OUR BEST FRIENDS

Many have called our house a zoo and I can't say the comment is totally undeserved. As of February 2002, our house is home to one dog, four cats and some fresh water fish.

Here is a bit of information. I'll be adding photos as I get them scanned.

1. The Canine
   1. Wendy - the Dalmatian
      1. Came into our family in 1995
      2. Could also have her named spelled "windy" due to her ... ahem ... bad habits.
      3. Believes she is a lap dog
      4. Likes to sleep between Mom and Dad with her head on the pillow
      5. Still plays just like a puppy - give her a ball and she will toss it in the air for herself
      6. Graces our clothing and furniture with her little white and black hairs (Dalmatians shed all year long)
      7. Is a protector and would attack anyone who threatened us or our home
      8. Is positively Mom's dog
      9. Likes nothing better than going "bye-bye in the car"
      10. Is the quickest runner of all our dogs (perhaps any dog known to man)
      11. Mated with a Husky in 1998 which led to a litter of nine puppies (shown with her in the photo)
      12. Mated with a shih-tzu and produced a litter of shih-tamatian pups in 1999.
      13. Was "fixed" and will no longer be having such exotic litters!!

   
   

2. The Felines
   1. Jennifer - the possible burmese
      1. Was purchased by Dad when he lived in Seattle in 1990 - thus was the lady of the house prior to Mom (and never lets Mom forget it)
      2. Loves to sleep on your chest or back
      3. Offers love nips - will sneak up on your chin (or eyebrow!) and will lick once or twice before chomping down
      4. Likes to drink and play with water when the bathroom sink faucet is left running
      5. Is a catnip junkie
      6. Plays when she thinks no one is looking
      7. She hates newspapers - or at least people reading them. She will jump into the middle of the paper while you are reading.
      8. In the summer, she rolls back and forth in any piece of sunshine she can find.
      9. Looks like a solid black cat, but she is really a white cat with black tips on her fur.
   2. Myst - the possible Maine coon
      1. Is a "rescue" cat from Humane Society which joined our home in 1995 (just before Christmas)
      2. Myst, or Mysty, was very stand-offish at first because she had been left outside and came very close to death (it took the Humane Society about three months to nurse her back to health)
      3. We wondered for just over two years if she could purr. To our surprise and enjoyment, she has finally began to purr and be friendly to everyone!
      4. She loves to be scratched under chin and around her neck
      5. Spends most of the day sleeping and most of the night bathing herself.
      6. Does not put up with much "funny business" from any of the other pets
      7. Is always ready for a good romp with Jennifer
      8. Lives for those little plastic rings you take of gallons of milk!
   3. Cleopestra - who knows!?!
      1. Was found at our vet's office in fall of 2000
      2. Loves to be around people of all ages - she has yet to meet someone she doesn't like
      3. Is beginning to resemble Jennifer more and more - to the point that you need to look them directly in the face to know who is who
   4. Mamma Cat - calico/long hair
      1. Moved into our basement (without an invitation) in the winter of 2000-01 for the purpose of giving birth to a litter of kittens
      2. Her noises were giving us all a bit of a fright until we discovered their source
      3. Although we ran "beautiful cat found" classifieds, no one claimed her.
      4. Probably is the first cat to have ever claimed us, instead of the other way around!
      5. Likes to sleep on or beside the food container, lest she miss a meal.
      6. Second favorite place to sleep is with Wendy (the Dalmatian) in the doggy bed. (Of course, you shouldn't tell either of them that I've made this practice public!)
   
   
3. The water dwellers
   1. Jack - the Jack Dempsey
      1. Used to have many more "fishy" friends until he found them too taste-tempting to resist.
      2. Is about 6-8 inches from mouth to tail fin
   2. Red - the red devil
      1. About 3/4 the size of Jack, but still living.
      2. Doesn't spend much of his time hiding and likes to watch people as the walk by the aquarium. (Personally, I think this is because he wants to eat us.)
   3. Plexy - the plex (a.k.a. sucker-fish)
      1. Our only functional pet - an algae eater
      2. I'm sad to report that the plex was not immune to Jack's appetite. He now swims in the great fishy-beyond.