Cody and Katy

 

From not much bigger than an ink pen with blue eyes (4 1/2 weeks old) 

 

 

To yellow eyes and 3 times the size!



Notice Cody's (black kitty) white Manchu whiskers! 

Now almost 7 months old, the brother and sister kittens are a bundle of energy! I can hear their scampering all over the house chasing each other in play!

*

The dogs come flying out into the den to get away from their crazy game of tireless chase! In two weeks they have a visit to their vet that will probably take away some of the rambunctiousness!

Xena the Spoiled

I met Xena when I took Gracie to be groomed. My groomer had temporarily taken her to save her from going to the pound. (The Bull Mastiff rescue was also at limit and could take no more.)  She asked me if I would like to adopt her due to her circumstances of no longer being able to be taken care of by her original owner. She was just a year old and seemed confused with her swapping around in homes. We immediately bonded!

She was immediately accepted by my other 3 dogs, 3 birds, and cat. The initial introduction went well as though she had always been with us all!

*

Her vet records happen to be with the same vet I have gone to for the past 27 years! A short time after having her spayed and micro chipped, I took her to the same obedience class my other dogs had gone to. I quickly found out she had already had training and even responded to silent hand signals to the commands! 

Xena is a true joy. She's slow paced as I am myself! She does like to run full blast around my large fence enclosed yard. However, I quickly found out I couldn't trust her to be out without me being there, for with her mass, she would quickly push under the chain length fencing and head off chasing any of the wild animals we have in Florida!

*

She began to have a mind of her own when I would try to get her to come back inside with the other dogs! So, I found a really great low calorie snack to entice her with! Now all I have to do is say energetically, "Let's go get a goody!" All four can't get to the door soon enough, ha!

*

Her favorite place is to lay under my feet or in my lap (98 pounds!) She is always courteous to wait for my signal to do so. She steps ever so gently with one foot on the seat of my chair and then lifts herself to lay on the arm of the chair with hardly any of her weight on me!

*

Another joy of the creation of our GOD!



Dolly Doodle All My Day

What a Beautiful Little Puppy!

 

One of my friends in the office at school told me her son's dog had puppies he was trying to find homes for. He was having difficulty when people found out they were pit bull/shepherd/chow mix. She was afraid to turn them over to the Humane Society for fear of them being "put down" because of their breed mix. So, I went over for a visit and of course fell in love with a female pup who would soon become known as Dolly! She was like a little rag doll, you just wanted to always hold and squeeze on her (as you can see in the picture!)

 

As I have always done with all of my dogs, Dolly found herself being taken to obedience training school. She did well, passing her sit, stay, come, leave it commands. When she was 6 months she was spayed and micro chipped. 

*

Now at five years old, I'm having to remind her of some of those commands now that my two orphaned/adopted kittens are exciting her to chase them! When she gets reprimanded, you can see the "sheepish" grin as her bottom lip drops to show her lower gum line, ha! I also keep her on a leash when she hasn't kept the command, later letting her loose to which she then behaves herself.

*

She is very loving and has no behaviors associated with aggression (even with the kittens, her chasing is play befitting that of playing with the other dogs.)

*

I did notice one characteristic that goes with the chow. One day Dolly let a yawn so long, her tongue came out and way back where you could hardly see was a black spot the size of your pinkie fingernail. As you see in her picture she has more of a shepherd look with the chow color.

*

All of my dogs have been rescues. Sam from the dog shelter, (Gracie being the exception, from a family friend), Dolly especially from being taken to the Humane Society, and Xena from being sent to the Humane Society to which she would have been put down due to the cost of keeping her there. Xena was given up during the time of a severe economic crises and even the Mastiff rescue were full and could no longer take any in. The LORD has surely blessed me with His creatures that always never cease to amaze me with their affection. As the Dog Whisperer says,  make sure you are the pack leader!   



Max the Maximillion

 

 I one day received in the mail a notice of a bird auction. It mentioned all kinds of birds! When I got to the large County owned warehouse, I couldn't believe the hundreds of birds! I started walking around when I finally came upon the macaws. They were in big flight cages where they could fly from one side to the other. I noticed on the label the number 2 had been "x'ed" out and replaced with 1 on the tag. When I approached, I said, "Hello!" He flew across the cage right up to me and replied, "Hello!" I knew right then, he was meant for me. I didn't follow the auction around to each cage and the bidding on them. I stayed in front of "Max's." When they finally made their way around to Max's cage, the bidding began. 

 

 

People were not bidding very high because of the "pair" of birds that were in most of the cages. Their bid would be doubled for the two birds. There were nesting boxes, so you couldn't see some of the birds. Most bids didn't go over $500.00 for being doubled to $1,000.00. My bid got to $800.00 and it stood at that with no other challenges. "Sold! That will be $1,600.00 please." To which I replied, "No! There's only one bird in this cage!" When they verified it, it didn't matter the protest by the other bidders! He had already said, "Sold!" I got my carrier. Then Max and I headed straight for my vet (which I had already set the appointment time!) I had already gotten Jerry from Dr. Miller.  He had been afraid I may have gotten more than I could handle. Max has proved to be quite the opposite! He said Max was really good parrot. Max let him turn him every which-away checking under his wings, around his tail, and in his mouth! Max got a clear bill of health. (Dr. Miller had taken him into another room to draw blood. When he came back with Max, Max acted as though nothing had happened.

*

He is so funny! When I pass by their room, he'll call out, "Hey, Baby!" To which Cuddle Bird replies, "What ya doin'?" I had gone in their room with their fruit one morning as I sang and danced in my nightgown. As I was singing, Max replied, "I don't wanna hear that!" LOL!  I've said that to him when I have gone in to see why he's been squawking. Usually it's because he sees a turtle outside crawling along the fence or someone on the back road at the back of my property. Just yesterday I was telling Max as I uncovered his cage from the night, "Jesus loves you. GOD created you just for me!" To which he replied, "I know!" HA! I have said that many times to him when he's been saying, "Max is a pretty bird!"

*

Parrots are just so amazing! You never know what they are going to come out with! Every day is a surprise.

My Cute Little Cuddle Bird

Cuddles came to me by the LORD's guidance! I was on the Kindergarten playground with my class when one of the children called out! When I looked, this little bird was sitting on one of my student's shoulder! I went over and it immediately hopped onto my finger. I called all of the kids to line up and we went inside. I found a white paper sack and put him in it. We only had a few minutes before going home at the end of our day. As soon as they did. I called my vet to bring him by to be checked out. He was such a young bird, his feet were still transparent. The scales of his feet had not yet begun to form. My vet told me he was about 3 months old.  The picture below is when Cuddles was about 3 years old.

  

A hurricane had recently skirted our Florida coast with some high winds that caused the school system to close. It must have turned over somebody's outside aviary that housed him.



Cuddles is now 11 years old. He never really grew to the full size that most of your cockatiels grow. He talks a lot! Some of the things he says is: Cuddles is a pretty bird. Where's Cuddles? Peek-a-boo! Cuddles wants to go nite-nite. What ya doin'. (There's more.) He loves to get sprayed with warm water! He flaps his wings gibbering the hold time, ha! He will only eat his Harrison's small grain food. Occasionally he will eat some romaine lettuce or apple. But many times when I clothes pin it to his cage, he ignores it. He's a happy little bird. Many times throughout the day he starts his chattering and whistling which "wakes up" the other two parrots and gets them to start yakking and whistling. I praise our GOD for the beautiful animals He has given us! I'm assured in my heart they will be with us in GOD's Eternity to praise our Almighty GOD along with us!

From Pup to Senior Lady

Gracie was 3 months old when we got her from a friend. She was my mom's dog even though I claimed her too, ha!

 

She is Lhasas-Opsah with Poodle-terrier mix. She was such a cute looking little "mop!" LOL!

 

Because her hair grows so long so quickly, I have to have her groomed every 5-6 weeks. In the summer I have her groomed down to the shortest clip. In the winter it is one step up from the summer cut. On cool days I will put a sweater on her to go outside. Her pretty black ears are shown in this younger picture.

 

12 years later she is just as spunky as she was as a puppy! The only change is the gray hair, as in us all!

From Kit to Older Cat

Sarah came to my house when she was about eight months old. She didn't like being inside that much, but soon began to stay inside longer each day. One of her favorites spots to sit was on top of the music books on the piano!

 



In her older years she spends most of her time snoozing (that is when my adopted kittens leave her alone!) She is now 14 years old as is Sam my dog! She will only visit with me once I have put the kittens in their 7' x 3' kennel at night. Then she comes in to get her affection from me. Sometimes at night when I am asleep, she will come into my bedroom, jump up on my bed to get a pet; then she will go roam the house or sit on her window seat overlooking the moon lit yard.

From Pup to "Old Man" (14 years old)

What a cute little pup! He was always good about letting me keep bows on his collar!



 

 

14 years later, he is still my "little pup" in his eyes! His ears are now wide, his legs are now wobbly, his bones and joints need rest, but he is always so happy to see people when they come over to visit me! His sight is not so good at night and if he doesn't sense I am near, he will whine for me (which Jerry has learned to mimic!) What a good doggy he is!