The pets of AAC...

Thread Starter

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,814

The operative word is *some* :

For years, therapy dogs have ruled the world of animal-assisted services (AAS), offering stress relief to college students, hospital patients, and those in need of emotional support. But new research suggests that some cats might also have what it takes to join the ranks of therapy animals -- bringing their purrs, gentle headbutts, and calm demeanor to the field.
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,516
There was a recent news article about someone at the airport that when they x-rayed the bag a cat was found. The person had no idea their cat had climbed into the bag while packing.
 

MrAl

Joined Jun 17, 2014
13,751
There was a recent news article about someone at the airport that when they x-rayed the bag a cat was found. The person had no idea their cat had climbed into the bag while packing.
Funny they did not feel anything moving in one of the 'bags'. Cats do not like to sit still sometimes.
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,516
Yup, my father-in-law tried putting their feral cat in a carrier to take to the vet and end up in the emergency room. The cat not only resisted going into the carrier but turned and attacked him. He was so scratched, cut up, and bleeding they had to take him to the hospital for stitches and bandaging. But some cats are very laid back and you can do almost anything to them and they don't seem to care. Anytime we opened a package one of our cats would immediately climb into it and make themselves at home. Boxes and I guess suitcases make great cat traps. o_O
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
6,390
Yup, my father-in-law tried putting their feral cat in a carrier to take to the vet and end up in the emergency room. The cat not only resisted going into the carrier but turned and attacked him. He was so scratched, cut up, and bleeding they had to take him to the hospital for stitches and bandaging. But some cats are very laid back and you can do almost anything to them and they don't seem to care. Anytime we opened a package one of our cats would immediately climb into it and make themselves at home. Boxes and I guess suitcases make great cat traps. o_O
$16.49 sound like a bargain in his case.
 

WBahn

Joined Mar 31, 2012
33,040
People tell us that our dog is spoiled. I have no idea where they get this silly notion from.

squeak.jpg
Her official name is "Athena Grace", but I call her "Squeak", because she was just a little pipsqueak (about six weeks old from the Humane Society) when we got her.

When my daughter (Stacy) was very young, her mom and here went and spent a few months with my wife's sister and, while they were there, her cousin (Grace, my wife's niece) got a cat and named it Stacy. So when we got Squeak, my daughter returned the favor (but really wanted to call her Athena).

When we got her, we already had another dog (Missy, a 60 lb, 10 year old black lab -- we had recently lost our other lab (Denver, a 120 lb yellow lab) and so the girls decided we needed another dog to keep Missy company).

When we introduced them to each other, Missy was not particularly amused. Squeak came up and touched her front paw with her own and Missy growled at her. Squeak backed off and tried again. Same result. At that point, Squeak seemed to grasp a very useful rule of the house -- don't touch the big dog. But by the next day she had discovered a much more useful rule -- the big dog is a wuss. At that point, Missy became a 60 lb self-propelled, self-heating mattress and chew toy. But while she could (and would) climb up on Missy and lay there and go to sleep, it was not entirely without risk. On three occasions, Missy had enough and ventilated Squeak's nose (small scars she still has), at which point Squeak reverted to the first rule for about two weeks, before she reasserted the second.

Even as poor Missy was nearing the end of her time with us (we lost her last year at the age of 16 1/2), Squeak would occasionally go out of her way to go sit on her head for old-time's sake.

IMG_20220415_150453780.jpg
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,516
Yup, our Black Lab is as spoiled as they come. The couch belongs to him and he has a pile of various toys usually spread all over the living room rug. His name is Jack but he has several other monikers that he has earned, Shredder in particular. He is a sneak thief who collects shoes and various articles of clothing from the laundry hampers. Not to mention stealing from the dining room table and kitchen counters when no one is watching. We can't hang a kitchen towel on the oven handle as it ends up shredded all over the living room rug if he doesn't get caught in the act. He has recently been guilty of stealing items from the pantry if the door is left open. So, we have to keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed to keep the thief out. It's not like he doesn't have enough chew toys already not to mention the daily leather chews and dog bones treats he gets to devour daily to satisfy his need to chew on things. At least he is out of the puppy chewing on the wooden furniture stage. Did I mention he is also dumb as a rock? He is undoubtably the stupidest dog we have ever owned but he is a loveable rascal and does his duty "guarding" his domain and barking at anything that invades it, even on the sidewalk or street. And an excellent 4-legged doorbell. After barking though he loves visitors and after a good barking at them he wants to play with them and starts having the zoomies racing about showing off for them. He can be a terror when he has the zoomies in the house bouncing from couch to couch as he races about the living room. He is also afraid of thunder or any loud noises which disqualifies him from gun dog duty that his fellow Labradors have fulfilled over the years. He can occasionally be enticed into fetching but not for very long before tiring of it and quitting so he is not living up to his retriever genealogy either. But he can be quite entertaining and loveable when he's not draped out across his couch sleeping or sleeping in our son's bed and is quite a loveable rascal...
 
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