have animals changed your life (besides more cleaning and spending more money) in any way?

Question

any animal.

Answer 1

my dogs have made me more tolerant of ppl...which is very hard for me because ppl are so callous and cruel.
my dogs have made me a better person...they are all rescues, most of which were foster dogs, that we ended up adopting.
our dog Angel was 6 months old when she was thrown from a moving car. she had road rash so bad she lost all the skin off her back. after the wound healed..she had to have the scar tissue removed to loosen the skin on her back, it was pulling and irritating her.
our dog Patch was tied to a tree on a golf course and left there...no food, no water...we are glad to have him, he stopped a serial rapist from breaking into my house while my hubby was overseas.
our dog Peggy Sue, was flea infested and left for dead in an abandoned house...she is doing fine now...and despite what she went through she LOVES people. amazing huh!
our beloved pet Zeke..*passed away* was abandoned on a busy highway...he was deaf, and starved. he was also very sick...but i know that in his last days he found love, and gave so much in return
I've seen MANY MANY animals that were abused or abandoned come and go volunteering at my local ASPCA and Humane Society....it still amazes me that these animals forgive the severe cruelty they experienced at the hands of humans.

they are a better species than WE humans will ever be.

Answer 2

This is a great question. For me, animals have been instrumental in keeping me sane. I mean it! Not that I am crazy, but due to having Fibromyalgia and RSD, if it weren't for the animals I would just stay inside all day. Between my daughters and the animals,
those two things make my life complete.
I have a nonprofit rescue for horses and other animals. I take in horses that would have gone to slaughter...for human consumption overseas. I just wish hay and feed for them was not so costly. That would make things easier for the rescue to operate, but some people donate towards their care.
Animals take away my pain, and if I am in a depressed or sad mood, they do things to make me laugh. It is like they can sense how I feel, and want to make me feel better.
One of my horses; a huge Percheron from Canada, gave birth to her daughter on my birthday this past May. She even called me to be with her during the birth. Talk about a rush! The first thing I did was lift up the baby's tail to see if it was a girl or a boy. I had been hoping for a girl, and it was!! Her name is Esperanza and is growing like a weed.
Animals are special friends and their love is unconditional. I take in some birds too, and many of them were abused. They will make strange noises if they don't like someone who is looking at them. It scares them. Some don't like men, others can't deal with women.
Animals have made my life worth living, and make me feel like I have a reason to be here on Earth.

Answer 3

I love animals. My life would be empty with my pets. The cleaning and expense has never been considered a problem, just part of the privilege of having a fury friend.

Answer 4

dogs, when my kids were little we had a pound puppy, and because he was so fast we named him Streak. That dog was my babysitter, he was so smart, without any training, the kids were his responsibility,and he took the job seriously. This dog would walk my friends kids home, even their parents knew that if Streak was with them, the kids were safe. Ours is a small town and cops still stood on the corner, they all knew Streak, and knew when he was around all children were safe. Streak had an entire secret life that included many stops for fancy food, like the local steak restaurant, and he stopped for scraps at a lot of places, I found this out over time. Got lots of Streak stories, did he change our life? You bet, in my town all kids were safe if Streak was in the area, because of him I met many people I would not have met otherwise, because of Streak my kids were never hurt by anyone, and no one really knows how many kids he kept safe.

Answer 5

My ex moved 3000 miles away and took both of our teenaged children with her. My new wife and I bought a ferret, and adopted 2 others. Now these are my new children. So yes, I guess you could say these guys have changed my life. They are littlerally, my children, and I love them as such, and treat them as such.

Answer 6

My horses.....
They always listen when you need to talk but don't need to be spoken to...there to cry on and to love. They are my kids...the expense and cleaning stalls is nothing compared to the love and trust we receive from our animals.

Answer 7

yeah.i met a stray dog last year when i first came here to taiwan[i'm an indonesian born taiwanese]it was my first year in university and i barely known anyone when this stray dog appeared near my dorm.i fed her everyday and we became best friends.my family finally adopted her and now she's living happily in our family.the changes that she brought for me was that after my encounter with her, i met my boyfriend who also loves dogs very much~

Answer 8

yess. my stepdad use to be abusive towards my mom and she got away from him. a few months after that we got our dingo/pitt/german shepherd mix and she is soo protective of us. she makes us feel so much safer! and i've always loved animals but getting her makes my love for animals so much stronger and i cant stand when i see animals being hurt.

Answer 9

yes, when i was younger i had a cat that was my best friend. whenever i was upset and needed someone to cheer me up, he was there for me. i miss him so much and keep his picture to remind me of our times together. i honestly looked to him as my family and will remember him as much more than just a cat.

Answer 10

My litle Turdy Cat was my best friend after my wife and I split up...I'd never have survived without him.