Monday, August 8, 2011

Dogs, Cats and Critters, Oh My!

Since we’ve learned that Laurie is allergic to cats…and since we like to explore East Tennessee and spend a lot of time on the back roads around the USA and Canada…we’ve been relegated to making do as regards to pets…


This is about it for us these days… It’s all about the wild critters that live around our house.  This Blue Tailed Skink and a few of his friends are friendly bug eating pets…but they don’t take well to holding and petting!  Neither does our local flock of turkeys, the neighborhood deer, the fox family, the humming birds, woodpeckers…nor thankfully, the vultures, opossum or the skunks.

Fortunately, many of our friends have cuddly pets…that love attention and ask to be petted and sometimes, even held!  We do our best to oblige!

This collection of dogs belongs to Larry, Bev and Pat.  From the left, we have Coco, Willie and Cody.  Coco in particular loves being petted and held.  Coco is a Yorkshire / Chihuahua mix. She is a feisty little dog and she loves people!  
Willie likes a little petting and attention every now and then… Pat belongs to him.  He loves his momma very much and is never far from her.  Cody, at his age, likes to be petted, but mostly he looks for food handouts!  He is a mix breed and is now up there in age.  He can’t hear or see very well and his joints are a bit stiff but he still manages to get around, though a bit slower.  He loves to ride on the pontoon boat!  Likes feeling the wind in his ears!

In support of my previous comments about Coco, here she is on her Momma’s, (Bev’s), lap getting the attention that she deserves.  Coco is a very happy and fun loving dog.  She loves being around people and she also likes being the center of attention! 


This is Sweetie, aka: ‘Sweetie Pie’ or just plain ‘Pie’…Queen of Bev and Larry’s household!  In this photo, she has her 'summer coat cut' or refered to as the 'lion cut'.  She is an American Eskimo Dog and Daddy’s little girl! Wherever Larry goes, she goes!  Sweetie does like being petted and fussed over by others.  She loves attention…especially from Larry or Bev!  Coco also loves attention and it can become a problem if both Coco and Sweetie are vying for attention from Larry, Bev or a friendly pet loving guest!   Sweetie will always win out though, since she is the Alpha dog!  In her full blazing white coat, Sweetie is something to behold! With her black face features, Sweetie always seems to be smiling and you smile back!


This is Ali Cat. ( She was found in an alley.)  Ali is a some-what hairless Devon Rex. She wants to be the center of everyone’s attention and she loves to be petted…loves warm hands and she is also very warm to the touch!  She and her brother, Junior, have permitted Karen and Charlie to live with them.  Yes…she does resemble an alien somewhat but we don’t say that out loud.  Ali is a very sweet cat and she loves to jump, run and play with her toys.  She is totally entertaining and a joy to be around!  You get tired just watching her!  She’s also very vocal!


Here we have Junior… Junior is a very handsome Shorthair Domestic Tabby.  He’s a relaxed boy who picks and chooses who can pet him and when he would like some attention.   He is very photogenic and loves the camera.  He has a beautiful coat and he knows it.  (Hello!!  Compared to his sister who has no hair!)   He loves to patrol the house and both cats are very curious cats.  They both know who rules the roost!  They both love watching birds come to the feeders and they both like to eat!  Their parents have spoiled them…in a good way!

This is Roxie… Edera and Dennis belong to her.  Roxie is a rescue dog. She’s a mix breed for sure!  She loves attention and loves to be petted… She’ll just take as much of it as you can give her!  She also likes to play fetch and then ‘fights’ to keep her toy once she brings it back to you.  She is very photogenic and she knows it!   Roxie is also a very smart young lady.  She knows all her parents commands and does them well...They give her treats afterwards!  Hello!!!

When her parents have to go on vacation, Roxie loves to go to her doggy B and B!   She gets so excited and they love her there!  Nice to know there are places out there that cater to our furry children.  Gives us all piece of mind.

Here’s Winston with his parents, Joel and Holley.  Winston is a West Highland White Terrier and is the latest addition to our circle of pets and parents…he’s only 10 months old!  He loves all kinds of attention and he’s very comfortable in the pool as long as he has that floating ‘Noodle’ for his front paws.  This photo was taken the very first time Winston went into the water for a swim!  His parents were very proud indeed!


Our friends Lorraine and Harold also have a beautiful cat named Paddy, aka; Sir Patrick Culvert….in honor of where he was found…in a culvert.  He’s a Maine Coon mix… and although he has a standoffish reputation, he has strayed onto our laps for attention a number of times.  He’s the ‘big boy’ that ‘educated’ Laurie in regards to her recent allergy to cats!  He is truly a very sweet boy and he does love his daddy!    Paddy is a very important member of the family and everyone knows it!  He makes sure of that!


But then… it’s back to reality!  But you must admit, this is a very handsome Bullfrog!  He too loves the camera!  We named him Er..as in the Budwiser Frogs, ‘Bud’, ‘Wise’ and ‘Er’.  He lived in our front yard water feature for awhile and now we have a few smaller frogs and lots of tadpoles to keep his legacy alive!  They all sing us to sleep every night…

Most of this blog must be credited to my better half, Laurie.  She took the photos, researched and remembered the facts about the pets and she came up with half of the wording... Thanks Sweetheart!

Just click on any photo to enlarge...

1 comment:

  1. It's good that you can go so many places and find pets to love on. Thanks for showing ours and you are definitely becoming part of their family.

    ReplyDelete