How did you come by your love of animals?

My earliest childhood memories are of animals Playing in the forest with garter snakes and frogs. My parents still tell the story of me at age two or three bringing a baby opossum home from my Grandma's barn.
My parent's aren't really animal people but they understood that animals were important to me and never kept me from having at least a few of them around. My DH and children also put up with my menagerie
My daughter is 8 and has also grown up with a love of animals and would like to be a wildlife rehabilitator when she grows up.

We always had cats when I was growing up. One of my earliest memories, age 4 involves a cat!

I couldn't imagine going long without one in my life.

I was mostly neutral about animals until I was 16. I was dating this girl and she had 2 cats. At first I just thought "ok she has a couple cats" but as time went on I grew to love them. One of them was usually scared to be around people but whenever I went over there she would just run up to me and start purring. Then whenever I would sit on the couch she would just jump up into my lap and lay there for a while and if I laid back a little she would climb up on my chest and go to sleep. Ever since then I've had a huge love for animals especially cats.

I think I was born witha love for animals. My mom is an animal lover, so I've been around all sorts of animals my entire life. My dad isn't much of an animal lover, but he puts up with them. I couldn't imagine what my life would be like without animals in it.

I think I was born that way...My Dad is a HUGE Cat fan and when I was 2 he got me a kitten that was born in the hollow of a tree, he lived to be @ 18 Both my Grandmothers were animal lovers my one grandmother actually healed my cat when he came in the house limping, he was back to his old self in a few days

Originally Posted by Hilda>^..^<

Growing up in a very rural area of town, we had lots & LOTS of outdoor cats when I was growing up. Before I was born though, my parents had 3 horses as well. When I was probably around 10, we got a shetland pony, Sugar, she was wonderful! We've always had lots of dogs as well...and fish! My sisters love their fish tanks! Chickens as well. As a young girl, I remember, after the spring rains, I'd search the puddles for tadpoles! I loved them! I'd haul buckets & buckets of mud & rainwater teeming with wriggling tadpoles! For weeks afterwards, I'd watch my 'pets' as they grew legs and lost their tales. Before I knew it, they were teeny little frogs and ready to leave my buckets. All that spring & summer, my mom's garden would have plenty of frogs & toads to keep insects at bay. The strangest pet we ever had though was an opposum.! LOL! He was sooo sweet! My big sis, being the animal lover that she was, found him in the garbage cans behind our uncle's dry cleaners. It was winter & we figured the opposum family was out the night before, searching for food through the garbage cans...this lil' guy fell in and couldn't get back out so they left him. The night had been really cold and he was almost frozen. She/we took him into the cleaners and put him into a paper bag filled with freshly pressed (discarded) warm hankies. When he finally thawed out, he was sooo cute...really precious. We took him home...my dad wasn't too happy about it but being an animal lover as well, he built him a nice home/cage and 'Mr. Possum' lived with us for many years. He ate dry cat food too! He was tame and any of us could handle him. We would bathe him too and he didn't seem to mind it much. I remember taking him out of his cage and he'd twirl his very powerful long tail around my leg. But he never tried to harm any of us...he was gentle and sweet. Mr. Possum lived with us for many years before he died. We all loved him very much

Hilda>^..^<

Click to expand...

awwww..that's a sweet story about Mr. Possum

I had a kitty named precious who was white and kinda a buff/orange when I was a baby . I guess she was my dad's though. I was in foster homes that had dogs and when I lived with my gramma she had a cat named Vincent...who was this magnificent orange mainecoon cat. When I turned 19 I got my first 2 cats a month apart....from there on out I was a sucker. I think I always loved animals, I remember going to peoples houses and the animals would flock to me though, I never felt the owners of these animals got the attention they should.

Originally Posted by Quill_luv

As for animals themselves, there is a special mysticism about them, something that we all yearn to understand. Although its my belief that animals understand more about us than we're led to believe. They are beautiful in every sense of the word, even insects and other "gross" animals, because they created just as we were and there really isn't a line between them and us at all. I mean, if you really look at a spider (or a picture of one

) and see how delicate it really is, that is a wonder to me. You know i'm rambling, sooo .... We've always had pets and I love nature so it clicked and that's that.

Click to expand...

This is beautiful

I certainly didn't inherit it. My dad told me that his mother used to flush kittens down the toilet. Until my brother brought home a kitten when I was 5, we didn't have pets. She had a litter of 2 kittens and my dad took them to the shelter when they were about 3 years old (my sister developed allergies to them and was actually hospitalized from it). I cried so hard trying to stop him but he didn't give in. I think it was at that moment that I swore to protect any animal that crossed my path. I became the crazy cat lady in the family and I think they have finally accepted that I'm not going to change after all these years.

I have no idea.

My mom was allergic to animals so we couldn't have a pet.

Apparently we had a dog when I was really small, but I don't remember her because I was just a toddler and couldn't even walk then.

We did have a large dog cut he stayed mostly outside so my Mom wasn't around him all that much.

I do know that ever since I can remember I was bringing home stray dogs and cats..usually pregnant ones. When I was 12 my mom allowed me to have a bird so long as I kept it in my room. She later discovered that she wasn't allergic to birds and my bird became more my her bird than mine!!!

I don't really think you suddenly develope a love for animals. You either love them and have compassion for them from the start, or you don't. Some people look at an animal as disposable while others see them as living creatures that deserve to be loved and protected because they don't have a voice of their own to speak up with.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I have no idea.

My mom was allergic to animals so we couldn't have a pet.

Apparently we had a dog when I was really small, but I don't remember her because I was just a toddler and couldn't even walk then.

We did have a large dog cut he stayed mostly outside so my Mom wasn't around him all that much.

I do know that ever since I can remember I was bringing home stray dogs and cats..usually pregnant ones. When I was 12 my mom allowed me to have a bird so long as I kept it in my room. She later discovered that she wasn't allergic to birds and my bird became more my her bird than mine!!!

I don't really think you suddenly develope a love for animals. You either love them and have compassion for them from the start, or you don't. Some people look at an animal as disposable while others see them as living creatures that deserve to be loved and protected because they don't have a voice of their own to speak up with.

Click to expand...

Completely agree with the first part, though they with out a doubt have a voice of their own, it is the ones who listen that don't even question the connection.

We always had a cat. My parents adopted a kitten when they first were married, so I grew up with that cat.

I inherited my love of animals from my grandmothers. My mom grew up with animals. She always had several dogs. My dad grew up with my grandmother feeding the ferals. But when they got married, Dad laid down the law...no animals. He is afraid of dogs having been bitten 5 or 6 times as a child.

When I was young, my uncle brought over a kitten. Unfortunately, being feral, it was sick...I don't remember what...and my parents had the kitten PTS. When I was in high school, my sister came home with our second kitten. My dad gave us 4 days to rehome it. She died in my arms 15 yrs later.

My brother showed up with a puppy one day. He was planning to take Cookie when he moved into his apartment, but she ended up being my dad's dog! Every night they would take a long walk while Dad talked out his day with her.

I grew up with a German Shepard as my older brother (he was 3 yrs older than me). My parents adopted me when I was 5 months old, and they were worried about Sabre scaring me. They said the first time they brought me home, Sabre came running up barking and I started to laugh. Here, it turns out the foster family that took care of me had 2 big dogs so I was used to them! Sabre became my best friend and protector (saved me from a few spankings!)

My family was never much into animals, but I was. I brought home so many baby birds that fell out of the nest we had a permenant box set up in the kitchen some springs. I remember when I was in grade school, I was over an hour late for school because I stopped to pet a cat and I was fascinated by her purring!

I never really liked cats until I adopted one that my old boss found at his marina. He had crawled into the engine block of his first mate's truck and actually survived the ride! His name was Jasper, and he is the one that taught me that cats really have personalities. Before, I thought all they did was eat and sleep (and purr on occasion).

So, where did it come from? I'm not really sure. Guess I was just born with it.

I have always lived with animals ever since I was born. There was never a time in my life, when we didn't have a pet, mainly cats. I received my love for animals from my mom, more than my dad. Not that my father didn't like them, but I don't think he had any as a child and his parents never had any. My mom always had cats, dogs and she grew up on a farm. For my exotic interest, I have always loved the big cats. Every time we went to the zoo when I was a kid, I had to see the cats first. I never forget the day however, when I was about 8 years old and me and my family were driving somewhere, that we saw a guy driving down the road with a cougar in the back seat of his car!! (not the best thing do do however and should never be done)But, I will never forget how I felt when my eyes met the cougar's. He looked at me as if to say, you will understand one day. I still can see that cougar when I close my eyes and think about that day

I've had pets since I was a toddler. My dad kept tropical fish and finches! I then got my own pet (a hamster) and kept hamsters for around 12 years! From there, I had birds and rats. I could never have a cat or dog when I lived at home as my sister has asthma and allergies.

Now I have gillan, I want another cat and a dog!

My Mum isn't mad about animals, I rekon I get my love of animals from my great grandfather - who kept horses. Now my wee cousin is showing the same signs as me where animals are concerned! I just know when she is older she will have a house full of animals!

I have no clue - only know that my entire life that I remember, there was always some kind of pet - dog, cat, bird, rabbit, turtles, fish, hamsters, quail, snake/lizards, and horse.

(think I got them all)

I swear I am adopted. LOL. Well not really.. my family does love animals.... but not to the extent I that I do.
My mum has always had animals..
My grandma too... but for her it was more of a profit on a farm sorta deal.
But her dad was a butcher, and killed animals for a living.... lol.

Id have to say i was honestly born with it! I have always loved animals through the good and bad! I've been bitten and mangled but my love still remains (scars to prove it)! I've loved and lost pets and still love them all the same! If i could have it my way Id save all the un-owned and un-loved needy animals in the world! How can you not love animals is my question?