The need for pets

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Yeah, they are.

Many will continue to purr until they give their dying breath. Most won't meow like that unless they actually want to die.

Yep, I have two dogs and I love them to death. (Well strictly speaking one is my husband's, and one is mine, but...)

I don't know what I'd do without them. They are always glad to see me, keep me company, and cheer me up when I'm down. As someone else said, they are also great for meeting new people, as a friendly dog is a great ice-breaker.

I love cats!! ! But, I don't have any, because I don't think it is a good idea for a single guy to have cats. There are too many people allergic to cats. I'd hate to not be able to date a girl, because she gets allergic reactions in my house.

I can't imagine not having a cat around. I have lost count of all the cats I've had.

It's so true. My friend's family recently put their cat to sleep because he had advanced stomach cancer and could no longer be tempted to eat even his favorite things. He also had been throwing up many times a day for weeks, and was probably in a lot of pain (aside from slowly starving to death). Yet, he was still affectionate when you picked him up, and he tried to purr. Same thing with my cat who died of kidney failure. My parents drove him up to see me at college two days before he died, and even though he only weighed 2-3 pounds (from a starting weight of 12) and could barely move, he still purred as I held him. Another cat we had was purring only minutes before her heart stopped (she had some kind of suspected auto-immune disease- we never found out what it was but it struck quickly).

i love animals....we have a dog, three cats, two guinea pigs, a hamster, three fish, two turtles, a hermit crab, a lizard, two snails, a budgie...i think that's all of them...i'd have more if i could....i'd like another couple of hamsters and a ferret or two....

I had a dog for a while who was very special to me and a tremendous healing force in my life... really one of the best things to happen to me in a while... she was a rescued pit bull. Then the rescue group I got her from decided to take her back for a really stupid reason without even getting the facts, so now I don't have a dog, and it's really hard. It's something I think about all the time-- how I miss my dog and want her back, but since I can't have her, how I at least want another one kind of like her. But a dog that special is really hard to find.

You know that you can sue the vet, right?

Anyway, I don't think having pets is beneficial for those with ASD but I'm guessing that it would be helpful to have them.
I've had pets all of my life and have never gone a day without one. The first pet I had was a dog named Buster. When my mother and I moved away from my father when I was 2 and a half, Buster stayed with my father which was sad. In the same day, we went to the SPCA and adopted a cat, which was great!
Right now, my house is like a mini petting zoo...I love it!

I think pets help me in a variety of ways...one being, keeping me from complete lonliness...which is the most important to me.

My cat is my best, most dependable friend. I think I would feel really alone in the world without him... He is 12 years old, but in good health (needs to lose a little bit of weight though! ; ) but otherwise doing well). I've had him since he was a kitten and I tell him he is "purrfect" all the time, even if it goes to his head sometimes! ; )

~L

I am by cat's butler : )

I always had cats when I was little, but mostly dogs. I become a lot more attached to animals than people, so I like having them around. We had a litter of puppies 5 years ago, and we decided to keep two. One of them had a fall, we took him to the vet who told us he had double pneumonia. He died that night, and it destroyed me. I have never felt that way about another human before, or since.

As long as you come across as calm to a dog they will be fine, feel nervous and they will smell it. Cats are just small ASers in fur coats anyway.

At different times in my life I have had a dog, several cats, a few rats, a colony of wild mice, a muskrat, three seagull babies that I raised and set free, a crow, quite a few tropical fish, and a rabbit. I took care of about 18 hedgehogs that used to visit my kitchen at night and I currently have a sparrow that I raised from a nestling. I am also trying to care for about 50 wild ducks but it's getting expensive.

Absolutely.

Having a pet makes it so much easier for me to relate to people, and whenever I'm depressed or a little sad, my dog helps cheer me up.

The unconditional love is a plus as well.

i want to get a dog but i am so scared of them!

when i move out, i'll need a buddy and i'll probably get a weiner dog

i have 2 dogs & they are 2 of my 3 best friends. they are black labrodors, 8 years old. i dont see them that often as i am away at university most of the time but when i go home they give me hugs (i hate human hugs but hugs from dogs are great!) if i am upset they always know & want to help me. they are amazing & i dont know what i will do when they go
my other best friend is the pony that i used to own but had to sell before i went to uni. i still see him occasionally but the girl who owns him now does not look after him as well as used to & so he has had laminitis twice since i sold him when he has never had it before. i have heard thorugh a friend that she is selling him now but i have promised him that i will not lose him as he really was my best friend. we were complete opposites but we went together so well. he was so brave it made up for my lack of confidence & i dont know where i would be if it was not for him as throughout grammar school it was quite often that he was the only thing that kept me going when i just felt like ending it all. i am devastated at the way he is being treated by the girl who has him now, i just want him back but unfortunatly i do not have the time or money to look after him whilst at uni

I'd like to have some animal - cat or one of those fluffy small pets like chinchilla or gerbil would be considered the best option for me. Now I have aquarium but fish is simply not the same - I can't take my fish for a walk, be a teacher of funny tricks or even stroke it - I can only observe what can be very pleasant but it doesn't satisfy all my needs. I used to have a hamster and a guinea pig in my teens but they died.

My cat is my best friend and really adds some joy to life. She's always happy to see me when I get home, and purrs endlesslessy when being patted. She reminds me of our routines, such as when it's time to sit at the desk and surf the web or go watch a TV show, because she gets a vacant lap and tons of attention. When I am 'late' getting to the TV for our showtime (late afternoon), she reminds me verbally, in true cat meow-style, and I just meow back. We've been known to carry out these convos for over a minute, back and forth.