I currently have one service dog. Like you, in the past I have had a menagerie of pets. Due to finacial constraints and lack of room I have no more pets. HOWEVER, I am constantly visiting other people and their pets....so my dog has a huge extended family

2 cats seems to be our ideal, although I'm always tempted to bring home another from the shelter when I volunteer!

Always had 2 cats. 9 years ago we added a dog and about 6 years ago a third cat joined the crew. The original two cats came from an ad in the paper and a pet store. Everybody else since then has been from the shelter or a stray. The current crew were all strays.
Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with all the love. I can't sit down without one or two on my lap.

This time last year, I had five cats and a dog. I lost all five cats in the course of one year. Two from cancer, one from renal failure, one a mysterious illness and he went in days, and one from FIP. They were all elderly and on their ninth life, except for my youngest cat of nine years who died from FIP. She had been feleuk positive her whole live, however, so the fact she made it to nine and all of those nine years healthy was astounding. She got the symptoms of FIP and died all within a week. The oldest who was twenty of renal failure. Our one dog was a sixteen year old schnauzer, and basically he became so debilitated physcially it was inhumane to extend his life any more, so we tearfully had him euthanised.

We now have one dog. I am still reeling from losing so many pets all at once, who were with us for so long. So, I am fine with just one dog at present. There is room in this house for a kitty and it will happen when I come upon one who needs a home and their likelihood of finding one elsewhere is slim.

Yes and no. We have a calico cat that is our pet (she considers us as her servants, we think she is our fuzzbunny). That is the yes part.
No, we have more than one pet because I keep a small flock of Black Australorp hens, and although we got them for the eggs, they turned into pets. They have names, a heat lamp on cold nights, and are very fond of pasta primavera.
Some people can't be trusted with anything that moves and has feathers or fur!

In 2001-2002 I had only one pet. I adopted a cat from a cat rescue in Michigan when I was in college. She now lives with my ex. After I moved home I took in another cat that a friend threw out (I still have her). She was an only cat for about eight months before I found a kitten in the middle of the road. So the only time I've ever had just one pet was only for about a year. It was nice to just have one cat.

My parents are in their 60's and would like to have just one pet. Instead they have four dogs, 5 horses and some barn cats. Guess it runs in the family.

Marlingardener, it is funny you mention that your calico is your fuzzbunny. My year and a half old dilute tortie's nickname is the Fuzzy Bunny. Her real name is Hillary but for some reason I started calling her my fuzzy bunny and its amusing because she responds to that and not her name!

I feel the same as calliope. I've always had at least four dogs at a time, then added a cat one year, then down to three dogs; lost two dogs recently - one last August and one last week to illness. Now I have just the senior wire haired mix and the cat.

So far I feel a little more freedom,and some guilt over that; and keep asking myself do I really want to adopt again? I've been browsing shelter sites like I always do but thinking real hard about giving in to temptation. My friend says I'll know when to get another dog when the right one comes along. Miss the chaos a bit, and I admit it's a little weird at night knowing there's no one to bark at noises outside.

Must have been a bad week last week for many. I also lost my oldest dog Dakota (13), his legs would no longer support him and he couldn't get up.

My other dog Lily, has been getting lots of extra love ... and I have 5 indoor cats ... but I know that another dog will make it's way into my house by Spring. I haven't yet been tempted to look at PetFinder.com, but I know I will.

I feel for calliope and schoolhouse ...

I have one cat. Well, I think she is a cat. I always liked dogs and horses but hated cats, but I have a small house/yard and I am not home all day every day. A dog would have been a problem. So one day I went to a cat shelter and this cat found me. She is Burmese and acts more like a dog than a cat. She loves to talk, plays fetch and goes for long walks on a leash. She is also a serious cuddler. I was thinking about adopting another cat, but things are working out so well I hate to upset the status quo. If another cat finds me I might consider adopting again.

We had only 1 cat for most of last year. This old cat has a bunch of medical problems and is often at the vet's; there is some appeal to only having 1 animal when you are constantly thinking about paying vet bills.

Between a kitten who needed a home and the old cat seeming lonely, we adopted another in October. He has been a blessing to our house. I do like having 2 kitties around :^)

One black female Chow Chow is a handfull, thats enough.

I live in the country and rehab wildlife, so I am frequently at the shelters. I take adult cats that have been neutered and no one will adopt them. I have about 20 cats...mostly barn cats but some come inside to sleep. I had to have my dog put down a few months ago, due to cancer, and I adopted an elderly dog from the shelter, and I already had a little house dog. Just recently I found a man who had catahoula puppies to give away. I have had three catahoulas in the past, and I wanted another one, so I got one of the puppies...making 3 dogs.

I also have 4 horses, 3 chickens, and two feral hogs. One of the hogs came from the wildlife center when she was a baby, and another one was dumped out here when the man who had her went to prison. I had the one from the wildlife center spayed, but the other one is too wild for me to catch.

Two of my horses were rescues and the other two were born here, but they are all getting old. Two of them are in their mid twenties, and one is 19.

I also have a few fish and currently have two possums that
moved into some empty cages for the winter, and I am feeding them.

I can't imagine having just one pet...but bet it sure is nice!!

We now have only one dog - a small standard American Eskimo who will turn 6 on April Fool's Day. We used to have 4 dogs and 3 cats - always multiple pets. Before we had our Eskie, we had mini Dachshunds - yep, 4 at a time - and my 2 special guys had full body back/neck disc disease - and of course the surgeries to go with it. I am sure you can imagine our vet bills. I am about to turn 60 and my husband is 61 and we don't have family, so I worry constantly about our guy should we die together. We have written our wills to provide for him, but in Canada, dogs are chattels and the Plan A and Plan B people we have in our wills could take the money and not our dog. I know that you can be killed together while in your 30s, but when you are in your 60s it becomes somehow a bigger worry. Having family isn't necessarily the solution anyway, as people in rescue will tell you - so many people die thinking that their beloved family pet will be taken in by their children/grandchildren - they aren't - just dumped at the local rescue after collecting their inheritances. Also, the cost of owning a pet these days is certainly a consideration. Too much mucking about with genetics etc. Our Eskie costs us a fortune, but so far no surgeries, thankfully - but to me the worst thing is paralysis. He was the youngest dog we had ever adopted - 13 weeks - the youngest before him was 6 months. Oh, boy! He is a funny guy - and one hot looking boy toy!

It is a good thing to think about providing for your pets in case you are not around to do it. Yes, young people can leave behind their companions. It happened to my SIL's brother, who was killed in an aerobatics show. He had verbally discussed who would take his pup, but I don't think it was in his will. I know my SIL and DD would have gladly, but his mother took it....also a good match.

My mother was very presumptive about her doggie being cared for. She told me several people who would take it, but the problem was......she never asked them. LOL. My daughter or I both wanted her when Mama passed away because the doggie knew and loved us too. My daughter was the better placement and it was settled.

But that didn't happen to the lady who lived next door to my Mama. She didn't make provisions and her daugther had the dog catcher come in with a snare and one of the went immediately to the dog pound. The other to a woman the daughter found who had the dog put down a week later. It was sad. Those dogs meant everything to my Mama's friend. We would have given them homes, but weren't given the chance.

Cannot an escrow fund be legally set up to provide for your dog's needs? That bypasses wills and to withdraw money from an escrow requires one meet the conditions of the escrow. It could be written out that two signatures are required to pull funds out and one of them could be your family vet, and the other the dog's keeper. With provisions that any remaining money be given to a family member ............uhm.......twenty years after the dog's eventual demise.

Only in my dreams. :) Somehow, I just keep adding to my menagerie. Tho my pets have brought me great joy in my life and made up for the sadnesses, I'm really starting to worry about being able to afford their care. I do believe that species in twos is the ideal. My animals love me and are devoted, but they need their same species best bud too.

Marilyn, your feed bill must be as big as your heart!! What a wonderful way to live your life, caring for the animals. I lost one of my dogs in December, but still have a mini schnauzer that belonged to my sister until she passed away almost two years ago. At the time there was much talk about which one of her daughters would take the dog. Finally one was selected. About a month before my sister died, her daughter finally said that she was not a dog person and although she loved the dog, she didn't think she could care for it. I offered to take him, although I really wasn't looking for another dog and my sister was really, really happy. I am home all day and Fred would have the company of my dog as well. It didn't take but a day or two of adjustment and Fred has been a great addition to my family. He's 5-1/2 now and I'm glad I have him in that it made losing my old boy a little easier. I only wish Fred had come with an allowance because he goes to the groomer every six weeks!! So as to how many mouths I feed it goes - 1 dog, 2 cats and a horse.

Marilyn, are your hogs farm pig size then? How much do they weigh? Boys or girls? I love that you've taken all these animals in! Thank you for being such a kindhearted person on our planet!!! I don't know how you do it tho; you must be a ball of energy. I have 9 (5 cats, 2 dogs, 2 pigs) and I feel like I've overextended myself. I saw your pics over in the "Post your pics" thread and they were so great, esp. the one of the opossum hangin out in his little crate. All animals are amazing. More humans should realize this.

I have two cats. There have been many years when I've had three as I've taken in an unanticipated stray a couple times. The last cat that died lived with renal failure for a couple years and though I'm glad we did everything we did for him it was a life altering experience due to difficulty of finding someone to give him subq fluids if we had to or wanted to travel anywhere - a bit of a challenge since we both travel for work. We got through it but it really made me question how many pets I will have as I get older and either want to have more flexibility and/or have more of my own challenges in my later years.

I love cats though - I can't imagine not having at least one. They are very easy to care for as long as they don't have health issues. I now have one with IBD and hyper-T. He is doing well though he requires medication twice a day. Fortunately my pet sitter does pills if not injections.

calliope - when we last had our wills rewritten I went in with plans for a Trust to pay for our dog's care - but the lawyer had never prepared such a document. I did contact another lawyer I knew (with a major firm) and he told me the cost of such a Trust would be exhorbitant and when it came down to it, under Canadian law, pets are chattels and that is what it would come down to - and the Trust might well be challenged. Even if we had a Trust paying out funds to the person who took our dog, it would not guarantee the quality of life that we would want for our dog - think of the horror stories we read/hear of all the time. This is why we went with Plans A and B people - with Plan A person definitely in a position not to be challenged by any family member for control of the funds - or our dog. There is a group in Canada trying to have our laws changed re pets. I think that in some states - maybe California is one - you can leave your estate to a pet "retirement home' - a fancy one - and your dog will receive lifetime care. And also that maybe if you leave funds to a person to care for your dog that said person must take the dog and treat him/her well. We have an American Eskimo and Eskies do not do well in a kennel type of environment. And they sure aren't dogs that are suited to living outdoors despite their name. Changing the breed's name to American Eskimo from Spitz during WWI was not the best choice - it implies a sled dog - in fact they have a double coat of hair - much like Persian cats - and love to be warm in the house. Now there is a Canadian Eskimo dog - a totally different type of dog - lives in the very far north.

When you really love animals (as all of us do) you just figure that if you have one, why not more? It is especially true for us with our indoor/outdoor cats. They don't cost much at all since we buy kibble and they snack on critters outdoors also. And, we give them shots and take care of their ears/eyes/worming ourselves. We have three now and welcome any more that come along.

As far as a dog, they are much more needy as far as care goes, but we have a large farm and if we have more, we will adjust. (If our lab has pups that we can't find good homes for, we will keep them.)

I have not had just one pet in decades. I currently have five cats, all rescues and one fabulous dog also a rescue from Petfinder. . I have been a cat person forever but since getting this dog I have turned into a dog person as well. I love them all so much.

We were petless until this poor kitten adopted us. DH has refused to have another dog since our last german shepherd died, it was too painful for him. We take her with us as often as we can, she's a good traveler and we stay at pet friendly motels. She is so possessive I don't think she would tolerate another cat. She used to sit in the window until one day a stray was outside she she jumped down all fluffed up and hid by the door peeking out and has not sat at the window since. We really want to travel more but she limits our pleasure trips and has terrible separation anxiety evenn when I go grocery shopping. She's never warmed up to DH and when he's home with her she howls loudly and searches all the rooms. She's usually by the garage door waiting when i get home. I can just imagine how bad it is when no one is home.