Does your pet love you?

[Wcross]

If you were to set your pet free, would it come back?
I suspect it has a lot to do with the food, but my dogs always return home. I will not chain them up, I let them come and go as they please and if they choose to find a better place, they can.

Before you jump on me, they have about 500+ acres to roam. There is no road that would be considered dangerous and the farmer across the the road asked where angel was after she had her pups! He said he was worried about NOT seeing her. I hope I am doing the right thing by these animals. I can not see chaining a dog up in the back yard and "keeping" it as opposed to being a caretaker to them.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. Nah, that is a great life for a dog... his own pack in his own

place? Are you kiddin me, those dogs worship you as God Almighty.

[SOteric]

2. My cats love me.

And I know it to be more than food and comfort. We have a bond.

[BlackVelvetElvis]

3. Unfortunatelly

I dont have a pet (never at home) and live vicariously through everyone on DU who post about them–especially the pics!
Mostly, I'd be concerned about them being fixed. Unwanted pets are a very sad situation, they will suffer horribly. Otherwise if you have the space, let them do their thing.

[Wcross]

8. Fixing soon!

I rescued angel about 5 weeks ago when a neighbors house burned and he couldn't take the dogs. She was already a month into it when I took her. I will fix when she has weened the pups.

It sounds bad, but it was a good thing this guys house burned as he never took care of his dogs- Angel is about four and has never been to a vet! I took three dogs from him, which turned out to be six after the births. This summer they would come by covered in ticks,it was a sad sight!

[BlackVelvetElvis]

10. Good! Enjoy them!

You sound like you have a big heart.

[ChoralScholar]

4. Mine would come back

If they ever slip out, they're back within 5-10 minutes. On a side note, thought, my oldest dog Ginger got out once and was bumped by a car. Nothing serious, just hard enough to bruise her muscle pretty bad. But it has taught her very good road habits. I've never seen a dog stop and look both ways before crossing a street, but she does.

I couldn't bear to chain up my dogs. They're like kids to me.

[LWolf]

5. Yes.

She'll hang out in the yard, but prefers my company. I take her off leash when we are out away from people, houses, and streets; she never drifts more than 10 yards away, no matter how fascinating the attraction.

I don't live far enough out to let her run free. But I did for 12 years; my dogs were contained on 5 acres then. Otherwise they would end up as coyote bait. The coyotes patrolled the fences, and often tried to lure them out.

[Fixated]

6. My cats adore me

Look at 'er. Just sitting there, loving me. I wuv you too, kitty!

[blackcat77]

7. Our yard isn't fenced

And we let the dogs out -- supervised -- every day. They've never tried to run away though occasionally the younger one will go into the yard next door to harass a fenced dog. But as soon as that dog appears, she high-tails it right back to us.

We've never given them any reason to want to run from us and so they don't do so.

[Wcross]

11. They love ya!

I hate to see a dog chained and forgotten.

[RandomKoolzip]

9. Yeah, far too much...

My cat goes CRAZY when I get home from work. She spazzes out and runs around the house, looking very surprised and happy. The nanosecond after I finally sit down somewhere, she is on my lap, purring and furiously rubbing her head aganst any protruding body part. She follows me around the house, rubbing against my legs when I urinate, jumping on me when I sit down to log on DU, then refusing to let me take her off my lap- she just jumps back on....

Don't get me wrong, I love her and all animals unconditionally, but her clingy-ness kinda annoys me sometimes, especially after a bad day at work. Still wouldn't trade her for a million bucks, though; all pets are family to me.

[Wcross]

13. Sounds like Kitty knows best!

"but her clingy-ness kinda annoys me sometimes, especially after a bad day at work. Still wouldn't trade her for a million bucks, though; all pets are family to me."

What could be better than someone that loves you after a bad day at work? Your blessed to have a pet like that! I always smile when I see the crew running up the driveway wagging the tails and happy I am home.

[hlthe2b]

12. You betcha...

Even when I let my very independent fun-loving dog run loose (at the offleash dog park) she continually keeps an eye on me. If I were to sneak out the gate, she'd be there pronto. It is really amazing, because this is one "little girl" who loves to play hard (rough and tumble) with other dogs. But somehow she does it while keeping me in her side vision!

My last dog, a female lab mix convinced me that dogs can develop some telepathic abilities, since she could predict from 2000 miles away when I was on the phone, before it rang (and my calls were infrequent and totally unpredictable, since my sister, who was keeping my dog, works nights)... It never failed, though-- five minutes or so before the phone rang she was sitting beside it, while ignoring it through the other zillion calls my sister got each day and evening. Believe it or not, but I do.

[roguevalley]

14. I have five dachshunds. If they loved me anymore, I couldn't stand it.

They have a pack mentality and i am the big dog. They
follow me EVERYWHERE, including the bathroom and sleep
with me every chance they get. As I write this, four
of the five are sleeping on the bed behind me, a black
and tan and dapple dachshund feast of the eyes. :)

They are comfort hounds and love to eat but they would
DIE if they weren't with us. All but two have been with
us since 8-9 weeks old and two since 5 weeks.

They are the most demanding in giving their affections
to you of any dogs I've ever had and they live inside
with me, hating to get their feet wet like cats. If you
want a cat and can't have one, get a weiner dog. Next
best thing.

[Wcross]

16. I love weiner dogs!

They are so cute! The dogs I have are sooners but I love them just the same- hell, I'm a sooner too!

[sam sarrha]

15. My dog Teddy is so in love with me, He cuddles beside me at night

with his head on my shoulder an his front leg across my chest.. my wife once said "That is amazing! I dont even love you that much."

[Wcross]

17. Yup, it doesn't get any better than that! N/t

[Rowdyboy]

18. My springer sleeps at the foot of the bed until 5:30am

when the first alarm goes off. The he gets us and snuggleg between me and my partner for the next thirty minutes until time to get us. Usually, he sacks out and is snoring in a matter of minutes so I can listen to my two favorite boys snore in harmony.

My SECOND favorite way to start a day...

[DBoon]

19. A contractor once let our dog out

He went right up to the front door and started whining to be let in.

(the dog - not the contractor!)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

20. Not in the Biblical sense....

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. The dog would come back. The cats

wouldn't leave in the first place. Once in a while one of them likes to make a brief foray to the front porch; but then they get freaked and want the safety of the home...

And yes...They all adore us. :-)

[OneBlueSky]

22. well, I'm on my fourth black lab mix . . .

and this is the first one I've had neutered, specifically to cut down on the roaming . . . labs are notorious wanderers, and two of my previous three ended up being killed by cars when they managed to escape . . . I had my third for sixteen years, but had to have him put down two years ago . . . now I have a large fenced yard, and my latest companion, Dylan, has a playmate to keep him occupied (a little Jack Russell named Archie, who belongs to my nephew and lives upstairs) . . . when I'm sitting on the couch, Dylan loves to lie next to me with his head in my lap, and fully expects to be scratched behind the ears . . . also likes to crawl into bed with me, but I discourage that . . . we have a mutual fondness and respect for each other, I think . . . :)

[HEyHEY]

23. No..we're pretty well waitning for the rigtht time to kill each other

The real question is who's first?

[WeirdSceneGoldmine]

24. Would you kill for your pet

If coyotes or coydogs had your cat or dog in a life or death situation would you take them out?

[kodi]

25. all 6 dogs want to be near me all the time i am on my property

its a madhouse sometimes.

when i return home its like jesus arriving in jerusalem on palm sunday.

[AlienGirl]

26. My rat loves me

If I set him on the ground he'd come running up my leg and back into his "burrow" in my shirt. When I was gone for a couple of days, he went hyper searching for me every night during his "playtime."

Rats are very social, loyal animals who bond strongly with their people.

Tuckerbbbbbbbbb

(extra b's added by rat on keyboard, showing how much he loves me by typing along!)

[slinkerwink]

33. awww, that's cute!

:-)

[Padraig18]

27. It's actually sorta embarrassing how much...

... our dog loves us. We live on the edge pf town on a dead-end street and let him out w/o a lead to 'do his business' and get some fresh air, etc. . If one of us does not stand at or outside the door with him, he will not get more than 10 feet from the door, and is scratching to be let back in as soon as he's finished squatting.

I'm the early riser, due to my business, and he and I always have 15 minutes or so of cuddle time in bed every morning; I rub his tummy and stroke his head, ears and body while he gazes at me with unabashed adoration while licking my arm, face or free hand. *blush*

When we go for a walk with him off-lead, he will do the usual 'sniff, search and mark' routine, but if either of us gets out of his line of sight, he will backtrack until he gets a 'visual' on us.

No doubt in my mind at all--- he adores us both and would never run away.

:)

[VOX]

28. Sure. My cats greet me, they follow me around, they sleep with me...

And I mean SLEEP. They check me out throughout the day, and they want me to play with them constantly. It's *way* beyond food!

It's love, and only love. A cross-species bond.

[RebelOne]

29. No, I think my dog just tolerates me because I'm her meal ticket.

[xchrom]

30. many animals love

my dog loves me -- and even as a young dog{he's a husky and had wanderitis} he would come back.
but we live in a city, so he had to spend time chained up. no fence and a busy street. but he was never unhappy.
now he's older and never leaves my eyesight.

[Padraig18]

31. Kick

[grannylib]

32. My adorable cats love Daddy, exclusively...

both the 'girls' have my husband wrapped, particularly Layla Babycat...she is just spoiled rotten...

[SiobhanClancy]

34. Siobhan loves me...

she's right next to me most of the time. Clancy is a weird cat,though..rather dog-like(really). He'll even fetch a ball when you throw it.

[slinkerwink]

35. My dog, Max, totally loves me......

This I know because he always follows me everywhere I go, and whenever I make a milk run to the corner deli, I tie him up to the post outside. He'll literally put his face against the door to look at me inside to make sure I'm okay. Max also gets jealous if I pay any attention to other dogs in his presence, but he's very sweet and loves to cuddle with me at night.

When I used to live at home in high school, Max and I would sleep together. I'd wake him to see him curled up on one of the pillows near my head and he'd put his head on top of my shoulder. So, very, very, very cute....:-)

Also, whenever I read, he really hates it so he'll walk right on top of the book and sit down so I'll pay attention to him. I've had so much fun with him by taking him out in the car for a drive in high school. I'd take him to baskin robbins every other two weeks and give him a teaspoonful of vanilla ice cream. Then we'd just drive around El Paso and he'd look out the window with his small paws on the armrest of the car door.

He's 13 now and lives in new york with my mother. I miss him so much. I feel like I'm missing a piece of myself whenever I'm at Smith.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

36. Yeah..but if you fed my cats they'd love you

[Padraig18]

37. My cat loves me, I *think*

It's hard to tell with cats, some times... :shrug:

[FlaGranny]

38. My dog would never run away.

She's 7-1/2 years old. Occasionally we take her to a dirt road in the woods with no traffic and I can let her run free. She'll run around a curve out of site and when we get to the curve, there she'll be waiting for us to make sure we're coming and then she'll take off again. Even around the house, she always wants to know where I am and checks on me throughout the day.

A funny story: I have a neighbor who has a dog who "runs away." A few weeks ago, I was in my front yard and the neighbor drives up in her car and asks me if I've seen her dog. I said, I sure have, he's right behind your car. The pooch came running after her when he saw SHE was driving away. So I guess he "loves" her too, even if he does run away. :-)

[ScreamingMeemie]

39. We let Jessie (our Sheltie) out back once and the gate was

open (unbeknownst to us). She just came around front and whined at the front door to be let back in. So I guess she likes us enough to want to stay. Merlin, our fat cat, loves us...well...he loves our food. ;)

[geniph]

40. Would my cats come back?!

Hell, I can't get them to step far enough back for me to walk to the other room without tripping over them! I haven't gone to the bathroom alone in years. You can't do anything alone in a house with Maine Coons - they want to be with you all the time. We had to put a pet door in our bedroom because they were so devastated if they couldn't come sleep with us. Cappy especially is loving; he runs to the door to greet you enthusiastically even if you just stepped out to get the mail. He lies between us for as long as we'll tolerate, purring and staring adoringly at us, and making biscuits on us.

They have a whole house in which to sleep undisturbed, but NOOO, they have to sleep on whatever I'm reading or investigate whatever I'm doing. If I go outside (they've never been outside), they stand at the window and cry pitifully.

Yes, they love us.

[TrogL]

41. It's a cat

How can you tell?

If it sits in my lap, is it keeping me company or keeping warm?

[wysimdnwyg]

42. My cat greets me when I come home

Almost every night, he comes running as soon as I open the door.

[LuLu550]

43. my mini schnauzer Lexi

loves me! And I love her. MINIS RULE!
:loveya: