[kfin66]

Hey,
Did anyone else notice that people in the child adoption process also seem to really be pet people? I noticed many references to pets in the intro thread.

Kerry, Mom to :
Nikki 8 y/o German Shorthaired Pointer
Ellie 13 y/o black cat
Jake Norman 12 y/o orange tabbie
Abbie 9 y/o Maine coon
And hopefully soon... Emily Grace from Russia!!!

[rnnurse2be]

Three dogs and some fish...

Male Boston Terrier named Koley Bear age 5
Male Bulldog named Ruger age 4.5
Female Pomeranian named Taffy Jo age 1.5

Fish in a tank that our 7 yr old had named: Blackie... another blackie... stripie.... another stripie....LOL

:roll

[waitinginnj]

I was sharing about the board and told my family the same thing.

Almost everyone seems to have pets - my Yorkie is sure that she is truly the first "Little" person of the family.

My new little one, will win the dog over quickly by becoming a food source.

[Shoshana]

but do you think it is 'adoptive families' or 'people who don't have kids who want them?' of course, those two groups aren't mutually exclusive.

raven -- my 13-yr-old lab mix has some significant health problems (she's on a diuretic & vasodilator for heart problems, she's on pain meds, glucosamine chondroitin, & an antiinflammitory for a torn ligament in her back leg behind the knee). Plus, she's already 1 to 3 years PAST her life expectancy. She's still a happy girl, tho' we can't talk walks anymore. She's always on kitchen duty even tho' she no longer counter surfs. I think she'll do fine with the baby because she loves kids & the extra activity is good for her (less chance of getting depressed). And as waitinginnj mentioned, any extra food source is highly valued in this home!

sable - raven's 3 year-old pet hasn't been around kids much. he's much calmer (thank god) than he was even a year ago. he's a passive boy (raven keeps him that way) but my biggest fear is that he'll knock the baby over, or jump on her and scare her. it's going to take a lot of training. i've started, but it's really hard to do it without a child to practice on. not many parents would volunteer their infant for dog traning!

anyway... :-)

[schroeder]

my dogs are my kids

My 9 year old black lab, Sabastion, had knee surgery for the torn ligament when he was 4. Since he was 9 months he has had Epilepsy. My 9 year old today pure mut, Flounder, is such a princess. She will not eat till she has a scrambled egg on the weekends. She is so spolied.

They love kids- Sabastion loves anyone who will walk through our door- Flounder tends to be more selective.

Thanks for sharing about your pets.

Anna

[Shoshana]

Flounder is such a cute name!

My kids each get an over easy egg on Sunday! And they bark at me every night between 7:45 and 8:00 -- they want their big biscuit.

[schroeder]

I went through a Little Mermaid phase when we got the dogs. I always told DH that if we ever had a girl I'd name her Ariel. He has never liked the idea.

Flounder will not go to bed without her bone each night0 then she lays on DH's pillow and chews LOL

Animals have such amazing personalities.

Anna

[tschuitema73]

As I mentioned before we have a golden retreiver named Buford. He is such a BUFORD. We got him 3 yrs ago for our daughter Laurie who has special needs. He honestly has changed her life in alot of ways. EX: She was very frightened of animals, big - little it didn't matter. Now she goes horse back riding and loves it!

If I can get my dh to hook my scanner up I will send over a picture of them.
Tamara

[clydster]

I have one cat who is the oldest (12) who is losing her bedroom to the baby.

Two dogs, each weighing 70 lbs. The lab is 3 and still very energetic. He looooovvvvves children but I too worry about him being too loving. Ive already gotten a few tail-beatings myself. Not to mention the tongue baths.

The fluffy one (mixed breed) is very uptight and doesnt take to strangers well but he is a very good watchdog.

I think with all animals no matter the temperament you have to be careful to always supervise them with young children. Im trying to get my dogs used to NOT jumping on me so they should understand not to jump on the child, too. ( This is easier said than done). Im also working with the one dog taking things away from him. He used to get really possessive and growl.

A friend told me that dogs instinctively know to be more gentle with babies, or at least hers did. Im hoping this is true for my dogs.

I think a big reason that some of us are pet people is that they are the only children we have been able to have so far. I think it makes the concept of adoption easier as well, since we have already adopted "children". I used to wonder if I would feel the same about an adopted child as I would a bio one, but now I know I will. If I can love my pets who of course have no bio link (different species, even) Im sure that love will be even greater for a human child.

[aboyd]

Hi All,

I was so happy to read that I'm not the only adoptive parent in waiting who treats their pooch as a " baby".
I definitely know that it will be an adjustment for my adorable pug Jade when she is "de-throned" by our new arrival - but I am sure that she will be wonderful with our little girl - she adores children.

Thanks to everyone for sharing - it helps to know you're not the only one !

Andrea

[Kellster]

My 7 lb Yorkie was my "consolation prize" ( I asked for a puppy) after my first miscarriage. I was so sick every time I was pg, he kept me company all the months I was bedridden and recovering from 2 other miscarriages. He was my first baby and still thinks he is a human child even 3 real kids later. He is 9 years old now. He sleeps in our bed, thinks he deserves a cookie every morning just for getting out of bed and rolls over for tummy rubbing the minute he sees me approaching. My dh says that in his next life he wants to come back as my dog! LOL Pets are a wonderful source of love and affection, whether you have human babies as well or not!

Kelly

[sanddhope]

I do agree that we are all pet people, I guess the pets give us something else to give all of the love we have to offer to.

We had a German Shepherd/Husky mix for 15 years and had to have him put to sleep last year, but he was our life since unable to have children. We now have a Golden that we adopted and are hoping to get another Shepherd.

We are hoping to adopt internationally, since domestic has failed 3 times.

Glad to meet all you pet people, as my (our) dogs are just like one of the family.

[Gingerbelle]

Hi All:

This is my first post. We have 2 doggies that bring us so much joy!
Brittany Spaniel -6 yrs old
English Springer Spaniel -5 yrs old

DH and I are always saying how empty our home would be without them to love. They consider themselves my babies so I expect some jealousy when a toddler shows up on the scene. The dogs are great around our friends kids.

We are just starting our adoption. Did anybody worry about how the dogs acting up during the homestudy? My dogs tend to get really happy (barking, jumping around, sniffing, etc,) when someone comes to our house. They calm down after a couple of minutes.

[clydster]

We put our dogs outside for the homestudy.

If your SW has dogs, Im sure he/she will understand since all dogs get excited when new people come over.

[Gingerbelle]

Hi Clydster-

Thanks for the response. I just finished reading the Homestudy thread and realized that a lot of answers to my pet/Homestudy question were already answered there!

-Sharon