Duke

Well we bit the bullet and adopted a new dog, Duke.  He's approximately 3-years old, a Dachsund/Chihauhau/Manchester Terrier mix and a little love bug.  He sleeps between Larry and I each night in bed, and plays with Joey every day.  So far, so good.  Joey can tend to get a little jealous when Duke's around me, which is all the time since I've become his "person", so it can be a challenge.  We've tried to emphasize that Duke is his dog to lessen the jealousy factor some... only time will tell if our ploy has worked.

My sister found him for us.  One of her elderly clients passed away suddenly and the family didn't know what to do with the dog.  One minute we were getting him, the next we weren't as another family member stepped up, then a week later Crystal called to say it wasn't going to work out with the family member, and that evening we had a dog.  So now our house is feeling more like a home cause again we have a dog in it.  I still miss Bubba daily, but Duke has already won me over with his charm.

Peter Cotton Tail Monson

Yep we have a new addition to our family, a 10-month old Rex Rabbit who's name is Peter Cotton Tail. He is the softest thing I've ever felt, loves to be petted and to play with old baby rattles. Joe and Larry are almost as in love with him as I am.


I'm hoping once they realize just what a joy a bunny can be that we'll be able to bring home a little girlfriend for Peter (spayed of course!) to complete our little family. Everyone needs to have somebody to love, even Peter.

Bubba's a little jealous right now, but I know after a couple of days he'll think that we got Peter just for him. He always wants to take all the pets I bring home for himself.


I'm so happy to have Peter that I just can't stop smiling every time I look at him. Mom even thought he was sweet and came out to give him a little grandma loving.

Puppies, Puppies Everywhere

Larry, Joe and I went to check out a breeder today for Miniature Australian Shepherds. Crystal had turned me on to him as he is one of her grooming clients. There were about 10 puppies there - he had bred both of his female dogs aiming for a total of eight pups and instead ended up with a total of 15 since one of them gave birth to 10 and the other 5. Anyway he had an equal bunch of Blue Merle and Tri Merle's and one red... all of them were beautiful.

I fell in love with two, a little girl named Martha and a boy named Adam. Larry was drawn to one of the other males and Joey loved them all. They kept jumping all over him, knocking him down and climbing all over him. This would have been just fine but they had sharp little nails, and teeth, and so when they'd get to be to much for him he'd start yelling for Momma. One puppy in particular, that had already been selected by another family and in fact will be going home to them tomorrow, took a real liking to Joey. They ran after one another and Joey kept throwing toys for him. That pup would just grab on to the bottom of his shorts or his t-shirt and off they'd go - Joe running ad full speed and Kona just dragging along, bouncing up and down off the dirt, but never letting go. It was priceless. I wish I'd had my camera with me so that I could have gotten a video, but wouldn't you know I forgot it at home.

Anyway I seriously want to get one, but not now as it's just not in the budget. He breeds about once every 12-18 months, so perhaps I'll get to bring one of the little guys home with me from the next litter. Plus that will give me time to save up as they're bread from champion lines and run on average $900-1200. I know you all are thinking - whoa that's a lot of money, and your right but it's the perfect breed for my physical needs as well as our family, and it's the perfect size and temperament for me to turn him or her into a therapy dog which has long been a dream of mine.

Anyway, Sis thanks for referring me to Ben and Steve as they were great and their dogs are just what I've been looking for.

Callie, Callie, Callie

Callie is the 9-year old cat that I adopted from Crystal's boss Michelle. She's very unique in her look, a perfectly halved face one side pitch black and the other orange, while her body is mottled like a typical calico cat would be. She's also unique in that she loves, loves, loves me, likes mom well enough, even will come when Joey calls her so long as he's sitting on his bottom and not all spastic in his pursuit of her, but she wants nothing, nada, zip to do with my wonderful husband Larry. I don't get it. He wants to be buddies with her and in fact as a result of the cold shoulder she's throwing not only his way but towards our other cat Sunset as well, it has made Larry and Sunset bond even stronger. Now sunset jumps up on the bed when Larry goes to sleep demanding her allotment of loving from him, and she'll follow him into the bathroom, talking the whole time at him while he's trying to take care of business.

Both Callie and Sunset do the same thing to me, but they choose to do it from opposite sides of the bed. They can be so funny. I thought Callie would be the Alpha in this dynamic because she's older, has always lived with other cats, and Sunset let her believe it for the first few days, but when Callie started to push to far into was Sunset considers her personal space all hell breaks loose. And they don't care what time it's taking place 3 in the afternoon or 3 in the morning, makes no difference to them they go after one another, caterwauling the whole way, disturbing us as well as all the dogs within hearing distance. Knocking about one another, and whatever gets in their way - telephones, jewelry boxes, etc. I think you get the picture. I'm hoping that soon they'll remember that they're supposed to be ladies, and ladies don't brawl each and every night. I guess only time will tell. But I must say they add quite a bit of levity to my day and always it seems just when I seem to need it most. So Kudo's to our pets, our unsung hero's most of the time for all that they do with and for us. I love you Bubba, Sunset, and Callie, plus all the ones that are now in spirit form and that I feel are still watching over me, I love you too.

Fleas be gone

Well I'm doing phase two of the fogging today while Joey is at daycare. We pretty much zapped them with my massive bombing two weeks ago, but now I need to reapply to ensure no nasty hidden eggs have a chance to hatch. I am so thrilled to have them all gone. Especially since our menagerie seems to keep growing.

We had Bubba, Princess, and Sasha. Princess we had to put in rescue care to be placed in a childless home because she was to snappy with Joey. Crystal's dog Nick chased Sasha once to many when they were visiting one day and I haven't seen her since. Larry says the coyotes probably got her. I prefer to believe that she's living with some little old lady down the street from us who was smart enough to make her an indoor cat 100% of the time hence the reason we never see her hanging around.

So then we adopt "Sunset", which is a stupid name for a cat in my opinion but as she's not a kitten I don't feel right changing her name so I just call her kitty or cat. This is the culprit that brought the fleas into our home. Bad cat, BAD! Then the weekend we were fogging my sister asks me if I know of anyone looking for a cat because her boss has been unable to place her 9-year old cat and is left with no option but to take her to the pound. Sucker that I am I pipe up with, "I'll take her" and so now we have Callie. She looks like Sunset only she's a short hair and the line down her face separating the black/grey from the orange is very distinct. I love them both so much and they couldn't be more different. It took sunset 3-months to adjust and come out of our room. Callie acted like she owned the joint from the first day. Plus she things she is a dog - growling at Sunset when she gets to close to me and knocks on doors with her paws when she wants into a room.

So let's see, we're now back up to three - Bubba, Sunset and Callie. Then Larry, Mom and Joe come home from running errands and he tells me he's found the perfect dog for us - a 14 month old Chihuahua and dachshund mix. He's a rescue from an abused home, as sweet as can be, etc., etc., etc. I talk to the lady get the particulars - housebroken, very basic commands, neutered, fully up on shots, a little underweight, very friendly with dogs, cats, and kids. Joey already fell in love with him. I told the lady to give me a couple days to consider it and then I'd let her know one way or the other if were interested and make an appointment to see the dog. So who knows, we might be adding one more to our family home.