[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers!

Starting up the month of Animals and Pets, a very topical question: do you have any pets?

My parents in my family house have a German Shepherd who has been living in a doghouse in our yard for about 7 years. 🐶 Her name is Chara. In the Summer she likes to hunt wasps 🐝 and butterflies 🦋 but in the Winter she gets bored and when I visit my parents during that time, she starts barking for me to go out in the yard and play with her, she likes to hunt the little red dot of a laser pointer. And she's completely black, it's easy to miss her on a dark night and sometimes I trip over her. 😅 She can also jump really high.

Here she is:



This is my fifth dog. I had canaries when I was a kid, and I also had a cat. 🐈 The cat is sadly no longer with us now, but she lived for 21 years: we got her when I went to kindergarten, and she died a few years after I graduated from the university with my doctorate. I'd like to get a cat again, but I haven't found one I like yet.

Do (or did) you have any pets and if so, what are they like? Do you have pictures to share?

[Saka]

Does Chara get offended badly when you trip over her?

I currently don't have a pet living with me, but when I lived with my parents we had beagles since 2004. The current ones are very lazy bitches at 10 and 11 years old. Their favourite activities are eating, stealing food or sleeping.

[j7schultz]

Here with me, I have my cat Rita (6). At my mom's place, we currently have 2 cats: Ísis (14) and Fred (06).

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka Chara does not get offended, I sometimes suspect that she may secretly enjoy it. Must be getting something out of it.

The beagles look cute. Though your description of their pastime reminded me of this bit from Ron Swanson:

Do not agree with the cat statement, though. There is a point to cats. Who'd we serve otherwise?

[DoctorEldritch]

@j7schultz Rita actually looks a bit like the cat I used to have. Very cute. And her nose is not pink either. What about her paw pillows, are they pink or grey?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch You could still serve as the petting hand for the dogs. 😉

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I really am more of a cat person. I do not like the way dogs smell, so I never pet mine without gloves. So it would be more of a chore...

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Hmm. For most breeds I think if the dog has a strong smell, then the problem is with the owner and their hygiene. If either of my bitches stank, I would drag them to the tub and give a thorough scrub. Then there's the wet dog smell for a while, but that's a very temporary issue. Once dry, the coat is so much fluffier and shouldn't have noticeable smell. Some breeds might need more help getting dry though.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka I wouldn't say so, I think it has more to do with the dog lifestyle. Beagles are indoor pets (I think?)so live in a relatively clean environment. Our German Shepherd is a guard dog, she lives outside in our yard in a doghouse and is not allowed into the house itself. So she spends her day running around and lying on the grass and so forth, so she is more smelly.

But it is not that she stinks per see, it is that she has this "dog smell" that lingers on your hands after you touch her, most dogs have that regardless of how clean they are. I just find this smell unpleasant. And it stays with her even after we give her a wash with shampoo.

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch I see. Yeah, I agree that outdoor-only dogs will accumulate more smell than those who spend time indoors, getting regular brushing and bathing. When I lived with my parents I was actually the nose for detecting if our blankets or bed sheets needed washing. I have much lower tolerance for smell or mud in my bed. Because SOMETHING keeps bringing soil from the garden behind her claws. 😐

I don't get smell lingering on my hands from my bitches, but if they are due washing often I get little particles of soil, very fine sand or whatever else they managed to roll in. At least when they manage to find fresh grass, that usually smells somewhat nice. Not so much if they manage to find fox poop or something of that sort.