Dogs, Cats or .... goldfish? gerbils? What's your pet's personality?

Our dog, Bohdi, is the biggest baby. He is 75 lbs and loves to climb in my lap or my wife's lap to nap. He gets hyper excited for walks, rides or treats. He hides when it thunders.

He is like a five year child (he is only 3), except you don't get the tears. LOL ;0 )

Hi Katrix, please in the future wait until Wednesday to post to the Good News Wednesday group. Thanks!

Queenie - Norwegian Elkhound:

We (Mom, Dad, Sister and I) picked her up from the breeder. Stopped at an Anut and Uncles residence and left her in the car. A person backed into the car and bashed in the back car door and window. Queenie stayed in the car and protected the car from strangers.

This dog was so much a part of my younger life that now have one in my life again. I feel loved and protected with this breed.

There are many stories with Quieenie that I could share ---- Not the time or place. ''smiles'

I've had many animals over the years, primarily cats and dogs. I love both but I'd say I lean more towards cats, for whatever reason. (Cats just like me. My family calls me the cat whisperer.) They have all had unique personalities. I had two pugs at the same time years ago, Homer and Marge. Homer was fawn and Marge was black. I've heard people say there are personality differences between the two colors but I'm not sure if that's true for the entire breed. With Homie and Margie, though, they were like night and day. Homer was super laid back and friendly. He was the neighborhood mascot. This was back in the day and out in the boonies where I didn't have to keep him on a leash. All the neighborhood kids loved him and he loved them. Margie was a little spitfire who disliked most people. She was actually a great judge of character; the few people she did like were absolute gems. She thought she was a rottweiler or something and would take on anything. Margie had a definite spark to her and was just a rambunctious little bundle of energy. Homie was quiet, welcoming, and calm in comparison to her, but he had a sense of humor and a very outgoing nature. Having both of them at the same time just showed their differences off even more. I have to say that after having those two I'm really partial to pugs because of the personality factor. I've had other dogs including border collies and bulldogs and I've loved them all, but the pugs just seemed to have more personality. Maybe I just had two pugs with supersize personalities, though. :)

Right now I have a cat that I call my dog. He's been with me for around 16/17 years now, since I had the dogs I mentioned. I think he was influenced by all the canine behavior in the house or something because he acts just like a dog. He follows me around wherever I go, he comes when he's called, he waits for me to come home, he takes walks with me whenever I can coax him out (he's a bit agoraphobic). He's very affectionate and friendly. Everyone who knows him calls him "the dog". It's not his name but we're always asking, "Have you seen the dog?" or "Has anyone fed the dog this afternoon?" He's a special cat.

For his entire life, my dog Runkles seemed to make a point of greeting people at the door, which isn't so unusual, he was just compulsive about it. It was also impossible to make it past his guard. When he got older and deaf, I would come to the door very quietly, or even use the back door so he wouldn't hear me, and he wouldn't wake up. But it never worked, he heard me every time.

As he got older, he developed some arthritis but continued his door greeting duties. As I came in, he would be waiting off the side of the door, and he would walk forward and lean against my leg. I would pat him on the head and he'd go lay down by my chair.

In the last month of his life he was getting around less and less, but he continued to greet me. Interestingly he stopped coming to the door for other people. Apparently, he could tell the difference between me and someone else without getting up to look. He just knew. Three days before he passed away, that was the first time he wasn't waiting by the door.

How about a skunk? A momma skunk was hit on the road and some passerby's caught one of the babies, which was given to me to bottle feed. We called him Stinky, but he really wasn't. Because I didn't know, I thought baby skunks couldn't spray because he never did, and I only learned later it was because he had no fear of anything that he didn't spray. He was the funniest little critter ever! Played like a puppy, used the litter tray like a cat and was very affectionate. He had a thing about playing with people feet and dog tails. Use to put a leash on him and walk him. He never sprayed, bit or clawed, but he did chase the dogs around at first trying to nurse, which they drew the line at. They groomed him, played with him, and cuddled him, but wouldn't nurse him. I did try to get him descented since I didn't know how to teach him to live in the wild, but without the mom's body to check for rabies, the vets can't do it. I found a lady a couple of towns over who had successfully raised baby racoons to live in the wild and she took him on to teach him to be a skunk. The last I heard, he still went home every night for dinner.

"What's your pet's personality?"

Schizophrenic.

I have four cats. This came about when I applied to be a foster parent for the Humane Society. I kept adopting my foster cats so had to give up this role. In fact, my husband now will not let me go to the Humane Society without him.

Our oldest, Susie, is our smallest and sweetest cat. Although she is small, she is still the alpha cat and keeps the others in line. She is also our most agile climber and can climb to the top of our tallest pine tree with no problems getting back down.

Our second cat, Mimi, is our clown. At first, we thought she was a bit retarded but she is just very independent and coy. She definitely does things in her own time and her own way. She is also the most "verbal" and constantly talks to you especially when she wants to go out. If there is a mouse anywhere in the neighborhood, Mimi is sure to get it.

Our third cat, Fiona, is a Siamese but not the noisy kind, thank goodness. She has beautiful brown velvet, ears, feet, nose and tail. Although she is as small as Susie, she is also more plump. She is very clever at hiding from the larger cats as they will try to intimidate her. For this reason, she is the most skittish.

The baby, Dillon, (named for Matt Dillon) is the only male and therefore the largest at 14 pounds. He walks up to the others and demands they groom him which they do very reluctantly. Although, I raised him, he adores my husband and follows him around like a dog. If I hear a loud crash, I know Dillon has gotten into something.

I don't know what I would do without my pets. They are so entertaining and such good company especially on a winter's night when they all four try to get in my lap.

I once had a 7 ft long albino Burmeese python named Orin (Neverending story fans will get it) She loved to ride around draped across my neck like a piece of jelwery. We went into a petstore and were admiring the wall of reptiles in the back. On this particular day I was wearing a hoodie that had wide pockets.

She had her tail curled around one, her body draped across my shoulders and her head in the other. This older woman steps up next to us and is looking at the anoles. I feel movement and look down. Orin has pulled her head out of the pocket and is starting to reach for the woman. Now Orin has NEVER had a problem with people, kids and pets so I was not worried that she was gonna do something naughty. In truth it kinda happened too fast for me to really react any way.

She reached out so that she was barely in the womans peripheral vision and yawned. She was as relaxed as she could be and not fall off me, but she opened her mouth really wide and even worked her jaws a little. There was no hiss, nothing menacing- just a yawn.

The woman caught the movement and turned her face and was staring directly into Orins gaping maw. She screamed and jumped back about 3 feet. I reach and tried to pull Orin back, but she had all ready retreated into her pocket.

After the woman regained her composure, she couldn't stop laughing. She had kept reptiles and thankfully recognized that my pet wasn't about to try and eat her. I swear I could hear Orin laughing in my pocket.

This story always amazes people because they don't think that reptiles have a sense of humor. I'm here to tell you, yes they do!

I had dogs growing up, but my two favorite pets were both cats. First was Amerigo; I went outside one day and left the door open. I walked back in the house, and she followed me inside.

My second cat was "Thick Ums". She was such a weird cutie. If I was on the phone, she'd jump in my lap and tap her nose to the bottom. She'd sit in the window of my apartment periodically during the day, waiting on me to come back. She begged on her hind legs. I think she did these things because for the first couple of months I had her, she and I stayed with my then boyfriend, who had a puppy. They kinda grew on each other.

I have no pets now...but I'm fascinated by this "bug" (boxer-pug mix) I saw the other day....

My cat George, what can I say. George is the king of the house. He sleeps where he wants, he struts around, and wails when he wants to eat. If you irritate him he will hiss at you, and if you play with him too much he will try and nip you. His claws are razor sharp and he is not afraid to use them. That said I love him to pieces. Don't know what I would do with out him.