Furry friends are the best friends. They love their owners unconditionally, want constant cuddles, and are always happy to see their owners. After a long day of work or school, sometimes the best way to unwind is to spend some time with a pet.
People on Reddit share the special moment they shared with their pet. Content has been edited for clarity.
“He Was Basically Like A House Plant”
“Growing up I had this cat who was a rather independent creature. He stayed outside most of the time and would always sit just out of reach when inside. He’d bite or run if you tried to pet him, and he wasn’t particularly cuddly. For most of the time we had him, he was basically like a house plant to me.
One day after a particularly bad day at school, I went into the wood by my house to be alone and cry. After a bit my cat comes up and starts rubbing against me and purring. We sat there awhile. After that, he started hanging around me a lot more often. Incidentally at that time I was making waffles a lot (because it’s what I knew how to cook), and would often give him little bits of the crust which he seemed to enjoy,
A couple years later that cat started to get ill, lost his eyes fighting raccoons and other cats. When he got really bad towards the end, the last thing he would still eat were those bits of waffle. He said goodbye to me on the day he died; he came up to rub against me and let me pet him one last time, and died ten minutes later. He died outside with myself, my parents, and my brother next to him.
I buried him next the house, in the garden he loved.”
It’s The Thought That Counts
“I was super sick with a kidney infection and hadn’t been able to really get out of bed for the past couple of days. My cat was with me for most of the time. She went out for a bit and when she came back, she jumped up on the foot on my bed and was really still. I knew something was up and sure enough she had a mouse/baby rat in her mouth. I jumped up and ran out of the room, she followed me with it.
My mom’s boyfriend who was also sick came out of their room to see what the commotion was. He tried to get the mouse from her, but she wasn’t having any of that and clawed him. She went back outside and when she came back in she didn’t bring another gift, but just curled up and went to sleep. Looking back it’s kinda sweet. She brought me a present, tried to make sure that I saw by following me with it, and then fought someone trying to keep it.”
It Actually Was The Best Time
“I was struggling with depression and a self destructive drinking habit. Probably not a great time to buy a cat but I did and he was a demanding little guy. I couldn’t just stay in bed in the morning unmotivated to get up because he would slap me until I got up to feed him. I couldn’t stay out all night drinking because I had to come home to take care of him. Soon I stop drinking and go on benders because he demanded the best of me.
As he was getting old, he started losing the use of his hind legs. I’d set him down in his bed every night so he could sleep comfortably. One morning I woke up and he was in the bed with me. He must’ve used his two front legs to dragged himself to me bed, climbed up, just so he could be with me.”
Woken Up For The Best Reason
“I had a really bad panic attack one night (first time ever, and the only one of that magnitude to date). I had no idea how to calm down but I could barely stand up. Finally wobbled out into the living room and picked up the sleeping cat. He just kinda looked at me, annoyed, but then realized I needed his company, and started purring so loudly while I pet him for about 15 minutes.
When I finally calmed down he jumped off me and went back to where he was originally sleeping and got comfortable. Cat was a real homie, and I really think he understood that he was helping me out.”
“We Were Inseparable”
“A week after I graduated high school, I saw a new therapist. She diagnosed me as Bipolar. It meant that what had been happening all throughout my senior year was a full mental breakdown. It made sense, so I started on medication. I am still on those same medications to this day, seven years later. I am mentally stable.That was the first week of the month.
Things tend to get worse before they get better, I’ve learned. And this is pretty standard with medications that help with mental stability. I had gone from at least being able to function day-to-day to suddenly seeing things. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw a dark, shadowed figure of a dog hunched in my doorway, waiting for me. I knew it was death. It was an innate knowledge. Everything seemed darker, and I don’t remember most of it.
The thing I do remember, though, is my little ray of light. When I was ten, my mom took me to get a kitten. I came back with a chocolate-point applehead siamese male. Barely old enough to be weened and determined to hate me. But I was ten and he was a cute kitten. I didn’t put that cat down for the first two years of his life. By then we were inseparable, we came as a packaged deal.
Every night, my little Caspion would sit either at the end of my bed facing the doorway or just inside of it. Watching. It gave me peace enough to sleep. Every time I closed the door to a room, he would wait outside for me. Everywhere I went, my little ray of light followed. He didn’t let me out of his sight for that entire week.
And then, suddenly, it seemed like the meds actually kicked in. It was like coming out of a tunnel and everything was ten times brighter. Caspion went back to his normal, aloof ways after that.I think he knew what I was going through, my fears, and that I wasn’t entirely sure I could live through that week.
But I did.”
“Our Souls Are Intertwined”
“My yellow lab knows me and my emotions to a near psychic level. When I’m stressed, she will come to me, and gently nuzzle her muzzle under my arm. She’ll cuddle up by my side, and just sit with me. It’s the dog version of taking me in her arms, to just hold me.
When I’m in a good mood, she will smile her dog smile, and wag her whole butt. When I’m home, she’s by my side. She understands a sizeable vocabulary, and I swear, she even understands my lame jokes (because I talk my dog like she’s a person). She has a look that’s kindly patronizing, that she’ll give me.
Our souls are intertwined.”
“I Felt Better Quickly”
“We’ve only had my dog (a rescue) for a few months. Despite his large size, this poor pooch is afraid of just about everything and often looks to me for assurance and guidance so usually I’m the one who’s comforting him.
But, just today I came home in a terrible mood. I had just finished crying ten minutes prior and as soon as I open the door, this big goof comes galloping towards me with the dopiest smile on his face. Typically, he’s a very lazy dog who never wants to play, but instantly he wanted to rough house. We played for a good half an hour chasing each other around and play fighting then afterwards he gave me a good cuddle.
Whether it was intentional or not, I felt a lot better very quickly.”
The Dog Didn’t Hesitate
“My family had a German shepherd when I was young. She was part of a line of police K9s and was the smartest dog I’ve ever known. One time we were at a remote job site where my dad was working. There was an old abandoned cemetery in a grove of trees a couple hundred yards away. My brother and I were playing near the job site when Cop Girl, our imaginatively named K9, came running over and circling us. There was no mistaking that she wanted us to follow her to the graveyard, but my brother and I were 6 and 8 at the time and too afraid to follow so we went and got our dad.
He followed Cop Girl to the woods, and found that my mom had gone to explore the graveyard and twisted her ankle, falling into a bed of fire ants. She was eaten up pretty badly and rushed to the hospital. She had to wear some body wrappings for awhile but came out of it OK. She said she told Cop Girl to get help and without hesitation she had bolted off for us.
So I’d say possibly saving my mom’s life was a pretty kind act.”
“I Was Lying There In Agony”
“We had a cat who was raised outdoor and we tried to make indoor. He hated it. His only dream was escape, which he would do as often as he could. His move was to get out and hide in the bushes until we gave up and walked away. Then he’d go do his thing and come back when he was hungry. I also strongly suspected he didn’t care for me. He was rarely affectionate and only with other people.
I fell out of a tree when I was 9. I measured it later and apparently I fell about 9 feet. I landed ankle first on a tree root protruding from the ground with all of my body weight hitting the ankle soon after. Unimaginable pain. I limped for years but my mother thought I was faking and refused to take me to the hospital. I was just lying there in agony, crying like I’d never cried before, and I look over to see the cat darting by the house. I howled his name and he stopped. He didn’t come over but he could see my distress was so severe that he was watching me. I got myself to my foot and hopped over. He stayed put and didn’t even protest when I picked him up and hopped him all the way back to the house.
It doesn’t sound like much but if you knew him, it was a lot.”
“He Was The Very Best Boy”
“I had a black labrador called Ben. He was everyone’s best friend and my mum called him her wee shadow. My granny passed away in 2014 after quite a long traumatic few months. We were her carers and there right until the end, so after she died, home felt like it was in the middle of a storm. I remember going home to wash a few hours before it happened and Ben climbed onto the couch with me and pushed his head into my neck and let me just cry.
A few days after she died my mum was sitting at the kitchen table just weeping inconsolably and Ben just walked up quietly and put his head on her lap. When she leaned in he started licking her tears and trying to get at her ears to make her laugh. Without him, I don’t think we would have got through those days. We talk about him all of the time so even though I can’t hold him or go to the river and see him stick his face under water, he’s always with us. He was the very best boy.”
“We Don’t Deserve Dogs”
“My dog doesn’t let her toy carrot out of her sight, NEVER ever let anyone touch it etc. She protects it like her life depends on it. Growls, snarks, even bit my mom once when she tried to wash it.
I’ve been going through a really hard time, and I was crying on my bedroom floor. At first she just came and lay next to me (which in and of itself is adorable), and then she brought me her carrot. At first I didn’t react much because I was crying, so she started nudging it at me and poking me with it. She then got on my lap and put it on my chest and that made me happy cry even more. Once I took it, she just sat down next to me. That was so pure. She gave me what she felt was the most important thing ever and waited for the effect of said important thing she valued.
We. Don’t. Deserve. Dogs.”
Pets Are The Best Kind Of Friends
“Snowball the dog always accompanied me on bike rides. This is back when I was 9 through 12 years old. We were the same age. She always ran along the side of the road that had a tree nursery. This was almost 20 years ago when kid snatching was pretty easy to accomplish and internet didn’t really help you get the word out. I believe she ran as old and arthritic as she was to keep me safe. Luckily I stopped riding for her last two years. This was also in a rural area before heartworm medication was pushed much. I loved her.
Moonpie was my heart and soul after Snowball died. We got her a few months later and throughout her 14 years she helped me through middle school and high school and college. She helped me through breakups and left me only once I met my current boyfriend who has been both a rock for me when I’m falling and a life vest when I’m sinking. One thing she would do for me her whole life was be my alarm clock for neonatal kittens. She would watch over them and keep them warm and clean then come get me when it was time to feed them. Together we raised over 200 kittens and found them all homes except for one which was incredibly bonded with her, which I named Snowball.
Carlos we named after the man who found him and brought him to us. He was a 10 or 11 year old malamute that was blind in both eyes with ear infections in both ears. He was also heartworm positive. He taught me how to love hard without easing into it. There wasn’t time on his end to learn each other, I just immediately loved him to the fullest. He loved for 2 years and during that time he was a therapy dog for a nursing home. The kindest thing he did in his life was get one of the dementia patients to smile every time he visited. Her family hadn’t seen her smile in a long time and so he was a good boy.
Suzy lived in a hole she had dug in the yard of the rescue I volunteered with. The rescue group managed to get her out when she ate but otherwise she lived down there in a little lonely den. I brought her home and bathed her. She went from being a grey dog to a surprising blonde. She was grumpy but if you were sad she always brought you a toy even when she got too senile to bring you a toy she would still come to see what was wrong.
Lacey is my moms chihuahua poodle mix. She was bottle raised by my mom and hasn’t left her side in 9 years. Lacey has comforted my mom through her chronic illness and that is something I haven’t been able to do. I’m so grateful that Lacey is there for her. She gives my mom something to care for also (not that she needs it but I think it helps her keep her mind off her own ailments). They get each other like Moonpie and I got each other. That’s the best gift any pet can give.
Snowball the cat has been depressed since Moonpie died. She’s basically velcro on me unless she’s eating or fighting with my boyfriend’s cat. She spent long hours for the past year and some months comforting me after Moonpie died. I’ve realized she’s also depressed, so I am trying to help her cope as well.
Jason Bond has been with me for 12 years. I raised him as a kitten and he went up for adoption. I never went into our adoption room because I only did neonatal rescue and medical foster for the rescue. I was asked to help out in there one day when the main lady broke her foot. Two years he spent in that room and he still remembered me. This was during a time I felt very well invisible in the world. I didn’t want him to feel invisible anymore either so here we are today. He is always willing to cuddle and hang out with anyone who is having a good or bad day. He doesn’t ask for much but he deserves everything.
Jason’s best friend, Deenah was caught in a trap when she came to us. She was super sweet so I thought she was someone’s pet and opened the trap and brought her inside to try and find her owner. She lived under our couch for 2 weeks, only coming out to do business and eat. Once she realized we wouldn’t hurt her, she couldn’t stop playing with Jason and loving on us. She always knows when I’m cold and comes to warm my feet. Lately since my mom got an infection she hasn’t left her side. She’s definitely a caretaker type kitty.
Spookie Monster is a brain damaged cat that we nursed back to health. He looks funny and is mostly blind in one eye with no depth perception but otherwise is normal. We foster failed him when people kept passing him by at adoption events, saying they didn’t want the stupid one. He’s actually incredibly intelligent. I love the monster and he always shows up when I least expect him to, but he’s sneaky about it.
Saami my cocker spaniel we adopted three years ago. He is dumb but really smart. He only has one eye but it doesn’t stop him or get him down. He has taught me to enjoy little moments. Hes goofy as heck too and makes me smile and laugh. He is always willing to lay in bed with me, and lets me squeeze the heck out of him when I’m missing my past pets or had a bad day at work.
I have 4 pet rats. They are cute. They make me laugh. They are intelligent and funny and loving. Trouble is my heart rat. She has taught me to love all types of animals. Guinness has passed but he taught me to not judge based on other people’s opinions. He was my first rat (I was required to get a lab rat when I was in school). Because of him being so awesome I dove headfirst into the rat world. I’ve even gone so far as to make new friends who are in rat rescue. I’m socially inept so this is a huge thing for such a tiny creature to give.”
He Said Thank You
“In late April 2007, I was called by a shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, to ask if I would rescue a dog that they’d picked up. ‘Jet’ was a young male Basset Hound who had been hit by a car and had a shattered leg. I ran the Basset Hound Rescue in Kentucky at the time. Of course I said I would take him. I got him transported down to me and got him to my vet. There, they said it would cost around $3,000 to pin the leg back together but only $150 to amputate. Because it was a back leg, and he was not your typical deep-chested short-legged Basset, I opted for amputation.
It was rough because as the bruising healed from the car accident, it strained against his stitches and I had to take him to the vet and have them keep him overnight while they took all the stitches out and let the wound drain.
We always had a number of foster dogs at our house and we also had a dog of our own who was pretty dominant. One day, about six weeks post amputation, Jeremiah (as I now named him given that he hopped like a bullfrog) was in the kitchen with a couple other dogs when two of the other ones got into a fight around him. Not wanting him injured, I scooped him up and turned to leave the kitchen. As I was leaving, I hit my foot on the door frame breaking my foot. I ended up in the emergency room and that night came home on crutches. The next day I got up on the couch with a pillow under my leg, as I was told to stay off my feet and keep it elevated.
Jeremiah decided he needed to comfort me as I had saved him in the middle of the fight. He struggled for a good 15 to 20 minutes until he was able to pull himself up onto the couch unaided. This was the first time he had gotten on the couch. I had him up for adoption but at that point I couldn’t let him go. I paid his adoption fee and I kept him. I had him for 11 years until he passed away at around age 14 or 15 in January 2018. He never really liked anybody else. He sure did love his mama.”
Gizmo The Nurse
“My aunt had this female cat named Gizmo when I was a kid. Gizmo was a savage who had no time or patience for anyone. She spent most of her life outdoors. By choice of course. She had free reign and could come and go as she pleased. She’d come in at night to sleep and be back out again. She had no interest in people at all and chances are if you tried to touch her in any manner she’d mess you up.
I was probably around 8 years old and I was spending a weekend at my aunts when I got the worst flu I ever had in my life. It was so bad I still remember it in vivid detail nearly 30 years later. I was sick for days, and it was absolute agony.
About a day in I couldn’t take it anymore and I just started wailing. There I was laying on a pull out couch in the den surrounded by buckets, sweating, crying and begging for it to end, and in the house comes Gizmo.
This cat jumped up on the couch and cuddled me and licked me and did everything she could to comfort me. Not just for a little while, but for days. Through the entire ordeal. She stayed right there beside me only leaving to eat and head outside for a couple minutes at a time. She didn’t want anyone else near me either. If anyone got in arms reach of that couch she’d turn on them and chase them out.
I remember my aunt and cousins being amazed. To this day they still bring it up from time to time. That cat never showed an ounce of consideration for a human once before or after this event, but she was bound and determined to stick it out with me until the end and did just that.”