MadJam250 wrote:

Always been a dog lover and owner, as a child, but circumstances, currently, prevent dog ownership However, this fella came along and he's the next best thing Not really the type to put on a lead and go for walk, but he's almost mastered 'fetch' and 'roll over'. 3 year old rehome called Storm. Affectionate, inquizative, loving, funny and a real de-stresser .. not being a cat lover before, I was amazed at how affectionate he is. Feel very lucky to have homed him, and kids love him too.

I have a dog now, but cat's are great. Had one for 17 years until she passed from a stroke, but she's been gone for a good 10 years now. A half Siamese, half "normal" cat, black as coal litter runt with ears that stuck up like Star War's Yoda's (and which was the name I gave her) she'd sidle up, rub your leg and let out a Siamese wrrrrhhhaaaaeeee. I'd get another cat in a heartbeat. Which, coincidentally, is precisely the period it would take my cockapoo to go stark raving ape over an intruder in the house, and a cat at that.

My dog Aja watches TV and attacks the set whenever an animal appears. My TV credenza has scratches down one door from her claws. She will go tearing into the family room from my den when she hears the music for a commercial that she knows contains one of these objectionable creatures. When I watch TV she lies beside my chair or on my ottoman, facing the TV all night (head in paws) watching, and muttering low growls under her breath when she sees something on the screen that she doesn't like, such as a shadow or a kid on a bicycle and so on. Little grrs every fifteen seconds or so. Drives me crazy. And I know I will miss them when its her time.

Lovely cats and dogs (and bird!). I'm unfortunately quite badly allergic so I can't keep these furry beasts - though a Saluki is a breed I've always admired. But gladly I love other furry creatures too - spiders! Or actually arachnids in general. Now I'm kind of nervous posting about my pets because I usually just hear comments like "KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!!" Please don't do that.

Arachnophobia is unfortunately real for some people so I'm not going to post pictures but will link to them instead. We'll see how badly this goes with a couple of my favourites. I might post more if people are tolerant or curious.

There is a rather curious, venomless family of arachnids called Amblypygis. Their front pair of legs have evolved to carry out the function of antennae/feelers. They are shy, nocturnal cave-dwellers, long lived (7-10+ years) and very cool. Here's my Damon diadema. Its native habitat is in the caves of eastern Africa, mainly Tanzania.

Then to the most feared (though generally speaking, totally harmless) arachnids of all: tarantulas! I think one of the most beautiful creatures is the Brachypelma klaasi just after it has moulted and the colours are most vivid: it is an orangepink fuzzball! This is a very slow growing species from the deserts of Mexico and this is just 3cm across though it is already 3yo. It will eventually have a legspan of c.20cm. People always ask how venomous these are. Not very. There is no such thing as a deadly tarantula and most of these American species are not much worse than a bee sting - and are much less reluctant to use venom! Most American species are remarkably docile, gentle giants.

One of my greatest areas of interest is the dwarf tarantulas of the Andes. Partly because they are so pretty and docile and long lived (females can live 30+ years) but also because I'm always drawn to problematic things. The taxonomy of spiders generally is a mess but with these dwarfs it seems like the only way to figure out their relationships is through genetics and this means that current scientific names will probably change a great deal if anyone will ever test them. Which is not likely because it's only a couple freaks like me who are interested in such things!

But that was a long preamble to this creature. She was my first tarantula that I bought over ten years ago. She was already an adult by then. This is a slow growing species and takes about ten years to reach adulthood so this old lady is somewhere between 20 and 25 years old. What species is she? Well. Originally classified as a green form of Euathlus she eventually developed blue legs instead of green. But both the blue and green forms were suggested to be just one species which was named Euathlus pulcherrimaklaasi which has since been named Maraca pulcherrimaklaasi and finally Bumba pulcherrimaklaasi. So Bumba it is. Except that there is some confusion as to whether the Bumba in the pet trade is actually the real one and instead it might be classified in the Homoeomma or Phrixotrichus genera. I did warn you that this was a horrible taxonomic mess! But this blue legged old lady does hold a special place for me for sparking my interest in these amazing creatures: https://farm1.staticflickr.com/567/2039 ... cfe4_b.jpg

Have you seriously looked at any of the breeds cross-bred with poodles? I was terribly allergic to any animal dander when I was a kid, but a poodle was no problem whatsoever. Loved that little rascal. Now I am still allergic if I touch the animal then my eyes, but I have a cockapoo who I have absolutely no reaction to. No sneezing, no sore eyes, no breathing tightness, nothing. Seriously -- try getting acquainted with any of the -poo or -doodle cross-breeds. Goldendoodles look amazing!

rgb wrote:Have you seriously looked at any of the breeds cross-bred with poodles? I was terribly allergic to any animal dander when I was a kid, but a poodle was no problem whatsoever.

Not to my knowledge, but I have spent time with other "hypoallergenic" breeds of cats and dogs and there is no way I could actually live with them. Visiting them is ok, even for a whole evening, but e.g. sleeping over in a home with even a hypoallergenic has caused bad enough effects that I have given up owning one. Dander isn't the only thing to cause allergies: I understood that spit when dried can have quite severe allergic effects. I wonder if this is why I get worse effects and quicker from cats than dogs since cats constantly lick themselves?

josquin wrote:

rgb wrote:Have you seriously looked at any of the breeds cross-bred with poodles? I was terribly allergic to any animal dander when I was a kid, but a poodle was no problem whatsoever.

Not to my knowledge, but I have spent time with other "hypoallergenic" breeds of cats and dogs and there is no way I could actually live with them. Visiting them is ok, even for a whole evening, but e.g. sleeping over in a home with even a hypoallergenic has caused bad enough effects that I have given up owning one. Dander isn't the only thing to cause allergies: I understood that spit when dried can have quite severe allergic effects. I wonder if this is why I get worse effects and quicker from cats than dogs since cats constantly lick themselves?

That is unfortunate. My dog is a real licker - not of herself but of me - and I am lucky to have no adverse affections, even when she blindsides me with a lick on my face. Mine were terrible when I was young and in my teens/early 20s, and disappeared when I hit my 40s.

My daughter's baby, and most of the time my slumming about buddy.

Luther the grumpy, fun old Shih-tzu...

I got a couple cute, colourful beetle pets yesterday.




Pachnoda marginata peregrina




Eudicella gralli(?)

Mooch got a treat after his bath while he's drying off.

Newest pack photo with Kylie proudly showing off her new Therapy Dog International scarf.

Great photo Kip

Well, not my pet, but want it to be. Probably going to start feeding him Kobe beef when I go over to urge him to leave with me.

6 yo niece named him Sgt. FloppyFace.

gatehealing wrote:
6 yo niece named him Sgt. FloppyFace.

Amazing name!

Love the name. And the face. Beautiful hound. You're going to need to invest in a bunch of kitchen / golf sized towels (says the guy with a big hound whose jowls don't quite close).

Took Aja to the vet for her post-operation checkup (all good!), and there was a St Bernard w/cancer in for his pre-op check. Gorgeous dog and huge, and when he got up the floor around where his head had been was absolutely soaked. I'm talking puddle soaked. When my ex had Swissies we'd walk them in Riverdale park in Toronto, and in a home around there lived a couple with their Newfie. (The swissie is the greater swiss mountain dog, the short-haired cousin of the Bernese MD) Now, my (our, the) swissies were no slouches in the size dept, with the thinner wiry Freya at 95 lbs and Gretta at 125, both around 25" at the shoulders. But the Newfoundlander was massive and the two dogs looked like Chihuahuas next to it. Honestly, the Newf was humungous - I probably couldn't stride him without going on tip-toes. Small kids from the area would ride him like a pony. Couple told us they couldn't think of owning any other dog even with they having a fairly narrow duplex house but the wet mouth was a very acquired taste -- they said the dog would shake its head and slobber would go flying 10 feet in either direction up the walls. Not my thing but God, what a gorgeous animal.

And last month I learned a newcomer to the adjacent court has a Newfie. My dog, who feels the need to defend whenever another dog appears on TV (and can't understand where they've gone when I lift her to show over the back of the screen where there is no dog, but there's one on the front), will have a stroke when she meets the Newf. Biggest dog she's seen in her life was the St Bernard from a good distance, and the neighbour's aging Golden.

(And to keep on-topic, Aja the Cockapoo)

Glad to hear that Aja is all good buddy.