Number of Pets - Pet Lovers Only Please

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Sola

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Fellow pet owners and pet lovers,

How do you know if God wants you to adopt another pet or not, or whether He cares and just leaves it up to your choice? Of course, there are some obvious criteria: your financial situation, city or county regulations.

Other than those things, though, how do you know if the constant (some would say nagging) desire to add another pet in order to give a home to a homeless animal is your own selfishness or the Lord putting it on your heart?

We already have three dogs and two cats, and my husband doesn’t really want another dog, but I just keep thinking about all the dogs in shelters who, through no fault of their own, are desperately seeking homes and love. We aren’t rich, but we do have a lot of love.

I asked for responses from pet lovers only because I am hoping to avoid the snide and condescending comments like “spend your money on worthier charities” and “just think what your money could do for people in need” that seem to invariably crop up in threads related to animals and pets.

Thank you for your thoughts!
 
First off, God is in the “Free Will” business so it’s always up to you.

I wouldn’t go the way of “God wants me to have THIS particular animal/bird/fish/other as a pet.”

He’s given us reason along with our hearts, sense along with sensibility.

I’ve heard it said that (I think it was) St. Thomas Aquinas who said:

“Love God, then do what you want.”

The concept here is that if you are loving God, you are doing what God wants you to do, and wanting to do what God wants you to do.

Since you asked…

in my humble opinion, God wants you to honor your husband’s wishes and point of view as #1 priority.

My thoughts are… If your husband doesn’t agree that you bring in another pet to the household, then I suggest that you please respect that wish of his.

Whatever time and attention you give to one more, two more, etc. pets can chip away without your being even consciously aware of the amount of time and attention that you give to your husband, who is of course #1 on the list.

Otherwise, you could wind up on a slippery downhill slope in trying to rescue all the animals in the pet shelters… or who might be wandering around with apparently no home to go to.

No reason to feel guilty if you decide not to adopt/own another pet. That animal/bird/fish/other has an owner that just hasn’t found him/her yet.

Make sense? Hope so…

:o

P.S. I’ve had lots of pets in my lifetime… but I know that I can take care of only the one that I currently have, I put off owning another one until my current one has died.

Makes it fair for everyone.
 
Veronica Anne:
If your husband doesn’t agree that you bring in another pet to the household, then I suggest that you please respect that wish of his.
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It’s not a firm “no” on his part, because he likes me to be happy. He didn’t really want any of the pets we have at first but now he loves them and gets so much joy from their little faces and sweet antics, that now he is so glad that we have them.
Veronica Anne:
Otherwise, you could wind up on a slippery downhill slope in trying to rescue all the animals in the pet shelters… or who might be wandering around with apparently no home to go to.
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True! I don’t want to be on the news as one of those crazy lady animal collectors!
Veronica Anne:
No reason to feel guilty if you decide not to adopt/own another pet. That animal/bird/fish/other has an owner that just hasn’t found him/her yet.
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If only that were true, then I wouldn’t feel guilty. The horrible fact is that millions of dogs, cats, and other animals are killed every year because they have no home and have not been adopted. And because moronic human beings do not spay and neuter their pets, but I digress.
 
God puts pets in our lives, sometimes whether we want them or not. There are case studies on the effect of pets.

I can only speak from my own experience and understanding, of course, but somehow, that connection is made. If we try to force it or the time is not right…that connection does not happen…that is…if we will it to God.

Here are my examples:

I had 2 dogs with an ex boyfriend (long story), and when we broke up I had hoped to bring the dogs home with me as I had spent the most money on them in training and time, etc. It didn’t happen. Again, long story…God gaveth and tooketh away and I learned a lot.

So I moved into my first home alone, knowing I NEEDED a dog. I have always wanted a German Shepherd…but was really looking for a Shepherd mix. I went to the local Humane society and met Sugar Bear, a purebred GS. I had a lot of dogs to meet that day, so I gave her some attention and left, giving it to God. Every place I went, the dogs I’d found on the local petfinder.com were adopted…and one was adopted in front of me. I wished the new “family” well. I went home to unpack some more, weary from my travels. Something told me to go back to the first shelter.

One of the reasons I turned away from the Shepherd was because she appeared to be purebred…I figured she would be adopted out quickly. But when I went back, she was still there…so we took an adoption room to get acquainted. She is mine now, under a different name. She is a gift from God…amazing she lasted ALL DAY until I returned…and after I cam back there were numerous inquiries, yet she was no longer available. I believe the promptings to return were from the Holy Spirit. I can’t tell you how well I’ve slept since she came home.
  1. I’ve wanted a Greyhound for many years…almost got one when I first moved but felt I needed a protector first. I’ve also felt called to do animal therapy. Greyhounds are ideal as they are calm, docile, sweet, attention seeking calming presences–wheelchair height! So I researched, read, and when the time was right, I went through the adoption process, having saved the money for the fee and initial costs, which weren’t much given what I already had in house.
We haven’t started therapy yet, although I have hopes and prayers for both. During my adoption meeting, where I met all the available dogs appropriate for my home, I prayed to the Holy Spirit to choose the right dog given my desire for animal therapy.

My Greyhound’s name is “Fire,” (symbol of the Holy Spirit.) His racing name was “Keystone Fire” and he is a “red fawn” colored dog.

I believe the Holy Spirit helped me choose him, and as I help him get used to the sights and sounds of life and different situations and people, he seems to be showing an aptitude for the work I prayed for. The Shepherd…well, she and I have our work cut out for us but she is GREAT with kids and if I can ever get her leash-aggressiveness/temper tantrums in line, she would be wonderful in a children’s ward or home.

Hope, Pray, Don’t worry…(Padre Pio) If God really means for an animal to come under your stewardship…even if you initially turn away, that animal will arrive.
 
JCPhoenix,
Thanks for sharing. I’m all verklempt now. :crying: But it’s in a good way. Btw, there’s reference to fire in your user name, too…

Sola,
I feel your pain. I have been without any pets for about 2 years now, but I know it’s just not right for me to have them right now. (for one thing, I’m just not home enough. It would be cruel)

As saddened as I am about animals being euthanized in the shelter, keep in mind that the folks there know what they’re doing. They are well practiced in mercy and kindness, and I dare say some of the animals there end their lives with more love than they might have ever seen before.

Another thing is that even though your love is great-- what about the space you have? Cramped quarters can really stress out animals, which in turn could cause all kinds of territorial or other problems.

So I guess I kinda cast a vote for not adding anymore animals.:o

Peace and Furry Love
 
We have a family of 6 fuzzy kids. 3 dogs and 3 cats. All are strays except one.

Our oldest “girls” are two tabbies - Puddie and Prissie. They will be 14 in the spring. One day when I came home some of the neighborhood boys were teasing & tormenting them by chasing them & stomping their feet at them. It made me very angry. I talked to the kids’ parents and found out that the cats did not belong to anyone. They have been mine since.

Next is our oldest dog, Kila. She will be 13 in the spring. At the time, we were the only house on the street. Someone dumped her at the end of the cul-de-sac as a puppy. We were the first house she found. My husband didn’t really want a dog, but after a few days, he fell in love with her and she has been his best girl since.

We were a 1 dog, 2 cat family for many years…

We have a friend who’s niece breeds and shows Australian Shepherds. She had an older dog that needed a home. We had been thinking about an addition at the time. We had seen several of her dogs when she visited our friend and really liked the breed. We contacted her to let her know that we were interested, but , she had already found the dog a home. A few months later my friends and I went to an agility competition where she had some dogs competing. She brought a puppy named Strut with her. He was meant for another person, but when she met the guy, she didn’t like him. I played with Strut at the show all day. When it was time to leave, she was holding him and said “Here, aren’t you going to take him home with you?” I honestly thought she was kidding. She wasn’t. I brought Strut home that night. He is our only pure bred in the lot. He will be 5 on 12/1.

Our next baby is our cat Missie. She just turned 4. My husband and his friend were out fishing one night and they kept hearing a small kitten mewing…and it kept getting closer and closer. Well, lo and behold, the baby was swimming across the lake! He brought her home that night. She was the tiniest thing. She couldn’t have been 5 weeks old. We weren’t going to keep her, but I decided after a couple of days that I could not give her up to anyone else.

Our last, but probably not the youngest is Sandy. My friend’s grandmother has a rental house. Sandy belonged to the tenant. Whenever my friend would go to her grandmother’s she would see the dog next door on the back porch always looking so sad. The dog never seemed to get any attention from the owner and when she did it wasnt very nice. She always had her food thrown out on the porch at her and was treated badly. My friend asked the owner one day if he really wanted the dog and he said not really and she could take her. y friend brought her back to the office after lunch that day. I looked at Sandy sitting in my friend’s lap in the office across the hall. She would just rest her head on the desk and look at me with her BIG, SAD brown eyes. That’s all it took…I called my husband and told him that I was bringing a dog home. He wasn’t too thrilled about it at first. I told him this little girl needed us. She needed a home with lots of love because she had been treated so badly. Sandy has a crippled leg. Her back left leg was broken at sometime in her life and was not treated properly. She gets along fine with it. She walks on 3, but uses the crippled leg for balance when sitting, etc. She has been with us two years. We think she is probably about 6.

I feel that God has placed these wonderful companions in our home for a reason. We have been very blessed with our fuzzy family.
 
Up until last week we had:

2 yr. old chocolate Lab - rescued
15 yr. old black cat - chosen
12 yr. old black cat - rescued from a dumpster!
1 yr. old cat - rescued from a burned out bldg

Last week, the guardian angel of cats left two tiny - maybe 6 weeks old - kittens under the wheel wells of our truck. Soon we will be in the market for a farm property because we are running out of space!! ❤️

I hope that guardian angel soon finds another sucker for the stray and neglected animal population. :gopray2:
 
I’m not exactly the voice of prudence when it comes to appropriate numbers of animals, but here’s my 2 cents.

We have lots of room, and I have lots of time and no children and I never leave the farm. So it seems there is always room for more. I try to think of the other animals and how they will harmonize if I am considering another animal on the farm.

We have 2 free-loading cats that we love. 😃 We never go look for cats… they just seem to happen! They are on rodent patrol in the barn. I wouldn’t want another cat because these two have a hard time sharing 40 acres as it is. :rolleyes:
We have 2 Labs, a black and yellow. We like field hunting for pheasant and quail so they have actual jobs besides chasing balls and holding down the rug in front of the woodstove.
I am probably going to get a Jack Russel Terrier puppy for Christmas.

I have 6 horses. More then you would need unless you were a breeder like I am. I have 3 broodmares (pregnant) and a purebred Lipizzan Stallion. I also have a Quarter Horse gelding that I show, and my husband has his own horse.
I am thinking about trimming down to 4 horses. My stallion, a pair of mares, and my show horse. Just because of the time factor. I would like to spend more time with them then I can now. But I can make good money on my foals and stud fees so the breeding herd is going to stay in one form or other.

So — consider the harmony of how the animals get along, and how much time you can spend with them.
 
Both of my cats literally were handed to us.
Chibby, my 5 year old was orphaned at 3 weeks, and we adoped him from his mother’s owner (one of our patients). We bottle fed him and got advice how to “mother” him. Now he thinks I’M his momma, and no one else better be snuggling with me when he wants me. 😃

Abby, is a 6 year old cat that belonged to our mail carrier. She’d just had a baby, and was worried that Abby was getting neurotic over it. Nobody wanted her because she was an older cat, but when our carrier stopped by our office on her way to the pound, my husband melted. She’s been with us 2 years.
 
I love adoption stories and happy ending stories!

JCPhoenix, the two breeds in your life are breeds that I also really like. I have long thought about adopting a retired racer and know that they have great temperaments for our lifestyle (read: couch potatoes). The reasons we haven’t adopted one yet were first, because we had cats and I was concerned, but I know some are cat-friendly. Secondly, we have a big dog who is not crazy about other big dogs. And now we have two Whippets and there is this whole prey drive, chase and kill instinct that sighthounds have and Greyhounds that we have met at the park have been kinda rough with the Whippets, but it’s a whole thing that is long to explain.

I’ve always loved German Shepherds. My sister has two really wonderful ones: laid back, loving, smart, excellent in the house. I hear your girl has some leash aggressiveness. Can she be off-leash more often when she’s meeting other dogs? It’s amazing how much difference a leash makes to some dogs.

Kristine, sounds like you’ve got a nice house full! There a few lucky animals that have found your house and catsrus’s!

I am thankful to God for all of your compassionate hearts. I truly believe that how we treat animals reflects how we treat people.

shannon, you are smart to know that you don’t have enough time to care for a pet. Dogs especially, but even cats, are a major time and energy commitment. I am blessed that I am able to care for all of our animals. I am really a homebody so it works out.
 
Dear friend

I have 5 cats and one dog living with me, the local vet gave me two that no-one wanted and one had been in an RTA, he took alot of love and nursing back to health. One walked in off the street and has never left (that was 6 years ago) One I took home with me when I worked for the RSPCA, one I found on the street starved, emaciated and in a bad way, I took her home with me and she’s been with me ever since…I saw this particular cat about a month previous before I brought her home with me, she looked a bit rough but ok, then I came across her again in a bad way and brought her home. The dog who lives with me is my brother’s dog and he’s been with me a fair while now. Mostly my animals have found me and stayed with me.

I do think God puts the animal in your path for you to care for, but animals are not to be cared for at the expense of caring for a human. I think all of the animals I have were meant to be with me, nothing happens by pure chance. I had the free will of course, not to take them in and give them a home, but I can’t leave an animal in distress, in need of a good home.

It’s strange that this little herd of furries get along together with no fighting, it’s as though they know they have no choice!!🙂 and are simply grateful for medical needs met, a warm fire, food, comfort and love. Some of them have bonded quite nicely and groom each other, which is very sweet.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa
 
Beautiful stories by the way…

We have

2-dogs
2-mice
2-fish

we are working on a revival of Noahs Arc…

I dog was saved, and the other adopted from a family that couldn’t pay enough attention to her.

our mice are both from my daughters class room… They are feeder mice that my daughter was taking care of, we took them home. Although, she is very excepting of the circle of life thing.

our fish… One is a standard gold fish that I have had for 5 years now, and going strong… the other is a Betta. They may not be expensive fish but they have good homes.

I would love more… another dog… a cat (husband is allergic though) we will probably get two birds next.
 
if you want to help homeless animals, but can’t/shouldn’t take any more into your home, volunteer at a shelter! Not all the work they need done is actually at the shelter, either, if you’re afraid you’ll want to take them all home. In my experience, though, once I realized I literally cannot save them all, I understood I was called to help the general population in other ways.
 
One!

A bear…(dog named bear) White Rough Collie… big baby, only kid i got worth a - - - - !

👍
 
I have one lovely little cocker mix that i raised from literally the second he was born. i took him from his mom (she was our dog and she had an infection in her mammory glands that was causing the milk to kill the puppies) cleaned that black stuff off of him and bottle fed him EVERY two hours for six weeks.he even slept under me to stay warm and hear my hearbeat for the first six months of his life (i thought crate training was gonna kill us both!) he is precious and the absolute joy of my heart, his name is Kirby. and after our wedding we will be adopting Mira, a 2 year old lausaopsa (sp) her owners cant take care of her anymore so we’re gonna take her.
 
Pet tally as of now:
1 cat
4 birds
1 tortoise

My cat, Nala, was given to me by a neighbor’s friend who could no longer have her. She was expecting when I got her and three days later she gave birth to five beautiful kittens. They are all grown and gone now. my tortoise was found by my mom on the side of the road, and she thought that he would fit right in at home with us. And our four birds were from 2 separate “litters” of my church’s youth groups parakeets.
 
We have two 3-year-old cats that I adopted from our local shelter as kittens, who are constantly entertaining and two of the best companions I have met (besides my husband of course).

We also have three mice that my husband rescued from the animal research facility in our building- they were bred as transgenics, meaning that they were bred in the hopes that they would express a specific gene. As these mice tested negative for the gene, there really wasn’t much that the researcher could do with them so she offered them to us. 🙂

We would love to have a bunny, although we don’t really have the money or space right now. Right now we’re a bit off on dogs (have recently had to chase after several friends’ escaped doggies, one who later put a hole in my brand-new sweater) and birds (our friend’s cockatiel recently attempted to bite off my husband’s index finger), but otherwise anything is fine other than tarantulas.
 
We’ve got

3 goldfish, 1 alge eater
2 parakeets
3 dogs (heinz 57; yellow lab/chow mix; chihuaha)

We love animals especially dogs. Snowflake my lab/chow mix was found by DH in the back of his truck. He stays home all day to protect the “homefront”. He is wonderful and spoiled rotten to the core. I walk him everyday (weather permitting). Snuggles, our heinz 57 mix goes to my mom and dad’s house everyday while we go to work/school. Spoiled??? :rotfl: Oreo, our newest 12 week old puppy (chihuaha) goes visit with his brother all day at my sister’s house. Will he be spoiled? :rotfl:

DH didn’t grow up with animals as I did, but he loves them just as I do and got used to the idea real quick.

Good luck…
 
I have two kitty brothers and one boy Jack Russell puppy. I don’t know what I’d do without them! I’ve had the two kitties for four years and the pup only a week and a half. I rescued my kitties off the street and I was just given the pup. I live out in the country so they are all very happy now, and so am I! Thanks for this thread! and God bless all the pet lovers! 🙂
 
We have my 3 year old cat Nellie Belle who I adopted from the local animal shelter.

We also have a 2 year old Papillon who decided to imprint on me rather than either of my parents who purchased him for their home, from a breeder. :rolleyes:

My daughter has an aquarium full of fish and a hamster which she has had since she was 4.

I’m at my max. 🙂

It sounds like your husband wants you to be happy, but he would choose not to get another animal right now if you were any less passionate about it.

I vote for no additional pets right now.

I’m sure all your pets are in great health, but they are going to start aging, and will begin to need more intensive medical treatments as they do. This will cost beacoup bucks and I vote to save the money you would spend on another animal into an account for the geriatric medical treatments for the ones you have now.

Just my ::twocents::
 
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