What's the story behind you getting your pets?
I got my cat Rigby last November when he was a tiny kitten.
My sister found him curled up under a tree in the snow at my parent's house. She brought it inside, and my Mom had her put it in the camper because they have two dogs and she didn't want it scared. My mother called me frantically trying to find a place for this kitten to go while she looked for the owner, saying Dad just wanted to put the kitten outside and he'd go home on his own. It was ~17 degrees outside and my Mom and Sister were having none of that. So I figured I'd help and keep the kitten for a few days while they put up posters and stuff.
I had no intention of keeping the kitten. I was 19 and had only been living on my own for 4 to 5 months, and I didn't think I was ready for the costs of owning a pet. Mom was wearing Dad out on the idea of keeping him if nobody claimed him, but when I went to bed that first night and this tiny ball of fluff jumped up onto my bed and curled up right next to my face, purring like a diesel engine, I knew I wasn't going to be giving this cat up to anyone that didn't own him. It's funny how quickly you can bond with an animal. He had been named Rigby by the end of the second day.
Nobody came forward after a week. The last thing we could think of was taking him in to check for a microchip. That was the most nerve wracking drive I had driven in a long time. If there was a microchip, the vet would take him right there and contact the owner. I'd have no more contact with the little guy. The vet waived the microchip detector all around the cat, and when it beeped I thought all was lost. Then she told me that beep meant there was no microchip found, and he was mine. After talks of what he'd need (vaccinations, flea meds as a precaution, a microchip, etc) she told me the kitten was three months old, and the cutest kitten she'd ever seen. I took Rigby home, and he's been my pal ever since.
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A couple of years ago when I went to a family market, I found a shopping cart with a dog in it. He seemed like a really friendly dog and was jumping up to get nearby people's attention. I went inside, did my shopping, and asked the workers there about the dog that was just out in the front. Everybody said he was just there when they opened up and they've been giving him water occasionally since they were certain he was abandoned. They said he was out there for hours now and nobody came to pick him back up.
Well, I was a sucker for him and decided to pick him up and take him back with me. I cleaned him up, took him to the vet, and he's been with me ever since! It was a little rough trying to get him to behave (not eat everything that has stuffing in it), but he's adjusted quite nicely! I love my little guy.
We have two cats. The first, Ralphie, was born under a barn and given to us by a friend at 8 weeks. Rocky we picked up at a Pecto event.
We also have a dog named Suzie whom we got at a breeder. There were so many puppies that day, but she personally walked up to my Stepmom and chose her as her mama.
He was a spur of the moment adoption. I had been wanting a cat for a while, and we just went into the adoption agency to look, but I underestimated the power of his adorable little kitten face. The ladies there were so happy I was getting a black cat, since apparently they don't get adopted as much.
Three years later... I've since theorized that he was the Prince of Darkness in a past life. Perhaps Satan just possessed the body of a kitten for some yet unknown nefarious plan. He might be the love-child of a ninja and a panther. Still, he seems capable of love, or at least tolerance. And he's such a goofball. I love him to bits.
This is my kitty, Atticus: http://i.imgur.com/e1Uqnp4.jpg
I was driving down the feeder road one day for work when the car in front of me tossed a box out the window. The box landed in front of my truck and two puppies spilled out. I picked them up and took them to the office with me. One came home with me and became my lovely mutt Violet the other went to the SPCA. That was about four years ago and she is the biggest ball of love. She gets along great with our other dog and our cats.