Aren't we lucky?

[Animalman2046]

I just want to say how lucky we all are to have the joy of owning a bird or birds and animals in general. I have always had animals in my life from a child up and I just am so grateful for all of them and the love that they give me and us. Can't imagine life without animals. How blessed are you because of your animals (birds, cats, dogs, reptiles or other)???? Share you stories of joy and how animals have changed your life.

[Honesty]

Having Codie in my life IMO, is like having another child in the home :) I could not ever imagine my life without him now :)

[kendrafitz]

I also have always had animals in my life. Not birds, with the exception of an antisocial budgie when I was a child. ;)

For me, sharing my life with animals means unconditional love. Learning how to read animals body language is an awesome thing for kids to learn, IMO. It creates such empathetic, in tuned little people. Reading non verbal cues carries over and is huge with human relationships.

Rosie, our GW, is the only non human in our house that likes me best. We have two dogs. The oldest is devoted to my husband. Our other dog is devoted to the first dog.

Rosie being devoted to me is on another playing field from any other animal I have known. She is often exhausting, all consuming and sometimes frustrating. But the love I feel emanating from her entire little being is indescribable. I am her Mommy and she is happiest with me. We could be playing, preening, showering or just chilling. It doesn't matter bc we are together and that is good enough for her. I am often awed by my girl, and I love her in a way I never anticipated. When people say there is nothing like the love of a parrot, they are right on the mark. They may be beautiful on the outside but the beauty radiating from their hearts outshines that any day. :)

[Turquoise]

Great thread Ron!! :)

I am very blessed to share my home with my critters!!:th_hug8: I have birds and dogs mostly and they are the ones that miss me the most if I'm not home. It is so special to walk in the door in the morning after a long night of work to hear Angel yelling, "Hello~Hello" while hanging by his beak and wiggling both legs straight out in a way only he can do since he has disabilities in his leg joints.:th_heart:

I grew up with all kinds of animals as pets in the home from the normal cats & dogs, to small birds such as budgies and cockatiels to sparrows, scissor tails and blue jays that fell out of their nest. Not to mention the prairie dogs, ground squirrels, cotton tails, jack rabbits, and raccoons that were hand fed as tiny babies for various reasons. My Mom would not allow reptiles such as snakes, tho I tried to sneak them in whenever I caught one as a child living in the country on my Grandparent's farm and chasing anything & everything I could find.

I have owned just about every domestic animal and bird there is at some point in my life from horses, pygmy goats, calves, domestic rabbits to pea fowl, turkeys, pheasants, quail, doves, pigeons, geese, ducks, and chickens. I have also owned rats, a mouse, chinchillas, gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, a sugar glider, tortoises, snakes, lizards, and tarantulas. There is not too much I have not owned in critter form except the very rare, expensive and hard to find ones.

I have to say animals are what have molded me into the person I am today. They were my only friends when I was a child and my older siblings were already grown & out of the house leaving me alone with my Mom. They keep me grounded and give me a reason to live, go to work and want to rush home to be with them.

There has not been a day in my life from my very first day to the present I have not had some critter to share my thoughts, fears, tears, and joys with!! Yes, I am very blessed indeed to be an animal person. And I will continue to share my life with animals until someone rips them from my dying hands! :th_biggrin: