[Tamara]

No not insane! The exchange students will eventually go home, won’t they? Then that will reduce the household by two so another dog won’t make much difference. There is a family down the road that has as many dogs as they have kids – and they have a lot of kids!

Congratulations on the new four legged “baby”. My kids would want to relocate to your house if they found out this news! But we have two dogs, two cats a multitude of chickens and fish so I think that is enough to deal with right now.

[Mama_Knowles]

I am wanting a puppy myself, lucky you! A cute fuzzy one. : )

[katybellabug]

Yes I want a puppy too. At the moment I am trying to get my husband to agree to two goldfish for the girls. He won’t say yes to those yet so I would stand no chance with a puppy!

Masha, so sorry to hear your sad news. My heart goes out to you all.

[Tamara]

What? Fish are easy to care for! It is the initial outlay and then you are set. The only thing is cleaning the tank that would need parental supervision. We used to have a celestial goldfish but it did a “nemo” and failed to escape via the filter. They are so fascinating to watch. We have had these fish for coming up three years which is the longest ever. You do need a filtration system in the tank but surely there would be kits you could get.

We have just had a load of mining trucks go up the road – a road that is not dual! I hope the bus isn’t on the main road yet. They are a bit bullish and want to push you off.

Ok back to puppies and so any particular breed? I love the cavoodle – cavalier cross miniature poodle but the non hair shedding variety. Big problem! They cost a bomb! And the best breeders are in Victoria! I love Dalmatians but they shed and I also love labradors – had one called Rolf as a child that didn’t bark and people thought he was part dingo because of it. And I adore the standard sized poodles when they don’t have the show haircuts! They seem to be less yappy than the smaller versions. The best work dogs are kelpies.

Any thoughts on your dream puppy variety?

[katybellabug]

I really want a Wheaten Terrier. They are meant to be great with kids and don’t malt. (and they remind me of the dog in 101 Dalmations – the one in the stable with the horse and cat).

Although I have to say Cockerpoo’s are pretty cute. Hubby has seen something called a Pomsky (a pomeranian crossed with a husky) but I am not convinced. I like big dogs.

[with love Heidi]

Border Collie! It helps this was the dog I grew up with. Very intelligent and refused to chase balls 🙂

[Tamara]

Hehe! Cockerpoo! That’s a different version of the two isn’t it? My parents have a cavoodle and a moodle (maltese cross miniature poodle). I like the cavoodle nature better – plus you are more likely to sleep at night!

Wheaten terriers are gorgeous aren’t they? We saw them being shown last year at the Royal show.

Border collies are fun and very clever!

[Mama_Knowles]

I had a cockerpoo growing up, I named her Fluffy. She was the best, except she was a very grouchy doggy in her old age. She lived till she was 15, after Jacob and Wyatt was born. *sniff* I still miss her.

[cybele727]

Well, we are getting a golden retriever. Our neighbor has 2 and walks them at the same time my son goes to the bus stop. They stop and chat EVERY morning. One time he missed the bus. My 8 y/o is like 45 or 50 inside.

He’s been begging for a pet. But I have a rule, no fish, no birds, no rodents, no reptiles. That leaves dogs and cats. Basically nothing that lives in a tank or cage that I have to clean, or that the cats might eat.

So I caved with the puppy.

My poor daughter is sad, of course, b/c she wants pet. She will have to wait until one of the cats kick it in a few years. Two of the cats are my mother’s while the one is mine.

Mine is funny. We had this amazing sassy fun calico, who ate a scarf and died. Yeah, you read that right, she ate a scarf- it was a 50s chiffon job.

So we were catless, since the 2 others are my mothers. I wanted one so badly as I am a cat person. My husband took Widget’s death very very hard. So did the dog; they were soul mates. When I told him I wanted a cat, my husband said, “I will only agree if” and he put this long list of requirements down.

Can’t be: white (had one- hated my husband, which he took very personally as he is an animal whisperer), black (have one), butterscotch (have one), russian blue (had one-bit our son every chance she got– got adopted out), or calico (just died).

Must be: good with children and dogs

And something else. But I forgot.

He figured I could not meet his list of requirements. Silly man. What was he thinking? He should have known better- he’s a lawyer and so am I! If anyone knows how to get around limitations, it is a lawyer.

I let my fingers do the walking on the keyboard. A week later, I said, I found a cat that meets your requirements.

We got a Ragdoll. It is a uniquely American breed of cat. It was an accident of breeding in the late 60s in California, and they are wonderful cats. They are stunningly beautiful show cats, but the real reason to have one is their personalities. Mellow, friendly, stupidly afraid of nothing, almost never claws or scratches, tolerates tail pulls from toddlers with great aplomb! When I am home, unless she is in a deep sleep somewhere, she is never more than 4 feet from me. They are really loose boned and get their name because when you hold them, they are practically limp in your arms. I can hold my cat upside down from her hips and she will just hang until I put her down. I give her belly rubs all the time.

[Nicole]

We have a Ragdoll, she is so sweet but our desexed male Siamese gives her a terrible time.

I love Jack Russells, we always have one to keep the snakes down.

And Kelpies, of course, we have four but they are work dogs.

[cybele727]

Ooh you have one too! I love my Ragdoll. Next time we get a cat, it will be another one. They are so sweet.

[Tamara]

We have a cat that’s black and white and I think she has a bit of siamese. She is the sweetest girl. She had a little of five thanks to a liaison with a wild boy and out of that we got Echo who is the complete opposite! He terrorises poor Noah by sitting on the train set set up on the mat and insisting on sharing the chair (like taking over the lap). He will not do tummy rubs and gets cranky if you touch anywhere but his ears. He is selfish and manipulative and has been told several times he is for outside only! Still he must adore us because we get the odd “gift” from time to time. Mia (Echo’s mum) is timid and shy and can’t stand dogs. But then who would when the chihuahua thinks you aren’t a cat and the work dog muscles in on your food? I don’t like them in the house but you know they will do their darnedest.

Our work dog is a hunterway cross and was treated not like a work dog – the chihuahua manages better than she does. But then she isn’t really ours. We used to have a red cloud kelpie who used to bark and let off really bad smells in the ute. If you have ever seen the movie Red dog, he was just like that. We don’t have more than one work dog at a time now because we had issues with them wandering onto the neighbours. Our best dog was Sally who took down a kangaroo and won! But lost to the moving truck. I think she was a kelpie. Lulu, our current work dog is scared of thunderstorms and whenever I am in the sheep yards, she thinks its a good time to knock off!

[Sarvi]

I would love to have a dog but with my husband’s allergies, it’s out of the question. I like to imagine myself tossing a frisbee for an active dog but the truth is something fat and lazy that liked to sit by the fire would suit our family best.

[Tamara]

We just had a phone call from fil. Its not the pancreas after all! He has a tumour on his liver. And here we were telling people it was his pancreas! They are going to operate of course and then they will know if it is cancerous or not. He never bothered telling his eldest grandson so we told him this morning and then gave him an update.

Now I am off to research tumours on the liver.

[Mama_Knowles]

I pray for more great news Tamara!

Years ago we was told my dad had cancer and had only months to live. When they did the operation the doctors removed 85 pound tumor (yes 85 pound!) and it wasn’t cancer at all. The doctors didn’t know how it wasn’t but we sure was glad.