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what pets did you grow up with.

WeasleyLover

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When I was born, my parents had a beautiful orange cat named Bizzy. She loved babies, and I am told she would sleep with or nearby me. She was with us until I was 8, when she accidentally got out and didn't come back. :( My mom also had a Slender Billed Conure when I was born, who she rehomed shortly after. She says he tried to attack me after I stuck my fingers in his cage, and that wasn't okay. I don't agree with her rehoming him, she could have made it so I couldn't of reached or gotten to his cage.... anyway. When I was a little older, they took me to the animal shelter to pick out a dog. We brought home a beautiful Golden Retriever named Buddy. That dog was amazing. So, so amazing. He adored me, and was my best friend. I loved him so much. A few year later when we moved to a new house, my parents rehomed him. I was devastated. I will never really get over that......I loved that dog so much. He was the best dog ever. Shortly after Bizzy ran away, we found a younger cat crying outside. We brought her inside, and decided to keep her. That was Chloe. She was a great cat. She ran away once, and came back. Pregnant. So I got to watch her raise 4 beautiful kitten girls. We found homes for all of them when they were around 2 months old. I begged to keep the runt, Fussy, but I wasn't allowed. When a family member let Chloe get out a second time, she didn't come back. Throughout my younger years I also had hermit crabs and fish and frogs. I've always adored animals, but my passion was truly awoken when I brought home Weasley, my first bird, when I was 10. You guys know that story. :heart:
 

sunnysmom

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I had a dachshund growing up. Such a smart dog. I also had two rabbits (not at the same time- or I'm sure there would have been more than two ;)). And two hermit crabs (not at the same time). Which now I'm a little freaked out by hermit crabs but as a child I loved them. We also had goldfish at various times- the kind you win at a fair. They never seemed to last long. I also had turtles when I was really little- like 4? So I only have a fuzzy memory of them. My great uncle had a farm though- so I spent a lot of time there with his cows, chickens, German Shepard, and cats. I also had a good friend who lived on a farm and spent a lot of time there with her and her horses.
 

PeppysPal

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I had dogs a guinea pig and fish when I was very young and now (since I'm still fairly young) 4 birds, 3 cats and a dog. My mother used to tell me about her birds she had when she was young which I'm sure sparked an interest in them
 

redindiaink

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Before I was old enough to remember we had a spider monkey and a guinea pig. Never been without cats. A Sheltie. Gerbils! A green anole, then later a knight anole that I found a new home for because ... you have to feed them pinkies :( Not exactly pets, but three chicks that were saved from being food for a friends raptors. My mother brought home two budgies in a breeding cage and promptly ignored them; one was yellow with red eyes that died not long after, and the other was a blue male. He became my bird.
 

Mitzi

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I grow up with several dogs, cats, and horses. I showed the horses and some of the dogs.
 

Pipsqueak

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I had hamsters and a guinea pig, a rabbit and a cat growing up. Now we have a bird and a dog !
 

Hankmacaw

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Mary Lynn Skinner
I had horses, dogs, cats, a badger, a baby fox, a fawn and 2 ground squirrels. I spent much of my childhood on a cattle ranch in Nevada.
 

iamwhoiam

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Fish, turtles, caterpillar, miniature poodle and birds! I've had birds in my life since I was about 5 years old. I don't think there has ever been a time in my life since then that I have not had a bird.
 

Princessbella

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I grew up with cats. First was a white Persian named Snowball who was mean and ruled the house. She was there before my parents had kids and she was not happy about it. When Snowball passed on of old age (age 19), a little stray kitten came into our garage during a hurricane and she was named Waldo after a cat on tv. Midnight was another stray who followed me home. Those two lived for a long time also. Then came two more strays, Lulu and Hillary Rodham. Hillary kept sneaking into the house on her own in 1992 and since Hillary was in the news for healthcare, Dad named her Hillary Rodham. We also had hamsters. My Dad brought one home and my Mom almost killed him. Then my brother bought a female and they had babies. I had two of them until they died. Then when I went away to school, my Mom suggested I get a bird because my Grandmother, who died before I was born, had them. I scoffed at the idea until I went into a pet store to get a kitten (the store took in strays, got them neutered, and you paid for the vet bill) but this little pearled tiel had other ideas. She ran up my shoulder and wouldn't get off and that is how I was introduced to the world of birds.
 

Lady Jane

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How long do rats live?

Great thread!
 

mochiballs

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I grew up primarily with birds. My first 'pet' was a lovely hand-tamed baby budgie I named Kiki. She started my love of birds.
Over the years of my childhood we had budgies, guinea pigs, hamsters, fish, a turtle, rabbits, and finally a puppy.
 

xgreenbudgiex

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I have had a lot of animals in the past.... And still have plenty.
Don't get me started!
 

Tyrion

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I grew up with g.pigs ..I use to breed them for a mom and pop pet store I did this for years as a kid ..I also had hamsters and then my we got a tiel from a silent auction I was around 10 I think ...mom thought she was lonely so we got her a boyfriend and had them for years until we moved to Canada and had to rehome them ..I was also into horses since I was about 8 yrs old and had them until late twenties ...and then my 25 yrs with all species of reptiles ...cats and dogs since my teens and back to birds in my early thirties ...So now I have my 3 cats , 2 dogs and my lovely 2 birds hoping for a third the spring :wacky:
 

HawkEagle

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I had quite a few pets! I have always loved animals (and nature in general) and my first pets were 2 fancy mice (Amber and Amethyst). I really loved them and they died at an age of just over 2 years. I also had hamsters, Coco and Toco, who were adorable, and was very close to my neighbour's dog Cookie.
I became interested in birds after a wildlife trip to Wales, when we went to Skomer Island (a wild, unkempt seacliff island) and saw some of the most beautiful birds- an actual colony of wild puffins! Apart from that, I also saw kittiwakes and kestrels (a type of small falcon). My parents bought me good-quality binoculars (10X42) and I always went to my nearest nature reserves to birdwatch when I had time. I saw many fascinting birds, too many to mentions (short-eared owl, kestrels, puffins, bittern (rarity!), little grebe, dunnocks, tits, thrushes, corvids, etc.)
That was what encouraged me to take up bird ownership, and now I am lucky enough to have my own budgie, Lexy. Perhaps some day I will also get an African Grey (my dream bird)
 

Doublete

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I've grown up with every animal lol.

I grew up on a farm.
When I was little I had a goat that followed me everywhere, a dog, rabbits, finches that I hand tamed, cats that were my babies, hamsters, and horses.
Now that I'm grown up I have cats, a dog, 2 goats, 17 horses, and my 3 birds. My mom is an animal lover. She only encouraged the bad habit. :ballerina:
 

Perriewinkle

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Oh my goodness, the better question is, what didn't I grow up with?

my 1st 5 years I lived on 10 acres before moving into town for school. and with being in Wisconsin and FFA and yeah.. okay the list..

There has always been a dog in the house, even a few that when I was a baby would pull me off the couch if I was left laying on a blanket..
Cats
Mice
Gerbils
Hedgehogs
Tadpoles
Fish
Ferrets
Horses
goats
turtles
snakes
cavy
bunnies
hamsters
birds (my first bird was an all white cockatiel that my great great grandmother raised)
lizards
newts
frogs

I'm sure there were more.. lol
 

Debbie

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I've had a lot of animals also since I was a young girl. Grew up with dogs (German Shepherds and then poodles) rabbits, hamsters, birds and fresh water aquariums and a box turtle. As an adult I have had dogs, birds, rabbits piggies, frogs,a newt, aquariums, a couple of frogs, and the kids had hamsters..Now I'm down to 5 birds and 2 dogs. I love being around animals...it make me a little sad that as I get older I need to scale back, but I am grateful for the opportunities to have as many wonderful pets as I have had.
 

Animallover03

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I am still technically a kid- but I have had some interesting pets :)

I had fish when I was younger, including a small catfish.
I wouldn't count this, but we had praying mantises, and one ate the others head when we let them go..

When we moved we had a crawdad, and eventually had two. They ended up having children... Lots of them- over 100. We gave most of the babies away. I remember my mom bringing them for my show and tel in preschool. Once the adults passed away, we didn't have any new pets for a while.

We got Bella, my cat, in 2011 I think, and she is still with us.

We had a salamander that we named Zombie, and we would catch worms and bugs for him to eat. He unfortunately died because my brother forgot to water him. I hated my brother for that- still do.

We fostered kittens that my grandma had, their moms had died. We fed them and such. We were going to keep one, but a couple of them caught botulism and died, including that one. We were all very upset.(RIP TUXEDO)

We then got Grumbles, and my brother later got Caramel, his guinea pig. There is talk of getting another guinea pig for my brothers birthday since they are social, and when our basement is finished we will probably add another bird :D
 

Monica

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My parents had a dog and cats when I was born... have always had at least one dog and one cat while growing up. Few times when we did have more than one, but mostly 1 of each since I can remember (kindergarten!)

Did have a box tortoise for a while. Didn't have a good setup for the tortoise (not like I was planning on having one...) and do regret giving it to the family who had received the other one.

One of my aunts has always had fish tanks, and I remember before she moved away watching her fish. Didn't really grow up with them otherwise. Did end up with a betta fish... was never a fish person, so found a betta person to take him in.

My sister and I both had rabbits at one point in time...

When I was 12, my sister got a hamster and I got a bird! Well, budgie(s). Have had birds since!



So current pets... birds first!

Casey - November of 2001 (16 this year)
Pistachio - November 2005 (19+ aka probably in his 20's)
Tomi Girl - April 2006 (???)
Charlie - October 2006 (23 this year)
Jayde - June 2013 (7 this year)
Sylphie - April 2014 (???)



Cats Squirt and Sprite - 2003 (14 this year)
Dog Kodi - 2005 (12 this year)


Also got into shrimp keeping a year ago! Was first introduced to cherry shrimp December of 2015, but set up my own tank for them exactly 1 year ago today! Working on getting a tank together for work! ;) (also shrimp!)
 
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