Our Pets

Yes, our pets.
What a topic.

We've had Chelsea the longest...going on 12 years now.  She was a "gift" from our son.  Chelsea was about to be taken to the pound in Utah where our son was visiting.  He phoned us and asked us if we would like a dog, as this little dog was so nice.  We had recently had Kim's cocker spaniel, Buffy, put to sleep after his long life of 16 years.  But how could we say no?  Besides, we had a safety net; Casey's friend's mother said she would take Chelsea if we didn't like her.

And just look what we ended up with....half husky, half corgi is what we were told.  And she was adorable.

Chelsea has been a great addition to our lives.  We estimate her to be around 14 years old so we don't expect many more years from her.  But she's been great.
She's mostly deaf now, and likes to sleep, a lot.  But she's been tolerant of our chickens and many cats. She's been a sweetheart.

Then there's Jessie.

Jessie was a stray kitten from next door.  He came to us three years ago.
Jessie is a large cat, but a big scaredy cat.  He's a lover, not a fighter.  And he's also a drooler.  Pet him and you'll get wet.  He is by far the shiest of our cats.

The cats next door just wouldn't stop making babies.
Felix was our next adoptee.
How could we resist???
Just look at this guy.

But, I'm sorry to say, I probably pulled Felix away from his mother too soon.  And I don't recommend it.  But the result was a sort of bond between he and I.  Felix was quite needy when I brought him home and he got into the habit of sleeping across my neck at night.  Which he does to this day.  I have to admit I love it, as it feels like a warm scarf across my neck at night and is very comforting.

He also enjoys rides on my back/shoulder through the garden.  (Not sure why, he's just weird I guess.)

Felix is a smaller sized cat but he has the cajones of a much larger cat.  He stood up to Scarface upon his arrival to our household.  Something none of the other pets have EVER matched.  So never doubt Felix's courage.


And then there's Frankie.

I never should have adopted Frankie. (The clipped ear is a consequence of neutering at the pound for a feral cat/mother combo.)
But just look at those eyes!  Those beautiful blue eyes.
Frankie was one of the seven kittens we rescued, along with their parents, and had spayed/neutered and adopted out.
Just look at him as a kitten and tell me you could have resisted him.

My first mistake was in naming him.  Don't ever, ever, ever, name a kitten you intend to give up for adoption.  Because if you do, you're dead.  Well, not dead, but you're not going to give that kitten away are you?

And why "Frankie" you ask? (If you have to ask you've probably never heard of Frank Sinatra.)

Give me a little credit for not also keeping his cousin, "Francine".  There was never such a beautiful pair.
But I sucked it up and adopted her out. (I know, it wasn't easy.)

Frankie was a spit fire when we caught him as a kitten.  No longer.  He is a WHINER, all caps intended.
Frankie will wake you up in the middle of the night, not with a love pat, but with claws out, crying. And what does he want, you ask?  He wants you to PET him as he EATS.  Yes, you read that correctly.

And finally, Scarface.

Yes, SCARFACE.  We did not name him.
Our son did.
Scarface is now ten years old.  He was on his way to the pound when I told my son to bring him over.
This is a dog who doesn't like other dogs.  Or strangers.  Or children.  Or cats.
A dog who will bite, and has bitten.
A grouchy dog.
A dog with problems.
He was supposed to have had a home but it didn't pan out.  Our son needed to move on with his life;  I get it.
I just couldn't get Scarface ending up at the pound.  So he ended up at our house.  (How many parents out there end up with their children's pets????)

And he has managed to fit in somehow.  Now he is "my dog" and Chelsea is "Kim's dog".  Scarface has managed somehow to fit into our lives and into our hearts.
He tolerates the chickens and has learned to tolerate the cats, exception being scaredy cat Jessie.
Kim and I are accustomed to his peculiarities as he had lived with us prior to his arrival ten months ago.
We don't expect many more years from this grey boy, but we intend to make his final years comfortable.

Look how brave Felix is.
He enjoys playing with Scarface's tennis balls.

Check out our pet chickens in the sidebar to the right.
How many pets do you have?  How many stories do you have?