BS: How My Pet Earns A Living

Subject: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: GUEST,Nick
Date: 05 May 07 - 10:56 PM

My dog Max, a Chow/Lab X gets paid with dog food because he is instrumental in warning us that there are Squirrels on the other side of the windows of our house. He does this with his oh so subtle BARKBARKBARKBARK BARKBARK BARKBARK BARK BARK BARKKKKKBARK BARK when the rodents show themselves.
Now Matilda, our Long Haired Doxie just gets paid for being so darn cute and the way she shakes her body.

How do your pets earn their keep?

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: katlaughing
Date: 05 May 07 - 11:24 PM

Our Merls serves as Food Taster Extraordinaire!

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Zany Mouse
Date: 06 May 07 - 09:29 AM

We have a Max too - a Yorkshire Terrorist. He earns his keep by keeping Mick fit with twice daily walks, being an enthusiastic meeter/greeter, and just being generally cute.

Oh, and he keeps us warm in bed too.

Rhiannon

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 May 07 - 09:43 AM

I rent my pet cockroach to exterminators so that people will hire the exterminators. Poopsie brings in enough money to earn his keep.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Metchosin
Date: 06 May 07 - 09:46 AM

Our Maddy, a westie, earns her keep as a TV censor. When something violent comes on, she barks incessantly and jumps up and down at the screen and if the programme gets too over the top, she changes the channel or turns the set off. She knowns what's unacceptable.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Metchosin
Date: 06 May 07 - 09:52 AM

Our Duff, on the other hand, pretty much gets along just by being an ass checker and spiritual advisor.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Sorcha
Date: 06 May 07 - 10:20 AM

LOLOL! All of the above! And Miss Molly is the Head Bitch Charge Nurse right now. HER daddy gets nothing without her approval, and by damn, NOBODY else is allowed on his lap.

She has to check out everyone who comes in the house, oxygen people, friends, etc to make sure she approves of them and they aren't going to hurt her daddy anymore.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: John Hardly
Date: 06 May 07 - 10:24 AM

agility...

more agility...

obedience...

and sledding.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 May 07 - 11:42 AM

Faulkner:
Greeting parishioners at outdoor summer services, company watching hockey (treats for hometeam goals), total protection when Greg's away; visitor discernment and assessment, Leadfingers' pub dog, Gathering pooch. He's very good at making himself belong completely to whoever is here, then not missing them when they go and becoming ours again.

Ruby:
She's Faulkner's dog, actually, and Mmario's.

Atticus:
Keeping the couch warm for CET, grooming Isis who is too big to reach her hind parts, pillow for Isis, napping mate for me.

Isis:
Eye candy for us. She gives Atticus purpose and companionship. I think she's also the shrew-killer of the house. She'll probably graduate to basement mice when she's dropped a few more pounds and can get around a bit better. She came to us a 5-pound cat hiding in 17 pounds of fat, with a mandate to reduce her. She reduces in stints, broken by maintenance periods, so her skin can shrink as much as it can, as she goes; so I think she's also my own personal learning laboroatory.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Donuel
Date: 06 May 07 - 11:54 AM

good tip for the gel palmetto.

There are many prostrate drugs for urination out there like Flomax.

I have a few of my own name inventions, Sleepeez and my all time favorite:
Niagrin.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Donuel
Date: 06 May 07 - 11:56 AM

oops, should have gone to the absent minded aging thread.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Alice
Date: 06 May 07 - 12:23 PM

Our Samoyed Leo earns his Kibbles N Bits, warm place to live, toys and doggy beds and grooming by being a sweet hearted old dog who loves to be our companion. He also personally checks out each visitor who comes to the house.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 May 07 - 12:48 PM

My two are watch dogs. That's why they're here, and that's why they're outside. What they watch is up to their discretion, my only requirement is that they watch the house for the unwanted humans who might approach. They do a good job. We have fast squirrels and possums now because the slow or dim ones have been dispatched.

Dog Yin and Yang

I get a lot of exercise because I take them for a long walk (30-45 minutes) almost every day. Over the winter Poppy got kind of overweight, so she's on a diet now. I was giving the dogs the same amount of food because they weighed the same, but their utilization is different, and now the blue heeler is slimming down while the pit maintains her weight. I suspect it will be easier to keep the dog on a diet than it is to keep myself on a diet. :)

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: skipy
Date: 06 May 07 - 12:59 PM

EARN! EARN, I hear you say!
WE ARE CATS!
Skipy, typing for them.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 06 May 07 - 04:57 PM

Inky, the cat who lives under my house earns his keep by being a champion mouser and rat catcher. Unfortunately, he nearly lost his left ear recently when he chose to drag some little baby pinkie rats out oif their nest and break their necks. the mommie came after him and bit his ear right through five or siz times. He came home with the Dead mother rat in his mouth and his ear hanging by a thread. $500 and 6 weeks later, you'd hardly know it ever happened except for a spot on his paw that they shaved for the IV. it's never grown back properly. We figured out the narrative by following the drops of blood from his ear to the nest with the dead pinkies.

Poor ole Inkers...

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: terrier
Date: 06 May 07 - 06:21 PM

Our little ladies provide the early morning entertainment. Choral singing at 0600hrs every morning. Meggie terrier always starts 'em off. I'm thinking of producing an MP3 for download!

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: GUEST,Greycap
Date: 06 May 07 - 07:13 PM

Oliver, the 12 year old black cat (who actually lives over the road from us)but spends quite a lot of time visiting with us, earns his cat treats & cat food, by being an affable pal, a pleasant companion, a vermin control assistant, and generally being a lovely guy.
We are retired, his folks work, so in the working day he arrives, sleeps on the couch, that sorta thing.
We love him. I like most cats 'n' dogs.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 07 May 07 - 12:51 PM

Mine could have earned a bit more yesterday afternoon had they the inclination. The tree trimmers from the power company are like termites through our village--every block has a crew with a truck and a chipper, ropes and saws. I was on my dog walk yesterday and as I headed up the driveway I chose not to drop the leashes and let the dogs saunter into the back on their own, because I saw a guy in a tree above my garage.

We walked around back and they looked startled to see the dogs turn up, and perhaps were glad that none of them had lowered into my yard (they started work next door, though were dropping my tree in my yard--like squirrels they climbed one tree then worked across to the nearby trees). My dogs were with me and since I wasn't alarmed they weren't. They barely paid attention, but I put them in the house for a couple of hours. I actually don't have anything against these guys (except that they leave a swath of ugly destruction that looks like a Salvador Dali nightmare with the distorted trees trimmed to code but not for aesthetics), but I didn't want them lingering and getting a good look at my beautiful and amiable pit bull. No point in advertising that a good dog is living in this particular back yard. Word gets around.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Scoville
Date: 07 May 07 - 01:00 PM

Court jester. She serves absolutely no useful purpose apart from being entertaining and looking cute. She's not even a good watchdog. We don't care. She's an awfully good dog and life would be considerably less fun without her.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Becca72
Date: 07 May 07 - 06:42 PM

My 3 cats make up the Insect Removal Department at my house. I HATE bugs of any sort and they make quick work of anything that comes creeping in.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: TRUBRIT
Date: 07 May 07 - 10:39 PM

Our bull mastiff, Asha, is our team mascot.....my real estate team. She appears on our website and earns $50 for my daughter (and her technical owner) whenever anyone says they called my team because of seeing Asha on the website....happens all the time. She is too cute for words .... see www.trubritrealty.com ..........

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 May 07 - 09:08 AM

Atticus must be asking for a raise, or a new brand of catfood: three big fat mice presented, in three days. Or maybe he's trying to help Isis with her weight-loss program. She jumps off the couch and comes running to see what he's mmrrow-ing about and wants to play tug of war to take ownership.

Great technique-- exercise AND Atkins all-protein diet for Isis!


Also forgot to mention, Faulkner's a dab hand at keeping us safe from the marauding sort of cows we have in this area. He sees 'em out the back picture window, up in the hilly pasture above the house. If they turn and look this direction, he lets us know RIGHT AWAY that a big bad cow is coming to get us!

And when they blow themselves up to make themselves bigger and more threatening-- in other words when they come down this direction for a drink at the creek and therefore look bigger as they get closer-- they better watch out, cuz he's on the case!

Note to burglars-- don't ever come here in a cow suit. He's waiting for you!

:~)

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Skivee
Date: 09 May 07 - 01:46 PM

Damn... what am I going to do with this cow suit and big sack now?

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 May 07 - 01:50 PM

I dunno, but Faulkner failed to learn the word COWS, so we'll try calling them "skivees" next time he starts up and see if he knows that word. :~)

You can always try carrying an amp. :~ |) He has good associations with those.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: MMario
Date: 09 May 07 - 02:04 PM

awww- Faulkner knows the word "cows" - he just thinks that it means "menacing four legged critters that I need to warn my family about"

We have two ex-barn cats who are excellent mousers and who will even stalk deer (unsuccessfully) though they consider themselves Off-duty if indoors. The third indoor cat has been known to mouse - but he's not very good at it. He is death on moths though...

two oudoor cats who are both pretty self-sufficient and very freindly - and one of the ex-barn cats has taken it upon himself to notify us if the outdoor cats are looking inside. For some reason he dislikes that.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Blowzabella
Date: 09 May 07 - 06:15 PM

My border collie, Beau, acts as an alarm clock - no chance of sleeping in with him around. He even turns on the bedside light with his nose - pity he hasn't learned to make me a cup of coffe, but I suppose there is time yet. He is also responsible for ensuring that no tractors linger in our village - as soon as he hears one coming, he runs round the garden, barking, to scare it away. It is a testament to his success that no tractors have ever lingered in our village - they all go away once Beau has barked at them. He is very proud of his 100% success rate.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 May 07 - 06:35 PM

Mmario,

No, I mean that he is completely unresponsive to the word, even at the suggestion to "get 'em cows" or "wanna play cows?", "izzat cows?" etc.

It just doesn't sound, to him, like a dogly word. You'll see-- by the time your next visit, he'll be joking around about skivees.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: John Hardly
Date: 11 May 07 - 07:25 AM

Labrador Retriever = A Gnaw Stick

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: RangerSteve
Date: 11 May 07 - 09:58 PM

My cat advised us that there were mice in the house, usually by bringing them to us and dropping them at our feet, but never killing them. That way, we knew when it was time to put traps out. She also gave us the enjoyment of petting her, but only select parts of her body, and kindly bit us if we touched the wrong place (about 90 percent of her body was the wrong place).

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Dave'sWife
Date: 11 May 07 - 10:11 PM

My dearly departed Puppers used to feel about the UPS man the same way Faulkner felt about cows. He didn't like that the UPS man often came after dark in the winter. Since I get a lot of packages, he'd see the UPS truck up the street and then go stand guard at the gate and bark menacingly at the UPS dude. Eventually they made friends. Food was involved.

Let's hope Faulkner doesn't figure out that cows ARE food. If he does, those killer cows could murder WYSIWYG and we'd never be the wiser.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 May 07 - 11:19 PM

LOL, DW!

JH, no worries. Convert 'im.


I think Atticus has now cleaned out the litterful of mice, because it's been about 39 hours since the last victim. Till then he was getting one per day, each and every day, all week.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Kajikit
Date: 14 May 07 - 11:27 PM

We have three cats - Silver is the evening alarm clock... she never fails to let me know when it's Dinner Time! Tessica is our doorbell/burglar alarm - when anybody walks past the apartment she runs to the front window and if she thinks they might be coming to see us (or if they're standing too close and ignoring her) she starts meowing plaintively to try and get their attention... And Scouty is my teddbear/armrest - she loves to come and snuggle up to me when I'm on the bed watching TV or taking a nap. :)

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Linda Goodman Zebooker
Date: 15 May 07 - 02:24 AM

Our two regular sized coryodorus catfish earned their keep by being cute and playful - chasing each other and tumbling around the tank like puppies. Now that they are seven years old they are pretty elderly for that kind of fish, and they've kind of retired to the bottom of the tank and gotten quieter, but the tiny young pygmy cory cats who hatched in our tank a few months ago still dart around and hover over the plants like hummingbirds. It's amusing and calming to watch.

Our old Johann, the weatherloach that's no longer with us, used to predict the weather, whipping his 1/2 inch wide, 6 inch long body all around the tank when rainy weather was in the offing.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Neighmond
Date: 15 May 07 - 09:26 AM

The long-snouted coon-hound is the floor wax tester, carpet stretcher, burgulary stopper, tree waterer, dandelion eater.

He's cute, too!

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 07 - 12:15 PM

I posted this on another forum over the last couple of days.

Sad story in my neighborhood on Sunday. I was at the post office and saw a paper advertising that two pit bulls were lost. So when I drove by a neighbor's house a few minutes later and she was sticking up a sign that said "found pit bull" I stopped to tell her about the handbill. Her daughter went to get the information and I went over to look at the dog.

She might have been a mix, but she was beautiful and gentle and mortally wounded. Apparently she had been hit in the street on Saturday afternoon, then dragged herself across several yards, through Carol's garden, and up a couple of steps onto her front porch. Carol worried about her overnight and Sunday was preparing to take her to the emergency vet because no one had come forward looking for her. I took a photo so she could place an online "found" ad in the local newspaper. It wasn't needed, sadly. The vet said her injuries were too severe for her to survive, primarily she had a severe spinal cord injury, so Carol allowed them to euthanize her. She was a mass of cuts and abrasions underneath from all of the dragging her body, but her temperament was a sweet as could be. She had been well cared for.

It has been my experience that if they can save the animal, veterinarians will move heaven and earth to do so, and Carol was already in love with this dog after having her for only one day. In the case of if she couldn't find the owners, we talked about how to introduce this one to her other dog.

I walked my dogs over to Carol's house Monday evening so she could see a success story. They sniffed the porch excitedly and happily, and I'm sure they could tell the scents were from the same dog they smelled on my clothes yesterday. (I carried this dog to her car--she was about 70 lbs and too heavy for the others). Carol described the thoroughness of the vets in trying to determine if this dog had any feeling in her legs, but her spinal cord was badly damaged. She sat on the floor and stayed with the dog until the end, head in lap and gentle attention until she was gone. Carol fell hard for this dog, and wanted to call her "Lady" (if she survived, and if she couldn't find her owners.) My pit bull had also been hit by a car, and her injuries probably occurred within a week or so of when she turned up in my yard. She probably couldn't walk at first either, according to the vet. The incredible stamina and resistance to pain that these dogs exhibit is so remarkable, and they can still greet people with such equanimity. It is heartbreaking that people would choose to capitalize on these fine characteristics in such a vile way as to train them to fight.

I am pretty confident that my neighbor will be visiting the humane society soon and adopting a dog as a companion for the one she has now. She'll choose carefully and let them meet gradually. This will be a good home for an animal that needs one.

As I walked home with my dogs I found myself looking back regularly. I could hear toenails on the road behind us, but I couldn't see anyone there.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 07 - 01:27 PM

Pit bulls (American Staffordshire Terriers are best if one wants pureblood) are loyal and sweet family members, and yes they sure do have big hearts. I'm sorry for Carol's loss, but sorrier still for the owner who will have to live with the regrets.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 May 07 - 11:07 PM

We don't have any way of figuring out who she actually belonged to now, and dogs can travel so far so quickly. (And I'm thinking of Kat's lost dog last year and all that search entailed.) She had a line on her neck from a missing collar. She didn't have a chip. I don't think the newspaper will run a photo of a deceased lost dog in the free classifieds. It would be cruel to run it as if the dog was just lost, only to announce to the caller that she was actually euthanized.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: wysiwyg
Date: 15 May 07 - 11:29 PM

No, but the SPCA's will spread the word. And Carol could run a memorial photo display ad making it clear what happened, tactfully.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 May 07 - 01:15 AM

They don't run those kinds of ads here. But she has the Humane Society email address and hopefully will email a photo of the dog to them, in case someone comes forward. I imagine that even if the owners make contact, they may not follow through once this answer is given. The vet bills were going to be at least $300 for the visit on Sunday, and the former owner may decide to stay out of the picture to avoid being asked to pay the bill.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 16 May 07 - 04:44 AM

Our school cat Mumsie, who sadly died this January aged 18 years, earned her living by working with Autistic children. She helped so many remain in a mainstream achool when all else seemed lost.

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: LilyFestre
Date: 16 May 07 - 06:58 AM

Hi Guest Cats,

    Could you tell us more about how your Mumsie worked with Autistic children? That sounds like a cat who really did do something to earn a living!! NEAT!

Michelle

Subject: RE: BS: How My Pet Earns A Living
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 16 May 07 - 09:32 AM

When we found Mumsie she was a stray with 2 newborn kittens who had snuggled down into the school compost heap to give birth. My group of students with learning difficulties 'adopoted' her and made sure she was safe while they tried everything possible to find out who she belonged to. When we confirmed she was a feral cat, but very friendly, the Head was asked if she could stay. Being a big softie at heart he agreed and she became 'The School Cat'. She moved her kittens to underneath the RE huts and they were called Moses and Joshua. She was called Mumsie because she was! The following September we had a severe Aspergers student arrive at the school. It was not expected that he would stay very long due to severity of his ASD. He took to Mumsie like a shot and asked if he could take care of her. He fed them every day, helped collect pennies and two pences to buy food, went shopping to buy it with his TA, and took them to the vet for check ups and any problems they had. All the time he had to talk to people [something he could not do when he came]and came to be able to look them in the eye! He also had problems with being able to stay in class and would get hyperactive. After a while he would turn to his TA and ask to go to talk to Mumsie. They would leave the room and go and find her. He would then sit with her and talk through his problems with her until he was ready to go back into class. Not only did he stay in school right up until the end of Year 11 and get 8 GCSE's, he went to Duchy College to do small animal work and was their student of the year! Mumsie was then picked up by another ASD student, not quite so severe, but who looked after her until he left. In 1999 Mumsie was awarded 'National Cat of the Year' in the Arthurs Awards for Services to Students with Learning Difficulties. The ASD student who looked after her accompanied her to London , all the way from Cornwall, to receive the award. She won £1200 and a years supply of cat food. She lived in luxury for the rest of her life, wandering around the school campus and being loved by her 1500 'owners'. This year she disappeared one weekend and didn't come back. She was about 18 years old and we think she just curled up and died but we never found her. Moses, her kitten died a few years ago from eating poison which had been put down somewhere nearby but Joshua, although she is blind and has been since being a tiny kitten, still lives here and wanders around being looked after by 1500 students and staff. She is still living off Mumsies winnings! Mumsie was well loved and really earned her keep.