Hey Pandas, Tell Us Your Pet’s Backstory (Ended)

My mom would often bring me to shelters so I could some experience with animals while she did her research. One day we stopped by an older shelter, and like always I asked to go play with their dogs and cats, so they gave me two little schnauzer puppies. My mom didt think much of it until one of the workers thanked her for allowing me to play with those puppies because their days were up. Out of kindness and fear my mom snatched the puppies and brought them home with us. Later that day we choose the puppy we were keeping and gave the other one to my Aunt. To this day we still have that little schnauzer we call Maynerd.

My dad is a firefighter and one day while he was at work some of the other firefighters spotted a chihuahua tied up to the front of the fire station. Keep in mind it was in high desert and it was really hot. They took him inside and fed him and gave him some water. My dad texted my mom saying he found a puppy and asked her if she wanted him to bring the puppy home. Of course my mom said yes and so my dad brought him home and we named him Pachuco.

A few years back, in the winter, we found a cat and her kittens in our backyard. The mother cat had unfortunately died with two of her kittens, but one was still alive. We took warmed her up and took her to a vet. After a few days there, we officially adopted her.

Our 12 year old black Labrador named Zeus, was taking ill in April of 2018. He had got cancer and we felt that it was better for him to put him to sleep. Hardest thing we have ever done. We had him from a puppy. We had his half brother as well who also had to be put to sleep in 2017 due to cancer. We had gone from two lively dogs to none. The house was so quite, empty. By chance one night in May 2018 i was looking at a Blue cross rescue site just to see what they had up for adoption. I found Teddy, a 18 month old Chocolate Labrador. I applied to adopt him and went to see him. We were told that he had been given up as he was not being cared for properly. He was caged for up to 8 hours a day, because the family had small children. He was also a bit funny around men. We went to see him with our oldest child (28 M) on the Friday and was told that when we went back on the Monday with our other child (25 M) we could take him home. He walked into our house and has never looked back. He has brought as so much joy in our lives. He loves and follows my husband and kids around so i dont think the afraid of men was an issue. He is just like Zeus but just brown. I am so thankful that i was looking for him but i think he found us.

My cockatiel, Twinkie, escaped his previous home and was brought to a bird shelter. When I walked into the aviary for cockatiels, he was sitting by himself on top of a cage. My mom and I stared at him, me hoping for him to come close, believing that he was the one. Long story short, we got him. My second bird, Panini, was found in an alleyway starving. The person who found her captured her and brought her inside. My mom had seen the add for a “baby budgie” before, but her captors had decided to keep her. Flash forward two weeks, I was driving to their house and picking up the most beautiful parakeet I had ever seen.

My dog(sharpei Labrador mix) was adopted as a puppy by a sweet old lady. she took care of her until the lady realized she couldn't take care of a dog her size. she put her up for adoption. some shop owners adopted her but she became a shop dog, badly mistreated and lived in the garage. one day she escaped, and my parents friend saw her on the street when she was taking her dog out on a walk. she looked badly bruised and scratched. the dog followed her as she walked, so she went to the shelter and called my dad because he was thinking of getting a dog. he came with my mom, they loved her, and boom! adopted. she was the sweetest thing. would never hurt a fly, even after all her abuse.
P.S: my dad renamed her from "big kahuna " to "Candes"

Me and my partner was over at my friends home and she casually mentioned that her inlaws had found and now fosterings kittens that left behind by the mother. I puppy eyed my boyfriend then we all went to their inlaws to adopt one to add to our family. She now is 1 year old and harassing her 2 siames brothers, and yet to learn now to be in bed...

I was around 11 when my mom and dad found my cat Leo. Leo was found in the middle of the highway, he still has a scar across his face. My mom got me out of school after they got him, and told me he was mine. He was a scaredy cat, we thaught he got thrown out a car. When I first held him, he wasn't but the size of my palm, he would hide in my arms.

I am 13 now, and Leo Is strong, lazy and my baby boy. I want to get him fixed so he doesn't run off. But this is my story.
(hes a tux cat btw UvvU)

My mum went into a cat room and one our current cats, Rory.He couldn't eat so we fostered him cause we thought he was dying.It turns out he was allergic to his own teeth.We adopted him after a surgery to remove most of his teeth and he's still here today!

My stepdad rescued our last cat, Jack, from a window well when he was a kitten. It took him a while to get used to us, but he eventually became very affectionate and playful. He enjoyed being around us, and was happiest when all of us were in the same room together. He would bat our feet if he wanted to play with us and liked to hide in our coat closet, as well as boxes and bags. He didn’t enjoy being picked up, but he tolerated it if my stepdad did it. Like most cats, he liked sleeping and was equally comfortable on our furniture and our floors. Unfortunately, due to health problems, he was put down a year ago.

My current cat, Isabel, was the only kitten at the Paws Shelter North of me. I couldn't resist her fluffy grey cuteness. She cried all the way home. I felt bad for the other people on the bus especially when the lady with the baby got on and the baby started crying as well. I think they were all very glad when me and the kitten got off the bus. She slept at the end of my bed sucking on her tail until she was almost a year old. Now she is a happy and healthy 15 year old lady.

I had never had a pet before and I had always wanted one. My family and I were going out somewhere when our neighbour joined us in the elevator, with this plastic bag. There were 3 HUGE fish in it, and he explained that his tank had cracked and couldn't keep them and was trying to find someone to take care of them. My mom didn't want them, but my dad and I had other ideas. Thats how we got 3 gourami fishes and a whole tank overnight. We had them them for 3 years until we had to move to another country.

I own five fancy mice, although I grew up with dogs and cats only. During my teenage years I had occasionally cared for gerbils from my schools' animal club. With that being already maybe 15 years ago, I hardly remember anything about it.

Last year my partner and I adopted a mouse - Karlie, our "emergency mouse" - from a person who no longer could take care of it. I have wanted a pet for a very long time, but can't afford a cat or dog in my current life phase. We took him in, knowing nothing about mice, and dived into research. We came to realise that Karlie, having been on his own this whole time due to him being male and unneutered (unneutered male mice fight each other and if you pair them up with females you will end up with more mice than you like) would be damned to staying alone forever, an absolutely horrific and cruel fate for mice. So we decided to take the risk of a castration and found a vet with experience. Long story short, Karlie was the first mouse with that vet to not survive this operation. That was in July 2019.

We had only had him for less than a month, but in that short time we were completely taken with that little guy. We decided that we want to continue keeping mice. So we designed and built a new, bigger cage (our "mousehold") and, in December 2019, found a group of five completely white, young brothers in an animal shelter. Each day, it is so charming to watch them scurry around, climbing and chasing each other, building and rebuilding tunnels and nests, sometimes accepting little treats from our fingers, and hearing them run in their wheel, destroy toilet rolls and gnaw at all kinds of wooden furniture. They bright up our daily life. Even my mother, who was prejudiced against mice, starts warming up to them.

Sometimes it needs just one little mouse to change your perspective and life.

I moved to a foreign country to study. I studied psychology and have always loved animals. They have always been a huge part of my life. They especially helped me heal after my father died. One day, I went to volunteer at an animal shelter and was no expecting to adopt a dog at that point. I saw Vivian on a chain and knew she was my dog. She had big ears and was 10 months old with a lot of traumas and behavioral problems. They said, she had been taken away from her mom too early. I could relate. It took a lot of patience, treats and love...but she is a different dog today. Happy and healthy. She is my best friend and helps me realize that dogs really are angels on earth❤️

So we sometimes fed our neighbours Ginger cat if they were out late. One night my husband duly threw a few biscuits out into a dark dark night for a blur of ginger fur that turned out not to be the neighbours cat.

The ginger cat in question was in fact, Jaffa, a stray who proceeded to shove his face into the corners of the cat flap and howl LOUDLY, for A LONG TIME whenever the kitchen light went on. One time I even army crawled across the kitchen floor in the god damn dark to avoid him realising I was awake... Then flicked the switch of the kettle... Yep you've guessed it. HOWLING at 4am.

I feel like I should say that by this point we had started to leave some food for him in the garden so he wasn't howling with desperation, for food anyway!

Long story short, Jaffa now graces us with regular howling fits throughout the day - usually for food but sometimes it's just because he feels like it. He has demoted our other cat to the role of "servant" and has almost completely destroyed a rather expensive rug. But he is the softest, most affectionate lump of orange fluff you will ever find.

We could never trace his owners, even though he is microchipped but its clear that he's been abused at some point. He's very wary if you get close behind him and is terrified of the brush. I just don't understand how anyone could ever hurt such a sweet, loving little thing. We're just glad we can give him a warm, safe home and provide a safe space for him to erm... 'express himself'!

We were on a holiday and had been searching online to adopt a puppy for a while. While we were there we expanded the search radius on the website and this little Border Collie x Kelpie came up nearby. At first we decided we would visit in the afternoon but we were so excited that we left then and there. We arrived at the owners house to check out the puppy and as soon as I saw the puppy I picked her up and gave her a hug. She was still sleepy and so just kind of lay there in my arms. My family and I made eye contact and nodded in complete unison. We signed the papers and said we would pick her up in a week. We checked the website later on and by that time all her siblings had been adopted, we had only just gotten there in time. We just celebrated little Molly's second birthday last Friday.

4 years ago, we adopted a dog from the humane society. He had been there awhile, and had even been adopted and brought back. He has a condition from birth, that one eye is much smaller and he is blind in that eye. He also had a problem with his legs and was 7 years old. I brought him home, and he has been part of our family ever since. He just celebrated his 11th birthday. 🎂

Pretty much Biggie Smalls was born the biggest of the litter and she was big but small, so, yeah.

My husband is a Dentist and one of his patients is a puppy service dog raiser. She regularly brings her dogs in to the office for training purposes. One Tuesday her black lab trainee did not come to the office. My husband asked where he was and she said he had failed training and needed a home. She asked if he knew anyone who would be a good match.
Within hours I was texted pictures and the patient called me to talk about the dog. We set up an overnight for the following Tuesday to see if he was a fit.
Tuesday evening they brought him for an overnight and he never left.
He is the most gentle, sweet, easy dog who is amazing with our two girls ages 4 and 8.
He has made the last 10 months so fantastic and our family complete!
We love our Vader-Dog!

We adopted Maxwell from a no-kill shelter as a puppy. He's a 100 lb., well loved dog for over 7 years now!