Oh, yes we do! We have a household full of loving pets!
Above is our lone kitty. Skitty. She is a Hemmingway cat that Alison rescued as a kitten. She was from a litter of cats that I would call feral, adapted from a co-worker who had them just in her yard.
Skitty is 12 years old. She is the lazy cat poster child but is also very close to Benjamin. She looks very much forward to Benjamin returning for Christmas break. At least, we think she does. Sometimes with cats, it's hard to tell.
This is Cocoa Bear. We rescued her via an online pet rescue site, going all the way up to Chattanooga to get her. She was promoted as being a mix between Dachshund and King Cavalier Spaniel.
I saw the litter she came from (the puppies, not the parents). She definitely is part Dachshund, but the Spaniel part? Given her size, I think it is some other kind of spaniel.
She is energetic and friendly, although occasionally shy. She likes to go inside and then outside, over and over again, all day long.
Cocoa Bear is 11.
Ellie Mae was rescued via a local couple who have done so much for animals in our area, Rick and Nancy Allmon. Ellie came to visit us one weekend and never went back.
I have never had a dog as sweet, particularly with people. She is a mix, just guessing that the most prominent is chihuahua and dachshund. It doesn't matter to her. It doesn't matter to us.
Rescued as an adult, we are unsure of her age, Her coat has whitened considerably in the last few years. It's hard to tell if she has slowed down because she never was a high energy dog.
Our best age estimate is between 12 and 18.
Pixie Dust was our first foster, and our first foster failure. When I was told that this sweet but shivery girl would be transported for adoption in Canada, I said no way! We were keeping her.
She loves our family, but she mostly loves her Mama. She is almost always by Alison's side and gets anxious when Alison leaves. She is a mix, mostly chihuahua, I would guess. You wouldn't think a little dog like that would shed so much, but holy shedolies! She sure does. Alison often goes to work coated in pixie dust!
Another adult rescue, my best guess for her age is between 7 & 10.
Boss-A-Man was our most recent foster, and our second foster failure. He had several challenges when we began fostering him, having lived with almost a dozen other small dogs with two ladies who lived in a van under a bridge. We were concerned that others might not have the patience to nurse him back to health.
We adopted at the same time I became semi-retired, so he's like my retirement dog. We spend a lot of time together, and I love him to pieces.
What is he? Who knows? I see chihuahua, pomeranian, and papillon. He is all love and affection. What more do I need to know?
How old is he? Another mystery. The vet guessed at the time we got him that he might be 10, which would make him 12 now. I'm less sure that he is that old. He was in rough shape when we got him. He had been through so much.
So my guess is between 6 and 10.
All I know for sure is that I will cherish every minute with him.
