My husband loves our labs very much and also does like cats. I wouldn't mind another pet but wonder if this would work out with the dementia setting here. You would think we should simplify but I am undecided what to do. One breath he says yes, a kitty would be nice and also follows up with we have 2 dogs we love. I am starting to think he has a sounder mind than I do. I could use some advice from those of us who live in a similar situation. Thanks.
And about canaries...............OH MY PETS!!! I have 2 male canaries, they sing beautifully, / Mom takes care of them, she claims they are "hers".
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Any pet(s) can be theraputic, in my opinion, people that have this kind of disease, they can become unpredicatable with animals. I (personally) never thought he'd strike an animal, as he used to have a dog & a cat of his own. I was proven incorrect. Now my dog, is leary of him & doesn't want to go by him. Best to be safe, for not only the sake of the person, but for the animal(s) themselves.
Is your avatar a picture of your llamas? Do you own llamas?
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So anyway, then we had a very lonely one year old Cho Lab. We got a yellow Lab pup from the same breeder a year later. The two Labs were great, but very different personalities. As many years went by, the Cho Lab didn't want to play with the yellow anymore, I had extra time, we got a black Lab pup from a better breeder we found. Super sweet, healthy line. Her mother was a cho, and she decided she liked our old cho Lab with every ounce of her heart, and not so much the yellow she was supposed to be playmates with. :-) I figured my grumpy old cho would put puppy in place, and out of boredom puppy would play with yellow. Ha-wrong. Old grumpy cho loved dingy pup as much as pup loved her. They were inseparable little buddies, always asleep in a pile, poor yellow left bored to tears. :-) Go figure. They did become a pack in a sense, but all 3 were super kind hearted and obedient, so it was really kind of neat to watch their little energy, the things they would come up with on their own. They were quite the entertaining little force. :-) Two years ago the Cho died of kidney failure at 14-1/2. "Her" little black Lab was just heart broken. Waited 9 months for her to perk back up, team with yellow, but it never did happen. Got a mixed pup out of a shelter, she plays with her a lot, likes her OK, yellow about 11 at the time tolerates her, but mostly watches the 2 of them play. It is working out OK, but it just isn't the same chemistry of the old kind hearted, highly intelligent fun little Lab Pack. A lot of days it is a lot of work, mixed pup is pretty strong headed, barks a lot, misbehaves, even though she just turned 2. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't have got the mixed pup. So I have one example of it was really great to have 3, and one example of it's OK, but a lot of work, and as others have said, Vet bills can get up there, depending on. Only "advise" I'd have would be another Labrador from a reputable breeder that produces pups with very sound temperament and health. Hope that helps!
Interesting, I am two years behind on seeing my cardiologist but the cat is up-to-date :P
My mother's cat put me in hospital, too, so your husband has my sympathy. I can't tell you how hilarious people seem to find it, for some reason, that you've been hospitalised by a little puddy-cat. Yeah, well, it's because a cat is a ten pound killing machine with craft knives at each corner and fangs in the middle, that's why. And yet we love them, sigh... (I hope your husband still does, too!).
LL: I'm sorry for your nightmare!
I'm also guilty of wanting to give Emma Bovary a good slap. That girl had too much time on her hands if you ask me.