhal Teke coloring is different than the average palomino, which is a common coloring of many breeds. While that particular image has probably been photoshopped, there are other good photos showing a pretty close approximation of the golden hue.

I showed Appaloosa horses for years and rode from the time I was small until I finished high school. Memorizing horse breeds was a favorite occupation when I was a child and I still have my big picture book of Breeds of the World.

 

[Nemo2]

Thanks.....and here I thought "There's another failed effort".

 

[Huston55]

OK, enough horses. Here's my little guy catching some ZZZs on the couch. And, although he is somewhat "palomino" colored, I guarantee he's not photo shopped.

 

[Sarah in SC]

That is a cute dog!!!

 

[Huston55]

That is a cute dog!!!

Thx Sarah. Here's a close up.

 

[Huston55]

And, here he is getting some simultaneous mental & dental stimulation...