We aren't getting our pets presents for Christmas this year, though we have other years with other pets. The parakeets we have now are mostly just afraid of new things, so we kind of let them be.
My old bird, Sky, loved getting presents. She watched us open all our gifts one Christmas and she got really angry because she wasn't getting anything. Then we got a box of new bird-toys and brought it to her. And as we were walking toward her, she got really excited. She understood the whole gift-getting thing, and knew that she should (and now was) getting something too.

~Riella

I used to get the birds little treats for Christmas, unfourtunatly this year we are a bit tight on money so I won't be able to get them anything

Ithilwen wrote:

The parakeets we have now are mostly just afraid of new things, so we kind of let them be.

lol our parakeets are afraid of new things too, especially Robin, he really freaks out if I happen to put a new toy in the cage. He'll avoid it for about a week, then slowly he'll come closer and check it out, after about three to four weeks he'll get used to it being in the cage and start playing with it. Sophie doesn't really care for toys, I guess she considers them something below her dignity, at any rate she never shows any interest in them. She's far too busy preening her feathers, admiring herself in the mirror, or trying to get Robin's attention off the food and toys and onto herself
We put Christmas lights around our manger scene which is right near the cage. Robin and Sophie were quite weirded out by them out first, and stared at them rather suspicially, I think they've gotten quite used to them now

We have one super-hyperactive German Shepherd/Australian Collie mix. Very protective. His name's Charlie.

We have two cats, both rescues strays. Kitty (we didn't think we were going to keep her, so we didn't name her...haha, we kept her alright) is a black cat (who ever made up that superstition anyway??) who is very sweet, likes to lie under the covers and has a minky coat.

The other cat was a tiny starving kitten. (Not sure how old she was, she had her eyes open and definitely wasn't a newborn, but so small!) Misty is black and white with half of a "moustache" (marking) on her lip. Her nose is black and she is so adorable! She is very fat now. It's funny because Kitty is bigger in build but very slim, and Misty is a smaller build but fat, so Misty's head is too small for her body! I call her "precious"...well, actually, she has SEVERAL nicknames. Mimi, Mimmers, "Siwwy (silly) Whiskers" (for one day when the sun shone through them and we saw how very long they were! lol)

Sorry I know I should probably post the story before the laughing smilies but I have been having a hard time not laughing. I brought Aravis with me when I came home for Christmas. She is staying in my old room. A few minutes ago my mom went to check on her. My mom didn't know that Blitzen had come upstairs. Aravis got out and started chasing Blitzen through the house. Blitzen is usually the bully of the house so it was extremely funny to see her being chased by a six pound furball. Well, actually, I didn't see too much of it. They were going too fast for that. Blitz is quite a bit bigger than Aravis. Blitz went upstairs and cowered under the bed. Then she was on the bed under the covers and trembling. She didn't even want any treats! She is still kind of slinking around. When I brought Aravis home at Thanksgiving, she saw Blitz and hissed and growled. For a little cat she has a big growl. She also growled at the cats' favorite sleeping places when we took her exploring a little. On Christmas Eve we let her explore just to see what would happen. She saw Blitz and was kind of having a stand off with her. Shadow was nearby. I didn't realize Myst was there too, but Aravis found her and chased her through the house. Blitz went and hid in her room, Shadow cowered, and Mystery fled and hid. It is so funny that my tiny cat can do that to three larger cats. Any one of them should be able to defend themselves against her. I do feel a little bad though. They seem to be avoiding going upstairs. Oh well, it is only for a few more days.

We got our cats presents this year. Some years we also make them catnip toys. Our cats got a variety of cat toys. They don't seem to understand the concept of unwrapping though. My sister and I also get presents from our cats. (In other words my mom puts their names on the tags under "from.")

My pets also give me presents, Pattertwig! One year, my dog gave me a toy cat stuck in a air-tight bag!

I have three pets, each one named after a pop brand. First, I have a dog named Pepsi. She's very energetic and hyper, and gets excited about anything. She's a mix between a terrier (I think) and a chocolate lab. Life gets a lot crazier when she's around!

Shasta is a Russian Blue Cat, and she's one heck of a mischievious kitten! Her favorite past time is messing with anything she can get her paws on. Sometimes, she's very innocent and purrfect. But at other times, she's a furball of trouble, curiousity, and treachery. I'm still waiting for the day she loses her fiery, independant attitude a bit!

Lastly, I have a goldfish named Sunkist. I won him at my church's carnival, and unlike all the other fishes who died, he's still strong, healthy, and alive. He's usually inquisitive, interested, and curious of the world outside of his jar. I hope to get him a friend (and a bigger bowl) someday, but for now, he's a sweet fish that is peaceful and not as stressful as the other two pets!

As for presents, my cat got a new bed to sleep in, and my dog got another toy to drag around helplessly!

My rabbit died a few hours ago Not sure of what although it looked kinda like a stroke or heartattack. RIP Patchy.

Oh I'm so sorry wolfloversk , I understand what you are going through, my turtles just died recently, I know this is very hard for you

Awwe thanks wild rose, and I'm so sorry about your turtles

I've been doing some research, a part of me thinks he was choking, but a part of me doesn't. I did however discover that I was probably right about him being part mini-rex. I looked up curly and short whiskers in rabbits, in case it might have been part of a larger genetic defect, but instead I found that it's a breed trait of Rexes and Mini-Rexes, and that they are the only ones who have curly whiskers. I'd been suspecting this before, as he developed sore hocks when he was younger, something Rexes are prone too, and that even though he was mostly shaped like an English Spot, which he definitely had in him, his hindquarters looked very Rexish

To show you, what on earth I'm talking about here's a mini-rex:

and an English Spot:

Hey guys! I can't believe that I am just now posting here! I kept telling myself I was going to then I would forget. I want you all to meet my babies!

This is my Syrian hamster, Crackers. He was my brothers, but then he got kind of bored with him so he gave him to me.

He is a great little hamster and a joy to have around. I love getting to play with him. He is really sweet and is really comfortable around people. I was afraid that because my brother had not played with him for a while, but had only fed and watered him, that he would be scared around people, but he isn't at all. He loves to be played with. He is so cool!

Next, is my Toy Fox Terrier. His name is Pogo. We named him Pogo because of how high he can jump. He can literally jump into your arms when you are standing up if you can catch him.

He is the white spotted one.

The way that Pogo became our pet is an interesting story. One day while my dad was at my grandmother's house, he heard this scratching on the door. So, he opened it to see what it was and Pogo just ran into the house and jumped up into a chair in my grandmother's living room. My dad found out that he was a really sweet dog and was comfortable around people so he took him home and he has lived with us ever since. We tried finding his owner but we never could. We also took him to the vet and they said that he was a perfectly healthy Toy Fox Terrier.

Third, is my little ChiWeenie. Her name is Lilli and she is about 8 months old.

Here, she is taking an afternoon nap.

She is absolutely spoiled rotten, and believes that she is the queen of the house. Lilli is the smallest of our 3 dogs, but the others don't often mess with her. In my opinion, she has too much spunk for her own good, but I love having her.

Last, and my personal favorite, is my Mini Dachshund, Ladybug.

She decided the day that we got her that she would become my new right arm. She rarely leaves my side when I am home. I LOVE having her around.

We also have two horses. I may post pictures of them later.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed reading about all my pets.

@ wild rose: I'm sorry about your turtles!

@wolfloversk: I'm sorry about your rabbit! My brother has an English Spot.

Aww ^^ I love mini Dachshunds. How old was she when you got her? And how big was she?

~Riella

^^ Me too!! We got Ladybug when she was about 4 months old.

She was about this size:

We hadn't had her very long when I took this picture.

Here she is jumping into my suitcase while I was packing. I think she wanted to come along. We had her maybe 3 weeks when this one was taken.

To answer ramagut's question: Yes! I did. All my doggies got bones for Christmas. I enjoy spoiling them.

She sounds and looks really adorable. I wish I could have a dog like that. Where did you get her?

~Riella

I'm sorry about your turtles, wild rose and your rabbit, wolfloversk. It is very hard to lose pets.

I'm worried about Aravis. I think she fell off the counter on Sunday. At least, things were on the floor that shouldn't have been. Now I think she is limping more than usually. She doesn't seem quite right. She is still playing a little and normal things but her tail hasn't been going up and a lot of times she has it so far up it is almost touching her back. I think she isn't limping quite as much as she was on Sunday so hopefully if something is wrong she is getting better.

I bought her some furry mice as a belated Christmas present. She absolutely loves them. I gave her three of them but I can only find two of them now. She likes to stick them under things.

@ Ithilwen: We got her at a pet store. We went in to get some hamster food and fell in love with her. We couldn't resist bringing her home. Her brother had been bought that day and she looked so sad in the cage. I wanted to rescue a dog, but I decided on her instead. I am happy that I did though!

@ Pattertwigs Pal; I hope Aravis is okay!!

My bird Billy is getting old. We're afraid he's going to go soon. But he is 4 years old, so it's understandable. And he hasn't been very happy since his mate Doe passed away... He'll get to be with her again soon...

~Riella