[~Christina]

I got a message on here and it got me thinking ....

How many of you have pets ?

I got my dog " Sirius" from the dog pound last march when my life was literally falling apart .. hes been my rock ,, hes always happy to see me even if noone else is.
He senses how im doing and often ill be getting all worked up and he will come over and lean on me or sneak on my lap. Just petting him usally calms me down from a full blown mess..

Just wondered how many other people feel having a pet helps keep you more grounded and happier ?

My Dog has seriously saved my life a few times I got to thinking "stupid ",,I thought OH no who would take care of my best friend " Sirius"

Thoughts?

We've got a guinea pig (Weebie), and she definitely helps lighten the mood with her antics. She's so sweet, one almost can't help but feel better when with her! (I have to be so bad that I'm only barely aware of my surroundings for her not to have an effect.)

(I used to have a dog that I felt that way about too. It was like she came into my life to save me from myself.)

[AniManiac]

Having a dog to walk is a good enforcement of healthy habits, and helps regulate daily schedules. My hubby does the dog-walking but that sets the clock for most of our days, and that structure is good for me. Just having Chili around to pet if I get upset, or seeing how thrilled she is when I open the door, is pretty rewarding. She calms me down when I'm upset.

We adopted Chili from the pound when we moved to NY (she came with the name.) She had been there for 9 months before we adopted her, though she's a really pretty red chow-chow and collie/husky (?) mix. It took some patience to teach her not to jump on people or bite them, but she's a delightfully loyal and ferociously protective pup.

I have a 6 month old black lab puppy named Zeppelin. He can be trying at times, but overall I'm very happy to have gotten him. Forces me to get outside of the house, and wake up at a certain time to feed him. So he has helped me to form daily habits. Also, he's such a cuddler...I can't resist his puppy eyes. :3

[RapidFlyer]

I started having dogs in my life shortly after I discovered I was BPD. Today I have two beautiful dogs. First I have Stollen, my one year old beagle. I got her from the pound at 8 weeks old. My second dog, Moxie, a Sheltie is 6 years old and I inherited her when my dear friend died in September.

They are the joy in my life when I start going down hill and the stabalizers when I am manic as I am now. I can't imagine life without my animals. I can't imagine facing mental illness without animals. I used to have cats, 4 of them. I'll have others later and next spring I'll have more than two chickens to take care of.

Thanks for the topic, I'm going to go hug my doggies.

I have my pug Chin Sui. He definatly helps at times. A few things tho, I am allergic to dogs. So I can't pet overly much with out getting hives and ichy swollen eyes. Number two, he is a stinky dog haha. He always has doggy breath and smells like well... A dog. I'm not really into that no matter how hard I try. Three he sheds like mega super bad and I'm a little OCD about it. Sooo other than that he is a great pet. And he makes me very happy.

[~Christina]

Anika ,, I so understand the doggy smell issue ,, I LOVE my dog ,,But life in general for me as far as smells go its hard to handle ..Im so overly sensitive to odor it drives me mad .

[roads]

I've got two kitty cats. One, a 16 yr-old whose owner died, languished at the Humane Society for a year & was so sad when I decided she had to come home with me. The 7 yr-old was hiding in a cat condo at the SPCA & wouldn't come out. No one had seen anything but his face & glimpses of his disappearing hinney. I had to bring the condo home to getnhim here.
Life without them? Why?
Some days they are the only reason I bother.

[Charlie_J]

I have a whippet/staffordshire bull terrier cross, and a greyhound/magpie (seriously, she steals things, especially shoes). I love my dogs to bits, and especially now it's getting cold - they keep me warm

[tattoogirl33]

I love that everyone loves their pets.. I do too!! LOL I have a now 4 year old golden named Tucker. He KNOWS when I need him most. I was just telling my mom this evening how sad it was that my dog is my best friend! But it's NOT sad at all! He depends on me, is loyal to me, never gives me a hard time for not wanting to do my hair in the morning.. etc.

Since I was a very young girl I have ALWAYS had to have a pet of some sort.(hampsters, cats, fish, rats, and dogs) My 12 year old daughter also has a 1 1/2 yr old Bishon/shitzu mix named Lucky.. she is sooo much like her mother it scares me.. (really it does!) My 13 yr old son doesn't want a pet as he is an Aspie and says he doesn't need the responsibility (i.e. doesn't want HIS world interupted by something else depending on him) and my 7 year old son has a cat named Mr. Fluff.. lol (that's a funny story for another time.. ) we also have 3 "family" cats.. Mini is our outside cat (excellent mouser!) and Resa and Gunner are our other two inside kitties. WOW we have a lot of pets!! how did that happen??

I guess I just love (need) to always be surrounded by "someone" that cares..

[roxyrollercoaster]

I work at a high volume high kill animal shelter and have 7 dogs of my own. They are the only thing that keeps me going. They love me no matter what and no matter how bad I feel, I always care for them even if it's the only thing I get out of bed to do all day. I'm so glad that you have a dog and rescue dogs are the best. They know that you saved them.

[tnlibrarian]

We had a Papillon who died two months ago. She was 11. We think she had a massive stroke or an anuyresm (spelling)? I really think her death was the trigger for all of the problems I'm having now. I guess that's probably a good indicator that I need to see a therapist. We're planning on buying two Papillons from a breeder sometime next year. The girls want to name them Corbin and Lelu after the charcters in "The Fifth Element", LOL

[Moreta]

I have 3 cats, The Wendy, Kara, and Dax, and a dog, Jojo. Dax always knows when I'm not feeling good, and comes and sits on my lap, until I calm down. The past few days, she's been on my lap all morning, b/c I've been having some really rough mornings. I don't know what I would do without her.

[onlymedid]

I have 2 kitties. They are so cute and they brighten my day when they come up to be petted. One of them can sense when I am feeling down or not feeling well and she will come around me more often.

[Charlie_J]

Reading through this thread again made me think of my old cats.

We used to have one giant black ferral tomcat we named "Sooty" who turned up on the doorstep one day and decided to hang around with us.

He was amazing. He'd only drink milk, would jump up on your knee to be stroked, but would bite you if you picked him up. I'll always remember my dad having to wear gardening gloves to flea spray him armed with a massive towel.

He had a broken tooth, a bit of an ear missing (I think he used to fight with dogs - he'd have eaten a domestic cat), and he refused to come into the house at all for at least two weeks when we crated him up for the vet to neuter.

The way he'd jump up to be let in at the window, the way he learned to rattle the letterbox with his paw to be let in the front door. We were just his servants. Though by far the most awesome thing he did was to sit on the windowsill above the radiator and growl at the binmen when they came.

Much missed. As a mostly wild cat would, one day when he was really old, he just went out and didn't come back. I hope it was peaceful.

[missbelle]

I have Abbie, and Lucie, two senior cat gals. I brought Lucie with me to Virginia from Florida and I got Abbie at the pound here three months after I got here. They are about going on 12. The cat girls are spoiled rotten and Lucie is a the alpha cat in the house. Abbie is the most affectionate and is a little lover. Lucie is the smartest and she will fetch her toy and bring them back to you. She answers to one comand of lay down. At first I thought it was a fluck but she continues to do it when she is driving me nuts at my computer table. If Lucie wants something..food, etc or wter she will literally stare at me till I get her what she wants. I am completely trained!!!

They are a pain at times especially when they are hacking up hairballs. YUCK. I wouldn't trade them for a million dollars.....well let me think about that one LOL

[LylaJean]

I'm in love with my pets too! Ever since I was little I've surrounded myself with animals... I guess because they were easier for me to spend time with than people. I've had dogs, cats, iguanas, water dragons, fish, turtles, a horse, guinea pigs, hamsters, and I even had a pet praying mantis. At one time my bedroom growing up had 12 pets. A year ago my depression was so severe that my husband got me Zola, our boxer/lab. She got me through the winter! Just walking her and taking care of her gave me a sense of purpose and made me get out. Now we also have two kittens; Pax and "Zebra". (Zebra is just our foster kitty, my 6 year old brother in law named him) They're so much fun and they make me laugh first thing in the morning! Anything that will bring me laughter is precious.

[Resident Bipolar]

When I'm depressed,
And there's nobody there,
And I'm crying,
A cuddle with my doggy never fails to cheer me up.

He's there when nobody else is XD
RB ♥

[faerie_moon_x]

I have a dog. She's a yorkie mix and I hate her.... We've had her for three years and we can't house train her so if we don't keep constant watch on her, keep her outside, or keep her kenneled, she poops and pees everywhere. >.< She's always jumping up and down and she drives me insane. I've never hated a dog before. The only good thing about her is if we forget to close the gate she doesn't run away....

We had a cat, too. He was really nice and he got out and won't come back inside. Now it has been under 10 degrees for a few days and I'm worried....

[sugahorse1]

I have my horse and love him to pieces.
He is awesome in that I can let go of any emotions while I'm around him. When I "can't" cry, I can go visit him, and it's an instant relief.
I also just get into a world of my own when I'm with him, which is a great distraction.

We unfortunately live in an apartment, so my dog stays with my parents, but I cannot explain how beneficial it was for me to have my dog with me, when she still was.

It's not debatable - animals really do help to heal

[aroniafly]

Oh yes, my 3 cats are devoted warm, vibrating and purring soft organisms...
I feel fine with them around me, just looking at them thriving makes me feel better

I have a dog who I love to bits, My husband says I treat him better than him at times lol, Seriously my dog knows when I am feeling low he comes and sits on my lap and cuddles me He begs for his walk every morning and he is a reason that I get of bed everyday

[ariatboot]

I live in an apartment complex that doesn't allow pets but because of the fair housing act my therapist filled out a form that stated how a pet could help me manage my symptoms of BP and my landlords had to allow me to have a pet. I cant even imagine my life without Spud.

He is a boxer/lab mix.We got him from the shelter about 18 months ago when he was just a little puppy. They found him wondering the streets and he was so malnourished and tiny they thought he was a going to be a small terrier mix and was only going to grow to be about 20 lbs. Now he is huse and over 60 lbs!! He has the cutest personality ever and it cheers me up even on my worst days.

I have always been around animals my entire life. I was raised on a farm. Although they haven't always been "inside" pets I have had horses, sheep, goats and best of all a dairy cow named Nessie. She was my pride and joy!! Whenever I was having a bad day I would take her out for a walk (She was part of my 4-H/FFA project, which entailed raising an animal and showing it at the county fair) Now I live in the city but Im still close enough to go visit every now and then.

Pets really do help!

[nacht]

I have two cats. One is my baby, Elly, a rescued feral kitten from the first apartment I ever lived in. She is a big fat sassy kitty now. She's seen me through a lot - when I'm not feeling well, physically or otherwise, she always comes and curls up with me. She knows how to open doors and her favorite snack food is olives.

The other is my boyfriend's cat, Toku, a Japanese bobtail. He's a complete sweetheart, and very smart (even if we do fight over my pillow at night). We used to have three cats - the third was Toyo. He came from the same litter as Toku, but he passed about this time two years ago from renal failure.

We've thought about getting a dog, but Elly is very territorial so that may have to wait a few years until she's too old to care...

I have two dogs (Riley & Abby) and a cat (Bella)

When I get really upset I feel bad because the dogs react and you can tell that they are uncomfortable and upset as well. I try to go in my room and not let them know.