The first fur baby that was all mine....

[Gypsy Jazmine]

I've rescued animals all my life...From the time I was itty bitty I was always bringing home critters who needed love & help...My mom, who ruled the roost, was not an animal person so the 1st critter I actually got to keep was a half starved/half wild cat I lovingly named Heidi Ann when I was in 3rd grade...We found her at the local archery range (my dad is a bow hunter) & it was coming upon winter...She was so wild nobody could get near her...Some of the guys wanted to "put her out of her misery" as she was wild, starving & winter was coming...I happened to be with my dad that day...As she was being "hunted" I cried so hard & threw such a fit that my dad crawled under the conssesion building in the dark & muck & God knows what & finally crawled back out tore up by wild cat claws & teeth, dirty, & cussing up a storm...lol... We took my Heidi Ann (named after Holly Hobby somehow ) home & later when my mom called home from work my dad told her we had a cat & that was that!!!...He was my hero!!!!!!!!!!...Heidi Ann graced my life for 14 more years...She licked away my tears, made me laugh & taught me the true connection God intended between human & animal...I carry this lesson with me to this day & teach my children what Heidi Ann taught me...God bless my 1st fur friend...Her furry head will be the sweetest to stroke when I reach The Bridge someday.

[newflvr]

What a wondeful story!  It's true that the first love affair with an animal and the lessons that animal teaches you about love between the species lasts your whole life!  How fortunate you were to have a father that understood the need to protect the helpless and encouraged it!  Truly, truly heart-warming!

[Gypsy Jazmine]

What a wondeful story!  It's true that the first love affair with an animal and the lessons that animal teaches you about love between the species lasts your whole life!  How fortunate you were to have a father that understood the need to protect the helpless and encouraged it!  Truly, truly heart-warming!

The funny thing is my dad & I have never seen eye to eye...We've never really talked...But Heidi Ann is the lesson where he spoke most lovingly & loudest to me.

[doggylover]

This topic made me cry, it was so touching. 
DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!
 
 

[Leah...]

that story is great. my first love was a large hamster named Teddy. we got him when he was itty bitty at a petstore, and we got him home, and i was 6, so i didn't have a cage for him. he slept in my bed with me the first week, and we really bonded. i know he was just a teddy bear hamster, but he was my best friend, and i will never forget the day i got him, or the day i lost him. i think he weighed over a pound, and he lived to be 6 1/2 years old, which is awesome for a hamster. i am convinced to this day that he lived so long because of good loving care, and his weekly chocolate cup-cake. (not the whole thing, just a few nibbles) after he died, i told my mom that i would never have another hamster as long as i live, but she got me Gabby, a tiny siberian hamster, which i hated with a passion, but my mom taught me commitment, even when the commitment is a 3 ounce ball of fluff that bites. after she died at age 3, i got Bailey(the dog), well, my mom got Bailey, and he was my new best friend. then i got Rose (the cat), Then Sammie(my other dog), Then Daisy(that poor chicken lived only a month, Sammie tried to play a little to rough with her.) then all the rabbits, (breeding rabbits is harder than it looks, espacially when you didn't know that the baby bunny you got from a pet store was SPAYED!). WELL that is my life story (a small part of it anyway).

talk to y'all later! Leah

[roxygirl]

That was a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing.
Kim 

[macybean]

My first pet that was mine was Jenny, a gerbil, but my brother, sister, and I all had the gerbils and their babies. My first pet that was completely mine-not my parents and not my ex-bf's and mine together-is Sadie. I found her when I was still with my ex-bf, but he wasn't big on dogs then (still isn't really). She was definitely mine from the get-go. He bonded with her, and she still likes seeing him. But she is definitely "my dog". Riley is mine, too, but in a way, Riley belongs to pretty much everyone he meets! LOL He is social, to say the least.

I guess that explains why I'm so attached to my Slog Dog.

[Gypsy Jazmine]

My first pet was a budgie named Petey.  This was the second budgie to grace our home, both were named Petey lol.  Well I got Petey for my birthday and had him for about 2 years I think.  He was a harl budgie and cliped so he couldnt fly.  I was leaving for camp and went downstairs to say goodbye to Petey.  I guess my mom forgot to close the window that night and Petey had died from a draft.  When I said goodbye to him, i didnt look.  Apparently I should have because he was face down in his seed remains   I laugh about it now, but when I was at camp and my mom wrote me "the letter"  I was pretty upset.  I just couldnt believe that I said good bye to a dead bird.

  Turns out the other Petey...also died of a draft from a forgotten window.  My mother is forever banned from owning any form of bird.

Don't feel bad that you said goodbye to a dead bird...I fed a dead fish for 3 days before I realized he was dead.