PHOTO GALLERY: Queers with Pets

Caro and Artemis / 30, 4 months / Deep in the Woods in New Brunswick

“Me and my playful pup, Artemis, spend our days running wild through the woods of New Brunswick watching out for bears and hunting mushrooms. She’s my most most favourite companion and does the cutest, hoppy bounces for balls and frisbees thrown into the field of wildflowers. We’re living our best life.”

Allyson and Sammy / 29, 8 / Portland, OR

“I rescued Sammy from Candy Land in 2009 and he’s been promoting the homosexual agenda ever since. We’re pet photographers! No kidding! (He usually stays home.) Find us on Instagram: @woodardphotos.”

Kat and Gravy / 29, 4 / My Couch, Los Angeles, CA

“The joke is that I conjured this snuggly noodle with my mind. One night I was about to head to bed when I heard a cat crying outside. I opened my front door and looked across the driveway to see a cat hunkered under a bush. I said “hi!” and she came right into my apartment. It was Thanksgiving weekend so I decided to call her Gravy. I figured she belonged to someone, but she had no chip and no one ever claimed her after lots of Found Cat posts and fliers! So, because I wanted a cat so badly, the universe sent me Gravy.

She’s just the best sweetest cat. She demands to be the little spoon, she comes when she’s called, lets me put my face in her belly, and makes super cute grumbly noises when she’s getting settled in bed. Her favorite things are chin scratches, getting to lick the can when I make tuna, and chattering at birds (but one time got over excited and jumped THROUGH a window screen to try to catch one, falling two stories. She was fine, I was traumatized.)
I don’t think she does anything weirder than the normal weird cat things, but she did one time bring a live bird into my room. She’s an indoor cat and all the windows have screens. Proof that cats go through portals. No Instagram but she does have a specific tag, #jeangravyboat.”

Hope and Scarlett / 21, 11 / NYC

“Scarlett is your typical fierce femme from the Midwest who made her way to the big city. She’s a sadgrrrl who doesn’t play well with others, but her face always lights up for some blueberries. We love playing fetch, snoozing, and watching The L Word together (in no particular order, of course).  Follow her on Instagram @scarletttheminischnauzer.”

Lisa and Oscar / Phoenix, AZ

“My wife brought him home, at 9 months, as a foster and we never let him leave. Oscar was his given name… we just added Wilde. He is fearless, and always bossing our big dog Nash around. Oscar loves the dog park, walks to get coffee and sleeping in, burrowed under the covers. When he wants attention he will just stand on top of you and stare… deep into your eyes. If you ignore him he will paw at your chest and face and continue to stare. No Instagram, but #oscarwildethedog.”

Hollis, Paw, Win (Little Shit), Theoden / 24, 15, 9, 7 weeks

“Both cats are rescues that came into my life via my mom’s patients finding ~6-9 month old kittens that had been dropped off in the vicinity of their farms.  Paw’s full name is Firepaw because I was 10 and very into the Warrior Cat series. Win’s full name is Winston because we were told we had a male kitten and with the floof and the person we got her from being a dog breeder we figured we didn’t need to check ourselves…until our “male” cat went into heat. She’s earned the name Little Shit because she is an escape artist of an indoor cat, she’s a small cat despite the floof, and when the indoor cat escapes you have the tendency to yell “SHIT!” as her floofy butt scoots by you out the door and across the lawn. I think it’s important to note that they don’t normally get along AT ALL but after I was gone for a long weekend they missed me so much Win had to sit on top of Paw so they could both be near me at the same time (she’s a little jealous and possessive while Paw is an indiscriminate lap-sitter).

I’m not 100% solid on Theoden’s name right now because I have not brought him home as of writing this BUT I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m going to go with so long as I can find a decent adjective to go with “King” for his Official Breed Papers since Theoden is a word for king in one of the many conlangs of Tolkien and it’s a character that I 1. like 2. know the conlang translation off the top of my head 3. the name isn’t an insult (sorry Faramir you might be my favorite but I can’t put “Sufficient Jewel” on any official record because that is just BAD FORM DENETHOR and you just don’t do things like that, jeez). As you can probably guess I am a gigantic nerd who grew up on Tolkien (though several Star Trek names were up for consideration too).  He will hopefully have the temperament and brains to become a service dog doing some mobility work and medical alert and/or response (since the alerts I’m hoping for are generally natural alerts and difficult to impossible to train) for me.”

Amelia and Alfoe / 28, 2 / Brisbane, Australia

“I stole Alfoe (Alien Foetus) under the cover of darkness from a council-owned cliff, and he has grown happily in water ever since. He’s a beautiful little man, and is complemented by the unnamed plants that gather around him.”

Chelsea, Lisa, Breemer, Little Cat / 27, 26, 9, 9 / Brisbane, Australia

“We only had one photo with 3 of us and had to photoshop in Little Cat. Breemer (grey) enjoys cuddles and sunbathing. Little Cat (black/white) enjoys stealing Breemer’s food and belly scratches.”

Camille and Mischka / Silay City, Negros Occidental, Philippines

“An eight year old Mischka came to our home with a bag full of her stuff. She was being passed around amongst relatives of my cousin’s best friend because of her barking and clinginess. That was almost five years ago. What started as an over the weekend “free trial” kind of arrangement turned out to be the best thing I ever signed up for! I’ve always wanted to adopt a dog, I just didn’t expect it to be a lovable, sweet potato obsessed, Mini Schnauzer, who is my shadow.”

Alissa and Fergie / 24, 18 / My Mum’s Bed, Germany

“I got this beautiful fierce cat for my sixth birthday. It was love at first sight. She was SOOO small. At breakfast, she would always choose me or one of my parents to climb onto the chair via human leg. It was painful and cute at the same time. Her name is NOT inspired by the Black Eyed Peas singer, they didn’t even exist back then (although Fergie the singer is nice too). She was named after Duchess Fergie who nobody knows anymore (because of her red hair). The name was obviously not my idea, but I still like it.

The best thing? So hard to say! I’ve learned a lot from her. I’m connected to her. I just love her so much! She is independent, wants to cuddle only when she decides to, knows how to persuade you to feed her, gets what she wants. She makes you understand her opinions on things through different meows and facial expressions. Don’t worry, she’ll let you know if she’s not pleased! But she’ll also let you know when she’s happy by laying on her back and purring, which will increase if you rub her belly with a foot (she accepts hands as well but feet are her true love). She is a fierce independent cat that don’t need no man. This is a relationship of total mutual trust and I’m scared of her nearing death, but so so happy to have this amazing creature in my life.”

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87 Comments

  2. I want to pet all of them. Even the house plant.

    Also, I really, really wanted to participate in this one, but unfortunately my cat doesn’t live with me and I couldn’t make it over to my mom’s in time for the deadline. I even had the photo all planned out!

  3. Wow, after looking through all of these I have that kind of post-TV-binge feeling, like I am slightly stunned and unsure what to do with my feelings or my body.

    Also, did I miss Sue Perkins the sourdough?!

  4. 1. Weare, NH is one town over from where I grew up! Wow!!
    2. Everyone’s pets are so charming, omg
    3. I did not know there were this many queers in Ohio?
    4. Marty and Olive are delighted to have been featured <3 <3 <3

  5. Having a real moment over here with all the cute.

    I’m also shocked that the entirety of my crazy dog lady verbal diarrhea made the cut.

  9. I met some wonderful pups hiking Triple Falls in DuPont National Park this summer. One of my favorite parts of hiking is all the dogs I meet. I used to have a Springer that hiked all over Pisgah National Forest and The Smokey’s with me. As well as playing on the beach in Isle of Palms. It’s been a couple of years since my last Springer passed away. I have had all kinds of dogs, but we foster Springers. Hopefully, my sister and I will be able to adopt a couple of dogs soon. We already named them Biscuit and Grits.

  12. Lovely! So heartwarming to see the photos and read how all these lovely animals found their human companions.

  13. ok do you all have professional photos taken with your pets or what?

    …wait, can I have professional photos taken with my pet?

    • Right? I tried to use my good camera but that was a no-go with Mr. Grumpy Pants, so I ended up having to use my crappy phone camera instead. I am impressed with everyone else’s well-behaved fur friends.

    • Everytime I take a pic of reptar I am RISKING MY VERY LIFE because he hates phones. I think the screen doesn’t refresh fast enough for bird eyes to make sense of them? I’m p sure phones are murdery strobe lights for him

    • Maybe a little food before and after the shoot could make it more professional? Food to distract then food as reward when your pet does a good job.

    • Yes you can have professional photos taken with your pets (says the woman who has signed her dogs up to be calendar models).

    • I’ve done that before but Boris was very scared in the studio and tucked his ears all the way back. I sent one of those I turns to my dad and he answered me “your poor dog has no ears”

  15. So much cuteness! I thought I was going to die there for a minute.

    Glad to report that the result was this instead:

  17. Also wow wasnt aware we were meant to write essays on our animals?? I worked so hard* to condense mine

    *”hard”, “for five minutes”, potato, potahto,

  18. I wish I knew about this! I would love for you guys to meet my pet cock, Pirri, 10! I love that guy. ?????

  21. So many good animals and so many good animal names and so many good faces and pictures and ahhh! So much good I so desperately needed today. <3

  23. Thank the gods for this post today. I was already crying last night out of overwhelmed-the-world-is-the-worst-dumpster-fire-ever types of emotions. Then I woke up to the tragic news about vegas. This is a nice reminder that not all is bad.

    Thanks.

    ps. It looks like my pic with my dog is lumped into the folks pictures above me.

  25. All of your pets are adorable and I’m jealous that I am a poor grad student with a lease that forbids dogs and cats.

    Also I reeeeeally hope the next gallery is a Halloween costume gallery.

  27. Oh how I needed this gallery today! Rather than try to pick favorites, I’ll simply say that y’all and your pets are just *the cutest*. Thanks, everyone! <3

  28. This is the best thing ever. I have officially followed all of your instagram accounts, because whenever the world is bad I follow another 20 or so animal instas and this was a perfect opportunity. This thread is amazing and I wish I hadn’t forgotten to send in pictures of my amazing cats. You can see them on my instagram if you want; my username there is also ankhmorpork. It’s 90% my cats with a few selfies here and there. I don’t pet sit as much anymore but I tend to take pictures of the dogs and cats I sit for as well.

    P.S. Atlanta people, we should become friends so I can pet your dogs. And because half my queer friends have moved away and you seem like fun people. But also, dogs.

  29. Oh, my goodness. OH, MY GOODNESS! My heart. I can’t handle this right now. Look at all of this cuteness. Precious babies.

  31. So many beautiful humans with amazing animal friends! ?

    I was kind of expecting at least one snake or lizard though…but I’m very glad nobody sent in a photo with a pet tarantula! ?

  32. I love animals and I love you guys and everything is so cute and let’s choose to ignore the rest of the world, just for today

  36. YOUR PETS ARE ALL SO GREAT but now i feel guilty that i only posted my dog and not my cat, because he is also a star. instead of using a litter box, he likes to jump over our back fence, crap in the neighbor’s yard, and then come home, because cats are dicks. we used to be okay with this because we hated our old neighbors but now we have new neighbors, a nice gay couple who love him, so now he goes over there to crap and then they let him in their back door for food and treats. he has a second family and thinks we don’t know because he still comes home wanting dinner. anyway that’s my cat and i need you to know about his antics.
    my sister also has a ball python. she sleeps most of the day and hates men, so, ya know, relatable.

  37. This is the best photo gallery ever!! I just went and followed all the Instagram accounts! I kinda wish this was an ongoing queers with pets instagram. Haha. I also really want a cat now! I also absolutely loved that Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs had their cat here too and an instagram!! So exciting!! This has made my day. <3

  38. this was soooo lovelyyy!!!

    anna^2 i really want a christmas card from you and yours. that is year-round fridge material.

  39. OMG the adorbs. Part of me regrets not including my parents’ new puppy Ms Frizzle for the amazing cuteness factor, but Mikoto’s my priority. I was getting nervous that we weren’t going to be on the list but turns out we were just near the end.

    I miss my camp buds and now I miss your pets too ❤️

    • First thing I did was Ctrl+F my cat’s name, and then look through the gallery once I knew he made it in ~^_^~

  40. It is 7:25 am on Bainbridge Island in Washington, and I have been up since 5:10 am to take the ferry over here – so forgive my emotions when I say that all of you and your bbs are perfect. Gosh. Thank you for sharing.

  41. I thought my favourite page on the internet was a cache of 215 pictures of Kate McKinnon at the Emmys, but I see I was wrong. I live here now.

  42. This gallery makes me SO happy. Like it is the most heartwarming, relaxing, adorable thing ever. Thank you for putting this together.

  43. Shoutout to the people whose dogs are named Henry and Hazel – those are our dogs’ names too! <3

  45. I’m going back through this a page a day and reading every single word you all wrote about your furbabies, and I just laughed out loud at this: “fun fact: if you name your very independent dog Stella, every trip to the dog park turns into A Streetcar Named Desire.”

  46. Yo bookshelf, I’m really happy for you, Imma let you finish but Pets is the best gallery of all time.

  47. So good! I particularly love Boris the show cat who reminds me so much of my cat Spike. She was a show cat in her own mind.

  49. Wow, I wrote a god damn essay. I am sorry ya’ll lmao. I love everyone’s pets!!

    If you and your doggo live near Sacramento, CA, we need to meet up ASAP!!!

    • Beau and I are on page 13 and also we would love to be friends. He needs practice making friends because he’s not great at it and friends confuse him. Shoot me a message… I’m much easier to contact on Instagram or Facebook, so swap details with me and you can play with my dog?

  50. So many new instagram friends for Puck! I’m very glad we can keep this gallery going on instagram ^_^ And it’s nice to see there’s another mischievous Puck out there :)

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