How do/did your pets save you?

A long time ago, I went through a depression that lasted for about 6 months. It was bad.

Every Sunday afternoon, I would end up crying on my bed for hours because I couldn't face another Monday and another week of the same miserable empty life.

I considered suicide quite a bit. But every time I thought about it, I ended up at the same place: who would look after my cat after I died? Nobody would take him in. He would end up at an animal shelter, and then he would be put down.

Ten years earlier, I had saved his life as a kitten, which is how I ended up with him. I couldn't let him die now, after saving him.

So I kept living, for his sake.

I got over the depression eventually.

And the cat lived another 8 years.

My dog Finn just turned two, and having him around has completely changed my life. I have ADHD and struggle a lot with taking care of myself and getting things done, but even on days that I wouldn’t even have the mental strength to feed myself, I have to take care of him. Taking him outside, playing, or just giving him a treat can be like a jumpstart for my brain.

It’s still challenging sometimes; I can get hyperfocused on things and ignore him for hours (although I’m slowly improving on this), and he can be an asshole.

I love training him, though, and watching him learn new things and figure out problems is fascinating. He was in training for HRD, which ended up not working out for various reasons, but we’ll be starting a scentwork class soon.

He’s really the best dog I could have asked for and I honestly can’t picture what my life would look like right now if not for him.

Your pets are lovely! My little chiweenie puts her head in my hand like that, too, melts my heart. She is very kind. When we play fetch, she squeaks excitedly like a cat watching birds & its hilarious.

I have an odd little terrier, too- love him to bits, but his default reaction to, well, a LOT, is to snarl and scare everyone. He's so damn jumpy. He was abandoned & he's never outgrown that, despite our efforts. He's sweet outside of aforementioned issue, and his teeth chatter in the cold. It's very adorable.

I love them both so much.

I adopted my first dog of my own when I was 25, and my husband and I quickly realized she had severe behavioral issues. She was instantly overly protective of us, and aggressively reactive to other dogs, adults, and children. The rescue would not be able to re-home her, as she already had bit a woman who approached her (against our request to give the dog some space.) It was risky to live in a rented home, as our landlord would randomly walk into the house and the dog was particularly afraid of strange men, and I didn't know how to rent a new apartment without lying about her behavioral issues, which I do not believe in doing.

We genuinely considered euthanasia (I think if you could see her issues back then, you would understand the severity of the situation,) but ultimately I decided to aggressively save for a down-payment on a house and a $2000 consultation with a certified veterinarian behaviorist to see what could be done to manage the dog and maintain her safety as well as any dog or human we interacted with.

I was 25, purchasing a home was certainly not in my plans when I adopted her, and initially I resented how she was limiting our previously carefree lifestyle. 6 years later, I can see that she has changed my life for the better in immeasurable ways. Training her and teaching her how to live a happy life with us has given me a deep sense of pride, in both her and myself. The structure she requires has improved my own life, as I thrive on structure and routine as well. Buying my house at a young age (these days,) is also a personal accomplishment of mine, and has increased my confidence in my ability to take care of my family. My husband and I have grown closer because we know that were able to work together to get through what was honestly an immensely challenging situation. Adopting her was probably the most impactful event in my life thus far.

Here's a photo of her pretending she has no idea about our "no hanging out in the garden" rule. These days, she's so well-behaved that these sorts of innocent things are usually the most we have to worry about. We've really come a long way.

I would like to end my comment by bringing attention to the fact that this post is somewhat likely to bring up topics like dog aggression and rehoming of pets (as it already has, in the OP and my comment.) I'm glad we're on Tildes, because I would imagine this community has the ability to discuss these topics without being disrespectful or reactive. Maybe it's not necessary here, but I'd like to remind people to be thoughtful if you comment on OPs story about rehoming their first dog, as it was likely a painful experience that was not taken lightly.

OP, thanks for posting! As my above apprehension suggests, I've found it difficult to find spaces online where you can discuss pets without discussion constantly breaking down into arguments and separate camps of thought, which is a shame.

It was the first week in April, 2020, and I had just been informed that schools (I'm an educator) would be closed for the rest of the year. My husband was on permanent work from home. I said, "I love you, but I will go crazy in this house with just you in it. Let's get a cat." (Mind you, I had been trying to make him into a cat person since we started dating in 2011, so it only took a global pandemic to change his mind!)

We got the very last appointment the shelter had for adoptions before they closed permanently for COVID. We got to pick 2 cats to see. The first came in with a limp and bloody gums, so while he was sweet, we informed staff right away so he could get medical care. In came our cat. He was the one I wanted in the first place, but I knew I had to see 2 to make sure. Our kitty immediately was loud, purring, meowing, and rubbing allllll over us, so we took him home.

Now, he's a 16 pound cat who acts like a 3 year old and screams when he doesn't get what he wants. He was perfect company while we were both stuck at home and gave us someone to talk to and care for when the world was ending around us. He's spoiled rotten and owns the house, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Edit: cat tax! the day I took him home, 3 days after his arrival, making himself at home, in bed with me, stealing my side of the bed

I grew up with dogs. I had a pug as a kid. Then a puggle when I was in high school. I love dogs and miss having one greatly. Whenever I had a bad day, they could always cheer me up and were always happy to see me. I miss having that kind of affection on a regular basis.

Since I can't own any dogs in my current apartment and I'm highly allergic to cats, I instead own two snakes. A 3 year old boa constrictor named Persephone and a 9 year old ball python named Apophis.

I saw the post title and have a story, but it is different than most replies.

We have 2 barn cats. They are fixed of course. Many years ago one of them ran away for a couple months. He found his way back, but he wasn't the same. Only in the past couple years has he let me get close enough to pet him. And still he only comes near when it's meal time. To the extent that before I put their food out, he is all nicey nice. After eating, I am a total stranger.

As some more background I am a Type 1 diabetic. After he came back and was still estranged, it was a spring night. We were sleeping with the window open. At around 5am he was outside the window, looking up, meowing non-stop in a calm steady fashion. I woke up, went to the window, and he turned and walked away. I thought that was weird. He never did anything like that before (or since). I checked my blood sugar and it was very low. I credit him with saving my life

When I was leaving law enforcement I was having some issues that I later found out was PTSD. At the time I lived alone and wasn't working for about 6 months so I got lonely. I decided to adopt a cat through a special program that my local shelter has called the Catatude program. Basically they give you a cat with behaviour issues for free after you go through a background check and sign a few wavers. I found George in this program. He didn't like people or other cat and wouldn't eat while in the shelter. When I went to meet him he walked into my lap and fell asleep. The people at the shelter pushed the adoption up so I could take him home that day. After about a month he was settled in and as happy a cat as I've ever seen.
As I had more time away from the old job I started having flash backs and vivid nightmares. George, without any kind of training, started acting as my PTSD cat. He would hop in my lap or bat my leg if I flashed back or started to panic while awake and would wake me up by patting my face if I was having a nightmare. Honestly it was a life saver while I was putting my life back together to have him there to help me keep my head on straight. He's still here and I spoil him as much as I can for all the hard work he put in over the years.

My dog is named Marley. He just turned 3 yesterday; I've had him for over two years. He saves me every single day simply because he loves life so much. He appreciates every little thing. He can tell when I am stressed out or sad and sits at my feet, because he wants to comfort me. He can tell when I am busy, and he is just excited to go play ball for ten minutes, as long as he gets to be with me. Every morning, I wake up and open his kennel and he bolts out of it as fast as possible, runs down the hall, then runs back and jumps into my arms. He is just so excited to have another day of life!

Marley teaches me that we need to appreciate every single moment. It is so true...every single walk, every single game of catch, every single "puppy ice cream" i make for him...could be the last time. And so I need to make the most of it. I know I need to be patient with him, even more than I already try to be. I know I need to not get annoyed or frustrated with him. I feel badly when I do, because I know that him just following me to every single room at my heels is just his way of telling me "Dad, I love you, and I need to be close to you because you're my person and we are doing life together."

I love you Marley buddy.

My cats really helped me through some seriously difficult times. I don't like to get into too much detail but I lost my mother and my sister (not at the same time) not too long ago and that really fucked me up. I might not still be here if it wasn't for my cats to be honest. I can't imagine life without them and I don't want to.

This is Reuben. He just turned 1 year, last week. See here He is a pomsky/cattle dog cross. I got him last year after Maymay went for her long sleep.

Maymay (cute for Maggie, which was her shelter given name) was a warrior. She was husky crossed with collie and Australian shepherd. She gave no fucks. She did everything on her own terms. She was high energy and needed running every day which was great until she dogberg'd me and broke my leg. She stole distance running from me forever. I found other ways to keep her active-- after six or so years I could tolerate hiking again. She did the Fulton Chain Trifecta and the Saranac Six with me. She could swim beside a kayak for miles, and did. She was silly and had a prancing step she did when she wanted to ingratiate herself. She understood I was her person and didn't waste any love on me unless food was involved. I miss her so much. Everyone would say "Wow what a beautiful dog. Looks like a wolf." She was my first dog and I got her when she was six months old or so and she lived just shy of 14 years. She helped me through many hard years just by being there.

I got Reuben right away because I could not stand the grief. He was a baby, just 8 weeks when I got him. I didn't know what it was like to have a dog adulate on me all the time. Once he got used to the house and we made a routine he became like Velcro. We're doing great. I love him so hard!! I'll be 65 if he lives as long as Maymay. I take the grief in little sips, like now. It's my secret. Nobody knows how deep it goes, and that's just fine.