Pet Portraits - please post them here

[ScoutR]

Myra, It's quite possible that you have seen babies without realizing. These guys were pretty big before they showed up here with their Mom. If I had not seen Boxer on a daily basis and knew that she looked like she had young ones, I would have just thought it was a bunch of squirrels playing around in the back yard. From a distance they are not that much smaller than their Mother. The only real distinction is the way they stay together and wrestle around. Usually squirrels seem to be alone or chasing/fighting with each other.

[Shadowman]

Nice method for controlling your pet's interest. We usually get our cats riled up with a laser pointer.

This is Kitty's "formal" shot



Canon Rebel xti Nifty Fifty @50mm ISO 100. 1/45@ f/1.8. Manual


Myra

C&C always appreciated

[Maritimer1]

Nice method for controlling your pet's interest. We usually get our cats riled up with a laser pointer.

I have a hard enough time trying to keep her still for a photo<LOL>!

[Steaphany]

The Big Game Hunter, safely back in her Trophy room after her latest Nut Hunt Safari to the wilds of the Pecan Farm, enjoys a fresh Pecan pie.

[Steaphany]

[Steaphany]

This is Rose, she's a 1 year old miniHorse who needed special care as a baby because her mother wasn't up to the job due to prior owner mistreatment. Now Rose is just one of the family, acts pretty much like a 5 year old child, even naps on the couch in front of the TV and follows me up and down the stairs. With a pool set up in the yard, Rose has gotten into playing in the pool and I shot this series of photos:

I Wanna Play in the Pool



Rose in the Pool I



Rose in the Pool III



Can't I Go Swimming ?


I'm sure people will wonder and ask, Yes, Rose got her wish the other day and was put in the pool. She didn't panic, but simply thought it was strange. (She has climbed into the water trough and splashed around, so this should have been just larger and a bit deeper) After a few steps around, she made a beautiful leap out as if she was trained to jump. The experience was not too bad for her as she was back pool side in a few minutes playing with the water.

[ScoutR]

Nice shots Steaphany: Such vivid colours. I really like the last one, those wirey whiskers are so sharp. I also like the trophy room. That's crazy. LOL does she insist that you keep all the shells for her.

Wendy

[ScoutR]

Can't I Go Swimming ?

Again with the vivid colour, very nice. Rose looks like a real sweetheart. I have a soft spot for horses and ponies (and squirrels, and cats, and dogs....) I really like the last one. Rose looks like a mini Arabian with the wide set eyes and a bit of a dish face.

Glad you are keeping this post going. I'm sure there are more forum pets out there, hope we see some more of them

Wendy

[Antonio Correia]

Posted before here

[Steaphany]

LOL does she insist that you keep all the shells for her.

Hi Wendy,

For the longest time, Foamy would horde all the shells and would never let them be taken from her house while she was watching. She's gotten better and allows me to take shells when I offer her intact nuts in exchange.

It was my idea to preserve a few "trophies". When she's done with a nut, the remaining shell is rarely broken, but instead smoothly carved, some appear as if intentionally sculpted. I know Foamy's intention is just to get the shell open to win the prize that's inside. Glueing a few of the more artistic looking shells to a plague was my way of preserving her handiwork and led to the inspiration behind the staged photo.

Here is a suggestion to keep Boxer and Boxer's babies healthy. Make sure they get hard shelled nuts year round. If a particular nut is not in their local environment, introduce them by partially cracking the shell yourself so they would be able to smell what's inside while still requiring them to break it open. Once they know what it is and what's inside, just give them full intact nuts. Never more than one each otherwise they'll try to hide them. Hard shell pecans, Brazil nuts, walnuts, filberts/hazelnuts are all good and try to wean them off any soft shelled seeds

Foamy taught us that apart from predation and traffic, wild Squirrels have a hard life and one of the greatest risks to their health and life is their own teeth. We had to trim Foamy's teeth several times. When this condition first occurred, Foamy's behaviour was the clue. She wanted nuts, but only hid what she was given and she would only eat pre-shelled and soft foods. When checked, her to front teeth were growing down her throat.

My friend immediately researched what medical intervention was appropriate and available. Squirrel rehabilitators commonly euthanize such animals rather than treat them. Two treatments commonly turned to include clipping the teeth with Dog nail clippers, but this often shatters the remaining tooth leading to gum infections. The other is grinding the excess tooth length with a dremel style cutting disc. Either way, Squirrels are not the most receptive to dentistry. Another factor is that it may take several trimmings to get the teeth to mesh properly. So far, Foamy's had to have her teeth trimmed about 4 times and she is 4 years old, so be aware that this can happen when a Squirrel is young and how important it is for them to have hard shells to grind through.

Soft foods make a great treat as long as they are balanced out by the hard shelled foods that properly wear their teeth naturally. Done right, a Squirrel would never need to go to a dentist.

Thanks for your comments, I'm glad you like my photos.

Glad you are keeping this post going. I'm sure there are more forum pets out there, hope we see some more of them

It really surprises me by the proportion of Dog and Cat photos posted. I realize that they are the most common pet species, but I haven't seen any pet reptile or insect photos. What better way to practice macro zoological photography when it's your own critter in front of the camera. I posted the only Kangaroo and I have a bunch more animals that I need to get quality images of to add here.

[Shadowman]

Steaphany,

Nice set of photos. Loved the pie eating image.

The Big Game Hunter, safely back in her Trophy room after her latest Nut Hunt Safari to the wilds of the Pecan Farm, enjoys a fresh Pecan pie.

[Steaphany]

but yea someone (Foreigner) laughing at the beliefs MIGHT make me feel bad. Double-standards 'eh???

Hi Sahil,

Just because you personally do not follow what some illiterates believe are universal Indian religious practices, doesn't exclude you for being rightfully offended by such opinions. India is a 21st century nation having a long history in atomic energy, DAE India, space exploration, ISRO, and high technology. A good percentage of my LinkedIn network comes from people in India. That said, India is also a very ancient nation, making even the UK look young in comparison, with many indigenous cultures, languages, and beliefs/philosophies. You shouldn't be surprised that many of us globally aware individuals are respectful of cultural diversity.

Has anyone tried giving their pets little alcohol? Or heard of something like that happening? Just curious....

I've heard of people doing it and they are usually laughing at the animal's intoxication, which the animal has no choice. Catnip is an intoxicant, just like marijuana, but the feline biology is so sensitive that the plant is strong enough to get them drunk where other species, including humans, have little to no reaction. In my eyes, giving alcohol to an animal, rarely just offering a taste, but to actually get the animal drunk, just to see the effect is equivalent to getting a child drunk just to enjoy watching the child stagger about, fall down, and vomit where they lay.

[Maritimer1]

Wow, are those ever sharp! I am very glad these are tiny creatures. Look at those claws

Myra

[Maritimer1]

Posted before here

That's quite a collection of old and new methods of transportation. Nice!

Myra

[Steaphany]

Wow, are those ever sharp! I am very glad these are tiny creatures. Look at those claws

Myra,

I've been on the receiving end of those claws.

When Foamy is in an irritable mood, she'll quickly and repeatedly grab hold on my fingers and yank her hands towards her - leaving scratches like paper cuts.

When Foamy is in a happy mood, she loves to race, at full Squirrel speed, around me. Her claws can easily penetrate the weave of what ever I'm wearing leaving my skin sore. Since it feels like sunburn, I call it Squirrel burn.

Foamy has a concrete perch in her house, like what you would put into a Macaw's cage, which Foamy sits and lays on. The rough concrete wears and dulls the sharp tips of her claws, so her claws are not as bad as they could be or were before she got the concrete perch.

What Squirrels lack in size is more than made up by their speed. I liken the speed of a Squirrel compared to us close to that of us compared to a tree. A tree has no chance of moving out of the way if you walk up to it to trim off a limb, likewise, a human has no chance of moving out of the way should a Squirrel decide to attack. Fortunately, Squirrels are rarely motivated to such extremes.

[David]

Here's a shot of my cat Tom - he's featured in posts before, but thought that you should have the pleasure of seeing him again.

The shot was taken using a wireless remote shutter release, with me off to the LHS, teasing him with a stick. In retrospect, I got the lighting wrong because it is coming from the RHS and he is facing left. However, using the DPP software for the Canon 40D I managed to retrieve the situation. Ideally, I would have had him in a bigger frame and I could add some more edging. There is a set of images at my Pbase site, http://www.pbase.com/david_ws/, under the gallery called "Tom the Cat Posing and Working Out".



Cheers

David

[Antonio Correia]

That's quite a collection of old and new methods of transportation. Nice! Myra

It was shot just around the corner...

[Sasha Morgann]

Ooh, that must have hurt! I was picturing a trip to ER for a tetnus shot.

Glad all ended well

Myra

Oh yes it does hurt when Foamy decided to take out her frustrations on me, but I have come to expect it to a point. She usually ends up having quiet time or as some might refer to it - "TIME OUT".

As for me going to a doctor for something like that, it's not gonna happen unless I lose a finger and then only if I cannot patch myself up. I have an adversion to doctors and I am more than capable of patching myself up most of the time. I have also had my boosters and rabies vaxcination already.

[Sasha Morgann]

Well good to see that religious views of some (my) country are respected by the people/on the forum. Although I don't go worshiping cows, as one might think an Indian would do, but yea someone (Foreigner) laughing at the beliefs MIGHT make me feel bad. Double-standards 'eh???

And Oliver, The cat gave me a good laugh and the dialog bubble of the cow on the grounds. (Who left the banana there?)
Has anyone tried giving their pets little alcohol? Or heard of something like that happening? Just curious....

I once heard a story from my grandmother how my father and my unkles soaked potatoe chips in beer and fed them to the dog, getting it so very drunk. She wasn't very happy about that, but supposedly they did it so they could shave the dog ( a collie) because it's hair was matted up and they did not want it to get hot spots ( a form of skin sore). The dog hid under the porch/deck for over a week when it sobered up.

I have had friends who would give their dogs alcohol on ocassion. I don't suggest it but I guess it is ok in small ammounts and only on ocassion (just like chocolate). Chocolate can cause liver damage in dogs and some other animals. It also acts like cocaine to them, very addictive.

[Sasha Morgann]

Wow, are those ever sharp! I am very glad these are tiny creatures. Look at those claws

Myra

Those claws feel even sharper when they are being used to hold onto you. Many a time Foamy has ran around me so fast that my t-shirt will actually be pulled away from my body by the momentum of her movement. It is also quite a surprise when she runs up or down bare legs. She doesn't mean to cause disomfort. She just wants to go where she wants to go.

The teeth are also quite sharp and her jaws are very strong. She actually fractured one of the bones in my index finger when she bit me once. She was upset and didn't want to get off of Steaph. I reached over and went to pick her up off of Steaph's back, when she latched onto my finger and bit down hard. Her teeth went right through the skin and into the bone, leaving a permanent lump in the bone of my finger. When she did it I very calmy put my hand to the floor so she could disemback from my hand without any help from me. Then we ushered her back into her house for some quiet time, while I examined my hand and cleaned all of the cuts and scratches.

Animals are very abrupt teachers. You learn or you get hurt.