The Usual Suspects

I've already mentioned that I adore animals... probably more than is healthy (I know some people who would agree with that). More than anything, I am impressed by their ability to love fully and unconditionally. I love how predictable they are. They are hopelessly honest, and they can't even help it. They have rules and proper etiquette... as long as you follow the rules, you'll get along just fine. I find them so much easier to deal with than people.

It's time to introduce you to the furry members of my family:

3-4 years ago, my family experienced an animal turnover. Our dog of 12 years and our cat of 14 years both died. We can't go long without animals, so their places were filled shortly after each of their respective deaths.

My cat Louey turned 3 on April 20th this year. She is a barn cat from Woodacres, the barn where I used to ride.

When we first took her into the vet, he told us she was a male. We named her Louis (pronounced the French way, "Lou-ee"). Most people called her "Lou-iss" after reading the name. We didn't really have any reason to question what our vet said, but we kind of started wondering. It just didn't look male, if you know what I mean... there are differences, you know! After one of my mom's friends agreed with us (she grew up a farm, we figured she knew her stuff) we took the cat to a different vet - we had moved, the new one was more convenient anyways. So, we made our first appointment for the kitten's second round of shots... and gender verification. The vet took one look at her and said "It's a girl... but I'll check anyways". She checked - yup, a girl. Not even a hermaphrodite. So, that's the long-winded way of saying we now had a female cat that everyone called "Lou-iss". We changed the spelling to Louey to avoid any confusion.

We think she is part Maine Coon... she looks so much like them! When she was younger she had giant paws, and we thought she was going to be huge! Turns out she must have been a runt or something... she's still tiny with giant paws. And health problems that require a very expensive food - ugh, pets. She's an indoor/outdoor cat... she's a pretty tough little thing! She's a social butterfly, unlike my last cat - she's got tons of friends, and even a couple of boyfriends!

When my last dog died, it took us about a month before we realized that living without a dog sucked.

We contacted Goldenbreez Kennels in Palmerston, just to see if they had any litters planned for the next spring. The breeder said she had one puppy left over from her most recent litter - he had proven to be too rambunctious for the family who had picked him, so they returned him to the breeder. The puppy's father was one of our last dog's half brothers, so she thought we might really like him. We steeled our hearts, and my parents and I went out to take a look. As we got out of the car, we saw a fat and furry Golden Retriever puppy out frolicking with a bunch of Bernese Mountain Dogs (which she also breeds). My mom said... "If that's him, we're in trouble." He was adorable, he was so friendly with us, he got along with the other dogs really well and was a good sport about them knocking him over, and he was decent with the breeder's cats. And yes, we took little Remington home. Honestly, his only fault is that he is a VERY easy keeper - but I think we can live with that.

He's a wonderful dog. He's a quick learner, he's extremely friendly. He gets along with almost everyone at the dog park. He's fine with our cat. He's pretty obedient. He knows how to play fight appropriately with both humans and dogs, and he doesn't get too rough (well, not since puppyhood anyways). He's actually protective of our home, which our last dog wasn't. He makes some pretty scary noises when I get home in the middle of the night sometimes, before he sees who's behind the opening door. He's just perfect! Look at that face:

My family has always owned "big dogs". Our last 3 (the only ones during my life) have been Golden Retrievers. My dad always said he would never own a little dog. When my aunt bred her Shih-Tzus and ended up with a litter of 6 puppies, I never thought we would actually get one (although that didn't stop my sister and me from nagging and begging our parents to death).

One Sunday near Christmas, our parents took a trip to a friend's house... or so they said. They had actually gone to my aunt's house to pick up our favourite puppy. After a while, they called and told my sister and I to go open our first Christmas presents... which were a tiny little dog coat, and a tiny harness and leash. We started screaming with joy, naturally.... and promptly spent $150 at Petsmart to make puppy feel more at home.

Since then, owning little Jack Daniels has been bliss. He's sweet and smart, and not at all the stereotypical small dog. He adores his big brother Remington, and is even pretty fond of Louey (although she doesn't feel quite the same way towards him). He is the biggest snuggle bug ever, always ready for a hug and a snuffle. He's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Well, those are the animals. They're definitely a part of the family, and they really mean a lot to me.