Tell me about the best animal you’ve ever known

[WheelieBinPrincess]

Doesn’t matter if it’s a pet or a bird in the garden you made friends with or what.

I’m missing my rescue bunnies today, Joan Collins and Tommy Cooper.

Joan Collins was a beautiful black lop who belonged to a little girl who lived next door. She was called Rosie and kept in a hutch outside and only peeked in at once a day or so to feed. One day when the girl was trying to cuddle her she bit her, and she got hysterical, and the dad came out and said he’d let her loose for the foxes.

So I took her, and she became Joan Collins and a very pampered house rabbit, and then I took on a retired magic show rabbit I called Tommy Cooper, who worked all his life in children’s magic shows only be left at Pets at Home for adoption. They had a fab life together, and would curl up in a velvet cat bed at night. Both toilet trained too.

I’ve only ever had rescue pets, bearded dragons, hamsters, a rat, guinea pigs, budgie that have lived out the rest of their lives with me but not practical at the moment as don’t have the proper time for them and we don’t have space and we’ve had a baby, but definitely will have them again at some point.

So now I make friends with the squirrels and birds outside, and a fox that lives under the ivy at the end of the shared garden. I’m on maternity leave now but when I was at work I had a pigeon friend I’d share my lunch with.

Anyone got any lovely animal friend stories to share?

My old man cat Teddy. He is nearly 17, he was born in one of my drawers in the bedroom and hopefully when his time comes he will go at home too. He is the purest soul, a real gentleman and has formed the most incredible bond with dd. He spends all day asleep on her bed and follows her around the house meowing to be cuddled. He licks tears away and give the most amazing cuddles. We will be utterly heartbroken when he dies

I've had a few pets over the years but the most special was my hamster. She had so much personality - we got her just before lockdown and she really kept us sane! Her cage was massive, homemade and over two levels, so when she woke up she'd climb up and jump up and down for us to lift her out :') she had free run of the living room most evenings - she knew her name and would run over if I called her so I knew she'd always come back. One morning I'd come downstairs and made myself scrambled eggs on toast - she could obviously smell them as she jumped up and down and squeaked at me until I lifted her out and carried her to the kitchen to make some (salt and butter free of course) for her bless her she sat perfectly in my hands as I cooked them for her! She loved the smell after it rained, and I used to take her out to the back garden in her travel cage for some fresh air. She loved the smell in the greenhouse, and her favourite food was sugar snap peas we grew in the garden. We had to have her put to sleep at 18 months old and I still cry if I think about it, but we gave her the best life we could and I think she knew how much she was loved. No one ever believes me when I talk about her but I think animals can be so much more intelligent than we give them credit for.

When I was little my brothers new pet mouse had babies. I was so excited and took over looking after them (he thought they were gross) I'd frequently find a tiny one kicked out of the nest, when I inspected him he had 3 legs and a curved back. I ended up hand rearing him. He was so beautiful, he would wobble to me when I called his name & was so loving he would climb into my hand & sit & groom me. When I came home from school I would gently put my hand in his little sleeping house & he would always give me a little kiss to say hi. I never got bitten despute him being asleep. He died aged 2 curled up on my tummy watching TV one evening. I was devastated. i still think of him 40 years later. I never underestimate little creatures, they have such beautiful souls.

My Lleyn tups Gleneagles and Front Runner. Two beautiful sheep even though one of them would head butt me if he had the chance. Our old ex racehorse who my dad bought 21 years ago. If she goes I'll be heart broken. She's a a complete money pit.

Our puss cat Yoyo aka Mr Yoyo. He passed away on Thursday night after I found him collapsed on our bedroom floor. He was a day off 19.5 years old and the best boy in the world. He'd been ill for the past 6+ years and had done so well. He loved people and company but not a lap cat. I miss his bash through the cat flap, his loud MEOW to let you know he Was In The House, batting the dog when she walked by, the deepest purrs when he was just happy you were talking to him, the long lines of drool when you had a tasty bit of food, playing with long pieces of grass, sleeping in a sunny spot and his absolute happiness at us coming home. Miss him so much

Milo one of my dogs. He's so much more than a dog to me.

Adopted him when he was around 1. He's 11 now.

He's been my protector when someone was trying to hurt me. My comfort blanket when I need a cry and when I had cancer and spent lots of time just lying in bed, he didn't leave my side. Just having him there gave me so much comfort.

He follows me everywhere I go. He knows I'm going to get up and move before I do I think.

He's getting old and grey now and I dread the day he leaves me. It's heartbreaking loosing a dog, but he will take my heart with him.

My Labrador who my husband and I got when we were in our mid twenties. He was the best boy ever, I had a miscarriage in 2012 and he wasn’t allowed on the furniture but he climbed up on the couch and curled up on my lap like a lap dog and it was so comforting 💙 he was with us through 6 house moves and the birth of our son. In his old age I would take him on the school run and kids would come racing over to stroke him and say hello. He always had the biggest wag for his kid though 😍
There’s nothing better than getting home and being greeted by your dog, he died last year and I miss him so much I still cry about it sometimes.
We had a very kind vet come to our house and we cuddled him on his favourite rug and told him how much we loved him and he drifted away. He was the best animal I’ve ever known, thank you for letting me share a bit about him OP!

My cat , she's changed my life. I love her so much. She's affectionate and funny. We enjoy each other's company. My relationship with her isn't owner and owned at all- i do have guardianship of her, but we are friends, she is a part of my family and we make each other's life better. Every single time she sits on my lap (5-8 times a day) my heart leaps and I'm so happy. She's not new or shiny, but she's such a delight in my life.

What a lovely thread.

I’ve had a lot of wonderful pet rats. I can’t pick one of the current lot because that’d be playing favourites

One of my previous girls was a real sweety. Whenever I got home from work, I’d open the door and she’d be waiting to leap up into my arms. I’d pop her on my shoulder and she’d groom my hair (someone has to). Would sometimes fall asleep in my pocket.

She could do quite a few tricks - fetch, spin, put a little ball through a teeny basketball hoop. Would play little games with her quite often, setting up puzzles for her, or having her bob for peas.

I’d be able to take her outside, had better recall than most dogs!

But mostly she was just very loving an affectionate, and seemed to prefer me to her ratty siblings.

My cat in the 90s before I had children...he was black and white, absolutely gorgeous, if I didn't feed him on time he would hassle me, slept in my bed under the covers..sadly he got run over at age 3

My hamster Hammy and my cat Bluebell, Hammy left a special tiny pawprint on my heart as she was our first animal friend and just so sweet and friendly, never bit any of us.
We loved going out and buying her special treats and toys. She was probably the most spoiled hamster in the world.
And my cat Bluebell who had a very special place in my heart, she lived to 20 and was my absolute soul mate.

Oh @longtompot I am so sorry for your loss. What a legend.

Christ these animals are so brilliant aren’t they, proper find their way into your souls.

My Maine Coon cat Morpheus. A whopping 24 pounder and pure love in a fur coat.
He wasn't like a cat at all.. totally dog like, loved everyone, but I was his special person and he slept every night tucked behind me with his huge paws round my neck.
My kids slept with him, cried into his fur as teenagers and were absolutely devastated when he died at 12.
I feel guilty to this day that I kept him alive too long (he had cancer) because I was too selfish to let him go.
I will miss him til the day I die. I have other cats now, and a dog whom I love dearly... but Morph was my soul mate

Love this thread

Also one of my daughters rats, his name was lightning, he was massive, grey and white.He had such s huge personality, I cried when he died...again age 3

I had a fish - a weather loach - which I got for my 17th birthday. They are like little eels, called weather loaches because they supposedly predict the weather.

It was a great fish. If another fish in the tank was ill, it would go and lie on the gravel next to them until they died.

They're supposed to live 7-10 years. When it was 10 years old, there was a fire in the house, which started in the living room, next to the fish tank. When I went back to the house, you couldn't get to the living room because of the fire damage. I asked the police and they said there's no way the fish would've survived.

About 6 weeks later, someone managed to get into the living room and messaged me about the fish. It was still alive!

It had survived not being fed for 6 weeks. And being in a room that got so hot, things melted that were touching the walls 2 floors up.
(I like to think my ex-boyfriend, who died in the fire, was looking after it.)

I got it back and it survived another 7 years (until it was 17! It must have broken world records). It died when I moved house and it leapt out of the tank ☹️.

My boxer dog when I was a teenager, Tyson. I was suicidal and I'll always remember how he ran up to me one time and seemed really worried about me while I was crying. He was a beautiful animal and I have always loved boxers ever since.

@StillMedusa no please don’t feel bad, you weren’t selfish and his best life was with you. I know what you mean though. It’s a proper hard time know when they should go.
@Scuttlingherbertu loved that- I’ve had fish too. I rescued a tank once from this guy on freecycle which was a few guppies and when I went to set it up the filter wouldn’t work-I stuck my fingers in it to give it a winkle and it was all slippery and slimy but I could feel something moving- shone a torch on it and it was a bloody live catfish- messaged the previous owner and he thought that fish had died three years ago and been eaten by the others as he’d never found it🤯 it’d been in there all that time.

My brother has that tank now and that catfish is the happiest fish to be alive.

This thread is the best. More stories please!

Aw yeah c’mon, there must be more out there!

Growing up my aunt had a flat coat retriever and every weekend we would meet up and hang out with the dog and play together.
Was gutted when she died and she was such a lovely fun dog that I always said I'd get one when I was a grown up. Never have done yet

My horse, I've had her 4 years nearly and she's the best. She's called Gem and my friend calls her Gembo the Magnificent, and she really is! She's not the biggest and definitely not the prettiest, but she's an independent woman with her own mind, not cuddly in the slightest (which makes me sad), but just the most willing character, she just always seems really enthusiastic about getting to spend another day on Planet Earth and is up for anything. I'll be utterly devastated if anything ever happens to her.

@Wren77 what a lovely thing and how comforting for your Mum and you.
We had a rescue cat when ds was very small, she was a bad tempered swipey just like a pp cat. Over the years she came to love ds, she would scoot up to his bed at bedtime and hide amongst his soft toys. She would sit on his seat at meal times and follow him around. The day she died she came and laid on my chest while I was in bed - I remember being astounded as she had done a good impression of hating me for the last 8 years. I like to think she came to say 'thank you' for us giving her a happy home for 8 years.

When I was 12, I met Max, the Springer Spaniel. He was a neighbours dog who had little to no interaction with the neighbour. He lived in the garden and had a kennel. He used to bark at me as I walked past but I used to sit on the ground near his gate and talked to him. Soon, Max started looking out for me and would wag his tail like mad when I appeared so then I started petting him and cuddling him. He would even stand up at his wall and look over it watching out for me when I came home from school. I never failed to stop and say hi to him. One day, the owner came out and caught me, but he didn't tell me off, just asked if I wanted to walk Max now and again. I. Was. THRILLED. The neighbour left a lead on a hook in the garden so me and Max could come and go as we pleased. And we did. I walked him most evenings after school and would disappear for the entire day on weekends, we would walk miles and miles together, all over the place. Anywhere local we could walk to, we walked to it! This went on for a couple of years until one day, Max just disappeared. I knocked and knocked on the house but the owner never answered, eventually he moved out and I heard from another neighbour that he gave Max away. I was devastated, utterly heartbroken and I cried for weeks. I never even got to say goodbye He was my best friend and I still wonder if he missed me like I missed him when he was taken away