@westside-steve said:

When she passed away I had considered going online and getting a rag doll from one of the breeders. But stopped in at a few different cat rescue places and Asher the tuxedo cat would not let me leave without him so there's that?

WSS

I found the two sister Ragdolls on line from a breeder. After they were both gone I found the mother & daughter thru Pet smart locator with a rescue organization in Austin. The mother is actually a perfectly marked Ragdoll sealpoint lynx that someone had probably paid around $3000 for but was found in the wild outside of San Antonio with 7 kittens, some of which were part Siamese (as us the daughter I took with her). Any Ragdoll that is not perfectly marked is neutered to maintain the breed. That's why I know she had escaped an owner who had paid that kind of money for a breeder Ragdoll. P.S.-all it cost me was for the shots and neutering of both by the rescue team. Around $350 for the pair. Now the are my mutual worshipers.LOL!

@texasag1969 said:

That second one is a Ragdoll Steve. I'm not at all surprised that it stuck with you all the time. I tell you they are loyal dogs in cat bodies.?

When she passed away I had considered going online and getting a rag doll from one of the breeders. But stopped in at a few different cat rescue places and Asher the tuxedo cat would not let me leave without him so there's that?

WSS

@westside-steve said:

Can't think of any sustained period of my life I didn't have a cat. The Tuxedo cat is Asher my friend for the last couple of years who will outlive me. The other one is my darling haiku came to me as a sick starving freezing baby got nursed back to health by the vet and me and rarely left my side till the day she passed on.

She sat on one of my t-shirts on that stool beside the console as I recorded every one of my solo cds. Except the last one which she's supervised from heaven.

That second one is a Ragdoll Steve. I'm not at all surprised that it stuck with you all the time. I tell you they are loyal dogs in cat bodies.?

@diehardbrownsfan1 said:

I've had cats my whole life, and yep they are a part of the family.  

Had a founding Ragdoll Seal point wander into my life that thought it was a dog that had to be with me all the time. Lived around 17 years then got a pair of sister Ragdolls that made it 15 1/2 and 17 1/2 years. Now a  mom and her daughter Ragdolls who are around 5 and 3. All share that same need to be right there with me no matter where I am in the house. ??

@axe said:

I do a minor radio gig.. The bandit supervising

Looks like   bandit   is in charge here. 

Ernest (the orange) is a 24 claw terrorist... 7 fronts claws, 5 rear claws. Sasha is the most beautiful Russian Blue I've ever seen and Bandit, the tuxedo that is the smallest animal I've ever seen that lived. He show up, abandoned at our house 13 yrs ago. He spent a week outside crying. We couldn't find him. We are off the ground and he hid under the house. When my wife eventually found him he was so small he could sit in the palm of your hand. The abandoned runt of the litter defied all the odds.. He's been my lil buddy ever since..

 He's been on Thyroid medication for a while.. I took him in thinking he had a respiratory infection a few Saturdays ago. What he had was a congestive heart problem. I was told the best option was end of life.. To put him down.. Total shock.. No.. Hell no!! Couldn't do it..They recommended a specialist.. We took him that same day.. They told us the vast majority of people also put their pets down in this situation... Primarily because of the expense of what they called a "Hail Mary" procedure..

Couldn't do it.. Couldn't put him down.. Knock on wood... The lil feller is in my lap as I type this. Still on thyroid meds, now on diuretics and heart medication but I tell ya what.. I'll choose this lil guy over any human I know except for my wife, daughter and grandsons..

@westside-steve said:

Furthermore animal cruelty is one of the most vile Acts anyone could ever indulge in and I think the penalties for which should be much stricter and more severe.

WSS

Absolutely  !  Finally the legal penalties are being raised both state and local for animal cruelty.  You wouldn't want my wife or me to be handing out those penalties  !

WSS

Our dear sweet Angel came from a nurse friend Margret whose idiot boyfriend got for her as a Christmas present  .... normally a bad idea ..... but turned out great for us.  Margaret was a single nurse who didn't have time to raise a sweet little puppy   -plus-  her father just moved to Florida and Margaret was going to join him there.

She ONLY wanted to give Angel to a good home and picked her nurse friend Nancy and me to take her.  We were just married about two years, very busy but I said OK only a visit.  Short version.... Angel was outside on her chain in the snow .... Margaret brought her in, dried her off ....Angel came running into the living room and jumped into my lap .... that was it, I was hooked .   

After a while Margaret packed Angel's things in my truck, including her papers she was a registered Minature Schanazer and a marvelous dog pet.  We left and Angel never looked back, she was our best family friend.   An amazing lovable dog.   After 1+ years we had her bred,  she had 5 pups but we kept the small one, the runt of the litter  who turned out to be her little unbeliveably smart and super active little Muffy.

The two of them turned out to be our great family for about 12-13 years passing away in 1995 and 1996 but every day we think about them.

Pets our best friends. 

She sat on one of my t-shirts on that stool beside the console as I recorded every one of my solo cds. Except the last one which she's supervised from heaven.

Her picture at about 8-9 weeks old.   We loved our pets until they passed away in 1995, 1996 after 13 +/- years old.  Amazing members of our family. 

The dog was very emaciated and close to death. She is healthy now and a handful for sure