Not everyone becomes a pet parent by choice. While some people grow up with the yearning to be a cat mom or a dog dad, others never envision that kind of future for themselves at all. A few, on the other hand, are open to having just one pet and of a particular breed.
All of these restrictions can get thrown out the window once the right animal comes along. Animal companions offer unconditional love, even to those who don’t seem to want it. Just take a look at what happened to the following newly-converted animal lovers!
1. This man who accidentally bought 1,000 chickens
A man named Steve Morrow thought that he was bidding on just one chicken on a New Zealand auction site for NZD 1.50 (roughly PhP 49). It turns out that he was bidding on 1,000 chickens, and he won. Matthew Blomfield, a free-range chicken farmer, had categorized the chicken ad as an “urgent sale” because he was closing down his farm.
Morrow decided to keep 20 of the chickens and find homes for the rest. Both Blomfield and an animal sanctuary said that they would help Morrow screen potential adopters who showed an interest in the chickens online. Morrow has already successfully given away 700 as of November 2019, according to a 2019 article by Cory Doctorow for Boingboing.
Though Morrow only ever wanted to adopt one chicken, he said letting the rest of the chickens get killed was never an option. “I was going to save 1000 lives, even if I had to drive up to Auckland and feed them myself while looking for homes for them,” he said.
2. This dad who fell in love with his daughter’s kitten
Pepperdine University student Hira Khalid had just fallen in love with her adopted kitten named Bilu from the No-Kill Los Angeles pet adoption center when she asked her dad to babysit him for a week, according to a 2019 article by Elizabeth Claire Alberts for The Dodo.
Her dad said no, mainly because he thought Bilu would be just like Bubba, their old cat. Bubba would spend time both outdoors and indoors, so he often brought in mud and dirt from outside. When Khalid couldn’t find anyone else to take care of Bilu, her parents reluctantly agreed to care for him.
A few days into Khalid’s trip, her dad sent her photos of him and Bilu bonding. Her dad took selfies of him and Bilu snuggling in bed, with Bilu sleeping by his neck. Though the photos were a nice surprise, Khalid said she didn’t want to leave Bilu again. “I missed him the entire time,” she said.
3. This woman who didn’t want a scary cat
With two cats and one dog back home, Shawna Solberg told her kids that they wouldn’t adopt any pet from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah, no matter how cute the animals looked, according to another article by Alberts for The Dodo, this time written in 2018. Solberg changed her mind once she met a 12-year-old cat named Oscar.
The vets said that Oscar might have lost half his tail in an attack, and his ears suffered from a yeast infection and cancer. With only half a tail and incomplete ears from cancer surgery, Oscar didn’t look like he would ever get adopted. Although kids found him “scary,” those at the shelter said he was the kindest cat they’d ever known.
The bad news was that the vets found out Oscar had tumors in his lungs. Solberg and her kids accepted this, and said all they wanted to do was give Oscar a loving home in his last days.
4. This grandfather who went furniture-shopping with his dog
Aleecia Dahl’s story about her grandfather and his dog Coco went viral on social media in October 2019, according to Stephen Messenger’s article for MSN. Dahl said, “Coco is the dog Grandpa never wanted but cannot live without. They are the best of friends that he never knew he needed.”
According to Dahl, her grandfather didn’t seem the type to get attached to an animal, but Coco and Dahl’s grandfather spent time in town together and even more time on a certain chair at home. When Dahl’s grandparents moved to a new home, her grandfather brought Coco to the furniture store so they could choose a recliner that they both liked. Coco normally liked staying at the foot of his recliner, so that’s exactly what they re-enacted at the store. They did find the perfect chair, and are no doubt sitting in it together right now!
5. This dad who initially didn’t want a dog in the house
Vinicius Carleto wanted to adopt a puppy named Pitoco from a shelter in Brazil, but both his parents were opposed to the idea, Messenger wrote in another 2018 article for MSN. Once Carleto’s mother met and fell in love with Pitoco, it was certain he could bring Pitoco home. However, Carleto’s 65-year-old dad still was yet to grow accustomed to the puppy.After a while, Carleto realized that his father was more relaxed than usual. Pitoco became a welcome distraction from the stress of work, even playing with Carleto’s dad in the yard. The two became inseparable, and since then got matching t-shirts with each other’s faces on them.
6. This woman who ended up with two senior cats
A lady visited Maryland-based Ann Arundel County Animal Control and adopted an 11-year-old cat named Mojo. Though she was happy with having just Mojo with her at home, she came to learn of his bond with another senior cat named Max, according to a 2015 article by Elyse Wanshel for Huffpost. Max, who was 16 years old at the time, was still stuck at the shelter. She told them, “The idea of him living out his life in a cage just broke my heart.”
She eventually adopted Max, who now enjoys cuddling with Mojo in their new home.
7. This couple who thought they were getting a micro pig
Steve Jenkins and Derek Walter bought Esther, a supposed micro pig, in 2012. Back then, she weighed only four pounds. Two years later, she weighed over 600 pounds and was being called Esther the Wonder Pig, according to the website Jenkins and Walter put up for her.
Instead of giving Esther away, Jenkins and Walter built an online following for Esther and established the Happily Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary. There, they “rescue and rehabilitate abandoned and abused farmed animals”.
Micro pig? Major Lie!
According to National Geographic, there is no such thing as a micro pig. Thousands of people are fooled into buying them because they are tiny, but the reality is that they are either inbred or underfed pigs, according to a 2014 article by Marissa Curnutte for National Geographic.
You might want to read:
– No pets allowed! 10 times parents did not want animal companions but now treat them like their own children
– French artist raises public awareness on pets abandonment through his comics
– Reality check: Some humans love their pets more than other humans
